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NATIONAL
PORTRAIT GALLERY

DISTINGUISHED AMERICANS:

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

SUPPLEMENTARY VOLUME

R. E. PETERSON & CO.'S EDITION.

In every age and nation distinguished for arts and learning, the inclination of transmitting tbe
memory and even the features of illustrious persons to posterity, has uniformly prevailed. The
greatest poets, oratorSj and historians, were contemporaries with the most celebrated painters,
statuaries, and engravers of gems and medals ; and the desire to be acquainted with a man's aspect,
has ever risen in proportion to the known excellence of his character, and the admiration of hia
writings. — Ghanqer.

PHILADELPHIA:
RICE, RUTTER & CO., 525 MINOR ST.
1867.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the yeu* 1866, by
RICE, RUTTER k CO..
In the CIork*s Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District
of Pennsylvania.

CONTENTS.

Abraham Lincoln, Sixteenth President of the United States.
Ulysses S. Grant, General, United States Army.
David G. Farragut, Admiral, United States Navy.
Thos. H. Benton, United States Senator.
Andrew H. Foote, Admiral, United States Navy.
Andrew Johnson, Seventeenth President of the United States.
George G. Meade, Major General, United States Army.
William T. Sherman, Lieutenant General, United States Army.
Oliver 0. Howard, Major General, United States Army.
Philip H. Sheridan, Major General, United States Army.
Zachary Taylor, Twelfth President of the United States.
William H. Prescott, Historian.
Millard Fillmore, Thirteenth President of the United States.
Franklin Pierce, Fourteenth President of the United States.
George M. Dallas, Vice President of the United States.
Daniel D. Tompkins, Vice President of the United States.
William Gaston, Judge ofthe Supreme Court of North Cirolina.
William R, Davie, Major General and Governor of North Carolina.
Ldther Martin, Attorney General, Maryland.
Philip Syng Physick, M.D., Professor of the University of Penna
Edward Shippen, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania.
Otho H. Williams, Adjutant General of the Continental Army.
Theodric R. Beck, M.D., Author of Medical Jurisprudence, &e.
Joseph Habersham, Postmaster General, &e.
Simon Ki^^ton, Brigadier General, Pioneer of the West.
Jared Sparks, L.L.D., Historian.
James Buchanan, Fifteenth President of the United States.
Abbott Lawrence, Minister to England.

The following new and beautiful portraits will be found in this volume :
Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Wineield Scott, Lewis Cass,
J. Fenimore Cooper, 0. H. Perry, Joseph Story.
For early portraits of the same, and biographies, refer to preceding
volumes.

ABMAMAM ILEM© ©ILMo

rcdaflcnrdingtoActof i;DngreaamUie70Brl86S,l>jFRice.Riitt,;riCo.mlhedoAE office of the dialnct courLrftiielBiiteii StaUs id and ftethe eastern dislnct of ftnnsyavania.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

The American Republic, in passing through a period of civil
war, has given to History a new group of immortal names. The
men and events of this era are illumined with a perennial light,
and will stand out in heroic proportions for all time. They will
have in. the future a classic grandeur, whieh will make all con-
temporaiy biographies and histories appear tame and unworthy.
Our eyes are too near the great picture, and we take in at one
gaze too limited a portion of the whole, to be impressed with
its full effect. "We lose its proper inspiration while too intently
fixing our view on disconnected parts. Yet we must, as con
temporaries with no vantage-ground of distance, study the great
subject in its details, preparing the way for a broader and truer
appreciation. Clearly, the centi-al figure of all, and that on
which all other agents and their acts to a certain extent depend,
is to be found in the person of Mm who was at the head of our
national affairs from the actual outbreak of the great rebellion
until its substantial suppression.
Abraham Lincoln was born on the 12th day of February,
. 1809. His birth-place is in Larue county, in the State of Ken
tucky, near the town of ilodgenviUe, on Nolin creek, a tributary
of Green river. His grandfather, after whom he was named,
emigrated to Kentucky, then a part of the State of Virginia,
from the county of Eockingham, in the Shenandoah valley,
afterwards to become so noted as the scene of battles and
strategy. He was a contemporary with Boone, Harrod, and
Kenton, having entered five hundred acres of land on Licking
creek, in 1782, adjoining lands of the hardy pioneer first named.
A year or two later, while at work on his new possession, the
ancestral Abraham Lincoln was murdered by an Indian, who
had stealthily come upon him when unsuspecting of danger.
Was it not a strange foreshadow on the dial of time ? Of the
group of young children thus suddenly made fatherless, three
were sons, of whom the youngest was Thomas, a lad but six
1

:NATI01^AL PORTRAITS.
years old. The widowed mother, struggling on as best she
might in that wild and lonesome world, raised them all to
maturity. Better days no doubt came, before the hardy boy
passed through the period of youth and assumed the responsi
bilities of manhood, yet he was trained in the school of trials —
of books knowing but little, and learning to write only his own
name, in a mechanical way.
Thomas Lincoln reached the age of twenty-eight years before
his marriage, which took place in 1806. His wife, whose
maiden name was Ifancy Hanks, was a native of Virginia, like
himself, who had removed from the Shenandoah valley in early
childhood, with his father. Of her parents nothing is known ;
but they appear never to have visited Kentucky — she having
probably gone thither with a brother or sister. On his marriage,
Thomas Lincoln settled on a farm near what was then plain
Hodgen's Mills, on ITolin creek, seven or eight miles from
Elizabethtown. His oldest child was a daughter, who arrived
at mature years, but died soon after her marriage, leaving no
descendant. Abraham Lincoln was two years younger, born
on the day already mentioned. The youngest and only other
child was a son who died in early childhood. Thus Abraham
became ere long the sole representative of his family. His
uncles, Mordecai and Josiah, early settled in Indiana, the one
in Harrison, the other in Hancock county, where it is not known
that they left any descendants. Thomas Lincoln, thriving but
indifferently in his first location, took another farm in the same
county, where fortune proved still unpropitious. The family
had a good repute for native ability, _but made small advance,
as yet, in worldly prosperity.
In the autumn of 1816, when Abraham Lincoln was a lad of
only seven years, his father determined on another remove —
this time into the new territory of Indiana, of which his older
brothers had no doubt given a good report. He chose a locality
by himself, however, in what was then Perry county, not far
from Gentryville, on the west side of Anderson creek, soon
after falling within the new county of Spencer. His farm was
not remote from the Ohio river, fast becoming a great thorough
fare, with its own peculiar world, at first of flat-boats, holding-
correspondence with the Mississippi river and New Orleans —
afterwards to be outrun or displaced by more elaborate and
stately craft. Here the lad remained with his father — pas.siiio-

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
#
through the period of early youth — during the next thirteen
years. In 1818 his mother died, when he was but nine years
old, a loss which gave deeper sadness to a boyhood on which
there had never rested too gladsome a light. He was beginning
to take part in the serious labor of the farm, and during the
succeeding years passed in Indiana, he learned the use of the
axe, in clearing the forests — for the new home was in a heavily
wooded region, not on the prairie — aud became accustomed to
hold the plough, or to drive the team of oxen on its various
errands. His schooling had not been altogether neglected,
even before the removal from Kentucky. He- received further
rudimentary instruction from two or three different teachers in
Indiana. As there were then no i^ublic schools. in either State,
private schoolmasters were necessarily employed for a family
or a neighborhood, for such period as the means or inclination
of parents permitted. Abraham Lincoln was probably quite
as highly favored in this respect as was usual with those about
him, having received in all, perhaps, the amount of one year's
tuition. In addition, he was studious at home, acquiring an
earnest love for reading, restricted in its indulgence only by
the limited number of Books at his command. He was early
interested in a collection of ^sop's Fables, illustrated by plain
wood-cuts, from which book he derived many lessons of prac
tical wisdom, and a fondness for the enforcement of a principle
or the intimation of an opinion, by some quaint or humorous
incident — lessons and a taste which he retained through life.
Another book which he read during these years, the Life of
Washington, made a lasting impression on his mind, giving it
an early bent which perhaps determined his future course, if it
did not awaken aspirations for public honors. The intensity
and permanence of the effect of books upon a, really eager,
youthful reader, are ordinarily increased in proportion to the
limitation of their number. In this instance the range was
very small.
The community around Hodgenville had early had an organ
ized Baptist church, though, prior to 1816, no place of worship
had been built. The same denomination had a rude church
edifice not far from the new home selected by Mr. Lincoln's
father in Indiana. In both States, the family worshipped with
this sect, and Abraham Lincoln's early religious training, like
that of Henry Clay, was under its influences. The Bible was

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
a book which he constantly read, at the earlier no less than the
later periods of his life.
From a desire to see more of the world, perhaps stimulated
by stories of adventure related by boatmen whom he casually
met, in his visits to the Ohio river at Troy, the nearest landing
to his home, he made a trip to New Orleans^and back, when at
the age of nineteen, by the slow conveyance of an ordinary
flat-boat, on which he "worked his passage." It was a long
voyage, full of novelties, if not of exciting incidents, and his
first acquaintance with the Father of Waters and with the great
mart of the Southwest, afforded new and valuable lessons to
his impressible mind.
In 1830, being now of age, Abraham Lincoln removed with
his father to Illinois, and aided him in enclosing part of a new
farm, on the Sangamon river, with rail fence, giving rise to the
popular notion concerning his special exploits as a rail-splitter.
The farm was occupied by his father but for a year, when they
both turned 'in new directions — the father making his last
settlement in Coles county, farther eastward, while the son
undertook a second flat-boating expedition, by the Sangamon
and Illinois rivers to the Mississippi, and thence to New Orleans.
After his return, he was employed for a time in a country store
at New Salem, in Menard county, where he was appointed
Postmaster, under the administration of President Jackson,
though known to be a political supporter of Henry Clay. It
was after remaining a year or more in this position, that he
enlisted in a company raised in 1832 for service iu what is
known as the Black Hawk war. He was chosen captain of the
company, by a very flattering vote — an honor which he highly
appreciated. He was out for about three months, without hap
pening, however, to be in any actual engagement.
Mr. Lincoln's fii'st experience as a candidate for a political
oflice was at the State election in Illinois, in August, 1832,
when twenty-three years of age, and just after his return from
the Black Hawk war. He had as yet become but little known
beyond the immediate vicinity of his residence, which gave
him a nearly unanimous vote for Representative in the State
Legislature. In other parts of the district, however, his name
was scarcely at all presented, and he was not elected — a fact
which did not detract from the "gratifying result in his own
township, where the partisan majority was decidedly against

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
him. He received two hundred and seventy-seven out of the
entire two hundred and eighty-four votes cast, while Jackson,
a little later in the same year, received a majority of more than
one hundred and fifty over Clay. Two years afterwards, Mr.
Lincoln was chosen Representative, receiving about two hun
dred more votes than any of his associates on the same general
ticket. He was re-elected in 1836 — the term being two years —
and during the sessions of that and the following year, he came
to be regarded as a leader on the Whig side of the House, then
decidedly in the minority. In 1838 he was again re-elected;
and the House was now more equally divided between the
two parties. Mr. Lincoln was selected by the Whigs as their
candidate for Speaker, and was beaten by his Democratic com
petitor on the fourth ballot, who received one majority.
During these years of service in the Legislature, Mr. Lin
coln had been engaged, first as a surveyor, at the same time
pursuing the study of law, and afterwards, having been duly
admitted to the bar, in the practice of the legal profession. In
the Spring of 1837 he removed to Springfield, to which place
the State Capital, by an act of the Legislature already passed,
was to be transferred two or three years later. For the fourth
time he was elected to the Legislature, in which, as before, he
was the acknowledged leader on the Whig side, and the party
candidate for Speaker of the House. This was in 1840, and
the last election he was willing to accept as a member of the
State Legislature. During the comparatively long period of
his continuance in that body, he effectively aided in shaping a
liberal policy of internal improvements for his State, and in
furthering the development of its ample resources.
The discussions which had arisen in the North on the subject
of Slavery, and the violent attempts to suppress this agitation,
which had resulted in the death of Lovejoy at Alton, Illinois,
began to cast a shadow over the general politics of that State,
before the close of Mr. Lincoln's legislative service. In 1837
the dominant party in the Legislature passed resolutions on
this subject, of a radical Southern character, and the effort was
made to affix the odium of "Abolitionism" on all who refused
to sustain this ultra Pro-Slavery action. Mr. Lincoln, one
other representative from Sangamon county joining him, on
the 3d of March, 1837, caused a protest against these resolutions
to be entered on the journal of the House, in the course of
5

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
which they said : " They beheve that the institution of slavery
is founded on both injustice and bad policy ; but that the pro
mulgation of Abolition doctrines tends rather to increase than
abate its evils. They believe that the Congress of the United
States has no power, under the jDonstitntion, to interfere with
the institution of slavery in the different States. They believe
that the Congress of the United States has the power, under
the Constitution, to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia;
but that the power ought not to be exercised, unless at the
request of the people of said District." At that day, Mr. Lin
coln can have little imagined how prominent and controlling a
question this was to be in our subsequent political history, and
least of all the leading part he was to take, as an instrument
in the removal of the great evil then so firmly seated in the
country. For the twelve years succeeding his admission to the bar in
1836, his attention was engrossingly devoted to his chosen pro
fession of the law. By gradual but sure advancement, he was
making his way, during this period, to the highest, rank among
the counsellors and advocates of the West. He had a clear,
logical mind, quick to apprehend the cardinal points of his
case, tenacious of the facts and principles on which the issue
turned, eminently fair and honorable in dealing with his oppo
nents, and assiduous in doing his whole duty to whatever client
he attempted to serve. He had great influence over the minds
of jurors, by the perspicuity and vigor of his statements, the
candid and earnest manner of his arguments, and the native
humor and simplicity of his illustrations. Before the higher
courts, his power was scarcely less manifest in the treatment of
purely legal questions, his propositions and his mode of ex
pounding them having a convincing weight and force with the
more enlightened judges. He was a man of diligent and
thorough research in the matters pertaining to his profession,
and he derived illustrations for his work, as well as a breadth
of view, a maturity of judgment, and a general cultivation, no
less in extended and various reading, than in his close observa
tion of men and life. He was a favorite among his associates
at the bar, towards whom his deportment was uniformly kind
and courteous, and to whom his presence was always an inex
haustible source of social pleasure and good feeling. His
arrival at any county-seat, in court time, came to be a marked

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
event, and his coming was always cordially welcomed. He had
a rare success in winning the affections of those with. whom he
came in contact, even his warmest political adversaries mani
festing a sincere appreciation of the high capacity of his mind
and of the great excellence of his heart. Had he never been
known outside of his character of| advocate aud jurist, he would
have attained to a lasting fame among the greatest men of the
.Northwest. His public connection with politics, during tli^eae years, was
limited to a few brief episodes, until, in the natural course of
events, he was chosen to represent his district in the Congress
of the United States. In 1844, after the nomination of Henry
Clay by acclamation, at Baltimore, as the Whig candidate for
the Presidency, Mr. Lincoln accepted a nomination for Presi
dential Elector, involving, according to custom in the West, an
active canvass in behalf of his candidate. Ever more ready
to labor for others than careful to study his own immediate
interests, and earnestly devoted as he had been all his lifetime
to the personal fortunes and political maxims of Clay, Mr.
Lincoln willingly gave up a season's labor to the cause. After
numerous public addresses to large audiences in different parts
of his own State, he accepted an invitation to cross the Wabash
and to make a series of speeches in the more hopeful arena of
Indiana, where his successful services were long gratefully
reinembered. A dark foreshadowing of evil from the election
of Mr. Polk, the annexation of Texas, and the direct conse
quences, strongly impressed his far-reaching and prescient
mind. Almost unconsciously, still, as when his modest protest
was entered on the Journal of the Illinois House of Representa^
tives, and in spite of his conservative tendencies, slavery seemed
to be more and more intertwining itself with his own and his
country's destiny. He dreaded a multiplication of the dark
threads in the fateful web, while deprecating any attempts vio
lently to tear out those already interwoven. But his efforts
were bafl&ed. The result of the election for a time seemed
closely balanced, not without the hope of a flnal inclination to
the side of his anticipations. At last, came the decisive news.
Clay was beaten. It was a painful disappointment. To him,
it was not a personal but a national misfortune. Without
despondency, however, he continued his proper professional
work, assiduously and steadfastly, as before.

NATIONAL PORTRAITS
Mr. Lincoln was married on the 4th of November, 1842, to
Miss Mary Todd, one of four daughters of the Hon. Robert S.
Todd, of Lexington, Kentucky, the eldest of whom had pre
viously married and settled in Springfield. The Wo younger
sisters, subsequently married, became residents of the same
place. Mr. Lincoln had ever the warmest attachment for his
family and home. His wife, in turn, by her constant sympathy
and counsel, and perhaps by words of hopeful aspiration, aided
his advancement while ministering to the happiness of the
domestic circle. Of the four sons born to them, it may be
mentioned here, only the oldest and the youngest survive —
Robert T., bearing the name of his maternal grandfather, and
Thomas (familiarly called "Tad"), named after his paternal
grandfather. In 1846, Mr. Lincoln was chosen as a Representative in Con
gress. The district in which he resided had given Mr. Clay
less than 1,000 majority in 1844. Two years later, it gave Mr.
Lincoln over 1,500 majority for Member of Congress. A com
parison of this vote with any other cast in the district, before
or since, while comprising the same territory, will conclusively
prove his personal popularity. It was an eventful period of
national history. Texas had been annexed. The war with
Mexico was going on. The decided Democratic majority in
both Houses of Congress, at the opening of Mr. Polk's Admin
istration, had now to give place to an opposition (Whig) majo
rity in the House of Representatives, with a Senate no longer
able to command a partisan two-thirds vote for the Administra
tion. Among the more distinguished members of this House
were, John Quincy Adams (who died during its first session),
Jacob Collamer and George P. Marsh, of Vermont, Joseph
R. IngersoU of Pennsylvania, Samuel F. Vinton of Ohio, Caleb
B. Smith of Indiana, John M. Botts of Virginia, A. H. Stephens
and Robert Toombs of Georgia, and M. P. Gentry of Tennes
see, on the Whig side ; and David Wilmot of Pennsylvania, R.
B. Rhett of South Carolina, Howell Cobb of Georgia, Linn
Boyd of Kentucky, Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, James
McDowell of Virginia, and Jacob Thompson of Mis'sissippi.
In the Senate were such statesmen as Daniel Webster John C.
Calhoun, Thomas H. Benton, John M. Clayton, John Bell'
Hannibal Hamlin, William L. Dayton, S. S. Phelps, Thomas
Corwin, William R. King, and John M. Berrien. For some

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
time previously Stephen A. Douglas — who had gone to Illinois
(from Vermont), a year or two later than Mr. Lincoln, and who
was elected to the Illinois Legislature, for the first and only
time, when Mr. Lincoln received his second election — had
been a member of the lower branch of Congress. He now first
took his seat in the Senate. The one had come to be the recog
nized leader of the Whig party in Illinois, before the other
had gained the like position in the Democratic party. Mr.
Lincoln was in his thirty-ninth year when, on the 6th of De
cember, 1847, he first took his seat in the National House of
Representatives. While disapproving many of the acts of the Administration
in regard to the Mexican war, and particularly as to the mode
of its inception, Mr. Lincoln gave a hearty support to all
essential war measures — sometimes breaking away from the
majority of big oWn party, in his independent action on this
question. This was true with regard to a resolution, intro
duced on the 3d of January, 1848, instructing the Committee
on Military Affairs to inquire into the expediency of " requesting
the President of the United States to withdraw to the east bank
of the Rio Grande our armies now in Mexico, and to propose
to the Mexican government a treaty of peace," on certain speci
fied terms, nearly equivalent to an admission of the injustice
of the war. Mr. Lincoln voted with the minority in favor of
laying the resolution on the table, and against the resolution on
a direct vote. He also unhesitatingly voted for the supplies
called for by the War Department to sustain our armies, and
for expressions of thanks to our officers and men for their gal
lant services rendered in Mexico. His first speech in Congress
was made on the 12th of January, 1848, in opposition to Presi
dent Polk's views, as presented in his annual message, regarding
the origin of the war. After referring to certain questions
before proposed with regard to the jurisdiction within which
our forces were at the commencement of hostilities, Mr. Lin
coln proceeded : " Let him answer, fully, fairly, candidly. Let
him answer with facts and not with arguments. Let him
remember he sits where Washington sat; and, so remembering,
let him answer as Washington would answer. As a nation
should not, and the Almighty will not, be evaded, so let him
attempt no evasion, no equivocation. And if, so answering, he
can sho-w^ that the soil was ours where the first 1 lood of the
9

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
war w^as shed — that it was not within an inhabited country, or,
if within such, that the inhabitants had submitted themselves
to the civil authority of Texas, or of the United States, and
that the same is true of the site of Fort Brown — then I am
with him for his justification."
In the Legislature of Illinois, and in his addresses to the
people, Mr. Lincoln had been an earnest advocate for a liberal
system of internal improvements — in the State, by the con
struction or encouragement of important public works, and in
the nation, by facilitating navigation on the great rivers of the
country, and by giving increased value to the harbors on our
coast. On the 20th of June, 1848, he made au extended speech
on this subject, in Congress, in review of a message of President
Polk, vetoing a bill making appropriations for certain improve
ments. The objections raised, including the constitutional
question, were fairly met with clear argument, his speech being
rather marked by its candor of statement and force of logic,
than by eloquence or graces of style. " That the subject is a
difficult one," he said, near the close of his remarks, "cannot
be denied. Still, it is no more difficult in Congress than in the
State Legislatures, in the counties, or in the smallest municipal
districts which everywhere exist. All can recur to instances of
this difficulty in the case of county roads, bridges, and the like.
One man is offended because a road passes over his land; and
another is offended because it does not pass over his ; one is
dissatisfied because the bridge, for which he is taxed, crosses
the river on a different road frdm that which leads from his
house to town ; another cannot bear that the county should get
in debt for these same roads and bridges ; while not a few
struggle hard to have roads located over their lands, and then
stoutly refuse to let them be opened, until they are first paid
the damages. Even between the different wards and streets of
towns and cities, we find this same wrangling and difficulty.
Now, these are no other than the very difficulties against which,
and out of which, the President constructs his objections of
' inequality,' ' speculation,' and ' crushing the Treasury.' There
is but a single alternative about them — they are sufficient or
they are not. If sufficient, they are sufficient out of Congress
as well as in it, and there is the end. We must reject them as
insufficient, or lie down and do nothing by any authority.
Then, difficulty though there be, let us meet and overcome it
10

ABRAHAM LDTCOLN.
' Attempt the end, and never stand to doubt ;
Nothing so hard, but search will iind it out.'
Determine that the thing can be done, and then we shall find
the way."
Mr. Lincoln delivered another speech in the House of Repre
sentatives, on the 27th of July, 1848 — the session having been
prolonged until the 14th of August, long after the presidential
nominations of that year had been made — ^his subject on this
occasion being the main issues of the canvass, and the relative
merits' of the candidates. Gen. Taylor and Mr. Cass. On the
constantly recurring question concerning the restriction of
slavery — on which a third party had this year been organized
at Buffalo, with Martin Van Buren for its presidential candi
date — Mr. Lincoln spoke as follows: "I am a Northern man,
or, rather, a Western Free-State man, with a constituency I
believe to be, and with personal feelings I know to be, against
the extension of slavery. As such, and with what information
I have, I hope and believe. Gen. Taylor, if elected, would not
veto the [Wilmot] proviso ; but I do not Jcnow it. Yet, if I
knew he would, I still would vote for him. I should do so,
because, in my judgment, his election alone can defeat Gen.
Cass ; and because, should slavery thereby go into the territory
we now have, just so much will certainly happen by the election
of Cass; and, in addition, a course of policy leading to new
wars, new acquisitions of territory, and still further extensions
of slavery." To the charge that the Whig party had "always
opposed" the war with Mexico, he replied, after re-affirming
the opinion that it was "unnecessarily and unconstitutionally"
begun by President Polk : " But if, when the war had begun,
and had become the cause of the country, the giving of our
money and our blood, in common with yours, was support of
the war, then it is not true that we have always opposed the
war. With few individual exceptions, you have constantly had
our votes here for all the necessaiy supplies. And, more than
this, you have had the services, the blood, and the lives of our
political brethren in every trial, and on every field. The
beardless boy and the mature man, the humble and the distin
guished — you have had them. Through suffering and death,
by disease and in battle, they have endured, and fought, and
fallen with you. Clay and Webster each gave a son, never to
be returned. From the State of my own residence, besides
11

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
other worthy but less known Whig names, we sent Marshall,
Morrison, Baker, and Hardin; they all fought, and one fell,
and in the fall of that one, we lost our best Whig man. Nor
were the Whigs few in number, or laggard in the day of
danger. In that fearful, bloody, breathless struggle at Buena
Vista, where each man's hard task was to beat back five foes,
or die himself, of the five high officers who perished, four were
Whigs." After the adjournment of Congress, Mr. Lincoln took an
active part in the presidential canvass, first visiting New Eng
land, on invitation, but giving most of his time to the North
west, where Mr. Cass was especially strong. The result partly
compensated for the disappointment experienced four years
before. Mr. Lincoln himself had declined a re-election to Con
gress, but his district gave to Gen. Taylor nearly the same
majority (over 1500) that the former had received two .years
earlier. The short session of the following winter is chiefly
memorable for the attempts made, on the one hand, to suppress
the slave-trade in the District of Columbia, and for the sugges
tion (by Mr. Lincoln himself) of a plan of gradual emancipation
in the District, with the consent of its citizens; and, on the
other hand, to secure some legislation "more effectually to
enable owners to recover their slaves escaping from one State
into another." Thus two of the questions which were promi
nently to enter into the discussions of the next succeeding
Congress, and become elements of the compromise measures
of 1850, were already engrossing attention. Mr. Lincoln's
action in regard to them was accordant with his anti-slavery
convictions, though not favorable to violent and immediate
change. He retired again to private life, with a reputation
perhaps rarely attained by any man, in a service in Congress
limited to one term ; and the more striking from the number
of distinguished political leaders who were his associates in the
House. The five years following his retirement from Congress were
years of professional activity and success, little interrupted by
participation in the excited political affairs of that period.
Already the country was entering within the penumbra of that
great eclipse of the national peace and harmony which was to
culminate ten years later. The agitation resulting from the
attempt to enlarge the area of slavery, and from the persistent

12

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
opposition to the admission of California into the Union, with
the free constitution of her choice, had finally been composed,
for the time, by the series of compromise measures passed in
1850. Both the great political parties had accepted those mea
sures as a final settlement in the presidential canvass of 1852;
and the third party, which had supported Mr. Van Buren four
years previously, was dwarfed to unimportant dimensions. The
almost unanimous voice of the people, North and South, seemed
to be for peace, and for the avoidance of any further excite
ment on the question of slavery. This superficial adjustment,
however, as the event showed, had brought no permanent
healing to the nation. The "era of good feeling" was rather
apparent than real, and unexpectedly brief in its duration.
The Kansas-Nebraska bill, reported by Mr. Douglas in the
Senate, in 1854, was the disturbing cause which re-opened the
strife that had been only smothered, not quenched. That bill,
which abrogated the pledge made to the North, on the admis
sion of Missouri as a Slave State, that slavery should never be
permitted within any portion of the territories of the United
States north of the parallel of thirty-six degrees and thirty
minutes north latitude, passed the Senate on the 26th of May,
1854, and at once aroused intense indignation everywhere
throughout the North. By dint of party discipline and the exe
cutive influence of President Pierce, combined with the general
recusancy of southern Whigs, insuring a " united South," this
act of bad faith and worse expediency was consummated by
the concurrence of the House of Representatives.
Mr. Lincoln could not remain indifferent at such an hour as
this. The Whig party, to which he had been so long attached,
was broken up by the conduct of its southern leaders. The
Democratic party was rent in twain. Mr. Douglas, returning
to his home after the close of the session, met a tempest of
disapprobation, and was unable, on his first attempt, even to
gain a hearing in Chicago, where he had so lately been the
popular favorite. A similar feeling existed in a great portion
of the State, though not manifesting itself elsewhere in a
refusal to hear his speeches designed to allay the general hosti
lity, and to bring back his old friends to his support.' Mr.
Lincoln met him in debate on the repeal of the Missouri Com
promise, in October, at Springfield, and again at Peoria, on
which latter occasion, especially, he made an argument and
13

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
appeal of great power, and roused the hearts of the people to
a truer sentiment on the great question now unavoidably be
coming; uppermost in the affairs of the nation. As Mr. Lincoln,
from this time onward, rose rapidly into the position of a
national leader in the cause thus earnestly espoused, some
brief passages from his Peoria speech, showing its spirit, are
here cited :
" Thus, with the author of the Declaration of Independence, the policy of
prohibiting slavery in new territory originated; Thus, away back of the Con
stitution, in the pure, fresh, free breath of the Revolution, the State of Virginia
and the National Congress put that policy in practice. Thus, through more
than sixty of the best years of the Republic, did that policy steadily work. to
its great and beneficent end. And thus, in those five States, and five millions
of free, enterprising people, we have before us the rich fruits of this policy.
But now, new light breaks upon ns. Now, Congress declares this ought never
to have been, and the like of it must never be again. The sacred right of self-
government is grossly violated by it. We even find some men, who drew their
first breath, and every other breath of their lives, under this very restriction,
now live in dread of absolute suffocation, if they should be restricted in the
'sacred right' of taking slaves to Nebraska. That perfect liberty they sigh
for — the liberty of making slaves of other people, — Jefferson never thought
of; their own fathers never thought of; they never thought of themselves, a
year ago. How fortunate for them they did not sooner become sensible of
their great misery ! Oh, how difficult it is to treat with respect such assaults
upon all we have ever really held sacred."
Of the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, Mr. Lincoln
said :
"I think, and shall try to show, that it is wrong; wrong in its direct effect,
letting slavery into Kansas and Nebraska, and wrong in its prospective prin
ciple, allowing it to spread to every other part of the wide world, where men
can be found inclined to take it. This declared indifference, but, as I must
think, covert real zeal for the spread of slavery, I cannot but hate. I hate it
because it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world;
enables the enemies of free institutions with plausibility to taunt us as hypo
crites; causes the real friends of freedom to doubt our sincerity; and especially
because it forces so many good men among ourselves into an open war with the
very fundamental principles of civil liberty, criticising the Declaration of
Independence, and insisting that there is no right principle of action but- self-
interest." -"The law which forbids the bringing of slaves from Africa, and
that which has so long forbidden the taking of them into Nebraska, can hardly
be distmguished ou any moral principle ; and the repeal of the former could
find quite as plausible excuses as that of the latter." — " After an angry and
dangerous controversy, the parties made friends by dividing the bone of con
tention. The one party first appropriates his own share, beyond all rower to
be disturbed m the possession of it, and then seizes the share of the other
party. It is aa if two starving men had divided their only loaf; the one hpj
]4

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
ftastily swallowed his half, and then grabbed the other's half j ast as he was
putting it to his mouth." — "Slavery is founded in the selfishness of man's
nature — opposition to it, in his love of justice. These principles are in an
eternal antagonism; and' when brought into collision so fiercely as slavery
extension brings them, shocks, and throes, and convulsions, must ceaselessly
follow. Repeal the Missouri Compromise — repeal- all compromise — repeal
the Declaration of Independence — repeal all past history — you still cannot
repeal human nature. It still will be the abundance of man's heart that
slavery extension is wrong ; and out of the abundance of his heart his mouth
will continue to speak." — "But 'Nebraska' is urged as a great Union-saving
measure. Well, I too go for saving the Union. Much as I hate slavery, I
would consent to the extension of it rather than see the Union dissolved, just
as I would consent to any great evil to avoid a greater one. But when I go to
Union-saving, I must believe, at least, that the means I employ have some
adaptation to the end. To my mind, ' Nebraska' has no such adaptation.
' It hath no relish of salvation in it.'
It is an aggravation, rather, of the only one thing which ever endangers the
Union. When it came upon us, all was peace and quiet. ... It could
not but be expected by its author, that it would be looked upon as a measure
for the extension of slavery, aggravated by a gross breach of faith.''
In October, 1854, a new party organization (afterwards taking
the name of Republican), was formed in Illinois, as had pre
viously occurred in other States, comprising most of the old
Whig party, the Democrats opposed to the repeal of the Mis
souri Compromise, and the Free-Soil party, united on the basis
of opposition to any further extension of slavery. Though
late in the field, this party gained a substantial triumph in the
autumn elections, carrying five out of the nine Congressional
districts, and choosing forty members of the lower branch of
the State Legislature, to thirty-five Democrats. The State
Senate was not gained; but the Democratic strength was so
reduced that there was a majority of two, on joint ballot,
against the Nebraska Democrats. This result was important
from the fact that the Legislature was to elect a United States
Senator for the term commencing on the 4th of March, 1855,
in place of James Shields. The Anti-Nebraska party generally
favored the election of Mr. Lincoln to the Senatorship. It
required, however, the votes of certain Democratic Senators,
chosen two years earlier, who were reluctant to break away
altogether from the party that elected them, though opposed to
any candidate favoring the policy of Mr. Douglas. On the
first ballot (in February, 1855), Mr. Lincoln led his Democratic
opponent, Gen. Shields, four votes. After several ballots, Mr
15

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
Lincoln generously withdrew his name, rather than furi;her
hazard the result, and his friends gave their votes to Judge
Trumbull, an Anti-Nebraska Democrat, who was elected on
the tenth ballot. The sacrifice of the hopes entertained of the
elevation of Mr. Lincoln to .the position they deemed him so
eminently fitted to fill, was a sore personal disappointment to
his friends, but it abated nothing from his and their devotion
to the cause in which he was still the acknowledged leader.
In 18.5,6 the Republican party was fully organized, and in the
presidential canvass of that year, Mr. Lincoln took an active
pari. His own State elected Col. Bissell, the candidate of both
the Republicans and "Americans," to the Governorship; but
through a division of the strength of these two parties between
Fremont and Fillmore, the electoral vote was given, by a small
jjlurality, to Buchanan.
The quiet which was for a time anticipated, following the
election of Mr. Buchanan, was again disturbed by the same
aggressive power which had forced the repeal of the Missouri
Compromise. The territory of Kansas had been made a de
batable ground between freedom and slavery by that repeal,
and the struggle had been protracted and violent. At length,
it became manifest that the Free-State men were in a decided
majority, and that an anti-slavery constitution was demanded
by the people of Kansas. Under these circumstances, unscru
pulous pro-slavery leaders determined on a scheme of force and
fraud, to defeat the very "popular sovereignty" to which they
had professedly appealed. They were backed by nearly every
Southern Senator and Representative in Congress, and by the
active influence of Mr. Buchanan's Administration. A pro-
slavery constitution was promulgated at Lecompton, the terri
torial capital, which became a by-word of political chicanery
and falsehood. No well-informed man doubted the honest
sentiment of the .actual residents of the territory to be largely
preponderant on the side of a free constitution. So palpably
unjust and absurd was the attempt to force a recognition of the
Lecompton Constitution, in spite of the known facts of the
case, that Mr. Douglas himself, and a large number of Demo
crats with him, broke with the Administration on this issue.
While this question was as yet undisposed of in Congress —
on the 21st of April, 1858 — the friends of Mr. Douglas, secur
ing the control of the party machinery in spite of hostile Ad-
16

7«lBRAHAM LINCOLN.
ministration influences, nominated a State ticket at Springfield,
and endorsed the action of Douglas and his Anti-Lecompton
associates. The great stake in the approaching State canvass
was the senatorship for six years, to be determined by the
Legislature to be chosen in November. Mr. Douglas, with the
now powerful Republican organization against him, and the
influence of Buchanan's Administration adverse to his re-elec
tion, boldly entered the arena, when others would have
despaired. On the other hand, the Republicans were now
hopeful of securing a Senator of their own faith in his place ;
and in their State Convention, held on the 16th of June, they
unanimously declared Mr. Lincoln to be their " first and only
choice" for that place. In a speech made on that occasion,
Mr. Lincoln sounded the key-note of the canvass in these ever
memorable words :
" We are now far on into tho fifth year, since a' policy was initiated with the
avowed object, and confident promise, of putting an end to slavery agitation.
Under the operation of that policy, that agitation was not only not ceased, but
has constantly augmented. In my opinion, it will not cease until a crisis
shall have been reached and passed. ' A house divided against itself cannot
stand.' I believe this Government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and
half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the
house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all
one thing, or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will- arrest the
further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief
that it is in the course of ultimate extinction, or its advocates will push it
forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new —
North as well as South."
The long canvass whieh followed attracted the attention of
the whole countiy, the speeches on each side being published
at length in the newspapers, and the contest rose into national
importance. Collected in a volume, these speeches and debates
of Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Douglas, reported by their respective
friends and revised by each, have been widely read, finding
special favor with the adherents of the former, who were con
tent to le^ve both disputants to be judged by their own words.
From the close of this canvass, in November, Mr. Lincoln had
a national reputation, as one of the chief men of his party.
Beaten by a small majority of the legislative vote, through the
peculiarities of the representative apportionment, he had a
clear majority of the popular vote in Illinois. Mr. Douglas
was re-elected, but at the expense of such concessions to the
17

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
Bentiments of his opponent and of the people of his State, as
lost him forever the compact Democratic strength of the South,
in support of his aspirations to the Presidency. The persistent
demand of the Northern Democracy for his nomination at
Charleston, broke that party in twain, and left a comparatively
easy victory to the Republicans.
Mr. Lincoln, who had now a profitable practice at the bar,
not seriously interrupted by these occasional episodes in poli
tics, made two able speeches in Ohio, in September, 1859, and
another at Cooper Institute in New York City, on the 27th of
February, 1860 — one of the ablest of all his public addresses.
At the Republican National Convention, which assembled in
Chicago, on tne 16th of May following, he proved to be the
favorite candidate of the people for the Presidency, receiving
the votes of a majority of the delegates on the third ballot.
The Democratic party in the North chiefly supported Mr.
Douglas — in the South, Mr. Breckinridge. The canvass was
still further complicated, by an "American" nominee, in the
person of Mr. Bell of Tennessee. The Southern leaders began
now openly to avow their Disunion purposes, in the event of a
Republican triumph — on the very issues which they themselves
had forced — and all the more earnestly was this determination
proclaimed as the election of Mr. Lincoln became more cer
tain. This insurrectionary policy, under the guise of Seces
sion — supposed to have a greater plausibility than a confessedly
direct revolt — had long been maturing. For thirty years, it
had been carefully nursed in South Carolina especially, and in
1850 had found an open advocate in Jefferson Davis, then a
candidate for Governor of Mississippi. On his State he had
already entailed lasting disgrace, by drawing her people into
the criminal dishonesty of repudiating her solemn pecuniary
obligations. This agitator, in origin as humble as Abraham
Lincoln, had come to be the most prominent champion of the
aristocratic slaveholding interest, which affected to sneer at the
"poor white" of the South, whoiii the people now raised to
the highest political power.
Mr. Lincoln received the electoral vote of every Free State
save New Jersey, which gave him four votes and Mr. Dpuglas
three. Mr. Breckinridge had the electoral vote of every Slave-
holding State except Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, which
gave majorities for Mr. Bell, and Missouri, which voted for Mr.
18

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
Douglas. The aggregate electoral vote for Abraham Lincoln
was 180 ; for John C. Breckinridge, 72 ; for John Bell, 39 ; and
for Stephen A. Douglas, 12. Every State had participated in
the election, and was honorably, no less than legally, bound to
abide the result. But many weeks before the electoral votes
were officially canvassed, the pretended work of Secession had
commenced, and the final organization of a complete revolt of
the slaveholding States was pressed to a conclusion. Mr. Bu
chanan, while denying the Constitutional right of Secession,
had proclaimed, in his December message, his concession that
he could do nothing to prevent its consummation. The zeal
for involving every Southern State in the rebellion was conse
quently quickened, that the three months of his Administration
remaining might find this audacious attempt fully recognized.
South Carolina, the mother of this heinous plot, led off with
an "ordinance of Secession" On the 20th of December, 1860.
On the 9th of January, 1861, Mississippi, obedient to the
prompting of Jefferson Davis, responded by a similar act.
Alabama, Florida and Georgia followed the example in quick
succession. Louisiana, by dint of falsehood and fraud, was
made to utter a similar voice on the 28th of January. The
State of" Texas, at last breaking over the wholesome restraints
imposed by Gov. Houston, was added to the roll of Secession
on the 1st of February. One after another, in haughty gran
deur, the delegations from these several States withdrew from
Congress. The rebellion had thus spread through seven States,
which, by representatives assembled at Montgomery, Alabama,
on the 6th of February, organized a "Southern Confederacy,"
under a temporary constitution, Negro slavery being its chief
corner-stone, with Jefferson Davis for President, and Alexander
H. Stephens for Vice President. The spread of the revolt was
now apparently arrested for a time, the Confederacy receiving
no new accessions from the eight remaining slaveholding
States — in which, however, emissaries and agitators were
busily at work — during the next two months.
Mr. Lincoln was duly inaugurated as President of the United
States, on the 4th of March, 1861. His inaugural addr,ess — a
production, of rare ability and of ever increasing historic value —
breathes, while not wanting in manly firmness, the tenderest
spirit of peace, persuasion, entreaty. While calmly stating the
obligations he has assumed in taking his official oath, he pro-
19

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
poses the utmost possible concessions within the limits permitted
him, and declares that " there need be no bloodshed or violence,
and there shall be none, unless it is forced upon the national
authority." He argues for peace with impassioned earnest
ness : " Physically speaking, we cannot separate ; we cannot
remove our respective sections from each other, nor build an
impassable wall between them. A husband and wife may be
divorced, and go out of the presence and beyond the reach of
each other ; but the different parts of our country cannot do
this. They cannot but remain face to face ; and intercourse,
either amicable or hostile, must continue between them. Is it
possible, then, to make that intercourse more advantageous or
more satisfactory after separation than before? Can ^liens
make treaties easier than friends can make laws ? Can treaties
be more faithfully enforced between aliens than laws can
among friends? Suppose you go to war, you cannot fight
always ; and when, after much loss on both sides, and no gain
on either, you cease fighting, the identical questions as to terms
of intercourse are again upon you."
Words were vain to stay the hot madness of the revolt. Fu
tile were the concessions proposed by the Peace Conference,
and by the Corwin Amendment to the Constitution, forever
prohibiting any interference with slaveiy in the States. Even
the Crittenden Compromise, practically surrendering all oppo
sition to the extension of slavery, was spurned. Nothing but
the impossible concession of Disunion would be listened to by
the rebel leaders. Their chief anxiety now was to draw the
other slaveholding States into the vortex of their crime. For
this end. Fort Sumter was attacked on the 12th of April, and
its slender but gallant garrison of United States troops under
Anderson was forced, by armed traitors one hundred times
greater in number, and by a series of surrounding batteries, to
surrender on the 14th. This deed, inaugurating civil war, was
less potent in the South than was at first hoped, but it gained
four more of the slaveholding States to the Secession cause —
Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas. This was
the utmost accession which the Rebellion was to gain., Mary
land, Delaware, Kentucky and Missouri could neither be per
suaded nor forced into the fatal alliance of crime. This rebel
act of war was still more effective in harmonizing the North,
which was, for the time, a unit in the support of the Govern-

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
ment, sinking all party ties in loyal devotion to the flag of the
Union. President Lincoln at once called into the field, by his procla
mation of April 15, 1861, an army of 75,000 volunteers. The
response was prompt and hearty. Nearly as many more — of
volunteers and regulars combined — were called out on the 3(]
of May. Men were offered in such numbers, that many regi
ments were declined. Congress was assembled in extra session,
on the 4th of July, and provided for calling out 500,000 volun
teers. A rebel force was meanwhile pushed forward to occupy
Manassas Junction, controlling the communications from Wash
ington towards Richmond, Lynchburg and the Shenandoah
Valley, and menacing the Capital. Alexandria and Arlington
Heights were occupied by Government forces on the 24th of
May ; an advance was made into Western Virginia from Ohio,
on the 26th ; Cairo, Illinois, was garrisoned somewhat earlier ;
and about the 1st of June, a loyal army, under Gen. Lyon, was
put in the field in Missouri. Thus the long line of operations,
stretching from the Potomac to the farther side of the Missis
sippi, and the fields of action, during a destructive war no
longer avoidable, were indicated in outline.
To follow these events will be the work of the historian for
ages to come. Even a brief summary would require a volume.
Never was war conducted on a grander scale, or in a nobler
cause than that in which Mr. Lincoln, as the chosen ruler of
the people, successively sent forth his hundreds of thousands
to battle for the nation's life and for the rights of humanity.
The disaster at Bull Run, on the 21st of July, 1861, was fol
lowed by the fruitless campaign on the Peninsula and before
Richmond, in 1862. Successes in West Virginia, Missouri, and
Tennessee, and the capture of New Orleans, partly relieved the
depressing effect of these misfortunes in Eastern Virginia,
where the main rebel army, under Lee, was encountered.
Mr. Lincoln's mind was early directed to the consideration
of the relations of slavery to the war, not only as its funda
mental cause, but also as one of the chief elements of strength or
weakness to the rebels, as his own treatment of it should deter-
minfe. Besides, he was by no means indifferent — as seen in
what has already been quoted from his utterances ,of years
before — to that impulse of justice which demands that the
oppressed shall be relieved of their burdens, and their wrongs
21

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
redressed by the strong hand of power. "If slavery is not
wrong, nothing is wrong," had been his earnest conviction
from his earliest recollection. Assurances and concessions
made to a defiant oligarchy, as an inducement for them to
cease agitation and remain good citizens, were no longer just
restraints on his actions, when all such proffers had been con
temptuously scouted, and every right and privilege under the
Constitution forfeited by overt acts of treason. In the exercise
of his legitimate authority as commander-in-chief of the army
and navy, he at length determined to strike a fatal blow at the
very root of the insurrection — slavery itself — at once gaining
a high military advantage, and improving the opportunity to
rid the nation forever of an institution incompatible with its
harmonious existence. He issued his Proclamation of Eman
cipation, on the 22d day of September, 1862, which was put in
full force on the 1st day of January, 1863. From this act dates
the downfall of slavery in the United States. Its anticipated
effect was not pver-estimated. It was the one thing that needed
to be done. It accomplished its ends.
The year 1863 beheld the Mississippi river regained, by the
decisive victories at Vicksburg and Port Hudson; the army
of Lee hurled back defeated and dispirited from Gettysburg ;
and East Tennessee occupied by our forces. Half the rebel
territory was already reclaimed ; but the formidable armies of
Lee, at Orange Court-House, Virginia, and of Johnston, at
Dalton, Georgia, were still confronting the armies of Meade, in
the East, and of Grant, in the West, as they went into winter
quarters at the close of the year. The navy, meanwhile, had
successfully maintained the blockade proclaimed by President
Lincoln, along the entire coast, with only such occasional
evasions, on the part of English-built vessels, chiefly, as were
to be expected. Foreign complications, which Davis had
eagerly desired, and his numerous emissaries labored for, were
skilfully avoided. The popular elections, which had gone
adversely in many States in 1862, after a season of military
failures, had now been favorable to the Administration, return
ing a Congress which supported Mr. Lincoln's policy ^con
trary to the example of the previous twenty years, in the choice
of a Congress for the last half of a Presidential term.
The military preparations on both sides were energetic and
earnest, and the resumption of active operations in the Spring

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
of 1864 was looked forward to with an anxious interest, in the
hope that the season would not pass without decisive results.
Congress had revived the office of Lieutenant-General, and the
President had, early in March, appointed Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
to that position, with the chief military command. Leaving
the Western forces to the direction of Gen.- Sherman, the Lieu
tenant-General gave his immediate personal attention to affairs
in Virginia. The main object to be gained was the envelop
ment aud crushing of the principal army, .under Lee, while
Sherman penetrated the interior of the States of Georgia and
the Carolinas. From the Rapidan to the Appomattox, many a
sanguinary conflict attested the determination of the loyal
forces, and the desperation of their foe. The Wilderness,
Spottsylvania, and Cold Harbor, are flelds saturated with blood ;
and they will be ever memorable for the unyielding tenacity
and valor with which Meade and his men, obedient to the will
of the Lieutenant-General, steadily pushed forward in the
great closing work of the war. At Petersburg, Lee was closely
occupied — only sending out an invading expedition into the
Shenandoah Valley to be utterly discomfited by Sheridan —
while Sherman fought his way to Atlanta, di'iving Johnston
before him, and made his grand march to the sea at Savannah,
and thence through the Carolinas. Then came, after quick,
shai-p battle, under Grant and Meade, the capture of Peters
burg, the fall of Richmond, the flight of Davis, the surrender
of Lee, and the capitulation of all the lesser rebel generals and
armies. Valuable aids — • brilliant services — were not wanting
in other quarters. Rosecrans and Pleasanton brought Price's
invasion of Missouri to an inglorious end. Thomas and Scho
field sent the remniint of Hood's routed legions flying from
Tennessee. The naval squadron under Porter and the military
contingent under Terry gained a brilliant victory at Fort
Fisher, followed by the occupation of Wilmington, and an end
of blockade-running. Admiral Farragut gained brilliant vic
tories at Mobile. Charleston, the mother city of the confede
rate usurpation, now little else than a desolation, silccumbed to
the arms of the Government it had defled and provoked by the
assault on Fort Sumter. The closing events moved in rapid
and orderly succession, until the last rebel was disarmed.
Necessarily, the all-engrossing business of Mr. Lincoln's Ad
ministration, during this entire period, was the dread work of
23

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
war, and his chief public acts and utterances had a relation
thereto. It was a time of domestic insurrection and public
danger, such as called for the suspension of the writ of habeas
corpus, as expressly provided in the Constitution, and compelled
a resort to martial law, in many cases, and to military arrests.
Mr. Lincoln was denounced for these procedures — in which,
if he erred, it was perhaps in too great moderation — by
many who wished the rebellion to succeed, or who desired
impunity in obstructing the Government in its legitimate work.
A portion of those who originally constituted the Republican
party complained that he did not go faster and farther in the
punishment of treason and in dealing with slavery. He had
his own views of the mode in which his work should be done,
and steadily followed such indications of duty as he clearly
saw. His public papers, his letters, and his occasional addresses,
always showed how intimate were his sympathies with the
people, and how unreservedly he was willing to confide all his
public actions, and even opinions, to their judgment. He
rejoiced in the practical advancement of emancipation, by which
Missouri, West Virginia, and Maryland became Free States,
while the leaven was steadily working in Tennessee, Louisiana,
Arkansas, and elsewhere. He gladly signed the joint resolu
tion of Congress, providing for a constitutional amendment
forever prohibiting slavery in every part of the United States
and throughout its jurisdiction. He early recognized the man
hood of the Negro by putting arms in his hand. He initiated
a policy for restoring the Rebel States to nominal relations
with the Government, and proclaimed a liberal amnesty to
those — with excepted classes — who had incurred the penalties
of treason. He approved a confiscation act, after its original
terms had been somewhat softened by Congress, intended to
exact from the authors of the war some partial compensg-tion,
at least, for the pecuniary effects of their crimes.
In the choice df his Cabinet, Mr. Lincoln aimed to secure a
fair representation from among the most eminent party leaders.
Hon. W. H. Seward, of New York, was made Secretary of
State ; Hon. S. P. Chase, of Ohio, Secretary of the Treasury ;
Hon. S. Cameron, of Pennsylvania, Secretary of War; and
Hon. E. Bates, of Missouri, Attorney-General. Each of these
distinguished gentlemen had been prominently named as a can
didate for the Presidency. Hon. G. Welles, of Connecticut, was
24

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
appointed Secretary of the Navy; Hon. O. B. Smith, of Indiana,
Secretary of the Interior; and Hon. Montgomery Blair, of
Maiyland, Postmaster-General. Mr. Cameron resigned and was
succeeded by Hon. E. M. Stanton, of Pennsylvania, on the 11th
of January, 1862. Mr. Chase resigned in June, 1864, and was
succeeded by Hon. W. P. Fessenden, of Maine, who returned
to the Senate on the 4th of March, 1865, Hon. Hugh McCulloch
of Indiana, being appointed in his stead. Mr. Smith was suc
ceeded, in January, 1868, by Hon. J. P. Usher, of Indiana,
whom Hon. James Harlan, of Iowa, was appointed to succeed,
after Secretary McCulloch entered the Cabinet. Hon. William
Dennison, of Ohio, succeeded Mr. Blair in the autumn of 1864.
Hon. James Speed, of Kentucky, was appointed Attorney-Gen
eral, on the resignation of Judge Bates on the 1st of December,
1864. Mr. Chase was appointed Chief-Justice of the Supreme
Court of the United States, in place of Judge Taney, who died
in November, 1864.
In June, 1864, Mr. Lincoln received from the Republican
Union party a unanimous nomination for re-election, with Gov.
Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, as the candidate for Vice-Presi
dent. The opposing candidates were Gen. George B. McClellan
and the Hon. George H. Pendleton. • The judgment of the
people was fairly taken on Mr. Lincoln's official acts, and the
result was a most gratifying approval. Since the' re-election of
Jackson, in 1832, no President had been re-elected. It had
never before happened to a President from the Free States to
be chosen for a second term. The official canvass, on the 8th
of February, 1865, showed that Mr. Lincoln had received 212
electoral votes, and Gen. McClellan but 21. Thus emphatically
did the people ratify his past administration, and extend him
their confidence for the future.
Space has been wanting for any extended quotations from
the public papers of President Lincoln. His brief address, on
the 19th of November, 1863, at the consecration of a National
Cemet'eiy for the heroes fallen at Gettysburg, must not be
omitted here. It is in these words :
" Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this conti
nent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that
all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing
whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and dedicated, can long endure.
We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We are met to dedicate a por-
25

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
tion of it as a final resting-place of those who here gave their lives that that
nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
" But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot
hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here,
have consecrated it far above our power to add or detract. The world will
little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what
they did here. It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the
unfinished work that they have thus far so nobly carried on. It is rather for
us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these
honored dead we take increased devotion to the cause for which they here gave
the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that the dead
shall not have died in vain — that the nation shall, under God, have a new
birth of freedom, and that the Government of the people, by the people, and
for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
Mr. Lincoln's appreciation of the services of the men who
bravely exposed their lives in the field to sustain the Govern
ment and to uphold the great principles of republican liberty,
was always grateful and profound. On almost every public
occasion he acknowledged these services, and often in the ten
derest terms. He grudged no General his fame, and took care
that no one should be robbed of his just due through any credit
given to himself. And above all human instrumentalities, he
recognized the overruling hand of Providence. He had a firm
faith in the righteousness of his cause, and in a God of justice
and benevolence, whose designs for humanity w^ould not permit
the overthrow of the American Republic.
On taking his oath of office for the second time, on the 4th '
of March, 1865, a devout tone of reverence and trust, hardly
paralleled in any other public utterances of any ruler, pervaded
his brief inaugural address. Spoken in the assured confidence,
of a speedy end of the military power of the rebellion, it mani
fested a calm, generous, forgiving temper, and an exalted
grandeur of Christian character, worthy of the martyr who
was about to lay down his life as a crowning sacrifice on the
altar of his country.
"The progress of our arms," he said, "upon which all else chiefly depends,
is as well known to the public as to myself; and it is, I trust, reasonably satis
factory and encouraging. With high hope for the future, no prediction in
regard to it is ventured. On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago,
all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded
it — all sought to avert it. While the inaugural address was being delivered
from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent
agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war — seeking to dissolve
the Union and divide effects by negotiation. Both parties deprecated war • but
26

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive ; and the other
would accept war rather than let it perish. And the war came. , Both read the
same Bible, and pray to the same God ; and each invokes His aid against the
other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's
assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces ; but
let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be
answered — that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His
own purposes. ' Woe unto the world because of offences ! fijr it needs be that
offences come ; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh.'
" If wo shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offences which,
in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued
through His appointed time. He now wills to remove, and that He gives to
both North and South this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the
offence came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attri
butes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him ?
"Fondly do we hope — fervently do we pray — that this mighty scourge of
war may soon pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the
wealth piled by the bondman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil
shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid
with another drawn by the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so
still it must be said, 'The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous
altogether.' " With malice towards none ; with charity for all ; with firmness in the
right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we
are in ; to bind up the nation's wounds ; to care for him who shall have borne
the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan — to do all which may achieve
and cherish a just and a lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations."
Under the brightest auspices, he entered upon his second
term. Joyful days of victory and assured peace soon followed.
He lived to see the recovery of the last of the fortresses that
had been wrested from his rightful possession by traitorous
hands, and to witness the overflowing of popular joy at the
taking of Richmond and the surrender of Lee. On the 14th
of April, the same flag, now doubly glorified, was raised over
Fort Sumter by the loyal hand which had four years before
been compelled by treason to pull it down. The circle of the
war was complete. The Union was saved. Universal freedom
was secured. The Great Republic stood forth fairer and
stronger than ever, as a light of salvation to the nations of the
whole world. In the midst of this triumph, at the summit of
his fame, Abraham Lincoln was basely slain by an impious
assassin. Sitting in a private box at a theatre, with his wife
and friends — past the hour of ten o'clock on the night of the
14th of April — the stealthy step behind him was unheeded,
until the fatal pistol-shot was fired, and the bullet lodged deeply
27

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
in his brain. He died on the following morning, amid universal
lamentations. The unfeigned grief of the people, the unparal
leled manifestations of their sorrow, followed him to his grave
near his former home. The world abroad was profoundly
moved at his death, and joined in universal eulogiums upon
the Departed, whose worth they had finally learned to value.
In was the peculiar fortune of Mr. Lincoln that,- born in a
Slave State, and entertaining no more radical views on the sub
ject of slavery than did the earlier Southern statesmen them
selves, his whole political career should be prominently identified
with anti-slavery movements, and the most memorable act of
his life, the Proclamation which gave the extinguishing blow
to slavery itself. He had a high moral nature, combining spot
less purity of life with the clearest sense of right and a universal
sympathy with all his fellow-men. Because the Negro was
inferior, was not to him any warrant for refusing respect to his
rights as a man. The colored race had come to look upon him
as their special champion and protector. But he never made
any ostentatious exhibition of- zeal in their cause.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN was, of all American Presidents, the
truest representative of his nation — the growth of its varied
elements of life, and the embodiment of its ideas. He was
lofty in stature, sinewy and strong in body, clear, vigorous,
self-reliant in mind ; melancholy in expression of countenance,
plaintive in tone of voice, yet full of humor and ready to over-
fiow with genuine laughter ; simple, yet hearty and winning in
his manners, abounding in kindness, forgiving in temper;
honest in all things, affectionate toward all men, and devoutly
trustful in God. He seemed surprisingly near to those who
approached him, and cared for nothing so much, in his worldly
life, as to be in accord with the people. From a station almost
the humblest, he rose to a summit of power the very highest
in the nation, and grandly sustained himself there at a period
the most eventful the republic has ever seen, or perhaps will
ever see. He made his way upward by no arts or intrigue, by
no demagogism or deceit. Alwaj-s estimated below rather
than above his true worth, at each stage of his career, his
advancement was fairly earned and solid. The superficial
judgment which pronounces him good but not great, will
hardly gain even temporary currency, and will be lost from
remembrance in tho admiring reverence of coming ages.
28

Daoiierreolype by M.B.Brad.y

Jingravedlry Ji Wm-techurtai-

Wo m. (Srm.£^MTc

Entered Hccorduig-toAct nL Coiigreaa in. Ike year 1265 ¦byl?ice,Hu.lterfeC°in the clerta oHice of -theOJiatict court ofthe UnitRft Statesiti andforftieeaslanaiatrlct of Pfinnsjlvaiul'-

ULYSSES SIDNEY GEANT,

A LITTLE more than forty years ago, Jesse Grant, a quiet,
earnest, industrious young farmer, of Point Pleasant, Ohio,
married Hannah Simpson, a thoughtful, serious, frugal woman,
who was calculated, in all respects, to make just such a wife
as a good man, exposed to the hardships of pioneer life, would
desire. On the 22d of April, 1822, they received their first
born child, whom they named Ulysses Sidney Grant, Little
did this worthy couple imagine that the helpless babe they so
fondly in their lowly home took into their arms would acquire
a renown which would fill two hemispheres,
It is surprising how early in infant life character is often
developed. "Wlien Ulysses was but about two years old, his
father was one day standing near his door, with the child in
his arms. A boy came along with a loaded pistol. ^Curious
to see how the babe would stand the fire, he asked the father
to let the little fellow pull the trigger. They curled the tiny
finger around it, the child pulled, and the pistol was dis
charged. Delighted with the loud report, he exclaimed, with
sparkling eyes, " Fick it again !" A neighbor, who chanced to
be standing by, remarked, "That boy will make a general.
He neither dodged nor winked,"
The game imperturbable spirit has been characteristic of
General Grant frouj that hour to this. Though a man of keen
sensibilities, he moves through the wildest scenes of terror,
tumult, and blood with apparently a serene spirit. From all
the anecdotes which are related respecting his childhood, we
learn that he was a brave, noble-hearted, magnanimous boy,
never disposed to quarrel, yet never disposed to shrink from
any danger in defence of the right. Cowper writes beauti
fully,- " 'Tis not my boast that I deduce my birth
From loins enthroned, and rulers of the earth;
But higher far my proud pretensions rise',
The child of parents pass'd into the skies."
1

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
Young Grant enjoyed the inestimable privilege of being the
son of Christian parents. He was educated to love God and
to revere religion. Those who have known him from infancy
say that he has never been heard to utter a profane or an im
modest word. "With this conscientiousness there was developed
a spirit of chivalry, which indicated true nobility of soul, even
when that spirit, in the ardor of youth, led to deeds which
Christianity perhaps would not approve.
"Your "Washington was a traitor," said a Canadian cousin
to young Grant, when he was about twelve years old. "Repeat
that," replied the youthful patriot, with flashing eye, "and
I'll whip you." The pluck of both boys was up. A fierce
battle ensued. The young Canadian was soundly thrashed.
Grant's Christian mother, proud of her boy, as she accom
panied him to his bed that night and heard him repeat his
prayers, endeavored to teach him that our Savior urges the
forgiveness of personal injuries.
"When seventeen years of age, Ulysses entered the military
academy at "West Point. The character of the mother and of
the boy is alike illustrated in the following extracts from a
letter which he wrote his mother soon after his arrival at the
academy. It was dated the 4th of June, 1839.
" My dear Mother : — I Lave occasionally heen called to be separated
from you; but never did I feel the full force and effect of this separation
as I do now. I seem alone in the world without my mother. There have
been so many ways in which you have advised me, when in the quiet of
home I have been pursuing my studies, that you cannot tell how much I
miss you.
" I was so often alone with you, and you spoke to me so frequently in
private, that the solitude of my situation here at the academy, among my
silent books and in my lonely room, is all the more striking. It reminds
me the more forcibly of home, and most of all, my dear mother, of you.
But, in the midst of all this, your kind instructions and admonitions are
ever present with me. I trust they may never he absent from me as long
as I live. How often do I think of them ! and how well they strengthen
me in every good word and work !
" My dear mother, should I progress well with my studies at West
Point, and become a soldier for my country, I am looking forward with
hope to have you spared to share with me in any advancement I may
make. I see now, in looking over the records here, how much American
soldiers of the right stamp are indebted to good American mothers.
When they go to the field, what prayers go with them ! what tender testi-

ULYSSES SIDNEY GRANT.
monials of affection and counsel are in their knapsacks ! I am struck, in
looking over the history of the noble struggle of our fathers for national
independence, at the evidence of the good influence exerted upon them
by the women of the Kevolution. Ah ! my beloved friend, how can the
present generation ever repay the debt it owes the patriots of the past for
the sacrifices they have so freely and richly made for us ? We may ¦well
ask, Would our country be what it is now, if it had not been for the great
ness of our patriotic ancestors ? Let me hear from you by letter as often
as convenient. " " Faithfully and most lovingly, your son, " Ulysses."
Again he wrote, to his father, in terms so noble, and seem
ingly so prophetic, that we cannot refrain from transcribing
them. " I am rendered serious hy the impressions which crowd upon me here
at West Point. My thoughts are frequently occupied with the hatred I
am made to feel towards traitors to my country, as I look around me on
the memorials that remain of the black-hearted treason of Arnold. I am
full of a conviction of scorn and contempt, which my young and inex
perienced pen is unable to write in this letter, towards the conduct of any
man who at any time could strike at the liberties of such a nation as ours.
" If ever men should he found in our Union base enough to make the
attempt to do this, — if, like Arnold, they should secretly seek to sell our
national inheritance for the mess of pottage of wealth or power or section,
— ^West Point sternly reminds them of what you, my father, would have
your son do. As I stand here in this national fort, a student of arms
under our country's flag, I know full well how you would have me act in
such an emergency. I trust my future conduct in such an hour would
prove worthy the patriotic instructions you have given."
Such was the character of Ulysses Grant as a boy. His
character as a man has not disappointed the promise which his
youth gave. Entering "West Point from a log school-house in
the then almost frontier State of Ohio, some of the more aris
tocratic rnembers of his class ventured to sneer at what they
regarded as his lowly origin. One day, at a sham parade of
the company, there seemed to be quite a disposition, from the
captain through the ranks, to make fun of Grant. Stepping in
front, he tossed down his cap and coat, and, turning to the
captain, said, with flashing eye, " If you do not know your
duty better than this, I will teach it to you." Grant was a
well-built, vigorous, athletic boy; and the Captain, who had in-
3

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
suited him, and who could hot retreat from such a challenge,
was soon thoroughly punished and laid sprawling upon the
ground. Grant then turned to the next in command, and
said, "Lieutenant, as you have shared in this fun, I am how
ready for you." The lieutenant soon shared the fate of the
captain. Grant then, with his eyes flashing fire, and his whole
soul roused, turned to the rest of the company, and said, —
"Now, gentlemen, you understand me. I am for the pro-
tection of my rights ; and I will protect them if I have to
grapple in turn every member of this company."
A shout of applause rose. " Three cheers for Ohio pluck!"
some one shouted. They were given with a will. Thus the
amende honorable Was made; and the young hero^ in com
memoration of his braveiy, was ever after called " Company
Grant." Graduating in 1843, young Grant soon accompanied the
United States troops, as lieutenant of infantry, into Mexico.
He was an active participant in almost every conflict during
the Mexican campaign. At the battle of Monterey, some of
our troops were hemmed in at the end of a long street. Their
ammunition was exhausted. There was no egress for supply
but through the street, many of the houses on one side of
which were filled with Mexican riflemen. "Will any one
volunteer to run this gauntlet ? Ulysses S. Grant modestly
stepped forward, and said, "I will go."
Confessedly the boldest rider in the army, he selected a fleet
horse, and, adopting the Indian stratagem, threw himself on
one side of the horse, caught one foot in the crupper, twisted
the mane around one hand, and, thus suspended, dashed
through the streets. In two hours he returned with reinforce
ments. At the close of the Mexican war, young Grant, then raised
to the rank of captain, found the listless life of a soldier in
time of peace intolerable. Resigning his commission, he pur
chased a farm near St. Louis, Missouri. He soon, of course,
tired of this monotonous life, and entered into business with his
father, under the firm of Grant and Son. Their establishment,
which embraced a tannery and the manufacture of leather in
nearly all its branches. Was located in the town of Galena,
Illinois. Here Grant was living in tranquillity and prosperity,
when traitorous guns, bombarding Sumter in April, 1861, sent

ULYSSES SIDNEY GRANT.
their direful echoes through our land. This cowardly and
treasonable outrage roused to intensity all the patriotic energies
of Captain Grant.
"Uncle Sam," said he, "has educated me for the army.
Though I have served him through one war, I do not feel that
I have yet repaid the debt. I shall, therefore, buckle on my
sword, and see him through this war too."
He went out into the streets of Galena, and, almost in an
hour, raised a company of men, and led them to Springfield.
Governor Yates received him cordially, and by swift promo
tion he passed through the grades of adjutant-general and
colonel to that of brigadier-general. The first movement of
General Grant which attracted public attention was a vigorous
onset upon Paducah, Kentucky, where the rebels had raised
treason's foul banner. General Grant indignantly tore down
the insolent flag, and raised in its stead the stars and the stripes.
His next enterprise was still more conspicuous. The patriot
army of the "West had rendezvoused at Cairo. The rebels,
twenty thousand strong, had intrenched themselves upon the
bluffs at Columbus, where their batteries commanded the
river. They had ferried across the Mississippi to Belmont, on
the western shore, eight thousand men, for the invasion of
Missouri. General Grant resolved to break up this camp.
It was the 6th of November. The night was black as ink.
Three thousand men under General Grant drifted cautiously
down the stream, and landed, in the cold, gray dawn, on the
western shore, three miles above the rebel camp. Marching
rapidly upon their unprepared and astounded foes, they m.ade
one of the sublimest charges of the war. "With gleaming
bayonets and a cry which rose loud above the tempest of
battle, the patriots leaped upon their foes. It was but a
moment, and the rebel flag was down in the dust, and the stars
and stripes were floating proudly over the conquered camp.
The torch was applied. The flames, leaping from tent, hut,
and storehouse, wrapped the whole encampment in fire, while
the rebels fled in all directions.
The rebel garrison at Columbus gazed across the river with
impotent rage upon the daring achievement. They opened
fire upon the victors with their heaviest guns, and in , frantic
haste sent troops across the river to rally the fugitives and to
cut off the retreat of the patiiots. But the heroes, having ac-

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
complished their work, bade adieu to the garrison with three
rousing cheers, and then cut their way through their swarming
foee to their boats, as the tornado rends the forest.
The next signal achievement of General Grant was the cap
ture of Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland River. After tho
capture of Fort Henry, on the Tennessee, seven thousand
rebels fled across the countiy twelve miles to Donelson. Ge
neral Grant, at the head of twenty thousand troops, pursued
them. It was winter. Snow covered the frozen ground. The
rebels, thirty thousand strong, were behind their iutrench-
ments. The patriots were on the bleak hill-sides or in the
gloomy, forest-covered ravines. The battle commenced, aided
by the gunboats under Admiral Foote, on the morning of the
12th of February, 1862. It raged almost without intermission
for three days and three nights, until the evening of the 15th.
That night the wearied patriot troops, with all preparations
made to storm the fort in the morning, slept upon their arms.
In the earliest dawn a white flag was seen emei'ging from the
rebel ramparts. It brought proposals for an armistice. "No
terms," General Grant replied, "other than an immediate and
unconditional surrender, can be accepted. I propose to move
immediately on your works." Buckner excited the derision
of the nation by the reply, " I am compelled to accept the un
generous and unchivalric terms whicli you propose."
"With gleaming arms, exultant music, and streaming banners,
the patriots entered the massive ramparts of the subjugated
rebels. This signal victory placed in the hands of the nation
not only 15,000 prisoners, 146 pieces of artillery, and 15,000
stand of small arms, but also gave us the control of the Cum
berland River. This brilliant feat elevated General Grant to
the rank of major-general. His commission was dated from
the day of the surrender of Donelson, February 16, 1862.
Scarcely had the echoes of Grant's artillery died away
among the hills ere he was again in motion. The rebels,
seventy-five thousand strong, were massed at Corinth. Ge
neral Grant, with an equal army, was on the march to attack
them. On the 4th of April, with an advance force of 35,000
men, he crossed the Tennessee River where a bend in the
stream and the vicinity of his gunboats gave him the most
favorable location for an encampment. As he was waiting
the arrival, hourly expected, of his rear-guard of 35,000 men

ULYSSES SIDNEY GRANT.
under General Buell, the rebels, with a force of nearly 70,000,
made a sudden attack upon those who had crossed the river.
It was Sunday morning. The plain was covered with fog.
In the earliest dawn, when fog and darkness were blended,
the whole rebel force, like a huge battering-ram, came plunging
¦upon our unprepared and unsuspecting centre of but 15,000
men. Then ensued scenes from which Mercy would veil her
face. Most of our troops had never seen a battle. They were
noble young men, fresh from the fireside. Their line was
overwhelmed, crushed, dispersed. The patriot fugitives fled
wildly to the river. But General Grant, undismayed, formed
new lines, planted new batteries, brought up his gunboats.
Thus the foe was held in check till dark.
In the night Buell arrived. His troops were rushed across
the river. Before the sun looked down upon them, they were
in majestic battle array. " Onward !" was the order with the first
dawning light. With crash of artillery and rattle of musketry
and shrieking shells from the gunboats, with the sweep of
horsemen and the gleam of bayonets and the flash of sabres,
and cheers which pierced through and rose high above all the
thunder roar of battle, the patriot host moved forward like
God's avenging arm. The rebels were broken, dispersed,
trampled under foot. Ten thousand of them were strewed
bleeding upon the plain, as the patriots swept like a whirlwind
over them. Scarcely did the fugitive rebels stop to look be
hind them, till, panting and exhausted, they thi-ew themselves
upon the ground behind their intrenchments at Corinth, thirty
miles away.
Soon after this the rebels rendezvoused at Vicksburg. Upon
those frowning bluffs they reared their vaunted Gibraltar.
Forts and batteries, with connecting curtains, armed with the
most effective ordnance and ganisoned by 30,000 rebels,
crowned the bluff for miles. The rebel works could only be
approached, with any hope of success, from the south or the
east. The army and the gunboats, descending the river from
Cairo, were north of the city. How could these massive bat
teries be passed ? After several unsuccessful attempts to force
the transports through the labyrinth of lakes, bayous, rivers,
and passes with which that regiOn of boundless morass is em-
bordered, General Grant secretly constructed seventy miles
of corduroy road, and marched his army through tho over-

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
shadowing forest to a point twenty miles below "Vicksburg.
Then, in a stormy night, under cover of an assault upon the
rebel batteries, he ran those batteries with his gunboats.
Then with those ti-ansports he ferried his troops across the
river at Port > Gibson. And then, in battle after battle, he
drove the rebels in^wildest confusion before him. They were
soon all hedged up within their intrenched lines at "Vicksburg,
and were there held and bombarded day and night, until on
the 4th of July they made an unconditional surrender. 37,000
rebels, including 15 general officers, were taken prisoners.
Also 150 cannon, with an immense amount of military stores,
fell' into the hands of the victor.
"When General Grant landed at Port Gibson for this glorious
campaign, "ho took," writes the lion. Mr. "Washburne, of Il
linois, who accompanied the expedition, "neither horse, , nor
orderly, nor servant, nor camp-chest, nor overcoat, nor a
blanket, nor even a clean shirt. His entire baggage for six
days was a tooth-brush. He fared like the commonest soldier
in his command, partaking of his rations and sleeping upon
the ground with no covering but the canopy of heaven."
Efforts were now to be made to rescue East Tennessee. The
gloom of Chickamauga rested on the land. The rebels, in
trenched upon a commanding eminence called Lookout
Mountain, held the patriot troops cooped up and threatened
with starvation in Chattanooga. General Grant sent General
Sherman to attack the rebels on the north point of the ridge,
and General Hooker to attack them on the south. Both of.
these assaults were feints, though to be conducted with the
utmost desperation. The real attack was to be made in the
centre, by General Grant.
Tuesday morning, November 24, 1863, dawned luridly
through clouds and rain and sheets of mist. Sherman and
Hooker hurled their columns tremendously upon the extreme
of the rebel lines. Amidst floods of rain and shouts of onset
and moans of death, amidst thunderings and lightnings and
storm-swept billows of smoke and flame, they climbed the
cliff", — towering walls above, gloomy ravines below. All day
long, till night, they fought, buried in clouds, beneath tho
banner of God and liberty.
Night came. The contending hosts slept upon their arms.
The rebels, during the night, in. preparation for the morrow'.s

ULYSSES SIDNEY GRANT.
conflict, concentrated their forces at these points of attack.
Thua their centre was weakened, as Grant intended that it
should be. The morning sun rose bright. The roar of battle
was renewed. General Grant, with his massive columns, stood
concealed behind Orchard Knob, an eminence just in front of
the centre of the ridge. The moment of crisis had now come.
The signal gun uttered its roar. As peal follows flash, and
bolt the peal, onward they plunged, up the hill, over the rocks,
into the enemy's works, each man for himself. The attenuated
rebel line recoiled, broke, fled. In just three-quarters of an
hour the rebel army was cut in two, and the victory of Look
out Mountain was gained. East Tennessee was redeemed and
Kentucky saved. All competent judges declare that this was
the most brilliant strategic and tactical movement of the war.
7000 prisoners^ 50 pieces of artillery, and a large amount of
military stores rewarded this brilliant achievement of the
patriots. The great victory of Lookout Mountain struck the rebels a
staggering blow, and placed General Grant on a footing with
the ablest generals of any country or of any age. His modesty
and generosity to his subordinates were as conspicuous as his
greatness; and few were disposed to dispute his honors. He
had now captured 90,000 prisoners of war, nearly 500 pieces
of cannon, and an almost incalculable amount of smaller arms
and military stores.
In view of these achievements, a grateful nation raised
General Grant to the highest -military position in the land.
Under the title of Lieutenant-General, conferred on the 1st of
March, 1864, he was constituted commander-in-chief of all the
armies of the United States.
" What next ?" inquired President Lincoln of General Grant,
in their 'first interview after this appointment.
"Destroy Lee's army," was the reply.
The plan was majestic. Washington was to be covered from
raid, through the Shenandoah, by General Sigeh General
Butler, after making a feint to attack Richmond by the York
and the Chickahominy, was suddenly to return and ascend the
James River to City Point, thus menacing Richmond from the
south. Sherman, in Georgia, was to press his campaign in
that department ¦with all vigor, that no reinforcements could
be sept from the rebel army there, to the aid of Lee. General

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
Grant, with Meade's army of 150,000 north of the Rapidan,
was to drag Lee's army out of their intrenchments, and either
destroy them or compel them to rush from the menacing of
Washington to the protection of their own capital.
On the night of Tuesday, May 8, General Grant crossed
the Rapidan. The next morning dawned brightly. They had
entered what is called The Wilderness. By a flank movement.
Grant was getting into the rear of his foe. Lee rushed from
his intrenchments, and endeavored to overwhelm Grant. It
was a day of terrific battle. Six thousand were struck do-wn
on either side. The rebels were beaten back.
During the night, both parties prepared to renew the conflict.
Scarcely had the sun risen ere the roar of battle began. The
billows of war surged to and fro through the jungles. The
dying and dead were everywhere. Again had the rebels been
baflled. Night closed the strife. In the darkness the rebels
fled. The patriots pursued. On Saturday night, the rebels,
having fled in a running fight about fifteen miles, made a stand
at Spottsylvania.
All day Sunday the tempest of war continued. General
Grant endeavored to drive the rebels from their intrenchments,
but in vain. Darkness closed the scene. Monday came. The
tireless leader of the patriot host allowed the foe not an hour
for repose. All day long the battle raged. Tuesday came.. It
ushered in a day of blood such as earth has seldom seen. The
rebels were intrenched at Spottsylvania. The patriots were in
a semicircle around them, six miles in arc. The artillery was
brought up.. From morning till night the field was a crater
of thunder, lightning, tumult, death. Ten thousand on each
Bide — twenty thousand in all — ^were struck down.
Wednesday, the exhausted combatants strove to regather
their energies. On Wednesday night, in the midst of a tempest.
General Grant hurled Hancock's division upon the foe. They
were driven in wild rout through the woods, losing thirty-
two guns and seven thousand prisoners. The dawn of Thurs
day morning iqflamed the battle to greater grandeur. Morn
ing, noon, afternoon, passed away, and still they fought, every
nerve strained'; bayonets were interlocked, rebel and patriot
grappled in death-throes, friend and foe, rider and horseman,
"in one red burial blent." Ten thousand fell on each side,
killed or wounded. 10

ULYSSES SIDNEY GRANT.
Night separated the combatants. The morning came, dark,
rainy. The skies wept: angels might weep. All day long the
rain fell in torrents. The dismal hours vrere spent in buiying
the dead and in taking care of the wounded. In the night
the patriot host pressed on, through storm and rain, to get in
the rear of the foe.
Another Sabbath dawned. The armies were face to face.
Both stood on the defensive; neither were in condition to
charge. It was the twelfth day of this unparalleled campaign.
Sternly looking eye into eye, both prepared for another round.
With the first dawn of Wednesday morning the battle was
renewed, by a tremendous assault upon the rebel lines. It was
in vain : the rebels were behind works too strong to be carried
by a charge. General Grant then made another flank move
ment, which compelled General Lee to abandon his- intrench
ments. The rebels hurried down to a new line on the North
Anna, All day Friday General Grant's army was upon the
march. Lee was again compelled to retire, lest Grant should
get between him and Richmond, cutting off his supplies.
With consummate skill. General Grant not only thus moved his
own army steadily on toward Richmond, but he also rendered
it impossible for Lee to turn back and assail Washington.
Saturday morning found our indomitable army fifteen miles
southeast of Spottsylvania.
The next day was the Sabbath. The roads were perfect,
the skies blue, the air invigorating, the landscape luxuriant
and blooming, while bird-songs and fragrance floated upon
the breeze. Onward, resistlessly onward, swept our army, all
the day, toward the doomed city, while an army of one hun
dred thousand men in vain endeavored to arrest their march.
Tuesday, General Grant's army crossed the North Anna, not
withstanding eveiy effort of the rebels to prevent it. Feigning
a determination to press straight on through and over the
enemy's ramparts. General Grant threw out a cloud of skir
mishers to conceal his movements, recrossed the river, marched
rapidly down toward the Pamunkey, crossed that river, and
proudly spread out his army in battle-array within sixteen
miles of Richmond.
He had now reached the famous banks of the Chickahominy.
By taking this route, Washington was perfectly safe : Lee's
army was terribly weakened by repeated battles, and the
i:

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
northern railroads, by which raids toward the north could be
effected, were destroyed. It was a brilliant plan, brilliantly
executed. For there were two objects to be accomplished:
the one was the capture of Richmond, — ^the other, and the
more important, the destruction of Lee's army.
Finding the intrenchments of the enemy in his front too
formidable to be carried hy direct assault, General Grant
moved his troops to join General Butler at Bermuda Hundreds.
The achievement of this movement, in the presence of Lee's
army, who at many points were but a few rods from him, is
one of the marvels of war. General Grant so thoroughly de
ceived the enemy that Lee had no suspicion of what he was
about. He marched his army a distance of fifty-five miles,
crossing two rivers, the Chickahominy and the James, Avithout
the loss of a gun, a wagon, and scarcely of a man.
The doom of Lee was apparently now sealed. Should he
abandon his intrenchments and attack Grant in the open field,
his destruction was sure. Should he escape to Georgia, the
loss of Richmond would be the loss of Virginia, which would
seal the fate of the Confederacy, and his runaway army, pur
sued by Grant and headed off by Sherman, would soon be
nowhere. Should he bury himself behind the intrenchments
at Richmond, he would soon learn the meaning of au ana
conda gripe, followed by the gripe of starvation, and -R'ould
inevitably find his whole army entrapped in that den of re
bellion to which he had fled for refuge.
And here at this present writing, February, 1865, we must
leave Lieutenant-General Grant. Perhaps a more momentous
weight of responsibility rests upon him now than upon any
other man in the world. He is enshrined in the heart of a
grateful nation. At every family altar he is remembered.
And even children, as they repeat their prayers at night, do
not forget to say, " O God, bless General Grant."

U

Photo, toy J Gurney ,1c S

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]D)o(S o FAMMAcSIHTo

Entcrci^ according to Act of Congress IT. th:- Year .IOCS "by Eirh.Tluilcr&Co.iiLthii derks olfics of lip DieUJd court cf the United 3late,>;jn&rnrihc ra.<;t:em dislnetof i'aurf'Jlii'-

DAYID GLASCOE FARRAGUT.
Spain and Scotland have each a vital stream current in the
veins of the Vice-Admiral, whose portrait ¦will attract the study
of every eye that lingers in this National Gallery. In the year
1776, George Farragut, a descendant of an ancient and honor
able Catalonian house, and a native of Citadella, the capital of
the island of Minorca, came to America and entered the Colonial
Army. Bravely and heartily he shared in the long struggle
for independence, rising to the rank of major. The heart of
the brave won its right to the hand of the fair. When the war
was ended, he sought a partner for life to share ¦with him the
peace of a new home. A branch of the old Scotch family of
Mclven had wandered afar and settled in North CaroUna.
Within it the Major's choice fell, and Miss Elizabeth Shine
became the wife of George Farragut. They went to Tennessee,
and, at Campbell's Station, near Knoxville, settled down to resist
the Indians and subdue the soil. Here, on the fifth of July,
1801, was born David Glascob Fakragut.
A farmer's life, in that mountainous region, seems not to
have contented the father, who had been quite a child of the
sea. He entered the navy as a sailing-master, and became the
intimate friend of the senior David Porter, who then held the
same rank. The son also was restless at his inland home, and
possessed with an intense longing for the sea. He was scarcely
nine years of age when his father consented that he should try
a sailor's life. After some delay a midshipman's warrant was
obtained for him through the gallant David Porter, who soon
became his captain.
The war of 1812 was opening, and Captain Porter fitted out
the Essex for her celebrated career under the flag of " Free
Trade and Sailor's Rights." To this famous frigate the young
midshipman was ordered, and on the 28th of October, 1812, he
sailed from the Delaware on a long and memorable cruise.
For more than a year the Essex was engaged in driving British
1

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
commerce from the Pacific waters. In March, 1814, she and
her consort, the armed prize-ship, Essex Junior, were fiercely
attacked by the British frigate Phoebe and the sloop-of-war
Cherub, in the harbor of Valparaiso, where she was entitled to
the rights of a neutral nation. On the British side there were
eighty-one guns and five hundred men ; on the American side
there were but sixty-six guns and three hundred and thirty-five
men. To make these fearful odds the more hopeless, the Essex
Junior, a mere whaling-ship converted into a war-sloop, was un
able to take any efficient part in the contest. The Essex must
flght the battle alone. For two hours and a half the battle
raged, until she was on fire the third or fourth time, her decks
were swept, her rigging shot away, her magazine threatened, and
her hull in a sinking condition. Her captain refused to strike
colors until, from her crew of two hundred and fifty-five men,
there were one hundred and fifty-five killed, wounded, and
missing. A terrible explosion between the decks showed there
was no hope, and the flag was lowered. Among the last of
those who felt compelled to give up, the ship, was young
Farragut, scarcely fourteen years old, who was in the hottest
of the flght, and whose name headed the list of slightly wounded
men. After the surrender, the prisoners were sent home on
the Essex Junior, and Farragut was one of the three midship
men, who, according to the official report, " gave an earnest of
their value to the service. . . . They are too young to be
recommended for promotion." Captain Porter became a Com
modore, and remained true to the interests of the young hero.
"When the gallant lad returned to the United States, Com
modore Porter placed him in school at Chester, Pennsylvania,
where he was taught, among other studies, the elements of
military and naval tactics. But in 1816 he was again afloat on
the flag-ship of the Mediterranean Squadron. In the chaplain,
Rev. Charles Folsom, he had the good fortune to meet an
instructor, to whom he became ardently attached, and to whom
he has generously attributed all that he knows and all that he is.
When Mr. Folsom, a worthy member of Harvard University,
was appointed Consul at Tunis, young Farragut was sent with
him. Of this most interesting period in our noble chieftain's
life, Mr. Folsom has lately written : "I describe him as he now
appeared to me by one word, 'Ariel.' , , . All needed
control was that of an elder Over an affectionate young brother.

DAVID GLASCOE FARRAGUT.
He was now introduced to entirely new scenes, and had social
advantages which compensated for his former too exclusive
sea-life. He had found a home on shore, and every type of
European civilization and manners in the families of the consuls
of different nations. In all of these my young countryman was
¦•jhe delight of old and young. This has always been among
his chief moral dangers ; but here he learned to be proof against
petting and flattery. Here, too, he settled his definition of
true glory — glory, the idol of his profession — if not in the
exact words of Cicero, at least in his own clear thought. Our
familiar walks and rides were so many lessons in ancient his
tory, and the lover of historic parallels will be gratified to know
that we possibly sometimes stood on the very spot where the
boy Hannibal took the oath that consecrated him to the
defense of his country."
In the long peace that followed his early heroism, we find
little to record except routines of ordinary sea-service and shore
duty — cruises of three years and tedious holidays in pleasant
pastures. But these were not years of indolence, during which
some men would disqualify themselves for conflict. He was
preparing himself for the great national struggle, of which he
could have little anticipation. In 1821, when not twenty years
of age, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, and engaged
in the West India service. About three years later he was
assigned to duty at the Norfolk Navy Yard; and with the
exception of a two years' cruise off the coast of Brazil, he
remained at Norfolk until 1833. Here he married a lady of
highly respectable family, and during her long, hopeless illness
he exhibited all the proofs of exquisite tenderness that are
characteristic of a noble-hearted son of the sea. Sadly and
long he mourned her death. Subsequently he married Miss
Virginia Loyall, of Norfolk, and a son takes from his mother
the honorable and promising name of Lotall Farragut. He
was at West Point during the years that his father was sub
duing rebellion on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts.
In 1833 Lieutenant Farragut was commissioned Lieutenant-
Commander ; in 1841, Commander ; in 1855, Captain ; and
during three of the intervening years he was Assistant Inspector
of Ordnance at Norfolk. In 1854 he was commander of the
Mare Island Navy Yard, California. During all these years of
bervice at home and abroad, he was constantly adding to his

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
genera] and professional knowledge by dilligent study and
profitable experience. He acquired an elegant command of
most European languages, as well as of Turkish and Arabic.
He is entitled to a high rank in scholarship.
In 1860 he had passed nearly nineteen years at sea; more
than eighteen on shore duty, and almost eleven either waiting
orders or on leave of absence. Of his fifty-eight years he had
spent forty-eight in the naval service. All his labors and
endurances seemed likely to lead to no great practical result
before the world. There had been nothing but peace, and how
could he add anything important to the art of war ?
Soon there came a panic — a conspiracy — a rebellion — a
confederacy throughout the Southern States. The leaders
laid their claims to Captain Farragut, a son of the South, a
descendant of Southern European chivalry. Men were desert
ing the army, the navy, and the Federal Government, by troops
and by States. Captain Farragut was at his home in Norfolk.
He calmly watched the progress of the treason. His loyal
heart was struck with grief over the fall of Fort Sumter. He
could not remain silent. An attack on the Navy Yard at
Norfolk was plotted. His opinions were sounded. In frank
and manly terms he denounced the whole work and designs of
the rebels, and expressed his abhorrence of them. Conspirators
gathered around him, resolved upon suppressing or expelling
so strong and earnest a patriot. They told him in threatening
terms, that he could not live there if he held sentiments so
opposed to theirs. "Very well;" was his prompt reply, "then
I will go where I can live and hold such sentiments."
Returning to his home, he told his family that they must
make preparations by night, for a hasty journey northward.
Early on the morning of April 18, 1861, they left Norfolk -with
emotions of pain known only to those who had been Southern
in everything but treason, and who were compelled to flee for
their loyalty and their lives. Arriving at Baltimore, he found
the city under the sway of desperate rebel sympathizers, and
with difficulty he secured a passage to Columbia, Pennsylvania,
whence he found an easy and safe route to the city of New
York. The rebels thus let escape one of their conquerors, and
the next day burned the Norfolk Na-vy Yard.
Leaving his family at Hastings-on-Hudson, Captain Farragut
repaired at once to Washington, and asked to be employed in

DAVID GLASCOE FARRAGUT.
the service of his country. The condition of the navy was
appalling. The former Secretary of that department had sent
most of the ships to foreign ports ; of those remaining, the best
had been seized or destroyed at Norfolk. The few that were
left were in command of his senior officers in rank. The Navy
Department was anxious to have his aid in bringing order out
of confusion, and in re-constructing its means of warfare. In
lieu of any other work, he served for a time as a member of the
Naval Retiring Board, which was designed to shelve incompe
tent officers, and to promote the loyal, active, and meritorious.
Meanwhile the Government resolved upon the capture of
New Orleans. A fleet was organized, consisting of armed
steamers and bomb-schooners. Great care was necessary in
selecting a commander. .Happily the choice fell upon Captain
Farragut. He was appointed Flag-Officer, having charge of
the entire squadron. He chose the Hartford as his flag-ship,
and sailed from Hampton Roads on the 3d of January, 1862.
The bomb-fleet was under the care of Commander David D.
Porter, the worthy son of the hero of the old Essex — a son as
proud to report to his Flag-Officer, as yciung Farragut had
once been to obey the orders of his Captain Porter.
Arriving at Ship Island, February 20th, the Flag-Officer
began to prepare his squadron for the great task. Many days
were laboriously spent in overcoming all sorts of difficulties,
and in getting the largest vessels over the bars and through
the passes. On the 18th of April the war was opened against
the strong forts built seventy-five miles below New Orleans.
Forts Jackson and St. Philip were bombarded for six days ; they
held out stoutly, pouring their concentrated fire upon the fleet.
A heavy iron chain had been stretched across the Mississippi,
on the line of which were other obstructions. Above this
chain lay the Confederate fleet of sixteen gun-boats and two
iron-clad rams. Along the banks were land batteries mounting
a dread array of guns.
When it was apparent that the forts were not likely to yield
to the bombardment, Flag-Officer Farragut called a council
of war on board his ship. There was much to be said by the
Captains, for everything seemed to be running short : shells,
coal, hospital stores, were wanting; nothing came from the
North when it was expected. The enemy seemed to have
unlimited supplies, and he dealt out war with a terrible ven-
5

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
geance. Perhaps it was all said ; far more than is recorded. But
whatever was their opinion, this was the Flag-Officer's order :
" Whatever is to be done will have to be done quickly. When, in
the opinion of the Flag-Officer, the propitious time has arrived,
the signal -will be made to weigh and advance to the conflict.
. . , He will make the signal for close action, and abide ihe
result — conquer or be conquered."
The fire was still poured heavily against the forts. The
Flag-Officer resolved to break the chain, run past the forts,
destroy the rebel fleet, and push on to the capture of the ciiy.
It was a daring movement by a daring man, who took every
precaution to make sure of success. He gave the order to start
at two o'clock in the morning of April 24th. He •visited each
ship. He adopted the suggestion of Engineer Moore, to make
the vessels chain-clad or cable-clad. It was a time of new
inventions and appliances. " Perhaps," says the official report,
" there is not on record such a display of ingenuity as has been
evinced in this little squadron." No man was more ready to
give honor to whom honor is due than the brave, hardy Flag-
Officer. At five minutes before the appointed time the signal was
given, but unavoidable difficulties prevented the fleet from
starting for about half an hour. The great chain across the
river was already broken. The fleet advanced; the forts
opened their fire; the mortars replied; the smoke brought
thick darkness upon the river ; the flash upon each side drew
a new and terrible fire from the other; such strange work
was never done before. A fire-raft, pushed down by the rebel
ram Manasses, threatened the flag-ship. In sheering it, the
Hartford ran aground. The flames kindled upon her, and ran
up half-way to the tops. Nothing but calm discipline saved
her; the fire department quenched the flames; the powerfal
engine threw her back into deep waters, and all the while the
great guns were never silent. The forts became lesa terrific,
but the thirteen rebel gun-boats and the two iron-clad rams
came upon the scene. " We took them in hand," wrote Far
ragut, " and in the course of a short time destroyed eleven of
them." The Hartford was now past the forts. The Varuna was sunk
while destroying two gun-boats that attacked her. Three
vessels fell back disabled. But one by one came the twelve
6

DAVID GLASCOE FARRAGUT.
Others in the wake or alongside of the flag-ship. Only thirty-
six of the Union men were killed, and one hundred and thirty-
five wounded. Through the yellow mists of the Mississippi,
the sun rose that morning upon the greatest naval triumph of
the century. What was done, was done quickly.
The gallant Flag-Officer now steamed up the river, and after
silencing a few batteries, presented his fleet in front of New
Orleans, on the 25th of April, and demanded jts surrender.
Four days later the forts surrendered to Captain Porter, and
General Butler came up the river with his forces and took
possession of the yielding city.
" Conquer or be conquered," was still the sentiment of Flag-
Officer Farragut. Let the ¦victory on his way to New Orleans
stand as specimen of what he did in passing and re-passing the
rebel batteries at Vicksburg and Port Hudson. We have not
space for his splendid achievements. We turn for a moment
to the high estimate put upon his efforts and successes. He
received the thanks of both Houses of Congress, and the
plaudits of all loyal men in the nation. The rank of Rear-
Admiral was created by Congress, and on the 11th of July,
1862, he was advanced to it, and placed first on the naval list
for his meritorious conduct in the capture of New Orleans.
By his continued and effective service along the entire Gulf
coast, he added fresh proofs that he was deserving of these
honors from a grateful people.
Mobile, with its powerful defenses, had long been as a great
prize before the eye of the intrepid Rear-Admiral.' Three
strong forts, Morgan, Powell, and Gaines, with other formidable
works at the entrance of the bay, protected the blockade runners
and hindered the near approach of the blockading fleet. Several
projected attacks upon them had been delayed. On the 5th
of August, 1864, Admiral Farragut proposed to make his
attempt. If he should not subdue the forts by direct attack,
he might pass them, and thus compel them to surrender.
It has been said that "Mobile was New Orleans sublimed."
The gauntlet was more difficult, and a more powerful oppos
ing fleet disputed all entrance into the bay. But this time
the work was done in broad day-light, under the eye of
the Admiral, who had himself bound to the mast, in the
main rigging near the top. Early in the morning the fleet
steamed up the channel, the Metacomet being lashed to the

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
indomitable old Hartford. The flre from the forts proved that
the enemy was awake and waiting. The Tecumseh struck a
hidden torpedo, careened and sank almost instantly. The
Admiral directed Lieutenant-Commander Jouett, of the Meta
comet, to send a boat to rescue her crew, and putting on all
steam, led off in the Hartford through a track that had been
lined with torpedoes, taking the fearful risk of their explosion.
Giving a broadside fire upon the forts, the fleet passed them,
when the ram Tennessee dashed down at the flag-ship, "I
took >no further notice of her," said the Admiral, "than tO
return her fire." Three other gun-boats annoyed the fleet, and
when their raking shot could not be returned, he, ordered the
Metacomet to be unlashed from his ship and put in pursuit of
the Selma. " Captain Jouett was after her in a moment, and
in an hour's time he had her as a prize." The other two gun
boats put into safer quarters ; one of them, however, was after
wards run ashore and destroyed. The ram Tennessee was still
intent upon the destruction of the flag-ship. An attack upon
her was ordered to be made by the monitors and the best of
the wooden vessels, and " then began one of the fiercest naval
combats on record," The ram was dashed upon, at full speed,
by two vessels, and then the Hartford followed, rasping along
her side and pouring a " whole port broadside of nine-inch solid
shot within ten feet of her casement." She did not fire another
gun, and yet refused to lower her fiag;
Captain Drayton was ordered to bear down upon the ram
¦with the Lackawanna, but when he was doing so at full speedy
his ship ran into the Hartford, cutting her down, near the
mizzen mast, to within two feet of the water's edge. It is
related that at the moment of the collision, the men called out
to each other to save the Admiral, but finding that his ship
would float long enough to serve his purpose, and thinlring
only of the object to be gained, he cried out to his Fleet-
Captain, " Go on with speed ! Ram her again !" The anecdote
is characteristic enough to be literally true. As the Ossipee
was about to strike her she hoisted the white flag. Her sur
render ended the contest.
The gallantry of the Admiral was exceeded by his humanity,
and he sent the wounded officers whom he had captured, among
whom was Admiral Buchanan, to the Union hospitals at Pensa-
cola. Of his own men he said with praise, sympathy, and

DAVID GLASCOE FARRAGUT.
tenderness, "Although, no doubt, their hearts sickened, as
mine did, when their shipmates were struck down beside them,
yet there was not a moment's hesitation to lay their comrades
aside and spring again to their deadly work."
Towards the close ofthe month the forts surrendered — Fort
Morgan receiving another bombardment of twenty-four hours
— and the port of Mobile was hermetically sealed against
blockade runners. The city was not formidably attacked, but
yielded after the entire failure of the Confederate arms.
Rear-Admiral Farragut remained in command of the West
Gulf Squadron until November, 1864, when he requested leave
of absence, and was called to Washington to advise in regard
to future naval operations. Soon after the opening of Congress
a vote of thanks was passed for his brilliant victory at Mobile.
The rank of Vice-Admiral, corresponding to that of Lieutenant-
General in the army, was created, and conferred upon David
Glascoe Farragut. By this he was virtually made Chief-
Commander of the naval forces of the United States. Free as
he was from sordid motives, this great honor did not, perhaps,
please him more than the high appreciation of the merchants
of New York, generously expressed in a present of fifty thou
sand dollars, and in words of gratitude for his sacrifices and
hia success.
The lustre which his brilliant acchievements have cast upon
our arms is not confined to America. The "Army and Na-vy
Gazette" of England, has good reason to praise him as " the
doughty Admiral, whose feats of arms place him at the head
of his profession, and certainly constitute him the first naval
officer of the day, as far as actual reputation won by skill,
courage, and hard fighting goes."
Vice-Admiral Farragut visited Norfolk in April, 1865, for
the first time since he had left it to seek a place " where he
could live" and cherish his loyalty. In an address there he
referred to the threats that had been made against him four
years before, and he said, " I have spent half of my life in
revolutionary countries, and I know the horrors of civil war,
and I told the people what I had seen, and what they would
experience. They laughed at me, . . . and I said, ' I can
not live here, and I will seek some other place where I can live,
and on two hours' notice ;' and I suppose the conspirators said
I left my country for my country's good, and, thank God ! I

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
did. I went from here with the few valuables I could collect.
I was unwilling to believe that this difficulty would not have
been settled ; but it was all in vain, and, as every man must do
in a revolution as he puts his foot down, so it marks his life ;
so it has pleased God to protect me thus far, and make me
somewhat instrumental in dealing heavy blows at the rebellion.
I have been nothing more than an instrument in the hands of
God, well supported by my officers and men, who have done
their duty faithfully."
After all his exposures and endurances, and the wear of the
sixty-fourth year upon him, the Vice-Admiral has as piercing
an eye, as hale a countenance, as clear a voice, as vigorous an
arm, as sound a judgment, and as cheerful a spirit as when, a
dozen years ago, he trod the quarter-deck of a battle-ship in
foreign ports, never dreaming that his glory was to be won in
defending his government from overthrow by civil war. It has
been truly written that "The stainless honor, the straight
forward frankness, the vivacity of manner and conversation,
the gentleness, the flow of good humor, the cheerful, ever-
buoyant spirit ofthe true man — these will be added to the
complete education, the thorough seamanship, the careful
preparation, the devotion to duty, and lastly, the restless energy,
the disdain of obstacles, the impatience of delay or hesitation,
the disregard of danger, that stand forth in such prominence in
the portrait, deeply engraved . on the loyal American heart, of
the Great Admiral."

10

WIHICDMAg M.BimTOITo

filtered according- to Act o£ Conyress m the year laes.ly RiccRuUer&C.m the derlts dfice of UieDiBlnct ctnu-l of the UniledSlatesm and for -Qie eastern, diairicl orrmiv.Tlrei"s

THOMAS HART BENTOK

Thomas Hart Benton was a North Carolinian by birth.
His father settled in Hillsborough, Orange county, where he
was born, March 14, 1782. At the early age of eight years,
death, deprived him of paternal care and discipline. His edu
cation was, consequently, neglected. A few terms at grammar-
school, and subsequently in the University at Chapel Hill,
completed his course of study in the public institutions of
learning. In early youth he removed with his mother to Ten
nessee, upon a tract of land which was a part of the estate
left by his father. But young Benton was not destined to be
a farmer. His capacity and his aspirations pointed to a dif
ferent field of activity, in which his finely developed physical
frame would have quite the subordinate part. He chose the
legal profession, and prosecuted its studies with the enthusiasm
of a mind to which success was the certain reward of a well-
directed ambition.
After his admission to the bar, he rapidly rose to eminence,
attracting the attention of his political party, which he repre
sented in the Legislature for a single term. Two great measures
of reform were secured by him : one was a marked improve
ment in the judicial system; the other was the right of trial
by jury for the slaves.
Andrew Jackson was at this period Judge of the Supreme
Court of the State, and, later, major-general of the militia.
His admiration for youug Benton ripened into a warm friend
ship, and he offered him the position of aide-de-camp on his
staff. During the War of 1812 he raised a regiment of volun
teers, which gave him the title of colonel, — a military honor
inseparable ever after from his name. Subsequently a
violent quarrel arose between him and General Jackson, re
sulting in a combat, in which the pistol and dagger were freely
used, but without infiicting serious wounds. A long and bitter
alienation follo'wed.

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
In 1813, after the volunteers were disbanded, Mr. Benton
was appointed by President Madison lieutenant-colonel in the
army, and was on his way to Canada, when, news of peace
reaching him, he resigned his commission;
St. Louis then became his residence, and soon he entered the
arena of politics. He started the " Missouri Inquirer," whose
columns were often filled with articles which partisan pens
alone could write, marked with the passion of political rival
ries. Among the duels that grew out of these quarrels, he had
"an affair of honor" with Mr. Lucas, an opponent, who. was
killed. The remorseful regret of Colonel Benton led him to
burn all the papers connected with the sanguinary deed. His
journal advocated the admission of Missouri with her slave
Constitution ; and he received, as his reward from the State, a
seat in the Senate of the United States.
This was in 1820,— the date of the commencement of his
influential and distinguished career in the national legislation
and politics. His intellect, attainments, and temperance com
manded the highest respect, and steadily extended his sphere
of power over men. Industrious, energetic, resolute, and
never at fault in memory, he was formed for a brilliant part in
the labors of statesmanship for the rising republic. Having
identified himself with the Great West, he thoroughly repre
sented her manifold interests, and urged every reform which
could advance them.
Immediately following his election to the Senate was the
commercial distress, felt nowhere more deeply than among the
land-holders of the Western States. To reform the land-system
became his first and chief object of attention. Mr. Crawford,
Secretary of the Treasury, introduced a measure of relief, re
ducing the price of new lands to one dollar and twenty-five
cents per acre, and making a discount equal to the difference to
those who had already bought. But Colonel Benton went
further. He framed a bill embodying the principles which he believed
should underlie the disposal of government lands.
First, a pre-emption-right to all previous purchasers ; secondly,
a reduction periodically, according to the time sections had
been in market, making the prices correspond with the quality;
thirdly, the donation of homesteads to poor and industrious

THOMAS HART BENTON.
settlers, who would cultivate the soil for a certain period, and
thus develop the resources of the country.
For three years he persistently brought forward the bill
annually, until, from the people, the conviction his speeches
produced pervaded Congress.
Colonel Benton was a "Jackson man," notwithstanding his
former quarrel, and acquired a controlling infiuence, during
his administration, over the Senate, which secured the Presi-
deht's approval of his land-bill in one of his messages, and its
final triumph.
A government monopoly in his„ own State attracted next
his strong sense and will. Mineral lands M^ere held back from
sale, and "farmed out," thus cutting off general enterprise, —
an injurious exclusiveness, which he succeeded in having re
moved. Kindred to this reform was the repeal of imposts on the
necessaries of life, which was an oppressive burden to the
people of the Mississippi Valley. The source of income to
the government, protecting particular interests, was unequal
and severe in its effects. The salt-tax was particularly offensive.
The movement which he inaugurated in 1829 was at length
successful. , The commercial wants and prospects of the Far
West, extending to the shores of Oregon, commanded his
clearest thought and most zealous devotion.
He had studied the geographical and commercial relations
of the comparatively unexplored empire between the " Father
of Waters" and the Pacific, and gave to the public, before his
election to the Senate, his views upon the importance of a more
accurate knowledge of the vast territories, and of the control
of the Columbia, whose mouth, like that of the Mississippi,
must become a possession of immense value to the United
States. To his comprehensive mind, it was clearly the duty
of Congress to legislate on these vital interests, including the
lines of travel and transportation across the rich domain.
The grand railway project now ripening. into a practical un--
dertaking, with the progress in intelligence and the increase
of emigration, assumed to him a certainty among future achieve
ments quite in advance of the popular estimate of it, or even
the appreciation of Congress. He was not only faithful tO his
constituents, to his own cherished associations with the West,
but obeyed his deepest convictions of duty to the natives, whose
3

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
resources were nowhere more varied and abundant than there.
The treaties with Indian tribes, the navigation of our large and
beautiful lakes, the post roads and military stations, all engaged
his thought and his labors; while the currency of the country
was thoroughly understood and discussed by him. He was
the right hand and most eloquent friend of General Jackson
in his overthrow of the United States Bank and establishment
of metallic currency, a consistent adherence to a new direction
of the money power which gave him the title of " Old Bullion,"
— a golden honor as inseparable as the " colonel" from hia
name. Nor w^as Colonel Benton satisfied with his general support
of President Jackson. He was the mover of the " expunging
resolution," a motion to strike from the Senatorial journals a
vote of censure against the hero of New Orleans for his as
sumption of power in the great battle there. Nothing more
exasperated his political enemies ; and its success was oue
of his greatest party triumphs over a confident and excited
majority at the outset of his successful endeavor.
Through all the administration of Martin Van Buren, and
between the Presidential terms of Tyler and Taylor, he was
the firm supporter of the new currency system, and an advo
cate of the line of 49° as the northern boundary of Oregon,
instead of 54° 40', the choice ofthe Democratic administration
of Mr. Polk. His exhaustive review of the latter question,
and powerful reasoning, won the victory, and secured the ac
ceptance of the territorial limit which he believed to be the
just claim of the United States.
Colonel Benton acquired great strength in the discussion of
the most complicated questions of national policy by his
familiar acquaintance with them. He read geography, history,
and documents, until the various lights of facts aud figures
shone clearly upon the subject. When the Mexican trouble
was agitated, he condemned the "masterly inactivity" to which
the President leaned, and urged with native will and energy
the prosecution of the war. So great -was his influence over
the Executive that his appointment to a lieutenant-generalship
was proposed, and reached the formal attention of Congress ;
but the bill creating the rank was lost in the Senate.
The close of the Mexican War brought other and exciting
questions of debate, which called forth the logic and eloquence

THOMAS HART BENTON.
of Colonel Benton. The adjustment of Mexican claims in
troduced inevitably into the national councils the subject of
slavery, leading to the celebrated Compromise measures of
Henry Clay in 1850. These were opposed with all the force
of the Missouri Senator's acknowledged ability.
He fought the principles of the Compromise, — declaring them
unsound in their relation to the "Texas donation" and appli
cation to the Fugitive Slave Law. The contest was fruitless
on his part, the separate acts passing by a decided majority.
Nullification, which first met his stern rebuke both at a private
dinner-party, when Mr. Calhoun expressed his approval of the
doctrine, and through the fierce struggle between the South
Carolina Senator and General Jackson, was again indignantly
condemned upon its reappearance, February 19, 1847, in the
form of resolutions intended to wipe out all such limitations
iu regard to slavery as those embodied in the " Wilmot Pro
viso." Mr. Benton asserted that they were "fraudulent resolutions.''
Mr. Calhoun, with considerable astonishment, said he expected
their approval by the Senator from a slave State. His fearless
antagonist replied, promptly, that he had " no right to expect
such a thing." Mr. Calhoun added, "Then I shall know
where to find the gentleman." Colonel Benton's warm re
sponse was, "I shall be found in the right filace, — on the side
of my countiy and the Union."
But the " iron man" of South Carolina had entered upon
the great enterprise of his life, — the defence and extension of
slavery at any cost. The resolutions never came to a vote,
but were sent by him to the legislature of every slave State, in
cluding that of Missouri, and, under partisan leadership, before
agitation could compel inquiry, were passed in the very home
of the distinguished Senator.
At this time appeared a very forcible review of the contend
ing minds and conflicting elements in Congress, by thc Ame
rican poet J. G. Whittier, from which an interesting descriptive
extract is quoted. It was entitled " The Triumvirate," — that is
to say, John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, and Thomas H. Benton.
" The Atlantic States of the South for the last twenty years
may be said to have had but one leading mind. A solitary
intellectual despot has exercised authority from the Potomac
t0 the Gulf. The very Coriolanus of Democracy, distrusting

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
the people, with whom he has never allowed himself to be
brought in contact, — cold, haughty, and unfamiliar, — ^he owes
his influence to the sheer force of an overmastering intellect.
In the Garden of the West, a son of the Old Dominion, com
bining in himself the fiery genius of Henry with the grace
fulness of Wirt, bold in council and resolute in action, and at
the same time genial, bland, and captivating in social life, has
secured, by his brilliant qualities and his political tact, that
consideration and deference which the iron Carolinian ha,s ex
torted by his inexorable will and proud self-reliance, while
flinging down the gauntlet to the religion, philosophy, and
humanity of Christendom in behalf of human slavery. Still
farther West, on the banks ofthe Great River, we find another
individual exerting a marked and decided infiuence over the
inhabitants of the Southwest, — 'the tumultuary population of
the Mississippi Valley,' as Santa Anna has styled them. Bold,
frank, self-confident, free of speech, and impatient of control,
with a mind somewhat overloaded with a cumbrous miscellany
of learning, yet ample and gorgeous like his own prairies, and
enriched by the collections of a life of observation and political
experience,, he may be regarded as a fitting representative of
our pioneer hunting-shirt civilization, — the pattern man of the
nomadic democracy of the Southwest.
"Ifl applying the term triumvirate to these men, we would
by no means infer that there is or has been any coalition or
concert of action among them. On the contrary, they are
political — and, in the case of two of their number, probably
personal^enemies. But up to a very recent period they have,
each in his own way, labored, not unsuccessfully, to promote
¦ the great overshadowing interest of their section of country.
They have been the champions of the Slave Power. With
such guardians of their peculiar institution, the slave States
may well be pardoned for their tone of self-congratulation, iu
view of the professed champions of the free North. For, to
our shame be it said, with the single exception of the vene
rable Adams, we have had none worthy to break a lance with
them in behalf of Liberty. Our Websters and Wrights, our
Choates and Van Burens, have had uo heart for such a contest.
"Latterly, however, there are indications of a disposition on
the part of one of the triad — the Missouri Senator — ^to take a
broader and higher view of his duties aS a democratic states-
6

THOMAS HART BENTON.
man. When the Texas treaty of the late administration was
under consideration in the Senate, he gave utterance to certain
unwelcome truths in relation to the rights of Mexico, and the
boundary between that republic and the revolted State of
Texas, calculated to embarrass not a little that plan for the
extension of slavery of which we are constrained to believe
the present war is a prominent part. Since the late session of
Congress, public attention has been called to two somewhat
extraordinary letters from his pen, in relation to slaveiy in
Oregon and the claim of the free States to a Presidential can
didate, as well as to a recent speech at St. Louis, where, re
ferring to the same topics, he denounced what he calls 'the
propagandism of slavery.' Of the moving spring and motive
of this remarkable change of tone we cannot speak with any
degree of certainty. We refer to it as a fact calculated to
aflect seriously the great question of our day. ... It would be
idle for any party to affect indifference to the course of such a
man upon such a question. Although never ranked among
his admirers, we have not been blind to those traits of character
which have made him what he unquestionably is, — one of the
leading influences of the country ; and, as friends of Freedom,
we cannot look without interest upon his novel position.
Whatever motive may have prompted it (and we regret that
our limited observation of political aspirants has not prepared
us to look for a high and generous one), we rejoice to see him
occupy it. Would that we could reasonably indulge the hope
that the language of his Oregon letter is but the prelude to a
bolder and manlier tone of remonstrance against the extension
and perpetuation of slavery! — that through him the curse
fastened upon Missouri at her birth, and which has robbed that
noble State ofthe wealth and populatiop now overflowing Ohio
and the free Northwest, is to be arrested and removed ! That
he has the power to do this, we have little doubt. The same
indomitable will, energy, and perseverance w'hich overthrew
the feed attorneys of the United States Bank and blotted
from the records of the Senate the resolution of censure against
General Jackson, called into exercise for the higher and
worthier object of delivering his State from its great political
and social evil, could not fail of success. Such a triumph
would go far to atone for even greater errors than his enemies
have ever charged upon Colonel Benton. It would enable him

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
to leave to posterity a far more glorious reputation than that
which he now enjoys, of a successful partisan in a pitiful
contest concerning banks and finance. It would give him an
honorable place among the benefactors of mankind, and cause
his memory to be blessed by coming generations, as their tide
of free population, swelling up from the confluence ofthe Mis
souri and Mississippi, follows the wide divergence of those
noble rivers, or, sweeping across the Ozark Hills, pours itself
abroad over the vast territory of the eastern slope of the Rocky
Mountains. That he will avail himself of the opportunity thus
afforded him to satisfy the highest claim of a rational ambition,
while conferring an incalculable benefit upon his country and
the world, we have, perhaps, little ground for hope. The wis
dom of the world is foolishness. Human ambition, neglecting
the ladder reaching heavenward and bright wnth the footsteps
of angels, toils at its tottering pile like the builders on the
plain of Shinar, and is doomed, like them, to confusion and
disappointment. ' '
In sjDite of his power and influence, the conflict of principles
and political parties was fatal to the high position of Colonel
Benton, costing him his place in the Senate, and in the front
rank of the Democracy at home.
He canvassed his State in the war upon the Calhoun resolu
tions, with a Junius-like clearness and severity of exposure.
But a coalition between the Whigs and "Anti-Bentonites"
resulted in his defeat in the nomination for another Senatorial
term, and the election of Mr. Henry S. Geyer.
Subsequently, in 1852, Colonel Benton again made his direct
appeal to the people against the nullification party, and was
elected to Congress over all opposition. At first a friend of
Mr. Pierce, as soon as the President defined his position under
the shadow of the Calhoun wing of the party. Colonel Benton
opposed him on that account; while in turn the Executive took
revenge by the removal of all the friends of the former from
oflice in the State of Missouri.
The Kansas-Nebraska bill, aimed at the repeal of the Mis
souri Compromise, was opposed by Mr. Benton to the last, al
though in vain.
In 1854 he was once more defeated in the election by the
combination of former enemies, and in 1856, after canvassing
the State, on the gubernatorial nomination. In the powerful im-

THOMAS HART BENTON.
pression his speeches made, aiding materially in the reaction
against disunion sentiments which followed, he declared he was
amply rewarded for his labors.
The conservative views he held decided him to cast his vote
aeainst General Fremont, his son-in-law, in the Presidential
campaign of 1856, and to give it to James Buchanan ; hoping
that the policy of General Jackson would return, and fearing
that the more threatening agitation of slavery would follow
the election of Fremont. He lived to see his mistake.
After his defeat in 1856, Colonel Benton retired to private
life, and devoted his pen to "The Thirty Years' View," which
he had commenced two years before.
He visited several, of the cities of the Northern States as a
lecturer upon the preservation of the Union. His discussion
of the vital question was calm and earnest. We shall never
forget the impression his venerable presence and serious
words made upon refiective minds. For, whatever the political
opinions of his hearers, the prophetic dread of the suicidal
effort to divide the country which found expression in his
vivid pictures of the scenes that would attend and follow the
revolt, could not fail to move every loyal heart. In imagina
tion he saw the inevitable and sanguinary confusion which
would make the histoiy of the indefinite future, — the cordon
of military posts from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, to
protect the fragments ofthe once mighty nation, — ^the conflicts
and bloodshed of frequent occurrence, — our glory gone, and the
hopes of humanity crushed.
None could doubt the sincere loyalty and patriotism of the
Missouri Senator. In the quietude and retrospective contem
plations of the past, which marked the experience of age,
there seemed to fall upon his spirit the ominous shadow of a
trial of our institutions around his grave, before the mound
was green with the rooted turf. But he did not see that in the
home of his political antagonist in the Senate of the United
States the hand would be raised against the Republic whose
blows would crimson his own and every Southern State with
the blood of the warrior ; nor did any of us anticipate that
great struggle whose issue shall be a more glorious nationality
for succeeding generations, when the starry ensign of freedom
shall command the admiration of all mankind.
Following the completion of this great work, came the her-

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
culean task of abridging and condensing the debates in Con
gress from its earliest sessions to the present time, — a work that
went forward, at the advanced age of seventy-six, with unabated
activity. But nature was compelled to yield to the pressure of
years and sorrow. In 1854, Mrs. Benton, an intelligent and
excellent woman, died. This affiiction, added to other bereave
ments, cast so deep a shadow upon his path that never after
was he seen in any place of social amusement. He often re
ferred to the sad work of death, and his own approaching end,
which were the prevailing themes of his meditation. Still, in
his anxiety to carry forward his compendium of Congressional
history, he dictated in whispers on his dying bed important
facts. He died in Washington, April 10, 1858.
His review of the Dred Scott case was widely read.
Colonel Benton belonged to the mighty men of the past.
Strong in intellect and character, he was never greater than in
his defeats, which were for the most part in the maintenance
of principles which are inseparable from our national prosperity.
He had no favorite policy or scheme of partisan ambition
to which the Government must bend at the expense of its honor
and very life. To the last he loved and labored for the Union;
and, whatever mistakes resulted from early education and
political excitements, with another giant of those former days
of our Congress, — ^Daniel Webster, — he desired to die with his
last look upon an undivided and strong Republic.
10

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ANDREW HULL FOOTE.

Sixty years ago the firm of Hull & Foote was among the few
importing houses in New Haven, Connecticut. General An
drew Hull, of Cheshire, and his young son-in-law, Samuel Au-
gustiis Foote, were the partners. They were in that West
India business which has always been the chief commercial
interest of New Haven, and which was never more prosperous
than in the days when the wars of Europe, consequent on the
French Revolution, threw an, immense "carrying trade" into
the hands of American merchants.
Samuel A. Foote, son of Rev. John Foote, who served the
Congregational Church of Cheshire in the pastoral office forty-
six years, was a graduate of Yale College in the class of 1797.
He had studied law at Litchfield ; but the want of health had
compelled him to relinquish his chosen profession, and to en
gage in a more active employment. He resided in New Haven
from 1803 till 1813, when the interruption of commerce by the
war with Great Britain, and the increasing infirmities of his
aged father, induced him to remove. From the death of his
father, in 1813, he resided in his father's homestead. He was
greatly esteemed by his fellow-citizens of Cheshire, whom he
often represented in the General Assembly of the State. He
was one of the Representatives from Connecticut in the Fif
teenth Congress, and in the Sixteenth. In the years 1825 and
1826, he was Speaker of the House of Representatives in the
Legislature of the State, and from 1827 to 1833 he' was a
Senator of the United States. At the expiration of his term .
in the Senate, he became again a Representative in Congress,
but having been elected Governor, he resigned his seat in
May, 1834, before the first session of that Congress was com-
• pleted. His public career ended with that year of service as
chief magistrate of his native State, He died in 1846.
Andrew Hull Footb, the second son of Samuel A. Foote^

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
was born at New Haven, September 12, 1806. From his seventh
year, his home was in the beautiful village of Cheshire. His
mother, Eudocia, daughter of General Andrew Hull, was a
woman whom all that knew her praised, faithful in every duty,'
and eminently diligent to secure the moral and religious wel
fare of her children. Andrew, from his seventh year to the
beginning of his seventeenth, was trained in the simplicity and
accustomed to the out-door activities of rural life, under the in
spiring and restraining influences of an old-fashioned Puritan
household. He grew up a bright, strong-Willed, amiable boy,
with a full share of that adventurous aud daring spirit which
sends so many boys to sea at sixteen years of age. He was
educated at the Episcopal Academy in Cheshire, where the
present Secretary of the Navy (Hon. Gideon Welles) was one
of his schoolmates ; but his father, instead of urging him into
college, wisely permitted him to choose the very different
course to which his genius prompted him. He entered the
navy as a midshipman, in the year 1823. His flrst voyage was
under the command of a lieutenant who had gained experience
and honorable distinction in the War of 1812, and who, having
had the privilege of training him for the service of his country,
and having shared with him the perils of sea and of battle,
survives in a vigorous old age to share in a nation's grief at the
death of his illustrious pupil. The intimate and affectionate
friendship of forty-one years, between Admiral Gregory and ,
Admiral Foote, was honorable to both.
The first cruise of the young midshipman was not a holiday
affair. The War of 1812 was the last in a long series of wars
among the maritime powers of Christendom; and, with the
opportunities which it had given to privateering, it had left the
seas infested with pirates. Desperate men of all nations, ac
customed to violence and inured to danger, were imitating the
old buccaneers and sea-rovers; and the evil had grown, espe
cially in the Gulf of Mexico and among the islands of the West
Indies, till it had assumed almost the proportions of a war.
Midshipman Foote's first voyage was in the expedition
against the pirates. In the course of it he distinguished him
self by courage and enterprise as well as by diligence in the
duties of his place, and thus he gave promise of the eminence
to which he afterwards attained. His second voyage was under
Commodore Hull, in the Pacific Ocean.

ANDREW HULL FOOTE.
the entire crew to forego their immemorial "grog," and to
abstain from intoxicating drinks. At the same time, he became
a volunteer chaplain to them, giving a lecture every Sunday,
on the berth-deck, to as many as chose to attend, and having
a congregation of nearly two hundred willing hearers, — the
lecture being followed by a meeting for prayer in a more
retired part of the ship. The Cumberland became as worthy
of honorable memory from her association with that experi-
n;ient of free moral and religious influence among the seamen
of our navy, as she afterwards became when, with her flag still
flying, and her guns exploding at the water's edge, she went
down so heroically in that conflict which changed in an hour the
entire system of maritime warfare till wars shall be no more.
On his return from the two-years cruise in the Cumberland,
he was disabled for a while by a painful disease of the eyes.
After a six-months leave of absence, he was ordered to the
navy-yard at Charlestown, Massachusetts, where, being still
unfit for service afioat, he remained as executive officer through
the whole period of the Mexican War. In 1849 — as soon as his
recovery was sufficiently advauced^he was put in command
of the brig Perry, and was ordered to the West African station,
that squadron being then commanded by Commodore Gregory.
The services which he was there permitted to render deserve
a grateful remembrance. Our flag, now glorious in the un-
dimmed light of liberty and justice, had long been dishonored
on that coast, and along the hellish " middle passage" to Cuba
and Brazil, by being made the protection of a slave-trade so
infamously unjust and cruel that the National Legislature, in
earlier and better days, had denounced all partakers in the
traffic as guilty of piracy, — enemies ofthe human race. Who
ever may be blamed for this national dishonor, it is believed
that the officers of the Navy never were responsible for it.
They have always been naturally and reasonably sensitive for
the honor of the flag which it was theirs to display in every
sea and to defend against every insult. But politicians had
found it expedient for their ends to divert public attention
from the main point of suppressing the slave-trade and pro
tecting and encouraging a legitimate commerce with the natives
of Africa and with the Americo-African colony, to a side-issue
about the sometimes insolent interference of British cruisers
with American vessels. In the judicious arrangements which

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
were made by Commodore Gregory, the duty came upon
Lieutenant Foote of conducting a voluminous correspondence
with British officials on that coast, which contributed some
thing to the removal of jealousies and difficulties, and to cor
diality of co-operation between the British and American
squadrons in conformity with existing treaties. At the same
time, by his strenuous activity against the piratical traders in
human misery, he did much to break up the slave-trade that
had found safety under our flag, and to remove the national
disgrace that had so long and so often made the cheeks of
Americans to tingle Avith shame. But not the least, in his
estimation, among the honors of that cruise was the fact that
through the many months of activity and exposure on that
coast, BO often fatal to life, the liquor ration was voluntarily
and resolutely banished from the Perry, and among her officers
and crew there was not a death, nor a man disabled.
For a few months after his return he had another period of
relief from active service, and of rest in the bosom of his family.
Yet his rest was not idleness. Those who were members of
the same church with him remember how ready he was for
every good word and work at home. Others remember how
often he appeared abroad, speaking and otherwise acting in
various enterprises of associated Christian benevolence, and
especially in such as seek to promote the welfare of seamen.
During that period of rest he prepared and published the well-
known volume entitled "Africa and the American Flag," a
volume full of condensed information and valuable for its
practical suggestions. The nation has always been proud of
its navy; and its pride was increased by his command of the
Perry, and the fruits of it.
One more long cruise in Eastern climes, and his career as
a navigator on the ocean was ended. Seven years ago, in the
month of June, he sailed from the Chesapeake Bay, the com
mander of a magniflcent sloop-of-war, the Portsmouth. Two
years afterwards he returned, having in the mean time distin
guished himself by the bombardment and storming of the
barrier forts in the Canton feiver. The limits of this sketch
give no room for more than a transient allusion to that con
flict, and the honor which it won for the American flag. It
may suffice to remember that the crews of British men-of-war
manned the rigging and cheered the starry banner as the

ANDREW HULL FOOTE.
Portsmouth dropped down the river, while the music of our na
tional airs floated from beneath the "meteor-flag of England."
His next post of duty was that of executive officer at the
Brooklyn Navy- Yard, where he remained three years. The
beginning of this great rebellion found him there ; and im
mediately his large experience in naval affairs, his wonderful
promptitude, and his executive ability were put in requisition.
So rapid has been the march of events for these last three
years, that we have already half forgotten how much was to
be done for the navy at that crisis, and how much was done
in the navy-yard at Brooklyn.
In July, 1861, Commander Foote was commissioned a
captain, and in September he was sent to create and command
an inland navy on the waters of the Mississippi. Having per
sonally superintended the construction of the vessels that were
to be built for that service by contractors and constructors
who had never seen a man-of-war, he steamed away from
Cairo, on the 4th of February, 1862, with a fleet of seven gun
boats, four of them iron-clad,, to attack Fort Henry, on the
Tennessee. The attack was to have been made simultane
ously with an attack by the land-forces under the command
of General Grant. But the arrangements for a joint attack
were defeated by the condition of the roads on which the
array was to move after landing from transports. In these
circumstances. Commodore Foote, without waiting for the
arrival of the land-forcfe, opened flre on the fort at noon on
the 6th of February. After a bombardment of less than two
hours, the fort was unconditionally surrendered. Eight days
afterward, the fleet under his command, having returned to
Cairo and ascended the Cumberland River, attacked Fort
Donelson in co-operation with General Grant, who had already
invested the fort on the land side. The conflict between the
fort and the fleet was fiercely maintained for an hour and a
quarter, and the enemy's -water-batteries had been silenced,
when the flag-ship and another of the iron-clads became un
manageable in consequence of damage to their steering appa
ratus, and the fleet could only drop down the river, leaving
the victory to be completed by the land-forces the next day.
In that battle Commodore Foote was severely wounded in the
ankle. But, though suffering from pain and weakness, and
incapable of moving except on crutches, he proceeded down

National portraits.
the Mississippi with his fleet, and on the 15th of March com
menced the siege of Island Number Ten. Nor till the sur
render of that fortress, on the 8th of April, would he consent
to ask for leave of absence on account of his wound. This is
a meager record of his achievements on the Western rivers. If
we would rightly appreciate what he did for his country there,
we must think not only of the victories, but also, and still
more, of the gigantic and exhausting brain-work by which,
under all sorts of embarrassments and discouragements, those
victories were prepared, in the creation of the flotilla at St.
Louis. The honor conferred upon him, soon afterwards, by
the President, in appointing him to be one of the rear-admi
rals on the active list, was ratified by the universal approbation
of his loyal countrymen. A timely act of Congress had made
it possible for the Government to recognize his sei-vices by
promoting him to a higher rank than had ever before been
recognized in the Navy of the United States.
His fellow-citizens in New Haven saw him when he came
among them, a few weeks after the surrender of Island Num
ber Ten, — ^pale, feeble, but full of that indomitable spirit
which had overcome the greatest obstacles, which would not
succumb to the agony of a painful wound, nor to the depress
ing influence of bodily weakness and disease, nor to the heavy
tidings of sorrow at home, and which had kept him on his
flag-ship till the day had come and gone beyond which it had
been predicted by his medical advisers that he would not he
alive if he remained there. His fellow-worshippers in the
First Church in New Haven saw him in their assembly on the
first Sunday in August, when, in circumstances of peculiar
and tender interest to himself and his family, (joy mingling
with repeated sorrows,) he kept the Sabbath with them for
the first time since his return, and for the last time before his
leaving home again to take the burden of new responsibilities
at Washington. Physically he was even then unfit for those
responsibilities. He knew it, he could not but feel it; but he
was ready to sacrifice himself to the service of his country,
which was to him the service of his God. He went ; and his
great executive abilities were well employed in organizing a
new bureau in the Navy Department. As soon as it became
evident that the work which he had been doing could be safely
committed to other hands, he asked for more active and more

* ANDREW HULL FOOTE.
perilous duty. He was assigned to the command of the South
Atlantic Squadron ; and in that command he expected to die.
It was in vain that friends and physicians entreated him to
spare himself and to ask from the Government the relief
which would have been granted to the slightest expression- of
his wishes. He was determined to do his utmost for his country,
at whatever sacrifice. His life, he said, was not his own, and
should be freely surrendered at his country's call.
His preparations for going to his new command were com
pleted, and all things were in readiness for his departure from
New York, where he had just arrived after parting with his
family at New Haven, when the disease which his vigorous
constitution had long resisted, and which had gathered strength
from the hardships and fatigues incident to his preparations
for his new command, overcame him, and he lay down to die.
After he had lingered about ten days, in great suffering, his
decease took place at the Astor House, in New York, on Friday,
the 26th of June, 1863, between ten and eleven p. M.
Not thus had he expected to die ; not in the midst of those
who were bound to him by the tenderest ties ; not encircled
and tended by the gentlest assiduities of domestic love ; not
breathing out his soul upon the free air of these Northern
climes. He had expected; rather, to die in the malaria of the
Carolina sea-islands, tended by the rough but loving hands
of fellow-warriors on the sea, or in the roar and fiery storm of
battle. "Where he should die, or how, was to him a question of
little moment. Yet, when he found his time had come, he could
not but be thankful for the opportunity of dying among those-
whom he had loved most tenderly, and of breathing his last
words of blessing into the ears of wife and children. Brothers
and kindred were at his bedside, day and night, through the
protracted agony. Others, too, were there in the privilege of
friendship, — strong-hearted men, the heroes of many a confiict,
confessing by their silent tears how much they loved him.
Voices that had rung out loud and clear, and were soon to
ring again, in the tempest of battle, trembled and broke in
the tenderness of grief beside his death-bed. Assured that
he must die, he waited calmly for the end; for he knew in
whom he had believed. His last intelligible words were, "I
thank God for all His goodnesses to me, — for all his loving-
kindness to me ; He has been good to me ; I thank Him for
all His benefits." 9

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
The domestic life of one who serves his country on the
ocean is full of trials at the best. His home, if he has one,
is home to his affections; but he does not live at home.
Memory hallows the living picture of it which he carries in
his heart; bright hopes cluster around it; its dear famihar
forms and faces come to him in his dreams ; but only now and
then, in brief intervals of rest and enjoyment, is he permitted
to visit that " dearest spot of all the earth." The vicissitudes
of deepest joy or grief that come upon every household are
most likely to come upon his when he is far away.
Admiral Foote was married, June 11, 1828, when he was
only a passed midshipman, in the twenty-second year of his
age, to Caroline, daughter of Bethuel Flagg, Esq., of Cheshire.
She died November 4, 1838, when he was separated from her,
and from her infant child, by half the circumference of the
world. Two daughters were the only children of that marriage.
The first died at the age of four years. The other, who was
born after the death of her sister and received her name, is now
the wife of George S. Reese, Esq., of Baltimore. January 27,
1842, more than three years after his bereavement. Lieutenant
Foote married Caroline Augusta, daughter of Augustus R.
Street, Esq., of New Haven. Of the children of that marriage
there are two survivors. The eldest, Augustus R, S, Foote,
now (1865) in his eighteenth year, is serving in the army of the
United States, The youngest, John, is too young to remember
his heroic father. Between the eldest and the youngest were
sons and daughters who died in childhood, Mrs, Foote sur
vived her husband only a few weeks, and died at New Haven,
August 8, 1863. 10

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EngravecLlTrT^O^ - iiUrJMi

AMBIEIEW jrCDIHIH-SOir

Entered accccdm^^lo Art of Caagi-e^;, io ihpyeai 18661fy Eice,Rutter& Co inthederto afficeafiheOiijtna coui-^ o! -iiie XEmti-a St-ut,-, mauSlbrilic eastern district of Pennsjl''"**"

ANDREW JOHNSON.
Andrew Johnson was born December 29, 1808, at Raleigh,
North Carolina, In his fifth year he was bereaved of his father,
who lost his life in his generous and successful efforts to rescue
Colonel Thomas Henderson, editor of the "Raleigh Gazette,"
from drowning. The widow and her children were thus left
dependent upon themselves for support. Andrew was pre
vented from receiving even an ordinary education, and at the
age of ten years took his seat, as an apprentice, on the tailor's
bench, in his native town. Years of toil were before him, but
the honest labors in this humble occupation he was never will
ing to ignore. ' At a later day he said, when breaking a lance
with one of the ablest debaters in Congress, "Sir, I do not for
get that I am a mechanic, I am proud to own it. Neither do I
forget that Adam was a tailor, and sewed fig-leaves, or that our
Saviour was the son of a carpenter."
The young apprentice soon evinced remarkable powers of
mind. One proof of mental strength was the consciousness of
his^ ignorance ; another was an eager desire for knowledge.
Providence gave him an opportunity, which many a youth would
have n eglected. The shop was often visited by a townsman, who
kindly brought with him a volume of speeches, by British states
men, and lightened the hours of toil by reading to the work
men. The ambition of Andrew was fired by this torch. When
his day's work was done, he applied himself to mastering the
elements of his native language. He asked the loan of the
volume, that he might learn to read. The gentleman was so
pleased with his earnestness, and the right direction of his am
bition, that he presented Andrew the hook, and gave him assist
ance in his studies. By persistency, industry, and patience, he
began to unlock the treasures of wisdom, and store his mind
with practical information.
Another aid to learning was in reserve. Having completed
his apprenticeship, and travelled a little as a "journeyman

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
tailor," he set his eye westward. In 1826, he went with his
mother to Greenville, in Eastern Tennessee. Soon after his set
tlement there, he married a young woman, whose attainments
and devotedness qualified her to exert a marked and beneficial
infiuence upon his future life. Sympathizing ¦with him in his
pursuit of knowledge under difficulties, and in his aims to rise
above his position, she often sat with him in his shop, cheering
him with every encouragement, reading books to him, and im
parting what she could by conversation. The spare hours were
devoted to the study of the useful arts and sciences. The work-
ingmen of the town began to discover that a scholar and a
thinker was among them. He rose above mere declamation,
and reasoned logically upon subjects of political science and
government. He had enlarged upon the broad views of the more
liberal British statesmen, who had become familiar to him by
the readings in the old workshop, and he had formed clear and
definite opinions upon national affairs. " The principle of Re
publican government — the fact that it is a government of the
people, by the people, and for the people — became the centre
around which clustered all his thoughts, hopes, and aspirations."
One fact was patent to the eye of Andrew Johnson. It was
the want of a truly popular representation. There were two
classes of citizens : one composed of the few, who owned capi
tal, and were supported by slave labor; the other of the many,
who maintained themselves and their families by their own
exertions. This latter class was not properly represented in
the government. To it he belonged. To its rights he de-^oted
his thoughts and energies. He believed that intelligence and
labor should have at least an equal voice with wealth and idle
ness. He took up the cause of " the laboring classes," — a term
which he clearly defined in later years, when Jefferson Davis
asked him, superciliously, "What do you mean by 'the labor
ing classes'?" He replied, " Those who earn their bread by
the sweat of their face, and not by fatiguing their ingenuity."
From the shop of Andrew Johnson new light began to radiate.
New ideas became current among his fellow-townsmen. By
him they were aroused to assert their right to representation.
They began at home. In 1828 they chose' him to represent
them, as Alderman, in the town councils. Two years later they
elected him Mayor, in which office he served for three years.
The County Court appointed him Trustee of Rhea Academy.

ANDREW JOHNSON.
The field of his vision enlarged. He saw other wants of the
people. In 1834 he was active in the adoption of a new consti
tution for Tennessee, by which important rights were guaran
teed to the people, the freedom of the press established, and
other liberal measures secured.
He was now fairly enlisted in public life. He devoted him
self to improving the social and political condition of the peo
ple, and elevating the working classes to the independence and
dignity of freemen. They admired his courage ; they esteemed
him for his zeal on their behalf; they looked to him as their
friend and champion, and they were ever willing to give him
their voice and their vote. Having proved himself worthy of
advancement, he was elected, in 1835, to a seat in the .House of
Representatives of the State, An active member of this body,
he distinguished himself particularly by his opposition to a ,
grand scheme of internal improvements, boldly denouncing it as
abase fraud, tending "to drain the State treasury and to increase
State taxation. This independent and resolute course rendered
him so unpopular, for the time, that he was not returned the
next year. But time proved the correctness of his views, and
restored him to popular favor. In 1839 he was reelected to the
Legislature. He became more widely known as an effective orator in 1840,
when canvassing the State as a presidential elector in behalf
of Martin Van Buren. The next year he was elected to the
State Senate, in which he held a seat for two years, efficiently
laboring for the improvement of Eastern Tennessee. He was
the earnest and able advocate of all that he believed to be
right, and the fearless, candid denouncer of all that he deemed
wrong. Recognizing his abilities and services, the people en
larged the sphere of his usefulness, and sent him to Congress,
in 1843, and continued him at Washington, in that capacity, for
the following ten years.
He was not returned to Congress in 1853, because the State
had been re-districted, and his residence was thrown into a dis
trict which gave a large Whig majority. But, after an exciting
canvass, he was chosen Governor, in which office he served for
two terms. He was active in urging upon Congress the Home
stead Bill, by which it was proposed to grant " to any person
who ia the head of a family, and citizen Of the United States, a
homestead of one hundred and sixty acres Of land out of the

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
public domain, upon condition of occupancy and cultivation of
the same for the period of five years." He exerted his influ
ence for the cause of popular education in the State, and accom
plished much for internal improvement. He was still the zealous
advocate of the people's wants, and the defender of their rights.
In 1857 he was elected United States Senator by the Legis
lature of Tennessee, for the term of six years. He vigorously
advocated the Homestead Bill, and although it was finally vetoed
by President Buchanan, yet his eloquence was not lost. His
whole heart beat strong for the people, when he said, "I know
the motives that prompt me to action. I can go back to that
period in my own history, when I could not say that I had a
home. This being so, when I cast my eyes from one extreme
of the United States to the other, and behold the great number
that are homeless, I feel for them. I believe this bill would^put
them in possession of homes ; and I want to see. them realizing
that sweet conception, when each man can proclaim, 'I have a
home, an abiding place for my wife and for my children ; I am
not the tenant of another ; I am my own ruler ; and I will move
according to my own will, and jiot at the dictation of another.' "
"When replying to the assertion that all " manual laborers " were
slaves, and that such a class " constitutes the very mud-sill of
society and of political government," he said, " If this were
true, it would be very unfortunate for a good many of us, and
especially for me. I am a laborer with my hands, and I never
considered myself a slave. ... If we were to go back and fol
low out this idea, that every operative and laborer is a slave, we
should find that we have had a great many distinguished slaves
since the world commenced. Socrates, who first conceived the
idea of the immortality of the soul. Pagan as he was, labored
with his hands, — yes, wielded the chisel and the mallet, giving
polish and finish to the stone; he afterwards turned to be a
fashioner and constructor of the mind. Paul, the great ex
pounder, himself was a tent-maker, and worked with his hands ;
was he a slave ? Archimedes, who declared that, if he had a
place on which to rest the fulcrum, with the power of his lever
he could move the world ; was he a slave ? . . . When we talk
about laborers and operatives, look at the columns that adorn
this chamber, and see their finish and style. We are losfin
admiration at the architecture of your buildings, and their mas
sive columns. What would it have been but for hands to con-

ANDREW JOHNSON.
struct it ? Was the artisan who worked upon it a slave ? Let
us go to the South and see how the matter stands there. Is
every man that is not a slave-holder to be denominated a slave
because he labors ? Why indulge in such a notion ? The argu
ment cuts at both ends of the line, and this kind of doctrine
does us infinite harm in the South. There are operatives there ;
there are mechanics there ; are they slaves ? " Such words will
not be wasted ; they are good for all times.
Born and reared amid the institution and progress of African
slavery, Andrew Johnson did not oppose the system, yet he did
not advocate its extension. He was willing to leave the inhab
itants of the Territories to decide upon its existence therein.
He deprecated its introduction into the debates of Congress,
and voted generally for its protection. Yet he always rebuked
any attempted disparagement of "the laboring clas&es," and
claimed that the people had a right to be heard.
The statesmanship of Andrew Johnson rests upon the broad
principle that the power of a nation is in the people ; that
workingmen are the strength and life of government ; and that
the people are worthy of confidence. This appears from all his
speeches. We make a few quotations : — "Our true policy is
to build up the middle class, to sustain the villages, to populate
the rural districts, and let the power of this government remain
with the middle class. I want no miserable city rabble on
the one hand ; I want no pampered, bloated, corrupted aristoc
racy on the other. I want the middle portion of society to be
built up, and to let them have the control of the governmOnt.
... The people are the safest, the best, and the most reliable
lodgment of power. . , . The agricultural and mechanical por
tion of the community are to be relied upon for the preservation
and continuance of the government. The great mass of the
people, the middle class, are honest. They live by labor. . . .
Let it not be supposed that I am against learning or education,
but I speak of the man in the rural districts in the language
of Pope : 'Unlearned, he knety no schoolman's subtle art,
No language but the language of. the heart ;
By nature honest, by experience ¦wise,
Healthy by temperance and exercise.' "
He insisted upOn retrenchment in governmental expenses;
introduced resolutions to reduce the salaries of members of

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
Congress, and all officers of the government, exceeding oue
thousaflid dollars ; opposed all public appropriations for monu
ments and funeral expenses ; denied the right of members to
vote themselves books and stationery, saying " that ihey might
just as well vote to increase their salaries ; " opposed the found
ing of the Smithsonian Institute, lest it should be more burden
some on the public treasury than beneficial to the people ; voted
against all direct appropriations for the District of Columbia,
arguing that any city of the United States would cheerfully
contribute to have the national capitol removed to its limits,
and advocated that the tariff should be so amended as to tax
the wealth rather than the labor of the country. He was in
favor of the annexation of Texas, and of the Mexican War, and
opposed the Pacific Railroad bill, ever insisting that legislation
was for the good of the whole country, and not for the advan
tage of any party. His whole soul was anxious for the peace,
prosperity, and glory of the Union.
But it required the fiery ordeal of 1860 to call forth the strong
points of his character and reveal his sincere love and unswerv
ing integrity to the union of States and of people. For the
presidency he had sustained John C. Breckinridge, who had said,
" Instead of dissolving the Union, we intend to lengthen and
to strengthen it." But Abraham Lincoln had been elected.
The threat of disunion had been made in the South ; the work
of secession had begun. Every Southern representative in
Congress was asked where he stood. Some openly avowed
secession ; some hesitated for months after taking their ?eats ;
but Andrew Johnson wavered not for a moment. He readily
acquiesced in the election of Abraham Lincoln, and feared none
of those phantoms which so disturbed the imaginations of a
majority of Southern representatives and senators. He hoped
for great good from conciUatory measures, and knew that the
North would be willing to grant them. He took his seat in the
Senate. Soon he introduced a proposal to amend the Consti
tution in three particulars : the first, so that the people should
vote directly for President and Vice-President, instead of voting
for an electoral college ; the second, so that the people should
elect the Senators of the United States, instead of the Legis
latures ; and . the third, so that the Supreme Court should be
divided into three classes, and vacancies be filled by judges
chosen equally from the free and slave States. In discussing

ANDREW JOHNSON.
these proposals, he said, " I am opposed to secession, I believe
it is no remedy for the evils complained of. Instead of acting
with that division of my Southern brethren who take grounds
for secession, I shall take other grounds, while I try to accom
plish the same end. I think that this battle ought to be fought,
not outside, but inside of the Union, and fought upon the bat
tlements of the Constitution itself. I am unwilling, voluntarily,
to walk out of the Union, which has been the result of a Con
stitution made by the patriots of the Revolution. They formed •
the Constitution ; and this Union that is so much spoken of, and
which all of us are so desirous to preserve, grows out of the
Constitution. ... I will stand by the Constitution of the coun
try as it is, and by all its guaranties. ... I intend to hold on
to it as the chief ark of our safety, as the palladium of our civil
and reUgious liberty. I intend to cling to it as the shipwrecked
mariner clings to the last plank, when the night and the tempest
close around him. It is the last hope of human freedom." In
this powerful speech, delivered December 18th and 19th, 1860, he
clearly proved the unconstitutionality of secession, and said, "I
believe there is too much good sense, too much intelligence, too
much patriotism, too much capability, too much -virtue in the
great mass of the people to permit this Government to be over
thrown. I have an abiding faith, I have an unshaken confi
dence in man's capability to govern himself."
And yet while Andrew Johnson was uttering such sentiments,
in various speeches, the Union seemed to be dissolving, at the
touch of a conspiracy which had been growing fpr thirty years.
Seven of the most Southern States had already passed secession
ordinances. It was still hoped that the work of treason might
be stayed in the "Border States." Abraham Lincoln was in
augurated President. Senator Johnson returned to Tennessee,
quite confident that the loyal men would hold the State in the
Union. Already had he been burned in effigy at' Memphis, and
on his route he had been assailed and threatened with death.
He found that all loyalists were subject to a reign of terror. A
price was set upon his head. Treason raged, determined to
rule or ruin. The war was opened on Fort Sumter. The Pres
ident called for 75,000 men, and for an early session of Con
gress. Tennessee refused to furnish soldiers, but she could not
restrain her Senator from going, in due time, to take his seat at
Washington. When on his way thither, in June, he received

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
an ovation from the loyal citizens of Cincinnati, where his voice
increased the fires of patriotism in the hearts of the people.
He took his seat in the Senate, and _ soon after introduced a
resolution declaring "that the present deplorable civil war has
been forced upon the country by the disunionists of the South
ern States," and defining the objects of the war, on the part of
the Government, to be "to defend and maintain the supremacy
of the Constitution and all laws made in pursuance thereof, and
¦to preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality, and rights
of the several States unimpaired." This was passed by a vote
of thirty to five. The following day, July 27th, he dehvered
another memorable speech, in which he justified the President
in his measures for suppressing rebellion, and arraigned certain
Senators as traitors, producing an irresistible array of facts and
arguments, and convicting them by their own record. He voted
for the various bills proposed to sustain the Government,
In September he returned to the West, and addressed Union
meetings in various places, Tennessee had been overrun by
secessionists, who had confiscated his slaves, driven his sick
wife with her child into the street, and turned his house into a
hospital. The following winter he was again in the Senate,
where he spoke and voted for the expulsion of Jesse D, Bright,
a Senator from Indiana, on a charge of giving " aid and com
fort to the public enemies." In February, 1862, Genleral Grant
captured Forts Henry and Donelson, and the advance of Gen
eral Buell's forces drove the Confederates from Western and
Middle Tennessee. President Lincoln appointed Andre^w^
Johnson Military Governor of the State, with the rank of Brig
adier-General of Volunteers. The Senate confirmed the ap
pointment, and Governor Johnson reached Nashville on the
12th of March. He was enthusiastically received by the suffer
ing Unionists. He published a Irindly and patriotic "Appeal
to the People." He ordered the Mayor and City Councilmen of
Nashville to take the oath of allegiance. Upon their refusal to
do so, they were removed, and loyal officers appointed. The
press throughout the State was placed underproper super-vision.
Certain eminent traitors were imprisoned. A proclamation was
-issued against the bands of guerrillas that were committing
depredations upon Union men. Assessments were made to
support families rendered destitute by robberies and murders.
Often the tide of war set in furiously against Tennessee,

ANDREW JOHNSON.
threatening to sweep it clear of Unionists, but in such trying
times Governor Johnson remained hopeful and self-reliant,
inspiring confidence in all around him, and reviving courage
by his calmness and determination. Early in 1863 the State
¦\vas freed from all organized bodies of Confederates. Steps
were taken to restore the State government. In April, 1864, a
mass meeting was held at Knoxville, when the people declared
in favor of the emancipation of slaves, and for a convention to
change the constitution of the State so as to secure freedom to
Tennessee. In June, 1864, Andrew Johnson was nominated as the can
didate for the Vice-Presidency, by the Convention which met
at Baltimore and put Abraham Lincoln in nomination for the
Presidency. His acceptance was regarded everywhere as suf
ficient proof that he agreed with President Lincoln in the poli
cies which had distinguished his administration. All the States
voting, except three, gave immense majorities for the ticket, and
the President felt that his policies were indorsed by the people.
Victoiy also indorsed them, for shortly after the inauguration
of the President and Vice-President, the main armies of the
Confederacy surrendered. But a deed of horror suddenly
threw the nation into mourning. On the 14th of April, Pres
ident Lincoln was assassinated. He died the following morn
ing, and before noon Andrew Johnson was duly inaugurated in
the vacancy. Almost overwhelmed by the development of a
plot by which the President had fallen, and which seemed to
have been designed for the murder of his Cabinet and of the
Vice-President, and unprepared to indicate his views, he left his
policy to be determined by the necessities of the times. He
retained the acting Cabinet, and made no removals in the offices
throughout the countiy, but gave himself energetically to the
work of peace and reconstruction.
In his message to Congress, at the opening of the session,
December 1865, he maintained that the Constitution was thc
basis of Union and the source of national power, and that it
provided for its own amendment, "so that its conditions can
always be made to conform to the requirements of advancing
civilization." He held that " the plan of restoration should
proceed in conformity with a willingness to cast the disorders
of the past into oblivion," and that the "evidence of sincerity
in the future maintenance of the Union should be put beyond

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
any doubt by the ratification of the proposed amendment to
the Cobstitution, which provides for the abolition of slavery for
ever within the limits of our country." He held that this
measure would efface the sad memory of the past and secure
population, capital, unity, and confidence in the Southern States,
re-uniting them to the Federal government beyond all power of
disruption, for it would remove the element of slavery, which
had so long perplexed and divided the country. This amend
ment having been adopted, the way would be clear for the
States lately under the rule of secession to send their represent
atives to both branches of the National Legislature, each house
having the right to judge of the qualification of the applicants
claiming membership. " Treason," said he, " is a crime ; trai
tors should be punished, and the offence made infamous, and the
question forever settled that no State, of its own will, has the
right to renounce its place in the Union." He held that "all
pretended acts of secession were from the beginning null and
void. The States cannot commit treason." Therefore they
were never out of the Union, and when their elected represent
atives presented themselves at the door of Congress, they should
be admitted to seats, if loyal and duly qualified. Neither
house agreed with him in this opinion, and the Southern appli
cants were not admitted at the first. He held that the question
of negro suffrage should be left to the States, and that the
" freedmen " should have protection in their liberty, and justice
in their labor. Said he, " It is one of the greatest acts on record
to have brought four millions of people into freedom. |The
career of free industry must be opened to them."
As we now write, many of the great questions pertaining to
the reconstruction of the Union are pending, and it is impos
sible for us to present all the views of President Johnson, or to
trace the results of his policy. Having already made himself a
name, — having passed through the various degrees of official
responsibility, and attained to the highest position in the gov
ernment by steps that leave their print for the study and guid
ance of young men who would elevate themselves above their
obscure condition, — having proved himself an orator, a states
man, and a popular ruler, and having begun his administration
with the promise of favor among the people of all parties, —
there can be no doubt that Andrew Johnson will be a man
of history.

Ehoto^aph by F. Gu-tekunst .

t'ingi-aved hy R. Wiitediurdi.

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GEORGE GORDON MEADE.
In the early part of the present century, there were certain
commercial claims and naval difficulties to be settled between
the United States and Spain. For their adjustment, the
President selected Richard W. Meade, a most worthy citizen
of Philadelphia, then a temporary resident of Cadiz, Spain,
where he had been engaged in numerous mercantile trans
actions with the Spanish government. His character and
experience admirably qualified him for the responsible offices
of Consul and Na-vy Agent of the United States. He so
fulfilled them that all parties gave him high honor. The
claims were peaceably settled ; and mainly through his influ
ence and exertions, the territory of Florida was secured to
the United States. His wife, Margaret, was descended from
the noble family of Ormonde, in Ireland. While at Cadiz, in
1815, George Gordon Meade was born. During his infancy,
his parents returned to Philadelphia.
Among his earlier teachers was Salmon P. Chase, who taught
in Georgetown, District of Columbia. The one did not expect
to see his modest pupil become a commander-in-chief; the
other did not anticipate that his worthy preceptor would become
the Chief Justice of the United States. Young Meade spent
a short time in the military academy at Mount Airy, near
Philadelphia; ^nd in September, 1831, he was enrolled as a
cadet at West Point. Having graduated, in 1835, he was
appointed Second Lieutenant in the Third Artillery, and imme
diately ordered to Florida. As an officer, he won distinction in
the severe campaigns against the Seminole Indians. An illness,
at one time, prevented him from serving with his regiment ;
Providence thus saved him from being a victim in the horrible
"Dade Massacre." The lessons in that school of the swamps,
were to prove serviceable to his country in later years.
Exposure and hardship so impaired his health, that Lieutenant
Meade resigned his commission in October, 1836, and adopted

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
the profession of civil engineer. He was employed by the
government in various scientific surveys, particularly those for
the demarcation of the boundary line between the United States
and Canada. In May, 1842, he was appointed a Second Lieu
tenant in the corps of Topographical Engineers.
It was in the war between the United States and Mexico, that
Lieutenant Meade gave the most striking evidence of those
superior military traits and qualifications which have since made
his name renowned. While serving, at different times, on the
staffs of Generals Taylor and Scott, his abilities were of the
greatest value. At Palo Alto, at Resaca de la Palma, at Monterey,
at Saltillo, aud at Vera Cruz, his conduct was marked by a degree
of bravery that made him worthy of high official commendation.
He was immediately brevetted a First Lieutenant. On his re
turn from these victorious campaigns, he was presented, by the
citizens of Philadelphia, with a beautiful and costly sword, as
a slight token of the estimation in which he was held by the
people. Peace had again blessed the land, and Lieutenant Meade was
actively employed in various national services, such as the
improvement of rivers and harbors, and the construction of
lighthouses. Of his labors, the mariners upon Delaware Bay reap
the benefit. "When hostilities were again threatened in Florida,
he took th'e field with his old commander. General Zachary
Taylor. During the campaign of six months, his advice pre
vailed in the choice of a site for a fort on the western coast of
the State. It was built, and, in his honor, named Fort Meade,
a title which it bears to the present day. In 1856, he was com
missioned a Captain in the corps of Topographical Engineers,
and placed in charge of the important geodetic and hydraulic
surveys of the great northern lakes. Under his able supervision,
the work progressed rapidly and satisfactorily, as the various,
charts abundantly testify. His noble and gentlemanly qualities
won him the confidence of the government, and the esteem, of
the people among whom he was a transient visitor. He was
stationed at Detroit, Michigan, in the spring of 1861, when the
guns that battered Fort Sumter, proclaimed war throughout the
land. Captain Meade knew where was the sphere of patriotic
duty, aTi_d held himself ready for the call of his government.
By order, he reported himself at Washington. On the thirty-
first of August, 1861, he was appointed a Brigadier-General of

GEORGE GORDON MEADE.
volunteers, and was assigned to the command of the second
brigade of the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps, "a fine body of
men, raised by his native state for the war." For several
months he was with his command in the lines which defended
the national capital. To describe all his heroic actions during
the advance into Virginia, and during the Peninsular campaign
of 1862, it would be necessary to write the histoiy of the Army
of the Potomac through that eventful year. At no time was
General Meade found wanting in valor and ability. While
under General McDowell, he commanded his brigade in several
important reconnoisances ; on one of which, the second brigade
marched from Fairfax to a point near Drainesville, and captured
a large amount of supplies. After the battle of Hanover Court
House, he was ordered, with his command, to join General
McClellan on the Peninsula.
The battle of Mechanicsville was the first in the series of
fierce engagements known as the " Seven Days' Contests,"
beginning on the twenty-sixth of June. On one day, we see
General Meade rushing, with his gallant Reserves, into the
thickest of the fight, contending stoutly, for three hours, against
a determined foe — rallying a regiment that falters under over
powering numbers, and bringing it again into the line of battle,
and making himself the hero of Gaines' Mills. Three days
later, the Pennsylvania Reseiwes were posted on the New Market
road, to guard the immense supply-trains of the army, which
were then passing toward the James river. General McCall,
who commanded the Reserves, ordered Meade's brigade to form
the right wing, and await the approach of the enemy. He and
his men must receive the first attack. The battle was soon
raging with almost unexampled fierceness. For four hours,
the main advance of General Lee's army was held in check.
It was Lee's purpose to intercept the flank movement of General
McClellan, fall upon the Union forces, and destroy them. The
Confederates drew nearer; but the line of the Pennsylvania
Reserves was unbroken. The roar of war fllled the air, the
heavens grew black with smoke, the carnage was fearful. Still
nearer came Lee's forces, pressing almost upon the very mouths
of the cannon that poured death into their ranks. Many a
Union officer and soldier did his duty that day, as if his countiy
was looking upon him, ready to crown him when the victoiy
should be won. In the hottest of the fight. General Meade's

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
commanding figure was seen; and where shot and shell fell
thickest around him, he seemed to have most self-possession.
Riding up to his line, he said: "Men, you have done nobly;
you have covered yourselves with glory ; you could not have
pleased me better." After some conversation with Colonel
(now General) Sickels, he asked if he could not give the
advancing enemy a bayonet charge. " I think we can," replied
Sickels, " although we are very tired." In a moment more, the
order was given: "Charge!" The men shouted, and sprang
forward; the steel clashed; groans were heard from the enemy,
and shouts of triumph from the Union soldiers. It was all over
in the twinkling of an eye. The advance of Lee's army was
checked, and the whole Army of the Potomac was saved by
concentrating it on the James river during the following night.
Among the thousands of wounded officers and men, waa
General Meade, who received two balls while urging forward
his column. Although the wounds were very severe, he rode
for some distance to a temporary hospital, probably expecting
never again to lead onward his brave troops. At first the
injuries were supposed to be mortal. He was removed to his
home in Philadelphia, where for six weeks he was compelled to
rest from active service.
Immediately upon his recovery, he rejoined his brigade, just
when the Army of the Potomac began its withdrawal from the
Peninsula. The Pennsylvania Reserves were the first troopSj
from that army, that reinforced General Pope, who commanded
the forces on the Rappahannock. The Reserves were commanded
by General John F. Reynolds, who led them to Manassas, where
the battle of Groveton (second Bull Run) was fought. The
celebrated campaign under Pope, closed with a great retreat.
General Pope, in his official report, says : " The Pennsylvania
Reserves, under Reynolds, rendered most gallant and efficient
service in all the operations which occurred after they had
reported to me. General Meade performed his duty with
ability and gallantry, and in all fidelity to the government
and to the army." In the official report of General Reynolds,
he also says : " General Meade, as heretofore, led and conducted
his brigade in the most skillful manner, through the entire
marches and actions."
Early in September, 1862, the Confederate forces were pushing
into Maryland, with the confidant hope of making a successful

GEORGE GORDON MEADE.
invasion into the loyal States. General Meade was assigned to
the command of all the Pennsylvania Reserves, as a part of
Hooker's corps. In the battle of South Mountain, this veteran
division manifested its usual prowess. In front of it was the
enemy, strongly fortified on heights difficult to attack. Every
man was at his post. Under an incessant fire, the line moved
on, pouring their volleys into the intrenchments of the foe.
The ground had been made difficult by the enemy, who had
added every sort of obstacle to the natural obstructions. But
General Meade pushed up the mountain-side with his brave
men, dislodging the Confederates, and gaining new positions.
A general engagement was brought on, and the heroic com
mander of the Reserves had reason to believe that an effort was
being made to outflank him. He applied for reinforcements,
but before they arrived, he swept all before him, and gained
possession of the mountain. The men caught his martial spirit;
and, stimulated by a strong confidence in his ability and in
success, they clambered up to the crest, and drove the enemy
down the rugged steeps into the valley beneath. The left flank
of Lee's army was turned, and victory secured to the Union
cause. All had done nobly; but in limiting our attention to
General Meade, wd find that in this engagement he won the
praise of his superior officers, and the admiration of his men.
In the battle of Antietam, the action was commenced by
General Meade and his Reserves. On the afternoon of the
sixteenth of September, he conducted a vigorous attack upon
the enemy's left fiank. His di'vision was soon most hotly
engaged. During nearly four hours, the fighting was desperate.
Then the enemy fled, pursued by Meade for almost three miles.
The Reserves rested for the night upon the field where they had
conquered a greatly superior force. The darkness had ended
the conflict on the evening before ; the dawn of the morning was
to renew it. At the break of day, the great battle of Antietam
was renewed by Meade's division. For half an hour, after the
battle had become terriflc and deadly, neither line seemed to
falter in the least. The awful half hour passed, drowned in
blood. Then the Confederate line gave way a little — only a
little ; but at the flrst indication of it, the Union forces heard
the order to " advance !" Onward went the line, with a shout and
a rush. Backward went the retreating enemy, across a corn
field, over the fence, and into the dark woods beyond, leaving

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
their dead and wounded behind them. " Meade and his Penn-
sylvanians followed hard and fast," says an eye-witness, " until
they came within easy range of the woods, where they, at first,
saw the beaten enemy disappearing among the trees."
But reinforcements had come to the enemy. Out of those
gloomy woods came, suddenly and heavily, terrible volleys of
fire, which smote, and bent, and broke the line of the Union
Reserves. It was a critical hour. Must these veterans yield to
overpowering masses ? There was no panic. Their ammunition
was gone ; they could not use the bayonet ; they closed up
their shattered lines, and fell back slowly, maintaining that £.rm
determination and exemplary discipline which had made them
invincible in former contests. A regiment passed over the spot
where a brigade had been ; a brigade where a division had
proved victorious in the advance. Their valiant General was
constantly cheering and encouraging them -with his presence
and his voice; and not content with giving an order, he went
himself to see it executed. Shot and shell plowed the earth
around him; two horses fell under him; a spent grape gave
him a slight wound ; but he led the living portion of his men
from the field in such a masterly manner, that the enemy gained
no real advantage over him. Other forces waged the battle until
the Federal army won the field of Antietam. It should he stated,
that on this same morning Major-General Hooker was wounded,
and General Meade was placed, temporarily, in command of the
First Army Corps, although he was the junior in rank to several
other officers on the field. In' this superior command, he con
tributed greatly to the victory.
On the return of General Reynolds to the army. General'
Meade re-assumed the command of the Pennsylvania Reserves.
At the battle of Fredericksburg, December 13th, 1862, Meade's
division was among the first to cross the Rappahannock, on the
night and morning preceding the engagement, and to keep the
enemy at bay for several hours. Meade boldly attacked the
enemy in position, succeeded in carrying his lines, and penetrate
ing to the baggage-train in the rear ; but after charging up the
slope, he was not followed with reinforcements, nor supported.
Overwhelming numbers of troops poured down upon him, and
;the concentration of the enemy's reserves compelled him to
withdraw his division with a hea-vy loss of men, but without
loss of honor. Fredericksburg was not taken at that time. Por

GEORGE GORDON MEADE.
his services in the several past engagements, our hero was
appointed a Major-General of volunteers, to date from Novem
ber 29th, 1862 — an honorable promotion, for which he had been
earnestly recommended by his officers superior in command.
In the January following, he was assigned to the command
of the Fifth Army Corps, and for a brief period he commanded
the centre Grand Division of the army. When General Hooker
led the Army of the Potomac across the Rapidan, in April, Gen
eral Meade, with the Fifth Corps, accomplished a march of nearly
fifty miles, in less than three days, and reached Chancellorsville.
Three days' aftei:wards, the great battle opened in front of his
lines. The engagement became general and terrific. During
all the three days' struggle, he displayed a remarkable skill iu
handling troops at a trying time. ' When, at length, it was
decided to re-cross the Rapidan, Meade's corps covered the
retreat, keeping a vigilant guard over the fords until the other
part of the army had passed in safety to the northern bank.
The next offensive movement of General Lee, was into
Maryland. Before daylight, on the twenty-eight of June, General Meade
was roused from his slumbers in his tent, at Frederick, Mary
land, by a messenger from Washington, who notified him that
he had been selected to command ,the Army of the Potomac.
He was the junior, in rank and age, of many distinguished
officers. He felt the responsibility of taking the command of
the most powerful army in the country, almost in the presence
of a victorious and defiant enemy, led by the most distinguished -
chieftain of the Confederacy. A struggle, the most sanguinary
of the whole war, was threatened and expected. There was no
time for re-organization. He must take things just as they
were, and make the best of them. With diffidence, he accepted
the appointment of the President. In his brief address to the
army, he said: "As a soldier, in obeying this order — an order
totally unexpected and unsolicited — I have no promises or
pledges to make. The country looks to this army to relieve
it from the devastation ahd disgrace of a hostile invasion.
Whatever fatigues and sacrifices we may be called upon to
undergo, let us have in view, constantly, the magnitude of the
interests involved ; and let each man determine to do his duty,
leaving to an all-controlling Providence the decision of the
contest." 7

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
The President had selected him solely on account of his
superior ability ; and the choice was soon ratified by the soldiery
and by the people. On the very day of his appointment, he
took means to ascertain the strength of the two great armies
soon to meet in deadly colhsion, "The next day, the Army of
the Potomac was put in motion ; on the next General Reynolds
was ordered to occupy Gettysburg, in doing which, he fell, mor
tally wounded. General Meade requested that " all commanding
officers address their troops, explaining to them the immense
issues involved in the struggle," and also "to order the instant
death of any soldier who fails to do his duty at this hour."
Then began the bloody and furious three days' hattle, so
memorable in history. To relate what the Commander-in-Chief
performed, during the struggle, would require a full account of
the terrible contest. It will never be forgotten how the Fourth
of July was re-consecrated to Liberty, by the victory at Gettys
burg, and also by the surrender of Vicksburg to General Grant.
In his congratulatory address. General Meade thanked the army
" for the glorious result," and also said : " It is right and proper
that wo should, on suitable occasions, return our grateful thanks
to the Almighty Disposer of events, that, in the goodness of
His providence. He has thought fit to give victoiy to the cause
of the just."
And now let us look at " the illustrious hero of Gettysburg,"
as he is portrayed by an Englishman, who saw him at Hagers
town, Maryland : " I was so fortunate as to be personally
introduced to General Meade. . . . He is a very remarkable-
looking man — tall, spare, of a commanding figure and presence;
his manners easy and pleasant, but having much dignity. His
head is partially bald, and is small and compact; but the fore
head is high. He has the late Duke of Wellington class of
nose ; and his eyes, which have a serious, and almost sad
expression, are rather sunken, or appear so, from the promi
nence of the curved nasal development. He has a decidedly
patrician and distinguished appearance. I had some conversa
tion ; and of his recent achievements he spoke in a modest and
natural way. He said that he had been ' very fortunate ;' but
was most especially anxious not to arrogate to himself any
credit which he did not deserve. He said that the triumph of
the Federal arms was due to the splendid courage of the Union
troops, and also to the bad strategy, and rash and mad attacks

GEORGE GORDON MEADE.
made by the enemy. He said that his health was remarkably
good, and that he could bear almost any amount of physical
fatigue. What he complained of was, the intense mental
anxiety occasioned by the great responsibility of his position."
Histoiy will prove that it would have been unwise, if not
impossible, for him to prevent the retreating Confederates from
crossing the Potomac into Virginia. In explaining his course,
a prominent officer speaks of him as " a thoroughly educated
soldier, a man of lofty character, loyal to the core, yet unknown
to party cliques, embarrassed by no military jealousies, prompt,
active, untiring, yet discreet, displaying skill as a field-officer
hitherto unprecedented ; a soldier, and only a soldier, and ex
hibiting, in his despatches and official conduct a modesty and
a sense of duty as rare as commendable. We cannot help
hoping much from him, and are willing to trust much to him ; .
especially as there looks out from all his conduct one quality —
an humble recognition that victory is of the Lord, and that to
Him belongs the glory."
The Pennsylvania Reserve Corps presented to their Com
mander-in-Chief a sword, whose blade was of the finest Damascus
steel, and whose scabbard was of pure gold, along with valuable
accompaniments. Congress acknowleged his brilliant services,
and appointed him a Brigadier-General in the regular army.
In the autumn, the Army of the Potomac was considerably
weakened, by detachments being sent to various distant points.
Ascertaining this fact, Lde crossed the Rapidan, in October,
moved on Meade's right fiank, and threatened[ his communica
tions with the North. Meade, though anxious to give battle,
'yet determined not to do so on Lee's terms, maneuvered his
troops by retiring and occupying the strong position of Centre-
ville. Lee abandoned the contest, after making several attempts
to intercept the Union army, and being severely repulsed, with
heavy losses. Meade re-estabhshed his communications, and
then advanced on Lee, who retired, first behind the Rappahan
nock, which Meade forced, by some brilliant movements, and
then to the Rapidan, w^hich Meade crossed on November 26th.
An attempt was made to drive Lee to the North Anna ; but
owing to the slow arrival of certain troops, and the lateness of
the season, the campaign was abandoned. Meade retired to
the north side of the Rapidan, terminating the offensive opera
tions of 1863.

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
Before the campaigns of 1864 commenced, the office of Lieu
tenant-General was conferred upon U. S. Grant, who assumed
command of all the armies of the Union, and established his
head-quarters with the Army of the Potomac. "While the
main movements were directed by the Lieutenant-General, the
immediate command was still retained by General Meade, who
personally directed the field movements in the battles of the
Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North Anna, Cold Harbor, and in
front of Petersburg. For his services in ' these campaigns.
Congress confirmed his appointment as a Major-General in the
regular army. On this subject, there was, at first, some discus
sion in Congress, which drew from Lieutenant-General Grant
a letter, in which he said :
***** "I ggg gome objections are raised to Meade's confirmation as
Major-General in the regular army. I am sorry this should be so. General
Meade is one of our truest men, and ablest officers. He has been constantly
¦with that army, confronting the strongest, best appointed, and most confldent
army in the South. He, therefore, has not had the same opportunity of -vrinning
laurels so distinctly marked, as have fallen to the lot of other generals. But
I defy any man to name a commander who -would do more than Meade haa
done, -with the same chances. General Meade -was appointed at my solicitation,
after a campaign the most protracted, and covering more severely contested
battles, than any of which -we have any account in history. I have been -with
General Meade during the -whole campaign ; and I not only made the recom
mendation upon a conviction that this recognition of his services was fully won,
but that he -was eminently qualified for the command such rank would entitle
him to." *****
In all the movements of the Army of the Potomac which
resulted in the fall of Petersburg and Richmond, and the sur
render of General Lee, with the Army of Northern Virginia,
General Meade bore a distinguished part. At the close of the
war, he was assigned to the military di-vision of the Atlantic,
comprising all the states on the Atlantic coast.
Major-General Meade was married, in 1840, to a daughter of
the Hon. John Sergeant, of Philadelphia, and has four sons and'
three daughters. He is but one of a large family, several of
whose members have bravely served the Union cause. Few
men are more patriotically devoted to their country. It is
hoped that war may ne-ver again put the country in need of his
services, and that a grateful people will cherish his remem
brance, for the sake of his past deeds of courage and of
victory.

iiiiiWi'i!iiiiy,«iiii,ij(«''iiii Ml I I ( I i| I I II I'H-tW

EngTayea by ¦ff°TT'eItt^od

WHLILILftM T. ^mmimMM W,§,A.

WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN.
Thirteen years after the Mayflower landed her pilgrims on the
shores of the New World, a plain bark brought the Shermans
into Boston harbor. There were three of them, of three different
professions : Samuel, an honorable lawyer ; John, a Puritan min
ister; and their cousin John, a captain, from whom descended
Roger Sherman, one of the signers of the Declaration of Inde
pendence. They had come from Dedham, England, with ad
vanced ideas of civiV and religious liberty. Their coat of arms
bore a lion rampant, and a sea-lion on the crest. The motto
was : " Conquer death by virtue." The significance of the lion
would be fulfilled, two hundred and thirty years after their
landing in America, by a great-grandson of the Hon. Samuel
Sherman. In the early part of the present century, a widow, with three
children, left her husband's grave in Connecticut, and settled
in Ohio, the empire state of the western world. She was the
relict of Judge Taylor Sherman. Her son Charles, settled in
Lancaster, became an eloquent advocate, and a judge of the
Superior Court of the State, He died suddenly, in 1829,,having
been seized, as is supposed, with cholera, while presiding over
his court. Eleven children were thus left fatherless, with little
fortune, but with a devoted mother, and courageous Ihearts.
The sixth of these children was William Tecumseh Sherman,
who was born February 8th, 1820. His father had so admired
the really great Indian chieftain, Tecumseh, that his was one of
the names given to the child. John, the able senator from Ohio,
is a younger brother.
William Tecumseh was one day playing in the sand, and
throwing up miniature fortifications^ according to the inventions
of his young genius, when the Hon. Thomas Ewing, a resident
of Lancaster, entered the widowed mother's dwelling, talked a
short time, then went to the saaid-bank, and said to the lad :
"Come, my boy, you are going to live with me. I have seen

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
your mother, and she has given her consent." The astonished
little worker looked at his benefactor, shook off" the sand, and
followed him home. He was soon a pupil in the academy of
the town. Though but nine years of age, he convinced his
teacher and schoolmates that he might yet have a bright career.
The remarkable trait which his patron then observed in him,
was his ready power of execution, when little matters of business
wcre committed to him. Mr. Ewing says that he "never knew
so young a boy who would do an errand so correctly and
promptly as he. did. He was transparently Jionest, faithful, and
reliable. Studious and correct in his habits, his progress in
education -was steady and substantial." At the age of sixteen,
he was offered a place in the military academy at West Point,
by his benefactor, wdiose official position put the appointment
in his hands. Young Sherman had a taste for military life, and
gladly accepted the new position. So modest, yet self-possessed,
and so dignified was he in his examination for a cadetship, that
one of the professors remarked : " He is a blooded fellow." As
a late writer says: "He had the ingrained qualities of manli
ness." He maintained the high respect of the officers and
students, was efficient in artillery and in cavalry exercises, and
graduated the fifth in the class of 1840.
One of his rules, from the first, was to lose no time in military
movements. He was soon made a Second-Lieutenant in the
Third Artillery, and sent into Florida, to assist in subduing the
Indians. There he gained a knowledge of southern swamps,
which afterwards proved to be of great use to him and his
threatened country. We find him a First-Lieutenant in 1841.
He passed nearly five years of dull life, on duty in Fort Moultrie.
Then he was sent to the frontier, in California, to guard, the
United States from the invasions of the Mexicans. He was
not engaged in the severer part of the war with Mexico, but
he did well his duty on the frontier. He saw the beginning
of the intense excitement for California gold, being at Sacra
mento when the first discovery of the golden sands was made.
But he was not tempted from his loyal duty to his government.
When war had ceased, he repaired to Washington, where
he married Ellen Ewing, the accomplished daughter of the
honorable Senator from Ohio. The wedding occasion was
graced by the presence of an unusual number of distinguished
persons, among whom were General Zachaiy Taylor, and the

WILLIAM TECUMSE-H SHERMAN.
great statesmen, Daniel Webster and Henry Clay. He was then
congratulated as Captain Sherman. Military life was so tame,
and then held out so little prospect of earnest duty, that, in
1853, he resigned his commission, and accepted a position at
the head of a new banking-house in San Francisco, under the
title of "Lucas, Turner & Co." There he grew familiar with
the finances and the politics of the country. The faithful
errand-boy was' the trusty and successful banker. But he seems
to have wished for a more active, intellectual life. Having cer
tain land interests in Kansas, he went to Leavenworth, and,
with some young friends, opened a law-office, the firm being
that of Ewing, Sherman, and McCook. Prior to this, he had
managed a farm, near Topeka; and his neighbors spoke of his
abrupt manner, reserved yet forcible speech and character. As
a lawyer, he had an insurmountable objection to pleading in
court ; but when consulted, he exhibited a thorough Imowledge
of legal principles, a clear, logical perception of the points of
equity, and a high sense of justice. Yet he was not quite at
home in the law, and a position which would connect him with
military affairs was preparing for him.
The State of Louisiana founded a military academy, in 1860,
at Alexandria, and offered the presidency to Captain Sherman,
on a salary of five thousand dollars. He accepted it, and im
mediately entered upon his duties. Scarcely had he begun to
direct the genius of the young cadets, when mutterings were
heard, throughout the South, ominous of war. He believed,
from the first, that the Southern people would fight. He met
the spirit of rebellion in the class-room. The prospects gave
him many a sad thought, for there was everything horrible to
be feared for his country, in a civil war. But he had no struggle
in coming to a decision in regard to his own duty. He took his
pen, on the 18th of January, 1861, and wrote to Governor Moore
a most characteristic letter :
" As I occupy a quasi military position under this State, I deem it proper to
acquaint you that I accepted such position when Louisiana was a State in the
Union, and the motto of the Seminary was inserted, in marble, over the main
door: 'By the liberality ofthe General Government ofthe United States. The
Union: Usto perpetua.' Recent events foreshado-w a great changej and it
becomes all men to choose. If Louisiana -withdraws from the Federal Union,
J prefer to maintain my allegiance to the old constitution, as long as a fragment
of it survives ; and my longer stay here would be wrong in every sense of the
word. In that event, I beg you -will send or appoint some authorized agent to

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
take charge of the arms and munitions of war here belonging to the State, or
direct me -what disposition should be made of them. And, furthermore, as
President of the Board of Supervisors, I beg you to take immediate steps to
relieve me as Superintendent, the moment the State determines to secede ; for
on no earthly account will I do any act, or think any thought, hostile to, or in
defiance of, the old government of the United States."
The Captain was clearly understood, and relieved. One might
have met him, shortly afterwards, as the capable superintendent
of a street railroad, in St. Louis, Missouri, on a salary not half
so large as that he had just abandoned. But he was so heroic
as to make any sacrifice for loyalty to his country, and to engage
in any honest labor by which he might be useful. Such manly
independence is always sublime. It was worthy of his ancestors.
But how could he rest in private life, after the loud call that
thundered from the same Charleston harbor with which he had
once been so familiar ? There were many in the country who
thought that Sherman ought to be doing something else than
managing a city railroad. Up the great river, was a certain
unassuming graduate of West Point, named Grant, who was
offering his services to the government. His friends, among
whom was Mr. Ewing, urged Sherman to offer himself He
hastened to the capital of the nation.
" Civil war is imminent, and we are unprepared for it," said
he, to Secretary Cameron. " I have come to offer my services
to the country, in the struggle before us." The reply astonished
the applicant, who understood the Southern spirit, and had
measured somewhat the vastness of the work of defence and
restoration. It was, that the excitement would probably soon be
over, and that few more troops would be needed. The Secretary
of War was also surprised at the earnestness of Sherman.
President Lincoln, whose call for 75,000 men was bringing
rapidly an army into the field, smiled at the serious enthusiasm
of the man, and said : " We shall not need many more like you :
the whole affair will soon blow over." The Puritanic Tecumseh
went away with an increased anxiety for h^s country. He felt
that to expect anything short of a most gigantic war, was an
absurdity. He was then almost alone in his estimate of the
fearful confiict.
The appointment of Captain Sherman to an important com
mand, was mentioned to him by those -who knew him best. He
gallantly replied : " I do not wish a prominent place ; this is to

AVILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN.
be a long and bloody war." He was commissioned as a Colonel
of the Thirteenth Infantry, in the regular army, May 14th, 1861,
under General McDowell. At Bull Run, he urged on the brigade
which had been placed under him, into the severest of the battle,
and faltered not until he was chagrined by the order to retreat.
His conduct was signally brilliant during that whole engage
ment. His brigade is said to have been the only one that retired
from the field in good order, making a firm stand at the bridge
opposite Washington, ready to defend the Capital in case the
enemy should pursue the panic-stricken forces of the, govern
ment. It Was this unexampled service that won him, in the
next August, the appointment of Brigadier-General of volun
teers. We next meet him in Kentucky, where he was compelled to
be wary of the enemy, saying: " Our forces are too small to do
good,, and too large to be sacrificed." He insisted upon having
men enough for a forward movement. On being asked how
many would be needed for defence, and for aggression, he said:
" Two hundred thousand men." This reply startled many
eminent men in the Cabinet and in Congress. They could not
believe him, when he said : " .That to make a successful, advance
against the enemy, strongly posted at all strategic points from
the Mississippi to Cumberland Gap, would require an army two
hundred thousand strong!" The reinforcements could notbe
granted, and he asked to be relieved. He was succeeded by
General Buell. We have not space to describe the part he took
in forwarding men and supplies to assist General Grant, in the
victories at Forts Henry andDpnelson; nor tell how he com
manded a division at Pittsburg J^anding— was fiercely attacked,
had fovjr horses shot under him in one day, saved two strong
brigades from a panic, kept hisi wounded arm in a sling, con
ducted a slight retreat with success, took a new position, man
aged the artillery against a charge by the enemy, whose horses
were sent back with empty st^ddles, or.piled up in heaps.on the
field, and finally, how he sent the foe retreating to Corinth. Of
his generalship, the courageous General Rosseau said: " He gave
us our first lessons in the field in the face of an enemy;, and of
all the men I ever saw, he is the most untiring, vigilant, and
patient  devoid of ambition, incapable of envy, he is brave,
gallant, and just."
Nor can w'e dwell upon his valorous achievements at Corinth,

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
in the bayous above Vicksburg, nor in the various attempts to
capture -that proud stronghold on the Mississippi. He was then
a Major-General, but was ranked by General McClernand, who
was sent to assist General Grant. It was, therefore, necessary
for General Sherman to fall back in the command of his old
corps; and in giving up the large division to his superior in
rank, he most gracefully and loyally said, in his fare-well-order
to the soldiers : " We failed in accomplishing one purpose of
our movement — the capture of Vicksburg ; but we were part
of a whole. Ours was but part of a combined movement ....
We were on time : unforeseen contingencies must have delayed
the others .... A new commander is now here to lead you. He
is chosen by the President of the United States, who is charged
by the Constitution to maintain and defend it ; and he has the
undoubted right .to select his own agents .... There are honors
enough in reserve for all, and work enough, too. Let each do
his appropriate part, and our nation must, in the end, emerge
from this dire conflict, purified and ennobled by the fires which
now test its strength and purity."
• General Sherman still handled his corps wdth skill in the
region of Vicksburg ; now keeping the Confederate General
Johnston at bay, now assisting in routing him at Jackson, the
capital of Mississippi, and there destroying all that could be of
value to the enemy. About seven, one morning, he received
word from General Grant to make some speedy marches ; and
one hour from that moment, his whole army was in motion.
Of his movements and merits, at this period, let General Grant
tell us : " His demonstrations at Haines' Bluff, in April, to hold
the enemy about Vicksburg, while the army was securing a
foothold east of the Mississippi ; his rapid marches to join the
army afterwards; his management at Jackson, Mississippi, in
the first attack ; his almost unequalled march from Jackson to
Bridgeport, and passage of the Black river ; his securing Walnut
Hills, on the eighteenth of May, attest his great merit as a
soldier." While General Grant was taking Vicksburg, Sherman was
defeating Johnston, in such a brilliant manner, that, in addition
to what has just been noted, some one said: "The dispersion
of Johnston's army entitles General Sherman ta more honor
than usually falls to the lot of one man to earn." On one of
those days there was no small stir at his head-quarters. His

WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN.
wife, and son bearing his own name, visited him. The lad
remained with his father; the Corps adopted him as the Child
of the Army. But soon disease took away his young life. The
iron General showed all the tenderness of a father whose life
had been bound up in the lad's life. In his most touching reply
to the Thirteenth Corps, after the brave soldiers had expressed
their sympathy, he wrote : " My poor Willie was, or thought he
was, a sergeant of the Thirteenth. Child as he was, he had the
enthusiasm, the pure love of truth, honor, and love Of countiy,
which should animate all soldiers. God only knows why he
should die thus young. He is dead, but will not be forgotten
till those who knew him in life have followed him to that same
mysterious end." The soldiers raised a monument to his memory.
In all the general movements that resulted in the possession
of Chattanooga, the defence of Knoxville, and the great moun
tain victories. General Sherman was conspicuous. On the part
of himself and his men, there was many " a brilliant display of
valor baptized in blood." It was during those days that he
thus replied to a certain Baltimore lady, who had reminded him
of the "invasion" in which he w'as engaged, to her surprise:
" All I pretend to say, on earth, as in heaven, man must submit
to some arbiter. He must not throw off his allegiance to his
government or his God, without just reason and cause. The
South has no cause ; not even a pretext. Indeed, by her
unjustifiable course, she has thrown away the proud history
of the past, and laid open her fair country to the tread of
devastating war. She bantered and bullied us to the confiict.
Had we declined battle, America would have sunk back coward
and craven, meriting the contempt of all mankind .... I would
not subjugate the South in the term so oft'ensively assumed; but
I would make every citizen of the land obey the common law,
submit to the same that we do — no worse, no better; our equals,
and not our superiors .... I am married, have a wife and six
children living in Lancaster, Ohio. My course has been an
eventful one ; but I hope, when the clouds of anger and passion
are dispersed, and truth emerges bright and clear, you, and all
who knew me in early years, will not blush that we were once
dear friends. Tell  — , fpr me, that I hope she may live to
realize that the doctrine of 'Secession' is as monstrous, in our
civil code, as disobedience was in the Divine law."
With such views. General Sherman prepared to capture

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
Atlanta, the key to the whole South — the point on which her
destinl^ hinged. He was then the great commander of the
army in Georgia. By profound strategy, he divided the forces
of the enemy — a part being drawn off to Jonesboro' — and he
threw his army, like a wedge, between them ; so that the fall
of Atlanta was certain. All behind him seemed full of danger.
His base was hardly Chattanooga, but Nashville, and divisions
of the Confederate forces were greatly annoying him in the
rear. The whole loyal country was full of anxiety, lest his
army would be forced to abandon the prize. The logic of
many mere news-readers, or fire-side strategists, was that Sher
man must retreat. Yet Sherman did not retreat. He "pushed
on and took Atlanta, ending logic and campaign both at once."
His sublimely simple message was : " Atlanta is ours, and fairly
won." In all patriotic homes throughout the entire loyal land,
from the President's mansion, to the forest cabin in which, a
brave distant soldier -was hourly remembered, there were praises
of Sherman mingling with expressions of gratitude to God. At
the call of the Chief Magistrate, a day of special thanksgiving
was observed.
The name of "Atlanta " was inscribed on the battle-flags; hut
the to-wn was ordered to be abandoned by the inhabitants, and
comparatively destroyed. For there were other plans, other
marches, other conquests in view. Sherman, in concert with
Lieutenant-General Grant, was thinking of the march to the
sea. Let the enemy threaten Kentucky, or move on Nashville,
or do his utmost to draw the rightful invader from his purpose,
it would all be in vain. General Thomas would defeat all the
operations of General Hood. Our hero was fully resolved, as
he said, " to move through Georgia, smashing things, to the
sea." It was the year 1864. The Lieutenant-General says, in
his report : " Having concentrated his troops at Atlanta by tbe
fourteenth of November, he commenced his march, threatening
both Augusta and Macon. His coming-out point could not be
definitely flxed. Having to gather his subsistence as he marched
through the country, it was not impossible that a force inferior
to his own might compel him to head for such point as he could
reach, instead of such as he might prefer. The blindness of
the enemy, however, in ignoring his movement, and sending
Hood's army — the only considerable force he had west of
Richmond, and east of the Mississippi river — northwai-d on

WILLLAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN.
an offensive campaign, left the country open, and Sherman's
route to his own choice."
The Confederates said that "his march would only lead him
to the 'Paradise of Fools.' " But as he moved onward, threat
ening points which he did not intend to capture, taking cities
when he was not expected, destroying the resources of the
enemy, cutting the Confederacy into two parts, publishing
everywhere the Emancipation Proclamation to the slaves, show
ing every kindness to that long enslaved race, and inviting their
able-bodied men to join the conquering army, it was discovered
that his march -would lead him iuto the proud city of Savannah.
It was defended with all the power and courage possible ; but
its fate was sealedi
The whole North was for weeks without a word from Sher
man. The peopl e were in great anxiety and suspense. At length,
came rumors of his success, then despatches, then more fuU re
ports. Again were there universal rejoicings and public thanks
gi-ving to the " God of battles." How simply did he describe his
movement on Fort McAllister: "I went down with Howard,
and took a look at it, and I said to my boys : ' Boys, I don't
think there are over four hundred in that fort ; but there it is,
and I think we might as well have it.' " No sooner was this
said, than there was one forward spring, and in fifteen minutes
the fort was taken; And there, at sunset on the memorable
thirteenth of December, the man of mighty marches fulfilled
the covenant made with his iron heroes at Atlanta, twenty-nine
days before,, and hundreds of miles away. Nine days after, he
was in Savannah, sending to "his Excellency, President Lin
coln," the following cheerful message : " I beg leave to present
you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with one hundred
and fifty guns, and plenty of ammunition ; also, about twenty-
five thousand bales of cotton."
But the daring genius which, under Omnipotence, had as
tounded the worid by. his brilliant achievements, had not yet
gained the object intended. The. marvellous campaign which
brought him to the sea, was but part of a grand plan. He
must make Savannah a pivot, swing his great army round, and
march northward, severing again the Confederacy,- and' joining
General Grant in the final victory. This seemed to 'many of
the wise and prudent a most dangerous undertaking. They
united with the enemy in saying: "While the campaign through

NATIONAL PORTRAITS,
Georgia was harmless and safe, this is a march into the jaws of
destruction," In all his movements. General Sherman sought
the endorsement of the Lieutenant-General, who says, in his
report : " The confidence he manifested in this letter, of being
able to march up and join me, pleased me ; and, without waiting
for a reply to my letter of the eighteenth, I directed him on the
twenty-eighth of December, to make preparations to start, as
he proposed, without delay, to break up the railroads in North
and South Carolina, and join the aimies operating against
Richmond as soon as he could. By the first of February,
General Sherman's whole army was in motion from Savannah,
He captured Columbia, South Carolina, on the seventeenth;
thence moved ou Goldsboro^, North Carolina, via Fayetteville,
reaching the latter place on the twelfth of March, opening up
communication with General Schofield by way of Cape Fear
River, On the fifteenth, he resumed his march on Goldsboro'. .
He met a force of the enemy at Averysboro', and after a severe
fight, defeated and compelled it to retreat,"
He pushed on, driving Johnston from Bentonsville, entering
Goldsboro', occupying Raleigh, and preparing to make, a bold
stroke against the enemy. Glorious tidings reached him —
General Lee had surrendered !
He received, on the fifteenth of April, a letter from General
Johnston, asking if some arrangement could not be effected that
would prevent the farther useless effusion of blood. Correspond
ence was thus opened. A few days after, the two chieftains
met face to face. With courtesy and dignity, they discussed
the terms of peace. The conditions which they agreed upon,
did not meet with the approval of the President, on the ground
that they involved certain questions which could not be speedily
settled. General Grant was immediately sent, with instructions
for Sherman to demand an unconditional surrender. The
chieftains again met, and the result was the disbandment of
Johnston's army, upon substantially the same terms as were
given to General Lee. In effect, this was the end of that war
which Sherman had at first predicted would not be closed until
the resources of the South were exhausted.
What manner of man has William Tecumseh Sherman been
during all this time? Those who best knew him wiU furnish
us with material for description. One portrays him as "tall,
lithe, almost delicately formed. When excited, erect and com-

WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN.
manding. Face stern, yet smiling as a boy's when pleased.
Every movement, both of mind and body, quick and nervous.
A brilliant talker, announcing his plans, but concealing his
real intention. When leading a column, looking as if born
only to command."
In his relations with his fellow-officers, he exhibited gentle
ness, sympathy, justice, and respect. He was sensitively con
siderate of the feelings of his friends ; he would permit no
abuse or ridicule of any one attached to his person. Yet his
personal attachments exerted no influence over his official
relations. In all his actions he was governed by a high and
conscientious regard to duty. His memory was marvelous,
like that of the first Napoleon. He was minutely observant
of everything in his army. His integrity seemed to pervade
every element in his character. He especially despised all men
who were interested in the war only for their aggrandizement.
The atmosphere of honesty about him tended to destroy the
lust for gain. His patriotism appeared to his companions as
pure as the faith of a child ; there was in it a vital force, which
caused him to forget all merely personal considerations. He
has been styled an original, rather than a representative man ;
a pure outgrowth of American civilization ; a striking type of
our institutions, easily comprehending the national idea of pop
ular liberty..
No one was more simple in his habits of life, during all his
campaigns. He was sociable in the highest sense. He could
throw off the responsibilities of the hour, when the time came
for rest, and enjoy the pleasantries of his comrades. Having
an appreciation for wit and humor, he was often the centre and
life of the occasion. Sometimes familiar, yet none could take
undue liberties with him. He conversed freely, yet was extremely
reticent ; knowing how to keep his own oounsel, and never be
traying his purposes. Ever cautious, sometimes suspicious, yet
never deceptive. His unmeasured scorn and contempt fell only
upon whatever was pretentious, spurious, arrogant, and dishon
orable. " He never failed to recognize and pay a hearty tribute
to unpretentious merit, courage, capacity. Christian manliness,
and simplicity." Sparing of promises; but his word, once
given, was sacredly regarded as an obligation.
There was " a depth of tenderness alon to the love of woman
behind that face furrowed with the lines of anxiety and care.

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
and those eyes, which darted keen and suspicious glances.
Little children clung to the General's knees, and nestled in his
arms with an intuitive faith and affection." At Savannah, his
head-quarters and private room were often the play-ground of
hosts of little ones, against whom the door never was closed,
whatever the business pending. Anecdotes by the volume are
told of him while on his great marches ; now answering the
rude, according to their rudeness ; again, revealing to the
helpless the depth of his compassionate heart. If any one
word can express him, it is Intensity. A graphic pen has
sketched him as " a genius, with greatness grim and terrible,
yet simple and unaffected as a child. The thunderbolt or
sunbeam, as circumstances call him out." Thousands are as
ready to-day, as when he and his heroes were marshalled in
the final review at the national capital, to shout, with an eye
turned to the Preserver of all life, Long live General Sherman !

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OLIVER OTIS HOWARD.
Oliver Otis Howard was born in Leeds, Kennebec. County,
Maine, on the eighth of November, 1830. Like most New
England boys who have become distinguished in the history
of their countiy, he inherited the care and {training, of edijcated
parents, whose estate jvas sufficient to render them independent
without the enervating influences that sometimes accompany
wealth. To the privileges of home were added those of the
common school. in an enlightened community. When nine
years of age, he was left fatherless. Being the eldest of three
sons, he shared with his discreet and Christian mother the
responsibilities of the family.
He had inherited unusual, energy of character, which was
strengthened and developed by the circumstances of his youth.
For a time he lived with his maternal uncle, the Hon. John Otis,
of Hallowell, where he enjoyed ampler means of education. If
his rustic independence sometimes brought him into collision
with the, haughty lads of the city, his courage did not suffer in
the school of scorn. Whatever he undertook he pursued -wiith
an obstinate perseverance. When he had decided to enter
college, he completed his preparations in six months, and was
enrolled at Bowdoin at the age of sixteen. To. meet his ex
penses, he won time enough, from the college terms, to teach
school, still maintaining a high standing in his class, especially
in Mathematics.
Graduated at the age of twenty, he received an unsolicited
appointment as a cadet in the Military Academy at West Point.
It was secured to him by his uncle, then a member of Congress.
After much deliberation, and with due respect -to his mother's
dread of the military service, even in those times of peace, he
took his place among the cadets, standing at the head of his
class the first year, and finally graduating the fourth on the
list. Respite all reproaches, he exhibited a moral earnestness
in adhering to the highest principles of conduct. He married

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
the accomplished Miss E. A. Waite, of Portland. He was as
signed to the Ordnance Department, and for several years he
served at various arsenals with h,onor to himlelf. While at the
Kennebec Arsenal, he procured for the residents of the post the
advantages of a public-school system.
In 1856 he was ordered to Florida, as the Ordnance Officer
of the Department. General Harney was then prosecuting a
campaign against the Indians, and there Lieutenant Howard
had his first experience with an army in the field. He was
afterwards called to West Point, to take the office of Assistant
Professor of Mathematics, where he remained until the breaking
out of the war. At West Point he w^on the respect pf the
Academic Board, as well as of his fello-vg-officers and all who
knew him, by the consistent Christian character which he
maintained. He was untiring in his benevolent labors among
the poor at West Point and vicinity. He organized Mission
Sunday-Schools, and in every manner possible promoted their
religious welfare. He instituted semi-weekly meetings, for
prayer and reading, among the cadets, in his leisure hours,
thus winning esteem for his earnest Christianity.
When the call to arms first sounded through the land, in 1861,
he believed it to be his duty to respond, although hife position
was most pleasant at West Point, and his family a treasure of
bliss. Early in May he offered his services to the Governor
of Maine. Scarcely waiting for an answer, he went to his native
State, and was appointed Colonel of the Third Maine Regiment
of Volunteers. By the fifth of June he was on his way to the
seat of war, with his regiment complete in men.
In the first battle of Bull Run he commanded a brigade of
four regiments. Held for some time as a reserve, he was among
the latest to go into action. He led forward his brigade in two
lines, under a severe fire, and displayed a coolness and courage
remarkable for one in his first severe experience of war. He
attempted to dislodge the enemy from a thickly wooded height,
but was compelled to withdraw his brave men, because the
fianking force of Johnston was pressing toward the rear.
In the following September he was commissioned a Brigadier-
General of Volunteers. In the first advance to the Rappahannock
he bore an active part, commanding a force in a reconnoissance,
and driving before him the troops of the Confederate General
Stuart, who had been his classnjate and intimate friend at

OLIVER OTIS HOWARD.
West Point. The expedition was so conducted as to elicit the
commendation of General Sumner.
In the Peninsular campaign. General Howard's brigade was
the first to land at Ship Point, whence he moved up and joined
the main army at Yorktown. It was his desire, after examining
the works, to lead an assaulting column against them, believing
that it would be successful, if done without delay. But other
counsels prevailed. The first battle in which his brigade was
thoroughly engaged, was that of Fair Oaks, June 1st, 1862,
where the enemy, fiushed with partial successes on the previous
day, came furiously upon one of his regiments, in order to break
through the lines. General Howard, in person, rallied his men,
and re-established their position, which they gallantly held all
the day. Soon after, he rapidly advanced under " a hail-storm
of bullets," leading the brigade in person, and relieving a part
of General French's line. Still pushing on, riding in front, and
cheering the enthusiastic troops, he ordered a charge. They
swept all before them. A musket-ball struck through his fore
arm, but he did not falter. Binding the severe wound with a
handkerchief, given him by his aide and brother. Lieutenant
C. H. Howard, he dashed forward on the second horse that
had been wounded under him. His brother was soon disabled
by a shot. Many gallant officers fell ; many a brave soldier was
slain. General Howard's horse was killed, and at almost that
instant anothpr ball broke through the elbow of the bandaged
arm. He held up his wounded arm, and pointed forward ; the
troops raised the shout, and pushed onward. But the shattered
arm fell Uke a dead weight at his side, and he was compelled to
turn his command over to Colonel Barlow. The brigade had
done its noble work, advancing considerably beyolid the line of
battle, and its progress was voluntarily stayed.
Without a horse, General Howard walked back until he found
a surgeon, who began to afford some relief to his -woundj Then
seeing his wounded brother coming, leaning upon two soldiers,
he seemed to say, as did the hero of Sutph en, " Thy necessity
is yet greater than mine," and directed that attention should
first be given to the Lieutenant. Toward evening, the General
submitted to an amputation of his right arm, and the next day
the two Howards started for their home in Maine. Such was
his persistent courage. It had some reward. All along the
homeward route he was hailed as j" the hero of Fair Oaks," and

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
the citizens of his o-wn town gave him a distinguished reception.
His temperate habits promoted a rapid recovery. On the Fourth
of July he delivered a patriotic oration of two hours' length,
the first of those eloquent speeches which thrilled the hearts of
a loyal people. During his sixty days' leave he contributed
largely to enable Maine to raise its full quota of troops before
any other State.
General Howard was again in the field at the second Bull
Run battle, commanding the rear-guard of the army on the
retreat from Centreville. In the Maryland campaign he per
formed valiant service at South Mountain ; and after General
Sedgwick was wounded at Antietam, he was given command
of the second division. He restored the lines in conjunction
with his artillery, and held the ground until victory decided the
day against the enemy. Commanding this division at Freder
icksburg, in December, he was the first to enter the town.
After a severe fight in the streets, the enemy was driven from
it to the heights. In the famous assault afterwards, his division
was hotly engaged, gaining new ground, lying down and hold
ing it until dark, and then intrenching.
General Howard's commission as Major-General dates No
vember 29th, 1862. In April, the next year, he was assigned
tq the command of the Eleventh Army Corps, which met the
brunt of the attack at Chancellorsville. His nine thousand
men, in an advanced and exposed position, were overwhelmingly
attacked by twenty-five thousand (according to the official re
ports of the enemy), and compelled to retire. The next great
occasion in which General Howard was prominent, was the
battle of Gettysburg. After General Reynolds was mortally
wounded, his command was given over to General Howard,
whose valor was often signally displayed. During one of thc
fiercest engagements, when it required the personal energy and
moral power of both officers and men to maintain their lines
and resist the advance of an encouraged enemy, and when the
sllot fell in showers. General Howard was recognized by his
badge of the empty sleeve, galloping in front of a regiment,
and shouting "Forward!" The soldiers rajsed a cheer of
assent, pushed forward, and gained a position behind the stone
walls or fences, where they resisted the advance of the foe.
When General Meade arrived, he rode with General Howard
along his lines, examining by moonlight the grounds, and finally

OLIVER OTIS HOWARD.
determining to bring the whole army forward and put it in
position at that point. It was thus prepared, by having a well
chosen position, for one of the grandest battles of modern times.
General Howard occupied Cemetery Hill during the' terrific
cannonade of the two following days, when a hundred guns
poured their fire upon the devoted spot. On the third day the
enemy made an assault, advancing upon the very slope of the
hill ; , and great credit was given to Howard's cOrps for their
obstinacy in holding their ground, which was "the key to
General ¦ Meade's position." The enemy could not dislodge
them. Even when it was suggested that the troops must be
withdrawn in order to save a remnant. General Howard persisted
in defying the enemy. At his request General Meade came,
inspected the ground, and assented to Howard's plan. This
was one of the displays of courage on the part of the heroes
who won the day at Gettysburg.
The Eleventh Corps was transferred to the Southwest, and
was led by General Howard in the relief of Tennessee. His
troops made the celebrated charge in the night engagement at
Lookout Valley, which may be considered the initiative of the
succeeding glorious charges up the steeps of Lookout Mountain
¦and of Missionary Ridge. Those were heroic deeds amid ro
mantic scenes ; in one of them the battle was above the clouds.
In tbe relief of Knoxville, this corps and its commander received
the warmest private and official commendations of General
Sherman. On the consolidation of the Eleventh and Twelfth
corps, in April, 1864, General Howard was assigned to the
command of the Fourth Army Corps, consisting of twenty-five
thousand effective men, who bore an active part in all the
operations of the Army of the Cumberland, and whose various
successes were largely attributable to the energy of their leader,
and his promptness in obeying orders. He was much younger
than the three division - commanders, Stanley, Newton, and
Wood, who were officers in the regular army, bt(t they evinced
the fullest confidence in the judgnient and ability of their
superior officer. The Fourth Corps did its full share of labor
and fighting at various points on the contested route to Atlanta,
rejoicing with General Howard in the confidence bestowed upon
him by Generals Thomas and Sherman. At their recommenda
tion, the President telegraphed his appointment as the successor
of the fallen hero. General McPhereon, and on the twenty-sixth

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
of July he assumed the command of the Army of the Tennessee.
Two days later he fought successfully the Confederate General
Hood, defeating him in every assault. After brave conduct at
Atlanta, he and his army spent a month of hard marching and
fighting among the mountains in defeating Hood's attempts to
get in the rear of General 'Sherman and destroy his communi
cations. In the grand march from Atlanta to the sea. General Howard's
army composed the right wing, moving independently for the
first two weeks, and Kilpatrick's cavalry reporting to him. He
threatened Macon, while the left wing, attended by General
Sherman, moved to Milledgeville. All went forward harmoni
ously and with triumph, as the whole world knows.
As there were no remarkable battles in this march, many
have supposed that there were scarcely any conflicts with the
enemy, or exposure to his fire. But collisions by heads of
columns were of daily occurrence, and frequently the enemy
was forced back step by step, having selected some advantageous
spot, and disputing the ground obstinately for hours. General
Howard was therefore daily exposed to musketry or artilleiy fire,
before the fall of Savannah, The Confederates were particu
larly stubborn in disputing the passage of the rivers, always
burning the bridges, and then posting themselves upon the
opposite banks to annoy the Federal troops when they were
attempting to lay their pontoon boats. New devices were often
n ceded to meet the unexpected obstacles which an unknown
topography presented. General Howard seems to have had a
peculiar constitutional fitness for his position and duties in
these campaigns. Regular and methodical in personal habits,
he never failed to be punctual and prompt in carrying out his
part of any plan. To this end he would bring to bear the
whole force of his character, shrinking from no amount of
exposure or labor ; diligent, watchful, and untiring. Although
small in stature, and not unusually hardy iri constitution, yet
his inviolate temperance in all things secured a physical strength
and endurance equal to every occasion. And for the same
reason there were never times of relaxation or reaction when
he must be excused from duty or dangers.
The general features of the Carolina campaign were very
similar to those of the march to Savannah. The heavy rains,
and the more numerous streams, made it somewhat more difficult.

OLIVER OTIS HOWARD.
The burning of Columbia will always be regarded as the
marlced incident of this campaign. And as General Howard's
troops occupied the city, and the General himself was present,
it is proper to add a word upon this subject.
No one, it is believed, not eveu' the greatest sufferers at
Columbia, have ever held General Howard responsible for
the burning of their city. There was cotton burning in the
streets when the Union troops entered the town, set on fire by
the Confederates on their retreat. One brigade was established
by General Howard in the city, to preserve order and hold the
town. Liquor was' given to these soldiers on every hand —
probably to conciliate them, as the inhabitants were wofuUy
aflxighted. A high wind afterwards sprang up, and very soon
the fires began to break out. General Howard was soon in the
streets, and meeting many drunken men, he decided to have
that brigade removed from the city ; and bringing in a fresh
di-vision of troops, he employed them all the night in endeavor
ing to stay the flames. In spite of every effort, the fire raged,
and eighty-one squares were almost completely consumed.
Many of the citizens of Columbia, and of other towns along
the route of the army, speak in terms of commendation of
General Howard, because of his acts of kindness. If it were
beyond his power to aid any worthy person who appealed to
him, his whole demeanor was kindly, and every such person
went away with a grateful remembrance of the interview.
He never lost sight of his duty as a Christian, although his
time was devoted to the practices of war. In fact, his character
was so permeated and lighted up by the Christian spirit, that
it appeared in nearly all his acts and conversation.
His religion was a part of himself, and yet it found expression
in habitual practices and exercises positively and , exclusively
religious. For instance, no matter how early the day's march
commenced, or how late he was in the saddle at night, the day
was begun and ended by prayer ; and no matter what the cir
cumstances of eating a meal, it was always preceded by an offer
of thanks to the great Giver. It was his habit on Sundays,
when not in battle or on the march, to summon a chaplain,
assemble the various detachments of troops belonging to. his
head-quarters, and have a brief religious service. On these
occasions he would sometimes; himself address a few remarks
suggested by the. service, to the soldiers and officers present!

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
Such words were eagerly listened to, and often :these Sabbath
services were deeply interesting and touching, and left an abid
ing impression upon those present. He also was accustomed
to visit the hospitals on Sunday, when practicable, and not only
spoke words of cheer and comfort to the sick and wounded, but
was often strengthened and encouraged in turn by the heroic
utterances and behavior of those brave men.
Soon after Lee's surrender, when he had arrived at Richmond
with his army, having marched from North Carolina, General
Howard was summoned to Washington by the Secretary of War,
and, on his arrival, requested to take charge of the Bureau of
Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. After a few hours'
consideration he accepted the position, not -without misgiviiigs
as to his own fitness and abilities for it, but with a firm reliance
upon Divine help to aid him in its difficult and delicate duties,
and sustain him in the arduous and untried responsibilities.
The appointment seemed to meet the approbation of the
entire country. He was known to be humane, and at the same
time to have proved himself able and efficient as an oflicer in
every position held during the war.
Nothing had been done in the organization of this Bureau ex
cept the passage of the bill by Congress, and even this was found
to be quite inadequate in some respects for practical operations.
The work was almost superhuman, but the Commissioner gave
his whole mind and might to his duties ; and it is believed no
one could have given better satisfaction to the Government or
the people. In his tours of inspection he addressed both white
and colored audiences, and by his conciliatory words and meas
ures did much to reconcile the property owners and the freed
laborers to their condition. Providence, who raised him up for
victories in war, has committed to him the greater work of
promoting peace, humanity, and happiness. In admiration of
his noble character, he has been called the Havelock of the
American army.

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PHILIP HENRY SHERIDAN.
The name Sheridan, has long been a bright star of the
Emerald Isle. Thomas, and his son Richard, have been cele
brated in dramatic circles, wherever English literature is appre
ciated. But whether Sheridan, the impaigrant, who left Ireland
and landed in Boston, was any relative of theirs, we do not
know ; enough, that his now famous son, Philip Henry, was
born in Boston, in the year 1831. It was a long journey for
little Philip, when he was borne into Perry County, Ohio, where
his father located on the great thoroughfare of western travel.
With his Catholic neighbors, he was often taken to the church
of St, Joseph, at Somerset, said to be the oldest house of public
worship in the State.
Fondness for the noble horse was his early passion. When
five years of age, he was one day met by some older lads, who
sought amusement, and proposed that Philip should take his
first grand ride. It pleased him. They placed him upon an
unbridled horse, that was grazing in the pasture, and, to their
astonishment, away went the steed over the fence, and out of
sight. The child clung fast, and was carried into a tavern shed,
more than a mile distant, where the horse was recognized, and
the rider pronounced brave enough for an Indian hunter. Philip
was thenceforth a hero in the neighborhood ; for the horse was
known to be vicious, and to have unsaddled excellent riders.
They were prepared forthe later expl^ts of " Cavaliy Sheridan."
When old enough to leave home, he appeared in Zanesville
with his horse and cart, making his own way in the world.
Faithful, active, frank, and intelligent, he attracted the attention
of a member of Congress, whose home was in the town. An
elder brother, and other friends, spoke of a cadetship in the
military academy, at West Point, for the young cartman : the
Congressman secured the appointment. In 1848, Philip passed
the examinations, and was enrolled in that institution. He
ranked high, even among such class-mates as McPherson,
1

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
Schofield, and Terrill. He was graduated brevet second-lieu
tenant in the United States infantry.
There was a defence to be maintained against Mexico, and
in 1853, young Sheridan was sent to Fort Duncan, on the Rio
Grande, to render his first practical military service in a perilous
country, exposed to the savageness of the Apache and COmanche
Indians. There was soon an occasion to test his valor. He
and two comrades -n^ere one day outside the fort, when a band
of Apache Indians appeared; the chief leaped frora his "fiery
mustang " to seize his prisoners. In an instant Sheridan's eye
kindled into admiration for the horse, and springing upon him,
he galloped away to Fgrt Duncan. Summoning, the troops,
ordering his pistols, without dismounting, he hastened back,
as a true cavalryman, to rescue his two companions, who were
heroically fighting for their lives. One shot, and an Indian fell
dead at the feet of the Lieutenant's horse. The soldiers came
up, and the savages were ridden down, until few escaped. This
valiant deed was, however, rebuked by the commandant of the
fort, on the ground that the Lieutenant was away from his
command. That jealous, irritated officer, was afterwards a
general in the Confederate army. For two years Sheridan
endured his displeasure, doing good service in making defences
and explorations, when he at length sought a different post of
duty. Promoted to a full lieutenant, he was, for a time, assigned
to the command of Fort Wood, in New York harbor. Next he
was sent to the Pacific coast, where he commanded an escort
of men who were surveying the route for a railway connecting
San Francisco with the Columbia river. This service won him
a mention in Congress in the highest terms. We follow him
to Fort Vancouver, displaying his dashing courage against the
Yokima Indians^ and winning admiration from them, as well as
worthier praise from his sijperior officers. After the " Yoldiua
Reservation " was formed, he was appointed to command this
Indian domain; and gaining the confidence of his wild subjects,
he administered their affairs tO the entire satisfaction of the
government. He created a new military post at Yamhill, soutji-
west of Fort Vancouver, where he lived on the coarsest fare,
passed days of danger, made bronzing marches, and prepared
himself for activity in the greatest war of modern times.
With the rank of Captain, he was sent to Jefferson Barracks,
St. Louis, Missouri, in the autumn of 1861. On, his arrival, he

PHILIP HENRY SHERIDAN.
was appointed president of the board which audited the claims
that arose under the administration of General Fremont, in the
west. It was a practical business affair, performed with such
courtesy and ability, that he was given the position of Chief
Quartermaster and Commissary of the Western army. An
appreciative staff officer thus wrote of him : " A modest, quiet
little man was our Quartermaster. Yet nobody could deny the
vitalizing energy and masterly force "of his presence, when he
had occasion to exert himself. Neat in person, courteous in
demeanor, exact in the transaction of business, and most accu
rate in matters appertaining to the regulations, orders, and
general military custom, it was no wonder that our acting
Chief Quartermaster should have been universally liked. Espe
cially was he in favor socially, for it soon became known that
he was, off duty, a most genial companion. Whenever he
did allow his ambition to appear, it appeared to be of a moderate
cast. ' He was the sixty-fourth captain on the list, and with the
chances of war, he thought he might soon be major.' Such
were the terms in which the future Major-General spoke of his
promotion. No visions of brilliant stars, single or dual, glittered
on the horizon of his life. If he could pluck an old leaf, and
gild the same for his shoulders' wear, he was satisfied. If any
one had suggested the possibility of a brigadiership, our Quar
termaster would have supposed it meant in irony. Yet he was
even then recognized as a man of vigorous character. . . .Not
a clerk or orderly, but treasured some act of kindness done by
Captain Sheridan."
His labors were very arduous. Everything, at that period of
the war, needed organizing. The system of obtaining and
forwarding supplies was imperfect. It was not strange, there
fore, if the army that in the spring of 1862 was fighting terribly
for the salvation of Missouri, could not be , supplied perfectly
with all that was needed. Nor was it surprising that there was
a slight collision between him and General Curtis. But the
affair was soon settled, and after making purchases of horses in
Wisconsin for the army. Captain Sheridan was appointed Chief
Quartermaster of the department, under General Halleck, then
at Corinth, Mississippi. After the retreat of the Confederate
forces from that place, there was a, demand for officers in the
cavalry service, that swift pursuit might be made. The attention
of the superior officers was turned to Sheridan. He was at

...NATIONAL PORTRAITS,
once commissioned Colonel of the second regiment of Michigan
cavalry^ and proved "the right man in the right place." He
was in his field of success when attached to Elliot's cavalry
force, enduring hardships, making raids into dangerous regions,
destroying rail-roads and stores of the enemy, gaining a victory
over Forest's bold riders, and soon finding Chalmers with nine
regiments, facing him with but two. It was a perilous hour,
but it suggested an admirable strategy. Colonel Sheridan sent
ninety men around to fall on the rear of the enemy, while he
would attack the front. The daring plan was successful. The
enemy, surprised, terrified, aud routed, fled in confusion, while
the -victors pursued him for twenty miles. General Grant, ever
ready to crown merit, commended him ; and on the first day of
July, 1862, he was deservedly made a Brigadier-General, He
rendered signal services, during the summer, in Mississippi and
Kentucky, defending Louisville from capture and pillage.
In the organization of the Army of the Cumberland, General
Sheridan was assigned to the command of the division of
McCook's corps which constituted the right wing of the army.
After the terrific battle of Murfreesboro', where all seemed for
so long doubtful, but where the result was one of the grandest
triumphs, at the very hour that President Lincoln was signing
the Emancipation Proclamation of January, 1863, our cavalry
hero was one of the eleven brigadiers of whom General Rose-
cranz said, in his report : " They ought to be made major-
generals in our service," Sheridan received the appointment
of Major-General, dated from the last day of 1862.
It is quite impossible to separate biography from history,
during such eventful times as those in which were fought the
many battles that gained Chattanooga, and held it for the Union.
In some of those fierce engagements among the mountains,
" the divisions of Wood and Sheridan were wading breast deep
in the valley of death." Victory followed victory. The eyes
of the generals were looking toward Atlanta.
General Grant was summoned to Washington in March, 1864,
to receive the commission of Lieutenant-General of the armies
of the United States, He would thenceforth be in the eastern
department. He had already marked General Sheridan as one
of the few great leaders in the future campaigns, Sheridan
was relieved of his command (he knew not why), and ordered
to report at Washington. To his surprise, he found himself

PHILIP HENRY SHERIDAN.
placed in command of all the cavalry on the Potomac, in place
of General Pleasanton, who was ordered into Missouri, where
brave service was needed. Sheridan had now a large field,
suited to his genius. Organizing his corps into three divisions,
each commanded by able generals, he soon reported himself
ready for duty. 'On the fourth of March, the Rapidan -was
crossed by the entire Array of the Potomac. The march began
toward the tangled, swampy wilderness, near Spottsylvania,
where the forces of General Lee were waiting for battle. The
plan of General Grant was not to hurl his battalions on the
enemy's intrenchments, but to manoeuvre sufficiently to keep
him in check, and then move in between him and the Confed
erate capital. General Sheridan was protecting the flanks of
the great arniy, and reconnoitring the position and movements
of the enemy. On the fifth, as the splendid columns were
about to turn the lines of the enemy. General Meade received
a despatch from Sheridan. Breaking the seal, and reading it,
he said: "They say that Lee intends to fight us here." "Very
well," replied the imperturbable Grant. The plan of battle was
soon matured. Then followed the terrific scenes of blood in
the Wilderness. For three days, the carnage was frightful. It
devolved upon Sheridan's cavalry to protect the army trains,
and the ambulances containing the sick and wounded. On the
ninth of March, the enemy began to fall deliberately back, still
in a challenging attitude. Then commenced the chase for
Spottsylvania Court House, both armies anxious to secure the
position. Grant did not gain it ; but he reported that all was
prosperous, saying: "I propose to fight it out on this line, if it
takes all summer."
To clear up "this line," General Sheridan was ordered, on
the ninth, to select his best mounted troops, and start out on an
expedition to the rear of Lee's army, to cut off his communica
tions and supplies. He was given full discretion as to his plans.
He ordered three days' rations to be given to his men, leaving
behind everything that was not actually needed upon a great
march. In a somewhat circuitous route, he appeared at the
fords of the North Anna river, and at Beaver Dam. There he
came upon a provost-guard of the enemy, having charge of
more than three hundred union prisoners, who had been cap
tured -the day before, at Spottsylvania. The union prisoners
were released, and their guard captured. Thence, pushing on

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
toward Richmond, a detachment destroyed the rail-road track
and Confederate property at Ashland. On the eleventh, Sheri
dan's command reached a point within six miles of Richmond,
where they encountered the Confederate cavaliy, under General
J. E. B. Stuart. A severe battle was fought ; Stuart was killed,
several guns were captured, and the Federal forces gained the
day. Before daybreak, the next morning, a detachment moved
forward to reconnoitre, and penetrated the second line of
defences around Richmond, approaching within two miles of
that city. After capturing a Confederate courier, they with
drew. Early the next morning, Sheridan's advance appeared
at Meadow Bridge, where the enemy had destroyed the bridge,
and constructed defences which commanded the rail-road bridge,
over which the Union troops might attempt to cross. It was a
way of great peril ; but, nothing daunted, Sheridan's gallant
soldiers dashed across, and rushing through about half a mile
of marshy ground, charged upon the enemy, and carried the
works, after a most determined resistance.
In the meantime, another force of the enemy had come up
in his rear, and almost surrounded Sheridan's wearied army.
To retreat would be fatal; the railroad-bridge could not be
gained. To go forward would lead them upon a force greatly
outnumbering the Union troops. To cross the river Chicka
hominy, the Meadow Bridge must be reconstructed and crossed
under the concentrated fire of the enemy. Here was a position
to task the finest energies of generalship. Sheridan's decision
was quickly made. The bridge must be rebuilt. It was done
amid the constant fire of the Confederates, who were bravely
kept at bay. Tremendous work was done by the Union
artillery; charges were repelled by fierce counter -charges.
Once or twice, the men were slowly pressed back ; buf the
calm, self-possessed Sheridan encouraged them by his presence,
and they regained their position. At length the bridge was
completed. The ammunition train must pass over it. If the
firing continued, it was scarcely possible to avoid the horrors
of an explosion, and the risk of a capture of his forces. The
peril only added to the resources of the cool commander. He
put himself at the head of some picked men, and when the
ammunition train was readyto be moved, he pointed his follow
ers to the enemy, and said : " Boys, do you see those fellows,
yonder ? They are green recruits, just from Richmond. There's

PHILIP HENRY SHERIDAN.
not a veteran among them. You have fought them well, to-day ;
but we have got to whip them. We can do it, and we will."
A rousing cheer went up from the men, who were proud of
their leader ; and in clear, ringing tones, he gave the order :
" Forward ! Charge ! " Onward they dashed ; the foe went
flying before them to the intrenchments. Then the artillery
opened upon the Confederates, increasing their terror. Under
cover of this brilliant charge, the train crossed the bridge in
safety. The Union forces marched forward, with a heavy rain
upon them, driving the enemy to Mechanicsville, and thence
to Cold Harbor, taking many prisoners, and encamping near
Gaines' Mills. Two days after, he brought his command to
General Butler's head-quarters, without molestation, and opened
communication with Washington. It was said, not long after:
" Other expeditions may have resulted in a larger destruction^
of property, the capture of more prisoners, or the traversing
of a larger region of territory ; but none, during the war, has
carried greater terror into the hearts of the enemy, or more
gallantly extricated itself from a position of extraordinary
difficulty." General Sheridan, made his head-quarters, for a few days, at
White House, on the Pamunky river ; but most of the time he
was at the head of his troops, aiding the main army, on its way
to the Chickahominy. He was frequently in conflict with the
Confederate cavalry, under Fitzhugh Lee. Various engage
ments at different points occurred, after which, he guarded the
flank of General Grant's army, in its movement across the
James river. While the main army was pushing on to Peters
burg, General Sheridan set out, on the eighth of June, for a
second cavalry expedition into the heart of Virginia. The
object was to cut off the northward and westward lines of the
enemy, and prevent him from receiving supplies or troops over
the rail-roads. The points aimed at were Gordonsville and
Charlottesville. Had his movements been properly sustained,
he would have realized his hopes. Yet he did a noble work.
A third invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania was planned,
and already on foot, by the Confederates, marching through the
valley of the Shenandoah. The national capital was more
seriously threatened than ever before. Baltimore was endan
gered. Chambersburg was desolated. The North was filled
with alarm. The design was to draw General Grant and all

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
his forces from Petersburg and Richmond. But " Grant was
a very ijbstinate man." He knew, too, of an unwearied, per
sistent trooper, whose soldiers could be trusted for the routing
of the invaders. The Military Division of the Shenandoah was
organized. The command of it was given to General Sheridan,
although he was the youngest of all the major-generals ; for "he
had already exhibited a skill and tact in the handling of troops,
a coiribination of caution and audacity, a celerity of movement,
and a fertility of resource, which indicated him as the man for
the place." General Gi'ant knew his man, and the result proved
that he was not mistaken.
General Sheridan was soon at Harper's Ferry, making that
his head-quarters. Already had the Confederate General Early
gathered large plunder, fallen back, and prepared to forward it
to Richmond. He probably intended to return into the rich
valleys of the loyalists. Sheridan united his troops at the
entrance of the valley, and began to press Early from the
important positions which he held at such places as Martinsburg
and Williamsport. He made feints of an advance, in order to
discover the strength of his enemy. Early, priding himself on
his acuteness, imagined that he was luring on the young pur
suer, and that he would soon get him where he could finish
him. Both generals were wary. Sheridan secured Winchester
on the twelfth of August. Finding that there was some pros
pect of the enemy moving southward, to join General Lee, he
arrested his progress, and drew back to Charlestown, in order
to attract Early nearer to the Potomac. Early thought. that
Sheridan was afraid, and that by good management he might
fiank him, re-enter Maryland, and reap another harvest of
plunder. He therefore moved to Berryville. But his opponent
was ready for meeting him. After some fighting and marching,
he crowded Early west of Opequan creek, and got between him
and Richmond. A severe battle began, on September 19, when
the Confederates were " sent whirling through Winchester," as
Sheridan expressed it. They lost three of their ablest generals,
one of whom was Fitzhugh Lee, their cavalry leader, and about
12,000 men, in killed, wounded, and prisoners. With his usual
rapidity, Sheridan led on his army, and encountered the enemy,
strongly fortified, on Fisher's Hill. By dividing his forces, and
making an attack in front and in the rear, he drove him from
his intrenchments. Confused, disorganized, losing the muni-

PHILIP HENRY SHERIDAN,
tions of war, and greatly scattered ; many of the enemy fled to
the mountains, and determined to abandon the conflict, A
terrible work of devastation was begun, to avenge the ravages
of the enemy in the northern valleys, and to make the Shenan
doah unflt for being any longer the avenue to invasion. General
Early again rallied his forces, and intrenched them on Fisher's
Hill, at a time when Sheridan was absent in Washington, A
fierce battle ensued. The tidings reached Sheridan that his noble
army was yielding to the foe. One man — one moment of his
presence, might turn the tide of war. He hastened to Winchester,
and mounted his horse for a ride that has been thrillingly de
scribed by the distinguished poet, Thomas Buchanan Read :
Up from the South, at break of day,
Bringing to Winchester fresh dismay,
The affrighted air with a shudder bore.
Like a herald in haste to the chieftain's door,
The terrible grumble, and rumble, and roar.
Telling the battle was on once more.
And Sheeidan twenty miles away,
And -wider still those billows of war
Thundered along the horizon's bar ;
And louder yet into AVinchester rolled
The roar of that r^d sea uncontrolled,
Making the blood of the listener cold
As he thought of the stake in that fiery fray.
And Sheeidan twenty miles away.
But there is a road from Winchester town,
A good broad highway, leading down ;
And there, through the flush of the morning light,
A steed, as black as the steeds of night,
Was seen to pass, as with eagle flight —
As if he knew the terrible need.
He stretched away with his utmost speed ;
Hill rose and fell — but his heart -was gay,
With Sheeidan fifteen miles away.
Still sprung from those swift hoofs, thundering south,
The dust, like the smoke from the cannon's mouth ;
Or the trail of a comet, s-weeping faster and faster,
Foreboding to traitors the doom of disaster ;
The heart of the steed and the heart of the master.
Were beating like prisoners assaulting their walls,
Impatient to be where the battle-field calls;
Every nerve of the charger was strained to full play,
With Sheeidan only ten miles away.

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
Under his sparring feet, the road
Like an arrowy Alpine river flo-wed,
And the landscape sped away behind
Like an ocean flying before the wind;
And the steed, like a bark fed with furnace ire.
Swept on, with his wild eyes full of fire.
But, lo ! he is nearing his heart's desire — :
He is snuffing the smoke of the roaring fray
With Sheeidan only five miles away.
The first that the General saw, -were the groups
Of stragglers, and then the retreating troops ;
What was done — what to do — a glance told him both;
Then, striking his spurs -with a terrible oath,
He dashed down the line 'mid a storm of huzzas,
And the -wave of retreat checked its course there, because
The sight of the master compelled it to pause.
With foam and -with dust, the black charger was gray ;
By the flash of his eye, and his red nostrils' play,
He seemed to the whole great army to say :
" I have brought you Sheeidan all the -way
From Winchester, down to save the day!"
Hurrah ! hurrah for Sheeidan !
Hurrah ! hurrah for horse and man I
And -when their statues are placed on high,
Under the dome of the Union sky —
The American soldiers' temple of Fame —
There, with the glorious General's name,
Be it said, in letters both bold and bright:
"Here is the steed that saved the day
By carrying Sheeidan into the fight
From Winchester — twenty miles away!"
The losses on each side were hea-vy. The victory over the
Confederates was so decisive, that Early's army never recovered
from this stunning blow. It was said that " the only reinforce
ment which the Army of the Shenandoah received, or needed
to recover its lost field of battle, camps, intrenchments, and
cannon, was one man — Sheridan,"
General Sheridan had been promoted to a Brigadier-General
of the regular army, in place of the lamented McPherson, He
was now made a Major-General in the regular army, in place
of George B, McClellan, who had resigned.
About the first of March, 1865, Sheridan moved his splendid
cavalry through the country, routing Early, taking over 1,200
prisoners, several staff-officers, much material of war, and some

PHILIP HENRY SHERIDAN,
of Early's baggage. The General himself barely escaped. The
James River Canal, and two railroads were destroyed, thua
greatly injuring the Confederate cause. Sheridan seems to
have been almost everywhere in the vicinity of Richmond,
during the next few days. On Saturday, April 1st, he was at
Five Forks, nearly west from Richmond, fighting a severe battle,
while the main Army of the Potomac was attacking the forces
of Lee. His masterly movements, with the simultaneous onset
along the whol e lines on Sunday, compelled the enemy to speedily
evacuate Petersburg and Richmond. The whole country shouted
in exultation ; but the work was not all yet done. It was feared
that the most terrific battle of modern times was still to be
fought, - Lee moved in haste, but dared not cross the Appomattox
river; he pressed on to the neighborhood of Amelia Court House,
and there was SheSidan, whose cavalry seemed to have an almost
ubiquitous power. We relate, in Sheridan's own words, what
occurred on the sixth, as he pursued the Confederate forces :
" It w^as apparent, from the absence of artillery fire, and the
manner in which they gave way when pressed, that the force
of the enemy opposed to us was a heavy rear-guard. The enemy
was driven until our lines reached Sailor's creek; and from the
north, I could see our cavalry on the high ground above the
creek and south of it, and the long line of smoke from the
burning wagons. A cavalryman, who in a charge cleared the
enemy's works and came through their lines, reported to me
what was in their front. I regret that I have forgotten the
name of this gallant young soldier." He then ordered an attack
to be made on both the right and left wings,' and he says: "The
cavalry in rear of the enemy attacked simultaneously; and the
enemy, after a gallant resistance, was completely surrounded,
and nearly all threw down their arms and surrendered. General
Ewell, commanding the enemy's forces, and a number of other
general officers, fell into our hands, and a very large number
of prisoners."
It was during some of these anxious and eventful hours, that
Sheridan sent word to Lieutenant-General Grant, whose forces
had been crowding hard upon the enemy: " I wish you were
here yourself; if things are pressed, I think Lee will surrender."
A nobler compliment was never paid to a General-in-chief. And
a less jealous man than Grant did not breathe, as he sent back
the order: "Press things." Sheridan was already striking

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
right and left. He knew that Grant and Lee were in corre
spondence in regard to a cessation of the war. He heard of a
white flag on the ninth, and before long was talking face to face
with the Confederate General Gordon, at' Appomattox Court
House, about a suspension of hostilities. " I notifled him that
I desired to prevent the unnecessary effusion of blood, but as
there was nothing deflnitely settled in the correspondence^ and
as an attack had been made. on my lines with the view to escape,
under the impression that our force was only cavalry, I must ¦
have some assurance of an intended surrender." He was
assured "that there was no doubt of the surrender of General
Lee's army  and hostilities ceased until the arrival of
Lieutenant-General Grant." Thus was the Confederate chief
tain brought fairly at bay by the Hero of the Shenandoah.:
On the ninth of April, 1865, the surrender was accomplished.
The vast plans of General Grant had been successful, and would
soon be crowned with complete victory. On the evening of the
twentieth. Generals Grant and Sheridan were in Washuigton
talking — not only of the murdered President, but of the enemy's
forces yet in the southwest. They must surrender. Sheridan
left the next day, to restore order and law in Texas.
It has been said: "Grant, Sherman, and Thomas are great
in strategy, and calm in execution. Sheridan has never failed
in his plans, but has won his. victories chiefly through his sublime
heroism — on fire with martial daring and glory .... He heartily
despises a council of war, and never forms part of one if he can
avoid it. He executes, not originates plans ; or, as Rosecranz
once expressed it: 'He fights — he fights.' His care forthe
reputation of his subordinates, his freedom from all petty
jealousy, his honesty of purpose, and the nobleness of his
ambition to serve the country and not himself, his geniality
and 'general good-humor, and the brevity of his black storms
of anger, make him, liike Grant, not only a well-beloved leader,
but one that the country can safely trust to guard its honor and
preserve its existence."

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\cJ]p(aER3ag#\C&{lA\[R]Y TT^ j" [L, (

/ 'rui/'-'i ^-y Ar.'Jjfin^J-C

ZACHARY TAYLOR,

While it is true that our republican principles forbid personal, dis
tinctions on account of ancestral rank, it is equally certain, that when
men on other accounts rise to eminence, there is a prevalent disposition
to add, if it can be done, the honors of their ancestors to their own.
Nor ought such a feeling to be censured ; for it has its origin, partly
at least, in the respect due to our fathers. It cannot be otherwise
than honorable to President Taylor, that his ancestors left England
two centuries ago for Virginia. They were among the most respect
able of the men of that day, and gradually became connected with the
most distinguished families of the State, such as those of Jefferson,
Marshall, Lee, Monroe, Madison, and others of like character ; and
assuredly Zachary Taylor has added not a little to the honor of his
connexions. Richard Taylor, the father of our hero, was himself a Virginian,
born in 1744, and received a plain education. He was remarkable
for a daring and adventurous spirit, and resolved when but a school
boy to distinguish himself for courage as soon as his strength should
allow. He joined the army, in due time, was soon raised to the rank
of Colonel, and fought by the side of Washington at the battle of
Trenton. But his disposition led him to feats of another character.
Daniel Boone had already explored the wilds of the west, and Colonel
Taylor, not long after, set out and reached "the dark and bloody
ground" on which, at that time, the dwelling of a civilized man had
not been reared. He penetrated on foot, and without a companion, as
far as New Orleans, and then returned with a determination ultimately
to make his horae in the west. At thirty-five, he married Miss Sarah
Strother, a young lady of twenty. Five sons and three daughters
were the fruits of this union ; of these Zachary was the third son,
and was born in Orange county, Virginia, November 24, 1784.
Thus was Virginia honored by giving birth to another of the emi
nent men, of which she has furnished so many to the Union. But he
had not breathed her soft and balmy air very long, when his father

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
emigrated with tos whole family to Kentucky, in pursuance of his long
cherished intention. He had been preceded by his brother Hancock,
a brave and intelligent man, who fell a sacrifice in surveying parts of
the Ohio valley, and who just previous to his death had selected for a
farm on which to locate, the site of the present city of Louisville.
Only ten years before the emigration of Richard Taylor, the first
habitation of a white man had been erected in the vast region between
the western boundary of Virginia and the Mississippi. Within this
period a few settlements had been made, insuflicient, however, from
their isolated positioils, to secure to the emigrant adequate protection
from the Indians, much less to afford him the most usual comforts of
civilized life.
" Under the guidance of such men," as Fry remarks in his Life of
Taylor, " and under such circumstances, for the development of his
bold spirit and active intellect, Zachary Taylor passed his infant
years. The hardships and dangers of border life were to him as
familiar as ease and security to the child of metropolitan luxury."
The residence of his father was in Jefferson county, about five miles
from Louisville, and ten miles from the Ohio river. Here he acquired
a large estate, and was distinguished for his intelligence and patriot
ism. When Louisville rose into importance, and was made a port of
entry, Richard Taylor received from Washington, his personal friend, a
commission as collector ofthe customs.
It will be readily believed that the father of Zachary Taylor
would give his children the best education which the neighborhood
would afford; this, however, was comparatively slender. In acts of
daring prowess the boy needed no instruction. While his father was
from home engaged in contest with the Indians, Zachary would be
casting bullets for a coming engagement. He was thus familiar from
his infancy with the gleam of the tomahawk, and the yell of the
savage. An earnest military passion, natural to him, was cherished
by the romance of frontier life, and inflamed by household legends of
the Revolution. Thoughtfulness, sound judgment, shrewdness, and
stability, with a determination which nothing could move, made up
his character.
In 1794, it is well known, that the expedition of General Wayne
against the western Indians was successful, and in the following year,
a peace was concluded; emigration rapidly increased, and civilized
labor began to receive its due reward; young Taylor engaged in
agriculture with his father, and thus laid the foundation of robust
health, hardy habits, and perseverihg industry, which afterwards dis-

ZACHARY TAYLOR.
tinguished his military life for more than thirty years. When Aaron
Burr's movements in the west began to excite suspicion, the patriotic
young men of Kentucky formed volunteer companies, to oppose his
designs by arms, if occasion should demand it. Zachary Taylor,
and one or more of his brothers, were enrolled in a troop raised for
this purpose. On the death of his brother. Lieutenant Taylor, Zachary,
by the influence of his father, James Madison, and his uncle. Major
Edmund Taylor, obtained the vacancy, and received a commission
from President Jefferson, May 3, 1S08, as first Lieutenant in the
seventh regiment of United States Infantry. He was then twenty-four
years of age, and in possession of a competent fortune, but he chose
to relinquish the quiet life of a farmer, to engage in the perilous duties
of a soldier. Soon after this, having to report himself to General
Wilkinson, then at New Orleans, he was seized by yellow fever, and
his life, was some time in danger, so that he was compelled to return
home in order to recruit his health. Here he diligently studied the
duties of his profession, and circumstances soon proved that he had made
no small proficiency.
The aggressions of England, at this time, had long been preparing
the public mind of the United States for war. The emissaries of Great
Britain had excited the Indian tribes north of the Ohio, to new hos
tilities towards the American settlers on the frontiers, who were kept
in constant apprehensions of an attack. Under such circumstances,
our government deemed it advisable to make the first demonstration,
and General Harrison, then Governor of the North-west Territory, was
ordered to march a competent force into the Indian country ; for it was
not to be endured, that British promises and British gold should bribe
the savages to prepare for the extermination of all the whites on the
frontiers. To this expedition Lieutenant Taylor was attached, and
though he had been married but about a year to Miss Margaret Smith,
of one of the first families of Maryland, he willingly left his young wife
and infant, to engage in his country's service in the camp. At the
bloody battle of Tippecanoe, May 7, 1811, his gallant services won
the highest esteem of his commander, and soon after, President Madison
gave hira a captain's commission. He was placed in command of
Fort Harrison. The defences of this post were in a miserable con
dition, and its garrison consisted of only fifty men, of whom thirty were
disabled by sickness. With this little band of soldiers, the young com-
m-ander immediately set.about repairing the fortifications, which having
done, he was called from a bed of sickness into action, and here he ac
complished mighty feats of valor against the Indiaps, though headed by
3 ' '^3

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
their great chief Tecumseh. His presence of mind and noble courage,
greatly encouraged his men, and the account of the conflict which
he sent to General Harrison, indicated alike his modesty, his strong
common sense, and the severe style of his composition. The failure
of their enterprise against Fort Harrison, greatly disheartened the
Indians, and they abandoned for the time, any further attempts against
it. The conduct of Captain Taylor, gave high satisfaction at head
quarters, so that General Hopkins, in a letter to the Governor of
Kentucky, said, "The firm and almost unparalleled defence of Fort
Harrison, by Captain Zachary Taylor, has raised for him a fabric of
character not to be eff'aced by eulogy;" and the President, in accord
ance with the, feelings of the whole country, conferred upon him, the
rank of Major by brevet — which became before his death the latest
instance in the service of this species of promotion. From this time
to the close of the war with Great Britain, Major Taylor was engaged
in the same vicinity, accomplishing the purposes of the government
with unremitting vigilance. At length the Indians were reduced
to terms of peace, and the white settlers were secured from their
incursions. From this period of 1812 till 1832, the Major was engaged in
several important active duties, but our limits will not allow any
details respecting them. In 1816, he was ordered to Green Bay, and
remained in command of that post two years. Having passed a yea
with his family, he joined Colonel Russell at New Orleans, where one
of his labors was the opening of a military road, and another the
erection of Fort Jessup. In 1S24, he was engaged in the recruiting
service at Louisville, and in the latter part of that year, was ordered
to Washington, and appointed one of the Board of Commissioners for
erecting Jefferson Barracks. In 1826, he was one of a Board of
OflScers of the army and militia to consider a system for the organiza
tion of the militia of the United States. His duties were subsequently
resumed on the north-western frontier, a field on which he afterwards
again met an Indian enemy, and sustained the reputation won in his
first contest with him. Five years of peace, however, preceded this
occasion, years not idly spent, for when unemployed in his duties as a
strict disciplinarian, he was studiously engaged in perfecting himself
in his profession. A writer in the Literary World says, "I have often
seen him putting his men through the battalion drill on the northern
banks of the Wisconson, in the depth of February. This would seem
only characteristic of the man who has since equally proved himself
' Rough Jind Ready,' under the searching sun of the tropics. But,

ZACHARY TAYLOR.
looking hack through long years to many a pleasant hour spent in the
well-selected library of the post which Colonel Taylor then com
manded, we recur now with singular interest to the agreeable conversa
tions held in the room which was the Colonel's favorite resort, amid
the intervals of duty."
In 1819, Zachary Taylor had received the commission of Lieu
tenant-Colonel, and in 1832, President Jackson appointed him Colonel,
and in this capacity, his skill and bravery were distinguished in the
Black Hawk war, which, however, unjustly it may have originated, it
was assuredly important to terminate by the most vigorous measures.
This was accomplished by Black Hawk being surrendered by some of
his faithless allies. With his capture, the war ended. The writer in the
Literary World, already quoted, relates an anecdote, which, as it is
strikingly illustrative of Colonel Taylor's character, we here give :
" Some time after Stillman's defeat by Black Hawk's band, Taylor,
marching -with a large body of volunteers, and a handful of regulars, in
pursuit of the hostile Indian force, found himself approaching Rock
river, then asserted by many to be the true north-western boundary
of Illinois. The volunteers, as Taylor was informed, would refuse to
cross the stream; they were militia, they said, called out for the
defence of the State, and it was unconstitutional to order them to
march beyond its frontier into the Indian country. Taylor thereupon
halted his command, and encamped within the acknowledged bounda
ries of Illinois. He would not, as the relator of the story said, budge
an inch further without orders. He had already driven Black Hawk
out of the State, but the question of crossing Rock river seemed hugely
to trouble his ideas of integrity, to the constitution on one side, and
military expediency on the other. During the night, however, orders
came, either from General Scott or General Anderson, for him to fol
low up Black Hawk to the last. The quietness of the regular Colonel,
meanwhile, had rather encouraged the mutinous militia to bring their
proceedings to a head. A sort of town meeting was called upon the
prairie, and Taylor invited to attend. After listening some time very
quietly to the proceedings, it became ' Rough and Ready's' turn to
address the chair. ' He had heard,' he said, ' with much pleasure, the
views which several speakers had expressed of the independence and
dignity of each private American citizen. He felt that all gentlemen
here present, were his equals, — ^in reality, he was persuaded that many
of them would in a few years be his superiors, and perhaps, in the
capacity of members of congress, arbiters of the fortune and reputation
of humble servants of the republic like himself. He expected then

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
to obey them as interpreters of the will of the people ; and the best
proof he could give that he would obey them, was now to observe the
orders of those whom the people had already put in the places of autho
rity, to which many gentlemen around him justly aspired. In plain
English, gentlemen and fellow citizens, the word has been passed on to
me from Washington, to follow Black Hawk, and to take you with me
as soldiers. I mean to do both. There are the flat boats dravm up on
the shore, and here are Uncle Sam's men drawn up behind you on the
prairie!' " It is unnecessary to state the effect of this appeal.
Twenty-five years had Colonel Taylor been now engaged in the
toils of war, with very rare intervals of the tranquillity of home, but
when he might have asked for a respite of labor, he was ordered to
take command of Fort Crawford, which had been erected under his
superintendence, and soon after, in 1836, he was directed to proceed
to Florida, to -assist in reducing the Seminole Indians to submission.
The origin of this war is well known. In 1832, a treaty had been
made with this tribe for their removal, and three years was allowed
for its fulfillment. This, however, when the time had elapsed, they
refused to do, the results of which were truly sad. All friendly con
ferences with the chiefs having failed, it was determined, in the
g,utumn of 1837, to take more active measures against them. Un
limited power was given to Colonel Taylor, to capture or destroy
them wherever they might be found. Accordingly on December 20,
he left Fort Gardiner with about eleven hundred men, and through
dense thickets of palmetto and cypress, and the luxuriant herbage of a
wet soil, they made their way towards the everglades, where the foe
was concealed. On the 25th of December, with five hundred men,
and under the clear raiige of seven hundred Indian rifles, he gained the
victory of Okee-cho-bee. The great satisfaction given ahke to the
country and the government by Colonel Taylor, led to his promotion to
the rank of Brigadier-General, by brevet. Soon after this advancement in
rank. General Taylor was honored with the supreme command of the
troops of Florida, General Jessup having been recalled at his own re
quest. Two years longer did General Taylor toil amid the morasses
and fevers of that region, frequently skirmishing with the Indians,
but unable to "conquer a peace." At his own request, he was
relieved from the command, and succeeded by General Armistead, in
April, 1840.
Relieved as General Taylor now was from arduous duty in Florida,
it must not be supposed that no further labors were expected from him
On the other ha-nd, while hitherto his moveinents had influenced the

ZACHARY TAYLOR.
fate of districts, now they began to affect the fortunes of empires. His
distinguished talents were too well known and appreciated, to allow
him to remain idle. He was therefore, immediately appointed to the
command of the first department of the United States army in the
south-west. This department included the four States at the extreme
south-western part of the Union, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and
Louisiana. His head-quarters were at Fort Jessup, in the latter
State. In the summer of 1841, being ordered to relieve General
Arbuckle, at Fort Gibson, the compliment of a public dinner, while on
his way there, was tendered him by his fellow citizens of Little Rock,
Arkansas, " as an expression of their esteem for his personal worth
and meritorious public services." To the letter of invitation. General
Taylor made answer, that under ordinary circumstances, it would
have afforded him great pleasure to accept the invitation ; but having
been already detained on his journey to the fi-ontier, an unusual length
of time, he did not feel authorized to make on his own account, any
delay whatever. He was, therefore, compelled to decline the proffered
hospitality. In concluding his reply, he gave assurances of his best
exertions to secure the object of his command on the frontier. Time
proved to what extent he redeemed the pledge.
A little previously to his removal to Arkansas, General Taylor re
moved his family to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he had purchased
an estate, but though this added to their comforts,, they from this
period, had for a long season to regret his absence, nor does it appear
to have added to their wealth. . This was no peculiarity in the case of
General Taylor, for what servant of our republic, in the honest dis
charge of his duty, ever became rich?
We feel here a difficulty, arising from the necessarily limited space
to which the biographical sketches of the National Portrait Gal
lery are confined. We have now to do -with the soldier of the day,
the great Captain of the American army, but it is impossible even to
sketch the mighty deeds which General Taylor now performed. We
are, however, relieved by the thought, that already has the historian
placed these deeds on record with all needful details, and that they are
secured in the archives of our country's history. Our object is rather
to glance at personal history, and to illustrate individual character.
A paragraph or two is all we can give as introductory to larger his-,
tories. We may add here, that the Mexican war in its inceptive, had
no friend in General Taylor ; he had, however, been selected to take
the field in the outset, before war had been declared, or any act of
hostility committed on either side, and he felt it to be his duty to

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
devote himself to the one object of reducing the enemy to terms of
peace. In May, 1845, on the annexation of Texas, General Taylor was
ordered to place his troops in such a positibn as to defend that State
against a threatened Mexican invasion. In August of that year, he
concentrated his troops at Corpus Christi, where he remained till
March 11, 1846, when he broke up his encampment, and moved
the army of occupation westward ; this was composed of only about
four thousand regulars. On the 20th of March, he reached and pass
ed without resistance, the Arroya Colorado, and arrived at the Rio
Grande, to which point he had been ordered by the authorities at
Washington, after considerable suffering, on the 29th of that month.
Here he took every means to assure the Mexicans, that his purpose
was not war, nor violence in any shape, but solely the occupation of
the Texian territory to the Rio Grande, until the boundary should be
definitely settled by the two republics.
Encamping opposite Metamoras, General Taylor prepared for
Mexican aggression by erecting fortifications and planting batteries.
Provisions became short, the American army possessed but little
ammunition, and were in many other ways discouraged, but the battle
of Palo Alto was commenced, and gloriously was it won, on May 8,
1846. On the folio-wing day, the two opposing armies again met at
Resaca de la Palma, within three miles of Fort Brown : the battle com
menced with great fury ; the artillery on both sides did terrible execu
tion, and extraordinary skUl was displayed by the opposing Generals :
but again conquest declared for the United States army. These
victories filled our country with exultation. Government acknow
ledged the distinguished services of General Taylor, by making him
Major-General by brevet; Congress passed resolutions of high ap
proval ; Louisiana presented him with a sword, and the press every
where teemed with his praise.
As soon as means could be procured. General Taylor crossed the
Rio Grande, took Metamoras without opposition, and made Colonel
Twiggs its Governor. The army soon received large volunteer rein
forcements, and the American General proceeded to Camargo, thence,
through Seralos to Monterey, where he arrived the 19th of September.
They found the town in a complete state of defence ; the walls and
parapets were lined with cannons, and the houses barricaded, and
planted with artillery; the Mexicans had nearly ten thousand soldiers,
and plenty of ammunition ; but all were useless against the skill and
power of our army. The conflict was terrific, but at length the city

ZACHARY TAYLOR.
capitulated. The terms accorded by the conqueror were liberal, and
dictated by a regard to the interests of peace ; they crowned a gallant
conquest of arms, with a more sublime victory of magnanimity.
To describe the last crowning victory effected by General Taylor,
is, within our limits, impossible. Its scene was Buena Vista, and its
time February 22, 1847. Santa Anna commanded the Mexican army
of 20,000 men, while Taylor had but 4,500. Ten hours did the con
flict last, and fearful was the crisis. The character of the General was
never more strikingly shown. When Santa Anna summoned* him to
surrender, he, with Spartan brevity, " declined acceding to the re
quest," and -when the demand was repeated, the answer was, "General
Taylor never surrenders." Nor were his addresses to his army, less
sententious and effective. "A little more grape, Captain Bragg," and
" 'Tis impossible to whip us when we all pull together," are sounds
which still live in the ears of those who heard them, and will never
be forgotten. History tells not of a battle more bravely contested, or
more nobly won; and well did the greatest warrior of the age, on
learning it, exclaim. General Taylor's a general indeed!" Thus
ended the military life of Zachary Taylor, who returned home carry
ing with him not only the adoration of his soldiers, but the respect
of the people he had vanquished. We need not say he was received
in the United States with loud and universal enthusiasm.
As one illustration, among many which might be given, we select
an anecdote showing his republican habits, given by a committee ap
pointed by the citizens of New Orleans, to present the General with a
sword : —
"We presented ourselves at the opening of one of the tents, before
which was standing a dragoon's horse, much used by hard service.
Upon a camp-stool at our left sat General  , in busy conversa
tion with a hearty looking old gentleman, sitting on a box, cushioned
-with an Arkansas blanket, dressed in Attakapas pantaloons, and a
linen roundabout, and remarkable for a bright flashing -eye, a high
forehead, a farmer look, and 'rough and ready' appearance. It is
hardly necessary for us to say, that this personage was General
Taylor, the commanding hero of two of the most remarkable battles
on record, and the man who, by his firmness and decision of character,
has shed lustre upon the American arms.
" There was no pomp about his tent ; a couple of rough blue chests
served for his table, upon which were strewn, in masterly confasion, a
variety of official, documents. A quiet-looking, citizen-dressed per
sonage, made his appearance upon hearing the significant call of 'Ben,'

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
bearing on a tin salver, a couple of black bottles and shining tumblers,
arranged around an earthen pitcher of Rio Grande water. These
refreshments were deposited upon a stool, and we ' helped ourselves'
by invitation. We bore to the General, a complimentary gift, from
some of his fellow citizens of New Orleans, which he declined receiving
for the present ; giving, at the same time, a short but ' hard sense'
lecture on the impropriety of naming children and places after men,
before they were dead, or of his receiving a present for his services
'before the campaign, so far as he was concerned, was finished.'
"With the highest possible admiration of the republican simplicity of
the manners and character of General Taylor, we bade him good day,
with a higher appreciation of our native land, for possessing such a
man as a Citizen, and of its institutions, for moulding such a cha
racter." The people of the United States have' in their gift, the office of
the Presidency, an honor exceeding that of the greatest throne in the
world. Whether it be desirable, to place a soldier in the chair,
as is so frequently done, is no question to be discussed in this place ;
assuredly in the case of General Taylor, no small enthusiasm accom
panied his selection for the honor by the Whig convention in Phila
delphia, June 1, 1848, and scarcely less when the people confirmed
the nomination on November 7, following. March 5, 1849, he was
introduced to the office, and his inaugural address was considered to be
redolent with old-fashioned patriotism, and breathed the very spirit of
devotedness to his country. His subsequent administration, though
beset by sectional strifes of fearful violeijce, was conducted with
wisdom, firmness, and moderation, on great national principles, and for
great national ends. Owing to his profound deference to the coordinate
branches of government, and his inability to either dictate "or assume,
his policy was not, during the short period of his administration, fully
proclaimed to congress, and pressed upon its adoption.
History is an illustration of the fact that death loves a shining mark.
At the period when the life of a ruler appears most desirable, he is
often suddenly removed. One year and five months only, had General
Taylor become settled in the Presidential chair, and proved his
declaration that he was not the President of a party ; while occupied
in business which demanded all his talents and energies, endeavoring
to unite all parties in the prompt and untramelled admission of Cali
fornia into the Union, only five days after he had done homage to
Washington, on the birth day of our liberties, and just as he had per
formed his last official act, in adding a new guaranty to the peace of
10

ZACHARY TAYLOR.
the world, by signing the convention recently concluded between our
country and Great Britain, respecting Central America, — he was cut off
in the sixty-sixth year of his age. His illness was only of a few hours'
duration, and his love of country was shown to the last hour. Speaking
of his own conduct in reference to her interests, his dying declaration
was, "I am prepared — I have endeavored to do my duty."
General Taylor left behind him a widow, who has since deceased,
one son, and two daughters; one married to Dr. Wood, surgeon ofthe
United States army, and the other to Colonel W. W. S. Bhss, of the
army. Another daughter, who died some years since, was married to
Cplonel Jefferson Davis, Senator from Mississippi.
The administration of President Taylor is so recent, and therefore
so fresh in the minds of our readers, that they may probably consider
it improper for the historian at present to describe it. Certainly, how
ever, we may say that his conduct was distinguished by remarkable
independence and freedom from party spirit ; he was eminently con
cerned to maintain the union and prosperity of the United States ; and
as far as consistent with national honor and dignity, desirous of culti
vating peace and friendly relations with all foreign powers.
In person. General Taylor was about five feet eight inches in
height, and like most of our revolutionary generals, was inclined to
corpulency. He appeared a much taller man on horseback than on
foot, owing to the shortness of his lower extremities. His hair was
gray, his brow ample, his eye vivid, and his features plain, but full of
firmness and intelligence. Benevolence was a striking feature in his
countenance, and in this respect was the true index of his heart. He
was kind, forbearing, and humane. His manners were easy and hearty,
his tastes, dress, and manners were simple, and his style of living ex
tremely temperate. His speeches, and his official papers, hoth military
and civil, were remarkable for the propriety of their feeling, and their
chasteness of diction. All his personal attributes and antecedents
made him preeminently the man of the people, and qualified him to
sustain his country by uniting all classes. His good temper was re
markable, so that all parties were at home in intercourse with him,
even those who were by no means distinguished for courtesy. So that
when on the day after his election to the presidency, a man coarsely
shook hands with him, and told him that he did not vote for him, for
he did not think him fit for the office, the General replied, smiling,
"Yesterday I thought as you do, but as the people thought differently,
I submit." His mind was of an original and sohd cast, admirably
balanced and combining the comprehensiveness of reason with the penc
il

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
tration of instinct. Its controlling element was a strong sterlmg sense,
that of itself rendered him a wise counsellor and a safe leader. His
martial courage was only equalled by his Spartan simplicity, his unaf
fected modesty, his ever-wakeful humanity, his inflexible integrity, his
uncompromising truthfulness, his lofty magnanimity, his unbounded
patriotism, and his unfaltering loyalty to duty. His private Ufe was
unblemished, and the loveliness of his disposition made him the idol of
his own household, and the favorite of all who knew him. Assuredly
no man has ever died among us, whose loss occasioned more mtense
feeling, or who was more honored in his burial.
12

; :> y.v. ¦<. D a^u-;rrs j'.yi- s hy Souti

w:iciL,3M.AM mupisi}! § e © 'ip^i? =

WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT, D. C. L.

If it be honorable to a man to have had ancesfors eminent for the use
fulness they render to society, the subject of our memoir has this honor.
His great grandfather was a man of high respectability, and was
elected as the agent of the province of Massachusetts to the British
Court, but declined the office, which was subsequently filled by
Edward Quincy. His grandfather was Colonel William Prescott, who
commanded the American forces stationed in the redoubt at the memora
ble battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775, and with the undisciplined
militia . of New England twice broke the ranks of the British grena
diers, and drove them in confusion and dismay to their boats. His
father, the Hon. William Prescott, LL. D., through a long life of
eighty-two years, presented first at the bar, and afterwards in dignified
retirement, an eminent example of talent, learning, and moral excel
lence; enjoying while he lived the character of one of the noblest
ornaments of his profession, and mourned over at his death, in 1844,
as a vast loss to the community he so long adorned with his pre
sence. William Hickling Prescott was born in Salem, Massachusetts,
May 4, 1796. His early education was undertaken by Dr. Gardiner,
a pupil of the distinguished English Grecian, Dr. Samuel Parr, and
himself a very eminent classical scholar. Under this gentleman he
made great progress in the ancient classics, and passed through a
range of studies in the Latin and Greek authors far beyond the limits
usually attained at that time in our public seminaries. When William
had attained twelve years of age, his family removed to the city of
Boston, where he afterward mostly resided. At fifteen, he entered
Harvard College, at Cambridge, one year in advance ; here he gave
comparatively little attention to the mathematics and the kindred
sciences, but employed his leisure hours, especially in the latter
portion of his college life, in the study of his favorite authors. It

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was then a matter of taste with him, but his subsequent engage
ments have shown the wisdom of his conduct; as much of the
beauty of his style has been the result of the happy union of his
genius and learning.
While at college, an accidental blow deprived him of the sight of
one of his eyes, and the other became greatly weakened, partly by
sympathy, and partly by the increased labor thrown upon it, so that
he was threatened with entire darkness. However, he graduated with
high honors in 1814, being then but eighteen. He had intended to
devote himself to the bar, but was soon compelled to abandon his pro
fession, and even to renounce all reading, for he became for a season
entirely blind. In the autumn of 1815, he went to Europe, and spent
two years in England, France, and Italy, seeking the aid ofthe great
oculists in London and Paris. He may have been too young to derive
a permanent profit from his travels, but he probably enjoyed the novel
scenes which opened to him with a higher relish than he would have
done at a later period, and thought ofthe ancients with an enthusiasm
which a cooler criticism might have checked. He returned to Boston
with greatly renovated health, but not to resume his studies^ for, alas,
his eye was yet greatly susceptible of inflammation. Still he was not
discouraged, but with the natural energy of his character, turned to
the studies which yet remained within his reach. In the course of a
few years, he married a lady of his own city, a grand-daughter of
Captain Linzee, who commanded one of the British vessels at the battle
of Bunker Hill ; thus presenting another beautiful illustration of the
tendency of Christianity and civilization in ameliorating humanity;
the grandchildren of some of the opposing parties in the revolution,
were now united in the holy bon^s of marriage. Dr. Rufus Griswold
describes two swords which he saw suspended over one of the book
cases in Mr. Prescott's beautiful library, crossed with an Indian calu
met, which were worn by the grandfathers at Bunker Hill, one in the
people's service, the other in the King's. Cordially do we unite with the
Doctor in saying, "Would that the two countries might for ever be
united in as firm a bond of peace as that which binds these descendants
of their two champions on that memorable day." This marriage has
been productive of nothing but happiness, so that Mr. Prescott some
years since, wrote' to a friend, that " contrary to the assertion of La
Bruyere, who somewhere says that ' the most fortunate husband finds
reason to regret his condition, at least once in every twenty-four
hours,' I may truly say that I have found no such day in the quarter
ofa century that Providence has spared us to each other."

WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT.
Thus situated, Mr. Prescott resolved to become, in the best sense
of the word, an historian. Unlike the majority of intellectual aspirants,
he had at his command the means to procure the needful materials,
however expensive, for illustrating any subject on which his choice
might fix, and to obtain the services of a secretary every way qualified
for his office. As he grew older, too, the inflammatory tendency of
his system diminished, and his eye became less sensible tQ_the fatigue
of study. He gradually recovered his sight, so that he became able
to gratify his taste for hooks to a reasonable extent ; he was, how
ever, we are informed, seldom able to use his eyes above an hour a
day, but still he cheerfully wrote to a friend, " I am not, and never
expect to be, in the category of the blind men." His earliest literary
labors were devoted to a series of critical and miscellaneous essays,
chiefly in the North American Review ; thirteen of which form a
volume first published in 1845. They are remarkable for the sus
tained ease and felicity of expression, the fine enthusiasm and natural
brilliancy, which in a still more eminent degree distinguish his later
productions. They show that he was always equal to his theme in
research, hearty appreciation, and acute critical judgment.
As early as 1819, Mr. Prescott cherished the idea of producing a
historical work of a superior character. Ten years did he wisely give
himself for preliminary preparations, and ten years more for the pre
paration of a specific work. The subject he selected was the history
of the " Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain," a noble sub
ject for an American, as in their reign the existence of this continent
was first revealed to Europe. The plan was a noble one, and nobly has it
been carried out ; certainly the twenty years devoted to it was time well
spent. The years embraced in it presented one of the few important
periods in^the history of Europe, which seemed to invite the hand of a
master. It was the period at which lived Isabella of Castile, the
statesman Ximenes, the soldier Cordova, and the navigator Columbus;
in which the empire of the Moors was subdued, the Inquisition was
established, the Jews were driven from Spain, and a new world was
discovered and colonized. Nothing had yet appeared worthy to cover
the ground. From Mr. Alexander H. Everett, our minister at the
Court of Spain, when Mr. Prescott selected the subject of his work
he received much assistance in the transmission of important works
from that country, which could not be obtained in the United States.
" This History," says Mr. Tuckerman, " is a work which unites the
fascination of romantic fiction with the grave interest of authentic
events. Its author makes no pretension to analytical power, except

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
m the arrangement of his materials ; he is content to describe, and his
talents are more artistic than philosophical ; neither is any cherished
theory or principle obvious ; his ambition is apparently limited to skil
ful narration. Indefatigable in research, sagacious in the choice and
comparison of authorities, serene in temper, graceful in style, and
pleasing in sentiment, he possesses all the requisites for an agreeable
writer; while his subjects have yielded so much of picturesque mate
rial and romantic interest, as to atone for the lack of any more original
or brilliant qualities in the author."
When Mr. Prescott had written his History of Ferdinand and
Isabella, he had resolved against its publication during his life-time, but
the remark of his father, that " the man who writes a book which he
is afraid to publish is a coward," led him to a different decision, and in
1838, at the age of forty -two, in the freshness, as well as in the maturity
of his genius, he appeared before the world, both in Boston and in Lon
don, as an author. The reception of his work was every where highly
flattering, for all pronounced it a masterpiece, so that his fame became
at once firmly established. The Edinburgh and Quarterly Reviews
emulated each other in its praise, and it was promptly translated into
the Spanish, German, French, and Italian languages. It has passed
through very many editions, and the voice of posterity has been antici
pated by the unanimous judgment of the learned, who have admitted
it into the circle of immortal works.
The biographers of Mr. Prescott have pretty fully detailed the
difficulties which he had to contend with in his literary labors,
arising from his defective vision. Dr. Griswold tells us, that when his
literary treasures reached him from Spain, he " was not able to read
even the title pages ofthe volumes. He had strained the nerve of his
eye by careless use of it, and it was several years before it recovered
so far as to allow him to use it again. By the sight of his Spanish
treasures lying unexplored before him, he was filled with despair. He
determined to try whether he could make the ears do the work of the
eyes. He taught his reader, unacquainted with any language but his
own, to pronounce the Spanish, though not exactly in the accent of
the Court of Madrid. He read at a slow and stumbling pace, while
the historian listened with painful attention. Practice at length made
the work easier for both, though the reader never understood a word
of his author. In this way, they ploughed along patiently through
seven Spanish quartos. He found at last he could go over about two-
thirds as much in an hour as he could when read to in English. The
experiment was made, and he became convinced of the practicabihty

WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT.
of substituting the ear for the eye. He was overjoyed, for his library
was no longer to consist of sealed volumes.
" He now obtained the services of a secretary acquainted with the
different ancient and modern languages. Still there were many im
pediments to overcome. His eye, however, gradually improved, and
he could use it by daylight, (never again in the evening,) a few hours ;
though this was not till after some years, and then with repeated in
tervals of weeks, and sometimes months of debility. Many a chapter,
and some ofthe severest in Ferdinand and Isabella, were written almost
wholly with the aid of the eyes of his secretary. His modus operandi was
necessarily peculiar. He selected, first, all the authorities in the dif
ferent languages that could bear on the topic to be discussed. He then
listened to the reading of them, one after another, dictating very
copious notes on each. When the survey was completed, a large
pile of notes was amassed, which were read to him over and over
again, until the whole had been embraced by his mind, when they
were fused down into the consecutive contents of a chapter. When
the subject was complex, and not pure narrative, requiring a great
variety of reference, and sifting of contradictory authorities, the work
must have been very difficult. But it strengthened his memory, kept his
faculties wide awake, and taught him to generalize; for the little
details slipped through the holes in the memory.
• " His labor did not end with this process. He found it as difficult to
write as to read, and procured in London a writing case for the blind.
This he could use in the dark as well as in the light. The characters,
indeed, might pass for hieroglyphics, but they were deciphered by his
secretary, and transferred by him to a legible form in a fair copy. Yet
I have heard him say his hair sometimes stood on end at the woful
blunders and misconceptions of the original, which every now and
then, escaping detection, found their way into the first proof of the
printer." When a new author, in addition to a highly flattering reception of
his work, is himself conscious of having rendered a benefit to society,
he is seldom disposed entirely to lay aside his pen and to indulge in
inglorious ease. Especially is a man urged onward when, like Mr.
Prescott, he is by nature and principle of energetic habits. Never
did Mr. Prescott seek to mingle with the crowd; he never sought
the shouts of a multitude, nor even addressed one ; but he lived
with the historically great, chiefly of the past. He had now tried his
literary powers, and satisfied the public even more fully than himself,
that he was capable of useful labor ; besides which his sight was now

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
gradually improving, and he could work more easily at his books and
documents than heretofore. In addition to all which, he had by this
time accumulated some valuable manuscript materials, and pictorial
works, which aided his imagination and increased his enthusiasm. He
sat down, therefore, to his " Conquest of Mexico," which was pub
lished in 1843, simultaneously in the United States and in London. It
was written with remarkable freedom and spirit, the result both of
conscious success, and of the excitement springing from the nature of
his romantic and marvellous story ; so that the prompt honors it
received, were even more brilliant than those awarded to his "Ferdi
nand and Isabella." Before this, he had been admitted to membership
in several of the distinguished academies of Europe, and he was how
elected a member of the French Institute. This second historical work
attained a higher sale than even the first ; the New York publishers
sold nearly seven thousand copies of it in one year; in London it very
quickly passed to a second edition ; it was reprinted in Paris, and
translated there, as well as in Berlin, Rome, Madrid, and Mexico.
The Mexican translator, Dr. Griswold tells us, a person of some con
sideration in that country, advertised that he should accommodate the
offensive opinions in religion and politics to the more received ideas of
the Mexicans! But the version which appeared in Madrid being
faithful, the Spanish Americans have perhaps had an opportunity to
see the work in an unmutilated form.
'' We are happy in the opportunity of giving from a critique on this
work in the eighty-first volume of the " Edinburgh Review," a few
sentences, which will equally apply to every work which our author
has written. The Reviewer says : — "Mr. Prescott has a pure, sim
ple and eloquent style — a keen relish for the picturesque~-a quick and
discerning judgment of character — and a calm, generous, and enlight
ened spirit of philanthropy. There is no exaggeration in asserting that
his ' Conquest of Mexico' combines — some allowance, where' that is
necessary, being made for the inferior extent and importance of its
subject — most of the valuable qualities which distinguish the most
popular historical writers in our own'language of the present day. It
unites the chivalrous but truthful enthusiasm of Colonel Napier,, and
the vivacity of the accomplished author of the ' Siege of Granada,'
with the patient and ample research of Mr. Ty tier.
"It would be easy to fill our pages with sparkling quotations, with
sketches of scenery worthy of Scott, with battle-pieces rivaling those
of Napier, with pictures of disaster and desolation scarcely less
pathetic than those drawn by Thucydides. But Mr. Prescott has.

WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT.
no doubt, too much taste not to accept it as a compliment, when we
say that every reader of intelligence forgets the beauty of his coloring
in the grandeur of his outline ; and that nothing but a connected
sketch of the latter can do justi ce to the highest charm of his work.
Indeed we are by no means certain, that the splendid variety of episode
and adventure with which the great enterprises of Cortes are inter
woven, does not necessarily withdraw, in some measure, our attention
from the naked view of their surpassing audacity ; just as, in the wild
Sierras traversed by his army, the luxuriant vegetation of the tropics
serves to render less awful the frowning brow of the precipice and the
shadowy depth of the ravine."
Not long after the publication of the work last named, Mr. Prescott
was called to sustain the loss of his venerable and excellent father,
wliich for a time interrupted his studies ; but the relaxation of his
mind only nerved him for new labors, and in 1847 appeared his "Co?i-
quest of Peru," written, like that of Mexico, in very great part from
original materials. It is marked by the same striking merits which
distinguished his preceding works, and is quite equal in interest to
either of them. Few works of imagination have more power to win
the fancy and touch the heart. Facts infinitely more instructive than
fiction, are found here — more enchanting and more impressive.
Two of the most touching instances of literary generosity
should be noticed in connection with Mr. Prescott. The first
was in relation to the " Conquest of Mexico." Washington
Irving had prepared himself to enter that golden field, but on
learning that his friend had designs upon it, he yielded it to
Prescott, saying, "I am happy to have this opportunity of
testifying my high esteem for his talents, and my sense of the
very courteous manner in which he has spoken of myself and
my writings in his 'Ferdinand and Isabella,' though they inter
fered with a part of the subject of his history." Prescott
showed himself worthy of this magnanimity. The other in
stance was in connection with the last work of Mr. Prescott —
"Philip the Second of Spain." Mr. J. L. Motley tells us that
he " felt an ine-vitable impulse to write one particular history,"
and he had chosen the " Rise of the Dutch Republic." But
when he learned what Prescott had projected, he feared a clash,
and with sad disappointment thought that he must abandon the
subject on which his heart was set. He went to Prescott, and
thus describes the visit: "He received me -with such a frank
and ready and liberal sympathy, and such an open-hearted,

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
guileless expansiveness, that I felt a personal affection for him
from that hour. He assured me that he had not the slightest
obj ection whatever to my plan ; that he wished me every success ;
and that, if there were any books in his library bearing on my
subjeot that I liked to use, they were entirely at my service.
Although it seems easy enough for a man of world-wide repu
tation thus to extend the right hand of fellowship to an unknown
and struggling aspirant, yet I fear that the history of literature
will show that such instances of disinterested kindness are as
rare as they are noble." These two generous men entered upon
nearly the same field, and proved, as Prescott said, that " no
two books ever injured each other."
Months passed slowly away before Mr. Prescott could enter
fully upon his new work. His eyes were in a bad state, and he
complained that he could " Philipize" very little. He resolved
to dictate history to his secretary. Then for a time he was in
fear of a loss of hearing. He went to England, where he was
received with distinguished respect and kindness by the most
eminent persons in society and letters, their only regret being
that his stay among them was not of greater length. VHiile
there the ancient University of Oxford conferred on him the
degree of Doctor of Civil Law ; a dignity to be esteemed the
greateri as it was unsolicited, and as that learned body is always
very sparing of such honors.
Two years later we find him at horne, amid a forest of
materials, " still Philipizing." His spirited advances were sadly
interrupted by the sudden death of his mother. "He wept
bitterly. But above every other feeling rose the sense of grati
tude for what he had owed to his mother's love and energy."
We may know something of his literary persistency when we
learn that, besides having attacks of rheumatism, he was com
pelled to write, "I have been sorely plagued with dyspeptic
debility and pains." Yet despite the great difficulties he com
pleted two volumes of " Philip the Second " in 1854.
While their publication was going on, he was occupied with
the latter part of the reign and life of Philip's illustrious father.
He was unwilling to undertake an entirely new work upon
Charles V. of Spain, nor did he wish to compete with Robertson,
whose Life of the great Monarch had won him his fadeless
laurels. Prescott therefore resolved to employ the new mate
rials concerning the cloister life of Charles V., and make a sup-

WILLLA.M H, PRESCOTT.
plement to the work of the Scottish historian. It was published
with a new edition of Robertson's history, and Prescott not
only won new honors for himself, but also for the transatlantic
author. Early in 1858 Mr. Prescott received his first attack of apo
plexy.. When, after some time, he could speak, he said to his
wife, tenderly leaning over him, " My poor wife 1 I am sorry
for you, that this has come upon yoii so soon." Never was
there a less selfish utterance. It opens to us the he&rt of the
man. In a few weeks he adventured again within the domain
of his old and favorite studies. In April the third volume of
" Philip the Second " went to the press. It delighted him to
think that he was not yet obliged to reduce the amount of his
mental exertions. His courage was unfaltering. He did little
with his pen toward a fourth volurne of his unfinished workj
but ."amused himself," as he said, "with making a revision of
his ' Conquest of Mexico.' "
On a January day in 1859 Mr. Kirk, his ever faithful secre
tary (lately ushered into fame by his " Charles the Bold"), was
reading to him and his family, when he stepped into an adjoin
ing room. Shortly after, Mr. Kirk heard him groan, hurried to
him, and found him wholly unconscious from a stroke of apo
plexy. His hour had come; remedies availed nothing. He
yielded to the death which he would have preferred, had the
choice been left to himself. Without apparent suffering his
spirit passed away.
On the day of his burial the Representatives of the Common
wealth and the members of the Historical Society paid him
their last respects. The whole community was moved. The
tears shed at his grave by the poor whom he had befriended
were as honorable to his memory as those dropped by men of
wealth, men of letters, and men of power. From all parts of
the land afterwards came expressions of grief. Europe sent her
condolence to America.
The record of such a life affords a powerful stimulus to ex
ertion. What an example of industry, of the power to rise
above adverse circumstances, of the courage to undertake labors
almost impossible, ofthe persistency which makes nearly every
thing possible, of making work a delight and warfare a victory,
and of turning the vast difficulties to advantage in the one great

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
purpose of a life ! Prescott must stand pre-eminent in literary
heroisiji. Were this all, his name should go down to the young men of
every age, linked with the touching story of his adversities and
with the inspiring record of his successes, so that his fire might
kindle enthusiasm in others who need such energies, in every
department of life. But this is not all. There was a charm
in the home-life of Dr. Prescott. He contributed his utmost
to the happiness of his family, his friends, his neighbors, and
the stranger within his gates. Children knew how condescend
ing he was at a holiday hour or on a Thanksgiving-day. The
last words of his private memoranda will long be remembered
by the family circle, for he wrote that it had " been brightened
by the presence of all the children and grand-children, God
bless them!" His domestic affections were almost uppermost
in his character. Very charitable was he to the poor. Like
his mother, he found happiness in an unseen and free-handed
beneficence. In political opinion he was moderate. He. had the truest
love for his country, and might be counted in the school of
Washington, Hamilton, and Everett. He was in the habit of
saying, that he dealt with political discussions only when they
related to events and persons, at least two centuries old. .This
was, perhaps, one reason why he declined to write the Second
Conquest of Mexico — that achieved by General Scott. "The
theme would be taking, " he said, " but I had rather not m.eddle with
heroes who have not been under ground two centuries at least."
He never courted popularity ; it followed him. He never
sought an office, and his friends did not venture to ask him to
come down -from his high elevation in order to fill one. He
was the model of a retired patriot, whose pen was his sceptre
of extended power. In his deep researches he sank Artesian
wells into what had been regarded as deserts, but where now
are fountains and well-watered plains. He added richly to the
standard literature of the age, the literary fame of his country,
and the fraternity of nations. If in a past century Spanish
chivalry played its last act in the New World, in the present
century the historian of the Spanish Conquests affords some
proof ofthe high eminence of America under a more practical,
progressive, and Christian civilization. The century-plant has
bloomed, never, we trust, to fade nor drop its leaves to the dust,
10

Engraved 'J;iy T.B Welch. — Elae,uerTeol)rpedby J._H,WhitehurBl

M TI IL. HaA. .'ivHD W 31 ILlLMi © mH

PHILADELPHIA,
.EtTGE-AYED POE- RICK AND HART'S NATIONAL POIlTILA.IT GALLEHY
o:f disti;t.:,'tttshed Americans

MILLARD FILLMORE.

When a man has honorably discharged duties to which he has been
unexpectedly and suddenly called, especially when those duties have
been difficult, and their performance has been clearly the result of
established principles, our curiosity in reference to his history is
great, and to minister to the gratification of such a curiosity in
the present case is highly gratifying. Few persons, probably, sup
posed in the year 1848, when Millard Fillmore was elected vice-
president of this vast Republic, that he would soon be called to
succeed General Taylor, his popular chief, and that he would so ably
perform some of the most difficult duties which ever devolved on the
ruler of a great nation. Let us, before we particularly look at this
distinguished personage, briefly trace his origin.
John Fillmore, the great-grandfather of Millard Fillmore, and the
common ancestor of all of that name in the United States, was the son of
English parents, and was horn about the year 1702, in Ipswich, Massa
chusetts ; and having a strong propensity towards a sea-faring life, at
the age of about nineteen he went on board a fishing vessel which sailed
from Boston. The vessel had been but a few days out -when it was
captured by a noted pirate-ship, commanded by Captain Phillips, and
young Fillmore was kept as a prisoner. He remained on board this
ship nine months, enduring every hardship which a strong constitution
ahd firm spirits' were capable of sustaining ; and though frequently
threatened with immediate death, unless he would sign the piratical
articles of the vessel, he steadily refused until two others had been
taken prisoners, who also refusing to join the crew, the three made an
attack upon the pirates, and after killing several, took the vessel and
brought it safe into Boston harbor. The printed narrative of this
adventure details one of the most daring and successful exploits on
record. The surviving pirates were tried and executed, and the

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
heroic conduct of the captors was acknowledged by the British govern
ment. John Fillmore died in that part of the town of Norwich now
called Franklin, in Connecticut.
Nathaniel, the son of John Fillmore, settled at Bennington, in Ver
mont, then called the Hampshire Grants, where he lived till his death,
which took place in 1814. He served in the French war, and was a
true whig of the revolution, gallantly fighting as a lieutenant under
General Stark, in the battle of Bennington. His son Nathaniel, the
father of Millard Fillmore, was born at Bennington, April 19, 1771,
and early in life removed to what is now called Summer Hill, Cayuga
County, New York, where Millard was born, Jan. 7, 1800. Na
thaniel was a farmer, and soon after the birth of his son, lost all his
property by a bad title to one of the military lots he had purchased.
About the year 1802, he removed to the town of Sempronius, (now
called Niles,) in the same county, and resided there till 1819, when he
removed to Erie county, to cultivate a small farm with his own hands.
He was a strong and uniform supporter of Jefferson, Madison, and
Tompkins, and is now a firm whig. The mother of Millard Fill
more was Phebe Millard, daughter of Doctor Abiather Millard. She
was a native of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and though of limited educa
tion, possessed intellect of a very high order, united with great native
beauty, graceful manners, and exquisite sensibility ; so .that she was
eminently distinguished among her connections. She died in 1831, and
therefore did not live to enjoy — what only a fond mother can fully
appreciate — the national reputation of her son.
The narrow means of his father deprived Millard of any advantages
of education beyond what were afforded by the imperfect and ill-taught
common schools of the county. Books were scarce and dear, and at
the age of fourteen, when more favored youths are far advanced in
their classical studies, or enjoying in colleges the benefit of well fur
nished libraries, young Fillmore had read but little except his
common school-books and his Bible. At that age he was sent into
the wilds of Livingston county, to learn the trade of a clothier. He
remained there about four months, when he was placed with another
person to learn the same business and wool-carding in the town where
his father lived. A small village library was formed there soon after,
which gave him the first opportunity of acquiring general knowledge
through books. He nobly improved his privilege, and his intellectual
appetite grew by what it fed upon. His thirst for knowledge soon
became insatiate, and his every leisure moment was spent in reading.
Four years were passed in this way, working at his trade, and storing

MILLARD FILLMORE.
his mind at every hour he could command, from books of history,
biography, and travels.
At the age of nineteen, Millard Fillmore fortunately made
acquaintance with the late Walter Wood^ Esq., one o^ the most esti
mable citizens of Cayuga county. Judge Wood was a man of wealth,
and of great capacity for business ; he had an excellent law library,
but had little professional practice. He soon saw that under the rude
exterior of the clothier's boy were powers which only required proper
development to raise their possessor to high distinction and usefulness,
and advised him to quit his trade and to study law. In reply to the
objection of a want of education, means, and friends, to aid him in a
course of professional studies. Judge Wood kindly offered to give him
a place in his office, to advance money to defray his expenses, and
wait until success in business should furnish the means of repayment.
The offer was accepted. The apprentice boy bought out his time, and
entered the office of Judge Wood. We have heard that his former
employer protested against the choice which his apprentice made,
declaring that he had been intent on the lad's future welfare, but
he had been foolish enough to leave a good business to become a
lawyer. For more than two years did Millard Fillmore closely apply
himself to business and study, reading law and general literature, and
practising as a surveyor. Fearful of incurring too large a debt to his
benefactor, he taught school for three months in the year, and thus
acquired the means of partly supporting himself. In the autumn of
1821, he removed to the county of Erie, and the following spring
entered a law office in Buffalo, where he sustained himself by teaching,
and continued his legal studies till 1823, when he was admitted to the
court of Common Pleas. Being, however, too diffident of his then
untried powers to enter into competition with the older members of
the bar in Buffalo, he removed to Aurora, in that county, where he
commenced the practice of law. Here, in the year 1826, he married Miss
Abigail Powers, the youngest child of the late Rev. Lemuel Powers,
by whom he has two children, a son and a daughter, both worthy of
their parents. Mrs. Fillmore is descended, on the maternal side, from
Henry Leland, one of the earliest settlers of Massachusetts. She is a
lady of great moral worth, highly esteemed among those who have
the honor of her acquaintance, of exceedingly kind and unobstrusive
manners, an^ is a bright ornament to the high sfation she has been
called to occupy.
In the year 1827 Mr. Fillmore was admitted as an attorney, and

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
in 1829, as a counseller in the supreme court. Previous to this time
his practice had been very limited, but his application to juridical
studies had been constant and severe, so that during these few years
of comparative seclusion he acquired that general knowledge of the
fundamental principles of the law which has mainly contributed to give
him an elevated rank among the members of that liberal profession.
His legal acquirements and skill as an advocate, soon attracted the
attention of his professional brethren in Buffalo, and he was offered a
highly advantageous connection with an elder member of the bar in
that city, which he accepted, and removed there in 1830. Here he
continued to reside till his election as comptroller, and consequent re
moval to Albany in 1847.
The first entrance of Mr. Fillmore into public life was in January,
1829, when he took his seat as a member of the House of Assembly,
from Erie county, to which office he was reelected the two following
years. The democratic party in those three sessions, as for many
years before and after, held triumphant sway in both houses of the
legislature, and but little opportunity was afforded a young member
of the opposition to distinguish himself. But talent, integrity, and
devotion to public business will make a man felt and respected, even
amidst a body of opposing partisans ; and Mr. Fillmore, although in
a hopeless minority so far as any question of a political or party bear
ing was involved, on all questions of a general character, soon won the
confidence of the house in an unexample(t degree. It was a common
remark among the members, " If Fillmore says it is right, we will
vote for it."
The most important measure of a general nature which came up
during Mr. Fillmore's service in the state legislature, was the bill to
abolish imprisonment for debt. In behalf of that great and philan
thropic measure he took an active part, urging with unanswerable
arguments its justice and expediency, and, as a member of the com
mittee on the subject, aiding to perfect its details. To Millard
Fillmore, with his then coadjutors, are the people" of New York
indebted for expunging from the statute-book that relic of a barbarous
age — ^imprisonment for debt,
Mr. Fillmore was first elected to Congress in the autumn of 1832,
and took his seat in the stormy session immediately succeeding the
removal of the deposites from the United States Bank. In those days,
the business of the house, and debates, were led by old an(J experienced
members — new ones, unless they enjoyed a -wide-spread and almost
national reputation— rarely taking an active and conspicuous part.

MILLARD FILLMORE.
"Little chance, therefore, was afforded Mr. Fillmore, a member of the
opposition, young and unassuming, of displaying those qualities which
so eminently fitted him for legislative usefulness. But the school was
one admirably qualified fully to develope and cultivate those powers
which, under more favorable circumstances, have enabled him to ren
der such varied and important services to his country.
At the close of his term of service, Mr. Fillmore resumed the
practice of his profession, which he pursued with distinguished repu
tation and success, until, yielding to the public request, he consented
again to become a candidate, and was reelected to Congress in the
autumn of 1836. In the twenty-fifth Congress he took a more active
part than he did during his first term, and on the assembling of the
next Congress, to which he was reelected by a largely increased
majority, he was assigned a prominent place on what, next to that of
ways and means, it was justly anticipated would become the most im
portant committee of the house — that on elections. It was in this
Congress that the celebrated contested case of New Jersey came
before that body, in which he greatly distinguished himself. The
prominent part which Mr. Fillmore took in that affair, his patient
investigation of all its complicated minute details, the clear, convincing
manner in which he set forth the facts, the lofty and indignant elo
quence with which he denounced the meditated act, all strongly directed
public attention to him as one of the ablest men of that Congress,
distinguished as it was by the eminent ability and statesmanship of
many of its members. The agitation in Congress of this New Jersey
election case, and the currency measures adopted by the administra
tion of Mr. Van Buren, were among the causes which contributed
to the overthrow of the democratic party, and the triumph of the
whigs in the presidential election of 1840, as well as the majority
obtained by them of members elected to both houses in the twenty-
seventh Congress.
On the assembling of this twenty-seventh Congress, to which Mr.
Fillmore was reelected by a majority larger than was ever before
given in his district) he was placed as chairman of the committee of
ways and means. The duties of that station, always arduous and
responsible, were at that time peculiarly so. A new administration
had come into office, and found public affairs in a state of derangement.
The revenue was inadequate to meet the ordinary expenses of govern
ment; the already large existing debt was rapidly swelling in
magnitude ; commerce and manufactures were depressed ; the currency
was deranged ; banks were embarrassed ; and general distress pervaded

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
the community. To bring order out of confusion ; to replenish the
national treasury ; to provide means that would enable the government
to meet the demands against it, and to pay off the debt ; to revive the
industry of the country and restore its usual prosperity — these were
the tasks devolved on the committee of ways and means. With an
energy and devotion to the public weal, worthy of all admiration, Mr.
Fillmore applied himself to the task, and, sustained by a majority in
Congress, whose industry and zeal in the public service under peculiar
embarrassments, has seldom been equalled, and never surpassed, he
succeeded in its accomplishment. The measures he brought forward
and advocated with matchless ability, speedily relieved the government
from its embarrassment, and have fully justified the most sanguine
expectations of their benign influence upon the country at large. A
new and more accurate system of keeping accounts, rendering them
clear and intelligible, was introduced. The favoritism and other evils
in the treasury were checked by the requirement of contracts ; the
credit of the government was increased ; ample means were provided
for the exigencies of the public service, and the payment of the national
debt was secured. Commerce and manufactures were now revived,
and prosperity and hope once more smiled on the land. The labor
of devising, explaining and defending measures productive of such
happy results, rested chiefly on Mr. Fillmore. He was ably sustained
by his political friends in Congress ; but on him, nevertheless, the
main responsibility rested.
After his long and severe labors in the committee-room — ^labors
sufficiently arduous to break down any but one of an iron constitution —
sustained by a spirit which nothing could conquer, he was required to
give his unremitting attention to the business of the house, to make
any explanation that might be asked for, and be ready -with a complete
and triumphant refutation of every objection that the ingenuity of his
opponents could devise. All this, too, was required to he done -with
promptness, clearness, dignity and good temper. For the proper per
formance of these varied duties, few men are more happily qualified
than Mr. Fillmore. At that fortunate age when the physical and
intellectual powers are displayed in the highest perfection, and the
hasty impulses of youth, without any loss of its vigor, are brought
under control of large experience in public affairs, -with a mind capable
of descending to minute details, as well as of conceiving a grand sys
tem of national policy, calm and deliberate in judgment, self-possessed
and fluent in debate, of dignified presence, never unmindfiil of the
courtesies becoming social and public intercourse, and of political

MILLARD FILLMORE.
integrity unimpeachable, he was admirably qualified for the post 0/
leader of the majority in the twenty-seventh Congress.
Just before the close of the first session of this Congress, Mr. Fill
more, in a letter addressed to his constituents, signified his intention
not to be a candidate for reelection. He acknowledged with gratitude
and pride the cordial and generous support given him by his constitu
ents, but the severe labor devolved upon him by his. official duties
demanded some relaxation, and private affairs, necessarily neglected
in some degree during several years of public service, called for atten
tion. Notwithstanding his declaration to withdraw from the station
he filled with so much honor and usefulness, the convention of his
district, unanimously, and by acclamation, renominated him, and ear
nestly pressed upon him a compliance with their wishes. He was
deeply affected by this last of many proofs of confidence on the part
of those who had known him best; but he firmly adhered to the
determination he had expressed, and at the close of the term for which
he was elected, he returned to his home more gratified at his relief
from the cares of official Hfe, than he had ever been at the prospect of
its highest rewards and honors. But though keenly enjoying the
freedom from public responsibilities, and the pleasures of social inter
course in which he was now permitted to indulge, the qualities of mind
and habits of systematic close attention to business, which so eminently
fitted him for a successful congressional career, were soon called into
full exercise by the rapidly increasing requirements of professional pur
suits, which had never been wholly given up. There is a fascination
in the strife of politics, its keen excitements, and its occasional but
always tempting, brilliant triumphs, that, when once felt, few men are
able to resist so completely as to return with relish to the compara
tively tame and dull occupations of private life. But to the calm and
equable temperament of Mr. Fillmore, repose, after the stormy scenes
in which he had been compelled to take a leading part, was most
grateful. He had ever regarded his profession with affection and
pride, and he coveted more the just, fairly-won fame of the jurist than
the highest political distinction. He welcomed the toil, therefore,
which a large practice in the higher courts imposed upon him, and was
as remarkable for the thoroughness with which he prepared his legal
arguments, as he was for patient, minute investigation of the dry and
difficult subjects it was so often his duty to elucidate and defend in the
house of representatives.
In 1844, in accordance with a popular wish too strong to be resisted,
Mr. Fillmore reluctantly accepted the whig nomination for Governoi

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
of New York. The issue of that conflict, in which he shared in the
signal defeat of his party, has become a matter of history, and he was
only pained at what he feared might be the political results. For
himself he had no regrets ; because he had no desires towards the high
and honorable office for which he had been a candidate, and he trusted
that with the failure of his election, would end any further demand
upon him to serve in public life.
In the year 1847, a popular call, similar to the one just named, was
again made upon him, to which he yielded a reluctant assent, and was
elected comptroller of the state, by a majority larger than had been
given to any state officer at any former election during many years.
There were some peculiar causes which contributed to swell his ma
jority at that election, but independently of them, there can be no
doubt that the general conviction of his eminent fitness for the office,
would, under any circumstances of the opposing party, have given him
a great and triumphant vote. That such evidence of the esteem of
his fellow citizens was gratifying to his feelings, cannot be doubted,
but few can justly appreciate the sacrifices they imposed. The duties
of that office could not be discharged without abandoning at once and
forever — for who ever regained a professional standing once lost ? — a
lucrative business which he had been years in acquiring, nor without
severing all those social ties, and breaking up all those domestic
arrangements, which rendered home happy, and bound him to the city
where the best portion of his life had been spent. Yet feeling that the
state had a right to command his services, he cheerfiilly submitted to
its exactions, and on the first of January, 1848, removed to Albany,
where he displayed, in the performance of the duties of his arduous
and responsible office, the high abiUty and thorough attention which
have always characterized the discharge of his public trusts.
We now approach the period in the life of Mr. Fillmore, when the
entire Union evinced its appreciation of his talents and worth, and a new
theatre was presented to him for the exercise of his matured judgment,
consummate prudence, and an abiding attachment and fidelity to the
constitution and Union, not excelled since the days of the Revolution.
In the winter of 1844, when the eyes of the whigs were turned to
Henry Clay, of Kentucky, as their leader in the contest of that year,
by a numerous portion of the party, Mr. Fillmore was looked
to as the candidate for the vice-presidency. The whigs of the state
of New York, in general convention, unanimously nominated Henry
Clay for president, and Millard Fillmore for vice-president. At
the Baltimore convention, in May of that year, the delegates from

MILLARD FILLMORE.
New York, with one exception, supported Mr. Fillmore, but Mr.
Frelinghuysen, a distinguished citizen of New Jersey, received the
nomination. The startling results of the campaign in Mexico, and the admira
tion and regard everywhere entertained for the bravery, cool judgment
and eminent services of the hero of Resaca de la Palma, Palo Alto,
Monterey, and Buena Vista, early designated General Taylor as the
next president of the United States. While it was well known that
General Taylor had but little experience in the civil affairs of the
country, the confidence in his integrity, sound common sense, and
practical wisdom, was unbounded ; and a statesman, ready and willing
cordially to cooperate with General Taylor in carrying on the admin
istration, and well versed in the details of the affairs of government,
was universally sought for by the whig party, which, at an early day,
it was clearly perceived, must be triumphant in the coming contest.
In view of all these considerations, the whigs of the Union, in national
convention, selected Millard Fillmore for vice president, and there
after the names of Taylor and Fillmore became the rallying cry of
that party throughout the Union, and resulted in the triumphant
election of the whig candidates.
In February, 1849, Mr. Fillmore resigned the office of comptroller-
of the state of New York, to enter upon the discharge of the duties of
vice-president ; and it is not too much to say, that, distinguished as
were his predecessors in the office of comptroller, for integrity of char
acter, financial talents, and a faithful regard to the interests of the
state, no one of them left the office with a higher reputation than Mr.
Fillmore, or with a more general conviction on the part of the public,
that all the duties of the station had been discharged with ability and
fidelity. On March 4, 1849, Mr. Fillmore took the oath of office, as vice-
president of the United States. His address to the senate was com^
mended alike for the combined modesty and dignity of its delivery,
and for the sound and patriotic principles which it presented. A new
order of talent was now called forth on the part of Mr. Fillmore, and
full evidence was soon afforded that he possessed it.
The session of Congress which commenced in December, 1849,
proved more exciting than any previous one, and it soon became
apparent to every dispassionate observer, that the strength of our in
stitutions was then to be tested ; and that upon the wisdom, firmness,
discretion and patriotism of those in power, would depend the continu
ance of the Union and the constitution. In 1826, the presiding officer
9 n 3

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
of the senate, the late John C. Calhoun, had assumed the position that
the vice'-president had no power to call a senator to order for words
spoken in debate. This decision had been acquiesced in, and was the
established usage of the senate. Vice-president Fillmore resolved
to resume what he deemed the proper duties of the presiding officer.
In a neat, perspicuous address to the senate, on a fitting occasion, he
announced his determination to maintain decorum in debate, and to
call senators to order for any offensive words used. The senate evinced
its appreciation and sanction of this determination by unanimously
ordering the views so expressed to be entered at length on their jour
nal, where they stand as evidence of the firmness of the presiding
officer of the senate, and his determination to shrink from no duty.
The courtesy, ability, and dignity, exhibited by Mr. Fillmore, while
presiding over the deliberations of the senate, excited universal com
mendation. But yet higher honors awaited Millard Fillmore. While he was
fully engaged in the discharge of his high ami delicate duties as vice-
president, the whole country was startled by the announcement ofthe
sudden illness, and almost immediate decease of General Taylor, the
President of the United States. At this critical period, the most
difficult and exciting questions which had ever agitated the people of
this country virere pending. The whole Union was aroused; section
was arrayed against section; party divisions were broken up; and
an universal gloom prevailed. The cabinet at once resigned, but the-
new president, with dignity and delicacy, declined to consider their
resignations until after the obsequies to the lamented dead had been
performed. On the tenth of July, Mr. Fillmore took the oath, as president,
to "preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United
States" — and all men were assured that solemn pledge would be
faithfully kept — that the crisis was passed — and that the Union and
the constitution would remain to them and their posterity. Within
two weeks the president selected a cabinet, distinguished for its ability,
patriotism, and devotion to the Union, and possessing in an eminent
degree, the confidence of the nation. With his confidential advisers, the
president immediately applied himself to relieve the embarrassments of
the country, and to the best means of restoring quiet and confidence to
all sections of the Union. His message to Congress on the difficulties
with Texas, presented views so calm, just and reasonable, yet firm
and decided, that full confidence in the administration was everywhere
felt, and this message was regarded as the bow of promise and hope
10

MILLARD FILLMORE.
The settlement of that vexed question opened the way for the speedy
adjiistment' of others.
The assembling of Congress on the second of December, 1850, was
looked forward to with anxiety ; as it was well known that then the
annual message ofthe president would be delivered, disclosing the
views and principles of the new administration. This document was
calm, conciliatory, yet firm, and thoroughly American in all its parts ;
showing that the president was governed by an earnest desire to con
ciliate the warring sections and restore harmony to the Union at
large. It is the peculiar boast of our country, that its highest honors and
dignities are the legitimate objects of ambition to the humblest persons
in the land as well as to those who are most favored by the gifts of
birth and fortune. Ours is a government of the people, and from the
people, emphatically, have sprung those who, in the army or navy, on
the bench of justice, or in the halls of legislation, have shed the
brightest lustre on the page of our history. So almost universally is
this the case, that when we find an instance to the contrary, of one
born to a fortune and enjoying the advantages of influential connections
rising to a high place inthe councils of the nation, the exception de
serves a special note for its rarity. No merit is therefore claimed fot
Millard Fillmore on account of the fact that from comparatively
humble parentage he attained the highest position in the country.
His history, however, like many others in our Gallery, affords a use
ful lesson, as showing what may be accomplished in the face of adverse
circumstances, in a public and private capacity, by intellect, aided and
controlled by energy, strict integrity, and resolute perseverance, Mr.
Fillmore is emphatically, one of the people ; and for all that he has
and is, he is indebted, under God, to his own exertions, the faithful
performance of every duty, and steadfast adherence to whatever is
right. Born to an inheritance of comparative poverty, he has struggled
with difficulties of no ordinary character, and occupies a proud eminence
in our land, which attracts the admiration of the world. He retires
from the highest honors in the gift of a great and free people with
their universal esteem, and his name shall be immortalized in the annals
of our history among the choicest of our sons. In every station in
which he has been placed, he has shown himself "honest, capable, and
faithful to the constitution,"
In person, Mr, Fillmore is about six feet in height, and well pro
portioned. His complexion is light, and the expression of his face is
mild and intelligent, indicating the prominent traits of character by

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
which lie is distinguished ; among which are energy, benevolence,
firmness, and integrity. His manners are easy and affable, while they
indicate great dignity, and show a royal bearing. In a word, his
deportment has always been that which became his station, and ear
nestly do we wish him a long life in rendering important services to
his countrymen, and enjoying the happiness which ever attends virtue
and usefulness. We are content that for a short season he should
retire to the enjoyments of social and domestic life, of which he is the
pride and ornament, and where he most delights to show the excellen
cies of his character ; but he must be content ere long to return to the
duties and toils of public service, for which his talents, his experience,
and hifi enjoyment of public confidence so admirably qualify him.
12

Eng'dhjHB.HalllTTiram a Tamtiiig iiv Hes^i'

E'lEA^IEILILS^ IPEIEm(S®»

FRANKLIN PIERCE

On the nineteenth of April, 1775, the revolutionary committee of
Boston, sent out couriers in every direction to collect recruits for the
army. One of these came to the door of a farm house at Chelmsford,
in Massachusetts. He there found a young man of eighteen, named
Benjamin Pierce, to whom he delivered his message, and passed on.
This youth had heard from the messenger the news of the battle
of Lexington ; he immediately left the plough, shouldered his mus
ket, marched to the army, and took part in the battle of Bunker Hill.
This young man became the father of Franklin Pierce, whom this
great country has called to the presidential chair. The limit assigned
to this memoir, will only allow us to add in reference to the father,
that in succession he became Captain in the army, a cultivator of wild
lands in Hampshire, Brigade Major, Sheriff of Hillsborough, in his
adopted State, Councillor and Governor of the State, and died at
Hillsborough, full of days and of honors, in 1839..
Franklin Pierce, the sixth child of his mother, the second wife of
the distinguished man of whom we have just spoken, was born at
Hillsborough, in the State of New Hampshire, November 23, 1804.
His native county, at the time of his birth, covered a much more ex
tensive territory than at present, and among other men of eminence,
gave birth to General Stark, the hero of Bennington, Daniel Webster,
Levi Woodbury, Jeremiah Smith, the eminent jurist, and Governor of
the State, James Miller, General M'Neil, and Senator Atherton,
Benjamin Pierce, the devoted patriot, furnished two sons to the army
of 1812, and his eldest daughter became the wife of Major M'Neil, so
that few families were more deeply interested in the war, than was
that of our hero.
At this period, Franklin was less than eight years of age,
but, unlike his noble father, had already commenced his literary
studies, and in due time was sent to the academy at Hancock, where
he was received into the family of his father's old friend, Peter Wood
bury, the father of the Judge. In 1820, at the age of sixteen, he
VOL. IV — 19 1

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
became a student at Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, where he
conducted himself, on the whole, in a manner which pleased the pro
fessors, and more than met the highest -wishes of his fellow students.
We have spoken in a somewhat qualified manner of his pursuits,
because it must be conceded, that the two first years of his studies he
lost much time, which, however, was amply redeemed in the two years
which followed, so that he took a highly creditable degree. His fi-ank-
ness of temper, fascination of manner, and benevolence of conduct, then
won him hearts which he has never lost. In 1824, he returned home
to derive from his father's example and lessons, high and noble feel
ings of patriotism.
Having chosen the law as a profession, Franklin became a student
in the office of Judge Woodbury, at Portsmouth ; after which he spent
two years at the law school at Northampton, Massachusetts, and in
the office of Judge Parker, at Amherst. In 1827, he was admitted to
the bar, and began the practice of his profession at Hillsborough.
Though by no means eminently successful at first, he rose in the end
to a very distinguished position.
In 1829, the town of Hillsborough conferred on Franklin Pierce
his first public honor, by sending him as its representative to the
Legislature of the State. His whole service in that body comprised
four years, in the two latter of which, he was elected Speaker, by a
vote of one hundred and fifty-five, against fifty-eight for other candi
dates. His merit as a presiding officer was universally acknowledged.
He had all the natural gifts which qualified him for the post ; courtesy,
firmness, quickness and accuracy of judgment, and a clearness of men
tal perception that brought its own regularity into the scene of confiised
and entangled debate; and to these qualities he added whatever was
to be attained by laborious study of parliamentary rules.
In the year 1833, he was elected a member of Congress ; at -this
period he was but twenty-nine, but he has always been chosen to
office at a much earlier age than comports with general practice. And
yet, for himself, he has never aimed at public distinction, though
always ready to step forward, when the welfare of his country might
seem to be promoted by his doing so. Though his labors in Congress
made but little noise and show, they were always directed to sub
stantial objects, nor did they fail of success.
Even at this early period, Franklin Pierce's character began to
be well understood by men of no small judgment. General Jackson
once remarked to the Hon. Henry Hubbard, " You have a young man
in your State, young Franklin Pierce, who will be, before he is

FRANKLIN PIERCE.
sixty years ofage, a man for the Democracy, without the demagogue;"
and Mr. Hawthorne tells us, when that eminent man was on his death
bed, he remarked, as if with prophetic foresight of his young friend's
destiny, that " the interests of the country would be safe in such
hands." His whole conduct in the House of Representatives was
' such as to show a sound judgment, and the warmest patriotism ; he
was intent on the benefit of the whole people, and the preservation of
the whole Union.
Franklin Pierce had scarcely reached the legal age for such an
elevation, when, in 1837, he was elected a Senator of the United
States, and took his seat at the commencement of the presidency of
Mr. Van Buren. Here he was brought into contact with Calhoun,
Webster, and Clay; here too, were Benton, Silas Wright, and
Woodbury, with Buchanan and Walker, — men of eloquence and of
vast power. Here he soon began to work, and proved that his public
education had amply qualified him for high posts ; and here, on many
occasions, he displayed eloquence of a very high order. We should
enjoy a high pleasure in detailing the services he rendered in the
Senate for five years, but we are prevented for want of room. It is
pleasant to know that they cannot be forgotten. In June, 1842, he
signified his purpose of retiring from the Senate,
Mr. Pierce had removed from Hillsborough, and taken up his resi
dence at Concord, in 1838. On that occasion, the citizens of his
native town invited him to a public dinner, in token of their affection
and respect. In accordance with his usual taste, he gratefiilly
accepted the kindly sentiment, but declined the public demonstration
of it.
On retiring from the Senate, Mr. Pierce returned to the Bar, and
immediately started into full practice. Few lawyers, probably, have
been interested in a greater variety of business than he, and few have met
-with greater success. No one ever showed more fearless independence ;
none ever devoted himself more earnestly to the interest of his clients ;
and no one has been more free from reproach, or more loaded with
honors. When he resigned his seat in the Senate, he did it with a fixed pur
pose never again to be voluntarily separated from his family for any
considerable length of time, except at the call of his country in case
of war ; and on this account, when President Polk, in 1846, tendered
him the office of Attorney General of the United States, he declined
the proposal. He declined also the renewal of the honor of the
Senate, and a nomination for the office of Governor of his native State.

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
But the resolution of Pierce to remain at home, could not be kept
when, in 1847, the war with Mexico called forth his patriotism and
his military spirit. Here, as in every other instance, he showed the
possession of powers never developed till they were really needed. But
to describe those powers, or to present a full view of his military
knowledge, his deliberate courage, his benevolence, and his success,
would in this plaCe be impossible ; suffice it to say, that he was all
that a General of the United States Army ought to be, and that his
soldiers and his enemies on the field, have alike borne testimony to his
skill and his honorable conduct.
In the autumn of 1850, a convention assembled at Concord, for the
revision of the Constitution of New Hampshire. By an almost unani
mous vote, General Pierce was elected its president, and his conduct
as presiding officer was satisfactory to all parties. His powers of pub
lic speaking, his tact for business, and his never-failing courtesy greatly
contributed to the regularity, unanimity, and results of the con
vention. Immediately after the action of the State Convention which nomi
nated him for the Presidency, General Pierce wrote a letter to Mr.
Atherton, declining to be a candidate for the Presidency, and declaring
that the use of his name in any event before the Democratic National
Convention would be utterly repugnant to his tastes and wishes. The
strongest personal importunity of his friends could not dissuade him
from the publication of this letter. The most earnest appeals to his
State pride were made in vain. His invariable reply was,' "No man
can feel more grateful than I do for the high honor New Hampshire
has conferred upon me. Her noble Democracy have stood by me
always — but I must decline being considered a candidate for the
Presidency. I can support most cheerfully either of the distinguished
men who are mentioned in connection with the: office. Let the Balti
more Convention designate the man, and the Democracy of the whole
country will rally in his support."
Various movements took place before the Convention at Baltimore,
all looking towards the nomination of Pierce, but he remained im
movable. At length the Convention met, June 12, 1852, and con
tinued its sessions four days. But from the time the letter to Mr.
Atherton was written to the day the news of his nomination by the
Baltimore Convention was received. General Pierce had been almost
incessantly occupied with important professional engagements. Proba
bly no prominent man in the country observed with less care the
chances of the Presidential nomination than Franklin Pierce. The

FRANKLIN PIERCE.
letters he daily received from all sections of the country, predicting
the necessity of his nomination as a compromise candidate, were
regarded rather as the evidence of strong personal predilections and
private friendship than as the prophetic predictions of a result so soon
to be accomplished. It is a most beautiful example of "the office
seeking the man, rather than the man the office."
It is too well known to make it needful to state here, that day after
day did the members of the Convention ballot for various men without
avail, except to prove that no one of the gentlemen prominent before
the people would succeed in obtaining the two-thirds vote requisite for
a nomination. Thus far not a vote had been thrown for General
Pierce, but at the thirty-sixth ballot the delegation from Virginia
brought forward his name. Every ballot increased the number, till
on the forty-ninth ballot there were two hundred and eighty-two for
Franklin Pierce, and eleven for all other candidates. " Thus," as
Mr. Hawthorne says, " Franklin Pierce became the nominee of the
Convention ; and as quickly as the lightning flash could blazen it
abroad, his name was on every tongue, from end to end of this vast
country. Within an hour he grew to be illustrious."
We are informed, that when General Pierce received the news of
his nomination, it affected him with no thrill of joy, hut a sadness,
which, for many days, was perceptible in his deportment. It awoke
in his heart the sense of religious dependence — a sentiment that has
grown considerably stronger as all the toils and anxieties of the office
have been presenting themselves before him.
Such is Franklin Pierce, the fourteenth President of the United
States, elected by a far larger vote than any of his predecessors. In
private life, in the best sense of the word, he is a gentleman ; in his
legislative career distinguished for his abihty; as a General he is
crowned with laurels won by fighting the enemy, rather than impro
perly forced from the brows of other men ; and is now elected by the
popular voice, the chief ruler of the most happy and honored nation on
the earth.
The old people of his neighborhood, Mr. Hawthorne tells us, give a
very delightful picture of Franklin Pierce, when he was some ten
or twelve years of age. They describe him as a beautiful boy -with
blue eyes, hght curling hair, and a sweet expression of face. At
present, he is about five feet nine inches in height, erect in his form,
and slenderly built. He has not the breadth of shoulders, nor the
depth of chest, which indicate a vigorous constitution. His face is
thin, and his complexion pale ; in a word, he is one of that wirey,

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
active class of men, who are all muscle and nerve, capable of enduring
every sort of hardship. His manners show him to be a man of ac
complishments, and well acquainted with the ways of the world ; he
has broad and comprehensive views of statesmanship, which, however,
are never developed till the proper time. No one can see him without
admiring his unassuming and affable manners ; always self-possessed,
and ready to converse ; his voice is highly agreeable, and he speaks
with great fluency and correctness. In a word, he is felt by all who
see him to be the true gentleman.
We scarcely feel ourselves at liberty to say much of the excellent
lady who stands to General Pierce in the nearest possible relation ;
and especially do we refrain, as we have reason to believe that, hke
one of the loveliest flowers of nature, she would throw around her the
results of her excellencies, while she wishes to be hidden. Her talents,
amiableness, and piety, have always influenced her in the discharge of
every duty as a wife and a mother. On that last sweet title, she
can no longer dwell. Two children, both sons, have, alas, gone to
the grave, the last but recently. Lovely, intelhgent, affectionate, —
and arrived at eleven years of age, he promised to be the source of
happiness in the domestic circle, if not indeed the dispenser of good
hereafter to many. But in a moment, by a sad calamity, of which the
nation has heard with grief, he was torn by the ruthless hand of death
from the side of fond parents. Religion alone could assuage their
grief, and that we trust it has done.
General Pierce enters on the duties of his high office with pleasant
prospects. As he is not the choice of a party, but the elected ruler
of the people, he has no pledges to fulfil of introducing unsuitable men
to office, or to carry measures of doubtful results. The country looks
up to him -with confidence as to a prosperous progress and termination
of his authority, nor will we suffer ourselves to believe in the possi
bility of their disappointment.

ENERA VED BY TB WBLCH/PHIL FBOM A DAGUEBREJTYFE BYMGLEES & EEHMOlf.

(EE®[E(EE RflOFFLDM mh^'^^^..

FrmtrdinJFL.nti-.

GEORGE MIFFLIN DALLAS.

The citizen, whose name appears at the head of this article, was born
in the city of Philadelphia, on the 10th day of July, 1792. At that
time and several years afterwards, his father, the late Alexander James
Dallas, held the office of Secretary of the Commonwealth, by the
appointment of General Thomas Mifflin, the first Governor of Penn
sylvania, under the constitution of 1790.
He was the second of three sons, the elder of whom was the late
Commodore Dallas of the navy of the United States, and the younger,
the late Judge Dallas of the city of Pittsburg. After the usual pre
paratory course of study, which he pursued at Germantown, under the
superintendance of Mr. Dorfeuille, and at Philadelphia, under Provost
Andrews, he entered Nassau Hall at Princeton, New Jersey, as a
student of the arts and sciences, and after a residence of three years,
was graduated with the highest honors of his class.
Towards this venerable institution, long and justly celebrated for
the successful cultivation of literature and the sciences, Mr. Dallas
has ever cherished a filial regard, while his subsequent career has
given him rank among the most honorable and honored of her sons.
Having completed his academical studies, he commenced with ardor
the study of the law, in the office of his father, under whose tuition he
rapidly acquired the elements of his fiiture profession. His progress
was suddenly interrupted by a great public event, which for a time
disturbed the plans and diverted the pursuits of a large number of our
citizens. On the 18th of June, 1812, war was declared by the Congress of
the United States, against the united kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, and Mr. Dallas partaking largely of the patriotic feelings
excited by that event, suspended his studies and joined a company of
volunteers, with a view to military duty, intending to resume and
complete his preparation for the bar, when his services as a soldier
should no longer be required. This purpose was, however, soon
modified by an unexpected call upon him for patriotic service in another

NATIONAL PORTRAITS,
capacity. Albert Gallatin was about to proceed to Russia, upon the
mission which issued in the treaty of Ghent ; and having selected Mr.
Dallas to accompany him as private secretary, he was discharged
from his military engagements, and a few days afterwards, left the
United States on that mission. Previously to his departure, in April,
1813, and about three months before he attained the age of twenty-
one years, he was admitted to the bar; the court consenting, in con
sideration of the peculiar circumstances, to relax their rules, both
in respect to the time of preparatory study, and the age required for
admission. Here we must suspend our narrative, to introduce a brief account of
the family to which Mr. Dallas belongs : it will throw light upon
our subject, and not be without interest to the reader. Robert
Charles Dallas, the paternal grandfather of George Mifflin Dallas,
emigrated from Scotland to the Island of Jamaica, about the middle of
the last century, or a little earlier. He was by profession a physician,
and after a career of great success and reputation in that island, returned
to Scotland, for the double purpose of regaining his health and edu
cating his children. His family at that time, besides his wife, who
survived him, consisted of four sons: Robert, Stuart, Alexander
James, Charles — and two daughters — Charlotte and Elizabeth. Dr.
Robert Charles Dallas did not return to Jamaica, although most of
his children did. One or two of them settled in England. Of /his
immediate descendants, some have been highly distinguished as law
yers or authors. The late Chief Justice Dallas of the Common Pleas
of England, belonged to the family.
Alexander James Dallas, the third son of Robert Charles Dallas,
and the father of the subject of this memoir, was born in the island of
Jamaica, on the 21st of June, 1759. Soon after his father's return to
Scotland, he was placed at an academy in the neighborhood of Lon
don, under the care of the celebrated Elphinstone. While there, he
attracted the notice of Dr. Samuel Johnson, also of Dr. Franklin, who
occasionally visited his instructor. The death of his father, which
soon occurred, interrupted his studies and clouded his prospects.
Being compelled by his circumstances to provide for himself the means
of support, he left the academy and enrolled his name in the Temple,
as a student at law; but was soon induced, by what seemed to him, at
that time an advantageous offer, to engage in a mercantile employment.
He was destined, however, to another disappointment ; as, after about
two years laborious service as a clerk and accountant, his employer
suddenly changed his pursuits and his country. Alexander James then

GEORGE MIFFLIN DALLAS.
returned to the home of his mother, where he resumed, under the
direction of a private tutor, the studies which had been interrupted by
his father's death. In 1780, being about twenty-one years of age, he
was united in marriage to Arabella Maria Smith, a daughter of Major
George Smith, of the British army. Soon after this event, he finally
left England, intending to settle in the island of Jamaica ; but owing
to the climate and other causes, he soon resolved, in opposition to the
remonstrances of his friends, to leave the dominions of Great Britain
and fix his future residence in the United States. He arrived in the
city of New York, early in June, 1783. From that city he proceeded
to Philadelphia, then the seat of the national government, and on the
tenth day after his first landing on the shores of the United States,
took the oath of allegiance to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The war of independence had in fact closed, although the treaty of
peace was not signed until the third of September following.
Having acquired previously to his arrival in the United States, a
sufficient knowledge of the law to commence the practice of it, and
having attained the age of twenty-four years and taken the oath of
allegiance to Pennsylvania, before the treaty of peace, he supposed
there could be no objection to his immediate admission to the bar.
The courts, however, anticipating perhaps, from the probable course
of events, an inconvenient enlargement of the bar, modified their rules,
a short time before his application, so as to require a residence of two
years within the State, as a pre-requisite to admission. This unex
pected obstacle diverted his energies for a short time to a new channel.
His skill in accounts, acquired in the manner already mentioned, com
mended him strongly to Mr. Jonathan Burrall, a commissioner for set
tling the accounts of the Commissary and Quarter Master's Department
of the revolutionary army, whose acquaintance he had casually made.
An engagement -with this gentleman, while it furnished him the means
of support, also afforded an opportunity of more ample preparation for
the active duties of his profession. He was admitted to the bar of the
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, on the 13th of July, 1785.
At that time the laws of Pennsylvania were not very clearly defined ;
but happily the administration of them was in the hands of men well
qualified to delineate the outlines and lay the foundation of a system
of jurisprudence suited to the wants ofthe people in their new political
and social relations. It is scarcely possible to overrate the value of
the services rendered to the people by the McKeans, the Wilsons, the
Bradfords, Ingersols, Rawles, Lewis's, Tilghmans of the day and their
compeers. The doctrines of the Declaration of Independence to be-

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
come practical, required changes in the laws affecting the social as
well as political relations. For the attainment of these objects, the
virtues and abilities of such men, afforded a sufficient guaranty ; and
the part which Mr. Dallas performed in this delicate and difficult
labor, was in no respect inconsiderable or unimportant. Within five
years after his admission to the bar, he collected and prepared for
publication a volume of cases, many of which were decided before the
revolution : a service to the profession, and, we may say, to the law
itself at that time, which we, at this day, can scarcely appreciate.
To his other duties, Mr. Dallas soon added the distracting one of
politics. There were reasons at that time for connecting the study of
pohtical doctrines with the profession of the law, which are not so
urgent or apparent now. The great principles of free government had
indeed been settled, but nothing more. From these sprung spontane
ously, other questions of absorbing interest. A confederation of the
states had been formed, but it was defective both in its principles and
details. The great national want of that day was, " a plan of more
perfect union," which should " establish justice, ensure domestic tran
quillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare,
and secure the blessings of liberty :" a great problem this, involving
responsibilities, as vast as the national weal, and difficulties which, to
be properly estimated, must be felt : so great indeed, that at this day,
priceless as is the value of the Union, it would perhaps be impossible to
overcome them. Besides, the constitutions of several of the states had
been hastily formed : that even, which had been matured hy the philo
sophical mind of Franklin, was destined to an early change. Few, if
any of them, were even then, entirely satisfactory. Differences of
opinion, naturally, not to say necessarily, existed. Earnest discus
sion followed, tending to conclusions, commensurate in importance and
value, with the pohtical institutions and constitutions in which they
are embodied. Amid these events and under such dicipline, the politi
cal principles of Mr. Dallas were formed. They were the convictions
of a vigorous, philosophical mind, deliberately adopted, after long,
earnest and thorough debate, by men of uncommon power, upon the
true nature of free government and of the American Institutions, con
sidered as a means of perpetuating it. His political principles were
therefore exclusively of American growth, and formed by the progress
of events. They inclined him decidedly and strongly to enlarge, ra
ther than restrain the limits of popular rights, and at a later period,
determined, what may be called his party relations.
" The origin of the two permanent political parties is distinct as a

GEORGE MIFFLIN DALLAS.
matter of history, and is honorable in all its incidents. It preceded
organization. The principles destined to agitate governments by their
collision, were enunciated, before that government existed. Power
was yet unknown. There was no court to propitiate ; no club to ter
rify or excite ; no treasure to covet ; ambition was vrithout an object ;
avarice without a bait; servility without an idol. The substitution
of republicanism for monarchy had been almost an act of unanimity.
All thirsted alike for liberty and order. Hence, the subsequent ripen
ing of the federal constitution was chiefly an intellectual process, during
which the wise and the virtuous differed as to the means of attaining
the same end, -without subjecting themselves for an instant, to the
ordinary and odious imputations of intrigue, faction, interest or fear.
Mind was at work, not on what then was, with countless, complicated
and contradictory influences ; but on what was to be; and in advance
of every selfish motive and of every conscious bias, unfriendly to purely
honest patriotism, the leading statesmen of that day promulgated with
uncommon ability, their respective schemes of polity, developing their
differences in struggles, which must always and unavoidably precede
the creation of a new system. The manifest integrity and transcend
ent ability with which opposing views were maintained, inspired
universal forbearance and respect ; and the very compromises made to
attain some definite result, attest the existence of principles, in them
selves irreconcilable. Indeed it may be said, that what was thus
early yielded, has tended to give greater identity of character to both
parties, as well as more precision of purpose ; and that each, in a
natural and self-consistent course of action, has hitherto continued to
avail itself of every opportunity to reclaim in practice, the concessions
originally made in theory."
We here take occasion to say, that in this light, we ought to view
some of the questions of our own times, which have been unduly agi
tated and not without danger to the Union : we allude to the compro
mises of the constitution and questions touching its construction.
They are not new questions ; nor has new light been thrown upon
them, by more pure, patriotic, or philosophical minds. They were all
considered, before the federal constitution was formed. They were
definitely settled when that great act was adopted, and the faith ofthe
states is solemnly pledged to maintain it, according to the terms and
in the sense in which it was adopted.
This new form of national government, went into operation on the
4th day of March, 1789, and a new constitution for Pennsylvania in
1790, within seven years after Mr, Dallas acquired the right of

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
American citizenship. Li the discussions which preceded the adop
tion of these two great instruments, he largely participated. In 1791,
as already mentioned, he was appointed Secretary of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, under the new constitution, but without solicitation
on his part. His professional and political exertions had already made
him extensively known to the leading men of the nation, while his
official position enlarged the circle of his personal acquaintance.
Governor Mifflin was a man of revolutionary renown. He had been
the first aid-de-camp of General Washington, a member of the old
Congress, and for a time its president. In the city of Philadelphia,
then the seat of the national and state governments, Mr. Dallas was
the efficient and stirring spirit of the republican party ; acting in unison
with such men as Dr. James Hutchinson, Jonathan D. Sergeant, Geo.
Bryan, Peter S. Duponceau, Thomas McKean, Edward Fox, John
Barclay, Thomas Lieper, J. Swanwick, and others ; to whom much
more of fame and gratitude is due than has yet been awarded.
Upon the election of Jefferson, Mr. Dallas was appointed Attorney
of the United States, for the Eastern District of Peimsylvania. He
continued in this office until October 1814, when he was appointed
Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, an office at that time
beset with unusual difficulties and responsibilities. His character com
manded the confidence, and his official conduct the approbation of the
public. About this time, the public career of George Mifflin Dallas may
be said to have commenced. Conversant, from boyhood, with that
circle of patriotic citizens in which his father most familiarly moved,
he would naturally imbibe, from that source, even if there had been
no other, impressions or views of politics, which in early manhood,
could scarcely fail to ripen into principles. But these impressions and
views were enforced and their bearing and importance explained by
the precepts and example of one, who deserved and received from him
the most profound reverence. His public life, from its commencement
therefore, may be properly regarded as a carrying out, under new and
diversified conditions of the country, the great principles of government
which were fully settled upon, as early as the year 1801, and thence
forth adopted by the democratic party. This will appear as we proceed.
The occasion of Mr. Gallatin's mission to Russia, already alluded
to, was the offer of the Emperor Alexander, to mediate between the
United States and Great Britain. On his arrival at St. Petersburgh,
he learned that Great Britain had declined the Emperor's offer. With
a view to concert some other means of negociation, Mr. Dallas was

GEORGE MIFFLIN DALLAS.
sent by Mr. J. Q. Adams, (our minister at that court) and Mr.
Gallatin, from St. Petersburgh to London, with despatches to Count
Lieven, the Russian Ambassador at the Court of St. James; the
Emperor of course, concurring in the measure. The particular object
in view, was to ascertain through that medium, the wishes of the
British government, and should they be favorable to peace, to settle
upon a time and place for adjusting its terms. The overture thus
made, resulted in the designation of Ghent as the place of negociation.
To that place, after a short detention in England, Mr. Dallas
repaired. The commissioners on the part of the British government,
were Lord Gambler, Henry Goulburn, and William Adams. On the
part of the United States, Messrs. Adams, Gallatin, Bayard, Clay,
and Russell. The negociation lasted a considerable time, but the
details of it are foreign to our purpose. During a residence of several
months, Mr. Dallas was m daily intercourse with those distinguished
statesmen, and by his' position and relations to the American Commis
sioners, enjoyed the best means of initiation into the mysteries of
diplomacy ; — an advantage of which he made the best improvement.
Suddenly, however, and somewhat unexpectedly, he was required to
return to the United States, as bearer of confidential despatches of
great importance. Accordingly he embarked in the frigate John
Adams, which had taken out Messrs. Clay and Russell, and arrived at
New York in the latter part of October, 1814. Thence proceeding
without delay to Washington, he executed his commission by deliver
ing the documents entrusted to him, personally into the hands of Presi
dent Madison. Mr. Dallas did not return to Ghent, but in November
following, was appointed Remitter of the Treasury ; an office which
he held about a year and a half, when he resigned it and returned
to Philadelphia, with a view to the more ordinary duties of his pro
fession. Before we pass on, a word or two, illustrative of the times and of
the character of President Madison, may not be unacceptable to the
reader. The despatches before mentioned, consisted of the famous
preliminary propositions (sine qua non,) which Great Britain, through
her commissioners, insisted on as indispensable to a treaty. The
British army had about two months before destroyed the Capitol, the
President's House, and the public offices. Mr. Dallas found the
President residing in a private dwelling ; his appearance was care-worn,
and to the eye of a casual observer, would have seemed dejected.
Withal he was suffering from a severe inflammation in the face, which
he protected by a bandage. But the moment the despatches were put

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
into his hands, he broke the seal, and at a glance comprehended their
purport. Immediately his countenance lighted up and his whole man
ner changed. He rose quickly from his seat, and advancing towards
Mr. Dallas, remarked with great emphasis and animation, "These
will do." "I hope so," replied Mr. Dallas, "for I know their con
tents." " Yes, these will do," contmued the President ; " they will
unite the American people, which is what we most need ; no patriotic
citizen of any party, will hesitate a moment, to reject conditions so
extravagant and unjust."
So confident was the President of the correctness of this conclusion,
that he ordered the immediate publication of these sine qua non pro
positions, departing on this occasion, from the established etiquette of
diplomacy pending a negociation. Their effect on the public mind ia
well remembered.
The life of a lawyer, unless diversified by matters beyond his pro
fessional sphere, commonly contains but little to interest the general
reader, yet it is undoubtedly true, that no secular employment requires
a larger conception of nature, more various knowledge, or higher and
more diversified intellectual endowments. A right conception of the
true dignity of the bar, followed up by proper, well-directed, per
severing efforts to attain it, constitute an excellent, if not the very
best qualification for the vrider sphere of legislation and political
science. In this way, we may, to some extent, account for the fact,
that so large a proportion of our eminent statesmen commence their
career at the bar.
The qualifications of Mr. Dallas for either sphere of activity, were
uncommonly good. He had been prepared for the practice ofthe law,
by the fond industry of his father, one of the most learned, laborious,
and honored members of the Philadelphia bar; not less celebrated
then, than now, for the thorough preparation and trial of causes. He
had imbibed too, from the same source, a theory of politics, which first
found its truest representative in Mr. Jefferson. This theory he set forth,
at a later day, in an admirable discourse delivered in Philadelphia,
on the centennial anniversary of the birthday of that distinguished man.
Gifted with intellectual powers of a high order, improved by skillful and
assiduous culture, with a copious and fluent diction, a cultivated and
poetical taste, a dignified and gracefiil delivery — qualities which, while
they attracted strongly the attention of his fellow citizens, enforced
upon him the necessity of responding to their call, upon occasions of
public interest. Such occasions were not unfrequent. The stirring
events of the war, the divided state of public opinion, the acrimony of

GEORGE MIFFLIN DALLAS.
party spirit, and the connexion of his father with the administration
of Mr. Madison, made it quite impossible, had he been so inclined, to
confine his labors and pursuits to the halls of justice. Naturally,
therefore, inevitably we might almost say — Mr. Dallas from the
beginning of his professional career, took a prominent and very decided
part in the political agitations of the country.
On the 4th of July, 1815, within a twelvemonth after his return
from Ghent, he delivered an oration at the invitation of his Democratic
fellow citizens of the city and county of Philadelphia, in which he
took occasion to review with great spirit the grounds of controversy
between the United States and Great Britain, and to vindicate the
policy and measures of our government. This was his first public
appearance, so far as we can learn, in the arena of party politics. The
effort attracted more generally and strongly, the favorable regard of
the Democratic party towards him ; which was not without advantage
in the way of hig profession. He was appointed the first Solicitor of
the Bank of the United States, established by Act of Congress in
1816, which, considering the national character and the magnitude of
the institution, was justly deemed an office of great importance. The
policy of a National Bank, as a permanent institution, had not at that
time been sufficiently considered; yet, as a temporary expedient
against the extraordinary urgencies of the times, or, so to speak, as a
post war measure, it was regarded -with a degree of favor, and re
ceived a support from the Democratic party, which was afterwards
withdrawn. In 1817, Mr. Dallas was appointed by the Attorney General, his
representative in the City and County of Philadelphia. During the
same year, he appeared as counsel, at the request of Governor Findlay,
on his behalf, before the celebrated Committee of Inquiry. In the
management of this affair, he displayed a degree of ability, which
amply compensated for any lack of experience. The result fully justi
fied the confidence reposed in one so young. These, however, are
minor topics'. Passing without note, several years of Mr. Dallas'
professional life, to the year 1824, near the close of Mr. Monroe's
administration, we find him once more conspicuously active in pro
moting the election of General Jackson. Although he greatly admired
the statesmanship and signal abihties of Mr. Calhoun, who had been
nominated in several quarters for the office of President of the United
States, yet, with a view to unite the whole Democratic party, he
yielded Ids preference for the distinguished Carolinian, and with that
gentleman's knowledge and assent, at a public meeting held in the

NATIONAL PORTRAITS,
city of Philadelphia, withdrew his name for that office, and proposed
him as the candidate of Pennsylvania, for the office of Vice-President.
This movement was enthusiastically seconded throughout the Union.
Mr. Calhoun was elected to the office of Vice-President. General
Jackson received only ninety-nine of the electoral votes — one hundred
and thirty-one being necessary to a choice — yet fifteen more than Mr.
J. Q. Adams received, and fifty-eight more than the number cast for
Mr. Crawford.
The election of Mr. Adams by the House of Representatives, under
these circumstances, gave occasion to a new and more decided expres
sion of the popular sentiment ; perhaps we should say, of the popular
principle of our government. The disregard sho-wn by the act, to the
wishes of the greater number, naturally aroused the popular mind.
Earnest discussions followed, in which Mr. Dallas took a prominent
and decided part. The conclusions of the' country on the whole mat
ter," were expressed at the election of 1828, when Mr. Adams received
eighty-three only of the electoral votes, and General Jackson one
hundred and seventy-eight. To this result, the exertions of Mr.
Dallas, particularly within his own State, largely contributed. The
same year, Mr. Dallas was elected to the office of Mayor of the
city of Philadelphia, an office, which of late years, has seldom been
held by any citizen belonging to the same political party ; but worthy
of note, in this place, chiefly as an evidence of the enthusiasm and
union of the party, produced, in no small degree, hy his exertions
during the Presidential canvass. This office he resigned in a short
time, upon his appointment as Attorney of the United States for. the
Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
In 1831, Mr. Dallas was elected by the Legislature of Pennsylva
nia, to the Senate of the United States, to him a new sphere, and by
its more ample scope, better suited to the exercise of his talents and
diversified attainments.
¦ The limits of so brief an article do not allow us to follow him, with
much minuteness of incident in that dignified body. He participated
frequently, and with marked ability, in debates on important questions,
and on several exciting occasions, with singular effect, faithfully ob
serving the instructions of the State he represented, whenever given.
Thus, in obedience to repeated instructions of the Legislature of Penn
sylvania, he supported the re-charter of the Bank of the United States,
and a protective tariff; feehng himself in duty and conscience bound,
whatever might be his private judgment, faithfully to represent his
constituency. The same principle of action, he afterwards illustrated
10

GEORGE MIFFLIN DALLAS.
in another capacity, upon a memorable occasion which will be particu
larly noticed, yet not independently of other considerations of equal
if not paramount importance. His speech on apportioning the mem
bers of congress under the census of 1830, in opposition to a movement
of Mr. Webster, was much spoken of at the time. It was a speech
of great power, and produced the designed and desired effect. He
also defended, in a speech of great eloquence and force, his personal
friend, the late Edward Livingston, when that gentleman was nomi
nated to the Senate by President Jackson, for the office of Secretary
of- State. The confirmation was strongly opposed both by Mr. Clay
and Mr. Webster ; but when Mr. Dallas resumed his seat, these
gentlemen — and it is due to their memory to mention the fact —
promptly and magnanimously -withdrew their opposition. About this
time, the personal relations of Mr. Dallas -with President Jackson,
became intimate and confidential ; it was his happiness to enjoy the
friendship of that distinguished man -with unabated warmth, until his
death. The senatorial term of Mr. Dallas expired on the 3rd of March,
1833. He peremptorily declined a reelection, and immediately returned
to his profession. Governor Wolf then tendered to him the office of
Attorney General of the Commonwealth, and the office being conge
nial with his pursuits, he accepted and retained it, until the close of
the administration of that excellent Chief Magistrate.
But another sphere of public service awaited him. In 1837 Presi
dent Van Buren offered him a mission to the Court of St. Petersburgh,
which (as before mentioned) he had visited in 1813, during the reign
of Alexander. A better selection could not have been made to repre
sent such a government as ours, at the Court of the Czar. His
republican simplicity blended with personal dignity and elegance of
manners required^no adventitious aid on public occasions^, to bar
disparagement to himself or to his country. It is well known that
this is the most splendid of the Courts of Europe. Magnificence,
pomp, and the awe they inspire, seem to be regarded almost as a
necessary means of government ; and a departure from the established
ceremonial, by an Ambassador, would be a singularity which could
not fail to be generally remarked. But Mr. Dallas, although moving
amidst most gorgeous displays, during his residence at St. Petersburgh,
never compromised upon any occasion the true dignity of an American
citizen by an unnecessary departure from the simple habits and cos
tume of his country. On the contrary, he scrupulously adhered to
them whenever, and so far as was compatible with due respect to the
VOL. IV.— 20 11

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Emperor; and by this means, on more than one occasion, elicited
unusual acts of courtesy frbm the monarch. The amicable relations,
which then (and indeed^ ever have) subsisted between the two
countries, gave little opportunity for the exercise of diplomatic skill.
Yet, while ever watchful for the interests and dignity of his country,
he had it in his power on several occasions materially to subserve the
interests of Americans.
In 1839 he was recalled from this mission at his own request. Soon
after his return to Philadelphia, the office of Attorney General of the
United States (having become vacant, by the death of Mr. Grundy)
was offered to him, by the President, For personal reasons, however,
he declined it, and again resumed the practice of the law, mingling
unostentatiously and quietly with his fellow citizens as before, in the
walks of private ahd professional life ; but he was not allowed to
remain long in seclusion. In 1844 he was nominated by the Demo
cratic party for the office of Vice-President of the United States, and
in December of that year was elected to that high station.
Before we proceed to this part of the pubhc life of Mr. Dallas, we
crave indulgence for a few general observations which may seem quite
common-place to the reader ; yet, are important to be borne in mind
by him, as he proceeds. The office of Vice-President of the United
States, as it was conceived of by the framers of the Constitution, did
not differ in its nature from the office of President, As that instru
ment was originally adopted, a Vice-President might be aptly described,
as the second of two Presidents concurrently elected to one and the
same office : — the priority of actual incumbency between them, being
determined by the relative number of electoral ballots cast for each.
Considered however as a distinct office, under the Constitution as
amended in 1803, the Vice-President belongs exclusively to the
executive branch of the government. It is true, by a special provision
of the Constitution (even as originally adopted) the Vice-President
presides over the senate, during the abeyance of his executive func
tions; yet without the power to participate in the debates of that
body or to vote, except in the single case of an equal division of the
Senators : — a case not likely to occur, except on doubtful or difficult
questions, or such as involve controverted principles of public policy.
This limitation of the power of the Vice-President, when thus acting,
o what may be called the case of necessity, carries with it, by impli
cation, a correlative and coordinate limitation upon the power of the
Senators, individually and collectively, which although difficult to he
enforced by Parliamentary means — owing to the nature of delibera-
is

GEORGE MIFFLIN DALLAS.
tive functions — nevertheless, cannot be disregarded, -without a violation
of the spirit of the Constitution. We mean, in brief, that Senators
cannot rightfully, at pleasure, evoke the vote of the Vice-President
by means of a factitious tie. The power, ifself, if not anomalous, is
very peculiar. When exercised to enact a bill into a law, it mixes
Executive with Legislative power, which the Constitution intends as
far as possible, shall be kept distinct. When exercised inthe ri,egative
upon questions exclusively within the cognizance of the Senate or upon
bills which have passed the House of Representatives, it is in some
respects comparable to the so-called Veto power of the President. It
may have even a wider reach ; for it may be exercised to defeat a bill
of the House, founded upon the recommendation of the President ; and
thus produce an actual collision between executive powers, (Art. I.
Sect. III. § 4: Art. II. Sect. III.)^a result, which the framers ofthe
Constitution certainly could not have intended or even foreseen. No
inconvenience, however, has ever arisen from this provision of the
Constitution, or the actual exercise of the power thereby conferred.
Thus far, it has always been lodged in the hands of wise and patriotic
man ; who, for the most part, have decidedly concurred in the policy
and leading measures of the administrations, with which they were
respectively connected. Indeed no case has yet arisen for its exercise,
which could have led to any serious embarrassment, ff we except one,
which will presently be noticed,
Of the ability of Mr. Dallas as a presiding officer, it is sufficient to
say, that among the many distinguished Presidents of that august
body, none has ever enjoyed in a larger measure, the respect and
confidence of its members; or imparted by his presence and official
decorum, greater dignity to their deliberations.
The most imposing scene which occurred during his Presidency, was
witnessed in July, 1846, upon the final passage of the tariff act of that
year. On that occasion, to employ the language ofthe author ofthe his-
tory.of the Polk administration " he had an opportunity of illustrating his
moral firmness of character, by an act of bold and majestic grandeur,
which stamped him as one of the distinguished men of the age." This
bill passed the House of Representatives on the 3d of July, 1846, by
a vote of 114 to 95. It had been drawn in accordance with the re
commendations of the President, and embodied principles which entered
deeply into the Presidential canvass of 1844, in all parts of the country.
When this bill was submitted to the final vote of the Senate, it ap
peared, that the Senators of eleven ol" the States were in favor of it ;
the Senators of eleven other of the States were opposed to it, while
13

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
those of each of the remaining States, eight in number, were divided.
Thus the bill was put in the power of the Vice-President, whose
opinions, upon the particular provisions it contained,' were, up to that
moment, not certainly known. This circumstance alone, was calcu
lated to add much to the interest already unusually great. Those
who feared that local interests and feehngs would imperceptibly bias
the vote of the Vice-President, were indignant, that a great measure,
founded upon a comprehensive view of the diversified interests of the
Union, should be brought into peril, by the resignation of one of the
Senators, and the refusal of another to vote for the bill, in obedience
to the instructions of the State he represented. The suspense was,
however, soon terminated. The Vice-President cast his vote in the
affirmative, and the bill became a law.
Before proceeding to decide this most important question, he ad
dressed the Senate in a brief but well considered speech, explanatory
of the act he was about to perform. This was due to himself and to
the country. "The scene," says the author just quoted, "was one of
the most imposing that ever occurred in that chamber. The Repre
sentative Hall was almost deserted ; the members crowded into the
Senate, to witness the termination of the struggle. The galleries
were crowded with beauty and fashion. The manufacturers were
assembled in strong force — the Reporters bent eagerly fiirward to catch
the words which fell from his lips. A solemn silence reigned. All
eyes were turned on his commanding and expressive countenance, and
each ear drank in the language of his celebrated address ; which he
pronounced with an earnestness and impressiveness of tone, which
proved his sincerity."
To do justice to the occasion, as well as to the chief actor, we ought
in this place to spread the address at length before the reader, but the
limits allotted to this article, do not allow it ; and we are constrained
to refer him to the history of the times. It would not, perhaps, be
extravagant to say, that never, at any other period, since the foun
dation of the American Union, have so important and diversified inte
rests been poised upon a single vote. It changed at a breath a policy
which had prevailed more than thirty years — a policy unequal in its
operation, both upon States and individuals, and for that reason fraught
with danger. It established a revenue system more productive to
the National Treasury ; Jess burthensome to the consumer ; admit-
thig of all necessary and just discriminations ; yet bearing as lightly
and equally as possible on every branch of industry, in all parts of
the country.

GEORGE MIFFLIN DALLAS.
There can be no reasonable doubt, that the influence of this change,
by bringing the policy of the national government into closer harmony
with the spirit of the constitution, has contributed to the greater
solidity and strength of the Union. That such an act should have
offended any class or portion of our patriotic citizens, (if not surprising,
owing to the tenacity with which men hold to their private interests,)
can be accounted for only by inadequate views of the principles of the
constitutional compact, or of the value of the Union, or the means in
dispensable to its continuance.
The dissatisfaction caused by this act of the Vice-President, was
limited in extent, and ephemeral in duration. Experience, the great
corrector of feeling, as well as of opinion, has set the seal of wisdom
to the measure, and the increasing prosperity of the country, under
the operation of the law, will add increasing strength to that code of
political doctrines, of which Mr. Dallas has ever been a zealous and
powerful advocate.
During his Vice-Presidency, Mr, Dallas prepared and published
a letter on the project of a canal, from the southernmost part of the
Gulf of Mexico, to the Tehuantepec Gulf on the Pacific shore ; in
which he discussed the whole subject of connecting the oceans through
the Isthmus, and the practicability and peculiar advantages of the
project mentioned, to the United States, The letter had the effect of
drawing extensively public attention to the matter. The President
was deeply impressed with the importance of the subject ; took it into
consideration, and gave instructions, which, had they been duly
observed, would have resulted in the acquisition by treaty, of a right
for the transit of the vast and increasing commerce of the United
States, by the way which nature seems to have designed. In this
production of his pen, as in many ethers, it is easy to discern the
opinions of Mr, Dallas, upon the expansive power of the American
institutions, and their capability of adaptation through a progressive
and natural development, to the full extent of their destined area.
At the close of his term of office, on the 4th of March, 1849, Mr.
Dallas returned to Philadelphia, and devoted himself with renewed
zeal to the practice of his profession for nearly seven years. On the
31st of January, 1856, he was nominated by the President (Franklin
Pierce) to the Senate as Minister to England, and, by that body,
was unanimously confirmed. He arrived in England with his family
on the 13th of March, 1856, and had scarcely entered upon the
duties of the Legation, when the Government of the United States
dismissed the Enghsh Minister at Washington for enlisting men in
15

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
the United States to serve in the war between England and Russia,
This energetic proceeding produced in England a strong feeling of
hostility, and threatened to interrupt the intercourse between the
two countries. Great confidence was felt at this critical juncture
that the calm and conciliating address of Mr. Dallas would go far
to keep the peace, while his well known firmness gave assurance
that the justice of Mr. Crampton's dismissal would be maintained
throughout. For some months it was doubtful whether the British
ministry would or would not retaliate, and a town near Paris was
chosen as a retreat for the Legation. The threatening appearances,
however, passed gradua-lly away, and Mr. Dallas, for a period of
five years and three months, represented the interests of the United
States at the Court of St. James, with how much skill, energy, and
untiring industry, the records of the Legation will attest.
On the 4th of July, 1858, at a commemorative meeting of the
Americans in London^ Mr. Dallas had the proud satisfaction of
announcing that Great Britain had formally and forever surren
dered the right of visiting and searching American vessels on the
high seas ; a right, prior to that time, constantly asserted and acted
upon, as constantly protested against, and always a never-failing
source of irritation, complaint, and danger to the peace of the two
nations. Mr. Dallas himself says, that obtaining this surrender
" is my practical homage to my father's ' Exposition of the Causes
and Character ofthe War o/1812,' and finally closes the grievance
of impressment and search, against which that unequalled produc
tion was directed.'
The great civil war was now at hand. Mr. Lincoln was elected
President of the United States, and the first gun was fired. , As to
the course he should pursue — Mr. Dallas never for a moment
doubted. He had been abroad too often and too long not to feel
that wherever was the flag, there was his duty, there was his home.
On the appointment of Mr. Adams as his successor, he returned to
the United States, and was cordially welcomed. He arrived in
Philadelphia on the 1st of June, 1861 ; and very shortly after his
arrival, at an informal meeting of his fellow-citizens, he delivered an
address, from which the following extract is taken : " Let me re
mind you that the present fitful and fierce effort to substitute
another, comparatively unknown and local, for this world-wide
famous banner, is not the first that has been made. The reserved
right to nullify your laws, and at discretion to break up your Gov
ernment, as a cob-web contrivance of mere State partnership^ per-
16

GEORGE MIFFLIN DALLAS.
haps meditated at Hartford in 1814, was certainly and formally
claimed by South Carolina in 1832. At that epoch, there were
giants in debate ; and no giant more formidable or dangerous than
the author of this subversive doctrine. But, gentlemen, it was over
ruled as perverse and untenable. The calm senators from this good
old Commonwealth, who were William Wilkins, of Pittsburg, and
myself, steadily insisted upon hoisting the ' Stars and Stripes ' high
above the ' Palmetto,' and I presume would do so still ; and the
renowned citizen of Tennessee, who had routed the invaders at New
Orleans, dispelled by the mere show of a ' Force Bill ' the delusive
Quixotism which was as brave and blind then as it is now. Nor am
I aware that this decision of Congress has ever undergone revision
and reversal. It stands on the records of the nation as a great
judgment upon a great question utterly incapable of farther eluci
dation by the wit of man ; it is against nullification, which, you
must be aware, is but fragmentary, subdivided, or bit-by-bit seces
sion ; both built upon the same false keel ; and it points with an
emphasis, too peremptory to be disregarded, to the course of duty
which the official guardians of your Constitution, Laws, and Liber
ties are bound to pursue."
On the 22d of February following he -was chosen to deliver an
address on the adoption of the Constitution of the United States.
This took place in Independence Square, and was the occasion of
a great civic and military display.
Mr. Dallas died very suddenly on the morning of the 31st of
December, 1864, in the 73d year of his age. His remains are de
posited in the family vault, in St. Peter's church-yard in Philadel
phia, near the graves of his father, his mother, his brother. Com
modore Dallas, and his eldest son, who died at the age of nine
years. In private life, Mr. Dallas was easy of access, and courteous to
the humblest of his fellow-citizens. Although few men have been
distinguished by so many high official trusts, still fewer have borne
their honors with so much republican simplicity ; or, at their exit
from office, assumed more readily, or w^ith better grace, the unaf
fected deportment of the private citizen. Although his professional
career was so much interrupted by public cares, he ranked as a
lawyer with the most eminent of the profession. As an advocate,
he was graceful, dignified, and uncommonly effective. Withal, he
found occasional opportunities to indulge in literary pursuits, a
taste which he seemed to have inherited. We might here refer to

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
his published orations and addresses, as the productions of finished
scholarship ; but we prefer closing this article, by transcribing a
poetical effusion, illustrative of a trait of his character not yet
noticed. To some of our readers it will not be new, as it appeared
a few years ago in a morning paper of Philadelphia, Yet those
who best know Mr. Dallas, will not easily believe that it was
written for any eye, beyond the domestic circle of which it was his
highest earthly happiness to be the beloved and revered head.
TO MY WIFE.
SBKT WITH MY PORTEAIT ON THE TWENTY-EIGHTH ANNI-yEESABY OP MY WEDDING I>«<
1.
By truthflil Sully sketched, how plaia appears
The change produced, by eight and twenty years <
Sophia ! mark that dimming eye ;
The rigid brow of care ;
The fallen cheek's ungenial dye ;
Those folds of whitened hair.
How well in unison they chime
The triumph of remorseless Time !
2.
The outward casket these — whose depths enclose
A Gem which never flaw nor fading knows :
¦What if old age, invite decay,
And form and feature wane,
jT^st Gem, though all its case give way,
-Will sparkling: still remain,
Within enshrined from changing free,
Undying glows the Love of Thee !
3.
Harmless and vain, Time's breakers seem to roll
O'er that one treasure, seated in the soul !
The gift that youthful fondness gave
With cloudless heart and brow,
Though age hath made me gray and grave,
That gift I give thee now ;
Myself with equal faith bestow,
As eight and twenty years ago !
18

I).\N-U-.]. 1), rO.MPKlXS

DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.

It is a pleasing task to sketch the life of such a man as Daniel D.
Tompkins, and a proud one to a citizen of the great state which
had the honor of giving him birth. It may be compared to a land
scape, such as the eye delights to rest upon ; not one of abrupt
transitions from mountain to ravine, from "antres vast" to "deserts
idle," but an open, expanded, and unbroken scene of refreshing and
unfading verdure. And if the pleasure of contemplating it be not
unmingled, it is because the sombre clouds of adversity began at
length to hover round and darken its brilliant horizon.
Governor Tompkins seemed to imbody within himself the peculiar
characteristics of the citizens of his native state — activity, energy,-
and perseverance ; and his talents, as constantly and ypriously as
they were tried, were always found equal to any emergency. At the
bar in the city of New York, during the early period qf his. life, he
sustained an honorable rank ; on the bench of the supreme cCurt; of
the state, amid the bright constellation of judicial talent, learning,
and eloquence, which then adorned it, he was conspicuously distin
guished, while yet in comparative youth ; and we venture to say,
that no judge, since the formation of our government, ever presided
at nisi prius, or travelled the circuit with more popularity. Dignified
in his person, graceful and conciliating in his address, and thoroughly
amiable in his character, he won the respect and confidence of the
bar, and the admiration of the public. He was not o.ne of those-r-for
such have been — who "bullied at the bar, and dogmatized on the
bench;" he was a man of warm and kindly feelings, and disdained
to avail himself of the accident of official station, to browbeat or
insult his inferiors.
The distinction which he gained in his judicial capacity, soon
elevated him to a different theatre of action, the gubernatorial chair
of his native state. He was put forward as a candidate by the most
infiuential of the republicans of that day ; and in the mode in which
he administered the government, he did not disappoint their choice.

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
Those were turbulent times in politics ; but, like a skilful pilot, he
safely and triumphantly weathered the storm — not only that which
was raging within our o-wn bounds and among ourselves, but a more
fearful one which was pouring in upon us from a foreign foe. By
his unwearied efforts, in repeatedly pressing the subject upon the
attention of the legislature, slavery was finally abolished in the state
of New York. In a message addressed to the legislature in 1812, he
says, " The revision of our code of laws will furnish you with oppor
tunities of making many beneficial improvements, — to devise the
means for the gradual and ultimate extermination from among us
of slavery, that reproach of a free people, is a work worthy of the
representatives of a polished and enlightened nation;" and in 1817,
he again submitted to the legislature, "whether the dictates of hu
manity, the reputation of the state, and a just sense of gratitude to
THE Almighty for the many favors he has conferred on us as a
nation, do not demand that the reproach of slavery be expunged from
our statute-book."
The subject of public education and morals was always near his
heart ; and thus he invites to it the attention of the legislature, in one
of his messages: "As the guardians of the prosperity, liberty, and
morals of the state, we are bound by every injunction of patriotism
and wisdom, to endow to the utmost of our resources, schools and
seminaries of learning, to patronise public improvements, and to
cherish all institutions for the diffusion of religious knowledge, and
for the promotion of virtue and piety." How noble are such
sentiments, and how different from the maxims of despots, who
for the most part govern the world ! Here is not recommended
endowments for splendid seats of learning, for the instruction of a
privileged class ; to propagate and maintain an exclusive creed, or to
uphold some corrupt establishment to make the rich richer and more
powerful, and the poor poorer and more debased; to use the mind,
the immortal part of our nature, as an instrument to be moulded
and fashioned so as to subserve the selfish purposes of a^ lordly
few; but, with a philanthropy without limit, it is pressed upon the
legislature to cherish and promote all institutions for the difiiision
of knowledge, virtue, and piety. When a chief magistrate speaks
thus to his people, be they his masters or his servants, we may con
sider that governments are not always given to us as a "curse for
our vices."
The benevolent feelings of Governor Tompkins prompted him to
call the attention of the legislature, on repeated occasions, to the
a

DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
abolition of corporeal and capital punishments ; and he at length
happily effected that of the former : the latter still remain.
So early as 1811, we find him raising his voice in favor of the
encouragement of manufactures. "Let us extend to them,", he says,
"the utmost encouragement and protection which our finances will
admit, and we shall soon convince the belligerents of Europe, to
whom we have been extensive and profitable customers, that their
mad and unjust policy towards us will ultimately recoil upon them
selves, by giving to our industry, our resources, and our policy, a new
direction, calculated to render us really independent." He makes the
question one of love of country and honorable pride, and does not
even hint at any sordid calculation of profit. If he erred as a political
economist, and in this respect there are those who will doubt, he at
least manifested the generous purpose of a patriot.
In this brief sketch, it is not to be expected that even all the most
prominent measures of Governor Tompkins' administration can be
noticed; but there is one which must not be passed over in silence —
we mean his prorogation of the senate and assembly of the state in
1812; and in reference we will briefly remark, in the language of
another, " The legislature had lent a favorable ear' to the petitions
of various banking companies for incorporation ; and a system had
been projected and fostered by bribery and corruption, which threat
ened irreparable evils to the community. In his communication to
the legislature, the governor dwelt upon this subject with peculiar
force, and clearly and ably pointed out the inexpediency and danger
of multiplying banking institutions ; but such had been the gigantic
strides of corruption, that the pernicious law would have been en
acted, had not the governor exerted his constitutional privilege of
proroguing the legislature."
The anathemas of party animosity came thick and heavy upon
him, in consequence of this measure, which, although strictly consti
tutional, was stigmatized as arbitrary and despotic ; but he breasted
himself to the shock, and triumphed in the support of pubhc opinion.
Here he displayed, in a conspicuous manner, that moral energy of
character which we have attributed to him, and crushed the hydra of
corruption, which was beginning to rear itself in the sacred halls of
legislation. " The measure," says the writer above quoted, " excited
the astonisment and admiration of the whole United States."
We come now to the part which he bore in our late war with
Great Britain, which embraces a most interesting period of his life^.
Whenever the history of that war shall be written for posterity, his

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
name will fill an ample space in it. As governor of the state of New
York, he had the direction of all her energies; and many and ardii-
ous were the duties which he was called upon to perform. But those
who were conversant with the scenes of that period, will recollect
the universal confidence which he inspired in every lover of his
country. The following letter, dated a few days after the declaration of war,
will show the -perilous situation of the state of New York at that
time, the condition of the army, and the responsibility he assumed to
meet the exigency. "Albany, June 28, 1812,
" To Major General Dearborn,
"Sir, — Your letter of the 23d inst. has been received. I had
anticipated your request, by ordering the detachments from Washing
ton, Essex, Clinton, and Franklin counties into service, and have fixed
the days and places of their rendezvous. Upon application to the
quarter-master general, I find there are but 139 tents arid 60 camp-
kettles at this place, and even those I take by a kind of stealth. The
deputy quarter-master general declines giving an order for their
dehvery, until he shall have a written order from the quarter-master
general, and the latter is willing I shall take them, but wUl not give
the deputy a written order for that purpose. Under such circum
stances, I shall then avail myself of the rule of possession, and by
virtue of the eleven points of the law, send them off to-morrow
morning, without a -written order from any one. You may remem
ber, that when you were secretary of the war department, I invited
you to forward and deposit in our frontier arsenals, arms, ammuni
tion, and camp equipage, free of expense, to be ready for defence in
case of war ; and the same invitation to the war department has been
repeated four times since. The United States have now from five to
six hundred regular troops at Plattsburgh, Rome, Canandaigua, &c.,
where those arsenals are ; and yet those recruits are now, and must
be for weeks to come, unarmed, and in every respect unequipped,
although within musket shot of arsenals. The recruits at Platts
burgh are within fifty miles of two tribes of Canadian Indians. In
case of an attack upon the frontiers, that portion of the United States
army would be as inefficient, and as unable to defend the inhabitants,
or themselves even, as so many women. As to cannon, muskets,
and ammunition, I can find no one here wno wul exercise any
authority over them, or deliver a single article upon my requisition

DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
Neither can I find any officer of the army who feels himself author
ized to exercise any authority, or do any act which will aid me in
the all-important object of protecting the inhabitants of our extended
frontier, exposed to the cruelties of savages and the depredation of
the enemy. If I must rely upon the militia solely for such protec
tion, I entreat you to give orders to your officers here to furnish upon
my order, for the use of the militia detachments, all needful weapons
and articles with which the United States are furnished, and of which
we are destitute.
" You may rely upon all the assistance which my talents, influence,
and authority can furnish, in the active prosecution of the just and
necessary war which has been declared by the constituted authority
of our beloved country."
From the day of the declaration of war, the. governor entered heart
and soul into the prosecution of it, and so continued until its close.
Most of the frontier troops, the first campaign, were mihtia, and
many of them were marched several hundred miles. The quarter
master general of that day refused to make any advances to them.
The governor was ther.efore placed in the dilemma of providing as
well as he could for their expenses of every kind, or of permitting
them to return home for the want of accommodation, disgusted
both with the war and the government. He issued orders for
raising a brigade of volunteers upon his own responsibility, which
greatly distinguished itself on our Niagara frontier, and particu
larly at the memorable sortie from Fort Erie. The officers were
all selected by Governor Tompkins, and their gallant conduct in
the .field showed his admirable discrimination in this respect. He
had previously recommended to the legislature to raise volunteer
regiments for the defence of our frontiers and the city of New York,
but by a perversity which seems strange to us at the present day,
his patriotic recommendation was rejected. A man of less firmness
than Governor Tompkins would have quailed beneath the storm
which was raised against him in Albany in the winter of 1813-14;
and the consequence would probably have been, that the state
would have been overrun by the foe. Not only was the whole
western frontier in danger of invasion, but Sackett's Harbor, Platts
burgh, and the city of New York. But, regardless of censure or
disapprobation, he called into the field large bodies of militia, and
organized a corps of sea fencibles for the protection of the city of
New York, consisting of 1000 men. In September, 1814, the militia

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
in service for the defence of the city amounted to 17,500 men. He
was even ready to despatch a force, under the lamented Decatur, for
the assistance of Baltimore, which was then menaced with an attack ;
and had not the news of the enemy's retreat been received, the suc
cor would have been upon their march to the relief of a sister state.
In 1814, from information received, and corroborated by the move
ments of the enemy, there are sufficient grounds of belief that one
great object of his campaign was to penetrate with his northern army
by the waters of Lake Champlain and the Hudson, and by a simulta
neous attack with his maritime forces on New York, to form a junc
tion which should sever the communication . of the states. The
exigency of the time, while it subjected the executive to great respon
sibility, admitted of no delay. To defeat this arrogant design, and
save the state from inroad, it was necessary immediately to exercise
fuller powers and more ample resources than had been placed in his
hands by the legislature. He proceeded, therefore, to make such
dispositions as were deemed indispensable to secure the exposed
points against menaced invasion. To effect these objects, he found it
necessary to transcend the authority and means vested in him by law,
perfectly satisfied that the legislature would approve and sanction
what he had done.
In October of this year. Governor Tompkins was appointed by the
president to the command of the third military district. He acquitted
himself of the command with great ability, and, on the disbanding of
the troops, he received from every quarter letters of compliment and
gratitude ; and this was the only recompense for his services in this
command which he ever obtained.
During the fall of this year, the general government was desiroua
of fitting out an expedition to dislodge the enemy from Castine, in the
then province of Maine. They' had applied to the governor of Mas
sachusetts to raise the necessary funds for this purpose; but without
effect. In this dilemma, the situation of the general government was
hinted to Governor Tompkins, who, with his individual credit, and
upon his own responsibility, immediately raised the sum of tliree
hundred thousand dollars, which he placed at the orders of General
Dearborn, thdn commanding in Massachusetts. This noble act of
{latriotism speaks for itself, and comment would be superfluous.
In looking over his military correspondence, it is surprising to see
how watchful he was to foster a delicate and punctilious regard to
the relative rank of the ofiicers of the militia, so as to preclude every
cause of jealousy or complaint. The officers were appointed by the

DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
council of appointment, which in the winter of 1813-14 was
together with one branch of the legislature, opposed to the adminis
tration of the general government and to the prosecution of the war ;
and it is evident, from his correspondence at this period, that attempts
were constantly made to create discontents, by the recommending of
persons for promotion over the heads of those who were entitled to
it by their previous military rank ; and in turning back to his
private correspondence from 1808 to 1811, we are struck with the
continual annoyance experienced by him from the intrigues and
slanders of political opponents, and at the same time with the inde
fatigable industry and noble frankness with which he counteracted
and exposed them.
In the fall of 1814, Mr. Monroe having just been appointed secre
tary of war. President Madison requested permission to name Gov
ernor Tompkins to the senate as his successor. This offer of what
is considered the highest office in the gift of the president of the
United States, was declined.
In the spring of 1815, after peace had been proclaimed, he resigned
the command of the third military district ; and the president ad
dressed to him a letter of thanks, for his " patriotic, active, and able
support given to the government during the war."
In February 1817, having received official information of his elec
tion to the office of vice president of the United States, he surrendered
that of chief magistrate of the state of New York.
Daniel D. Tompkins was born on the 21st of June, 1774, at
Scarsdale, (Fox Meadows,) in the county of Westchester, N. Y.
He was the seventh son of Jonathan G. Tompkins, one of the only
three individuals of the town who advocated the cause of their coun
try during the revolution. His ancestors had emigrated originally
from the north of England during the time of religious persecution
in that country, and landed at Plymouth, in the then colony of Mas
sachusetts. After remaining there a short time, they purchased a
tract of land in Westchester county, where they permanently settled.
The father of the governor was a member of the state convention
which adopted the declaration of independence and the first con
stitution of the state. He was a member of the legislature during
the whole period of the revolution, also for many years first judge of
the court of common pleas for the county ; and on the institution of
the university of the state, was appointed one of the regents, which
situation he held until his resignation of it in 1808. He died after
seeing his son elevated to the second office in the gift of his country

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
Governor Tompkins was educated at Columbia college, in the city
of New York, and received the first honors of his class. He was
admitted to the bar in 1797; in 1801 was elected a representative of
the city in the convention to revise the constitution of the state ; in
1802 was chosen to the state legislature ; and in 1804 was appointed
a judge in the supreme court of the state, to supply the vacancy
occasioned by the election of Chief Justice Lewis to the gubernatorial
chair. In the same year he was elected a member of congress for
the city, as a colleague of the late learned Dr. Mitchill. In 1807,
when not thirty-three years of age, he was elevated to the chief
magistracy of the state. He was also chancellor of the university;
and in June, 1820, was elected grand master of masons in the state
of New York.
In 1821, he was chosen a delegate from the county of Richmond
to the convention for framing a new constitution for the state ; and he
was afterwards appointed president of this body. This was the last
public situation which he held.
We still fondly tum our recollections towards him, as one of the
most amiable, benevolent, and true-hearted men that ever lived. He
bore the stamp of this feeling of kindliness towards his fellow-men
in his open and frank countenance, in his easy and unaffected
address, in the very tones of his voice, in his every-day intercourse
with society. Upon every subject that comes home to "men's
business and bosoms," his opinions were liberal and expanded;
exclusiveness or dogmatism formed no. part of his moral creed.
He found, as all have found or will find who aspire to raise them
selves above the level of their fellow-men, that envy tracked his
footsteps, and calumny was always at hand to endeavor to throw a
shade over his fame ; and we regret to say that, during the close of
his career, he suffered from pecuniary embarrassments, resulting
fropi his multifarious services and expenditures, and assumed respon
sibilities during the war, and from — what must not be disguised —
the' tardy justice of the government. He came out of this ordeal,
however, completely triumphant; but our limits forbid our entering
into details.
We merely add the date of his decease, which melancholy event
happened on the 11th of June, 1825, on Staten Island; but his
remains are interred in the family vault, at St. Mark's church, in the
city of New York. *

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WILLIAM G A S T 0 N, LL. D.

The name of Gaston is honorably associated in the annals of
France, where the ancestors of the subject of this notice were zeal
ous and distinguished adherents of the Huguenot cause, in the latter
part of the seventeenth century. On the revocation of the edict of
Naritz, thfey retired to Ballymore in Ireland, where Dr. Alexander
Gaston, the father of the judge, was born. He was the yoUnget
brother of the Rev. Hugh Gaston, a presbyterian clergym,an of great
piety and learning, and the author of "Gaston's Concordance," a
standard work in his church. Dr. Alexander Gaston was graduated
at the medical college in Edinburgh, after which he accepted the
appointment of surgeon in the na-vy, and attended the expedition
which captured the Havana. The epidemic dysentery which pre
vailed with so much fatality among the troops, assailed even the
surgeon ; and \vith a constitution broken by disease, and daily wear
ing away fi-om the exhaustion of a warm climate, he resigned his
post and sailed for the North American provinces. He landed in
Newbern, and after a residence of some years, during which he was
engaged in the practice of his profession, was married, in May,
1775, to Margaret Sharpe, an English lady of the Catholic church.
She had come out to North Carolina, on a visit to her t-wo brothers,
Girard and Joseph Sharpe, who were extensi-vely engagfe'd in Com
merce, and it was during this sojourn, that the gallantry of the
young Irish physician, succeeded in permeillehtly detaining heir in
Newbern. William Gaston, their secoiid son, was bom on the 19th of
September, 1778. His elder brother died very sbon after he was born,
and before he was three years old, the accidents of war carried off
his father. The circumstances of the death of Dr. Alexander Gaston
are too tragical and interesting to be omitted, and as they stroUgly
illustrate the ferocity of the intestine war, that was waged between
the whigs ahd tories of the south, we shall venture to detail them
somewhat at length. Dr. Gaston was one of the most decided whigs
in North Carolina, and as early as the month of August, 1775, was

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
elected, by the provincial congress, a member of the committee of
safety, for the district of Newbern. At various periods of the war
he served in the army, generally as a surgeon, and once (in the
spring of 1776) as captain of a volunteer band, that marched to the
aid of Wilmington, on the approach of the armament of Sir Henry
Clinton. By his zealous and ardent support of the cause of freedom,
he acquired the confidence of the popular authorities, and was dis
tinguished by the bitter hatred of the loyalists, who, though in a
minority, were still numerous in that section of the state.
In the month of August, 1781, Major Craig, of the British army,
whose head-quarters were at Wilmington, advanced at the head of a
small detachment of regular troops, and a gang of tories, towards
Newbern, with a view of occupying that city. The tories were
several miles in the advance, and rapidly entered the town on the
20th of August. The whigs, thus surprised, had but little opportu
nity to make a regular stand, and after an ineffectual resistance gave
up the contest. Dr. Gaston, however, knew too well the hatred and
ferocity of his foes, to surrender himself into their hands, and hurrj
ing off his wife and children, endeavored to escape across the river
Trent, and thus retire to his plantation on Bryce's creek.
He reached the wharf, accompanied by his family, but before he
could embark them in the light scow which he had seized, the
tories in a body came galloping down, in their eager and bloody
pursuit, and forced hira to push off in the stream, leaving his wife and
children unprotected on the shore. He was standing erect in the
boat, which floated about forty yards from the shore, watching the
situation of his wife, and while she, at the feet of his pursuers, with
all the agony of anticipated bereavement, was imploring mercy for
herself and life for her husband, a musket, levehed over her
shoulder, was discharged and the victim sacrificed. ^
Mrs. Gaston was thus left alone in America. Her two brothers
had died, and the inhuman murder of her husband left her no other
objects of affection, save her son and an infant daughter. But she did
not shrink nor despair amidst these multiplied disasters. Supported by
her high sense of religion, and an admirable energy of character, she
sedulously devoted herself to the arduous duties which now devolved
upon her. The education and proper training up of her son, be
came the grand object of her existence, and whatever of good there
was in him must be ascribed to the affectionate tuition and admoni
tions of maternal solicitude. Her strong feelings, her exquisite
sensibility, her high integrity, and above all, her religion, she

WILLIAM GASTON.
indelibly stamped upon his mind, and even at the most advanced period
of his life, his character, admirable as it was, was nothing more than
the maturity of the efforts of his mother.
While a school boy in Newbern, he is represented as having
been very quick, and apt to learn ; of an affectionate temper, but
yet volatile and irritable. His mother used every means to correct
his infirmities of disposition, and to give an aim to his pursuits —
sometimes employing kindness, or mild but solemn admonition, and
occasionally still stricter discipline. He continued under her guar
dianship and strict observation, until the fall of the year 1791, when
he was sent to the college at Georgetown. The course of studies,
though not very extensive, were rigorously enforced, and, as in
all other catholic colleges, the ancient classics were long and painfully
Studied. In the spring of 1793 it was apprehended that the
constitution of our student was sinking under a consumption. Ac-
.cordingly he returned to his native climate, and there soon recovered
his health, and renewed his studies. Determined to give her son
every advantage of education which America afforded, Mrs. Gaston
placed him under the direction of the Rev. Thomas P. Irving, and
after a few months of preparatory instruction, he entered the junior
class of Princeton college, in the autumn of 1794. In 1796 he was
graduated with the first honors of the institution ; and he was frequently
heard to say, that it was the proudest moment of his life when he
communicated the fact to his mother.
On his return from college he commenced the study of the law,
in the office of Francois Xavier Martin, afterwards a judge of the su
preme court of Louisiana. In 1798, when he was only twenty years
of age, he was admitted to the bar, and in August, 1800, the first year
after his coming of age, he was elected a member of the senate of
North Carolina. In 1808 he was. chosen by the Newbern district
an elector of president and vice-president, and in the same year he
drew up the act of the assembly regulating the descent of inherit
ances. In 1813 he was elected a member of congress, and continued
in that body until 1817, when he retired to the more agreeable pursuits
of domestic and professional life.
Judge Gaston carried' into congress the zeal and independence of
an upright politician, as well as the learning of a jurist ; and on
revie-wing his congressional career, his friends will find no cause for
chagrin or mortification, whilst those who differed from him in
opinions, will at least acknowledge the invariable rectitude of his
political course.
¦ VOL. IV .-21 . 3

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
His first great effort on the floor of congress, was his celebrated
speech in opposition to the loan bill, and on that occasion he appears
to have acted as the acknowledged leader of the federal party.
In the early part of the year 1815, a bill was introduced to
authorize a loan of twenty-five millions of dollars to the government
of the United States. In opposing this bill, Mr. Gaston declared
that if it could be shewn necessary to accomplish any purposes
demanded by , the honor and welfare of the country, it assuredly
should meet with no opposition from him. It was, he said, avowedly
not necessary, except to carry on the scheme of invasion and con
quest against the Canadas ; and to that scheme he had never been a
friend, and to its prosecution at that time he had invincible objec
tions, founded on considerations of justice, humanity, and national
policy. In the course of this speech he took a very extensive view
of the causes of the war, as well as the manner in which it had
been conducted. '
There is one sentence in this speech which we shall extract as a
fair specimen of Judge Gaston's style of oratory. Mr. Calhoun
had, in the course of his remarks, spoken with much warmth ofthe
factious opposition to the administration, which he was pleased to
say might be salutary in a monarchy, but was highly dangerous in
a government so republican as ours. Judge Gaston concluded his
reply to this remark in the following eloquent peroration.
" If this doctrine were then to be collected from the histories of the
world, can it now be doubted, since the experience of the last twenty-
five years? Go to France — once revolutionary, now imperial
France — and ask her whether factious power or intemperate oppo
sition be the more fatal to freedom and happiness. Perhaps at some
moment, when the eagle eye of her master is turned away, she may
whisper to you to behold the demolition of Lyons, or the devastation
of La Vendee. Perhaps she will give you a written answer. Draw
near the fatal lamp post, and by its flickering light read it as traced
in characters of blood that flowed from the guillotine — 'Faction is a
demon — faction out of power is a demon enchained — faction vested
with the attributes of rule, is a Moloch of destruction.' "
In 1816, Mr. Stanford, of North Carolina, moved to expunge " the
previous question" from the rules of the house ; and this motion,
which was opposed by Mr. Clay, Judge Gaston supported in one of
the ablest spjeeches ever delivered by him in the hall of the represen
tatives. It contained more learning than we thought existed on the
subject, and we doubt -whether, at the present day, its history in the

WILLIAM GASTON.
English parliament, or the American congress, is any where so ac
curately and ingeniously discussed, as in this speech. It was entirely
a new field, and we shall venture to ascribe as much genius in the
ingenuity which selected such an occasion for display, as in the
eloquent and vivid manner in which the orator set forth his store of
learning. It is a studied and richly carved work, and had obviously
occupied his attention for a long time. We have not space for more
than a short extract from this speech, but commend the whole of it
to the perusal of all politicians and statesmen. After a few intro
ductory remarks, Mr. Gaston said : —
" And, sir, I rejoice equally at the opposition which the motion of
my colleague has encountered. If this hideous rule could have
been vindicated, we should have received that vindication from the
gentleman who has just resumed his seat. (Mr. Clay.) If his inge
nuity and zeal combined, could form for the previous question no
other defence than that which we have heard, the previous question
cannot be defended. If beneath his shield it finds so slight a shelter,
it must fall a victim to the just, though long delayed vengeance of
awakened and indignant freedom. If Hector cannot defend his
Troy, the doom of Troy is fixed by fate. It is indispensable, before
we proceed further in the consideration of this subject, that we
should perfectly understand what is our previous question. Gentle
men may incautiously suppose that it is the same with what has
been called the previous question elsewhere. This would be a most
fatal mistake.
Our previous question is altogether sui generis, the only one
of its kind ; and to know it we must consider not merely what is
written of it in our code, but what it has been rendered by exposi
tion and construction. Our previous question ' can only be admitted
when demanded by a majority of the members present.' It is a
question, ' whether the question under debate should now be put.'
On the previous question 'there shall be no debate;' '^ until it is
decided, it shall preclude all amendment and debate of the main
question.' If it be decided negatively, viz., that the main question
shall not now be put, the main question is of course superseded ; but
if it be decided aflirmatively that the main question shall now be put,
the main question is to be put instantaneously, and no member can
be allowed to amend or discuss it. The previous question is entitled
to precedence over motions to amend, commit, or postpone the main
question, and therefore, when admitted, puts these entirely aside.
This, according to the latest improvement, is now our rule of the pre-

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
vious question, and certainly in your patent office there is no model
of a machine better fitted to its purposes, than this instrument for
the ends of tyranny. It is a power vested in a majority, to foi;bid at
their sovereign will and pleasure, every member, not of that majority,
from making known either his own sentiments, or the wishes or com
plaints of his constituents, in relation to any subject under conside
ration, or from attempting to amend what is proposed as a law for
the government of the whole nation."
After detailing the history of the previous question in the British
house of commons, and in the American congress, and shewing that
it was not .considered a machine to close debate, up to the year 1808,
he proceeds to say, " It was impossible that any rule could be more
completely settled, both by uninterrupted usage and solemn, delibe
rate adjudication, than was the rule of the previous question in this
house. It was a rulp perfectly consistent with good sense, with the
requisite independence of the members of the house, and with the
right of the free people whom they represented. It preserved deco
rum ; it had a tendency to prevent unnecessary discussions ; it super
seded unnecessary questions ; while it left perfectly untouched the
fundamental principles of parliamentary and political freedom.
Thus, sir, it continued the more firm for the impotent attempt
which had been made to prevent it, and the better understood from
the blunders which its examination had exposed. Such was the
state of things, when on the memorable night of the 27th of Febru
ary, 1811, the monster which we now call the 'previous question,'
was ushered into existence, and utterly supplanted the harmless,
useless being whose name it usurped."
This speech, so profound and so violent in its character, was
received by the house with astonishment and admiration.
There is always something remarkable in the speeches of south
ern orators. A striking similarity of manner and of language, which
shews at once tbe " latitude" of the orator. Vehement whenever
they condemn, enthusiastic whenever they applaud, they carry into
political strife " the rancor of opposition, or the idolatry of love."
Something of this feeling may be observed in the speeches of Mr
Gaston, which we have noticed, and which are among the finest
specimens of southern eloquence. They contain a great deal of
calm, weighty argument, but it is only when the orator turns to
watch the position of his antagonist, that his language is fired by
passion, and his denunciations are sent forth burning, and blazing,
and " withering as they go."

WILLIAM GASTON.
¦ After his retirement from congress. Judge Gaston frequently
appeared in the assembly of North Carolina, and always as the leadei
of what may be called the constitutional party. In that body many
of his most splendid speeches were made. He framed the law estab
lishing the present supreme court of the state ; and the liberal basis
upon which it is established, is to be ascribed to his zealous and effi
cient support. In 1828, he delivered a speech upon the currency of
the state, which has been classed among his highest efforts. His
defence of the constitution of North Carolina in 1831, will long be
remembered. The constitution of the state is a venerable instrument.
It came down to the present generation, from the sages of the revolu
tion, and is loved and venerated in North Carolina for its very antiquity.
It was a fit subject for the exhibition of his leariling, eloquence, and
patriotism, and those resources of his mind he poured forth with the
most brilliant profusion.
Judge Gaston now became junior member of the supreme court of
North Carolina. It was in the practice of his profession, more than
in the legislative hall, where he acquired his great reputation as an
orator. He was at all times remarkable for his steady adherence to
the Union, and distinguished himself for his zealous opposition to
the doctrine of nullification, as set forth by some South Carolina
politicians. Although Judge Gaston was throughout his life, busily engaged
in the discharge of professional and legislative duties, he yet found
time, in the intervals of such labors, to keep pace with the literature
of the day. It was his custom, in riding the circuit of his courts, to
take with him the last new publication, and to peruse it as he rode
along the road, and he was not unfrequently aroused from the en
chantment of Scott, or Irving, by the upsetting of his sulky. His
habits of study were always intense, and his habits of recreation, re
fined. His intercourse in the society of his friends, was marked with
great mildness, affability, and occasional conviviality. In the narra
tion of an anecdote, especially a professional one, he was unrivalled,
and his manner of conversation was generally playful and easy.
Active as was Judge Gaston in political and professional ' pursuits,
he was equally devoted to the performance of the duties of domestic
life. It was in this sphere, to which by his moral and social qualities
he was so well adapted, that he found the enjoyments — though often
marred by the hand of death — in which he most delighted. He was
three times married. On the 4th of September, 1803, he married
Miss Susan Hay, (daughter of John Hay, Esq., of Fayetteville,) who

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
died the 20th of April, 1804. On the 6th of October, 1805, he mar
ried Hannah McClure, the only daughter of General McClure, who
died on the 12th of July, 1813, leaving one son and two daughters.
His third wife, whom he married in August, 1816, was Eliza Ann,
eldest daughter of Dr. Charles Worthington, of Georgetown, District
of Columbia, who died on the 26th of January, 1819, leaving two
infant children.
The education of his children, and the performance of his official
duties, occupied the remainder of his life. He died at Raleigh, N. C,
on the 23d of January, 1844, in the sixty-sixth year of his age. The
excellence of his character, and the grief occasioned by his death, are
impressively portrayed in the proceedings of the bar, and the court.
" Struck down suddenly," say the members of the bar of the supreme
court of North Carolina, " by the hand of God, in the midst of his
judicial labors — dying, as he lived, in the enlightened and devoted
service of his country — endued by learning, and adorned by eloquence,
with their choicest gifts — ennobled by that pure integrity, and undevi-
ating pursuit of right, which only an ardent and animating religious
faith can bestow and adequately sustain ; and endeared to the hearts
of all that knew him, by those virtues which diffuse over the social
circle all that is cheerful, refined, and benevolent, he has left behind
him a rare and happy memory, dear alike to his brethren, his friends,
and his country."
" Whereupon, Chief Justice Ruffin, on behalf of the court, responded :
The court unites with the bar, in lamenting the calamity which has
fallen upon us ; and is ready to concur in whatever may honor the
memory of our deceased brother, or express a sympathy with his be
reaved family. The loss, indeed, is that of the whole country ; and
it will doubtless be deeply felt and more deeply deplored, by the
whole country. But to us, who have been connected with him here,
it is peculiarly severe. Having been closely associated in private in
tercourse, and in the discharge of a common pubhc duty, for the last
ten years, we have had the best means of knowing and appreciating
his personal virtues, and judicial services. We know, that he was
indeed a good man and a great judge. His assistance, in the discharge
of our official duties, is cheerfully acknowledged by us, who. have sur
vived him. In our opinion, his worth, as a minister of justice, and
expounder of the laws, was inestimable ; and we feel that as a per
sonal friend, his loss cannot be supplied."

WiiMLJiM^m ]£HuJ;CL^IEIB)

m^wiimo

WILLIAM RICHARDSON DAVIE.

William Richardson Davie was born in the village of Egremont,
near White Haven, in England, on the 20th June, 1756. He was
brought by his father to America soon after the peace of 1763, who,
returmng, confided him to thc care of the Rev. William Richardson,
his maternal uncle, a Presbyterian minister in the Waxhaw settlement.
South Carolina, who, having no children, adopted him as his heir.
He was sent to an academy in North Carolina, whence, on being pre
pared for college, he was removed to Nassau-Hall, in Princeton, New
Jersey, where the Revolution found him ready to graduate.
'i'he venerable Dr. Witherspoon, yielding to the soHcitations of the
students, permitted them to organize a company, and join the Ameri
can army, then making its first campaign. W. R. Davie acted as
sergeant of this gallant band. After serving a tour of duty in New
Jersey and New York, he returned to college, and graduated with
the highest honor of his class.
On his return home, young Davie, finding all the commissions for
the troops just levied had been issued, determined to study law, and
went for that purpose to Salisbury, North Carolina. The war con
tinuing, Davie's devotion to the cause of freedom, and his ardent
desire to bear his part in the glorious struggle, again induced him to
abandon his studies. In order, as soon as possible, to accomplish his
wish, he prevailed on a patriotic gentleman by the name of Barnet,
too far advanced in life for military service, but of high standing and
great popularity, to raise a troop of dragoons, by whose influence he
obtained a lieutenancy in this troop. The captain immediately joined
the southern army : resigning soon after, the command devolved on
Lieutenant Davie, by whose request the troop was attached to Pulaws-
ki's legion. In this corps he rose to the rank of major. In a charge
of cavalry at the affair of Stono, Davie received a severe wound,
and was removed from the field to the hospital in Charleston, where
he suffered a tedious confinement. On leaving Charleston, being
lame fi-om his wound and unfit for duty, he returned to Salisbury, to

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
prosecute the study of law, and in the fall of that year received
from the governor of North Carolina license to practise.
In the winter of 1780, he was empowered by the government of
North Carolina to raise one troop of dragoons, and two of mounted
infantry. To equip this force he expended the whole of the estate
left him by his uncle. With it he protected the south-west part of
North Carolina from the predatory incursions of the British and
loyalists, and was constantly on the enemy's hues, performing a most
important and hazardous duty.
Colonel Davie joined General Rutherford, and shared in the battle
at Ramsours' mill, which eventuated in the defeat and dispersion of a
large tory force. Shortly after this, he united with General Sumpter
of South, Carolina, and Colonel Irvine of North Carolina, in the attack
on the British encampment at Hanging Rock, where they succeeded
in destroying the British commissary's stores, capturing three compa
nies of Bryan's regiment, and about sixty horses, and arms of all
kinds. " When Lord Cornwallis entered Charlotte, a small -village in North
Carolina, Colonel Davie, at the head of his detachment, threw him
self in his front, determined to give him a specimen of the firmness
and gallantry with which the inhabitants of the place were prepared
to dispute with his lordship their native soil.
"Colonel Tarleton's legion formed the British van, led by Major
Hanger ; the commander himself being confined by sickness.
" When that celebrated corps had advanced near to the centre of
the village, where the Anaericans were posted, Davie poured into it
so destructive a fire, that it immediately wheeled, and retreated in
disorder. Being rallied on the commons, and again led on to the
charge, it received on the same spot another fire with a similar effect.
" Lord Cornwallis, witnessing the confusion thus produced among
his choicest troops, rode up in person, and in a tone of dissatisfaction
upbraided the legion with unsoldierly conduct, reminding it of its
former exploits and reputation.
" Pressed on his flanks by the British infantry. Colonel Davie had
now fallen back to a new and well selected position.
" To dislodge him from this, the legion cavalry advanced on him a
third time, in rapid charge, in full view of their commander-in-chief,
and still smarting from his pungent censure ; but in vain. Another
fire from the American marksmen killed several of their officers,
wounded Major Hanger, and repulsed them again -with increased
confusion. s

WILLIAM RICHARDSON DAVIE.
" The main body of the British being now within musket-shot, the
American leader abandoned the contest.
" That they might, if possible, recover some portion of the laurels
of which they had this day been shorn. Colonel Tarleton's dragoons
attempted to disturb Colonel Davie in his retreat. But the latter.
choosing his ground, wheeled on them with so fierce and galling a
fire, that they again fell back, and troubled him no further.
"It was by strokes like these that he seriously crippled and intimi
dated his enemy, acquired an elevated standing in the estimation of
his friends, and served very essentially the interests of freedom.
With the resolution of Sumpter, and the coolness and military policy
of Marion, he exhibited in his character a happy union of the high
qualities of those two officers."*
After being engaged in several minor actions, he was, on the fatal
sixteenth of August, on his way to join General Gates, when he met
our dispersed troops. Notwithstanding the defeat, he hastened for
ward towards the battle-ground, and by his prudence and zeal not
only checked the pursuit, but saved several wagons, one of which
most fortunately contained the hospital stores and medicine chest.
Justly apprehensive of the danger to which General Sumpter would
be exposed by this catastrophe, he instantly despatched a courier to
that officer, communicating what had transpired, and advising him to
retire to Charlotte.
Shortly after the appointment of General Greene to the command
of the southern army, finding great difficulty in managing the com
missary department, arising from the unsettled state of the country,
its almost entire exhaustion by the interruption to agriculture, and
the support of the English and American forces, he sent for Colonel
Davie to his camp, and requested him to take charge of that depart
ment •, adding, that he knew Colonel Davie was then in command
of a veteran band, -with which he had acquired much reputation as a
partisan officer ; and he was confident he would be unwilling to relin
quish a command in which he was sure of high distinction, and
accept one in the civil staff of the army. He then laid open to him
the situation of the American army, assuring him they must disband
unless he would undertake their support ; that if he wished to save
his country, he could in no way do it so effectually ; concluding with
this handsome comphment : " From the best information, I am con-

* Caldwell's Life of General Greene.
3

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
vinced that you alone, colonel, can save us." Thus sohcited by that
great and good man, he disbanded his volunteers, thereby giving up
aU chance of personal distinction for the public interest. From that
time he was a member of the general's family, and was with him
during his celebrated retreat through North Carolina. During this
retreat, the American general had almost insurmountable difficulties
to encounter, from the inclement season of the year, and the wretched
condition of the troops, without blankets, shoes, or clothes. From
the absence of Colonel Carrington at this time, Colonel Davie had
the double duiy of quarter-master and commissary to perform, while
the rapid retreat of the army greatly augmented the difficulties of his
situation. The retreat terminated on passing Dan River, where Colonel Car
rington joined the army, and personally superintended its passage
across that stream, for which he had made the best possible arrange
ments. Colonel Davie remained with the army at the south till the
exhausted state of the country induced General Greene to send him
to meet the legislature of North Carolina, under the hqpe that he
could prevail on that body to fill up their fines, and make some
arrangements for the support of the army in South Carolina. On
Colonel Davie's visit to Carolina, he was furnished with letters to
Governor Nash, General Allen Jones, and M. Willis Jones; to whom
he made a true statement of the necessities of the southern army, and
succeeded in convincing them of the importance of energetic mea
sures, and inducing them to exert their utmost influence on the legis
lature. It was this united influence which led them to pass a law,
laying what was termed the specific tax. The legislature at the same
time made Colonel Davie commissioner for its collection and distri
bution, which, involving important and multifarious duties, forced
him to resign his situation as commissary to the southern army, an
arrangement to which General Greene consented, as it placed all the
resources of North Carolina at the disposal of an officer in whom he
had the highest confidence. By this law a tax was laid on every
county in the state, and a commissioner was authorized to receive the
produce of the country, and apply the same as he deemed for, the
public good.
For this purpose Colonel Davie appointed a sub-commissioner in
each county, whose duty it was to take charge of the tobacco, corn,
pork, and beeves, which were collected at various depots, and held
subject to the orders of the commissioner-general, who was to apply the
same to the pay and support of the governor and the general assem-

WILLIAM RICHARDSON DAVIE.
bly, and the balance to the support of the army. This was a law
that imposed arduous duties on the commissioner, and seemed to
involve an endless detail of barter, contract, collection, and distribu
tion. It was first necessary to ascertain what a county could best pay ;
if in tobacco, this was considered almost as cash, it being always
possible to barter it with the merchants ; if in beeves, they were
driven to some place where they could be most easily maintained,
and, when necessary, killed and salted for public use, or driven to the
army or legislature, as both were to be fed by the commissioner.
The same course was pursued when the tax was paid in hogs ; corn
was collected in depots, and issued under orders of the commissioner.
All troops stationed in the state, or marching through it, were sup
plied by the commissioner, so that he had accounts to settle not only
with his own deputies, but with all the officers, civil and military ; in
addition to which were accounts with almost every merchant in the
state. In time of peace, the duties of such an officer would require
incessant application, and indefatigable industry ; but war and general
distress greatly enhanced the difficulties. In 1783, the law laying the
specific tax expired, when Colonel Davie, having settled his accounts
as commissioner, retired from public service, and with the peace
commenced the practice of law. About this time he was married
to Miss Sarah Jones, daughter of General Allen Jones of North
Carolina, and selected the town of Roanoke for his residence.
During the revolution, business had accumulated on the dockets
fi-om the unsettled state of the country ; and many, whose crimes had
rendered them obnoxious to the laws, were now to be tried ; among the
first of these was the noted Colonel Bryan, of Rowan. This man had
raised a force of seven hundred men, and with them joined the British
army. These troops had been routed and cut in pieces at the battle of
Hanging Rock. On his trial at Salisbury, he selected Colonel Davie
as his counsel, although but just come to the bar. This trial excited
much interest, from the previous good standing of tbe criminal, and the
respectability of his connections. The effort made to save him soon
rendered Colonel Davie the most popular advocate in the state for
the defence of criminals ; and during the fifteen years he practised at
the bar, not a man was tried for a capital offence at any court at
which he practised, whom he was not called on to defend. This high
rank as a la-wyer was united -with equal standing as a gentleman, in
consequence of which he was returned as a member to the legislature
of North Carolina, from the borough of Hahfax, for many years,
without opposition. In that body he took an active and efficient part

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
in all the important business which came before the legislature. The
statute books of the state are records of his wisdom. The university
of North Carolina constitutes one of the benefits resulting from his
labors ; for notwithstanding that institution was advocated by all the
talent and worth of the state, yet its interests in the legislature were
almost exclusively intrusted to Colonel Davie. Little experience is
necessary to convince any man of the pertinacity with which igno
rance and prejudice will oppose every attempt at the dissemination of
knowledge. There is in all legislatures a certain set of politicians,
who array themselves against all liberal measures, feeling that they
must lose all consequence in the general difiusion of learning ; these
opposed every measure that was introduced for the benefit of the
institution, and it required both talents and address to succeed against
them ; but he did succeed, and the friends of learning and -virtue now
view the institution with a just pride, as the honor and ornament of
the state.
Colonel Davie was now appointed Major General in the militia
of North Carolina.
When it became apparent to all that the old confederation was not
calculated to advance the interest of the union, and that the blessings
of the revolution were likely to be lost from the imbecility of the
general government, the states determined to assemble a convention
at Philadelphia to amend the constitution. General Davie was
chosen a member of that convention from North Carolina, and made
one of that venerable body whose joint labors produced the federal
constitution. By an article in that instrument, it became necessary
for the same to be ratified in each state by conventions called for the
purpose. General Davie was again chosen a member of that con
vention. Here he was aided by the late amiable Judge Iredel, who
rendered all the assistance that could be derived from worth, talents,
and learning. Their united efforts proved vain, and the constitution
was rejected. A second convention called to reconsider it, ratified
the constitution, and North Carolina became a member of the union.
It may afford matter for surprise that General Davie's name does not
appear to that great instrument. Various reasons have been assigned,
but it was simply this, that illness in his family called him home
before the labors of the convention were concluded.
In the winter of 1799, General Davie was chosen governor ofthe
state. He was not, however, permitted to remain long in that station ;
his country had higher claims on his talents and services. He
resigned that office to proceed as minister to France, associated with

WILLIAM RICHARDSON DAVIE.
Oliver Ellsworth, Chief Justice of the United States, and W. V.
Murray, Esq., our resident at the Hague.
They arrived in France shortly after the revolution, which placed
all power in the hands of Bonaparte. Little difficulty was expe
rienced in adjusting our differences with that government, excepting
those that resulted from the absence of the first consul with the army,
which for a time suspended all negotiations. Late in 1800, they
concluded a treaty with the consular government of France, the
negotiations of which were conducted by Joseph Bonaparte, Count
of Survilliers, with Messrs. Rederer and Fleurieux.
General Davie contemplated the character of Bonaparte with
great attention. He saw him often, and conversed with him freely.
He considered him a man of first rate talents as a warrior, and of
great reach as a statesriian; but he regarded him also as a man of
unbounded ambition, restrained by no principles, human or divine.
On one occasion, after an interesting conversation, Bonaparte con
cluded by saying, that he considered power as the only foundation of
right: " Enfln, Monsieur, la force est droit." General Davie's
opinion of him was afterwards verified by his assumption of imperial
. and despotic power.
Shortly after his return to America, General Davie lost his wife, a
lady of lofty mind and exemplary virtues, to whom he was greatly
attached ; and soon after he removed to a fine estate at Tivoli, near
Landsford, beautifully situated on the Catawba river in South Caro
lina, where he had long cultivated a plantation. As a farmer he was
active and intelligent. Deploring the wasteftil system of farming in
the southern states, which exhausts the land without returning any
thing to it, he endeavored to improve it by the use of manures, rotation
of crops, and rest to the land. On the formation of an agricultural
society at Columbia, he was appointed president, and delivered an
address, which, for purity of style, sound observation, and clear expo
sition of the proper course of agriculture for this country, has never
been excelled.
" Some years after General Davie's retreat to his farm, the belli
gerent governments of France and England, each of which had
endeavored to involve our country as a party in their quarrel, multi-
phed their aggressions on the commerce of the United States to such
, an extent, as to furnish just cause of war against both ; and it was
even seriously proposed in Congress to declare war against both.
Finding, however, that such a course would expose the commerce of
the country to the rapacity of both nations, it was abandoned, but

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
•with strong declarations that the conduct of France and England
gave us the right to choose our enemy. That choice was made, and
it fell upon Great Britain. In the formation of the army for the
defence of the country m this emergency, the government, laying
aside party distinctions, selected General Davie as one of the officers
best fitted to be intrusted with a high command. Though dissatisfied
with some of the measures of the administration, he felt that as a
citizen he was bound to defend his country whenever it was in
danger, however brought on it. But the wounds received in the
revolutionary war, and the rheumatism, which had become fixed on
his constitution, incapacitated him for the exertions which his high
sense of duty would have exacted from him as a commander. He,
therefore, after much hesitation, declined the proffered honor."
General Davie continued to reside at his beautifiil seat on the
banks of the Catawba, to which travellers and visiters were constantly
attracted by his hospitality, his dignified manners, and elevated cha
racter. He occasionally made excursions to the warm springs for
relief from the harassing disease which afflicted and wasted him.
On these visits he was greatly admired by the inteUigent strangers
who resorted there. The affability of his deportment gave access to
all. But no person approached him, however distinguished by his
talents or character, who did not speedily feel that he was in the
presence of a superior man. The ignorant and the learned, the weak
and the wise, were all instructed and delighted by the irresistible
charms of his conversation.
" At home. General Davie was the friend of the distressed, the safe
counsellor of the embarrassed, and the peace-maker of all. He had
a deep and even awful sense of God and his providence, and was
attached to the principles and doctrines of Christianity."
In person he was tal^ and finely proportioned, his figure erect and
commanding, his countenance possessing great expression, and his
voice full and energetic. He died in 1820, at the age of sixty-five, of
cold taken on his return from the springs. He met death with the firm
ness of a soldier, and of a man conscious of a life well spent. The
good he did survives him ; and he has left a noble example to the
youth of his country, to encourage and to stimulate them in the
honorable career of virtue and of exertion. May it be appreciated
and followed !

Efgav^iy WA.V/aDiorAunialWiilirisrinposKssion ol l!^J^™IKeE5c]'¦ofIlalSno«

ILWffMIlil^ MMmiFIM.

LUTHER MARTIN.

Luther Martin, a lawyer, distinguished alike for his eccentric
habits, his powerful genius, and his vast legal acquirements, was
born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in the year 1744. His ancestors
were natives of England. Two of their descendants, who were bro
thers, removed from New England, and established their residence in
that section of the country adjoining the river Rariton, upon the east
of New Brunswick, calling the township in which they had located
Piscataqua, frotni the name of the town whence they emigrated.
They were by occupation farmers, and having obtained large grants
of land in New Jersey, removed their domestic establishment there
when a greater part of the Colonial domain was a dense wilderness.
, Luther was the third of nine children, and his time was generally
divided, during his early boyhood, between the duties of his father's
family and the acquisition of knowledge. In 1757, in the month of
August, he was sent to a grammar school, where he learned the ru
diments ofthe Latin language ; and in September, five years after, he
was graduated at Nassau Hall, Princeton, in a class of thirty-five,
with the highest collegiate honors. At that institution he laid the
foundation of his subsequent greatness, and with his other classical
exercises pursued the study of the French and Hebrew languages.
Among his friends and associates in Princeton were J. Habersham,
Esq., the Right Rev. Bishop Clagget of Maryland, the celebrated
Pierpoint Edwards, and Oliver Ellsworth. His parents, however
were indigent, and they were enabled, consequently, to bestow upon
this son a liberal education only ; " a patrimony," he remarks, " for
which my heart beats toward them a more grateful remembrance
than had they bestowed upon me the gold of Peru or the gems
of Golconda."* As an equivalent for the additional labor which

* Modem Ingratitude, in five numbers, by Luther Martin, Esq. «f Maryland, p. 134.
I

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
his two elder brothers had undergone for the support of his father's
family while he was receiving the benefits of a liberal education, he
conveyed to them, as soon as the laws permitted his disposition of the
estate, a small tract of land which had been granted him by his
grandfather for his own support.
Upon his graduation from college, having fixed upon the legal
profession as his choice, against which, however, his family enter
tained the strongest prejudices, upon the second day aftei: his com
mencement, and when he was scarcely nineteen years of age, deter
mining to be no longer a burden to his family, he departed, in com
pany with two or three friends, on horseback, and with but a few
dollars in his pocket, for Cecil county, near Octorara Creek in the
state of Maryland, in order to be employed as an assistant in a school,
which he had learned was just deprived of a teacher, and which was
under the management of the Rev. Mr. Hunt, to whom he carried
letters of recommendation. Before his arrival the place was occupied.
He was received with great hospitality by this gentleman however,
who, conjointly with his other friends, advised him to proceed im
mediately to dueenstown, Q,ueen Ann's county, where a vacancy had
just occurred in the common school of that place. Carrying to that
county letters of introduction to the board of trustees, among whom
was Edward Tighlman, (father of the distinguished Edward Tighl-
man, Esq. of Philadelphia,) as well as to many of the most distin
guished gentlemen in the neighborhood, he was engaged, after the
ordinary examination, to take charge ofthe school.
His object in entering upon this employment was, to acquire a sup
port while pursuing the study of the law. Here he remained in the
capacity of a preceptor until April, 1770. During this period he
made many valuable acquaintances, among whom was Solomon
Wright, Esq., the father of the Hon. Mr. Wright, late senator of the
United States, who gave him the advantage of his library, and re
ceived him in all respects as a member of his family. For several
years he had little relaxation from the most vigorous industry. His
means were scanty, as the meagre profits of his school were his sole
support. His improvident habits of expenditure brought him eventu
ally into debt ; and upon his expressing his determination to relin
quish the business of an instructor, and to devote one year exclusively
to the study of the law, he was arrested upon five different warrants
of attachment. In fact, a want of economy in his pecuniary affairs
was prominent through life, and frequently brought upon him the
most unpleasant consequences. On this subject he somewhat quaintly

LUTHER MARTIN.
remarks respecting himself — " I am not even yet, I was not then, nor
have I ever been, an economist of any thing but time."*
In 1771, through the kind agency of George Wythe, the former
chancellor of the state of Virginia, and the Hon. John Randolph, he
was admitted to the bar, continued his legal studies until 1772, and
then proceeded to Williamsburgh, where the general court was in
session, and remained in that place until it terminated. Here he
formed many valuable acquaintances, among whom may be men
tioned Patrick Henry, the great orator of the Revolution.
He soon after commenced the practice of the law in Accomack
and Northampton, in Virginia, and was admitted as an attorney in
the courts of Somerset and Worcester, which held their sessions
four times a year. He made his residence in Somerset, where he
soon acquired a full and lucrative practice, amounting, as he informs
us, to about one thousand pounds per annum ; which, however, was
after a period diminished by the disturbances growing out of the
American Revolution. At this time he was occasionally employed
in causes of Admiralty jurisdiction, involving interests of great mag
nitude, and also in some important appeals to the Congress of the
United States. A Criminal court had just been established at Wil-
Uamsburgh, and Mr. Martin was employed as counsel for thirty
prisoners, twenty-nine of whom were acquitted. His talents were at
this time fully appreciated, and he was regarded as one of the most
able lawyers at the bar at which he practised.
In 1774, while attending the courts in Virginia, he was appointed
one of a committee for the county to oppose the claims of Great Bri
tain, and also a member of the Convention which was called at An
napolis to resist the usurpations of the British crown. He threw
the whole strength of his manly vigor, courage, and iron firmness
into the cause of American freedom, and opposed these claims with
extraordinary boldness at a period, to use his own words, " through
out which not only myself, but many others, did not lie down one
night on their beds without the hazard of waking on board a British
armed ship or in the other world." When the Howes were on the
way to Chesapeak Bay, they published a manifesto, or proclamation,
addressed to the people of that part of the United States, against
which they were directing their military operations. This procla
mation was answered in an address to the Howes by Luther Mar

* Modem Ingratitude, p. 138.
VOL. IV.— 22 '

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
tin. He also, about the same time, published an address, directed
" to the inhabitants of the Peninsula between the Delaware river
and the Chesapeak to the southward of the British lines," which was
distributed among them in printed hand-bills.
Upon the 11th of February, 1778, he was appointed, through the
advice of Judge Chace, Attorney General of the state of Maryland ; in
which office his remarkable firmness, professional knowledge, and
uncompromising energy, were most strikingly exhibited in prosecuting
the Tories and the confiscation of their goods. No other man, in fact,
could be found at that time of sufficient hardihood and firmness to
fill this office. Luther Martin was called upon at this crisis, and
he met it with a manliness of decision and a determined power, which
left no room for fear ; coming down upon this class of men with an
iron hand, and bringing to bear upon them all the powers of the go
vernment in order to effect their total defeat and overthrow. In per
forming the duties of his office in other respects, he exhibited the
same vigorous and unquailing determination. On one occasion, for his
promptitude in prosecuting a man of great respect, ability, and influ
ence, who was indicted for the murder of an Irishman, he was voted,
by the friends of the murdered man, a massive service of silver plate,
which, from official considerations, he refused to accept.
He continued in the office of Attorney-General during a long period,
constantly augmenting his reputation as an advocate and jurist. The
office was conferred on him originally without his solicitation, and
his commission found him at Accomack, giving directions to work
men who were engaged in the manufacture of salt.
As a demonstration of his powers of mind, as well as his great legal
acquirenients, it may be remarked, that he stood among the brightest
and strongest at a bar, which numbered among its members a bril
liant constellation, composed of such men as Harper, Winder, Chase,
Wirt, and Pinkney.
In 1783 he was married to a Miss Cresap of Old Town in the
state of Maryland, who was the grand-daughter of Col. Cresap, against
whom the charge was brought by Mr. Jefferson of having murdered
the Indian family of Logan. This charge originated a long contro
versy between the latter gentleman and Mr. Martin, which were
carried on through divers inflammatory pamphlets.
During the whole course of his practice at the bar he was a vio
lent politician, and wrote for the press several pungent essays against
what was then denominated the Democratic party.
In 1804 he was engaged, conjointly with Mr. Harper, in the de-

LUTHER MARTIN.
fence of Judge Chase, then one of the justices of the Superior Court
of the United States, who was impeached in the house of Represen
tatives, upon eight articles, for malfeasance in office. After a power-
fill argument in his behalf, Judge Chase was acquitted ; a constitu
tional majority not having been found against him upon a single
article. Aaron Burr, that able though ill-fated man, was at this period the
personal and political friend of Mr. Martin. He had just broken
away from his brilliant career, and public opinion had branded him
as a traitor. In 1807, his trial for treason " in preparing the means
of a military expedition against Mexico, a territory of the king of
Spain, with whom the United States were at peace," occurred in the
Circuit Court of the United States for the district of Virginia. Messrs.
Wickham, Wirt, Randolph, and Martin, were engaged upon this
cause, which involved interests of vast importance, and principles of
constitutional law of gireat magnitude. Mr. Martin appeared in
defence of his friend, who, as every body knows, was acquitted.
During the whole course of the trial Mr. Martin demonstrated
himself to be the steadfast friend of Aaron Burr, and entered into a
recognisance for his appearance, from day to day, before the bar of
court. In 1814 Mr. Martin was appointed chief judge of the Court of
Oyer and Terminer for the city and county of Baltimore, and ful
filled its duties with considerable rigor, though with great success,
until a new state law made it necessary for him to relinquish his
seat upon the bench. In 1818 he was again qualified as attorney-
general of the state and district attorney for the city of Baltimore ;
but his declining health prevented him from attending in person to
his official duties.
From that period to the time of his death, his mind and body were
gradually impaired by disease, and a paralytic stroke, with which he
was soon after attacked, almost destroyed his physical and intellec
tual powers. Suffering in his old age under the goadings of penury,
he removed to the city of New- York, to take advantage of the hos
pitality of his old friend and client, Aaron Burr, who faithfully paid
him the last rites of kindness, in the imbecilhty of his age, in return
for the valuable services which Martin had rendered him, both in
money and talent, when he was in the full vigor and glory of man
hood. Luther Martin died at New-York, from the mere decay of na
ture, on the evening of the 10th of July, 1826, aged 82 years.

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
The information of his death having reached Baltimore, the bench
and the bar immediately convened in the court house of that city ;
and on motion of the Honorable John Purviance, it was "Resolved,
that we hear with great sensibility of the death of our venerable
brother, the former attorney-general of Maryland, and the patri
arch of the profession, Luther Martin ; and that, as a testimony
of just regard for his memory, and great respect for his exalted talents
and profound learning, we will wear mourning for the space of
thirty days."
As a lawyer, Mr. Martin was learned, clear, solid, and second to
no man among his competitors. In fact he shone far above his con
temporaries in the accuracy of his knowledge and the clearness of
his forensic arguments, He had drawn his legal attainments, like
Pinkney,' from the great fountains of jurisprudence ; and was content
to exhibit them only in the light of that reason, which. Sir Edward
Coke declares, " is the life of the law." Of his general powers at the
bar, his unbroken success and his exalted reputation abroad, are plain
demonstrations. His mind was so completely stored with the prin
ciples of legal science, and his professional accuracy was so generally
acknowledged, that his mere opinion was considered law, and is
now deemed sound authority before any American tribunal. His
cast of mind was less brilliant than solid. He ordinarily commenced
his efforts at the bar with a long, desultory, tedious exordium. He
seemed to labor amid the vast mass of general matters at the com
mencement of his speeches, sometimes continuing for an hour in a
confused essay, and then suddenly springing off upon his track with
a strong, cogent, and well-compacted argument. His address at the
bar was not good, nor was his voice agreeable ; consequently the
value of his forensic efforts is based more upon the foriiter in re,
than t\ie suaviter in m,odo ; more upon matter than manner. The
sensitiveness of his feelings frequently led him to acrimonious ex
pressions against his antagonists. He was accustomed, from the
fashion of the age, to use a considerable quantity of the stimulus of
ardent spirit ; and we have been credibly informed that he has de
livered some of his most powerful and splendid arguments under its
strongest excitement.
He was a man of warm heart and generous feelings, and to prove
this, numerous examples of his benevolence might be cited ; but in
the discharge of his official duties he was rigorous and unyielding.
Before closing this article, we must add that Mr. Martin, was op
posed to the adoption of the present constitution of the United States.

LUTHER MARTIN.
As a member of the Convention by which that instrument was framed,
he combatted it in its earliest stages ; and when it was committed to
the states for their approval, he addressed a long argument to the
legislature of Maryland, which was intended to dissuade the people
of that state from adopting it. This argument concluded with the
following words — " Whether, Sir, in the variety of appointments,
and in the scramble for them, I might not have as good a prospect
to advantage myself as many others, it is not for me to say ; but
this, Sir, I can say with truth, that so far -was I from being influ
enced in my conduct by interest, or the consideration of office, that
I would cheerfully resign the appointment I now hold ; I would
bind myself never to accept another, either under the general go
vernment or that of my own state : I would do more. Sir, so des
tructive do I consider the present system to the .happiness of my
country. I would cheerfully sacrifice that share of property with
which heaven has blessed a life of industry. I would reduce my
self to indigence and poverty ; and those who are dearer to me than
my own existence, I would entrust to the care and protection of that
providence who hath so kindly protected myself, if oh those terms
onlyl could procure my country to reject those chains which are
forged for it."* Mr. Martin's violent opposition to the proposed
frame of government was unsuccessful, but it most probably caused
a more deliberate examination and approval than might have been
deemed necessary had it not been so pow-erfully assailed.
Mr. Martin's personal appearance, as well as his mind, were alike
extraordinary. He often appeared walking in the street with his
legal documents close to his eyes for perusal — wholly abstracted
from the world and absorbed in his profession. He was little above
the ordinary size of men, but strong and muscular, although not very
broad in form. He usually wore a brown or blue dress, with ruffles
around the wrists after the ancient fashion, and his hair tied behind
hanging below the collar of his coat.
Luther Martin was undoubtedly one ofthe ablest lawyers which
our country has produced, and his name will descend to posterity
among the brightest of those, who have gained their reputation strictly
at the bar and in connection with causes which can never be detached
from our national annals ; but there are others ofthe same profession
with natural and acquired talents certainly not superior to his, whose

* Secret Proceedings and Debates ofthe Federal Convention, pages 93, 94.
T

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
fame will probably occupy a broader space, merely from the fact, that
the stage on which they play their part is more conspicuous than
that on which he acted his.

EnfiraredlyR^W-Dt

¦\3n. Painted for thf Medical CUaa of the ,

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PHILIP SYNG PHYSICK.
Dr. Philip Svf a Physick was born on the 7th of July, 1768, in
Third, near Arch street, Philadelphia. His father, Mr. Edmund
Physick, was a native of England ; and his mother, Miss Syng, the
daughter of a highly respectable citizen of Philadelphia, who was
one of the early friends and companions of Franklin ; and whose
name appears on the register of the American Philosophical Society as
one of its founders, and also connected with other undertakings of pub
lic utility at that period.
The celebrity of Doctor Physick has been so general, that to the
American reader it is almost superfluous to state that he was distin
guished by a long and brilliant course in Surgery and Medicine ; by
a deep and universal conviction on the medical and public mind of
this country in favor of his skill ; and by traits of character so promi
nent and so peculiar, that the chances are very improbable of their
being repeated in any other indiTridual . Even if Nature should renew
her production, the difference of circumstances in which it will be
placed, from the immense changes constantly and rapidly occurring
in our social state, will prevent the same mode and degree of develop
ment. The subject of our memoir received his academic education from
Robert Proud, in " Friends' Academy," and during the time lived in
the family of Mr. John Tod, the father-in-law of the present Mrs. Ma
dison. He then entered the classical department of the University of
Pennsylvania, and obtained his knowledge of the languages from Mr.
James Davidson, one of the best scholars of his day, No small fond
ness for these his earlier studies remained with him to the end of his
life. Having passed honorably through his college studies, he received
the degree of Bachelor of Arts. His father now considered him ready
to engage in the study of medicine, and placed him under the charge
4— 2N 1

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
of the late Dr. Adam Kuhn one of the most learned and successful
physicians of that day.
His first introduction to anatomy excited strongly his aversion and
disgust to the profession of medicine — it was the boiling of a skeleton
in the Medical College in^ Fifth street, now the Health Office. He re
turned home, and implored his father to change his destination ; it was
all in vain. Finding his father thus inexorable, he began his medical
studies in earnest.
When twenty years of age, in 1788, his father took him ^ London,
and succeeded in fixing him under the direction of Mr. John Hunter,
the great surgeon of the day ; and now looked upon ^s the first medi
cal man that the British empire has produced, his posthumous reputa
tion having gone vastly beyond any that he ever had, when alive.
Being placed in a dissecting-room, he distinguished himself in a
short time by his assiduity, and by the neatness and success of his dis
sections ; he became a favorite with Mr. Home, the assistant in the
rooms, and also with Mr. Hunter. The confidence and partiality of
the latter were exhibited in the year 1790, while he was still a student
under him, by Mr. Hunter using great exertions, and successfully, to
get him elected House Surgeon to St. George's Hospital.
In the year 1791 he received his diploma from the Royal College
of Surgeons in London. After which he visited Edinburgh, and hav
ing spent a winter there, took out the degree of Doctor of Medicine
in the University, in 1792. In the latter part of the same year he re
turned home, highly instructed in his profession ; after having declin
ed offers by his preceptor Mr. Hunter, of a promising and advantage
ous kind, for him to settle in London, this course was probably influ
enced in some degree by his health, which the climate and atmosphere
of that metropolis did not suit.
The year 1793 brought him distinctly and prominently into pub
lic notice. T^he premonitory indications of a fatal epidemic being
on the approach, were but too faithfully verified, when, on the 19th of
August, the celebrated Rush announced to his fellow-citizens that a
malignant and mortal fever had broken out among them. This start
ling intelligence, whereby the repose of the public mind was disturbed,
was received with the agitation and surprise created by some unex
pected convulsion of nature ; by some it was discredited, and strong
indignation expressed against its author. The celerity, however, with
which the disease invaded the several walks of life, left no room for
disputation, and all that remained to be done, was to make the best
possible arrangements for its visitation. Among the measures of the

PHILIP SYNG PHYSICK.
day, recommended by the College of Physicians on the 27th of Au
gust, and carried into immediate effect, was the providing a large and
airy hospital in the neighborhood of the city, for the reception of such
poor persons as could not be accommodated with suitable advanta
ges in private houses. The erection of the Bush Hill Hospital was
the result of this recommendation ; and Dr. Physick having offered
his services, was chosen physician of the same. He left his lodgings
in town, entered immediately upon his new duties, and continued in
the exercise of them till the disease had passed away.
In the year 1794 he was appointed a prescribing physician in the
Philadelphia Dispensary, and a surgeon to the Pennsylvania Hospital;
the public confldence was also exhibited by his practice increasing with
no ordinary rapidity.
A recurrence of the yellow fever as an epidemic, in 1798, led again
to a performance of similar duties in the Bush Hill Hospital. The
zeal and fidelity with which he went through these, were recognised
in the presentation of some elegant pieces of silver plate. Their cost
was upwards of one thousand dollars, and they bore the following in
scription : —
" From the Board of Managers of the Marine and City Hospitals, to
Philip Syng Physick, M. D.
As a mark of their respectful approbation of his voluntary and ines
timable services, as Resident Physician at the City Hospital
in the calamity of 1798."
On Sept. 18th, 1800, he married Miss Emlen, the daughter of a
gentleman of learning, distinction, and wealth, and who belonged
to the very respectable Society of Friends. She died in 1820, lea-ving
four chidren now alive — two sons and two daughters.
In 1805, the chair of Surgery in the University of Pennsylvania
having been made a distinct one, he was elected to it ; the success of
his operations and lectures in the Pennsylvania Hospital, is considered
to have created, and established this change.
In July, 1819, he resigned his chair of Surgery in the University of
Pennsylvania, and was appointed to that of Anatomy, vacated, the pre
ceding November, by the death of his nephew, Dr. Dorsey.
The latest of his appointments was in 1836, when he was elected an
honorary fellow of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society of Lon
don, and soon after received his diploma ; he is said to have been
very much pleased with this mark of respect from a city where his
early studies had been conducted.

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
The earliest commendatory notice of him is found in the Treatise
on the Blood by his preceptor, John Hunter. The latter wishing to
arrive at some general conclusions on certain phenomena of the blood,
as to its coagulability and putrescence under several conditions named,
performed experiments on the subject, which were rather incomplete
and unsatisfactory to himself ; to verify, however, what he had done,
he says, " Many of these experiments were repeated by my desire by
Dr. Physick, now of Philadelphia, when he acted as house-surgeon
to St. George's hospital, whose accuracy I could depend upon."
In 1793 he, in conjunction with Dr. Cathrall, made several dissec
tions of persons dead of yellow fever, which proved its infiammatory
character, and that its principal violence fell on the stomach. These
observations were not absolutely new, because they had been preceded
by similar ones by Dr. Mitchill, in his account of the yellow fever of
Virginia in 1737 and 1741, and by corresponding ones in the West
Indies. They had, however, an important local influence in correct
ing the prevailing notions of the disease, by proving, that so far from
being one of debility, it presented the highest possible grade of inflam
mation, — one exactly similar to what is produced by acrid poisons, as
arsenic, introduced into the stomach. The principle was thus esta
blished, that the reputed putrid phenomena were merely the expression
of the gastric inflammation, and that the proper treatment was precise
ly the rever.se of what had obtained.
To this advance in the therapeutic indications of a disease so fatal
and so terrifying, was added one of a most important prophylactic or
preventive kind. At a time when it was perilous to the practice, as
well as to the reputation for sanity of any physician, to assert that the
yellow fever was generated among us and not imported, he had the
manliness and dignity to declare openly this obnoxious truth. He
also admonished the people, that the true protection from such -visita
tions, was not in establishing ari empty system of quarantine laws, and
thereby interrupting foreign commerce, but in cleanliness at their o-wn
doors and along their own wharves. These were the views taken and
enforced at the same time, by the eloquence and fervor of a Rush.
To this idea, constantly urged upon public attention, are to be traced
the very complete and effective arrangements for supplying the city
of Philadelphia with water, by applying, if required, the whole cur
rent of the Schuylkill to the purpose.
To the walks of Surgery, however, we must look for the genius of
Physick in its most decided and extensive application. It is there
that we find it exhibiting a series of triumphs over cases of dis-

PHILIP SYNG PHYSICK.
ease which had baffled the skill of men only inferior to himself and
it is there that it was most active in inventions to improve and to
palliate established modes of treatment. His management of diseased
joints by perfect rgst, elevation, and diet, is a happy substitute for the
errors generated under the use of the term scrofula or white swelling,
and ending either by amputation or in death — sometimes in both.
His treatment ofthe inflammation ofthe hip-joint in children (coxalgia),
by a splint, low diet, and frequent purging, exhibits another of those
successful innovations upon ordinary practice. His invention of an ap
propriate treatment and cure for that loathsome disease, artificial anus,
which invention has been so unceremoniously modified and claimed
by a distinguished French surgeon, the late Baron Dupuytren, is a
proof of the activity and resources of his professional mind. Another
invention, still more frequent in its employment, from the greater num
ber of such cases, is the application of the seton to the cure of fractures
of bones refusing to unite. Other inventions are found in the treat
ment of mortification by blisters ; of anthrax by caustic alkali ; the
ligature of kid skin for arteries in excisions of the female breast. To
him, also, we owe the original act, if not invention, of pumping out the
stomach in cases of poisoning ; also an improvement in the treatment
of fractures of the condyles of the os humeri, so as to render the resto
ration perfect. We might in this way go on to enumerate many other
points of excellence about him ; but, however appropriate it might be
to offer a complete exposition of them, the space allotted to a memoir
of this kind must prohibit a more extensive and complete annun
ciation. Those who have had an opportunity of witnessing his prac
tice extensively, will at least conclude with us in saying, Nihil te'
tigit, quod non ornavit.
With this great fertility in invention and ardor in the prosecution of
his profession, his original papers, as published, are few, and they are
also very short.
Lecturing for many years on Surgery, his chief organ of publicity
was his class of students. The Elements of Surgery, published by his
nephew. Dr. Dorsey, contain the most perfect account of his opinions
and practice up to that period.
To the preceding claims to professional veneration, were united
physical qualifications of the most perfect kind. He had a correct,
sharp, and discriminating eye ; a hand delicate in its touch and move
ment, and which never trembled or faltered ; an entire composure and
self-possession, the energy of which increased upon an unexpected
emergency. He had a forethought of all possible contingencies and

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
demands during a great operation, and therefore had every thing pre
pared for it ; when performed, he entered upon a most conscientious
discharge of his duty to the patient, and watched him with a vigilance
and anxiety which never remitted till his fate was ascertained.
If to the foregoing brilliant qualities as an operator, and the loud plau
dits which attended their exercise, we add a chastening of feeling which
subdued .every sentiment of vanity and regulated entirely his judg
ment ; and that he had an invincible repugnance, a horror at engaging
in dangerous operations through ostentation, and where the probabili
ties of cure were not largely in favor of the patient ; we have in this
summary the most perfect example of a surgeon which this country
has ever seen. But as these great points and striking professional
landmarks seldom come in clusters, it will probably be long in the
course of Providence before there will be a re-union of all the same
excellent qualities.
His operation for the stone on Chief Justice Marshall, in 1831, was
the last of his great efforts. He anticipated it with much anxiety, but
when brought to the point, he rallied finely — eyery thing was, as usual,
in readiness. The unexpected turn given to the operation by the al
most incredible number, probably a thousand, of small calculi which
he met with, and their adhesion to the internal coat of the bladder,
did not disconcert him in the slightest degree. He in a little time de
tected the existing state of things, and they were brought to a success
ful conclusion, being followed by a complete cure. This operation
was the more interesting from the distinction of its tWo principal per
sonages ; the one, the acknowledg:ed head of the legal profession, and
the other of the medical ; and both sustaining themselves, though in
advanced life, by that tone of moral firmness and dignity which had
advanced them from inconsiderable beginnings to the stations which
they then occupied.
Dr. Physick was of middling stature, and not inclined to corpu
lence even at his best periods of health. His bust was a remarkably
fine one ; he had a well-formed head and face, tbe expression of the lat
ter being thoughtful and pensive, sometimes enlivened in conversation
by a smile, but very seldom so spontaneously. His nose was aquiline
and thin ; and his eye hazel, well-formed, vivid, and searching: — his
gaze seemed sometimes to penetrate into the very interior ofthe body.
His eye acquired additional effect from his pallid, fixed, and statue-like
face. His hands w^ere small, delicate, and flexible. He dressed with
great neatness : his clothes being put on with an exact attention to the
process, and being from year to year of a uniform cut. Many, no

PHILIP SYNG PHYSICK.
doubt, remember the very admirable and characteristic appearance
imparted to his physiognomy and head by the use of hair powder, and
how this almost solitary remnant among the gentlemen of Philadelphia,
of an ancient fashion, seemed to be in entire harmony with his own
individuality of mind and of reputation.
Dr. Physick's traits as a teacher corresponded with other points
in his character. His course of Surgery, upon which his reputation
was founded in an especial manner, was eminently practical and in
structive. He did not pretend to range over the whole field of this
science, but limited himself to topics of daily occurrence, or at least
such as might be expected in the practice of any medical man. Re
lying upon his own experience and habits of observation, he had but
little to do with the opinions of others ; he quoted them rarely, and
never in such a way as to leave the point unsettled by an array of op
posite authorities. His opinions were for the most part founded upon
deep reflection, and w;ere decided in one way or another ; he never
leaned to one side and inclined to another, so as to neutralise his
weight ; he either admitted entire want of information, or considered
himself in possession of the requisite degree of it. This tone of senti
ment pervading his lectures, they were most eminently didactic, and
were listened to with a thorough conviction of their correctness ; indeed,
such was his authority, that it was held- almost indisputable — to oppose
it, was to brand one's self with folly.
He decidedly preferred studying every thing for himself in the la
boratory of Nature, beginning his analysis of the human machine in a
dissecting-room, and solving the problem of its disorders and their cure
in a hospital. The proposition in every disease he considered as
limiting itself to the positive experience of what had done good and
what had done harm. His consultations always assumed this character.
As his opinions ^ere, for the most part, formed with deliberation, so
they were retained with firmness ; and they, like his habits, were du
rable to an extreme. This we may account for, inasmuch as they
were never taken up on capricious grounds, but always upon the most
scrupulous examination of proof He required, too, personal proof,
¦ such as would satisfy his understanding, through his eyes, his ears,
and his touch. Naturally exact, systematic, and persevering, these
traits were fully developed by his education and training.
Not being given to expressions of 'sentimentalities, his cold and steady
manner was mistaken by some for apathy : he felt, however, acute
ly when not the slightest external indication of it appeared. He was
always anxious and excited when preparing for a great operation, and

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
when it was finished, spent sometimes the remainder of the day in bed,
in order to recover and tranquilize himself. The death of patients not
unfrequently laid him up, frora the excess of his sensibilities.
Having undergone a protracted illness, which reduced him to a
most suffering and debilitated state, he died on the 13th of December,
1837, being in his seventieth year. He was interred in Christ Church
burying-ground, corner of Fifth and Arch streets, Philadelphia, vnth
the strongest expressions of public respect.

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EDWAR D SHIPPEN.

In presenting the portrait of the late Chief Justice Shippen, we are
sure that we shall gratify, not only his numerous friends, by whom
his memory is affectionately cherished, but the public, who are
indebted to him for many and important services. He was, in every
sense, a son of Pennsylvania, born and educated in the city of
Philadelphia, and to his native state he devoted his labors and talents
during a long and useful life. He was born on the sixteenth day
of February, 1729. His grandfather, William Shippen, was a gen
tleman of fortune and family, in the county of York, England ; and
his father, Edward Shippen, emigrated to America about the yeai
1675. He first settled in Boston, but removed to Philadelphia about
the year 1700, where his character and acquirements soon obtained
for him the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens, and led him
to various offices of honor and emolument. He became a member
of the governor's council, a commissioner of the board of property, a
judge of the general court, and was the first mayor of the city.
Edward Shippen, the subject of this memoir, followed the
honorable course of his father, and fully sustained the reputation
derived from him. Having completed his elementary education
with distinguished diligence and success, he commenced the study
of the law under the direction of Tench Francis, Esquire, then the
attorney-general of Pennsylvania. In 1748, Mr. Shippen, having
prosecuted his legal studies for about two years, went to London to
complete them in the Temple. In our day, this is no longer neces
sary ; nor indeed are our American youth required to go abroad for
instruction, in any of the learned professions more than in the
mechanic arts. After spending two years in London, not in frivolous
dissipated pursuits, but in the acquirement of the knowledge of his
profession and the general cultivation of his mind, Mr. Ship.pen was
admitted a barrister of the Middle Temple ; and he returned to Phila
delphia, to commence his career of life, and enter upon the duties of
a lawyer and a citizen. He was so occupied, when the war of our
1 " ni

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
revolution interrupted the civil pursuits of our citizens, and sus
pended, more or less, their private business.
On the happy conclusion of this momentous struggle, the depart
ments of government, as well as the occupations of the people.
returned to their regular action and course. To furnish the judiciary
with men of suitable qualifications, as to character and knowledge,
was obviously an object of primary importance. Professional learn
ing and moral integrity in the administration of the laws, were indis
pensable to secure the public confidence for the courts of justice ; and
in seaching for them, Mr. Shippen could not be overlooked. He
was accordingly appointed president of the court of common pleas
of the county of Philadelphia, a place of high trust ; and was also
the presiding judge of the court of quarter sessions for the city and
county. These appointments were made under the constitution of
the state, adopted in 1776. A more perfect organization of the
judiciary was made by the constitution of 1790.
In 1791, Mr. Shippen was appointed one of the judges of the
supreme court, whose jurisdiction extended over ttie whole state,
and whose duties and powers called for the highest grade of profes
sional learning and talents, as well as of personal character and
public confidence. On the election of Chief Justice M'Kean to the
executive chair of the commonwealth in 1799, Judge Shippen
succeeded him on the bench, and was appointed Chief Justice by
Governor M'Kean, who was perfectly well acquainted with the quali
fications the office demanded, and with the fitness of the person he
selected for it. Chief Justice Shippen continued to perform the
duties of his exalted station with undiminished ability, and unim
paired confidence and respect, until the close of the year 1805, when
the infirmities of age, he being then nearly seventy-seven years old,
admonished him to retire to repose. A few months after his resig
nation of office, on the sixteenth day of April, 1806, he found his
final resting place, placidly leaving the world, in which, from his
earliest youth, he had been conspicuous for his virtues and useful
ness. The volumes of our judicial reports are enriched with many
of his opinions, of great importance; and these are now received
with the same respect they commanded, when they were sustained
by his personal and official influence and authority. Much of our
law which is now well settled, was, at the period of his judicial
administration, in a state of uncertainty, long usages sometimes
interfering with positive legislative enactments. Principles were to
be established suitable to our system of jurisprudence, and con-

EDWARD SHIPPEN.
structions to be given to doubtful laws. His sound mind, his excel
lent legal education and great experience, his cool temper and
discriminating sagacity, were all admirably calculated for the per
formance of such functions ; and he did perform them in a manner
to satisfy his contemporaries, and to be approved and unshaken to
this day. Judicial quahfications and services are not of a character
to catch the multitude, or to be the subjects of popular applause ; but
there is no officer concerned in the administration of the affairs ot
a people, whose duties are more anxious and arduous to himself, or
more important to the community, than those of the judge. The
preparatory education and long study; the painful and attentive
experience, which are indispensable for the attainment of the quali
fications befitting the bench ; the habits of close and careful investi
gation ; the faculty of discovering the true ground of controversy,
of distinguishing between real and apparent resemblances, between
sound reasoning and ingenious sophism ; the firmness never to yield
principles to expediency, nor to sacrifice or disturb the great system
of jurisprudence for particular cases; and withal, to hold a perfect,
command over every feeling that might irritate the temper or mislead
the judgment, present to our contemplation a combination of rare
and valuable qualities, deserving our highest consideration and
respect. The laws must be sustained with independence and intelU-
gence, or it is in vain that they are wise and salutary ; justice must
be rendered faithfully to the parties who appeal for it to the judicial
tribunals, or it is a mockery to promise them protection and redress.
The active, efficient, vital operations of the government are performed
by the courts. No man is so high or^o humble as to be beyond their
reach ; they bring the laws into every man's house, to punish or to
protect them. Such are the responsibilities of a judge. It was on
the judgment seat of the law, that the high qualities of Chief Justice
Shippen were brought into their best exercise and use. He seemed
by nature as well as education to haVe been especially prepared for
this station. Patient, learned, discriminating and just, no passion or
private interest, no selfish or unworthy feeling of favor or resentment
ever held the shghtest influence over his conduct or decisions.
Few situations expose the temper to more irritating trials than that
of a. judge. He must occasionally encounter ignorance, imperti
nence, stupidity, obstinacy, and chicanery, and he must take care
that they do not move him from his line of duty. The bland
and equal temper of Chief Justice Shippen never forsook him
amidst such trials, but, on the contrary, threw a charm over his

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
manner of repelhng or submitting to them. The young and the
timid advocate was encouraged by his kindness, and flattered by his
attention. He knew and practiced the lesson of Lord Bacon, that
"patience is one of the first duties of a judge ;" and he felt that he was
bound to hear every party and every advocate, before he decided his
cause. A suitor might go from his court disappointed by the judg
ment, but he could not be dissatisfied with the judge.
Of the private character and deportment of Chief Justice Shippen,
it may be truly said that he has left few imitators of his manners.
His pohteness was of the kind that has its foundations in a well
regulated temper and the best feelings of a benevolent heart, polished
by a familiar intercourse, from his birth, with refined society. He
combined, in a remarkable degree, benignity with dignity, conciliating
the affections while he commanded a perfect resp'ect; and, as a valua
ble citizen, and an accomplished lawyer and judge, remarkable for
the great extent and minute accuracy of his knowledge, he must ever
be conspicuous, among those worthies who have won, by their virtues
and their talents, an imperishable name.

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OTHO HOLLAND WILLIAMS.

The military operations of the revolution naturally present them
selves in review in two series, divided geographically by the Chesa
peake bay ; so distinctly drawn is this line, that in every connected
history of the period, from the evacuation of Boston to the capture
of Cornwallis, we find the narrative alternately carries the reader's
attention from one to the other side of that estuary.
This has placed the officers of the army in groups, which are
inseparable in our mental associations, and renders the repetition
of much historical memoranda unnecessary in this work, in which
the memoirs of many of the most prominent actors in the same scenes
are brought together ; we shall, therefore, in the present instance,
confine ourselves to as brief a space as is possible, with a due regard
to the merits of an accomplisiied gentleman^ and gallant soldier.
Otho Holland Williams was born in Prince George county,
Maryland, in 1748. ' His ancestors were among the earliest emi
grants from Britain, after Lord Baltimore became proprietor of the
province. At the age of about twelve years, he was left an orphan,
but; was protected and educated by his brother-in-law, Mr. Ross.
While yet a yOuth, he was placed in the clerk's office of the county
of Frederick, and he afterwards removed to the clerk's office of Bal
timore. He was then about eighteen years of age, nearly six feet high,
elegantly formed, his wbole appearance and conduct manly beyond
his years, and his manners such as made friends of all who knew
him. He returned to Frederick, and early in the revolutionary war
(1775) was appointed a lieutenant in a rifle company, commanded
by Captain Price. The company marched to Boston, and his captain
being promoted, he succeeded to the command' of it. When Fort
Washington was attacked, he had the rank of major, and as com
mander of the riflemen, was stationed in a wood in advance of the
fort. The Hessians attempted to dislodge him, and were twice
driven back with great slaughter. Having been reinforced, they
1 Vol. 2.— K

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
made a third attempt, and succeeded in driving the riflemen from
their position. In this last attack, Major Williams received a
wound in the groin., and was taken prisoner. He was sent to New
York, where he was suffered to go at large on his parole. His fine
martial appearance, gentlemanly manners, and polite deportment,
procured for him civilities that few others were favored with, until
a suspicion arose that, being competent, he would carry on a secret
correspondence with General Washington, and on that suspicion
alone, he was put in close confinement, with ten or eleven other
officers, under the provost guard, in a small room not more than six
teen feet square, without the privilege of egress, or of having the
room cleaned more than once or twice a week. Their provisions
were of the coarsest kind, and barely sufficient to keep soul and body
together. In that miserable situation he was kept, until exchanged
for Major Ackland,* who had been wounded and taken prisoner at
Burgoyne's defeat. The length of time he was confined, and the
treatment he received during that period, shattered his fine constitu
tion, and planted the seeds of the complaint which terminated his
existence. During his captivity, Major Williams was promoted to the
command of the sixth regiment of the Maryland line ; that division
marched to the south, and in all the battles that were fought by that
celebrated line. Colonel Williams distinguished himself
He acted as deputy adjutant-general of the southern army, under
General Gates, and has left a detailed and lucid narrative ofthe dis
astrous campaign of 1780, from which we shall occasionahy borrow.
• These gallant young men became -warm friends before they parted ; and Gene
ral -Wilkinson, in his Memoirs, has preserved an anecdote of the period, which we
transplant to our pages, for the double purpose of illustrating our subject, and of ren
dering a tribute to the memory of a generous enemy, ¦who ailer-wards lost his life in
vindicating the military character of Americans. " On an occasion, after dining -with
Lady Harriet, he (Ackland) proposed to Major "Willums to visit an assembly ; they
entered, and the attention of the belles and beaux could not but be attracted by two
such elegant figures as Ackland and -Williams; but the rancour of civil animosity
prevailed ovir the obligations of good breeding, and -Williams was shunned like a
pestilence. Ackland made his introduction general, but without effect, and after saun
tering across the room several times, 'Come, "Williams,' said he, 'this society is too
illiberal for you and me ; let us go home, and sup with Lady Harriet.'
" Ackland, after his return to England, at a dinner of military men, where the cou
rage of the Americans was made a que,stion, took the negative side with his usual
decision ; he was opposed, warmth ensued, and he gave the lie direct to a Lieutenant
Lloyd, fought him, and was shot through the head. Lady Harriet lost her senses, and
continued deranged two years." 2

OTHO HOLLAND WILLIAMS.
After the battle of Camden, all the fragments of the army that
could be gathered together were marched off from Charlotte to Salis
bury, "constituting," in the language of the narrative referred to, "a
wretched renmant of the late southern army ; amongst the rest were
six soldiers who left the hospital with other convalescents ; they had
all suffered in Buford's unfortunate affair, and had but two sotmd
arms amongst them ; indeed four of them had not one arm among
them, and two only an arm apiece." Such are the shocking specta
cles that war exhibits.
After a little breathing time had been allowed at Hillsborough, a
board of officers, convened by order of General Gates, determined
that all the effective men should be formed into two battalions, con
stituting one regiment ; to be completely officered and provided for
in the best possible manner that circumstances would, admit, and the
command of it given to Colonel Williams and Lieutenant-Colonel
Howard. This nucleus of the southern army was encamped at
some distance from the town — if the word "encamped" can be pro
perly applied to men who were sheltered in " wigwams, made of
fence rails, poles, and corn tops." But, notwithstanding this unosten
tatious mode of dwelling, by the judicious conduct of the officers, a
spirit was diffused amongst the troops which was felt by the enemy
in the next encounter. Parade duties were regularly attended,
as well by officers as soldiers, and discipline not only began to
be perfectly restored, but even gave an air of stability and confi
dence to the regiment which all their rags could not disguise. In
this encampment, no circumstance of want or distress was admitted
as an excuse for relaxing from the strictest discipline, to which the
soldiers more cheerfully submitted, as they saw their officers con
stantly occupied in procuring for them whatever was attainable in
their situation. Absolutely without pay ; almost destitute of cloth
ing ; often with only a half ration, and never with a whole one,
(without substituting one article for another,) not a soldier was
heard to murmur, after the third or fourth day of their being en
camped. Instead of meeting and conferring in small sullen squads,
as they had formerly done, they filled up the intervals from duty
with manly exercises and field sports ; in short, the officers had very
soon the entire confidence of the men, who divested themselves of all
unnecessary care, and devoted themselves to duty and pastime
within the limits assigned them.
On General Greene's assuming the command of the southern
army, he soon discovered the superior abilities of Colonel Williams,

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
and appointed him adjutant-general of his army. In this high trust,
he enjoyed the confidence of his general and the army, and fully
merited it by his gallantry and his strict attention to his duties. In
every action — and they were numerous — he displayed tact, judg
ment, and presence of mind. He gained great honor for his conduct
in covering, with the rear guard, which he commanded, the memor
able retreat of the army through North Carolina.
He baffled every attempt of the enemy to bring on a general en
gagement, and by checking his advance, gained sufficient time to
enable the main body of the army to secure its retreat. The preser
vation of that army has been justly attributed to hini for his firnmess,
coolness, and able manosuvres.
In the battle at the Eutaw Springs, he led that celebrated charge,
which gained him the highest honors of the day. At a critical
moment General Greene issued the order, " Let Williams advance
and sweep the field with his bayonets." Promptly was the order
obeyed — the field was swept, but the victory was dearly bought.
Near the close of the war, he was sent by General Greene with des
patches to congress, and was by that body promoted to the rank of
brigadier-general, as a reward for his gallant services. About that
period the state collector of the customs for Baltimore, died, and
Williams received the appointment from the governor of Maryland.
The office was lucrative, and he enjoyed it until the adoption of the
constitution of the United States, when Washington appointed him
to the same office, which he held until his death.
General Williams married Mary, the second daughter of "Wil
liam Smith, a wealthy merchant of Baltimore, who had been a
member of congress. They had four sons, William, Edward, Henry,
and Otho, all of whom inherited handsome fortunes, and many of
the fine qualities of their father. William and Edward married, the
former Miss Susan Cook, and the latter Miss Gilmore, of Baltimore.
The four brothers have all, however, been called to early graves,
and the only lineal representatives of the gallant, amiable, and ac
complished Williams, are the two sons, and two daughters of his
son William, and a daughter of his son Edward.
The health of General Williams had been very delicate for
many years ; the result of the cruelty inflicted on him while a
prisoner, and of the severe service he was engaged in, during his
campaign in the south. He died on the 16th of July, 1794, on his
way to a watering place, regretted by his country and his friends.

nrii,t,-d Iv.- R_W W-i

IPrFiISMffll'S ]M)SflIB^SF IBSffllE , M . IB ,

THEODRIC EOMETN" BECK, M.D.

It is not always the men who shine with the most brilliancy
before the world, and occasionally astonish our senses with their
exploits, who are really the most useful, or the most worthy.
The life of a professional man, unlike that of the statesman or
the warrior, affords but few incidents calculated to excite inter
est, or allure attention. It is not on that account, however, less
¦worthy of record, or barren of utility.
The subject of the present memoir, as one of the most suc
cessful of American medical authors, seems justly entitled to a
place, in a work designed to perpetuate the names of those who
have distinguished themselves by their talents or their erudition.
Theodric Rombyn Beck was. born of highly respectable
parents, on the eleventh of August, 1791, at Schenectady, in the
state of New Yprk. His grandfather was the Reverend Theo
dric Romeyn, D.D., one ofthe professors of theology ofthe Re
formed Dutch Church, and one of its most distinguished orna
ments. The rudiments of DoctorBECK's education were received
at the grammar-school in his native place ; and, in 1803, he en-
tereid TJnion college, an institution which had been established
a few years previously, principally through the agency and active
exertions of his grandfather. , In 1807 he was graduated, and
commenced the study of medicine under the late Doctors M'Clel-
land and Low, of Albany. His medical education was after
wards completed under the care of Doctor David Hosack, of
New York, in which place he attended the lectures of the col
lege of Physicians and Surgeons, and obtained from that insti
tution the degree or Doctor pfl3!edicine in 1811; on which
occasion he wrote and^piiblished an inaugural dissertation on
"Insanity." Immediately on his graduation he commenced thc
practice of his, profession in the city of Albany.
In 1815, he was appointed Prpfessor of the Institutes of Me
dicine and Lecturer on Medical Jurisprudence, in the college of
1

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
Physicians and Surgeons of the western district of the state of
New York, a station which he held for many years. As this ap
pointment did not require his absence from Albany during any
very considerable portion of the year, he still continued to prac
tice medicine in that place. This, however, did not long con
tinue; and in a short time, owing to an apprehension that, his
health was inadequate to the arduous duties of practice, and per
haps, also, to a superior and growing fondness for literary pur
suits, he abandoned completely the practical exercise of his pro
fession, and in 1817, accepted the situation of Principal of the
Albany Academy.
This institution, in every thing but the name, is on an equahty
with many of the colleges of our country. With a building dis
tinguished for its architectural beauty, erected by the public
authorities of the city, and aided by able professors in various
departments, under the superintendence of Doctor Beck, it has
attained a high and deserved rank among the literaiy institu
tions of our country.
It is as an author, however, that the subject of this memoir
is mainly distinguished. In 1813, he delivered the annual
address before the Society of Arts of Albany, On the Mineralo-
gical Resources of the United States. This we believe was the
earliest systematic account of the mineral wealth of our country,
and the production, "which was published, received from various
quarters the most respectful notice.
In 1832 Doctor Beck published his work entitled "Elements
of Medical Jurisprudence," in two volumes, octavo ; which, at
the time, attracted great attention, and has since continued a
standard work on the subject of which it treats. The science
of medical jurisprudence is one of great interest and importance.
It treats of all those questions in which the testimony of a me
dical man may be required before courts of justice, and from the
nature of many of the questions, it is obvious that their discus
sion requires the widest range of medical an(J scientific knowl
edge. Although deeply studied in Italy, France, and Germany,
this science had scarcely attracted any attention, either in this
country or in England, previously to the publication of the work
of Doctor Beck. To him is certainly due the high credit, not
merely of rousing public attention to an important and neglected
subject, but also of presenting a work upon it which probably
will never be entirely superseded. In foreign countries, its
2

THEODRIC ROMEYN BECK.
merits have been duly appreciated and magnanimously acknow
ledged. The Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal says of it :
" Under the unassuming title of Elements of Medical Jurisprudence, Doctor
Beck has presented us with a comprehensive system, which embraces almost
every valuable fact or doctrine relating to it. Each of its diversified depart
ments has been investigated so minutely, that few cases can occur in practice
on which it will be necessary to seek elsewhere for farther information. At the
same time, by studying succinctness, and shunning those verbose oratorical
details with which other writers, and particularly those of France, abound, he
has succeeded in rendering his treatise comprehensive within a singularly mo
derate compass. "We may securely assert, that a work on the subjeot is not to
be found in any language, which displays so much patient and discriminating
research, with so little of the mere ostentation of learning. The opinions ex
pressed both on general principles and on the particular questions whiqh have
occurred in courts of law, are given clearly and judiciously. There are few oc
casions, even where the points at issue are difficult and obscure, on which per
sons of skill and experience will be disposed to differ materially with him."
In the various medical colleges of Great Britaiu, there has
been, we believe, no text-book on medical jurisprudence posi
tively adopted; but we have been informed that Doctor Beck's
work has been for years recommended to students by professors.
In 1828, it was translated into German at Weimar, and has been
favorably received in various parts of the continent of Europe.
It is not alone the physician and the jurist who are indebted to
Doctor Beck for this essential work; but it has proved to the
general reader, we believe invariably, a fund of interesting in
formation ; and we will venture to say, that no one has ever risen
from its perusal without experiencing an agreeable surprise, that
a subject so uninviting in its title, should afford somuch amuse
ment. The remarks of a writer in Blackwood's Magazine agree
so well with our own experience, that we cannot do better than
adopt them. " The ignorant state in which jurymen continually
come to the consideration of points of medical evidence on cri
minal trials, is lamentable. In regard to men of any habits of
reading, it is really sinful ; and certainly not the less so, because
the works whieh they ought to read and master, happen to be
about the most interesting and amusing books in the world."
Doctor Beck was one of the founders and active supporters of
the Albany Institute, a scientific and literary association, which
has already published the first volume of its Transactions, highly
creditable to itself and to its members.
Of the personal qualities of the subject of this memoir, it is

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
perhaps hardly fit to speak. Suffice it to say, he was univer
sally respected and esteemed. Unpretending in his manners
and studious in his habits, the voice of praise did not render
him arrogant or indolent, and the science of his country has
been enriched by his labors and learning.
So far as relates to the prominent incidents in the life of this
distinguished individual, the brief memoir already given is suf
ficiently copious and faithful. His career in the march of science
and philosophy was prosperous, and remained unchanged by
misfortune or reverse. Devoted with a peculiar love to the study
of Juridical science his great work on Medical Jurisprudence,
has, by successive editions, become a vast repository of precious
truths, indispensably necessary to every sound lavpyer, to every
medical man who would give proper and safe testimony in cri
minal cases before courts, as well as to the enlightened citizen
desirous of the promulgation of wholesome doctrines on hygiene
and public'health. Nor is this estimate of Doctor Beck's work
on Forensic Medicine limited to the opinion of his own country
men : European science and its cultivators have favored its wide
diffusion as among the surest guides of knowledge as a text-book
for colleges and universities of the highest renown in the Old
Worid. The long association of Dr. Beck with academic education has
closely identified his name with the highest interests of popular
instruction in the great state of New York. Thoroughly con
versant with the various measures which from time to time were
adopted by the regents of the University in the distribution of
funds and in the maintenance of public schools, he was after
wards selected as the secretary of the board in place of that ve
nerable citizen and excellent man,' Gideon Hawley. The Public
or State Library of Albany also long enjoyed the suggestions of
his wisdom in its Government. It remains only to add that
upon the organization of the new Medical College at Albany,
and his secession from the College of Physicians and Surgeons
of Western New York (now an extinct institution). Doctor Beck
¦was appointed by the Regents to the chair of Materia Medica.
Professor Beck was most meritoriously created LL. D. by the
faculty of Union College. He was an earnest philanthropist,
and the blind, the deaf and dumb, and the insane owe much to
his labors. He died in 1855, while president of the Board of
the New York State Lunatic Asylum. 4

Engraved by J, Gross from a Piundngty W G. Conanae after Douglas

JOSEPH HABERSHAM.

Colonel Joseph Haberssham was born at Savannah, in Georgia, on
the 28th of July, 1751. His father, James Habersham, was a native
of Yorkshire, England, and accompanied his friend, the Rev. George
Whitefield, to Georgia in the year 1738. There he soon became the
President of the Orphan House, or Bethesda College, established by
the exertions of Mr. Whitefield ; for wluch charge he was well quali
fied, by his literary, as well as moral and religious character and
habits. He was afterwards appointed one of the King's Council in
the Colony, and subsequently its President and acting Governor, in
the absence of Sir James Wright, in which situation he remained
until his death, a few months before the expulsion of the Royal au
thority from Georgia, in the year 1776. Although foreign to our
subject, it is but justice to the memory of President Habersham to re
mark, that, while in office, his letters pointed out to the ministry the
orievances under which the Colony was laboring fi-om the pernicious
and oppressive acts of the British Parliament, the growing spirit of
liberty among the people, and warned them of the consequences of
perseverance in oppression. Faithful to his duties, but independent
in their exercise, after a life devoted to the service and improvement
of his adopted country, he was saved, by death, from seeing that
country "made a desolation," his fair possessions wasted, and his
sons denounced as traitors. Of these sons there were three, James,
Joseph, and John, who all engaged with zeal in the Revolution ; and,
reo-ardless of consequences, rejecting and despising all offers of Royal
clemency, continued to the end the unffinching friends and active
supporters of the republican cause.
Joseph, the second son, and subject of this notice, was educated at
Princeton College, in New Jersey. Of quick and ardent temper, brave
and chivalrous almost to excess, a pupil of Witherspoon, and with the
independent spirit which he had inherited from his father, it seems to

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
have been almost a matter of course that he should have taken an
early, active, and decided part in the excited feelings and deeply in
teresting movements ofthe times. Accordingly, on the 27th July, 1774,
at the age of twenty-three, we find him a member ofthe first commit
tee appointed by the friends of liberty in Georgia ; which, in defiance
of the proclamation of Governor Wright, continued to co-operate with
similar committees in the northern Provinces, and to excite the people to
resistance. When we recollect, in connexion with this fact, that his father
was, at that moment, the second officer ofthe King in the Pro-vince, and
high m favor, the prominent part which Colonel Habersham took in
these proceedings exhibits a deep devotion to the cause of his country,
vvhich no infiuence of others, or considerations of a personal nature,
could restrain. In the following year, and while his father was still
alive and in office, we again find his name recorded among those of a
small party of the Republicans, who broke open the magazine, took
out the powder, and sent a large portion of it to Beaufort, in South
Carolina, for the use of the patriots. In the month of June of the
same year he was appointed one of the council of safety- ; and in July,
commanded a party of volunteers which went down the river in
boats, captured a government ship which had just arrived with mu
nitions of war for the royal troops, and took out the cargo, includ-
ing 15,000 pounds of powder, a portion of which was afterwards
sent to the north and used by the American army before Boston.
On the 18th day of January of the ever-memorable year 1776, Colo
nel Habersham, who was at that time a member of the assembly,
raised a party of volunteers, took Governor Wright prisoner, and con
fined him to his house under a guard. The Governor effected his
escape, however, from this prison in a few weeks, took refuge on
board of a British vessel of war then in the river, and never after
wai-ds landed in Georgia.
Active hostilities were now fairly commenced in the province. By
a resolution of the General Assembly the first battalion of Georgia
Continental troops Was raised ; and on the 4th of February, 1776,
Colonel, then Mr. Habersham, was appointed Major of that battalion.
In this command he did not remain idle ; for, early in March, the
British armed squadron came up the river Savannah to recover pos
session of the to-wn, which attempt failed. In the defence, Colonel Ha
bersham, at the head of a company of riflemen, bore a distinguished
part. In fact, he appears at this time to have been prominently en
gaged on every occasion in which danger was to be encountered, or
the royal authority resisted.

JOSEPH HABERSHAM.
After the expulsion of Governor Wright, and of the British forces
from Georgia, that Province enjoyed a few months of comparative
quiet ; during which, on the 19th of May, 1776, Colonel Habersham
married Isabella Rae, the daughter of Robert Rae, and sister-in-law of
General Samuel Elbert. Upon the taking of Savannah, in the winter of
1778, and the re-establishment of the Royal Government in Georgia,
Colonel Habersham removed his family to Virginia for safety ; but
his zeal in the cause of his country did not permit him to retire from
its service, and accordingly, upon the landing of Count De Estaing
in Georgia^ to co-operate with General Lincoln in the reduction of
Savannah, he was selected as the officer to guide the French army
from the sea-board, and was engaged in the combined attack upon
his native city, so disastrous in its results. After the failure of this
attack, and the retreat of the American and French armies from the
State, Savannah, and nearly the whole of Georgia, remained in pos
session of the British, and so continued to the end of the war.
At the close of the Revolution, Colonel Habersham returned to
private life -with a broken fortune, but rich in the respect and affection of
a free and independent people. In the ever-memorable contest which
had just closed, it would be invidious to claim for Colonel Haber
sham either a peculiar strength of patriotism or of devotion to the
cause of the Revolution ; thousands, like him, had perilled life and
fortune in that Revolution ; but when we reflect that his father was
high in office, and in the confidence of the King ; that he himself,
if the Royal authority was preserved, had every prospect of enjoying
like confidence and distinction ; that the very wealmess of the Pro
vince gave, in the beginning, but little hope of effectual resistance ;
and that, in the event of failure, he would, from these very circum
stances, become a marked object of Royal vengeance; surely we may
be entitled to claim for him more than a common share of devoted
patriotism — and such was the portion awarded to him by his native
State. In the year 1785 he was elected Speaker of the General As
sembly ; and in 1790 was again honored with the same distinction.
Ill the year 1795 Colonel Habersham was called, by Washington,
to the distinguished station of Post-Master-General of the United
States ; and we require no better proof of the able and faithful manner
in which he discharged his -duties, than the facl that he retained that
office, not only to the close of the administration of Washington, but
throughout that of the elder Adams. At a period when so many,
from great and devoted service to the country, had claims to office ,
and these claims, well-kno-wn and appreciated ; and when the selec

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
tion -was made by Washington, this appointment was the best e-vidence
of his great merit, and the general estimation in which he was held,
In this office, as has been already stated, he continued until the ac
cession of Mr. Jefferson to the presidency ; but he retained the office
so long, by no cringing or truckling to the higher authorities ; for the
president, Mr. Adams, having told him that the post-office department
was an Augean stable, and must be cleansed — meaning that the post
masters who were of the opposite party must be removed ; Colonel
Habersham replied, that these officers had discharged their duty
faithfully, and that, therefore, he would not remove them, but that
the president could remove the post-master-general. This, however,
Mr. Adams, it seems, did not think proper to do.
The principle, however, which Colonel Habersham refused to
act upon was soon after made to act upon him. When Mr. Jefferson
became the president, a polite note was addressed to Colonel Haber
sham, tendering to him the office of Treasurer of the United States.
This offer was received as, no doubt, it was intended to be, an inti
mation to him to resign the office of post-master-general, which he
immediately did, and returned to Georgia.
Upon the establishment of a branch of the old Bank of the United
States m Savannah, Colonel Habersham was appointed the President,
which office he continued to hold until the expiration of the charter.
The few remaining years of his life were devoted to honorable efforts
lo repair the ruins of that fortune which had been broken by the
Revolution, and in preparation for the close of that life, the greater
portion of which had been devoted to the service of his country. His
death occurred in his native city, on the 17th day of November in
the year 1815, and in the sixty-fifth year of his age.
We have said that Colonel Habersham was quick and ardent in
temper ; but, although quick to take offence, he was ready and anxious
to make atonement for the slightest wrong — ^Idnd and indulgent to
his slaves, humane and liberal to the poor, strict in the performance
of all his contracts ; tenacious of his own, as he had been of the rights
of his country. Allowing to others the same independent and frank
expression of opinion which he always exercised for himself, he may
with truth be pronounced to have been a fair specimen of that noble,
generous, and chivalric race who achieved the liberty and indepen
dence of our happy country.

^avedbyRW Dodion frimi afonraiiby L W Morgan Pai wed 5a- die "Naiional Poctrait Galleiy and in possession of James B. Longa.c

^.^^i-'y) cr->^

o-n

SIMON KENTON.

To many of our readers the name of General Simon Kenton is now
probably presented for the first time : he belonged to a class ot
hardy pioneers, to whose exertions and privations the present race of
civilized man in the west is greatly indebted. He was one of the
first white men who planted corn in the now great and wealthy state
of Kentucky; as such, we have in his biography to deal with "hair
breadth ^scapes," and the usual amount of deadly warfare, which
characterized the period of the early settlement of the banks of the
Ohio. To preserve from oblivion the characters of men who were
the instruments to prepare the way for peopling the western states,
is the duty of the biographer. Simon Kenton's memory and brave
conduct should be cherished, and his name should descend to pos
terity with those of Boon, Clark, and others.
Our hero was born in the month of March, 1755, in Fauquier
county, Virginia. His father emigrated from Ireland, and his
mother was of Scottish descent, her ancestors having been among
the first settlers of Virginia. His parents being in middling circum
stances, he was employed till the age qf sixteen in the cultivation
of corn and tobacco. At that period an incident occurred which
changed the destiny of his future life.
One of his father's neighbors, named Veach, had a son who mar
ried a lady to whom young Kenton was attached ; some circum-
stancqi occurred at the wedding, which Simon attended without
invitation, that were construed by him into an affront; he was
struck during the evening by William Veach, while in the act of
drinking ; and not content with this indignity, while prostrate from
the blow, William gave him a severe beating, which sent him home
with black eyes and sore bruises. He felt himself disgraced, and
in silence determined to be revenged. Watching his opportunity,
he soon after found himself alone with Veach, -and challenged him
(o the combat. He would accept of no apology. Being victorious
over his fallen adversary, Kenton, roused by the remembrance of

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
the insult to double fury, exhibited so little mercy to his foe, that
when his anger was expended he was greatly alarmed at the ap
pearance of Veach, whom he thought, from his inanimate features,
must be dead Perceiving no signs of returning life, and greatiy
alarmed at the consequences of his blind fury, he started for home.
By the way, reflection on the consequences of his conduct filled him
with alarm; the horrors of punishment, and probably of the gibbet,
overcame his resolution of returning, and he resolved on instant
flight. Without waiting to see and consult his parents or friends,
he struck off in a northwestern direction, and crossed the Alleghany
mountains on the 6th of April, 1771. At Ise's ford he changed his
name to that of Simon Butler. A prey to remorse at having committed
a crime so contrary to his natural disposition, he fell in with three
men who were preparing to descend the Ohio river ; and having
previously by his labor procured a good rifle, he joined the party,
and proceeded to Fort Pitt, (now Pittsburg.) Here he formed a
friendship with the notorious Simon Girty, who was the means, at
a future period, of his rescue from the Indians when doomed to the
stake. The party he had joined being given up, Kenton associated
himself with another, and descended the river, occasionally stopping
at any point where pleasure or the prospect of game tempted them
to halt, hunting, trapping, or dancing with the Indian i girls, until
they arrived at the mouth of the Great Kenawha, and thence up
Elk river, where they built a camp and employed the winter in
trapping. In the spring of 1772, they descended the river to the
Ohio, where they sold their peltry to a French trader, and procured
ammunition and clothing. ,
Left now for a year in doubt as to the fact of his being a mur
derer, he appears to have conceived that, as he intended no such
act, he was in reality not guilty ; his anxiety was all turned upon
those whom he had left in ignorance of his own fate. The summer
of 1772 was passed in hunting, and the winter in the old^pamp,
where in March the party was surprised by Indians, and one of
their number killed ; the others escaped with their lives, leaving
every thing else to their enemy. With legs and bodies lacerated
and inflamed, Kenton and a companion, on the sixth day, met an
other party near the mouth of the Kenawha, by whom they were
received with kindness. Their wounds being dressed, they entered
the employment of Mr. Briscoe, then endeavouring to form a set
tlement on the Great Kenawha, contemporaneously with the found
ing of Wheeling, Grave Creek, and Long Reach. Kenton again

SIMON KENTON.
employed his first earnings in procuring a good rifle, and imme
diately joined a trapping party and proceeded to the Ohio. After
various adventures, we find him, in 1774, when an Indian war be
came inevitable, with the other strollers on the river retreating to
Fort Pitt. Lord Dunmore, governor of Virginia, having raised an
army to chastise the aggressors, Kenton was employed as a spy to
precede the troops and report the condition of the country. The
army crossed the Ohio at the mouth of the Hockhocking, and
cautiously proceeded to the Pickaway towns, on the Scioto, where
the natives sued for peace. No sooner was this granted and the
troops safely ensconced in Fort Pitt, than the treaty was broken,
and Colonel Lewis was sent to enforce the articles or chastise the
enemy, and Kenton's services were again in requisition. On his
discharge he turned to his old pursuit of trapping, in the course df
which, finding a fine cane-growing tract of land back of Limestone,
now Maysville, in Kentucky, the party formed a camp, and with
their tomahawks cotnmenced clearing a small piece of ground: from
the remains of some corn, procured from ' a French trader for the
purpose of parching, they selected a small quantity, and planted, it
is believed, the first corn on the north side of Kentucky river.
Tending their crop with no other implement than their tomahawks,
they remained undisputed masters of the soil until the^ had the
pleasure of eating roasting ears and of seeing their infant plantation
produce the ripened fruit. This spot, called Kenton's station, was
about one mile from the present town of Washington, in Ma.son
county. On making an excursion in search of buffalo, then roving in vast
herds in Kentucky, he met another settler, named Stoner, who
advised him to try a spot further south, and he passed the winter
forty-five miles from his late residence. In the spring, the American
revolution being in progress, and the natives stimulated by the
British to destroy the infant settiements, the white men were
obliged to flee. Kenton joined Major (afterwards General) George
Rogers Clark, sent out by Virginia to protect the settiers. On their
return with a party from an excursion, made to bring in a supply
of ammunition that had been deposited on an island in the Ohio by
Major Cla^-k, they found the people at their, fort in such a state of
alarm, from a recent attack of the savages, that it was resolved to
abandon it and join the station called Hatred's, where a terrible
siege was sustained with unflinching courage, in the midst of alarms
and carnage. Kenton again accepted thc office of spy, or .scout.

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
and by his faithful discharge of his arduous duties, proved himself
worthy of the confidence reposed in him ; he was always successful
in giving the fort timely notice of a meditated attack, and to assist
in preparing for defence. If we had space to describe the perilous
encounters between Kenton and the Indians at this period, our
narrative would present a series of daring deeds and courageous
effort quite equal to the most renowned in western annals. The
sufferings of the garrison were extreme ; their cattle were carried
off or destroyed, and neither corn nor other vegetables could be
cultivated. Kenton now accompanied Major Clark on an expedition to
Okaw, or Kaskaskia, where they surprised the French commander,
and took possession of the fort. He was then despatched to ascer
tain the strength of the fort at Vincennes, which having accom
plished after three days' lurking in the neighbourhood, he sent one
of his companions with the intelligence to Clark, while he and an
other prosecuted their journey to Harrodsburgh. He then joined '
several expeditions under Daniel Boon, and signalized his courage
to the entire satisfaction of that celebrated pioneer.
Ease becoming irksome to our hero, in 1778, he joined Alexander
Montgomery and George Clark in an expedition to Ohio, with the
avowed purpose of obtaining horses from the Indians ; proceeding
cautiously to Chillicothe, they fell in with a drove of horses that
were feeding in the rich prairies, and capturing seven, travelled at
full speed for the river. On reaching the Ohio, the horses refused
to breast the surge raised by a high wind. Satisfied that they were
pursued, they were about to cross and leave their prizes, but un
willing tc abandon their valuable capture, they were endeavouring
to collect them for another attempt^ when Kenton heard a whoop
which alarmed him for the safety of the party. Tying his horse, he
crept with stealthy tread to observe his enemy. Just as he reached
the high bank he met the Indians on horseback ; raising his trusty
rifle, he took aim at the foremost rider ; his gun flashed, and he
was obliged to retreat. Amidst fallen trees, he was in a fair way
to elude his pursuers, when a warrior pounced upon him, and a
second slipping behind him, clasped him in his arms. Overpowered
by numbers, he surrendered after a desperate resistance. Montgo
mery boldly attempted his rescue, but was shot, and his bloody
scalp exhibited in triumph to the prisoner. Clark made his escape.
The captive was treated in the usual brutal manner, tied to an
unruly horse, and marched back towards the village. At night hf

SIMON KENTON.
was laid on his back, his legs extended, drawn apart, and fastened
to two saplings or stakes, while his arms were extended and made
fast to a pole. A rope was fastened round his neck and tied to
another stake. In this miserable state he passed three wretched
nights, a prey to gnats, mosquetoes, and the cold. On arriving at Old
Town, or Chillicothe, he was beaten in the most cruel manner, and
doomed to run the gauntlet. Breaking through the lines of warriors,
each armed with a hickory whip, he was about to escape to the town
for refuge, when an idle Indian fresh for the chase, whom he met,
soon overtook and threw him. In a moment the whole party in
pursuit came up, and fell to cuffing and kicking him with all their
fury; his clothes were all stripped from him, and he was left naked
and exhausted. Some humane squaws revived him with food, and
he was taken to the council house to be tried for his life.
Sentence of death was formally passed upon the prisoner, and his
place of execution it was resolved should be Wepatomika, (now
Zanesville.) Next morning he was hurried away to the place of
execution, and on the road was severely whipped and maltreated.
Attempting to escape, he was caught and more closely pinioned ;
the young men rolled him in the mud, and brought him to the brink
of the grave. At Wapatomika, among others who came to see him
was his quondam acquaintance Simon Girty, who recognised Ken
ton, and by his influence and eloquence in the council, persuaded
the Indians to give him into his charge. With him he hved a wild,
Indian-like life for some time, but the savages having returned from
an unsuccessful foray, sent for Kenton, and at a grand council he
was again sentenced to die, all the efforts of Girty proving on this
occasion unavailing ; he, however, finally persuaded them to con
vey their prisoner to Sandusky, where vast numbers would be col
lected to receive their presents from the British government; to this
place he was conducted by five Indians ; oh the route, the compas
sion of the celebrated chief, Logan, was excited in his behalf, and
at Logan's instigation, a Canadian Frenchman appeared at the
council of Upper Sandusky, who succeeded in having him taken to
Detroit and delivered up as a prisoner of war to the British.
At Detroit, Kenton was handed over to the commanding officei,
and lodged in the fort as a prisoner of war. The British officer
gave, the Indians some remuneration for his life, and they left him
free from apprehensions of the faggot and the tomahawk. His
health -\vas soon restored. Drawing half rations from the British,
he earned some money by dint of hard work. Leisure from scenes

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
of active life was, however, not consonant with his feelings oi
habits, and the winter of 1778-79 passed heavily. Among, the
prisoners were some of his old associates, with two of whom Ken
ton concerted, in the spring, a plan of escape. In this they -were
aided by a lady of the place, the wife of an Indian trader, named
Harvey, who had formed a friendship for one of them. By her
assistance, guns, ammunition, and food, were procured and secreted
in a hollow tree near the town. Early one morning they left De
troit. Steering their course by the stars, they eluded pursuit and
gained the prairie, where they depended for sustenance on their
rifles. In thirty-three days they reached the falls of the Ohio, in
July, 1779.
Kenton thence proceeded to Vincennes to join his old companion
in arms. General Clark: alone he traversed the whole distance
without any serious adventure; but finding the fort in a state of
inglorious quiet, he returned. He distinguished himself during the
invasion of Kentucky by the British and Indians in 1779, having
been appointed a captain, and commanding an active and numerous
company of volunteers, principally from Harrod's station, who
traversed the untrodden wilderness and drove all opposition before
them. After the disbanding of his company, Kenton remained in the
employ of the several stations till 1782. At this period he heard,
for the first time, from his long-abandoned parents, and learned
that William Veach had recovered and was still living. He now
assumed his own name, and after commanding another successful
expedition against the marauding Indians on the Great Miami, he
returned to Harrod's, and having acquired some valuable lands,
concluded to make a settlement on a fertile spot on Salt river. A
few families joined him, reared block-houses, cleared some ground,
and planted corn; which being gathered, he concluded to visit his
parents. After thirteen years absence, passed amidst scenes of great
privation and suffering, he had the satisfaction of finding his father
and all his family living. He visited Veach, and their old quarrel
was mutually forgiven. His glowing descriptions ofthe fertility of
Kentucky induced his parents to accompany him on his return, and
the family set out for the promised land, but his father died ere their
journey was accomplished. Kenton remained at Salt river till
July, 1784, and had the pleasure of witnessing the growth of his
settlement, to which numerous emigrants now flocked. He thence
removed to near Maysville, where he formed the first permanent

SIMON KENTON.
station on the northeast side of Licking river. Throngs of emi
grants were attracted to the spot: the Indians were successfully
kept at bay by the activity and intelligence of the master spirit of
Kenton, who was ever foremost when danger threatened, and who
was looked up to as the main dependence in case of difficulty or
discouragement. His opponent was sometimes the celebrated chief
Tecumseh, whose tact and intrepidity it was not always in the
power of our veteran to conquer.
In 1793, General Wayne came down the Ohio with the regular
army, and formed an encampment below Cincinnati, called Hob-
son's choice. Making a requisition for men on Kentucky, Kenton
was, among the number, placed as a major at the head of as choice
spirits as ever guarded a frontier, and was employed in various
services. As little was effected by this party, our narrative need not
be detained in relating the particular events of the campaign. The
Indian war was now happily terminated, and an unprecedented
number of emigrants were attracted to the shores of the Ohio. Land
became valuable ; and as there was great irregularity and want of
precision in. the first entries and surveys, the foundation was laid
for those subsequent disputes which have given occasion to a series
of litigation, involving the hard-e!arned estates of the original set
tlers too frequently in ruin. Although Kenton was considered one
of the wealthiest inhabitants in real estate, yet one of his land claims
failed after another, till he was completely involved in a labyrinth
of lawsuits. Every advantage was taken of his want of education
and ignorance of the law, which in a few years stripped this honest
man of his hardly-earned wealth, and sent him, in the evening of
his days, penniless and dejected, to spend his few remaining years
in comparative poverty and want.
About the year 1800, he abandoned the soil which he had ren
dered tenantable by his courage and endurance, and settled on the
waters of the Mad river, in the state of Ohio. In 1805, he was
made a brigadier-general of militia. In 1810, he joined the Metho
dist church, and experienced that consolation which religion alone
can impart.
In 1812, when more than sixty years of age, some of his youthful
fire still remained, and he was wont to converse with spirit of his
former deeds of arms. In 1813, when his old companion. Governor
Shelby, came to Urbana at the head of the Kentucky troops, Ken
ton could remain no longer inactive. He mounted his horse and
joined the venerable governor, who gladly received him as a privi-
K4

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
leged member of his military family. He crossed the lake, and
accompanied General Harrison and Governor Shelby to Maiden,
and thence to the Thames ; was present in the battie, and played
his part with his usual intrepidity. Here ended the military career
of Simon Kenton, a man who has probably passed through as
great a variety of border adventures as any of our most renowned
western pioneers.
About ten years since, the American government awarded Ken
ton a meager pension, which secured him from absolute want in
his declining years. His narrative, had it been prepared at length
with suitable care, would have formed a volume not less inte
resting than the most marvellous fiction. Enough has been here
related to exhibit the outlines of a character remarkable for its
power of endurance and its intrepidity. Like all the hardy sons of
the west, Kenton's hospitality was always commensurate with his
means : during his prosperity his house was open to the wealthy
emigrant and the benighted traveUer. Many of the descendants of
the earlier settlers still cherish the memory of his virtues.
The portrait from which our engraving has been made, and
which is certified by the immediate friends and neighbours of Gene
ral Kenton to be a most accurate likeness, was taken af his resi
dence expressly for this work, and but about three months before
his death.
This stanch pioneer, the companion of Boon, whose adventures
he emulated and equalled, died in Logan county, Ohio, on the 3d
day of April, 1836, aged about eighty-two. How astonishing is it,
when we look over Kentucky, Ohio, and the surrounding states,
now teeming with millions of civilized inhabitants, to reflect that
one who wandered through them when beasts of prey and the
more savage Indian were their sole occupants, has but just faUen
into the grave !

3JAm.mB SIPAMISSo

l:',n'.''irivei.l t'oi- Rice &: Hart's N- itioiialportr^iit '.Sa.llery

JARED SPARKS.
It is a trite remark that the life of a scholar and a man of letters
is usually barren of incident, and affords but few materials for the
biographer. The scholar's true life is in his works ; the toil which
produces them may have extended through a long succession of quiet
years, which offer few breaks for the memory to rest upon, and no
starthng events that excite the feelings in a retrospect. From the
loopholes of retreat, he looks out, upon a busy and agitated world,
agitated with events which but partially concern him, and with cares
that have little power to vex his repose. But the earlier portion of
such a life, especially in this country, often has a pecuhar and touch
ing interest. The golden quiet of a scholar's maturer days not unfre
quently has to be purchased by struggle and hardship, by many a
rude combat with the world, which lays a strong hcild upon us even
in childhood, and seems to point out some destination in life quite
unlike the cherished object of our hopes and dreams. The record of
such a struggle is useful and animating; it may often serve to .invigo
rate exertion, and prevent those who have similar aspirations,' and are
sorely pressed by circumstances, from sinking into despair. .
In his earher years, Mr. Sparks had occasion to write a sketch of
the life and writings of Robert Robinson, an eminent Baptist preacher
of the last century in England, who was originally a barber's appren
tice; and he prefaced it with the following remarks :
" That one should go out triumphantly on the tide of life, who is
blessed with all the advantages of family, wealth, powerful friends,
facihtie-s of education, and incitements to employ them, is no cause of
wonder. It would, indeed, be strange if it were otherwise. But,
when the sons of obscurity and indigence break from the cloud that
surrounds, and the weight which oppresses them; when they enter.
on the world's wide ocean without a parent's voice to counsel, or a
parent's hand to protect; when the allurements of vice besiege them
on the one side, and the spectres of despondency assault them on the
other, without shaking their firmness, or turning them from the steady

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
purpose of uprightness and perseverance ; and when, in defiance of
every other obstacle, they ascend to a proud station among the wise,
the learned, and the good, it is then that they may justly claim the
respect and admiration of their fellow men, and call on them to behold
an example worthy to be praised and emulated. Among the few, who
are to be revered for self-acquired eminence, the subject of the present
memoir stands in an honorable place."
These words may be applied with little change to the author's own
career ; a career equally clouded with adversity and hardship at the
outset, and blessed with a still larger share of well merited fortune
and distinction after the clouds had broken, and the pathway of
honorable exertion had become clear.
Jared Sparks was born in 1789, at Willington, Connecticut, where
he passed his boyhood, with the exception of a few years that were
spent in Washington county, New York. Born in vfery humble cir
cumstances, he was compelled, while obtaining the meagre rudiments
of an education, which the public schools in small country towns then
afforded, to work for a livelihood. He labored for a time on a farm,
and for a year or more assisted to tend a dilapidated grist-mill and
saw-miil, whose slow movements allowed him frequent broken hours
over Guthrie's Geography, which by some marvel had fallen in his
way. Yet, during this early period, he showed a quickness in study,
and an eagerness for procuring knowledge, as may be inferred from
the following anecdote, which appeared some time ago in the news
papers :
" On a late visit to Mansfield, Connecticut, we formed a pleasant
acquaintance with an old gentleman, named Holt, formerly a school
teacher, who numbered among his pupils no less a personage than
Jaked Sparks, the distinguished biographer and historian. Mr. Holt
related to us a number of anecdotes and incidents of ' Jared,' as he
termed his honored pupil. He said 'Jared was an uncommonly fine
boy,' and would learn more in one week, than his other scholars
would learn in three or four weeks.
" ' One night,' said he, ' at the dismissal of school, I told Jared to
remain with me after the others had gone. He did so ; and looking
up to me with an inquiring glance, said, ' Master, what have I done ?'
' Done ? too much for me !' said the schoolmaster.
" At this, Jared became embarrassed, and begged an explanation.
The good man then told him, that he was getting too learned for his
master, and recommended him to enter a higher institution. But the
youth did not consent, and begged to remain a while longer."

JARED SPARKS.
Soon afterwards he was apprenticed to a carpenter, with whom he
remained about two years. Although he applied himself with dili
gence to this new calling, and was in a fair way to become a good
workman, yet his mind wandered to other objects. He contrived to
obtain a few books from a small village library, ahd his leisure hours
were given to reading, and particularly to mathematical studies. At
length his employer, perceiving the strong bent of his inclinations, and
being a man of a kind heart and generous spirit, cheerfully consented
to relinquish the articles of the apprenticeship and to give up the
remainder of the time to which he was entitled. The first ambition
of the released apprentice was to become a schoolmaster. He passed
the ordeal of an examination before a school committee, and was pro
nounced competent to take charge of a school in a small district on
the outskirts of the town of Tolland. This school continued only
through the winter, and for employment during the next summer
he was obliged to resort again to the trade which he had partially
learned. At this time it was his good fortune to gain the notice of an
excellent clergyman, the Rev. Hubbel Loomis, of Willington, whose
attention was somewhat excited by the spectacle of a carpenter's
apprentice, who was fond of reading Euclid, and solving problems in
Algebra ; he kindly offered to give him assistance in the mathematics,
in which he was himself well versed. A few weeks afterwards, how
ever, by the advice of his teacher, he was induced to extend his studies
farther, and to begin the Latin grammar. Meantime, Mr. Loomis took
him to his own house, and, in partial compensation for board and in
struction, it was agreed that the young carpenter should shingle the
minister's' barn, a salutary exercise to fill up the hours of relaxation
from study.
Hitherto the young student had no special plan for the future.
His passion for acquiring knowledge was strong, but his aspirations
were not extravagant. A little experience had taught him that he
could keep a school, which he looked upon as a high and honorable
employment ; and to fill that station with credit and success was the
limit of his hopes. He had not thought of going to college, and thus
quahfying himself for more enlarged pursuits. But Mr. Loomis natu
rally mentioned his case to other clergymen of the neighborhood, and
among these was one, who, at this time, and on many subsequent
occasions, showed a quick sympathy for merit struggling with adver
sity, and contrived to smooth its way to successful results. We refer
to the Rev. Abiel Abbot, who died at an advanced age in Peter-

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
borough. New Hampshire, but who was then a clergyman settled in
Coventry, Connecticut.
One day, much to his surprise, young Sparks was called into Mr.
Loomis' study to meet this gentleman, who asked him several ques
tions, and finally requested him to recite a passage from Virgil. This
being done, Mr. Abbot departed. Not long afterwards, Mr. Loomis
inquired of Sparks if he would like to go to Phillip's Exeter Academy,
and be fitted for College. Of course there could be but one answer to
such a question ; but how could he enter an academy without means,
and without friends to aid him? Mr. Loomis replied, that this for
midable difficulty would not exist at Exeter, where there was a
benevolent foundation upon which students to a limited number were
' admitted without paying any fees for tuition, or incurring any charge
for board, and added, moreover, that Mr. Abbot, hearing pf a vacancy,
had actually procured a place for him on that foundation. No time
was to be lost, as the academical term would commence in a few
days, and all the students were expected then to be present.
Sparks was forthwith despatched to Mr. Abbot at Coventry, for
the purpose of signifying his acceptance, expressing his thanks, and
ascertaining further particulars. The question was there asked,
how he proposed to reach Exeter, a distance of about one hundred
and twenty miles, to which he promptly replied, that he should travel
on foot. This plan was approved, and as he needed rather more lug
gage than he could carry on his back, Mr. Abbot, who was on the
point of making a journey to Exeter, kindly offered to convey his
trunk by strapping it behind his chaise. This arrangement was exe-
' cuted, and when the appointed time came, young Sparks set forth
stoutly on his pedestrian travels in search of an education. At the
end of the fourth day, dusty, and, it may be supposed, somewhat
weary, but with a light heart, he made his appearance at the house
of the principal, of the academy, from whom he received the wel
come iritelligence that his trunk had already arrived.
At this institution, which; he entered in 1809, Mr. Sparks spent
two happy and useful years. The academy was fortunate, not only
in the amount of its funds, which still enable it to defray all the ex
penses of a number of beneficiary students, but in having the services
of a principal like Dr. Benjamin Abbot, who remained at the head of
it for half a century, and during that time, by the urbanity of his
manners, the kindness pf his heart, and the great moral influence
which he exercised over the minds and character of his pupils,
acquired a lasting claim to their love and gratitude, and won for

JARED SPARKS.
himself a name among the foremost of the instructors of youth in
New England.
While connected with the academy, Mr. Sparks taught a school
one winter at Rochester, in New Hampshire. Having completed his
preparatory studies, he entered Harvard College in 1811. Here his
path was not so smooth as at Exeter. The means of the College for
assisting meritorious, but indigent young men were then very scanty,
although much enlarged at the present day. But the kindness
of President Kirkland procured a Pennoyer scholarship for the young
student, and helped him through some remaining difficulties ; and he
helped ^himself by the common resource, in such cases, of keeping a
country district school during the winter. , But as all these means
together proved insufficient, he was obliged to obtain leave of absence
during a part of the freshman and sophomore years, which he spen*^
in teaching a small private school at Havre de Grace, in Maryland,
procured through the favor of Dr. Dwight, president of Yale College.
He was residing at that place when it was attacked, plundered, and
m great part destroyed by a detachment from the British fleet, in
May,. 1813. As this assault had been apprehended for some weeks,
a few preparations had been made to receive the enemy; and Mr.
Sparks obtained his only military experience by serving for a short
time in the ranks of the militia that were called out to guard the
town. The attack being delayed, however, this apprehension had
subsided, and most of the troops went home, so that, when the Bri
tish actually landed, very little resistance was made. Most of the
inhabitants fled to the nearest woods ; and Mr. Sparks and a few
others remained as passive spectators of the conflagration and wanton
destruction ,of property that ensued. After an absence of fifteen
months he returned to college, and graduated with honor in 1815.
In alluding to his college course, he has often been heard to speak
with the warmest gratitude of the encouraging counsels and assistance,
which he received from President Kirkland.
After leaving college, the first year was spent in teaching a private
classical school at Lancaster, Massachusetts. He then returned to
Harvard, and became a student of divinity, chiefly under the instruc
tion of the Rev. Dr. Ware, who was then the Hollis Professor. In
1817 the college appointed him to a tutorship in mathematics and
natural philosophy, which post he held for two years, still pursuing,
however, his theological studies. At this time, also, his proper lite
rary career commenced. The North American Review had been esta
blished in May, 1815, by the late William Tudor, and was transferred
5 , V3

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
by him, two years afterwards, to an association of gentlemen, of whom
Mr. Sparks was one. He was, in fact, the editor, having the princi
pal charge of the work, though articles were not admitted till they
had been approved by a majority of the association, who held fre
quent meetings for this purpose. His associates in this enterprise
were Richard H. Dana, Edward T. Channing, Willard Phillips, Na
than Hale, William P. Mason, and John GaUison. At this time the
professorship of Latin in Bowdoin College was offered to him, which
he thought proper to decline, as not agreeing with the plan of life he
had then adopted.
Having completed his preparatory theological studies, Mr. Sparks
retired from the editorship, and accepted an invitation from a new
Unitarian church and society, that had been established at Baltimore.
Maryland, to become their pastor. He was ordained there in May.
1819. The office which he thus took upon himself was one of pecu
liar labor and difficulty, and particularly trying to a young man, who,
as y^t, had had no experience in his profession, having but just left
the shades of academic life. The Unitarians formed a society, whose
religious opinions, imperfectly known, were regarded by all the other
Christian denominations with strong suspicion and dislike. The other
clergymen of the place, though treating him with great courtesy in
private life, acknowledged no ecclesiastical fellowship with the young
preacher of what they considered heterodox doctrine ; and he was far
removed from the active aid of his brethren of the same faith. The
difficulties of his situation were even increased by the eloquent ser
mon, which the celebrated Dr^ Channing preached at his ordination,
and which contained a bold avowal and defence of the leading pecu
liarities of the Unitarian belief. The flames of theological contro
versy were kindled anew by the publication of this remarkable dis
course, Doctors Woods and Stuart of Andover, and Ware and Norton
of Cambridge, with other eminent theologians, taking an active part
m the discussion. Mr. Sparks had to perform unaided all the duties
of his parish, and to face the whole strength of the opposition which
had thus been recently stirred up against the doctrines which he pro
fessed. Controversy was a necessity of his position, and he entered
into it with earnestness and decision, but without ever losing com
mand of his temper or his language. Even his opponents were
obliged to respect the dignity of his manner, the extent of his at
tainments, and the purity of his hfe. It was a remarkable proof of
the confidence and esteem, which his weight of character commanded,
in spite of the unpopularity of his theological opinions, that he was

JARED SPARKS.
elected chaplain to the House of Representatives in Congress, at the
session of 1821.
The field of controversy was soon opened. Early in 1820, the Rev.
Dr. William E. Wyatt, a highly respectable clergyman of the Episco
pal church in Baltimore, preached and published a sermon in which
were exhibited some of the author's views of the tenets of Unitarians.
In reference to this discourse, Mr. Sparks published a few months
afterwards an octavo volume, entitled "Letters on the Ministry, Rit
ual, and Doctrine of the Protestant Episcopal Church." It was a
temperate but thorough criticism of the dogmas and practice of the
Anglican church, written in a courteous but earnest manner, and in
tended to set forth the principal reasons why the Unitarians could not
accept either the thirty-nine articles, or the Episcopalian theory of
church government. Thus it was not so much an attack upon Epis-
copalianism, as a defence of those doctrines which the writer himself
professed. The following year, Mr. Sparks began a periodical publication,
called "The Unitarian Miscellany and Christian Monitor," devoted
to the same purpose of explaining and defending Unitarian views of
religious doctrine and practice. It was published monthly, in a duo
decimo form, being designed for general circulation among common
readers, and therefore not admitting learned or elaborate discussions.
The labor of conducting it was voluntarily undertaken, in addition to
all the cares and toil belonging to the ministry of an isolated parish,
and -with very little cooperation from others. Mr. Sparks edited it
without aid, and in fact for nearly two years wrote the greater part
of it himself. It had all the success that could have been anticipated
for a publication of such a character, being continued during the whole
remaining period of his stay at Baltimore; and his successor in the
editorship. Dr. Greenwood, carried it on for two years afterwards.
In this work Mr. Sparks commenced a series of letters to the Rev.
Dr. Miller of Princeton, on the "Comparative Moral Tendency of
Trinitarian and Unitarian Doctrines," which he afterwards published,
with many important additions and alterations, in a large octavo vol
ume, at Boston, in 1823. Dr. Miller had published a sermon at Balti
more, which contained some remarks on Unitarians, that were thought
to be unreasonably severe and unjust. Mr. Sparks made some stric
tures on the sermon ; Dr. Miller replied ; and out of the controversy
sprang these letters, the most elaborate and thoughtful of the writer's
theological productions.
To complete the list of his writings of this class, we may here men-

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
tion the "Collection of Essays and Tracts in Theology, from Various
Authors, with Biographical and Critical Notices," in six duodecimo
volumes, the publication of which commenced some time before he
left Baltimore, but was not completed till after his return to Boston.
It was an attempt to bring together, in a cheap form, designed foi
general circulation and the use of common readers, some of the most
remarkable and interesting shorter works of eminent theologians,
which deserve to be rescued from dust and virtual oblivion in the
voluminous and cumbersome repositories of theological learning
The plan was suggested, as Mr. Sparks states in the preface, by
that of Bishop Watson's excellent Collection of Tracts ; though he
did not attempt, as Bishop Watson had done, to arrange the several
treatises in so methodical a manner that they should constitute a gene
ral system of divinity. Some translations from French authors were
added to selections from the works of eminent English divines. The
choice was made without special reference to the peculiar religious
tenets of the various writers. " The only unvarying rule of selection,"
said Mr. Sparks, "will be, that every article chosen shall be marked
with rational and liberal views of Christianity, and suited to inform
the mind, or improve the temper and practice. Nothing will be in
troduced which violates the Protestant principles of Christian liberty,
free inquiry, toleration, and the exercise of private judgment in all the
concerns of rehgion." The plan thus conceived was very ably carried
out, the selection being made with uniform good taste, so that the
\olumes are a desirable accession to the library of every private
Christian, be his theological tenets what they may. Among the
names of the authors, from whose works selections were made, ac
companied with biographical and critical notices by Mr. Sparks,
were those of Turretin, Archdeacon Blackburne, Bishop Hoadly,
Whitby, Bishop Hare, Wilham Penn, Sir Isaac Newton, Robert
Robinson, Emlyn, Sykes, Benson, John Hales, Locke, Watts, and
Jeremy Taylor. The publication of the work was completed in 1826.
Labors so numerous and exhausting, as those which Mr. Sparks
assumed at Baltimore, could not be continued for a long period with
out producing injurious effects upon his health. After suffering seve
ral attacks of illness in the fourth year of his settlement, he reluctantly
made up his mind that he must not only leave his parish, but probably
abandon the ministerial profession. In a letter which he addressed to
his society, in April, 1823, informing them of this decision, he alluded
with great satisfaction to " the perfect harmony and good fellowship
which have prevailed, not only between you and your pastor, but

JARED SPARKS.
among yourselves, from the time you were organized into a separate
religious society." In their answer, the society assured him that
they had received his communication " with sentiments of the deepest
sorrow and regret. It has caused us to realize more sensibly than
perhaps we have ever done, the value of your past connection with
us, and the magnitude of the loss which we must sustain by its disso
lution." " The difficulties generally incident to the formation of a
new society," they added, "were in our case peculiarly embarrass
ing ; but, by the aid of your talents and exertions, they have been
greatly alleviated, and by your example, your counsel, your public
instructions, and your writings, we have been taught to encounter
and bear them. You have given firmness to our resolutions, energy
to our endeavors, and confidence to our hopes."
Mr. Sparks left Baltimore early in June, 1823, and spent the larger
portion of the summer in travelling among the Allegany mountains, and
in other parts of the West, for the benefit of his health. On returning
to Boston, he found the North American Review still in the hands of
the association of gentlemen heretofore mentioned, and under the edi
torship of Mr. Edward Everett, whose brilliant talents and varied
accomplishments had contributed to extend and confirm its reputation
at home and abroad, as the leading American journal of letters. At
this time Mr. Everett was disposed to relinquish the further charge
of the work, and <Mr. Sparks purchased it of the owners, and con
tinued to be the sole proprietor and editor for seven years. Under
his supervision its circulation increased, and it attained even a greater
measure of popularity and success. A large portion of the literary
talent of the country was enlisted in its support ; and the dignified
nationality of its tone, and the fairness of its criticisms, amply merited
the public favor by which it was sustained.
But the conduct of this journal did not fill up the time or exhaust
the activity of its editor. The next enterprise in which he engaged
was a " Life of John Ledyard, the American Traveller," which he
published in one octavo volume, in 1828. It is a curious and in
structive narrative, drawn up almost entirely from materials never
before published, but which had been collected and preserved hy one
of the traveller's relatives. Ledyard's adventures were remarkable.
In his youth he was a student at Dartmouth College ; then a corporal
of marines on board Captain Cook's vessel during his last voyage of
discovery ; next penetrating to the heart of Siberia, in an attempt to
cross over from that quarter and explore the northern regions of the
American continent. He finally died at Cairo, in Egypt, while on

' NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
the point of setting out for the interior of Africa. The work had
marked success, having passed through several editions. It was soon
repubhshed in England, and a year afterwards it was translated into
German by Dr. Michaelis, and published at Leipsic.
As early as 1826, Mr. Sparks formed the plan of collecting to
gether all the printed letters and other writings of Washington, and
publishing them in one work, with the addition of such other original
letters of his as might be found only in manuscript ; the whole to be
accompanied by historical notes and illustrations drawn chiefly from
original sources. In procuring materials for this work, he examined
personally, in 1826, the papers relating to the Revolution in the public
offices of all the old thirteen States, and in the Department of State
at Washington ; made selections from the same, and obtained copies
of such as were to his purpose. At this stage of the undertaking, he
entered into a contract with Judge Washington and Chief Justice
Marshall, by which all the papers at Mount Vernon, which had be
longed to General Washington, were placed in his hands. In the
course of his researches, he likewise obtained many valuable subsi
diary materials from the papers in possession of the descendants of
the prominent actors in our national history during Washington's
public life.
That nothing might be wanting for the execution of the work in
the manner which its importance demanded, Mr. Sparks made a voy
age to Europe in 1828, and remained there a year, occupied exclu
sively in selecting and transcribing documents relating to the history
of America in the public offices of London and Paris. Up to this time,
the French and English public archives had been guarded with jealous
care against foreigners, and even against natives, who wished to visit
them for purposes of historical research. But, by the kind interven
tion of Sir James Mackintosh, the Marquis of Lansdowne, and the late
Lord Holland, in England, and of General Lafayette, the Marquis de
Marbois, and others, in France, the doors were opened to him, though
with precautions still indicating much sensitiveness. Since that time,
a more liberal policy has prevailed. After a year's stay, Mr. Sparks
returned to this country with a rich collection of materials on the
events of the revolution, which could nowhere else have been found.
During this absence the editorship of the Review was transferred to
Mr. John G. Palfrey. We may here remark, that he went abroad
again in 1840, on the same errand, and made a further addition to
his stores of original materials. One important result of this second
visit was his discovery in the French archives of an original letter of
to

JARED SPARKS.
Franklin, and the famous map, with a red line drawn on it indicating
our northeastern boundary, of which so much was said in the negotia
tion ofthe treaty of Washington.
The collections of which we have thus far spoken, were largely used
by Mr. Sparks in illustrating the writings of Washington, as they have
been also used in throwing light upon the lives and characters of the
eminent individuals, whose biographies he has either written or caused
to he written. The invaluable manuscripts, deposited at Mount Ver
non, having been arranged and transcribed under General Washington's
own superintendence, the whole collection, amounting to about eighty
folio volumes of his own letters, besides a larger number of volumes
comprising letters written to him, had been preserved with scrupulous
fidelity by his heirs, no person excepting the late Chief Justice Mar
shall having heen allowed to make a complete examination of them.
They were now confided absolutely to the discretion and editorial
fidelity of Mr. Sparks, who devoted a large portion of nine years to
the task of selecting and preparing them for the press, and furnishing
them with the appropriate illustrative matter. The work appeared
in twelve handsome octavo volumes, between the years 1834 and
1837, entitled " The Writings of George Washington ; being his Cor
respondence, Addresses, Messages, and other Papers, Official and
Private, selected and published from the Original Manuscripts, with a
Life of the Author, Notes, and Illustrations." The merits of the editor
were well summed up in an able and impartial review of the publica
tion by Mr. Edward Everett, which closes with the remark, that "his
reward has been already in part enjoyed ; it must be found in the
consciousness of laboriously and worthily performing a noble work;
in the conviction, that he has contributed to give a wider diffusion and
a more abiding permanence to the fame of Washington ; and that,
whenever the authority of the greatest and best of chieftains and pa
triots is appealed to in all coming time, it will be in some association
with his own name and labors."
The first volume of the work contains Mr. Sparks' Life of Wash
ington, which was also printed by itself, and has obtained the general
confidence and wide circulation which it amply deserves. It is an
admirably clear narrative, written with succinctness, perfect simplicity,
and excellent taste, and in a manner which proves that the biographer
was thinking only of his subject and not at all of himself. It was a
Life written to accompany the Writings of Washington, the two
portions of the whole work bearing a necessary relation to each other,
and the former being quite subsidiary to the latter. As Mr. Everett
11

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
remarked, " It was the purpose of Mr. Sparks to narrate, and not to
discuss the character of Washington ; to write an^ account of his life,
and not an essay upon it." Rhetorical embellishments, or flights of
eloquence, would be sadly out of place in portraying a life, which,
like the Doric style in architecture, owes much of its grandeur to its
faultless proportions and its severe simplicity. Of the notes and
supplementary dissertations, with which the volumes are richly fur
nished, it is enough to say, that they are worthy ofthe subject, and
are excellent independent contributions to history. In preparing
them, almost exclusive use was made of the editor's large stores of
manuscript materials, so that the pages are not encumbered with
matter previously accessible in print. They are never controversial
in tone, though they contain numerous silent corrections of statements
made by other historians.
The success of the whole publication was decided, the voice of the
best judges both in Europe and America unanimously declaring, that
" the edition is worthy of the great name to which it is consecrated."
A French version of those portions of it, which were deemed most
interesting to the European public, appeared at Paris, in six volumes,
under the superintendence of M. Guizot, who also contributed to it
an admirable Introductory Discourse on the character, influence, and
political career of Washington. The French edition contained a
complete and literal translation of Mr. Sparks' Life of Washington,
and a judicious selection from the correspondence and other writings.
A German version of the work, also, prepared in a similar manner by
Von Raumer, was pubhshed at Leipsic.
Notwithstanding the great labor expended upon the Writings of
Washington, Mr. Sparks found time, while they were in preparation
for the press, to edit and send forth two other important historical
publications, and to commence a third. The first of these was
entitled " The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revo
lution," being the letters of Franklin, Adams, Jay, Deane, Lee,
Dana, and the other diplomatic agents from the United States in
Europe, and also of the French ministers to Congress during the war
of Independence. These letters had been preserved in the Department
of State, though in a chaotic condition, and with many lamentable
chasms in the series, some of which were supplied by Mr. Spark.s'
researches in Europe, and from other sources in this country. The
mass was reduced to order, the letters were arranged under their
appropriate heads, and thus prepared for the press, with occasional
editorial comments and explanations. The work was published by

JARED SPARKS.
the direction of Congress, and under a contract with the Secretary of
State, and appeared in twelve octavo volumes in the years 1829 and
1830. Only two years afterwards, three more volumes of great historical
interest were published by the same indefatigable editor, entitled "The
Life of Governeur Morris, with Selections from his Correspondence and
Miscellaneous Papers, detailing Events in the American Revolution,
the French Revolution, and the Political History of the United
States." In the preparation of this work, he had the use of all Mr.
Morris's manuscripts, which were furnished by his family. The career
and character of Mr. Morris offered many points of rich and varied
interest. He was a man of genius, bold, self-relying, capable of
accomplishing whatever he undertook, and sure to leave the impress
of his own vigorous powers on every subject that he touched. He
stood in the foremost rank of the statesmen of the Revolution ; he was
an active member of the convention that formed the Constitution of
the United States, and the phraseology of that instrument is to be
attributed almost entirely to his pen. By his long residence in Europe,
a part ofthe time as minister from the United States to France, during
the most critical period of the French revolution, all the while keeping
a diary and maintaining a large correspondence, he acquired great
familiarity with Continental politics, and his papers were filled with
anecdotes and interesting disquisitions. The Life is written with great
discretion and good judgment, and the whole work is as interesting to
the general reader as it is valuable to the historical student. A
French version of the more important portions of it was made by
M. Augustin Gandais, and published in two volumes at Paris.
The third enterprise of Mr. Sparks, begun before the Writings of
Washington were finished, was the publication of a " Library of
American Biography," which was ultimately extended to a second
series, embracing altogether twenty-five volumes. Nearly sixty lives
are included in this collection, which may be distributed for convenience
into four classes, according as they belong to Colonial, times, to the
annals of the Revolution, to the history of American politics, science,
and literature, or to the post-revolutionary history of the Republic.
Eight of these lives were from the pen of Mr. Sparks, and among
those possessing much new and interesting matter may be mentioned
the lives of La Salle, Father Marquette, Count Pulaski, Ethan
Allen, and Benedict Arnold. The others were mostly contributed
by writers of eminent attainments. The volumes embrace an
amount of biographical and historical information, strictly American
13 \o' . 3 vV

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in its character, which would be vainly sought elsewhere, being de
rived in many cases from materials that yet exist only in manuscript,
or are very difficult of access. The great range of the editor's in
quiries, and his long experience in historical investigations, enabled
him to point out all the fountains whence knowledge could be ob
tained; and his fellow-laborers generally used the materials which
he put into their hands with diligence and skill.
In this crowd of publications, we forgot to mention one work,
originally planned by Mr. Sparks, and the first volume of which
was edited by him, and which was -continued by other hands with
much success for thirty years, having acquired and maintained a
well-established character for accuracy, importance and usefulness.
We refer to the " American Almanac, and Repository of Useful
Knowledge." The Astronomical department of that volume was
furnished by Professor Farrar. It was published in 1830.
In the course of his researches, Mr. Sparks had discovered a num
ber of unpublished familiar letters and other papers of Dr. Franklin,
which, from their literary merit as well as their historical interest,
seemed to be worthy of publication; and accordingly they were
printed in a small volume, under his editorship, in 1833. His atten
tion being thus drawn to the incompleteness of the former editions of
Franklin's works, and a large collection of Franklin's papers in Phila
delphia subsequently coming to light, he was led to project and exe
cute the magnificent edition of the works of the great American phi
losopher and statesman, in ten octavo volumes, the publication of
which was completed at Boston in 1840. It hears the following
title : " The Works of Benjamin Franklin, containing several Political
and Historical Tracts not included in any former Edition, and many
Letters, Official and Private, not hitherto published ; with Notes and
a Life of the Author." How far the promise of the title-page was
redeemed appears from the fact, that the edition comprised twenty-
five different articles written by Franklin, which had never before
been printed, and thirty-three others which were not in any previous
edition of his writings. There were also two hundred and fifty-three
of Franklin's letters, which had never before appeared in print, and
one hundred and fifty-four others not included in any former edition.
The editor also inserted, in iUustration of Franklin's own writings,
many letters addressed to him by his various correspondents, which
were new to the public. Among these are letters from David Hume,
Dr. Priestley, Richard Price, Sir Joseph Banks, Buffon, Campomanes,
Lafayette, Count Vergennes, and many distinguished Americans.

JARED SPARKS.
Considering that Franklin died more than half a century before,
that ever since his decease so much curiosity had been felt respect
ing every thing he had written, and that several collections of his
miscellaneous writings had been made by those who, from their inti
mate relations with him, seemed most competent to obtain all the
requisite materials, it seems extraordinary that Mr. Sparks should
have discovered so much new matter for this edition. The annota
tions in the form of notes are also numerous, and contain original
facts and critical investigations of great value.
The Life of Franklin, which occupies the first volume of the work,
embraces the autobiography, as far as he wrote it, and a continua
tion, by Mr. Sparks, up to the time of Franklin's death. The inte
rest of the autobiography is almost exclusively personal ; that of the
continuation is chiefly historical, interspersed with such personal incir
dents and anecdotes as could be derived from Franklin's familiar cor
respondence and other sources ; and the two together give as full a
view as can be desired of his private and public career. Mr. Sparks
takes up the story where Franklin left it, and tells it to the end in a
clear, full, and satisfactory manner. The edition is an appropriate
companion-work to that of the Life and Writings of Washington.
Mr. Sparks devoted his best years to the preparation of the
long series of volumes, which give the full expression of the life,
character, and services of the two persons, whose names shed the
brightest lustre upon the annals of our young country; and he also
reaped his reward by connecting his own reputation indissolubly with
theirs. He became, in some measure, the architect of a monument
to their fame ; and his own name is justly inscribed with theirs upon
its base.
We may mention here the last historical collection published by Mr.
Sparks, though it did not appear till the commencement of the year
1853. It was published at Boston, in four large octavo volumes, enti
tled, " Correspondence of the American Revolution, being Letters of
Eminent Men to George Washington, from the time of his taking
Command of the Army to the end of hia Presidency. Edited from
the Original Manuscripts." While Washington's papers were in his
hands, Mr. Sparks made a selection from the letters written to him,
and copies were taken from the autographs. These were pubhshed as
a natural, and even an essential, accompaniment to the former work ;
and as forming, in connection with it, a very copious history of the
most eventful and important period in the annals of America, written
by those who were the leaders or chief agents jn the events they
is

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
describe, and therefore chronicling the first impressions made by these
events, and the contemporaneous exposition of them.
We have thus presented a brief sketch of Mr. Sparks' labors in the
field of historical research and literature, particularly as unfolding the
events of the American revolution, and pCrtraying the lives and cha
racters of the principal actors in that great drama. Looking around
our libraries at the present time, so richly stored with the long series
of volumes published by him, and by a crowd of other historical stu
dents and editors, who, have been induced, by his success to follow in
his footsteps, it is difficult to believe that so little should have been
accomplished down to 1825, when Mr. Sparks commenced his labors.
Chief Justice Marshall's excellent Life of Washington was almost the
only work of note, pertaining to our revolutionary history, which pro
fessed to be drawn mainly from original unpublished documents. The
sixty-six volumes above enumerated, have since appeared under the edi
torial supervision of Mr. Sparks, consisting either of original materials
first given by him to the world, or of historical or biographical works
founded on such materials. So great a service as he has thus per
formed for his country would have been considered, either in England
or France, as a national undertaking, to be executed under the sanc
tion and at the expense of government, and as requiring the united
efforts of several of the most eminent men of letters, before it could
be satisfactorily accomplished. To the persevering application, dis
criminating judgment, and distinguished ability of the editor of these
volumes, therefore, may be fairly attributed the honor of having laid
liroad and deep the foundation of American revolutionary history,
whoever may be fortunate enough to raise the superstructure.
In 1839, the Corporation of Harvard College appointed Mr. Sparks
to the McLean Professorship of Ancient arid Modern History in that
venerable institution of learning, which appointment was confirmed
by the Overseers. There was a peculiar appropriateness, at once per
ceived by the whole community, in thus selecting the biographer and
editor of Franklin and Washington to expound the lessons of history
to the students in the most ancient and renowned seminary of learning
in the United States.
Mr. Sparks performed the duties of this office till early in the year
1849, when, on the resignation of Mr. Edward Everett, the corpora
tion and overseers, with the unanimous concurrent voice of the public
appointed him to the presidency of the University. This is not the
place to enter into the history of his administration any farther than
to remark, that it was a period of unbroken quiet and prosperity for
16

JARED SPARKS.
the institution. He commanded the unlimited respect and good-will
of the students ; and his colleagues at the several boards of govern
ment cooperated with him zealously and efficiently in the discharge
of their respective duties. But the position was an arduous and re
sponsible one, and its numerous duties weighed heavily upon a consti
tution which was orignally good, but had been severely tasked by the
unremitting labors of a sedentary life. Twice compelled by the failure
of his health to suspend the performance of his duties, he came re
luctantly to the belief, at the close of 1852, that it was necessary for
him to leave the University, and retire from its cares, having occupied
the station four years. The Corporation received "with great regret
the letter of resignation," assuring him of their conviction, " that the
present prosperous condition of the college is, to a large extent, the
result of the high tone of your influence and example, of the wisdom
of the measures you have devised, and the extent of the reputation
your character and attainments have secured." A letter of similar
purport was sent to him by the Academic Faculty, which is the board
of immediate instruction and discipline, and also by the Faculty of
the Law School. After his resignation, Mr. Sparks hoped to pre
pare a Diplomatic History of the American Revolution, for which he
had long been collecting abundant materials. But an accident which
disabled his right hand, and his positive inability to work by the aid
of an amanuensis, caused him a severe disappointment, to which he
submitted with characteristic serenity. His large collection of manu
scripts were bequeathed to the Library of Harvard College.
Mr. Sparks was a most earnest and methodical student. When
a young man, teaching at Lancaster, Massachusetts, he wrote thus
in his journal : " I rose this morning an hour before sunrise, and
rode five or six miles before breakfast ; an exercise which I shall con
tinue regularly. My school occupies six hours ; and I have resolved
to devote, and thus far have devoted, six hours out of the twenty-
four to study." His patient and thorough spirit of investigation
quahfied him to edit the writings of Washington and Franklin, in
such a manner that the trustworthiness of the editions can never be
questioned. In the ninety volumes, which he wrote or edited, tbe
reader will not find one of his sentences carelessly written, nor a line
betraying an illiberal and resentful spirit. He was free from egotism
and the passion for controversy. He was distinguished by a scru-
" pulous integrity, an excellent judgment, a transparent simplicity of
character, a sympathetic disposition, and a confidence that other
honest men were as truthful and candid as himself. He had no

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
enemy, but rather a world of friends. When a literary nobleman of
England, in his criticism, charged him with putting words into th^
mouth of Washington, which that great man never uttered, Mr;
Sparks was deeply wounded, for it struck at his reputation as a
scholar and his honor as a man. He published such a vindication
of his editorship, that he added new lustre to Washington, justified
every expression that he had used, proved the accusation to be ut
terly baseless in fact and absurd in theory, and also converted his
critic into a personal friend. Lord Mahon was thus led to appre
ciate Washington and his American editor.
Mr. Sparks was twice married, and four children survive him.
He died at Cambridge, March 14, 1866, at the age of seventy-six
years. He was buried at Mount Auburn, the Faculty of the Col
lege, the Fellows of the American Academy, and the members of
the Massachusetts Historical Society following his remains to the
grave. Throughout the country his death was honored with more
than usual notice, for in his life and services all American citizens had
an interest. As an author and editor he contributed largely to the
treasures of American literature, and his work will be valued in all
ages to come. 18

Y^//^,L^ izy^^d. ^^^^(^a^^

JAMES BUCHANAN.
"Pennsylvania's Favorite Son," as Mr. Buchanan has been affec
tionately breveted, was born at a picturesque spot called Stony
Batter, in the immediate vicinity of Mereersburg, in Franklin
County, Pennsylvania, April 23, 1791. From his earliest youth he
evinced a degree of mental and physical vigor, which gave the hap
piest promise of future extensive usefulness and distinction.
His father was one of the pioneers of Western Pennsylvania, an
Irishman , by birth, and a person of strong sense, great integrity, and
indomitable energy. He married Elizabeth Speer, daughter of a
respectable farmer in Adams County, who was distinguished for her
intellectual superiority and earnest piety. In 1798 the family removed
to Mereersburg, where their son. Jambs Buchanan, received his early
education, in English, Latin, and Greek.
At the age of sixteen he entered Dickinson College, Carlisle, where
he graduated with the highest honors .in 1809. Having determined
to adopt the law as his profession, he commenced the study of it with
Judge Hopkins, of Lancaster, and was admitted to the bar, November
17, 1812. Here he speedily attained a degree of eminence rarely
enjoyed by youthful devotees of that exacting mistress, and, after
only four years of practice, he was called upon to defend before the
Senate of Pennsylvania, during the session of 1816-17, a distin
guished judge, who was tried upon articles of impeachment. This he
did with brilliant success, unaided by senior counsel. His practice,
and his reputation, increased with almost unprecedented rapidity, and
at the age of forty, when he gracefully retired from his profession,
his name had occurred more frequently in the " Reports" of the State,
than that of any other lawyer of this period.
Once only, after his retirement, did Mr. Buchanan appear in
court and then in a cause which did his heart, as well as head, so
much honor that we cannot refrain from mentioning it. A poor
widow whose little all was in imminent danger from an action of
ejectment, appealed most urgently to him for professional aid, in a
case made almost hopeless by the technical difficulties which surrounded
it. Acting upon the scriptural injunction, to "comfort widows in

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
their distress," he. undertook the cause wi^h such earnestness and
ability as to overcome all opposition, and establish the poor woman's
undeniable title to the property in question. Thus did Mr. Buchanan
give, in public, evidence of that kindness of heart so obstinately
denied him by those who, unable to find a flaw in his moral character
or political integrity, assail him in those points, only defensible by
friends, who have had the privilege of knowing and appreciating his
many acts of graceful and unobtrusive benevolence.
The military episode in Mr. Buchanan's life must not be forgotten.
During the War of 1812, when the British, after destroying the public
buildings of Washington, threatened an attack upon Baltimore, a
public meeting was held at Lancaster, to obtain volunteers to march
to the defence of their sister city. With words of stirring eloquence,
Mr. Buchanan addressed his fellow-citizens, appealing to their
patriotism, to expel the intruders from a soil made sacred by the
blood of their forefathers; and then, proving his sincerity by his
actions, he registered his name at the head of the enrollment-list as a
private soldier. His example was followed by many gallant spirits,
and the company, commanded by Judge Henry Shippen, marched to
Baltimore, and served under Major CRarles Sterret Ridgeley, until
they were honorably discharged.
Mr. Buchanan then evinced his devotion to his country no less
decidedly in the Legislative Halls of Pennsylvania, where, when
Philadelphia was in danger of an attack, he made the most urgent
appeals to the Legislature to adopt measures for her protection. On
being re-elected, in 1815, he gave his ardent support to the bill,
appropriating three hundred thousand dollars, as a loan to the Federal
government, to .pay tbe State volunteers and militia for services to i
the United States. In 1820 he was elected to Congress, and soon
took a position among the most able debaters in that body.
The second speech which Mr. Buchanan delivered, in this new
arena, was upon a bill to establish a general system of Bankruptcy.
Mr. Lowndes, one of South Carolina's most gifted and cherished
statesmen, whose health, at that time fast failing, prevented him from
speaking on a subject which he considered so important, selected,
with prophetic foresight, Pennsylvania's young representative, to
express his views and convictions, in which (as he was aware) he fully
sympathized. This Mr. Buchanan did in a manner that excited the
admiration and attention of the country, and gave him at once a
reputation for eloquence and statesmanlike ability, which he has
always sustained unquestioned. An instance of his magnanimity,

JAMBS BUCHANAN.
which occurred in connection with this event, may not be out of
place here. Not many years since, an old friend of his was alluding
to this speech, and mentioning the admiration it excited, and the
predictions of future distinction to which it gave rise, when Mr.
Buchanan, with noble frankness, disclaimed all right to any credit
for a speech which was really, he said, that of Mr. Lowndes, and
merely delivered by him. Such an avowal, made so long after that '
distinguished statesman had passed away, shows a degree of generous
candor rarely met with.
We cannot, in this brief sketch, attempt an account of the various
occasions on which he distinguished himself whilst a member of the
House : abler pens have already described, with graphic Tpovfer, this
portion of his career. One event, however, in which he was associated
¦with, and opposed to, some of the ablest and most prominent men in
the country, must not be passed unnoticed. This was the trial of
Judge Peck, of the District Court of Missouri, against whom articles
of impeachment were passed, upon which he was tried before the
Senate. The circumstances were these. In December, 1825, the
claims of the widow and children of one Antoine Soulard, to lands
in Missouri and the then Territory of Arkansas, were decided upon
adversely by Judge Peck. One of the prosecuting counsel, Luke E.
Lawless, of St. Louis, wrote a respectful article for a newspaper, in
which he pointed out the errors into which he conceived the Judge
to have fallen. Upon this the Judge had him summoned, and, after
depriving him of the right to practise his profession, committed him to
prison. Mr. Lawless then appealed to the House of Representatives,
and his memorial was referred to the Judiciary Committee, of which
Mr. Buchanan was chairman. The committee reported, unanimously,
articles of impeachment against Judge Peck, which were adopted by
the House, and presented to the Senate, upon which that body
resolved itself into a court of impeachment for his trial. Five mana
gers were chosen, by ballot, on the part of the House, to conduct the
prosecution: they were James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, Henry
P. Storrs, of New York, George McDuffie, of South Carolina, Am
brose Spencer, of New Jersey, and Charles Wickliffe, of Kentucky.
The counsel for the defendant were William Wirt and Jonathan
Meredith. The case was opened, on the part of the prosecution, by
Mr. McDuffie in a speech of great power, and closed by Mr. Bu
chanan, who, confining himself closely to the legal and constitutional
questions involved, presented an argument so eloquent, and so con
vincing, that, although the Senate refused, by a vote of 22 to 21, to

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
punish Judge Peck, it passed, a short time after, unanimously,
an act, obviating the technical objections which had prevented his
conviction, and so framed the law that no Judge could again venture
to commit a like offence.
Mr. Buchanan retired voluntarily from Congress at the close of
his fifth term, and was almost immediately after appointed, by General
Jackson, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to Russia.
He remained there two years, in Avhich time he concluded the first
commercial treaty between the United States and Russia, which
secured to our merchants and navigators important privileges in the
Baltic and Black Seas. His personal popularity at the court of the
Czar contributed not a little to this result, and the impression which
his dignified courtesy and attractive social qualities made upon all
who were there associated with him, was most pleasingly described
by his successor.
Upon his return, in 1833, he was elected to the United States
Senate, which had, during his absence, been the scene of one of the
most violent struggles our country has ever witnessed. A rupture
between General Jackson and Mr. Calhoun had led to a dissolution
of the Cabinet ; a new tariff had been enacted, and the battle against
a renewal of the charter of the United States Bank had been fought,
and won by the administration party. In this position, Mr. Bu
chanan displayed the same profound ability, calm judgment, and
statesmanlike qualities, joined to the never-failing courtesy which
had distinguished him in the Lower House, and took from the first a
prominent part in all subjects which arose for discussion and disposal
at that eventful period. At no time in our country's history, or at
least since the courtly days of the First Congress, has the United
States Senate presented such an array of varied and distinguished
talent. There was Calhoun, always imposing, enthusiastic in his devotion
to the interests of his beloved Carolina, and never failing to com
mand admiration even from his opponents; Daniel Webster, whose
giant intellect was acknowledged and deferred to even in the Par
liament of Great Britain ; Henry Clay, the trusted idol and fearless
champion of his party ; Silas Wright, the model statesman, whose
uprightness and consistency, together with a vigor and perspicacity of
mind which never failed to elucidate any subject which he undertook,
and whose gentler qualities endeared him to all who ever knew him ;
Thomas H. Benton, whose mental power and untiring industry
enabled him to master a subject however abstruse, and handle it with

JAMES BUCHANAN.
telling effect; John Forsyth, the graceful and ready debater, whose
quickness and skill in parrying attacks made upon the administration
during the contest in 1831 and 1832, was compared to a triumph of
small-sword exercise.
With such men did Mr. Buchanan take a position confessedly
second to none in ability and learning. To the various subjects
which were acted upon during the ten years that he was in the
Senate, we shall merely allude: the French Indemnity bill, which
he warmly advocated; the attempted agitation of the question of
slavery, by the introduction of a bill ,for abolishing it in the District
of Columbia, which was opposed by Mr. Buchanan as an unwise and
inflammatory measure ; the Texan Revolution, in which he evinced
always a deep interest; the naturalization question, in favor of
which he took strong ground ; the debate on expunging the resolu
tions of censure upon the gallant old soldier, whose fearlessness and
inflexibility had carried him triumphantly through a political contest
as fierce and desperate as the military one in which he won the
laurels that gave him a place in the foremost ranks of his country's
heroes. Here Mr. Buchanan spoke con amore, and, the vote being
taken immediately after he had concluded, the objectionable resolu
tions were expunged from the records of the Senate. The Sub-
Treasury bill, also, was defended by him with ability and earnestness.
Passing on to the Tyler administration, we find another attempt
being made to re-charter the United States Bank, which was vetoed
by the President, whose action in the matter was warmly sustained
by Mr. Buchanan. The question of the annexation of Texas next
came up, and was eloquently advocated by him, as he had from the
beginning shown a kind and active interest in the young State. The
bill passed only a few days before the inauguration of Mr. Polk,
upon which Mr. Buchanan left the Senate to take the chair of Se
cretary of State. In this department, he had many important and
delicate subjects to meet and dispose of. The Oregon question, which
had been pending during the previous administration, had now assumed
a position of critical importance, which demanded prompt and decided
action. A proposal had been made for its adjustment by Mr. Tyler,
by fixing the line of latitude at 49° N. This was accordingly re
newed by Mr. Buchanan, in his first protocol to the British Minister,
Mr. Packenham, but immediately rejected by him, without reference
to his government. Mr. Buchanan then rephed, in a state paper
of great power and elaborate detail, in which he exhibited the claims
of the United States to the whole territory, and proved that the

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
compromise proposed was an exhibition of great generosity on the
part of our government, proceeding from a desire to avoid a rupture
between two countries, to whose welfare mutual friendliness is so
essential. He concluded by formally withdrawing the proposition,
which decided the fate of the controversy, and took the matter out
of Mr. Packenham's control.
The spirited and determined tone of this despatch satisfied the
British Cabinet that our government was resolved to maintain its
rights, and produced, very soon, a proposal from them to settle the
bqundary according to the offer made by Mr. Polk. This it declared
was its ultimatum. In the dilemma, the President determined to
submit the matter to the Senate, which was then in session, and, that
body having recommended an acceptance of the proposition, it was so
settled. Our relations with Mexico began now to assume an angry aspect ;
in truth, our forbearance towards that government had been trifled
with to a degree that rendered armed remonstrance a positive neces
sity. Our troops having advanced to Corpus Christi, the Mexicans
crossed the Rio Grande, and, without awaiting the form of a decla
ration of war, commenced open hostilitieSj Under these circum
stances, there was but one course to pursue, and Congress declared
war, and passed a bill authorizing the acceptance of a volunteer force
of ten thousand men ; upon which fifty thousand pressed forward,
eager for the glory of defending their country's rights.
The history of this war (where the unparalleled success of our
noble little army, in numbers a mere handful compared to the force
to which they were opposed, seemed at the time, and appears on
retrospection, almost miraculous) is too well known, and too proudly
recorded in our country's annals, to need more than a passing allu
sion. Our troops, whose chivalric gallantry, high honor, and gene
rous humanity, not less than their unfailing courage and strategic
skill, shone never more brilliantly than during this campaign,' per
formed prodigies of valor, and, aided by our no less efficient naval
forces, proceeded uninterruptedly upon a series of victories which
resulted in unfurling from the enemy's capital the stars and stripes
of our glorious republic. During this time, Mr. Buchanan was ever
on the alert to seize the fitting moment to terminate, by an honorable
and advantageous treaty, a contest so fortunate in its results to us,
and so disastrous to our antagonists. The terms proposed by our
government were, in point of generosity, unequalled in the history
of nations. 6

JAMES BUCHANAN.
To our country, however, the acquisition of Cahfornia, and the
peace which enabled us at once to profit by the wealth resulting
therefrom, more than compensated for any additional advantages of
territory which, as some suggested, might have been obtained ; but
only, as they did not consider, by an unwarrantable sacrifice of life
and money. In this negotiation, Mr. Buchanan especially avoided
European intervention, and instructed our minister to Mexico, Mr.
Slidell, emphatically to decline all such offered mediation.
In 1849, at the close of Mr. Polk's administration, Mr. Buchanan
retired to private life ; but even then his watchful eye was still upon
the ship of state, and his far-seeing sagacity appreciated, while yet
but a speck in the political horizon, the storm which was gathering,
and which, unless prompt and vigorous precautions were taken, would
bring destruction upon the vessel which had already met and weathered
BO many dangers. The slavery agitation was spreading with fearful
rapidity and violence in the North, whilst a spirit of determined
resistance to what they deemed an unwarrantable interference with
the rights of property, was equally strong in the Southern States.
Our veteran statesmen were reduced to a little band, who had thought
to enjoy tranquillity and freedom from care in their declining years,
but who found themselves again called upon to aid their country in
her need. Clay, Webster, and . Cass in the Senate, and Mr. B,u-
CHANAN in his own State, (where his voice was all-potent,) brought
forward conciliatory resolutions and suggestions, like oil upon the
troubled waters of the opposing factions, " saying to the North, give
up, and to the South, keep not back," until finally, by the united
efforts of these devoted patriots, aided by the "good men and true"
from both sections of the country, the compromise measures of 1850
were passed, occasioning a jubilee long to be remembered throughout
the Union. The broad national ground taken by Pennsylvania
throughout this memorable contest, gave her a new right to the
proud title ofthe Keystone State, in which she has always gloried.
Mr. Buchanan now gave himself up to the calm pleasures of
country life, at his beautiful home near Lancaster, where he dis
pensed a Southern-like hospitality to all who came within its limits,
and where he himself, always genial and agreeable, was the very
hfe of the home circle. This was composed of the charming niece,
whose beauty, and grace of manner, and peculiar conversational at
tractions were as remarkable in the then school-girl, as now they are
in the hostess of the Executive mansion ; and of two nephews, with
the almost constant addition of visitors of all ages.
7

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
Notwithstanding any fatigue he might have undergone during the
day, Mr. Buchanan always devoted his evenings to the family, who
eagerly anticipated the rich treat afforded by his inexhaustible variety
of anecdotes of people and events in this country, as also in Russia,
which were told with a spirit and interest indescribably fascinating.
These were always cheerfully contributed to the entertainment of the
little circle, and a participation in any social game merrily and cor
dially acceded to. It is in his home-life that Mr. Buchanan should
be seen and known by those who doubt his possession of those genial
qualities which so adorn it.
From this quiet happiness, he was summoned, in 1853, by Presi
dent Pierce, to represent our government at the court of St. James.
This mission he reluctantly consented to accept. The Central
American difficulty was at that time under discussion, and Mr.
Buchanan's despatches to Lord Clarendon on the subject are con
sidered models of concise simplicity and ability. The question had,
however, been complicated by previous negotiations, and still remains
unsettled. In March, 1856, Mr. Buchanan resigned the position,
and returned home to a welcome so cordial and demonstrative, as to
prove most satisfactorily how fully he and his services were appre
ciated by his countrymen. He was unanimously nominated the June
following (by the Democratic Convention assembled at Cincinnati)
for the Presidency, and, despite a twofold opposition, triumphantly
elected. On the 4th of March, 1857, he was inaugurated as the President
of the United States. Great difficulties were before him. There
were international variances with Spain and Central America to be
adjusted ; but the most serious troubles rose out of questions pertain
ing tb slavery in Kansas. The North and the South were becoming in
volved in contentions that threatened the Union. Mr. Buchanan
sought to be a peace-maker. He gave the South a fair representa
tion in the Cabinet. He signed the bill, passed by Congress, sub
mitting the whole question of slavery indirectly to the people of the
Territory. Kansas became a Free State. The South was not satis
fied. Sectional jealousies were excited. The Southern Confeder
acy was organized in spite of all Mr. Buchanan's efforts to allay
the rebellion. Scarcely had he retired from office in 1861, before
the war was opened. He returned to Wheatland to pass the rest
of his days in private life. History will assign him a position
among the distinguished men of America. 8

7^^>'^^^L^

ABBOTT LAWEENCE.

In the following pages we shall endeavor to present a sketch of the
life and character of Abbott Lawrence, now that the grave has
closed over him, and while his virtues are yet fresh in the memory
of his countrymen.
The name of Lawrence is one of the earliest to be found among
the Puritan settlers of Massachusetts. John Lawrence, the first emi
grant of the name, was established in Watertown as early as 1635,
and may have come over at the same time with Governor Winthrop.
He afterwards removed, with his wife, to Groton, where he lived to a
good old age, leaving at his death a numerous family of sons and daugh
ters. From one of the former was descended the subject of the pre
sent memoir. His father, Samuel Lawrence, was a soldier of the
Revolution. On the breaking out of the war with the mother country,
he was among the first to bear arms, and was one of the little band
of heroes who accompanied Colonel Prescott and fought by his side at
the battle of Bunker's Hill. His regiment was accordingly in the
hottest of the action, being stationed at the redoubt, the principal
point of attack. It had nearly proved a fatal day to the young sol
dier, who, besides a wound in the arm, had his hat pierced by a musket-
ball, which grazed his temples and carried off part of the hair. He
remained in the army till 1778, filling the post of adjutant under
General Sulhvan at Rhode Island. He was a man of much firmness
of character, of unblemished integrity, and of such frank and open
manners as made him popular with his townsmen. He lived till
1827, long enough to receive the best reward of a parent, in witness
ing the complete success of his children.
His widow survived him eighteen years, and many may recall her
venerable form as seen by them during her occasional visits to her
sons in Boston. As a mother, she had probably greater influence
than her husband in forming their characters. She had strict notions
1 Vol. 1.— X

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
of obedience, with deeply-seated religious principles, which she suc
ceeded in communicating to her children. "Her form," to quote the
language of a descendant, " bending over the bed of her children in
silent prayer, when she was about leaving them for the night, is still
among the earliest of their recollections."
Abbott, the fourth son, was born in Groton, on the 16th of De
cember, 1792. His education, begun at the district school, was com
pleted at the Groton Academy, of which his father had been a trustee
for more than thirty years, and which now, in grateful commemoration
of the endowments it has received from the members of that family,
bears the name of the Lawrence Academy.
We have few accounts of Mr. Lawrence's earlier days. In a pass
ing notice of them in a letter' of his brother Amos, written many
years after, the writer says, " I well remember him as the guiding
spirit of the boys of our neighborhood in breaking through the deep
snow-drifts which often blocked up the roads in winter." The fear*-
lessness and buoyant disposition thus noticed in the boy were the cha
racteristics of the man in later life.
In 1808 it was resolved to send him to Boston and place him in the
store of his elder brother, Mr. Amos Lawrence, who had been for
some years established there in business as an importer of English
goods. There could have been no better mentor to watch over the
warm-hearted and inexperienced youth, thus drawn from his village
obscurity to be thrown upon the trials and temptations of the world.
It is unnecessary to speak of the character of this brother, now so
widely known from a biography which may claim to be one of the
most graceful tributes ever paid by filial piety to the memory of a
parent. Abbott was cordially welcomed Dy his brother, who from that hour
watched over his steps in earlier days with a father's solicitude, and
who followed his career in later life with feelings of pride and generous
sympathy. "My brother came to me as my apprentice," says Mr.
Amos Lawrence, in his Diary, "bringing his bundle under his arm,
with less than three dollars in his pocket, (and this was his fortune.)
A first-rate business lad he was, but, like other bright lads, needed the
careful eye of a senior to guard him from the pitfalls he was exposed
to." The following year their brother William came to Boston also,
to seek his fortune in the capital of New England. Their father, on
this occasion, impressed on his three sons the importance of unity,
quoting the pertinent language of Scripture, "a threefold cord is not
quickly broken;" a precept which they religiously observed, living
2

ABBOTT LAWRENCE.
always together in that beautiful harmony which proved one great
source of their prosperity.
After somewhat more than five years had elapsed, Mr. Amos Law
rence was so well satisfied with the sobriety and diligence of Abbott,
and -with his capacity for business, that he proposed to take him into
partnership. He furnished the whole capital, amounting to fifty
thousand dollars — the fruits of his judicious management since his
establishment in Boston. The times were by no means encouraging ;
for we were then in the midst of our war with England. But every
thing seemed to prosper under the prudent direction of Mr. Lawrence.
Scarcely, however, had the articles of copartnership been signed than
the Bramble news created a panic that fearfully affected the prices of
goods. The stock of the firm depreciated to such an extent that
Abbott looked on himself as already a bankrupt. His brother,
touched with his distress, offered at once to cancel the copartnership
indentures, and to pay him, moreover, five thousand dollars at the end
of the year. But Abbott had a spirit equal to his own, and told
his brother that he had taken part with him for better or worse,
and that, come what might, he would not swerve from the contract.
The generosity and manly spirit shown by the two brothers on this
occasion gave augury of the complete success which crowned their
operations in after-life. But success was still deferred, as things wore
a gloomy aspect during the war.
Most of the younger men of the city at this time were enrolled in
the militia, which was constantly on duty, and liable at any moment
to be called into active service. Mr. Abbott Lawrence had joined
the independent company of the New England Guards ; a corps
remarked for its excellent appointments, and commanded by men
more than one of whom afterwards rose to eminence — not, however,
in the military profession, but in the law. He was one of the few of
the company he had joined who remained long enough on duty to
entitle them to the bounty of land in the West offered by the general
government. The soldier's life had something in it captivating to the
imagination of an ardent, high-spirited youth ; and the profession of
arms, in the present condition of the country, offered a more splendid
career for enterprise than was to be found in commercial pursuit's.
With his brother's consent, he proposed to enter the service, and
applied to the War Department at Washington to obtain a commis
sion. Happily, before receiving an answer, the news of peace arrived,
and all thoughts of a military life were abandoned. Mr. Lawrence
used to regard this almost in the hght of a providential interposition

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
in his behalf. It was, indeed, the crisis of his fate. The long peace
which followed condemned the soldier to an inactivity that left him
no laurels to win, except, indeed, such as might be gathered from a
skirmish with the savages, or from the patient endurance of priva
tions on some distant frontier post. Mr. Lawrence was reserved
for a happier destiny.
On the 'return of peace, the two brothers saw at once the new
field that was opened for foreign importations ; and the younger
partner, commissioned to purchase goods at Manchester, embarked in
the Milo — the first vessel that, after the proclamation of the peace,
left Boston for England. The passage was a short one, but long
enough for Mr. Lawrence to ingratiate himself not only with the
officers, but with the crew, whose good--will he secured, as one of their
number lately informed the writer of this notice, by his liberal acts no
less than by the kindness of his manners. With characteristic ardor,
he was the first to leap on shore — being thus, perhaps, the first Ame
rican who touched his fatherland after the war was ended. He met
with a cordial welcome from people who were glad to see their
commercial relations restored with the United States. Hastening to
Manchester, Mr. Lawrence speedily made his purchases, and returned
to Liverpool the evening only before the departure of the Milo on her
homeward voyage. He at once engaged a lighter to take him and bis
merchandise to the vessel. When he came alongside, the mate plainly
told him there was nq room for his goods ; the cargo was all on board,
and the hatches were battened down. But Mr. Lawrence would re
ceive no denial. This, he said, was his first voyage, and the result was
of the greatest importance to him. He pressed his suit with so much
earnestness, yet good-nature, that the mate, whose good-will he had
won on the passage, consented at last to receive the goods. Mr. Law
rence lost no time in profiting by this indulgence, and joined his men
in pulling vigorously at the tackle, to hoist the bales on board.
Having safely lodged them on the deck, he made at once for the
shore, asking no questions how they were to be stored. The Milo had
a short passage back. In eighty-four days from the time when she
had left her port in the United States, the goods were landed in Bos
ton, and in less than a week were disposed of at an enormous profit.
His brother was delighted with the good judgment he had shown and
his extraordinary despatch. "You are as famous," he pleasantly
wrote to him, " among your acquaintances here, for the rapidity of
your movements, as Bonaparte."
This little anecdote is eminently characteristic of the man, showing.

ABBOTT LAWRENCE.
as it does, the sanguine temper and energy of will which, combined
with kindness of heart, gained him an influence over others and
formed the elements of his future success.
He remained some time longer in England, extending his acquaint
ance with men of business, but still li-ving as an unknown individual in
the midst of the scenes which he was afterwards to revisit clothed
with an authority that placed him on a level with the proudest nobles
of the land.
Several times he repeated his voyage to England, and always with
the same good results. Under the judicious management and enter
prise of the house, its business became every day more widely extended,
and the fortunes of the brothers rapidly increased.
In June, 1819, an important event took place in Mr. Abbott Law
rence's life. This was his marriage with Miss Katharine Bigelow, the
eldest daughter of the Hon. Timothy Bigelow, an eminent lawyer, who
filled for many years the office of Speaker of the House of Representa
tives of Massachusetts. He was a man of high legal attainments, and
singularly fitted for his political station by his ready apprehension, his
tenacious memory, and his familiarity with business. Mr. Lawrence's
acquaintance with his wife had begun in childhood ; for she was a
native of Groton, like himself, though, long before this period, her
father had transferred his residence to Medford, in the neighborhood
of Boston. It was a most happy union, continuing for more than
thirty-five years, until it was dissolved by death. In the partner of
his choice he found the qualities of a true and loving wife, ever ready
to share with him all his joys and sorrows ; for the lot of the most
fortunate has its sorrows, and sharp ones. These feelings he on his
part returned, from first to last, with the warmth and single-hearted
devotion which belonged to his noble nature.
During the last five years an important change had gradually taken
place in the internal relations of the country, owing to the system of
domestic protection which now began to be recognised as a leading
feature in the pohcy of the government. The sagacious minds of the
Lawrences were quick to perceive the influence this must exert on the
channels of trade, and the important bearing it must have, in par
ticular, on the people of New England, whose industry and ingenuity
so well fitted them for proficiency in the mechanical arts. They
leaned, too, with greater confidence than was justified by the event, on
the stability of the protective policy. The encouragement was espe
cially felt in the cotton and woollen manufactures, then almost exclu
sively confined to New England. With characteristic energy, the

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
brothers accordingly resolved to give up their business as importers,
and employ their capital henceforth in domestic manufactures.
Associating their names with those of the Lowells, the Jacksons, the
Appletons, and other sagacious men of the same way of thinking
with themselves, they devoted all their energies to foster this great
branch of the national industry. Under these auspices, towns and
villages grew up along the borders of the Merrimac and its numerous
tributaries; and the spots which had once been little better than
barren wastes of sand, where the silence was broken only by the
moaning of the wind through the melancholy pines, became speedily
alive with the cheerful hum of labor.
Mr. Lawrence had too large a mind to embark in this new enter
prise with the feelings of a sordid speculator intent only on selfish
gains. He took a more expansive view, founded on just principles of
political economy. He saw the resources which this new field of
domestic industry would open to the country; the new markets it
would afford to the products of the farmer ; the independence it would
give the nation of foreign countries, on which it had hitherto relied
for those fabrics which were the necessaries of life ; the employment
it would give to thousands of operatives in the North, who would find
here a field for talents hitherto unknown to themselves; and the
benefits it would confer on the planters of the South, in raising, by
means of competition, the prices of the raw material they had to sell.
These views he exhibited in his private correspondence and his public
addresses. He unfolded them more at large in a well-known series
of printed letters addressed to the Hon. William C. Rives, of Virginia,
which appeared in 1846. In these he discusses the subject of a tariff
on the broadest grounds, enforcing his arguments, according to his
wont, by an array of statistical facts, some of them exceedingly
striking. Instead of limitipg their application to his own part of the
country, he particularly directs it to Virginia, the impoverished con
dition of whose soil seemed to call for some extraordinary action to
restore the ancient prosperity of the State. Above all, he insists on
the necessity of the education of the poorer classes, as the only true
basis, whether in a moral or physical point of view, of the public
prosperity. On this last theme he was always eloquent, urging it in his
pubhc addresses, abroad as well as at home, and with an effect which,
as we shall see hereafter, was acknowledged by those who witnessed
it to have been attended -with the happiest results.
In 1827 was held the Harrisburg Convention — a meeting, it is
hardly necessary to say, of delegates from different parts of the Union,

ABBOTT LAWRENCE.
for the purpose of taking into consideration the best measures for pro
tecting the manufacturing interests of the country. Mr. Lawrence,
whose attention to the subject and the soundness of whose views upon
it were well known, was one of the seven delegates sent by Massa
chusetts. The large amount of practical information which he
brought with him proved of infinite service in the deliberations that
followed ; and there was probably no one of the body who was more
instrumental in procuring its sanction to the memorial which was laid
before Congress, and which had so great an influence in determining
the action of the government in respect to the tariff of 1828.
Notwithstanding the interest he took in public affairs, and the
capacity which he showed for the management of them, Mr. Lawrence
had evinced no desire to enter on the political arena, or to hold
office of any kind. In 1881 he was elected to the Common Council
of Boston ; but at the end of his term declined a re-election. Nor did
he from that time ever accept any place either under the city govern
ment or that of the State. In 1834, however, he consented to stand as
a candidate for a seat in the House of Representatives at Washington.
On taking his place in that body, he was at once put pn the Com
mittee of Ways and Means, showing that his reputation for financial
talent had already preceded him. During the two years that he
sat on the floor of that house, he rarely attempted any thing like a
set and elaborate speech. When he did speak, it was on topics with
which he was familiar ; and his wise and practical views, which he
enforced by arguments not local or sectional in their nature, but em
bracing the interests of the whole country, commanded the deepest
attention of his audience. His frank and cordial address, flowing less
from conventional courtesy than from the natural kindness of his
heart, conciliated his hearers ; and that "inestimable temper" which
Gibbon commends so highly in the British minister. Lord North, dis
armed the severity of his opponents, and served, like oil upon the
waters, to calm the angry passions of debate. The same qualities
gave Mr. Lawrence, out of the walls of Congress, an influence which
proved of the highest service to the cause in which he was embarked.
When he returned home, at the expiration of his term, there was pro
bably no member of the body with which he had acted who possessed
a larger measure of their confidence or who was so universally
popular. His constituents testified their sense of his services by inviting him,
on his return, to a public dinner. This he declined in a letter, in
which he touches briefly, but comprehensively, on the great questions

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
that agitated the public mind at that day, showing himself throughout
a staunch but liberal-minded Whig. Notwithstanding the importuni
ties of his friends, he declined a re-election to Congress ; nor could he
be induced to alter his purpose by the remarkable assurance given to
him by the members of the opposite party that, if he would consent
to stand, no candidate should be brought out against him.
Four years later, however, he consented to accept a second nomina
tion, and again took his seat in the House of Representatives at Wash
ington. It was a disastrous session to him ; for, shortly after his
arrival, he was attacked by typhus fever of so malignant a type that,
for some time, small hopes were entertained of his recovery. But he
had good advice ; and his fine constitution and the care of his devoted
wife enabled him, by the blessing of Providence, to get the better of
his disorder. It left behind, however, the seeds of another malady, in
an enlargement of the liver, which caused him much suffering in after
life, and finally brought him to the grave.
Finding a southern climate unfavorable to his health, he resigned
his seat in Congress, and returned to Boston, where he at once
resumed his usual avocations. He was not long permitted to in
dulge in a state of political inaction. In 1842 the convention was
held for the settlement of the Northeastern boundary — that vexed
question, which, after baffling all attempts at an adjustment, including
those by means of royal arbitration, had at length assumed a form
which menaced an open rupture between the United States and Eng
land. Mr. Lawrence was one of the commissioners who, at the wise
suggestion of Mr. Webster, were sent, by the States of Maine and
Massachusetts, to Washington, with full powers to arrange the matter
definitively with Lord Ashburton, who had come out invested with
similar powers on behalf of his own country. No man in our com
munity could have been better fitted for the place than Mr. Law
rence; for he had a good knowledge of the subject, was well
acquainted with the characters of the parties who were to discuss it,
and possessed, in a remarkable degree, the qualities for success
as a negotiator. "Mr. Lawrence," said a distinguished foreign
minister, who had personal knowledge of his abihties in this way,
" had so much frankness and cordiality in his address, and impressed
one so entirely with his own uprightness, that he could do much in the
way of negotiation that others could not." There was an ample field
for the exercise of these powers on the present occasion, when pre
judices of long standing were to be encountered, when pretensions of
the most opposite kind were to be reconciled, when the pertinacity

ABBOTT LAWRENCE.
with which these pretensions had been maintained had infused some
thing hke a spirit of acrimony into the breasts of the disputants. Yet
no acrimony could stand long against the genial temper of Mr. Law
rence, or against that spirit of candor and reasonable concession
which called "forth a reciprocity of sentiment in those he had to deal
with. The influence which he thus exerted over his colleagues con
tributed in no sUght degree to a concert of action between them.
Indeed, -without derogating from the merits of the other delegates, it
is not too much to say that, but for the influence exerted by Mr. Law
rence on this occasion, the treaty, if it had been arranged at all,
would never have been brought into the shape which it now wears.
In the summer of the following year, Mr. Lawrence, whose health
still felt the effects of his illness at Washington, proposed to recruit
it by a voyage to England. He embarked, with his family on board
the Columbia, — the ill-fated steamer which was wrecked on Black
Ledge, near Seal Island, in Nova Scotia. All on board were fortunate
enough to escape to land. Five days they remained on that dreary
spot, exposed to wet, hunger, and miseries of every description. None
of that forlorn company will ever forget the disinterested kindness
shown by Mr. Lawrence, and his courageous and cheerful spirit,
which infused life into the most desponding. They were at length
transported to Halifax, whence he proceeded on his voyage. In Eng
land he met with a hearty welcome from some who had shared his
hospitality in the United States, and many more who knew him only
by reputation, but who became his fast friends in after life.
On his return home he resumed his business, which pressed on him
the more heavily as it became more widely extended. During his
leisure he was not so much engrossed by politics as not to give atten
tion to a subject which he always had much at heart — the cause of
education. Among his many charities, which seemed to be as neces
sary to satisfy the wants of his own nature as those of the subjects of
them, we find him constantly giving away money to assist in edu
cating poor young men of merit. He gave two thousand dollars
for prizes to the pupils of the Boston Latin and High Schools. He
now contemplated a donation, on a much larger scale, to Harvard
University. He was satisfied that, however liberal the endowments
of that institution for objects of literary culture, no adequate provision
had been made for instruction in science, more particularly in its ap
plication to the useful arts — a deficiency which naturally came more
readily within the reach of his o-wn observation. In a remarkable
letter addressed- by him to Mr. Eliot, the treasurer of the coUege, in

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
June, 1847, he explains, with great beauty and propriety of language,
his views on the subject, and with no less precision points out the best
mode of carrying them into effect. He concludes by offering the sum
of fifty thousand dollars for the endowment of such a scientific school
as he had proposed. This sum he afterwards doubled by a provision
to that effect in his will, thus making the whole donation a hundred
thousand dollars. Large as was this sum, its value was greatly
enhanced by the wise arrangements made for its application. His
suggestions met with the approval of the corporation. He had the
satisfaction of seeing a building erected and an institution organized
on the principles he had recommended. Fortunately, the services were
obtained, at the outset, of an illustrious scholar, who, by the consent
of Europe, stood at the head of his department of science, and whose
salary of fifteen hundred dollars per annum was wholly defrayed by
Mr. Lawrence, in addition to his other donations, so long as he lived.
A letter addressed to him by a distinguished professor of the school
gave him the sweet assurance, in his last illness, of the extraordinary
proficiency of the pupils — in other words, of the complete success of
his benevolent enterprise ; and he might well be cheered by the reflec
tion that the Lawrence Scientific School would perpetuate his name
to future generations, who would cherish with gratitude the memory
of their benefactor.
Mr. Lawrence was a member of the convention which nominated
Mr. Clay for the Presidency. The interest he took in public affairs
led him to take an active part in promoting the success of the Whig
candidate, as he had before shown equal zeal in the canvass for Gene
ral Harrison, though — as the country has good reason to remember —
with very different results. In 1847, General Taylor was nominated
as the Whig candidate for President, and Mr. Fillmore for Vice-Presi
dent. The history of the convention which made these nominations is
too familiar to be recapitulated here. It is enough to say that Mr.
Lawrence had received assurances, down to the very eve of the elec
tion, which gave him every reason to suppose that he was to be named
for the latter office. Whatever may have been his disappointment, he
did not betray it by a word. "Well, I am perfectly satisfied," was the
answer he made to the friend who was appointed to inform him of the
result : and, instead of looking for pretexts, as many, not to say most
men, would have done^ for withdrawing from the canvass, or at least
for looking coldly upon it, he was among the first to join in a call for
a meeting of the Whigs in Faneuil HaU, and to address them, in the
warmest manner, in support of the regular ticket. In the same mag-

ABBOTT LAWRENCE.
nanimous and patriotic spirit, he visited the principal towns in the
State, delivering addresses and using all his efforts to secure the
triumph of the good cause.
On the election of General Taylor to the chief magistracy of the
country, the confidence he reposed in Mr. Lawrence, and the promi
nent position occupied by the latter in the party, recommended him at
once to a seat in the cabinet. The place, of Secretary of the Navy was
accordingly offered to him, and afterwards that of Secretary of the
Interior. Both offices were declined by him ; and when, soon after,
he was nominated by the President to take the highest diplomatic post
in the gift of the government — the mission to England — he declined
that also. The large and important interests of which he had the
charge made him see only the difficulties of such a step. The place,
moreover, had been filled by distinguished statesmen, two of the most
recent of whom stood pre-eminent in the literature of the country;
and Mr. Lawrence seems to have exaggerated the qualifications re
quired for the post, or, at any rate, to have distrusted his own. From
these various considerations, he had made up his mind to decline the
offer when pressed upon him a second time by General Taylor, and
announced his decision to his friends. But some^of them, taking a
very different, and, as it proved, a more correct, view of the affair, per
suaded him to review and subsequently to reverse his decision. In
the month of September, 1849, he accordingly embarked, with his
wife and a part of his family, for England.
Mr. Lawrence's mission to the court of St. James was the most
brilliant part of his political career, and fully justified the sagacity of
those who advised him to undertake it. Taking all circumstances into
consideration, few men could have been so well fitted for the place.
If he had not the profound scholarship of his immediate predecessors,
he had, what was of great moment, a large practical acquaintance with
affairs ; a thorough knowledge of the resources of his own country and
of the country to which he was accredited ; a talent qiiite remarkable,
as we have seen, for negotiation ; a genial temper, well suited to thaw
out the chilling reserve of manner too apt to gather round the really
warm heart of the Englishman ; a generous spirit of hospitality, with
a fortune to support it, enabling him to collect round him persons of
most eminence in the society of the capital, and to bring them in con
tact with similar classes of his own countrymen, thus happUy affording
opportunity for allaying ancient prejudices and fostering mutual sen
timents of respect and good-will.
A simUar influence was exerted by the public addresses which, from
11

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
time to time, he was caUed on to make in different parts of the king
dom, at meetings held to promote the great interests of agriculture,
of manufactures, or of educational reform. Coming from a land where
the people had made such progress in the various departments of
labor and mechanical skUl, and from a part of the country where
popular education had made most progress, he was naturally listened
to with much attention. The paramount importance of education for
the masses was the theme he constantly pressed home upon his hear
ers. Thus, at Manchester, we find him dra-wing a comparison between
the laboring classes in England and the United States in respect to
education, and plainly telling his audience that, "if England hoped to
keep her place in the van of civilization, it must be by educating the
humblest of her classes up to the highest point of other nations." " The
able as well as delicate manner," says an eminent British journal,
" in which Mr. Lawrence handled this subject, made a deep impres
sion on his auditory, and it had probably no inconsiderable influence
in stimulating that highly creditable educational movement of which
Manchester has since been the scene, and in which it has stood out in
strong contrast to the other great towns of the empire."
We find him speaking to the same purpose, in a striking passage
often quoted from the speech made by him at Mr. Peabody's dinner at
the close of the Great Exhibition in London. A broader field for these
popular addresses was offered by a visit which he made to Ireland in the
autumn of 1852. The welcome he received from the generous-hearted
people was altogether extraordinary. His reputation had prepared
the way for it ; and all were eager to see the representative of a land
to which their own countrymen were flocking as to a place of refuge
from the troubles of the Old World. Well might the Times say that
" the American Minister found himself received with almost the honors
of royalty ; that railway directors gave him special trains, banquets,
and addresses, and every city prepared an ovation."
In the midst of this festal progress, Mr. Lawrence was closely ob
serving the condition of the country and its inhabitants, and dra-wing
materials for an elaborate report of it to the Department of State. The
despatch is of much length, embodying his views on the great ques
tions of interest touching the state of that unhappy country, the policy
of the English government towards it, and its probable future; the
whole accompanied by a mass of statistical information, which his
position gave him obvious advantages for collecting. This valuable
report forms one of numerous despatches of a simUar nature which
occupied what was regarded as the American minister's leisure time

ABBOTT LAWRENCE.
during his diplomatic residence. Many of the papers are of great
length, and must have been prepared with much care. Some few have
been printed by order of Congress. The rest are to be found on the
files of the Department of State at Washington. One has only to
specify the titles of some of these to show the variety of the topics to
which they relate. Thus, we find one containing curious estimates on
the comparative cost of building and manning merchant-ships in Eng
land and the United States ; another on the guard-ships for the sup
pression of the slave-trade ; another on the commerce carried on with
Africa ; two or three on the postal relations of the country, with
reference to a reduction of the rate of ocean-postage ; another, the
result of much consideration, on the currency of both England and
our own country. Besides these communications on particular
topics, we find others, of a more general nature, containing a sur
vey of the actual condition of England, supported by abundant
statistical detail; with ample discussion, on its course of trade, on
the character of parties, and the policy of the government. The
opportunities of personal observation enjoyed by Mr. Lawrence'
abroad served, it may be remarked, to strengthen the opinions he had
expressed at home of the necessity of a protective policy by our
own government if we would contend successfully against the cheaper
labor of Europe. In this survey of the national character and re
sources, the despatches of Mr. Lawrence remind one of the reports —
relazioni, as they are called — which were made, by order of their
government, by the Venetian ambassadors, and which, after being
read, on their return, before the Senate, were deposited in the public
archives, where they furnish some of the most authentic materials for
the historian.
Among the despatches are two particularly worthy of consideration,
as relating to negotiations that opened the way to important treaties.
The first of these relates to the fisheries. No sooner had Mr. Law
rence become acquainted with the course pursued by the, English
government in sending out a fleet of armed vessels to assert its mari
time rights on the coast of Nova Sftotia, than, without waiting for
instructions, he at once opened the matter to Lord Malmesbury, then
Minister for Foreign Affairs, and urged the mischievous consequences
likely to result from an action so precipitate and so menacing in its
nature. His remonstrances were of sufficient weight to influence the
instructions afterwards issued by the government; and Mr. Law
rence's negotiations, which received the approval of the President,
placed affairs on the quiet basis on which they continued tiU a treaty

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
was definitively settled. When we reflect on the irritation that would
have been produced in this country if the ill-considered measure of
the English government had been fully carried out, we cannot doubt
that the timely and temperate remonstrance of the American minister
did much to save his country from a rupture with Great Britain.
The other affair concerned Central America — that uneasy question,
which, after having been formally disposed of by treaty, has' again
risen, like a troubled spirit, to disturb the quiet of the world. The
American envoy, in obedience to instructions from Washington,
brought the subject before Lord Palmerston as early as November,
1849. He obtained from that minister an assurance that Great
Britain had no design to occupy or colonize any part of Central
America, and that she would willingly enter into a guarantee with the
United States for the neutrality of the proposed canal across the
Isthmus. But Mr. Lawrence was quick to perceive that these assu
rances would fail to answer the purpose, unless Great Britain would
consent to abandon her shadowy protectorate over the Mosquito In
dians. He accordingly made this the subject of a particular reprer
sentatlon in more than ene interview with the English minister ; and
he further urged the abandonment of the protectorate on the strongest
grounds of policy in a long and able communication to Lord Palmer
ston, dated December 14, 1849. To this letter he received no re'ply,
and, early in the following year, it being thought there were greater
facilities for conducting the negotiation in this country than in Eng
land, it was removed, for a final adjustment of the affair, to Washington.
Meanwhile Mr. Lawrence had been diligently preparing a commu
nication for his own government — since printed by order of the
Senate — the object of which was to trace to its origin the British
claim to the exercise of a protectorate over the Mosquito territory.
In doing this, he travelled over a vast field of historical research,
showing the first occupation of the territory by the Spaniards, its
subsequent invasion by the English, and estabhshing, to the conviction
of every unprejudiced mind, that Great Britain never did possess any
legal right to the qualified dctmlnlon which she claimed as protector
of the Indians ; and that, if she had possessed it, this would signify
nothing, since, by an express treaty with Spain, she had formally
renounced such right. By a singular coincidence, this remarkable
state-paper is dated on the 19th of April, 1850, being precisely the
same date with that of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty.
This latter instrument, confining itself to the simple object of a
guarantee for a canal across the Isthmus, makes no provision for the

ABBOTT LAWRENCE.
Mosquito question, though by an incidental allusion it appears to re
cognize the existence of a protectorate. Indeed, It seems to have done
nothing more than carry out the details of the arrangement to which
Lord Palmerston professed his readiness to accede in his first commu
nication to Mr. Lawrence. But, as the latter wisely foresaw, so im
portant an element in the discussion as the Mosquito protectorate
could not be winked out of sight ; and, as it now appears, the absence
of so material a link in the chain. of negotiations has made the other
provisions of the treaty of little worth.
The pressing nature of Mr. Lawrence's private affairs made him
at length, after an absence of three years, desirous of returning home.
Indeed, he could not have postponed his return so long but for the
faithful and able manner in which his eldest son, to whom he had
committed the charge of his property, had executed that trust, thus
relieving his father, as the latter often remarked, of all anxiety in
regard to his own affairs, and enabling him to give undivided attention
to those of the public. Having obtained the President's consent, Mr.
Lawrence resigned his place as envoy from the United States on the
1st of October, 1852, and bade adieu to those shores where he had
landed almost a stranger, but where he now left a host of friends ;
where the kindness of his heart, the charm of his manners, and his
elegant hospitality, had made his mission as acceptable to the English
as the able and conscientious manner in which it was conducted ren
dered it honorable to himself and his country.
The citizens of Boston had made preparations for giving him such
a brUliant reception on landing as might show their sense of his ser
vices. IJnhappily, the time of his return was also that of the death
of Mr. Webster. Mr. Lawrence proceeded to Marshfield the day
after his arrival ; and his first meeting with many of his friends and
townsmen was at the celebration of the funeral obsequies of the great
statesman. When a decent time had elapsed, his friends resumed their
purpose of a complimentary dinner. But Mr. Lawrence, with much
dehcacy, declined their invitation, saying that " he should seem want
ing in respect for the dead, as weU as consideration for the living, were
he to accept a festive entertainment at such a season of mourning."
He now resumed his former way of life, and was to be found at the
regular hours at his accustomed place of business. The complexion
of the times was most unfavorable to both the cotton and wooUen
manufactures. Great advances were required to be made for the
completion of works in which Mr. Lawrence was largely interested.
It was difficult to obtain such advances in the depressed state of the
15

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
stocks. With his usual spirit, Mr. Lawrence came forward to the
rescue, and not only bore his own share of the subscription, but took
stock to the amount of three hundred and fifty thousand dollars more,
though in doing so he sacrificed half that amount, the stock having
fallen fifty per cent, in the market.
But Mr. Lawrence, though he gave a general supervision to his
affairs, left the conduct of them to his younger partners, whose expe
rience well qualified them for the task. He did not possess, indeed,
the same strength of constitution and physical energy that he once
had. Perhaps for that reason, though he still maintained a warm
interest in public affairs, with the exception of his efforts in the can
vass for General Scott as President, he took no active part in politics.
He still showed the same zeal as ever in the cause of education, and
watched with the deepest interest over the rising fortunes of the
Scientific School which he had founded at Cambridge. His labors in
behalf of learning were fully appreciated by his countrymen, one
proof of which is afforded by the literary honors bestowed on him by
the principal academies and colleges throughout the State.
Thus loved and respected by the community in which he lived, with ,
a fortune that enabled him to gratify his munificent disposition, and a
heart fitted by nature for the pleasures of friendship, and above all
for the sweet intercourse of home, Mr. Lawrence might reasonably
promise himself that serene enjoyment for the evening of his days
which should wait upon the close of a well-spent life. Alas ! no such
happiness was in store for him.
In September, 1854, he was visited by a return of the malady the
seeds of which had lingered in his constitution ever since his illness at
Washington. A second attack, a few weeks later, whUe passing some
days on his famUy estate amidst the beautiful scenery of Groton, left
him in a precarious state of health, from which he did not entirely
rally till the winter was far advanced. Even then, although he re
covered the natural buoyancy of his spirits and again mingled in
society, the indications of suffering in his countenance, and the
loss of his accustomed vigor, were just causes of apprehension to his
friends. His physician advised change of climate, and recommended
to him a voyage to England, associated as it was in his mind with so
many pleasant recollections. Early in June, 1855, he accordingly
secured a passage for himself and Mrs. Lawrence in one of the
British steamers ; but, two days after, his malady returned, accom
panied with such intense pain that he took to his bed— from which he
was never more to rise. 16

ABBOTT LAWRENCE.
It would be painful to follow him through the long and wearisome
summer, during which he was sensibly losing ground day after day,
yet with occasional intervals of ease that seemed to give promise that
the disease was arrested. No one will forget the extraordinary interest
shown on that occasion by all classes, and the eagerness with which
they endeavored to draw from the physicians some encouragement for
their hopes. A more remarkable proof of the hold he had upon the
community was the daily announcement of the state of his health in
the public journals, — a tribute the more touching that he held no offi
cial position to call it forth. It was the homage of the heart.
During the long period of his confinement, his sufferings served
only to show the sweetness of his disposition. The circumstances which
filled those around him with wretchedness and with apprehensions they
could Ul disguise had no power to disturb his serenity. He loved life.
No man had greater reason to love it ; for he had all that makes life
valuable. Bijt, as his hold loosened upon it, no murmur, no sigh of
regret, escaped his lips; while he bowed in perfect submission to
the will of that Almighty Father who had ever dealt with him so
kindly. As his strength of body diminished, that of his affections
seemed to Increase. He appeared to be constantly occupied with
thoughts of others rather than of himself; and many a touching in
stance did he give of this thoughtfulness and of his tender recollection
of those who were dear to him. The desire of doing good, on the
broadest scale, clung to him to the last. Not two weeks bef6re
his death, he was occupied with arranging the plan of the model-
houses for the poor, for which he made so noble a provision In his
wiU. His last hours were cheered by the assurance, as we have
elsewhere noticed, that his wise and generous provisions for promoting
a more scientific culture at Cambridge were crowned with entire suc
cess. He was dying with every thing around him to soften the bit
terness of death — above aU, with the sweet consciousness that he had
not lived in vain. On the 18th of August, 1855, a few months before
he had completed his sixty-third year, he expired, and that so gently
that those around could not be sure of the precise moment when his
spirit took its flight.
The tidings of Mr. Lawrence's death, though not unexpected, feU
hke some startiing calamity on the ears of the community. A meet
ing of the citizens was at once called to express their sense of this
great pubhc bereavement. It assembled in FaneuU Hall— that haU
where the manly tones of his own voice had been so often raised in
maintenance of the right, but which now echoed only to the sounds of
2 17 , Vot.l.-Y

NATIONAL PORTRAITS.
lamentation, as more than one gifted orator poured forth an eloquent
and touching tribute to the virtues of the deceased.
The sympathies of the community were called forth stUl more
strongly on the day of the funeral, when the sad countenances and
moistened eyes of the vast multitude that attended the services showed
how truly they felt the death of Mr. Lawrence, not merely as a great
pubhc calamity, but as something personal to themselves. Every
honor that could be paid to his memory was eagerly rendered by the
authorities of the city on this occasion. The day was celebrated as
a day of pubhc mourning. The beUs tolled in the principal churches.
The flags of the shipping were at half-mast. Minute-guns were fired.
The places of business were closed in many parts of the town, and all
along the road which conducted to the cemetery of Mount Auburn.
As the spectator gazed on the long company of mourners taking their
way through files of the soldiery, who lined the streets as far as the ¦
bridge which unites Boston to Cambridge, he might well have called
to mind the time when the object of all this homage first came to
town, over this same avenue, a poor country-lad, with only a few
dollars in his pocket and but one friend In that strange capital to
welcome him. That friend was his brother, Amos Lawrence, who, only
three years since, had been borne to Mount Auburn, amidst the tears
and regrets of the whole community. StiU another brother — William,
of whom mention has been made in an early part of this memoir —
had preceded them both on the same dark journey. Like them,
he had come to Boston to seek his fortune, which, when gained,
he employed, like them, in acts of beneficence and mercy. The
" threefold cord" to which their father had so wisely alluded was
indeed broken. But it was by the hand of Death. And in that
beautiful cemetery, where are gathered the ashes of so many of the
good and the great, the three brothers, who loved one another through
life so well, now sleep side by side and rest in peace from their
labors. A notice of Mr. Lawrence would not be complete without some
mention of the legacies left by him for charitable purposes, so much
in harmony with the general course of his life. Besides doubhng the
amount given in his lifetime to the Scientific School, he bequeathed the
sum of fifty thousand dollars for the erection of model lodging-houses
for the poor, providing with great minuteness and discretion such regu
lations as would accompHsh the object he had in view. In addition to
these munificent bequests, he left ten thousand doUarsto the Pubhc
Library of the city of Boston, and smaUer legacies to different institu-
18 '

ABBOTT LAWRENCE.
tions, making the whole amount of one hundred and fifty thousand
dollars de-rised' for public objects. These were the last acts of a life
of benevolence.
Such are the outlines of the history of a Boston merchant — of one
-who, by the energy of his character and the winning frankness of his
manners, acquired a remarkable ascendency over all with whom he
came in contact ; who supplied the deficiencies of early education by
an assiduous diligence that made him eminent in after-life both as a
pubhc speaker and a political writer ; whose conduct was controlled
by settled religious principles, that made him proof alike against the
intrigues of party and the blandishments of a court ; who regarded
every subject with those large and enlightened views which gave
dignity to his profession and raised him to high consideration as a
diplomatist and a statesman ; who, blessed by nature with a sunny
temper and a truly loving heart, was the delight of his friends and an
object of httle less than idolatry to his o-wn family; and who, holding
the large property he had acquired by his own efforts as a trust for
the good of his fellow-men, dispensed it in those noble charities which
have gained him a high place among the benefactors of mankind.
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