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THE LIFE OF
RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HATES
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOLUME I

/£2^/W^Z-*6 /3_ cA/^yJ-^i

THE LIFE OF
RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD
HAYES
NINETEENTH PRESIDENT OF THE
UNITED STATES
BY
CHARLES RICHARD WILLIAMS
WITH POBTBAITS AND OTHEE ILLUSTRATIONS
VOLUME I

BOSTON AND NEW YORK
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
(C&e fiitotsi&e press Cambridge
1914

COPYRIGHT, I9I4, BY CHARLES RICHARD WILLIAMS
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Published October 1914

^*m*** C\

31n $$tmotid.m
WILLIAM HENRY SMITH
PATRIOT SCHOLAR FRIEND

PREFACE
The Life of Mr. Hayes was to have been written by his most
intimate personal and political friend, William Henry Smith.
That was Mr. Hayes's hope and Mr. Smith's purpose. Soon
after Mr. Hayes's death Mr. Smith began the contemplated
work. His plan was to write not a simple biography, but a
history to be called The Life and Times of Hayes.
From the beginning of Mr. Hayes's life to the time of his
Administration as President, the slavery question, in its various
ramifications and effects, had been the dominant concern of
American politics and statesmanship. The policy toward the
South pursued by Mr. Hayes when President practically marked
the final passing of the question from national politics. "The
first half of my active political life," Mr. Hayes wrote in his later
years, " was first to resist the increase of slavery and secondly to
destroy it. The second half has been to rebuild, and to get rid of
the despotic and corrupting tendencies and the animosities of the
war, and the other legacies of slavery." It was Mr. Smith's wish,
therefore, more particularly, to trace the influence of slavery on
American political development through the period of its aggres
sive demands, and onwards, until the problems left by the Civil
War, which was its inevitable consequence, had been solved.
In spite of failing health, Mr. Smith, at the time of his death,
in midsummer, 1896, had substantially completed a large propor
tion of his project. From his manuscript, what he had written
relating to slavery was extracted, arranged in orderly sequence,
and given to the public in 1903 under the title The Political His
tory of Slavery. This is a praiseworthy contribution to American
history, though unfortunately deprived of the fuller presentation
of certain facts and forces which undoubtedly Mr. Smith would
have given his work, could it have had the benefit of a final
revision at his hands.
Mr. Smith had done much in assorting and arranging the
countless Hayes papers. But of the actual biography of Mr.
Hayes, he had written comparatively little. It was his dying

viii PREFACE
request to me — who rejoice in having been his son-in-law, and
in having been honored with his love and confidence — that I
should complete his undertaking. This request, which was sec
onded by Mr. Hayes's sons, I could not deny, though feeling
myself inadequately fitted by temperament and attainments for
the task. For many years, owing to the demands on my strength
of an exacting editorial position, it was possible for me to accom
plish little. But since my grateful release from that position, in
the spring of 1911, 1 have been able to give my full time to the
work. This delay, I feel, has been every way to the advantage of
my effort. The further we are away from the exciting controver
sies of the culminating period of Mr. Hayes's public life, the
more impersonal and dispassionate can be our judgment.
The first chapter is substantially Mr. Smith's work. For
appreciable portions of other early chapters, also, I am indebted
to his pen. It did not seem necessary under the circumstances to
indicate these in the text.
All of Mr. Hayes's papers — and their number is myriad —
have freely and without restriction been placed at my disposal by
Colonel Webb C. Hayes. I may be permitted to say that I have
drawn my information entirely from the sources and that I have
relied for my conclusions hardly at all on what other men have
written of the period. It has been my purpose as far as possible
to allow Mr. Hayes to speak for himself, and so to reveal his
character and principles by his own utterances.
It is also proper for me to say that I approached my work with
many misgivings and prejudices, being by inheritance, by early
training, and by conviction, of the Democratic faith. I had
lightly accepted, without investigation or reflection, the common
Democratic assumptions regarding the disputed election. As
the result of my prolonged studies I have no hesitation in affirm
ing my conviction, first, that under the Constitution the decision
of the Electoral Commission was the only possible decision; sec
ond, that the decision was not only legally right and sound, and
essential to the preservation of the integrity of state authority,
but that it was in accord with the eternal equities of the situa
tion; and, third, that Mr. Hayes's large wisdom of administra
tion was vastly more beneficial to the South, to the peace and
reconciliation of the country, than any course of conduct, that

PREFACE ix
can reasonably be thought of as possible to Mr. Tilden, could
have been.
Most of my writing has been done here in the home made
beautiful by the serene and happy life spent within its walls by
Mr. and Mrs. Hayes. Something of the spirit of simple, whole
some, Christian living, which I have felt still pervading this
great house, I trust I may have been able to impart to the
pages of this labor of love. Charles Richard Williams.
Spiegel Grove,
Fremont, Ohio, March 4, 1914.

CONTENTS
I. Ancestry and Early Years  1
H. In College and Law School  19
III. Beginning Professional Life — Visit to Texas . 46
IV. Removal to Cincinnati — Interest in Literature
and Ethics  55
V. Courtship and Marriage  74
VI. Success at the Bar  85
VH. Interest and Activity in Politics . . . .97
VIII. The Presidential Campaign of 1860 — Outbreak of
the Civil War  112
IX. 1861 — Campaigning in West Virginia . . . 124
X. In Winter Quarters — Guerrillas .... 143
XI. 1862 — Raiding in West Virginia .... 170
XH. Antietam Campaign — Wounded at South Mountain,
September 14, 1862  188
XIH. 1863 — In Garrison and on Foray — Morgan's Raid 207
XIV. 1864 — Advance and Retreat — Cloyd Mountain . 217
XV. In the Shenandoah Valley — Battle of Opequon,
September 19, 1864  228
XVI. Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek .... 247
XVII. End of the War — Brevet Majob-General . . 263
XVIH. In Congress — 1865-1867  276
XIX. First Term as Governor  290
XX. Second Term as Governor  334

xii CONTENTS
XXI. Nominated for Congress — Retubn to Fremont • 365
XXH. The Campaign for Sound Money — Thied Time
Governor .......•• 381
Xx ill. The Months before the Convention of 1876 . 414
XXIV. Nominated for President  441
XXV. The Presidential Campaign of 1876 . • • 469
XXVI. The Disputed Election  491

ILLUSTRATIONS
Rutherford B. Hates, 1864, in the Uniform of a
Brigadier-General  Frontispiece
House of Captain Ezekiel Hates at Branford, Con
necticut  8
The Hayes House at Brattleboro, Vermont, the Home
of Rutherford B. Hates's Grandparents . . .10
Birthplace of Rutherford B. Hates at Delaware, Ohio 16
Kenton College, Gambier, Ohio. Rutherford B. Hates
occupied the Gable Room at the Extreme Left of
the Picture. The Room is now used bt the Students
for Social Purposes  28
Rutherford B. Hates, Student at the Harvard Law
School  30
From a Daguerreotype.
Luct Ware Webb (afterwards Mrs. R. B. Hates) . . 76
At the age of sixteen, from a Daguerreotype.
Rutherford B. and Luct W. Hates at the Time of their
Marriage, December 30, 1852  82
From a Daguerreotype.
Excerpt from Diart, May 15, 1861  122
Battle of South Mountain, Maryland, September 14,
1862, where Colonel Hates was severely wounded . 198
Letter to William Henrt Smith, August 24, 1864 . 234
Rutherford B. Hates, 1866, while Member of Congress,
1865-1867  282
Rutherford B. Hates, 1869, while Governor of Ohio,
1868-1872  334

xiv ILLUSTRATIONS
Rutherford B. Hayes, 1876, when Candidate for Presi
dent  *48
Letter to Carl Schurz, July 24, 1876 . 482
THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION
The Supreme Court Justices  510
Nathan Clifford, Stephen J. Field, Samuel F. Miller,
William Strong, Joseph P. Bradley.
The Senators  510
George F. Edmunds, Oliver P. Morton, Frederick T.
Frelinghuysen, Thomas F. Bayard, Allen G. Thurman'.
The Representatives  510
J. G. Abbott, Eppa Hunton, Henry B. Patne, James
A. Garfield, George F. Hoar.
The Electoral Commission in Session .... 536

THE LIFE OF
RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HATES

" I would prefer to go into the war if I knew I
was to die or be killed in the course of it,
than to live through and after it without
taking any part in it."

THE LIFE OF
RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD
HAYES
CHAPTER I
ANCESTRY AND EARLY YEARS
THE Hayes family is of Scotch origin. The name according to
tradition first became known in the tenth century. In the
reign of Kenneth II, the Danes entered the Frith of Tay with a
large fleet. They were met by the Scottish king and a bloody
battle was fought at Loncart, which, after a stubborn contest,
resulted in the defeat of the invaders. The Danes attacked with
such vigor as to compel the two Scottish wings to give way, but
authorities differ as to who should have the honor of checking
the rout. Sir Walter Scott says it was due to the intrepidity of
Kenneth himself, while others attribute it to a farmer and his
two sons.
The fight was cruell on both sides [runs the ancient chronicle] and
nothing hindered the Scots so much as going about to cut off the heads
of the Danes, ever as they might overcome them. Which maner being
noted by the Danes, and perceiving that there was no hope of life but
in victorie, they rushed foorth with such violence upon their adversaries,
that first the right, and then after the left wing of the Scots was con-
streined to retire and flee backe, the middleward stoutly yet keeping
their ground ; but the same stood in such danger, being now left naked
on the sides, that the victorie must needes have remained with the
Danes, had not a renewer of the battell come in time, by the appoint
ment (as is to be thought) of Almightie God.
For as it chanced, there was in the next field at the same time an
husbandman, with two of his sons, busie about his worke, named
Haie, a man strong and stiffe in making and shape of bodie, but indued
with a valiant courage. This Haie beholding the king with the most
part of the nobles, fighting with great valiancie in the middle ward, now
destitute of the wings, and in great danger to be oppressed by the great
violence of his enimies, caught a plowbeame in his hand, and with the

2 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
same exhorting his sonnes to doo the like, hasted towards the battell,
there to die rather amongest other in defense of his countrie than to
remaine alive after the discomfiture in miserable thraldome and bondage
of the cruell and most unmercifull enimies. There was neere to the
place of the battell a long lane fensed on the sides with ditches and walls
of turfe, through the which the Scots which fled were beaten downe
by the enimies on heapes.
Here Haie with his sonnes, supposing they might best staie the flight,
placed themselves overthwart the lane, beat them back whome they
met fleeing, and spared neither friend nor fo; but downe they went all
such as came within their reach, wherewith diverse hardie personages
cried unto their fellowes to returne backe unto the battell, for there was
a new power of Scottishmen come to their succours, by whose aid the
victorie might be easilie obteined of their most cruell adversaries the
Danes : therefore might they choose whether they would be slaine of their
own fellowes comming to their aid or to returne againe to fight with the
enimies. The Danes being here staied in the lane by the great vali-
ancie of the father and the sonnes, thought verely there had beene some
great succors of Scots come to the aid of their king, and thereupon ceas
ing from further pursute, fled backe in great disorder unto the other of
their fellowes fighting with the middle ward of the Scots.1
The king having thus vanquished his enemies, continues the
chronicler, carried with him on his triumphal return the valiant
Haie and his sons, who, as they entered Bertha, were received
with little less honor than the king himself. Haie was ennobled
and honors and lands were bestowed on him — "so much ground
as a falcon would flie over at one flight" (a convenient but novel
mode of land-surveying), which proved to be a tract of six miles
in length and four in breadth, "in those parts where the river
Taie runs by the town of Arrole over against Fife." 2 And "the
king gave him armes three Scutcheons gules in a field of silver,
a plowbeame added thereunto, which he used in stead of a
battell axe, when he fought so valiantlie in defense of his owne
countrie." Thus successfully launched upon the tide of pros
perity, in time a descendant of this Haie was "decorated with
the office of the Constableship of Scotland."
At Abbotsford are preserved the armorial bearings of the
families of Rutherford and Hayes. The latter consist of a cross
1 Holinshed's Chronicles — The Bistorie of Scotland.
2 The falcon lighted on a stone, the chronicler says, "neere a village called
Rosse." " The name of the Stone being called the falcons stone to this daie dooth
cause the thing better to be beleeved."

ANCESTRY AND EARLY YEARS 3
between four stars, with the falcon crest, and for motto the
single word, Recte. This has been and is the motto of the Ameri
can family of Hayes.
The valor which won distinction for the farmer Haie under
Kenneth has been notably emulated by the American descend
ants of the Scotch Hayes. They have never failed to respond to
their country's calls. Both of Rutherford B. Hayes's grand
fathers and three of his four great-grandfathers served in the
armies of the Revolution, and the fourth great-grandfather was
employed by Connecticut to collect funds to pay for army
supplies. George Hayes, from whom descended Rutherford Birchard
Hayes in the sixth generation, came from Scotland as early as
1680, being then about twenty-five years old, and settled at
Windsor, Connecticut, where early in 1683 his wife and infant
children died. Through a second marriage, which took place
August 29, 1683, at Windsor, he became the founder of the
American family. His second wife was Abigail Dibble. In 1698
he removed to Salmon Brook, in that part of Simsbury now
known as Granby, Connecticut. His name appears in the list of
freemen in 1701, and in 1723 the town granted to "George Hays,
Senor, 138 acres." He died at Simsbury September 2, 1725,
leaving his widow and five sons and six daughters. All of these
children married. Daniel Hayes, the oldest son, was born at
Windsor, April 26, 1686. When about twenty-one he was cap
tured by three Indians almost in sight of his home and taken
to Canada, where he was held for over seven years. His forti
tude in enduring hardship recalls traits of his distinguished
descendant. It was no uncommon experience for New England frontiers
men to be carried off to Canada by the Indians in hope of
reward from the French. Early one autumn morning Daniel
Hayes started, into the woods, bridle in hand, to find his horse.
He had not gone far, when suddenly three Indians sprang from
hiding, seized him, bound his hands with the throat-latch of his
bridle, and at once plunged into the wilderness toward Canada.
The journey, lasting some thirty days, was full of suffering for
the young captive. At night he lay on his back, with his arms
and legs tied to trees and with slender sticks across his body the

4 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
ends of which were under the sleeping Indians. Daytimes the
party travelled rapidly, living on fish and game.
At the principal encampment on the Canadian border, the pris
oner was delivered over to the head men, who, after deliberation,
decided that Hayes should run the gantlet. The day for the
test of endurance arrived, the lines were formed, and the young
man, who understood well the risks, started upon the trial. Near
the end of the ranks he saw a formidable warrior with raised
club ready to fell him, and being too exhausted to take the
chances of a blow, he bolted and sought safety in a wigwam at
the door of which sat an aged squaw. She interposed for his
protection and he became her "son" after the Indian custom of
adoption, and was also made a member of the tribe. For five
years (until her death) Daniel Hayes cared for this helpless old
woman, supplying her with food and dragging her on a rude sled
from place to place through the forests with much tenderness
and cheerfulness. He did not cease to hope for relief, and at last
the day of rescue came. A missionary priest visited the encamp
ment and became attached to young Hayes ; redeemed him, took
him to Montreal, and apprenticed him to a kind-hearted French
man, who set him up as weaver and permitted him to retain a
share of his earnings. When enough had been earned to remu
nerate him, the Frenchman put him in charge of a trusty Indian
guide and turned his face homeward.
On a clear October morning, from the foot of Mount Holyoke
the guide pointed out to Hayes a thin wreath of smoke in the
distance, and then silently turned to retrace his steps through
the forest. The young man "kneeled down and gave thanks to
his God as he did aforetime," and then with buoyant step
crossed the border-land to civilization, more eager, than if he
had not been tried by adversity, to share in its responsibilities.
Daniel Hayes married at Simsbury, March 1, 1716, Martha
Holcombe, who died the following year, leaving one son. He was
admitted freeman in October, 1717. May 4, 1721, he married
Sarah Lee, of Westfield, Massachusetts, by whom he had ten
children. She died in 1738. January 2, 1723, the town of Sims
bury granted him one hundred and twenty acres of land. About
1739 he married his third wife Mary, who survived him. He died
at Salmon Brook, September 23, 1756, having had six sons and

ANCESTRY AND EARLY YEARS 5
five daughters, of whom six died in infancy. Phelps, in his his
tory of Simsbury, says that Daniel Hayes "was a prominent
citizen often employed in public affairs, and during many years
a pillar in the church at Salmon Brook."
Ezekiel Hayes, born at Salmon Brook, November 21, 1724,
was the third child and second son of Daniel Hayes by his second
wife. He was a prominent citizen and a large proprietor, and was
known as "Captain" Hayes and "Scythe-Maker" Hayes. He
removed early to New Haven, where he died October 17, 1807;
but he lived at Branford, on Long Island Sound, from 1749 until
after the Revolutionary War. He was twice married — first to
Rebecca, daughter of John Russell, judge, and Speaker of the
Assembly, and Sarah Trowbridge (whose grandmother was a
Rutherford), by whom he had six children; and the second time,
May 5, 1774, to Mrs. Abigail Hitchcock Brown, by whom he had
four children. November 14, 1780, Captain Hayes was chosen
collector of a tax for supplies for the American army under an
act of the Connecticut Legislature. In 1798 he sold a cargo of
scythes at Albany for a tract of land in the town of Romulus
on Cayuga Lake.
The first Rutherford Hayes was the third child and second son
of Ezekiel Hayes by his first wife, who, as just said, was a
Rutherford by descent. He was born at Branford, July 29, 1756,
and removed to Brattleboro, Vermont, in 1778, where he was a
blacksmith, an innkeeper, and a farmer. At the time Mr. Hayes
settled in Brattleboro the controversy was raging between those
who supported the jurisdiction of New York and the friends of
the new State of Vermont. He soon after married Chloe, daugh
ter of Lieutenant Israel Smith, who was classed with the "York
ers" of Cumberland County. The great body of the people of
Brattleboro sided with New York, and Mr. Hayes probably
sympathized with his neighbors. July 24, 1782, he was chosen
ensign of the South Company of Brattleboro, commanded by
Captain Artemus How in the Southern Regiment of Cumberland
County. He was commissioned by Governor George Clinton.
He received a grant of lands at Bainbridge, Chenango County,
New York, as "recompense" for services and injuries suffered in
sustaining the jurisdiction of that State.
Mr. Hayes was an active member of the- Congregational

6 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Church, maintained family worship, and extolled his trade as a
black business which brought in white money." At seventy he
became a "total abstinence" man, fearing his example might be
quoted against the cause of temperance. He is described as a
round, corpulent old gentleman, with elastic, square step, of
medium height, florid complexion, sandy hair, cheerful temper,
and friendly, courteous manners. His laugh was hearty, as
became one who found the world full of sunshine and good will.
The fourth child and second son of this marriage was named
Rutherford, and was born at Brattleboro, January 4, 1787. He
became a merchant's clerk at Wilmington, Vermont, and subse
quently a member of the mercantile firm of Noyes, Mann &
Hayes at Dummerston. He married at Wilmington, September
13, 1813, Sophia, daughter of Roger Birchard and Drusilla Aus
tin. It is on record that at Dummerston he was "Captain of a
militia company, a very handsome man, the flower of the Hayes
family." He was an erect, slender, active man of popular man
ners and interesting in conversation, fond of fun, and much
loved by all classes of people. In 1817 he removed to Ohio and
became a farmer at Delaware.1 He was a successful business man
and a member of the Presbyterian Church. In the year 1822
there were many fatal cases of bilious and other fevers in central
Ohio. Mr. Hayes was stricken, and after a brief illness died, on
the 20th of July, in the very prime of life, leaving a wife, in deli
cate health, a son and a daughter. A posthumous child was born
on the 4th of the following October, who was named Ruther
ford Birchard Hayes. Lorenzo, the elder son, was accidentally
drowned three years later.
The family of the first wife of Captain Ezekiel Hayes was
of sturdy English stock, independent, and God-fearing. John
Russell, the American founder, was born in England about 1597.
He was a glazier at Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was made
a freeman March 3, 1636. He removed early to Wethersfield,
Connecticut, following the eloquent Newtowne pastor, the
Reverend Thomas Hooker, who sought in the Connecticut
1 He had $8000 in gold when he arrived in Ohio. His intention had been to
invest this at Cleveland; but, because of the prevalence of fever and ague there,
he went on to Delaware and bought land. When this land was sold some thirty
years later it brought less than Hayes paid for it.

ANCESTRY AND EARLY YEARS 7
Valley the freedom which was denied by the aristocratic govern
ment of Massachusetts. "The foundation of authority," said
Mr. Hooker, "is laid in the free consent of the people," which
sound democratic doctrine John Russell also held. He married
for a second wife in Wethersfield, Dorothy, widow of the Rev
erend Henry Smith, and later removed to Hadley, where he died
May 8, 1680, aged eighty-three years.
The elder of John Russell's two sons was born in England
about 1626, and bore the same name. He graduated at Harvard
College, studied for the ministry and was ordained as pastor of
the church in Wethersfield about 1649. He continued in this
charge until the settlement of Hadley, whither he removed and
continued in the ministry until his death, December 10, 1692.
He was three times married — first, to Mary Talcott, second, to
Rebecca Newbury, and third, to Mrs. Rebecca Whiting. At his
house he concealed the regicides, Whalley and Goffe, for some
time; which act of courage and Christian duty justifies the
eulogy of the historian: "He feared not to do what he thought
to be right." One son by his first wife and one by his second wife
survived him. Samuel Russell, son by the second marriage, was
born November 4, 1660. He graduated at Harvard College in
1681 and became a minister. He married Abigail Whiting and
was ordained in 1687 as pastor of the church in Branford,1
Connecticut, and died June 25, 1731.
1 Branford had been almost depopulated twenty years before by the removal
of the larger part of the church and its minister, the Reverend Abraham Pierson,
to New Jersey, where he had founded the town of Newark. During these
twenty years there had been no settled minister at Branford, and Mr. Russell
became the second father of the town. He was the son of the first minister of
Hadley, Massachusetts, and had been a classmate of the Reverend James Pier-
pont in Harvard College in the class of 1681.
These two ministers, Russell, of Branford, and Pierpont, of New Haven, with
the Reverend Samuel Andrews, of Milford, were alert for the public good and
felt the need of a college nearer than Harvard. Ten trustees were chosen by the
churches, including these three ministers. Sometime in 1700 a quorum of these
trustees met in New Haven, and, that they might engage in some formal act by
which they should acquire a legal control over the institution as its founders, they
separated with the understanding that at their next meeting, appointed at
Branford, they should come prepared to make a beginning by a gift of books.
At this adjourned meeting, also in 1700, each member "brought a number of
books and presented them to the body," and laying them on the table said, "I
give these books for the foundation of a college in this colony." There proved to
be about forty volumes in f olio, and after the ceremony of presentation had been

8 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Of Samuel Russell's nine children, the oldest was John Rus
sell, who was born January 24, 1687. He graduated at Yale
College in 1704, and four years later married Sarah Trowbridge.
He was deacon in the church from 1733 to his death, was colonel
of the mihtia, judge, member of the General Assembly forty-one
sessions, clerk of that body fourteen years, and Speaker in 1751.
He was the most conspicuous man in Branford, where he died
July 7, 1757. The sixth of his eight children was Rebecca Rus
sell, who became the wife of Captain Ezekiel Hayes, and the
mother of the first Rutherford Hayes. She died May 27, 1773.1
Among the papers preserved at Spiegel Grove is a diary kept
by Chloe Smith Hayes, which reveals whence some of the most
striking traits of character of Rutherford B. Hayes were derived.
He always had great admiration for this grandmother, which was
justified by a long life as rich in usefulness as it was beautif ill in
simplicity. Her English ancestor, Lieutenant Samuel Smith,
with his wife Elizabeth and four children, sailed for New Eng
land the last day of April, 1634, in the Elizabeth of Ipswich.
They settled at Wethersfield, which town he represented in the
Colonial Assembly for twelve years. He subsequently removed
to Hadley, Massachusetts, where he held many public trusts and
was often chosen to the General Court. His death is supposed
to have occurred in 1680, in his seventy-eighth year.
His son John was slain by Indians, May 30, 1670, in Hatfield
Meadows — "died fighting bravely while going to the rescue of
Hatfield," leaving a widow and a son. The succession of John
Smiths is unbroken until we come to April 2, 1739, when Israel
performed the trustees took possession of them and appointed their host, the
Reverend Samuel Russell, of Branford, to be the keeper of the library. The
books were chiefly theological works, most of them of an exegetical character;
probably not one related to literature or science. The intellectual activity of the
men who met at Branford is not to be estimated by the books there presented.
They knew it was important that they should give something so that they
might legally become the founders of the college, and gave what they could
spare from their scanty libraries. Soon after the Branford meeting sundry
other donations both of books and money were received "which laid a good
foundation." 1 George W. Xoyes, of Wallingford, Connecticut, a descendant of Polly
Hayes, traces, through the female branches of the Russell family, the Bradleys
and Demings of Vermont; Admiral Foote, of Connecticut, and Mr. Street, the
founder of the Yale School of Fine Arts. (MS. letter, April 6, 1870, at Spiegel
Grove.)

HOUSE OF CAPTAIN EZEKIEL HAYES AT BRANFORD, CONNECTICUT

ANCESTRY AND EARLY YEARS 9
Smith, the father of Chloe, was born. The family was always one
of influence and culture. One of Israel's brothers was a mission -
ary to the Indians of Pennsylvania. He and another brother
became Sandemanians ("I don't know as there is any such in the
country now," Chloe Hayes writes in her diary, "nor do I know
what their belief is"), and being loyalists, fled to Nova Scotia
at the outbreak of the Revolution, but Israel was among the first
to resist British aggressions. In 1776 he was made a member of
the Committee of Safety for the county, in session at Westmin
ster; April 22 he was appointed the agent for Brattleboro to the
New York Convention; was a member of the convention at
Windsor, June 4, 1777, which pledged "New Hampshire Grants
or New Connecticut" to maintain "the present just war against
the fleets and armies of Britain"; and later was employed to
confer with Governor Clinton.
The attempted arrest of alleged British sympathizers forms an
interesting episode in the enigmatical part taken by Vermont at
this period of the contest with Great Britain. The intrigue with
General Haldimand had become so bold as to scandalize the
Whig cause, and it was deemed necessary to take decided action.
Congress on November 27, 1782, declared it indispensable to the
safety of the United States that traitorous intercourse between
the inhabitants of Vermont and the enemy should be suppressed.
It was understood that General Washington should cause the
arrest of Luke Knowlton and Samuel Wells, the most notorious
offenders, with a view to their punishment. He entrusted that
delicate and confidential commission to Israel Smith, who, how
ever, failed to find the men. In his report which was laid before
Congress, he said that "Knowlton and Wells had received a
letter from Jonathan Arnold, Esquire, at Congress, part of which
was made public, which informed them that affairs in Congress
were unfavorable to them, and would have them look out for
themselves. What other information this letter contained he
could not say." "I found in my march through the State," he
added, "that the last-mentioned gentleman was much in favor
with all the principal men in that State I had any conversation
with." Mr. Arnold being present at the reading said he had
never held any correspondence with the gentlemen mentioned
and was surprised that such a notion prevailed with respect to

10 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
him. But it was generally considered, remarked Mr. Madison,
notwithstanding his denial of the correspondence, that he had,
at least at second hand, conveyed the intelligence to Vermont.
It was remembered that when the subject of arrest was first
broached, Mr. Arnold suggested that the commander-in-chief
should be directed to make a previous communication of his
intentions to the persons exercising authority in the district,
which General Washington took good care to omit.
Lieutenant Smith had four hundred and ninety-seven acres
of land granted him for his services, and he was one of three
commissioners appointed to take charge of the property of
refugee Tories. He was reputed to be a partisan of New York in
the controversy between that State and Vermont, but however
that may be, he was by act of the Legislature of the latter State,
in 1790, associated with Ira Allen and four others on a commis
sion to treat with commissioners of New York as to a boundary
line, and to remove certain obstacles which prevented the admis
sion of Vermont into the Union — which was a recognition of his
fairness. He subsequently removed from Brattleboro to Jericho,
now Bainbridge, New York, where he was a farmer. His wife
was Abigail, daughter of Isaac Chandler, of Enfield, Connecticut,
and until 1774 they resided at South Hadley.
Chloe Smith, the eldest of eight children, was born at South
Hadley, November 10, 1762. Married to Rutherford Hayes
when she was seventeen, she became the mother of eleven chil
dren, and " lived to so great an age as to have left upon the
memory of many surviving grandchildren and great-grandchil
dren the personal impression of her strong and resolute charac
ter, and her rugged Puritan virtues, tempered and softened by
aesthetic gifts amounting almost to genius. It is to her that her
posterity are fond of ascribing in vast measure whatever is best
in their hereditary traits." 1 This portrait is given of her by
a granddaughter: —
Her face was most expressive. Her forehead was low but full, and her
hair was black to the last. Her complexion was dark. Her laugh was
short and quick. She was not of a hopeful temperament, but was pos
sessed of great force of will. . . . She had a vein of wit and dry humor.
When grandfather would boast that he was not shifted about with every
1 Howells.

THE HAVES HOUSE AT BRATTLEBORO, VERMONT
Home of Rutherford B. Hayes's Grandparents

ANCESTRY AND EARLY YEARS 11
new tide of opinion, she would remind him of the fact that in one hour
he was converted from faith in colonization to rank abolitionism. Her
word was law from which there was emphatically no appeal. At the
wedding of one of the daughters it was proposed to omit the usual
invitation to one of the humble neighbors, but grandmother said,
"W  's family will be invited."
For a description of the old homestead and some striking pas
sages from a diary preserved there, the writer is indebted to a
gifted descendant J who writes from the spot. Her letter brings
vividly before us the scenes in which Chloe Smith Hayes
lived and wrought, setting an example for her own and future
generations. This is the letter: —
Six generations in direct line have lived upon or near the site of the
house from which I write. It is a large, broad-fronted homestead, look
ing directly down the main street of the pretty village of West Brattle
boro, Vermont; watching with dignified satisfaction the sweeping curve
which its position forces upon the road. It was built for the village inn
by my great-grandfather, and according to hearsay was a most popular
house. Great-grandmother Chloe Smith, at the mature age of seven
teen, married Rutherford Hayes, a few years her senior, and one of the
treasures of the house is her diary. On the opening page is written: —
"My grandfather by my father's side was Deacon John Smith. His
native place was Hadley. When Deerfield was destroyed by the Indians
he was seven years old. In the morning he saw the smoke of the build
ings that they had left burning. The inhabitants were carried captive
to Canada. He (when he was married he went to South Hadley where
it was a wilderness) was an eminent Christian and sustained that char
acter to the day of his death. I have heard him say when he was con
verted it was a very dull time. After this was Whitefield's time. He
used to speak of the great stir there was through New England — the
first and second stir. It was not then called a revival, but a stir. My
grandfather did not marry till he was more than thirty. He said his
uncle from Wethersfield in Connecticut visited at his father's house and
he slept with him. In the night he told him he had a daughter that
would make him a good wife, and so it proved, he married his cousin
Elizabeth." After reading that we went down into the meadow behind the house,
to where ancient slabs mark the graves of Deacon John Smith and
Elizabeth his wife. Six generations ago! and among the numerous off
spring, Great-grandmother Chloe stands out in bold relief. "How well
I remember," said my mother one day at breakfast, "a scene that took
place in this room. Two guests were discussing in loud tones, Lutherism
and Calvinism. Grandmother left her seat at the head of the table,
1 Miss Lucy Elliot Keeler, a great-granddaughter.

1-2 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
came toward the men, and striking the table with her hand said, 'Stop,
every one of you; and without controversy, great is the mystery of
godliness.' The men laughed and obeyed/' added the narrator, "but
how terrified my Little heart was ! "
Everythins was turned Scrip tureward in those days. Her grand
daughter came to show a pearl engagement ring, and was met with the
reply. "And be sure you have the pearl of great price"; while to a
grandson, bursting into the room with, "Oh, grandma, I'm engaged,"
came, "I hope you ii't engaged in religion."
Throughout the diary the verb "know" is spelt phonetically. One of
her daughters once remonstrated, with this result: "I know that it is
know, but I like no better!"
Her energy was phenomenal. Think of the balls to which all the
countryside used to come, — the pies and puddings, meats and drinks,
that had to be provided. After all were served great-grandmother her
self must join in the festive dance; and at daybreak — at least twice in
her life — did she take advantage of "being up and dressed so early"
to start off on horseback with her husband for Bainbridge. Xew York.
Only one recreation did she allow herself: that was worsted work.
Bringing in a flower from the garden she would faithfully copy its form
and colors upon her canvas; and so fascinating was this occupation that
every Saturday night found her pushing her worsted work far under the
bed, lest she be tempted to look at it on Sunday.
Looking into the absorbing diary, we find that "six daughters and
three sons lived to marry and have families. Xone lived more than
fifty miles from us until Rutherford moved to Ohio. In about five years
he died, when he was thirty -five years old. His youngest child Ruther
ford [General Hayes] was named after his father and grandfather. That
branch of our family is but little known by the other connections — they
have been at #ueh a distance.'' The italics in that sentence are my own.
In the antiquity room there are many relics of long past days. There
is the little trunk, not large enough for a modem doll, in which great
grandfather brought hither his sole earthly possessions; the cradle in
which all his children were rocked : spinning-wheels and cards, some of
the famous worsted work, and best of all the old swinging tavern sign.
This last was discovered a few years ago by one of the present genera
tion who found it under the attic eaves. It bears the inscription: —
R Hays
Entertainment
— with a gorgeous painting of a jockey in yellow small-clothes and
black top-boots, holding a spirited steed. Under the "R. Hays," and
evidently the remains of earlier decoration, appear the dates "1775"
and " 1791. " For more than one hundred years the old house has stood

ANCESTRY AND EARLY YEARS 13
there, and to the initiated its doors open as freely and as widely as in the
days of "auld lang syne."
The mother of Rutherford B. Hayes was of English descent.
The founder of the American family was Thomas Birchard, who,
in 1635, came from London in the Truelove to Roxbury, Massa
chusetts, with his wife Mary and six children. He was made a
freeman at Boston, May 17, 1637, and a freeman of Hartford in
1639. He is afterward found at Saybrook, where he was Deputy
to the General Court in 1650 and 1651. In a land sale in 1656 he
is described as "of Martha's Vineyard." His only son, John
Birchard, was born in England in 1628, came to America with his
father, and afterwards became a proprietor of Norwich, where
he was a man of considerable note. July 22, 1653, he married
Christian Andrews, by whom he had fourteen children. She died,
probably about 1680, and subsequently he married Mrs. Jane
Lee Hyde. He was made a freeman at Hartford in October,
1663, Clerk of the County Court in 1673, Justice of the Peace
in 1676, and Deputy to the General Court in 1691. He is the
first schoolmaster of Norwich mentioned in the records, being
engaged in 1677 for nine months of the year at £25 and provi
sions. He was one of the four original proprietors of the five-
mile tract purchased at Owaneco, in 1692, where Lebanon was
located, to which place he removed in 1698. He died November
17, 1702.
Of John Birchard's six sons who lived to maturity, the second
was James Birchard, born July 16, 1665, who settled at Norwich
West Farms, now Franklin. He married Elizabeth Beckwith,
March 17, 1696, had ten children and lived to be eighty years
old. His son John Birchard, born in 1704, was the father of Elias
Birchard, born 1739, who was a Revolutionary soldier. "In
June, 1775, Mansfield had a company of 98 men commanded by
Colonel Experience Storrs with the Connecticut troops under
General Putnam. This company participated in the battle of
Bunker Hill, and with these brave volunteers was Elias Birch
ard, a Mansfield ancestor of R. B. Hayes." J The next year he
served as a private in Captain Jonathan Brewster's company,
Huntington's regiment, and later in Captain James Dana's com-
1 A Centennial Discourse, p. 26, delivered in the First Congregational Church,
Mansfield Centre, July, 1876, by the Reverend K. B. Glidden.

14 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
pany. Elias Birchard married Sarah Jacobs, January 25, 1758.
Their oldest child, Roger Birchard, married Drusilla Austin,
whose father, Daniel Austin, grandson of Anthony Austin, one
of the first settlers of Suffield, Connecticut, was a Revolution
ary soldier. They were the parents of Sophia Birchard, mother
of Rutherford B. Hayes.
Descended from this long line of wholesome, conscientious,
God-fearing men and women, it was quite in the order of nature
that Rutherford B. Hayes should grow up to be a representative
of the best type of Anglo-Saxon manhood. There was a unity in
his private and official life, admirable in its sincerity and freedom
from self-seeking; and at all times, in peace and in storm, an
equanimity that belongs only to the finest nature — to the soul
that has passed through the fire of discipline. Daily introspec
tion, with him, as in the case of Chloe Smith Hayes, type of
Puritan character, served only to stimulate to a more active and
orderly discharge of duty, thus exemplifying Lord Bacon's wise
aphorism, "Habit is the best magistrate." Complete mastery
of the passions is acquired only when devotion to moral truth
becomes the habit of the mind and the uniform guide in action.
The characters of men are often developed by fortune or by
some unforeseen disaster. The sudden death of his brother-in-
law, Rutherford Hayes, in July, 1822, changed the career of
Sardis Birchard, then a young man, and developed the affections
of a noble heart. Henceforth his sister and her children became
his care. "At the time of my first recollections," wrote Ruther
ford B. Hayes in later years, "our family consisted of Mother,
Fanny, Uncle Sardis, Arcena Smith, and myself. During these
early years Uncle was regarded as the stay of the family and
our protector and adviser in every trouble. He was appointed
guardian of Fanny and myself and during all our lives has been a
father to us." More faithful friend and protector widow never
found for herself and children.
The family had been left well provided for, so far as means
were concerned, in a comparatively new country. They lived in a
new two-story brick house at the northeast corner of William and
Winter streets, opposite the old brick Methodist meetinghouse,
in Delaware, with ground sufficient for garden, trees, and lawn;
and the income was derived from a fine farm, two miles north of

ANCESTRY AND EARLY YEARS 15
the village, situated on the Olentangy, which Mr. Hayes had
bought in 1816. The beauty and richness of Ohio as an agricul
tural State are nowhere surpassed, and the lands bordering the
romantic Olentangy, favorite stream of the Indians, are among
the most desirable. In those days the primeval forests had been
invaded but not destroyed. In their depths the deer found
security, while in early summer across vistas flashed the light of
the cardinal bird, and the air resounded with the melody of the
mockingbird, the catbird, the thrush, the bluebird, the redbird,
the finch, and other songsters now seldom heard. In the autumn
— it is well to recall the picture, then so familiar to a new
people — "What gorgeousness, what blazonry, what pomp
Of colors, bursts upon the ravished sight!
Here where the maple rears its yellow crest,
A golden glory; yonder where the oak
Stands monarch of the forest, and the ash
Is girt with flame-like parasite, a rolling flood
Of deepest crimson."
It was here amid such scenes and influences that the childhood
of brother and sister was spent — she, the elder, feeling all the
responsibility of a protector. "She was loving and kind to me,
and very generous," said the brother thirty years after, when
reflecting on what he had lost in her death.1 The great events in
their childhood were connected with the farm on the banks of the
Olentangy, to which visits were made three or four times a year.
Sugar-making, cherry-time, cider-making, and nutting were the
occasions of these long-looked-for and delightful trips. The
tenants, who were always attentive to them, gave them colored
eggs filled with sugar at Easter, and at other seasons pet birds,
squirrels, rabbits, quail's eggs, turtle's eggs, and other curious
gifts. They early began to go to school together. Fanny was
easily the best scholar of her age, and was a favorite with all.
"She read a great deal when she was a child," wrote her brother.
"All the books we had were read by her before she was ten years
old. Uncle gave her a history of England in two volumes,
1 Frances Arabella, daughter of Rutherford and Sophia Birchard Hayes, was
born at Delaware, Ohio, January 20, 1820; was valedictorian of her class at the
seminary at Putnam, where she graduated; was married to William A. Piatt, a
prosperous business man of Columbus, September 2, 1839; died July 16, 1856,
leaving three daughters and one son.

16 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
abridged, I think, from Hume and Smollett. She soon had it at
her tongue's end. She knew by heart the 'Lady of the Lake' and
a great part of 'Lalla Rookh' — gifts from Uncle Birchard —
almost as long ago as I remember anything about books. These
and a collection styled 'Original Poems,' containing 'The Last
Dying Speech and Confession of Poor Puss,' 'Tit for Tat,' and
other pieces of about equal merit, were our constant companions.
Finer poetry we have never seen since. When she was about
twelve she read all the plays of Shakespeare, and without any aid
from friends, so far as I know, selected those which are generally
esteemed the best, to be read again and again. This reading of
plays suggested the writing of plays, and she with my assistance
undertook to dramatize the 'Lady of the Lake.' I am sure
neither of us had ever heard of such a thing. This job, done on
joint account, occupied a good deal of our thoughts for a long
time. Our success was not very flattering. Long afterwards we
learned that it was a common thing to dramatize poems and that
the 'Lady of the Lake' had been upon the stage many years."
Two or three years before this attempt at dramatizing a
poem, Mrs. Hayes had been called to the bedside of Sardis Birch
ard, who was then ill at Lower Sandusky (now Fremont) where
he had embarked in business, and the children were left in the
care of a neighbor who thought it well for them to be in school.
The schoolmaster, Daniel Granger, "was a little thin, wiry, ener
getic Yankee, with black hair, sallow complexion, and piercing
black eyes; and when excited appeared to us a demon of ferocity.
He flogged great, strapping fellows of twice his size, and talked
savagely of making them 'dance about like a parched pea,' and
throwing them through the walls of the schoolhouse. He threw
a large jackknife carefully aimed so as just to miss the head of a
boy who was whispering near me. All the younger scholars were
horribly afraid of him. We thought our lives were in danger. We
knew he would kill some of us. Fanny and I begged Mr. Wasson
with many tears to take us out of school. But he knew Mr.
Granger to be a kind-hearted little man, and insisted on our
going. We then looked forward to mother's return as our only
hope." In 1834 brother and sister made their first journey. In com
pany with their mother they visited their relatives in Vermont

r ANCESTRY AND EARLY YEARS 17
and Massachusetts. The journey was made by stage-coach to
Lower Sandusky (Fremont), thence by boat down the Sandusky
River to Portland (now Sandusky), where they went on board
the Henry Clay (built by the Pioneer Steamship Company of
which General Peter B. Porter, of Black Rock, intimate friend
and correspondent of the Kentucky statesman, was the leading
spirit), on which they had a pleasant passage down Lake Erie.
From Buffalo the route was by canal-boat to Schenectady,
thence by railway to Saratoga, and thence by stage to Benning
ton.1 "I recollect very little about Fanny during this trip," con
tinues the memoir. "She was with her cousins the girls. I was
with the boys. I recollect that I was proud to hear what was said
about her. Grandfather Hayes and Grandmother and indeed all
the kindred loved her. There were several superior girls among
the Hayes cousins. In fact the observations I then made are the
foundation of the notion I have often expressed that the Hayes
women were far superior to the men. From this time I began to
prize Fanny at her true value and to think of her as the joy of our
little home circle. Whatever advantages other boys had over
me, none had such a sister as mine." This girl had many accom
plishments besides those named. Elsewhere in the memoir we are
told that "when very young she was taught to ride, play chess,
and shoot with a rifle. Although she was always a retiring, quiet,
modest little girl, even so as to be a favorite with those whose
sense of propriety swallows up every other virtue, yet in manly
sports she was perfectly fearless and very successful. She rode
gracefully and was the best rifle shot of any lady I ever knew.
She was a skilled player at chess and indeed of many other games.
She was small of her age as a girl, round, plump and healthy,
neat in her dress, and of very winning manners. I do not remem
ber," adds the brother with pardonable pride, "to have ever
thought her beautiful until after she was married."
The time came when these two devoted friends had to sepa
rate. The sister went to finish her education at the seminary in
Putnam, and the brother to an academy at Norwalk, Ohio, and
later to Mr. Webb's school in Middletown, Connecticut; but
she continued to take the liveliest interest in his studies. When
1 Hayes, then in his twelfth year, kept a journal, still preserved, of this to him
eventful trip.

18 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
studying Latin and Greek together at home, she often expressed
regret that she was not a boy so as also to be permitted to attend
college with him.
Mr. Isaac Webb, principal of Middletown Academy, recom
mended that young Hayes be fitted for entering Yale College,
and he accompanied this recommendation with the following
words, which must have gratified the mother's pride: "The con
duct of your son has hitherto done honor to his mother and has
secured our sincere respect and esteem. I hope and trust that he
will continue to be a great source of happiness to you." That
was written in August, 1838.1 The advantages offered by an old
institution like Yale were appreciated, but the distance from
home was a serious objection. It was settled, therefore, that
Rutherford should enter college in Ohio. He was examined for
the freshman class at Kenyon College, Gambier, and was duly
entered in November of that year. He was sixteen years old on
the 4th of the preceding month.
1 A month later Mr. Webb wrote Sardis Birchard: "Mrs. Hayes seems to have
made a determination as to her son which I regret, but with which I have no
right to find fault. Rutherford was doing so well in every respect, that I felt a
strong desire for him to remain — for my own sake, as well as that of his com
panions and himself. Another year here, as I viewed the matter, might be made
highly profitable to him. I hope to see the day when he shall become an active,
useful man, and I am confident that any advantages afforded him will not be lost.
He will carry with him our best wishes, with sincere friendship and respect, the
just due of his integrity and worth."

CHAPTER II
IN COLLEGE AND LAW SCHOOL
COLLEGE days to young Hayes were very happy days. He
devoted himself with zeal to his studies and bore his part
in student activities. In the diary which he began to keep in
his junior year and thereafter kept with tolerable regularity, he
is unsparing in criticizing himself for shortcomings, and frankly
confesses infractions of good resolutions. But there are abun
dant evidences of intellectual growth and of sound judgment in
determining courses of action and in forming associations.1 He is
conscious that he excels in common sense, thanks to his heredity,
and this he seeks to exercise in weighing all questions. June 17,
1841, we find this entry in his diary: —
I will devote the remainder of this page to mentioning some of the
traits of character for which the hero of these etchings is most particu
larly remarkable. He has, in the first place, a very good opinion of him
self, which can by no means be considered a failing, for if a man does
not esteem himself, he would certainly be very silly to expect the esteem
of others. But although he is so well convinced of the importance of self-
esteem, there is, perhaps, no one more anxious to conceal it than he is.
Again, there is no one who more heartily detests open flattery than he
does, and yet, strange to say, it sounds very pleasant to his ears; it puts
him in such good humor with himself, and, of course, with all about him,
that he seems like another being while under its agreeable influence.
He is so inconsistent as to wish to conceal this feature of his character;
though he declares most positively that all men can be flattered, the only
difference being, that some are more accessible to its approaches than
others. At first sight, or I should rather say thought, it seems surprising
that he should wish to conceal what he considers no disgrace, but it is
only one of the thousand errings of poor human nature. He has his share,
also, of that "great Caucasus" ambition, and as he loves to excel, it
cannot be denied that he loves to have it known. It is no part of his
creed that deception may be practiced to give others a high opinion of
1 "Hayes, as a boy," said Stanley Matthews, "was notorious for having on
his shoulders not only the levellest but the oldest head in college. He never got
caught in any scrapes, he never had any boyish foolishness, he never had any
wild oats to sow; he was sensible, not as some men are at the last, but sensible
from the beginning."

20 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
his attainments, for common sense teaches that an undeserved reputa
tion is of more injury than benefit.
I spoke above of his self-esteem. Now, I do not mean that he enter
tains an exalted opinion of his talents or acquirements, but merely that
he thinks himself possessed of a good share of common sense, by which
is meant a sound practical judgment of what is correct in the common
affairs of life. He often betrays this peculiar kind of self-esteem by
reflections like the following : "If I only had C.'s talents, what a figure I
would make in this world." The reason of his entertaining so favorable
an opinion of his common sense is that his family and relatives are
somewhat remarkable for the possession of it, and he thinks it runs in
the blood. Moreover, he has often been told (good authority) that he
had a family share of this good quality.
Two days later we have the following: —
After studying my own disposition with a good degree of diligence,
I am satisfied that the motives and desires which rule in my breast are,
indeed, "past all finding out." There have been times when I exercised
considerable firmness and decision, apparently without exertion; at
other times, after making the best of resolutions, I find the strenuous
will to carry them into effect almost entirely wanting. Considering my
age and circumstances I do not think myself more deficient in this
quality than other persons; but, be this as it may, I am determined from
henceforth to use what means I have to acquire a character distin
guished for energy, firmness, and perseverance. As I am now in the
humor of writing I will put down a few of my present hopes and designs
for the sake of keeping them safe. I do not intend to leave here till about
a year after I graduate, when I expect to commence the study of law.
Before then I wish to become master of logic and rhetoric and to obtain
a good knowledge of history. To accomplish these objects I am willing
to study hard, in which case I believe I can make, at least, a tolerable
debater. It is another intention of mine, that after I have commenced
in life, whatever may be my ability or station, to preserve a reputation
for honesty and benevolence; and if ever I am a public man, I will never
do anything inconsistent with the character of a true friend and good
citizen. To become such a man I shall necessarily have to live in
accordance with the precepts of the Bible, which I firmly believe,
although I have never made them strictly the "rule of my conduct."
The traits of modesty and diffidence which at first seemed to
stand in the way of success, are modified by an exertion of the
will, but are preserved to beautify the character of the fully
developed man.1 His love of fun and humor and of manly sports
1 " I recollect him as one of the purest boys I ever knew. — I never knew him
to entertain for a moment an unmanly, dishonest, or demoralizing thought.
And when we met in after life, in scenes which called for the highest manhood

IN COLLEGE AND LAW SCHOOL 21
was not abated by his hard study or his profound interest in
serious questions, but was freely indulged. He never posed as il
penseroso, but always appeared as one to whom life was joyous
and full of sunshine. In childhood the beauties of nature had
filled him with delight, and at every stage of his career this
delight was as fresh as in youth. That he might not be betrayed
by the sarcasm natural to him to comment on others to their
prejudice or to wound their feelings, he early resolved to avoid
speaking ill of any one. June 29, 1841, the diary has this entry: —
I make it a rule never to seek an opportunity to speak ill of any
individual, and if it is my duty to blame, to do it in as mild terms as
the subject admits of. I did not make this determination because I
thought I was disposed to question the motives of others, or to censure
without sufficient reason, but lest, by frequently indulging in remarks
more severe than the occasion warrants, I may contract a habit of
slandering my acquaintances which will grow stronger till the odious
practice becomes a confirmed habit which cannot be shaken off. I saw
a remark of Bacon on this subject which struck me as well worthy of
remembrance. "There is," said he, "with the young and old, a preva
lent habit of talking of persons rather than things. This is seldom inno
cent and often pregnant with many ills. Such conversation insensibly
slides into detraction; and by dwelling on offenses we expose our own
souls to contagion, and are betrayed into feelings of pride, envy, jeal
ousy; and even when we speak in terms of commendation, we are sure
to come in with a 'but' at the last, and drive a nail in our neighbor's
reputation." My own experience furnishes me with abundant proofs of
the truth of this sentiment; but by regarding my resolution with care
I hope to deserve a name far better than the slanderer's. Another of the
good resolutions referred to, is that while in the Society, I will do
nothing calculated to produce disorder, or anything likely to have an
evil tendency. My love of fun is so great and my perception of the
ludicrous so quick, that I laugh at everything witty, and say all I can
to add to the general mirth. Now this [is] agreeable enough at times,
but the tendency to carry it to extremes is so great that I shall stop it
entirely in future, if I can. My last resolution is, to act from no motives
which I should be ashamed to avow.
This resolution to speak well of others became a habit, which
in later life was mistaken by strangers for weakness of character.
It was a part of the culture that formed the gentleman. Each
year made the gifts of life richer to Hayes. It was with him as
with Wordsworth, —
and patriotism, I found the man to be exactly what his boyhood had promised."
(Letter of a college friend.)

22 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
"The everliving universe,
Turn where I might, was opening out its glories;
And the independent spirit of pure youth
Called forth at every season new delights.
Spread round my steps like sunshine o'er green fields."
Kenyon, like other colleges, had rival societies, in which
Hayes took an active interest. The club for debating, however,
was the one that claimed his chief attention, as here was intel
lectual collision and sharpening of wits, which should help him
toward the goal of his ambition. And that goal he discloses in
his diary in passages so striking as to be not only the record of
an aspiration but the prophecy of his life achievement.
July 29, 18U. — In one little week I shall be a senior; a year, and
then a graduate; but who can tell what changes a year may bring?
Short as the three years since I entered college now seem, they have
wrought great changes in my views of things and perhaps greater still
in my anticipations and designs. I have always been ambitious, dream
ing of future glory, of performing some virtuous or patriotic action,
but it has been all dreams, and no reality. From my earliest recollec
tion, I have thought I had great power in me, yet at the same time I was
fully satisfied of my present insignificance and mental weakness. I have
imagined that at some future time I could do considerable, but the more
I learn, the more I feel my littleness.
Kenyon College, November 7, 181*1. — I am now a member of the
senior class; only one short year remains before the frail bark of my
destiny will be tossing on the stormy waves of an untried sea. What
will be its fate in the voyage of life, depends much on the exertions I am
now making. I know I have not the natural genius to force my way to
eminence; but if I listen to the promptings of ambition, "the magic of
mind" I must have, and since I cannot trust to inspiration I can only
acquire it by "midnight toil" and "holy emulation." My lofty aspira
tions I cannot conceal even from myself; my bosom heaves with the
thought, they are part of myself, so wrought into my very soul that I
cannot escape their power if I would. As far back as memory can carry
me the desire of fame was uppermost in my thoughts, but I never de
sired other than honorable distinction, and before I would be "damned
to eternal fame" I would descend to my grave unknown. The reputa
tion which I desire is not that momentary eminence which is gained
without merit and lost without regret; give me the popularity which
runs after, not that which is sought for. For honest merit to succeed
amid the tricks and intrigues which are now so lamentably common, I
know is difficult, but the honor of success is increased by the obstacles
which are to be surmounted. Let me triumph as a man or not at all.

IN COLLEGE AND LAW SCHOOL 23
Defeat without disgrace can be borne, but laurels which are not de
served sit like a crown of thorns on the head of their possessor. It is,
indeed, far better to deserve honors without having them, than to have
them without deserving them. Obscurity is an honor to the man who
has failed in "the pursuit of noble ends by noble means." He can walk
proudly forth before the face of nature and be conscious that he has
not disgraced the image of his God. Although neglected and perhaps
despised by his fellows, there is a monitor within whose approving
smiles are more valuable than the plaudits of millions; the first sits
upon her seat unalterable as the sun in his course, the other is more
fitful than a summer's breeze. If an honorable man gains the applause
of Ms countrymen, he is richly rewarded, for conscious of his own merit
he feels that it is deserved, and knows that it is substantial because
deserved. I never desired other than honorable distinction. — The reputation which
I desire is not that momentary eminence which is gained without merit and
lost without regret. Give me the popularity which runs after, not that which
is sought for. — For honest merit to succeed amid the trickswnd intrigues
which are now so lamentably common, I know, is difficult, but the honor of
success is increased by the obstacles which are to be surmounted. Let me
triumph as a man or not at all.
Surely much may be expected of the lad who at nineteen looks
out upon life with so clear a vision and so lofty a purpose !
Notebooks still preserved afford evidence of the careful prepa
ration made by the young student for society debates and public
discussions. He set down on opposite pages the arguments on
each side, weighed them and strove to reach a conscientious con
clusion as to the side which merited approval. He had no illu
sions regarding the enervating methods pursued by far too many
college students in preparing speeches for public exhibitions.
Every college man will recognize the truth of the following
analysis, which we find in the diary about the middle of Hayes's
senior year: —
From this the currents of my thoughts naturally turned on the folly
of college exhibitions. The student knows, that in obedience to the
requisitions of the faculty, he must prepare an address to deliver before
a mixed audience of friends and acquaintances, come what may. Pride
and emulation prompt him to make every exertion, that his performance
may be creditable to himself, and gratifying to his friends. If he is pos
sessed of common modesty, he feels that he cannot write upon any
subject such a speech as will, perhaps, be expected of him. The time
approaches, and his piece must be written. Inability will not be received

24 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
as an excuse. The terrors of college discipline are hanging over him,
and when he finds there is no escape from the odious duty he puzzles
his brain with the energy of despair for thoughts which he knows
are not in it. After many fruitless endeavors to obtain a subject, as a
last resort, he betakes himself to the advice of some elder friend who
has passed the terrors of a first appearance in public. He soon receives
the necessary information which his friend had received in the same
manner and which has doubtless been handed down through many
generations of collegians. The youthful orator takes his way with a
light step and joyful countenance to the nearest library. Without a
moment's hesitation he seizes the first of a long row of Reviews and
rapidly glances over the table of contents. The object of his search
being a good article on some subject which will "look well on the bill,"
he usually finds it without trouble. He bears off in triumph the vol
ume containing his future eloquence, and, after carefully concealing it,
hastens to his professor and gives him the subject he has chosen. The
professor, anxious that his oration may speak well for his instructor,
applauds his selection, and tells him of an article in a certain Review in
which he will find some good ideas on his subject. The scholar feigns
surprise that the subject has ever been written upon before, but thinks
he will get the Review referred to. He returns to his room, adopts the
train of thought furnished him by the Review, and, not infrequently,
copies the language in which those thoughts are dressed. His oration
is thus written; subject, sentiment, and language, all either borrowed or
stolen. The composition, after having gone through the farce of cor
rection, is committed, and finally delivered under circumstances any
thing but favorable to the display of practical good sense. If the evil
ended with the exhibition, it would be comparatively slight; but after
being praised and flattered for a performance of this kind, the student
is anxious to retain the reputation he has acquired. Thus the folly must
be repeated. Idleness, as well as inclination, prompts him to adopt this
method of obtaining ideas; for he has now learned how easy it is to
write without thought and gain applause without exertion. The habit
is thus formed of seeking assistance from the productions of others,
rather than relying on one's own powers. Large numbers [of] our
college-bred men form their habits precisely in this way. It is not
strange that they finally fall below those whose advantages being less
were compelled to think and act for themselves from boyhood.
The temptation to avail ourselves of these cork jackets to buoy us
up in our first attempts is, indeed, great. But if we would acquire the
skill and strength necessary to stem the opposing tides of life, these
artificial aids must be rejected. By their use vigorous original thinkers
are never made; but this is what every one must be who wishes to
become eminent.
Warm friendships spring naturally from genial associations
and sound principles, and endure after one has left college and

IN COLLEGE AND LAW SCHOOL 25
entered active life. Hayes's friends in college were wisely chosen,
and they justified in after life the good opinion he formed of
them. Of one who graduated before him he writes in his diary : —
The graduating class acquitted themselves with credit. My long-
tried friend Trowbridge, for whose success I was most anxious, exceeded
my fondest anticipations. The effect of his eloquence on me was indeed
surprising. I am accustomed to feel strongly, how strongly words can
not tell, when one of my friends is gaining the palm of eloquence, but
never before were tears drawn so copiously from my eyes as when the
closing sentence of his oration passed his lips. I always thought him a
persevering, strong-minded man, but I was then satisfied that he pos
sessed the true fire of genius. With a fair field and good health he
can be really great. His style of speaking is plain, strong, and to the
purpose.1 Of a classmate he says: —
Guy M. Bryan fully retrieves the character of Texas. He is a Mis-
sourian by birth. He is a real gentleman, holds his honor dear, respects
the feelings and wishes of others; is a warm and constant friend. He has
good talents, though not a good scholar. He will, 1 trust, figure largely
in Texas history. He is a true patriot.2
And though the two were on opposite sides during the Civil War,
this opinion was in no whit modified, nor the warmth of friend
ship cooled.
One who was in college with Hayes gives us this portrait of
him at Kenyon, which will serve for the man of later years,
softened and toned by the experiences of life: —
Hayes was the champion in college in debate, class-section, and in
the footpath; cheerful, sanguine, and confident of the future, never
seeing cause for desponding; was a young man of substantial physique;
in my whole acquaintance I never knew of his being sick one day, and
so free from any weaknesses as to seem indefatigable. His greatest
amusements were fishing and chess. In company he was humorous to
hilarity; told quick, pungent stories, many of which I remember with
laughter to this day; took things as they came; used to laugh at the
shape of our boarding-house roast beef, but still ate. I do not think he
had many intimate friends. Those with whom he was intimate were,
and still are, the best men of my acquaintance. I don't remember a
1 Rowland E. Trowbridge, of Michigan, served for several terms in Congress
acceptably. He and Hayes were both members of the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth
Congresses. 2 Mr. Bryan filled many offices of distinction in Texas, and also served in
Congress.

26 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
single man with whom he was intimate but that has been successful in
his vocation.1
The four years of Kenyon were not passed without discussion
of current political questions, and a showing of party colors.
Hayes confides to his diary that he intends to be a lawyer and to
let politics alone. His comments on a fellow collegian, who, in
the prime of manhood, was one of the most public-spirited and
useful of Ohio's distinguished citizens, — Lorin Andrews,2 —
express the bounds he had set for himself. He said: Andrews
"was a warm supporter of General Harrison's; went to the birth
day convention at Columbus, February 22, 1840, and came back
a politician. Spent last summer stumping it. In my opinion he
is a talented, energetic, honorable young man, and if he will let
politics alone, will make a good lawyer." But Hayes could not
wholly suppress his sentiments which, in common with those of
his family, bore the Whig hue. And, as we shall more fully see in
a subsequent chapter, he was even now an intelligent and inter
ested observer of political currents.
The slavery question found entrance even within the pre
cincts of Kenyon, but it did not move Hayes to take sides. In
1839 the students had "a glorious celebration" of the Fourth of
July. After dinner some speeches were made at the chapel in which some
things were said which created a difficulty between a noble, warm
hearted Kentuckian 3 and the orator of the day. The sectional feeling
which then existed was at once aroused. The members of the rival
societies each espoused the cause of their own member, and a serious
disturbance appeared unavoidable. After much useless disputing, Mr.
Andrews of my class and Mr. Elliot proposed that we should take a
short march to the tune of " Yankee Doodle." This was immediately
agreed to, and the spirit-stirring notes of the favorite air recalled at
1 Quoted in The Great Commoner of Ohio, p. 17, by Washington Gladden, D.D.
2 Lorin Andrews was born in Ashland, Ohio, April 1, 1819. He actively
engaged in the promotion of education. Princeton conferred on him the degree
of LL.D. He was chosen President of Kenyon College in 1854. He was the first
Ohio volunteer to the Union army in 1861; was elected colonel of the Fourth Regi
ment and served in West Virginia, where he died of typhoid fever, September 18,
1861. The news of his death was received with profound regret.
3 Thomas M. Kane: studied law with an uncle in New Orleans, where he was
admitted to the bar and began practice under the most favorable auspices. He
was killed in a duel near New Orleans in the winter of 1846. The difficulty arose
out of a dispute in a ballroom about positions!

IN COLLEGE AND LAW SCHOOL 27
once to the minds of the combatants the fact that we were all Americans,
so that the dispute was amicably settled and we returned to college
better friends than ever.
And Hayes patriotically adds : —
I trust all other sectional divisions and disputes may always be as
fortunately ended as this.
Opportunity was afforded him on another occasion to display
this sentiment, which was long remembered by Kenyon students.
Two rival literary societies represented the sectional divisions —
the Philomathesian whose members were from the free States,
and the Nu Pi Kappa with a membership wholly Southern. The
patronage from the South which had been liberal for many years
gradually waned, until, in the winter of 1841, there were so few
Southern students in the college that the members of the Nu Pi
Kappa were apprehensive that the society would cease to exist
for want of new members. This was a serious question with the
members of the society.
I determined [the relation is by a classmate from the South] — I
determined to open the subject to my intimate friend Hayes, to see if we
could not devise some mode to prevent the extinction of a society, which
was chartered by the State and had valuable property. We talked over
the subject with all the feeling and interest with which we would now
discuss the best means of bringing about an era of good feeling between
the sections of the country. At last Hayes said, "Well, I will get 'old
Trow,' Comstock, and some others to join with me, and we will send
over a delegation from our society to yours, and then we can make new
arrangements so that both societies can live in the old college." He and
I then went to work to consummate our plan. Ten members of the
Philomathesian joined the Nu Pi Kappa. A joint committee was then
appointed from the two societies that reported a plan by which students
could enter either society without reference to North or South.1
With all his steadiness of application to his classroom studies,
to the exercises of the literary societies, and to courses of read
ing (of which more hereafter), Hayes constantly takes himself
to task for not accomplishing more. We have an echo of this
mood of mind, with, at the same time, a note of confidence in his
mental powers, in an entry in the diary written just after his
return from the midwinter vacation of his senior year: —
1 "Recollections of Hon. Guy M. Bryan, of Texas," in Account of Kenyon
College, pamphlet, p. 17.

28 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Kenyon College, January 6, 1848. — I have just returned from home
where I spent the holidays, frolicking with the girls and laughing most
constantly either at my own folly or that of others. . . . But enough of
this; two weeks of pleasure will suffice for this session and I am deter
mined to apply myself to my studies more diligently than ever for the
rest of the winter. Before another year rolls round I must make great
progress. Within the last year my improvement has been rapid, yet
I could have done much more had the strenuous will not been want
ing. I am satisfied more and more by every day's experience, that if
I would attain the eminence in my profession to which I aspire, I must
exert myself with more constant zeal and hearty good will than I ever
have before. The life of a truly great lawyer must be one of severe and
intense application; he treads no "primrose path"; every step is one
of toil and difficulty; it is not by sudden, vigorous efforts that he is to
succeed, but by patient, enduring energy, which never hesitates, never
falters, but pushes on to the last. This is the life I have chosen; I
believe it is a happy one. Now is the time to acquire the habits which
will enable me to endure its hardships, and if I make a right use of my
present opportunities my after life will be as happy as it is laborious.
While at home, I attended the United States Circuit Court and listened
to the arguments of some of the first lawyers in the State. They did not
equal my expectations, but some were indeed most excellent; yet none
were so superior as to discourage one from striving to equal them. In
fact, I never hear a speaker but I am encouraged to renew my exertions ;
if I listen to a poor one I am flattered to think of the favorable compari
son which might be made between his efforts and my own, and when I
hear a good one I always attribute his superiority to his industry rather
than to his natural talents.
At last the four years of happy life and earnest endeavor drew
to a close. Commencement came the first week in August, 1842,
when Hayes lacked two months of completing his twentieth
year. He was chosen valedictorian of his class. The theme on
which he spoke was "College Life," and several contemporary
accounts of the commencement exercises single out his speech for
special commendation, as possessing merit quite unusual in such
performances. One editor speaks of it as "chaste, beautiful and
sublime, pure in diction and lofty in sentiment," and says it was
delivered with captivating animation. "All who heard this
oration," this editor says in conclusion, "pronounced it the best
in every point of view ever delivered on the hill at Gambier." l
Graduation was followed by a few weeks of rest, and on Octo
ber 17, 1842, Hayes began to read law in the office of Sparrow
1 Mount Vernon Democratic Banner, August 9, 1842.

KENYON COLLEGE, GAMBIER, OHIO
Rutherford B. Hayes occupied the gable room at the extreme left of the picture. The room is now used by the students
for social purposes

IN COLLEGE AND LAW SCHOOL 29
and Matthews at Columbus. The entrance to the portals of the
legal profession, he confides to his diary after a few weeks of
study, "is steep and difficult, but my chief est obstacle is within
myself. If I knew and could master myself, all other difficulties
would vanish." Blackstone, Chillingworth, logic, and the study of
German were engaging his attention, but society made claims
upon him and general reading had attractions for him which he
found it hard to resist. After a month of study we find him tak
ing account of his progress in the following entry in his diary: —
Columbus, November 19, 1848. — Another week has passed, and a
careful man should post his books every Saturday night to know how he
stands with his customers. This is the rule for a business man. Is it of
no importance to the student to know how he stands with his books,
himself, and the world without? If dollars and cents are worthy a mer
chant's long train of accounts, are no memoranda needed by the student
to ascertain how he has improved each hour as it passed? Shall he alone
neglect to balance his books? No. No. To him "time is money" —
nay, more than money; gold that's lost, renewed exertion may regain,
but time once fled is gone forever. Then, let me give an impartial state
ment of what I have done, and what I have left undone, not only during
the week past, but also during the whole month since I commenced the
study of law.
I have read upwards of 750 pages of Blackstone, being an average of
more than 150 pages per week. Also 50 pages of Chillingworth, an
average of 10 pages per week. Also 150 pages of logic, an average of
30 pages per week. Five pages of German committed to memory —
together with the general rules of grammar and construction which
applied. Besides this I have read a good deal of what may be denomi
nated trash, and which has been injurious; some 100 or 150 pages of
Milton and Shakespeare may be reckoned as offset to a portion of the
above-mentioned "trash." The quantity of information contained in
the pages read, if once acquired, would be a sufficient reward for the
cost in labor and time. If the amount passed over is only considered, my
month's work has been a good one, and a large balance appears in my
favor. But there is another element which should enter into this account
— viz., the manner in which the work has been executed. In order to
ascertain this it is necessary to say something of the end in view, and
then we may speak of its attainment.
In studying Blackstone's "Commentaries," the object should be
twofold, — legal information and mental discipline, — and success in
the attainment of one of these ends implies success in the other. If
mental discipline is totally neglected, little legal information will be
acquired, and vice versa. The important powers to be disciplined, in
Studying ajwork like Blackstone, are the memory and attention. The

30 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
other great powers of the mind — as apprehension, judgment, and
reasoning — are of necessity called into action, but Blackstone's style
is so clear that his meaning is seldom obscure, and he is so perspicuous
in the statement of the reasons for what he says, and in his explanations,
that great exertion is not requisite to comprehend him. As it is all plain
reading the attention is the only power especially exercised; if this is
well done the memory by natural consequence will be engaged. Thus
much for what should be done, now to what has been done.
My attention has not been so exercised as to acquire the information
and discipline which would satisfy my desires. And consequently I am
not satisfied with my month's work in Blackstone.
My chief object in studying Chillingworth is to discipline the reason
ing faculty. I found my task easier than I anticipated, and accom
plished more than I expected to when I commenced. Yet I have not
done as much as I now know I could have done. On the whole, this
account balances.
In the study of logic, my object, being only to refresh my memory,
was accomplished.
In German I have made respectable progress, but I must do better in
future. In my miscellaneous reading I have been injured by permitting myself
to read newspapers. I must curb my propensity to this as I find it no
benefit. I am satisfied that for this month, I have been greatly deficient in
many particulars. I have studied long enough each day and each week
throughout the whole month. I have passed over sufficient ground.
The deficiency is in the execution. My rules for the ensuing month shall
be made out soon.
A week later we have this entry: —
The first volume of Blackstone has been finished since last Saturday
and I have commenced the second with a full determination to read it
with more attention than I have heretofore given to my law reading.
German daily grows more interesting and I begin to long for the time
when I can read it with facility. Chillingworth has been neglected for
the ladies, not because I loved the society of the ladies better than his
but because the tyrant necessity compelled me to abandon his great
argument. I shall commence it again next week. My rules for the
month are : —
First, Read no newspapers.
Second, Rise at seven and retire at ten.
Third, Study law six hours, German two, and Chillingworth two.
Fourth, In reading Blackstone's "Commentaries," to record my
difficulties. After ten months' office study, Hayes, in August, 1843, en
tered the Law School of Harvard University. Here he received

RUTHERFORD B. HAYES, 1845
Student at the Harvard Law School, from a Daguerreotype

IN COLLEGE AND LAW SCHOOL 31
the instruction of those eminent jurists and teachers, Judge
Story and Professor Greenleaf — the greatest privilege a student
could have. "Free from all the details, chicanery, and responsi
bilities of practice," said Richard Henry Dana, who was a stu
dent in the Dane Law School five years before Hayes, "we were
placed in a library under learned, honorable, and gentlemanly
instructors; and invited to pursue the study of jurisprudence as
a system of philosophy." *¦
Hayes's diary shows the most faithful attendance on the lec
tures and keen enjoyment of all he heard and saw. He is not
limited to the routine of the law, — the lectures, the clubs, and
the practical work of the Moot Court, over which Judge Story
presides to his great delight, — but he hears Longfellow, Ban
croft, Sparks, and Dana in literature and history, and Webster,
Choate, Adams, and Winthrop on the stump. Political questions
and parties have an interest for him, as we shall see, which no
resolutions can overcome. For them the law has a stronger
affinity than any other calling possesses except possibly jour
nalism. Excerpts from Hayes's diary will give us the drift of his
thought and study : —
Cambridge, August 29, 1843. — Yesterday we heard the introductory
remarks of our learned professors. After speaking of the object of our
assembling, Judge Story proceeded to remark on the requisites of a
finished legal character. He spoke at some length of the advantage and
necessity of possessing complete control of the temper, illustrating his
views with anecdotes of his own experience and observation. His man
ner is very pleasant, betraying great good humor and fondness for jest
ing. His most important directions were: "Keep a constant guard upon
temper and tongue. Always have in readiness some of those unmean
ing but respectful formularies as, per ex., 'The learned gentleman on
the opposite side'; 'My learned friend opposite,' etc. When in the
library employ yourself in reading the titles, title-pages, and tables of
contents of the books of reports which it contains, and endeavor to get
some notion of their relative value. Read Blackstone again and again
— incomparable for the beauty and chasteness of its style, the amount
and profundity of its learning."
Cambridge, September 1. — I have now finished my first week in the
Law School. I have studied hard and I am confident that my real gain
is as great as I should have had in two weeks in an office. Our lectures
have all the advantages of recitations and lectures combined, without
1 Charles Francis Adams, Richard Henry Dana : A Biography, vol. I, p. 22.

32 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
their disadvantages. We have no formal lectures. Professors Story and
Greenleaf illustrate and explain as they proceed. Mr. Greenleaf is very
searching and logical in examination. It is impossible for one who has
not faithfully studied the text to escape exposing his ignorance; he
keeps the subject constantly in view, never stepping out of his way for
the purpose of introducing his own experience. Judge Story, on the
other hand, is very general in his questions, so that persons well skilled
in nods, affirmative and negative shakings of the head, need never more
than glance at the text to be able to answer his interrogatories. He is
very fond of digressions to introduce amusing anecdotes, high-wrought
eulogies of the sages of the law, and fragments of his own experience.
He is generaUy very interesting, and often quite eloquent. His manner
of speaking is almost precisely like that of Corwin. In short, as a lec
turer he is a very different man from what you would expect of an old
and eminent judge; not but that he is great, but he is so interesting and
fond of good stories. His amount of knowledge is prodigious. Talk of
many "irons in the fire"! Why, he keeps up with the news of the day
of all sorts, from political to Wellerisms; and new works of all sorts he
reads at least enough to form an opinion of, and all the while enjoys
himself with a flow of spirits equal to a schoolboy in the holidays. So
ho ! the pleasures of literature are not so small after all !
September 16. — "Pleading and evidence," said Judge Story, "a
lawyer should always have at his tongue's end. Chief Justice Marshall
was the growth of a century. Providence grants such men to the human
family only on great occasions to accomplish its own great ends. Such
men are found only when our need is the greatest. Four great judges I
have known in my time. I could not say that one was greater than
another, but either was a head and shoulders taller than any man now
living. "When a young lawyer," said Judge Story, "I was told by a member
of the bar at which I practiced, who was fifteen years my senior in the
profession, that he wished to consult me in a case of conscience. Said
he: 'You are a young man and I can trust you. I want your opinion.
The case is this: I am engaged in an important cause; my adversary is an
obstinate, self-willed, self-sufficient man, and I have him completely in
my power. I can crush his whole case; it is in my hand, and he does not
know it, does not suspect it. I can gain the case by taking advantage of
this man's ignorance and overweening confidence. Now, the point is,
Shall I do it?' I answered, 'I think not.' 'I think not, too,' he replied.
'I have determined to go into court to-morrow, show him his error, and
set him right.' He did it. This was forty-five years ago, but I have
never forgotten that act nor that man. He is still living, and I have
looked upon him and his integrity as beyond all estimate. I would trust
him with untold millions, nay, with life, with reputation, with all that is
dear."

IN COLLEGE AND LAW SCHOOL 33
September 20. —I heard Mr. Jared Sparks lecture on "Colonial
History." His style of writing and delivery are very plain, but his
learning is varied and extensive, and his judgment good. He spoke of
the learning, religion, and authors of Colonial times. As to what we call
learning, there was next to none in the Colonies. The people were too
busy in clearing land, making roads, and building churches to think of
making great strides in literature. In the Northern Colonies common
schools were early established; in the Southern, except South Carolina,
they were neglected. The sons of the wealthy were sent to Oxford and
Cambridge. So that at the South were more fine scholars and more
ignorant citizens than in the North. . . . There was great religious
intolerance in many Colonies. Rhode Island, under the auspices of
Roger Williams, and Maryland, settled by Catholics, were exceptions
and opened wide their arms to every sect and creed. The first au
thor of distinction was Cotton Mather, a man of great talents, exten
sive reading, and retentive memory, but greatly deficient in good sense
and stability. Unbounded credulity was his great failing. No tale was
too marvelous for his ear. No ghost story came to his knowledge which
was not speedily published to enlighten the wise and astonish the igno
rant. Jonathan Edwards was a man of vast abilities, equal to the ablest
men of his time, but much of his time and talents were spent in fruitless
attempts to solve speculative difficulties in theology — "vain bab
blings — strifes of words — philosophy falsely so-called." Benjamin
Franklin was the best writer who arose before the Revolutionary con
test called to its aid pens able to contend with the minds of Europe.
His works are the only American writings [that] deserved the rank of
classic until within the last forty years.
Judge Story said: "A liberal allowance for a lawyer's library would
be $10,000; for convenience merely $3000 would suffice; for necessity
$300 might answer, and many eminent lawyers have commenced with
less. My library was worth $300. All my means were contained in that
and it exhausted all my means. The reports have quadrupled and ele
mentary treatises are ten times as numerous now as in my day.
" Thomas Jefferson said : ' When conversing with Marshall I never ad
mit anything. So sure as you admit any position to be good, no matter
how remote from the conclusion he seeks to establish, you are gone. So
great is his sophistry you must never give him an affirmative answer or
you will be forced to grant his conclusion. Why, if he were to ask me if
it were daylight or not, I'd reply, "Sir, I don't know, I can't tell." '
"A lawyer should never resort to petty tricks to increase his business.
He should not leave 'a celestial bed to prey on garbage.' Courts will not
unravel the threads that are good from the threads that are bad, but
will leave the whole fabric exactly as it was woven."
September 26. — Judge Story in his lecture remarked that, as a body,
lawyers, so far as his observations extended, were more eminent for

34 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
morality and a nice sense of honor than any other class of men. They
have the most important and delicate secrets entrusted to them; they
have more power of doing mischief, and are more instrumental in heal
ing family dissensions, neighborhood feuds, and general ill-blood, than
any other profession. He considers the man who lays a wager on the
result of an election as more an enemy, or rather more dangerous to
public liberty, than the avowed adversary of our institutions. Wagers
tempt men to use corrupt means to gain pc?"ver, and power corruptly
gained is sure to be corruptly used; the result is a continual sinking in
the scale, worse than despotism, for it is for the interest of despots to
make matters no worse, while corruption must increase to secure its
ends. Throughout October the diary contains many pages of reflec
tions upon the work in progress and the chances of success in
future. The young man notes the fact (October 2) that in two
days he will be twenty-one years old, and, after that event,
moralizes on the legal distinction between a minor "without
enough discretion to spend the millionth part of a mill" and a
citizen "wise and prudent enough to decide on matters involving
the wealth of Ind." "Whence the difference? Does the lapse of
a few short hours transform the headstrong and headlong child
of passion into the cautious, long-sighted disciple of experience,
soberness, and wisdom?" Questioning and refining congenial to
the legal mind in the atmosphere in which he lived; and perhaps
suggested by preparations for the first legal argument to be made
on the 22d and for participation in the Moot Court. "Reading
for authorities," he says, "is indeed like feeding on narcotics.
The stimulus is too great for the healthy stomach; agreeable and
exciting at first, but speedily followed by satiety and disgust."
His own defects are sharply criticized, the remedy for which is
found in "work, work, work."
October 25 we get a glimpse of one of the most interesting
personages of that age : —
I heard Mr. J. Q. Adams address the Whigs of Norfolk County, at
Dedham yesterday. His speech contained little politics but much aboli
tionism. Some of it was very good, much of it unreasonable and very
unfair. My opinion of the venerable but deluded old man was not all
changed. His speech was rather dry, contained some good hits, and
exhibited some good sparks of the internal fires, which, when aroused
into flame render him the impersonation of the "old man eloquent." I
do not wonder that he is regarded as a dangerous adversary in a mere

IN COLLEGE AND LAW SCHOOL 35
personal encounter. He is quick, sharp, fearless, and full of the wit and
learning of all ages. He is not, at all times, an interesting or eloquent
speaker, but when roused by repeated attacks, sneers, and taunts of his
bitter foes, he is truly a most formidable man.
November 3. — Judge Story pronounces some highly wrought eulogies
in the course of his remarks. In the last decision he said: "Sir James
Mansfield was a very sensible, old-fashioned, common-law lawyer. He
knew nothing but the common law. He cared for nothing else, and al
though a great judge yet he had not the grasp of mind for which Lord
Ellenborough was distinguished. Brougham is a very able, clear-headed
man, but not the greatest judge who ever sat upon the English bench.
Tindale is an old-fashioned, common-law lawyer like Sir James Mans
field, but a strong man. Baron Parke is one of the ablest judges who ever
sat upon the English bench, and perhaps the greatest lawyer now in
England." Cambridge, November 14. — For four or five days my attention has
been withdrawn from my regular duties by the speeches I have listened
to in reference to the subjects decided by the people at the election
yesterday. I am not so easily enlisted in the excitements attending
political discussions as I was prior to the election of General Harrison to
the Presidency. I have not formed opinions upon any of the leading
measures of public policy now proposed by the two great political parties
which divide the country. I do not, therefore, take a very deep interest
in the result of elections, but my desire to listen to some of the great
lights of New England induced me to attend some of the meetings
which have been held within a few days. The best speaker I heard at
the Democratic meetings was George Bancroft, the historian. . . . He
has none of those advantages of person and voice which contribute so
much to the success of public speakers; but he has an elegant flow of
language, a chaste style, and a well-stored mind, so that he is really one
of the most interesting speakers I have heard.
R. C. Winthrop, M.C., from Boston, is a young man of fine attain
ments, a correct taste, and good natural ability. He appears to be
much beloved, and is a very agreeable and effective speaker. He appears
to be rapidly improving as a popular orator. Senator Choate is a strong
man. His style of speaking is that of an impulsive, ardent, able, and
practiced lawyer of the O'Connell stamp. Daniel Webster has been
styled "the godlike," in derision. But if any man born of woman de
serves the epithet, it is Daniel Webster. The majesty of pure intellect
shines forth in him. In speaking he betrays no passion, no warmth, but
all is cold and clear that falls from his lips. He can, indeed, be aroused,
— Hayne learned that, — but he is habitually calm and passionless;
yet there is a charm about the greatness of his intellect and grandeur of
his mien which holds one suspended upon his lips.

36 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Cambridge, November 15. — Francis [sic] Dana, Jr., of Boston, author
of "Two Years Before the Mast," delivered a lecture before the Lyceum
this evening on "American Loyalty." After having briefly adverted to
the odium attached to the word "loyalty," and the reasons of it, he
proceeded to draw the distinction between this principle or sentiment and
patriotism : The first being the attachment and affection one has for the
institutions and government of his country, the latter love of country.
The French, for example, are the most patriotic people on the globe,
and yet a people with less loyalty cannot be found under the whole
heaven. The English are as loyal as they are brave and proud. The
sentiment is a noble, high-minded one, consistent with the highest dig
nity, the greatest pride of personal character. He spoke of our want of
it, the benefit of it, its conservatism; the evil tendency of its contrary.
The two classes of men: Samuel Adams said: "Cousin John, you were
born to build up; I was born to tear down."
To-day I argued my first cause in Moot Court, and though my success
was not flattering, yet I see nothing to discourage a man in earnest in
this matter, as I am. Greenleaf says you might as well attempt to abol
ish light as the principles of pleading. A clear statement of a man's
case often wins the battle. " Commend me to the lawyer who can make
a short, lucid statement of the grounds upon which rests his case."
November 27. — For the first time in my life I went to the theatre last
week. I have been in Thespian societies, but never before in a regular
theatre. I heard Mr. Macready play Hamlet. The part I suppose was
well acted, but I take about as much pleasure in reading the play as I
did in hearing it.
"Judge Parker [said Judge Story] was a good-natured, lazy boy when
at college, became a good-natured, lazy lawyer, and made afterward a
good-natured, lazy judge. He was universally beloved, always decided
right, but gave miserable reasons for his opinions. While in the pro
fession he used always to decide according to his own common sense,
steering by the light of the Ten Commandments, and to advise his
clients that that was the law."
December 21. — Judge Story delivered the most eloquent lecture I
have ever heard, yesterday morning, on the duty of American citizens to
adhere honestly and implicitly to the Constitution. The application
was particularly directed to the abolitionists. "There is a clause in the
Constitution which gives to the slaveholders the right of reclaiming a
fugitive slave from the free States. This clause some people wish to
evade, or are willing wholly to disregard. If one part of the country
may disregard one part of the Constitution, another section may refuse
to obey that part which seems to bear hard upon its interests, and thus
the Union will become a 'mere rope of sand'; and the Constitution,
worse than a dead letter, an apple of discord in our midst, a fruitful
source of reproach, bitterness, and hatred, and in the end discord and

LN COLLEGE AND LAW SCHOOL 37
civil war; till exhausted, wasted, embittered, and deadly foes have
severed this Union into four, six, or eight little confederacies, or the
whole shall crouch under the iron hand of a single despot. Such must
inevitably follow the first success of those mad men, who even now are
ready to stand up in public assemblies, and in the name of conscience,
liberty, or the rights of man, to boast that they are willing and ready to
bid farewell to that Constitution under which we have lived and pros
pered for more than half a century, and which I trust may be trans
mitted, unimpaired, from generation to generation for many centuries to
come. It was the result of compromise and a spirit of concession and
forbearance, and will end when that spirit dies from the hearts of this
people. Let no man think to excuse himself from any duty which it
enjoins. No mental reservation can save his honesty from reproach.
Without perjury, no public officer can ever be false to his trust by refus
ing to execute the duties enjoined by that glorious instrument. In the
case between the States of Pennsylvania and Maryland, I delivered the
opinion at the solicitation of my brothers, who adopted unanimously
my first draft."
Cambridge, January 4> 1844- — Judge Story delivered his last lecture
for the term to-day. His parting advice was good, and his farewell to
those who were about leaving the school feelingly eloquent. He spoke of
the necessity of laying a deep and broad foundation in the elementary
principles; [of] the distinction between a shrewd, ready practitioner and
the man who regarded the law with the eye of reason and studied it in a
spirit of philosophy. "The law," said he, "has been styled a jealous
mistress. She will not share a divided heart. A lawyer must never
become a political meddler if he wishes to have a lawyer's mind." He
never knew a lawyer who had entered the political arena who ever
recovered the power and temper which he had before possessed. He
never knew a man — "you will never know a man" — whose devotion
to his legal pursuits, if persevered in, has not been abundantly rewarded.
"Keep out of politics till you are forty, and then you can, with the
experience of forty years, direct your course for yourselves. I know that
I now speak to those whose views of life are widely different from mine.
I am glad that it is so. You have high hopes, ardent desires, boundless
confidence, ambition, and energy. These are the feelings proper for
youth. They are given you for wise purposes. If you felt as I feel, if you
knew what I know, those efforts which will make life useful and render
you a blessing to your age and country, if directed aright, would never
be made. Ambition, energy, ardent desire would be nipped in the bud.
To those who now leave the school I would say, you carry with you my
best wishes. I may live to see some of you able advocates before me. I
may hear of the success of others. You know not how I am rejoiced to
hear of your success, and what a lively interest I take in your welfare.
When I go from among you, the proudest inscription 1 would ask upon
my tomb would be the fact that while I was professor in the law school

38 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
of Harvard College so many thousands graduated from it." Pshaw!
how my haste (indecent) spoils the old man eloquent.
Vacation was spent in reading, walking to Boston afternoons
for exercise, and in visiting. He "attended a meeting of Unita
rians which was conducted a good deal like Methodist class meet
ings." After the usual opening exercises the pastor proposed for
consideration the following question, "Is life more to be dreaded
than death?" which a fat, jolly, grey-headed little man in a tone
full of good humor declared to be no question at all. He found
life beautiful and of all things the most desirable, whereas death
was the most fearful. A lawyer, somewhat advanced in years,
while arguing that life was a blessing, thought that death was a
blessing also. But such speculations were less to Hayes's taste
than the vigorous thought of the pastor, Dr. Walker: —
"Men complain that life is too short, and that the parts of which life
is made up are too long. Yet life is not made up of the weeks and months
which measure duration. Good actions and great thoughts are the
measures of life. A man of ninety may be a child, and the man [of]
thirty a veteran. It is not how long but how much, which turns the scale.
Wisdom bringeth grey hairs. There are periods in life when our energies
are aroused, great exertions are made, and a few hours at such a time
may have a more important and lasting effect upon our whole after life
than years of ordinary life. So, in the history of nations. There are
epochs characterized by great activity in developing the resources and
giving free scope to the energies of a people, which do more for their ad
vancement in a few years than had been done in ages before. There are
some questions in the alternative, that not to decide in favor is to decide
against the thing under consideration. A man travelling a road comes
to one leading off and is in doubt whether to pursue it. Now, not to
decide for the new is to decide for the old. So, in matters of religion; to
hesitate is, for that time, at least, to decide against it. There are many
speculative difficulties which deter some men from deciding in favor of a
change of life, but these difficulties, many of them, never can be settled;
and if they could, it would not alter a man's practical conduct whichever
way they were settled, or if they remain unsettled. Speculation is not
life. We need not deliberate longer before we begin to act. We are not
expected to stop thinking because we have commenced acting. No man
is less able to deliberate because he has acted."
January 31. — To-day I attended a club composed of the members of
the Law School who are remaining here during the vacation. The sub
ject debated was the admission of Texas into the Union. I advocated
the negative on constitutional grounds. Public speaking is no more

IN COLLEGE AND LAW SCHOOL 39
difficult than I expected to find it after so long a disuse. Connected
trains of thought and logical reasoning must be the end of all my efforts.
These are more useful and more difficult of attainment than fluency or
grace of manner. No man of clear conceptions and logical habits of
mind can fail to be fluent, and practice, careful practice, will remove
those faults of manner which are to be avoided.
February 18. — Yesterday I returned from Vermont, after a visit of
nearly two weeks to my grandmother, uncles, and cousins. They have
not changed more since I last saw them about six years ago than is to be
expected in the ordinary course of nature. Grandmother has been very
industrious all her life. She is almost eighty and retains the use of her
mental faculties in a good degree of perfection. Her good strong sense
and great industry have made her very useful to all who have had any
thing to do with her. She bid me farewell, as she said, for the last time.
I hope, however, to see her at least once again.
My uncle Austin Birchard is a most excellent man. His talents and
industry, with the aid of better advantages for education in early life,
would have given him a high rank in whatever pursuit he might have
engaged. In fact, though deprived of early discipline, and shut out by
deafness from one great source of improvement, he has, notwithstand
ing, acquired a reputation for political information and sagacity, and
energy and success in his business, which belongs to few men in his
section of the country. I enjoyed myself very much in his company.
The reflection that constantly urged itself upon me, while conversing
with him, was: "If Uncle could accomplish so much with so little encour
agement, and held back by his infirmity, what ought I not to accomplish
with so great assistance and motive as I have always had?" Ah! there
it is again. Ambition will peep out occasionally, philosophical as I have
become; but Judge Story was right: ambition and confidence, high
hopes, bright anticipations are proper inmates for the youthful breast.
They furnish the incentives to exertion, without which we should be as
useless as we would be miserable.
February 26. — The summer session of the Law School commenced
to-day. One hundred and six students made their appearance. Profes
sor Greenleaf made the opening address. The only thing in it worthy of
remark was his idea of a lawyer: "A lawyer is engaged in the highest of
all human pursuits — the application of the soundest reason and purest
morality to the ordinary affairs of life. He should have a clear head and
a true heart, always acting at his fingers' ends." Moot cases were given
out. Mine is to come up in three weeks. I have read the first chapters in
Cruise and Kent. The respite afforded by the vacation seems to have
had a very salutary influence. The law is quite interesting. I hope it
may so continue. At all events I shall endeavor to profit by this session,
as it may be my last in the school. ... I must try to acquire greater
mildness of temper and affability of manners. I cannot complain of

40 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
nature. She has not been niggardly, but habit has somewhat changed
the stamp of nature. Let me reform the habits — a task easily accom
plished, and much will be done towards giving me the manners and
sentiments of a true gentleman.
The rest of February and March were devoted to hard work,
reading, preparing for two arguments, and attending lectures.
Dane's abridgement [Hayes quotes with approval] is a town meeting
of legal principles without a moderator. — The law of real property is
difficult, but I begin to see a little farther before me, and do not despair
of some day becoming informed upon the subject. I read Blackstone
first, then Cruise, and finally take up Kent. To me Kent appears the
closest and most concise writer upon the subject. — The laws of nations
and real property are not quite so interesting as a play of Shakespeare's,
or a romance of Scott's, or a humorous tale of Dickens's, yet they are
not the dryest of all dry things. Vacations are really useful; a short
respite from study gives a real relish for the law.
He attended lectures by Professor Longfellow on the modern
languages, and on Anglo-Saxon literature; and other lectures on
anatomy. Cambridge, May 12. — For many days I have been very busily engaged.
The study of the law of real property, preparation for the performance
of duties in clubs, the weather, and the political movements of the day,
have, altogether, kept me from paying the proper attention to other
affairs. I heard Webster make a political speech in Faneuil Hall, Thursday
evening. He supports the nominations of the Baltimore convention of
May 2, Clay and Frelinghuysen. But his speech was poor for him. His
course for the few months he remained in the Cabinet was a serious
injury to his reputation.
I heard Walker preach twice to-day. What a powerful reasoner he is !
How solemn and impressive are his appeals! His subject in the forenoon
was taken from the 26th chapter of Proverbs, 16th and 17th verses:
Cruelty for sport, false wit, ill-timed jests, sarcasm, ridicule, and all the
means of wounding the feelings of a fellow creature wantonly. Let me
bear it in mind. I need such admonition. This afternoon his argument
was against the common notion: "We must consider principles, not
consequences; duties are ours, events are God's." "We are not to be
deterred from a course of conduct which we deem right out of fear of
personal consequences, but in deciding upon the right, we are to look
to the tendencies and consequences of our acts. The mischiefs which
they may work to others may render bad that which by our theory is
good. Christ is given as a model. Evils are to be removed as He would
have removed them; not by fanaticism, by violence and bloodshed, but
quietly, persuasively, with passionless serenity."*

IN COLLEGE AND LAW SCHOOL 41
Cambridge, May 18. — We have had a little excitement here for a few
days past, occasioned by a skirmish between some of the Southern law
students, and the members of the senior class in college. It has resulted
in a few slight bruises, the loss of a few soap locks, and the expulsion of
one or two from each department. Sic transit, etc.
I am progressing slowly in the acquisition of the learning of real
property. I shall be glad when this term is through. My health
requires more attention than can be given it while engaged in study.
In six weeks the vacation begins. Then I shall throw aside my books
entirely for a season. Since I commenced the study of the law, I have
taken no sufficient recreation.
June 12. — Judge Story has been lecturing for the last week on the
Constitution. I will set down the principal things he mentions which I
might otherwise forget.
He commenced with a short history of the Colonies, the Declaration
of Independence, and the adoption of the Confederation. "The Con
gress of 1776 assumed powers, for they had none conferred on them by
the people, which assumptions of power were acquiesced in, and thus
ratified. Washington's commission was granted, alliances formed,
armies raised, debts contracted, and other acts of sovereignty performed
by this Congress, without a shadow of authority till the adoption of the
Confederation in 1781. 1 The emergency required it.
"The principal acts of the first Congresses were done with Virginians
for leaders, because that Massachusetts, the other leading Colony, was
so deeply and so immediately interested. Thus Lee moved the Resolu
tion of Independence, Jefferson wrote the Declaration, Washington led
the armies; but John Adams carried the measure by his boldness and
energy. He never spoke over twelve minutes — no one-hour rule was
needed then. At the time of the Declaration, so doubtful were the
members of Congress of the people's acquiescence, that they took every
means of forestalling public opinion. And John Jay wrote to a friend :
'The measure is adopted; build bonfires on the hills; have rejoicings and
assemblings that the public mind may be made safe.' 2
"The Congress of 1777 issued paper money and sent a letter to
1 "Whatever, then, may be the theories of ingenious men on the subject, it is
historically true, that before the Declaration of Independence these Colonies
were not, in any absolute sense, sovereign States; that that event did not find
them or make them such; but that at the moment of their separation they were
under the dominion of a superior controlling national government, whose powers
were vested in and exercised by the general Congress with the consent of the
people of all the States. . . . The Articles of Confederation . . . were not ratified,
so as to become obligatory upon all the States, until March 1781." (Story's Com
mentaries, vol. I, pp. 202 and 203.)
* There are preserved in the handwriting of Jay resolutions adopted at White
Plains, New York, July 9, requiring the publication of the Declaration "with
beat of drum." (See Johnston's Jay, vol, I, p. 72.)

42 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
induce capitalists to take it, saying, 'Money will take to itself wings and
fly away, but the faith of a nation will remain.'
"To show the weakness of considerations of honor and duty when
opposed by interest, look at the unpaid officers and soldiers of the Revo
lution. Again, under the Confederation: Stay laws and all manner of
laws were passed; conflicting interests were too strong for State pride.
Marshall, Madison, Patrick Henry, and Washington were able for eight
years to keep Virginia to the line of duty by only a majority of one, two,
or three, in opposition to the demagogues whose power consisted in
appeals to the passions, the distresses, etc., of the people. So strong was
the feeling excited by the counter legislation on the subject of imposts
that Massachusetts and Connecticut seriously contemplated the con
quest and division of Rhode Island, who allowed all articles to come in
duty free.
"The debates of the conventions of the States to ratify the Constitu
tion are in a great measure lost. The debates in Virginia were the best
reported, and the members of that convention say they are very incor
rect. In Massachusetts no reports [were made] worth anything. The
writings of those times are some of them to be found in the 'American
Museum,' and the 'Federalist.' Greater and purer men than its authors
never lived. I have heard Samuel Dexter, John Marshall, and Chancel
lor Livingston say that Hamilton's reach of thought was so far beyond
theirs that by his side they were schoolboys — rush tapers before the
sun at noonday. On the bank, Washington desired written arguments
from the members of his Cabinet. Jefferson and Randolph opposed by
reasons so cogent that Washington came to doubt. He sent for Hamil
ton, told him the state of his mind. Hamilton was surprised; said he
had never dreamed of Washington's doubting; that, had he known that,
he would not have written his report and recommended the course
adopted. General Washington said he had not doubted till he saw
Jefferson's and Randolph's arguments, and, said he, 'You must answer
them or I cannot sign the bill.' Hamilton went to Mr. Lewis,1 the first
lawyer of Philadelphia who had no doubt of a bank's constitutionality,
and asked him to listen to his argument, and tell him the errors and add
suggestions of his own. They walked in Mr. Lewis's garden the whole
afternoon.. Hamilton went over his whole argument and, at sundown of
the seventh day after General Washington had received the bill, they
separated, satisfied that the argument was as strong as possible. That
evening General Hamilton told his wife to give him a cup of strong
coffee — said he should n't come to bed that night, as he was to write all
night. That night he wrote the argument of eighty pages which contains
all that has since been said, or can be said, in favor of the consti
tutionality of a bank, and it is unanswerable. All the departments
of the Government have acquiesced in the decision made by General
1 William Lewis. There is a reference to this incident in John C. Hamilton's
History of the Republic, vol. iv, p. 247.

IN COLLEGE AND LAW SCHOOL 43
Washington. Mr. Madison regarded the question as settled in 1816.
The Supreme Court with a majority of Republican judges — Marshall
delivering the opinion — unanimously decided its constitutionality, in
the case of Maryland."
Cambridge, June 13. — (The Final Interpreter.) The Judge [Story]
first spoke of the opinion, sometimes expressed, that nothing is settled
by precedent in constitutional questions. "If so, no one knows his
rights or duties. The Executives, States, and Legislatures entertain dif
ferent views of the same question at different times. Fifteen years ago
New Hampshire thought and resolved that a Bank of the United States
was constitutional. She now thinks and resolves the opposite. When I
came into political life South Carolina maintained the highest constitu
tional doctrines. She prided herself on having always so stood. Now we
know, etc., etc. We should soon be in the situation of old Judge Strong
of this State in regard to our statutes: 'Yesterday the law was so, but I
can't tell how it is to-day — I have n't yet heard what our Legislature
has done.'
"It. is a singular fact in relation to this matter, that the only questions
which have been regarded as settled are those in which the powers exer
cised were most doubtful; e.g., the power of removal in the Executive; it
is nowhere given, nowhere implied by fair construction. It is really an
incident to the power of appointment, but that power is in the President
and Senate. There, then, should be the power of removal. But the first
Congress determined otherwise. General Washington was so esteemed
that they feared that it would look like a want of confidence in him to
refuse him the power of removal. It passed the Senate by the casting
vote of John Adams, the Vice-President. But this early decision has
been held final by all strict constructionists. Again, the acquisition of
foreign territory: Denied by President Jefferson, finally acquiesced in,
now regarded as settled. The Post-Office question : the right to carry
letters — is it exclusive in the general Government? This has been con
sidered settled, but is now raised, and we shall be called to decide it the
coming winter."
It is interesting to note how completely Judge Story, in the
lecture reported above, and in his "Commentaries," 1 had sepa
rated from the Republican leaders who had expected him to
expound the Constitution in harmony with their theories. He
quotes Marshall in the case of Cohens vs. Virginia approvingly,
and controverts Jefferson and Madison. "The judiciary of the
United States," wrote Jefferson in bitterness of spirit in 1820, "is
the subtle corps of sappers and miners constantly working under
ground to undermine the foundations of our confederated fabric.
1 Book m, chap. iv.

44 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
They are construing our Constitution from a coordination of a
general and special government to a general and supreme one
alone." Jefferson would have had the judges dependent upon
popular feeling, in which he had but followed George Mason, the
most radical Virginia Democrat. " We ought to have the judi
ciary," said Mason, "under the check of the sovereign opinion of
the people."
The vacation was spent at home in Columbus with relatives,
where, Hayes records, he did not fall in love nor meet with other
mishap. There in consultation with friends it had been decided
that he should continue at Harvard until midwinter, after which
he would return to Ohio and enter upon the practice of the law.
He returned to Cambridge in August, several weeks before term
began, and took up his studies again, now giving more time than
formerly to literature and history. September 21, the diary is
resumed: —
The ability to speak is so valuable to a lawyer that no time is misspent
which is given to its attainment. Night before last I had an opportunity
of listening to one of the best speakers I ever heard, J. M. Berrien, of
Georgia. His natural advantages are great: a fine form, rather portly,
an intellectual countenance with a most winning smile, and silvery
voice, are but the external graces which adorn the man. He is an accu
rate, logical reasoner, fluent, warm, and entertaining. I never heard
a speaker who could make abstract reasoning so interesting. Now,
though I can never hope to equal him for want of his natural endow
ments, yet his habits of thought, power of expression, and winning
manners, arising from sweetness of temper, can, in some degree, be
acquired by continued study, attention, and effort. . . . First, knowl
edge of my profession; second, general information; third, the power of
using my materials; and fourth, manners and temper suited to these
acquirements. Cambridge, October 1. — Professor Longfellow thinks that the fame
of Goethe stands fairer in Germany now than it ever did before. Some
of his writings certainly have an immoral tendency, while others are as
pure and elevating as any that were ever written by uninspired pen.
Goethe thought that so far as an author was careful of the moral prin
ciples of his work, so far was the perfection of the work likely to be
lessened. He would prefer to write nothing immoral, but virtue must
be sacrificed to literary excellence.
Judge Story considers Albert Gallatin and Hamilton the greatest
financiers this country has ever produced. "Gallatin always said that
he found in the Treasury Department nothing to alter. Hamilton had

IN COLLEGE AND LAW SCHOOL 45
formed a system perfect in all its parts. Gallatin used to say that speakers
— eloquent speakers — were too abundant in Congress; business men,
good committee men, were too scarce. He was one of the greatest men
of his time. Samuel Dexter, of whom Marshall said/a man of greater
mind I never knew,' and Fisher Ames, one of the most fluent men who
ever lived, called on Hamilton to get him to explain some of his financial
plans. Hamilton conversed with them for three or four hours, going
over the whole subject. After leaving the room, Ames said to Dexter,
'Hamilton is a man of most extraordinary power. Now, Dexter, to be
plain with you, I have not understood one word Hamilton said for the
last three quarters of an hour. How is it with you?' To which Dexter
replied: 'Don't stop there; I have n't understood anything for the last
two hours. I was in a thick fog — I could n't follow him.' "
November 18. — "The greatest speech Wirt ever made [said Judge
Story] was in the case of the Cherokee Nation vs. The State of Georgia.
The greatest speech Webster ever made was in the Dartmouth College
case. Judge Marshall was affected to tears by the eloquent peroration
of Wirt. He then said: T have not shed a tear before since Webster de
livered his great speech in the Dartmouth College case. I then did not
expect ever to shed another upon such an occasion.'"
Cambridge, January 1, 1845. — This is the beginning of the new year.
In two or three weeks I shall leave the Law School, and soon after shall
begin to live. Heretofore I have been getting ready to live. How much
has been left undone it is of no use to reckon. My labors have been to
cultivate and store my mind. This year, the character, the whole man
must receive attention. I will strive to become in manners, morals, and
feelings a true gentleman. The rudeness of a student must be laid off, and
the quiet, manly deportment of a gentleman put on, not merely to be
worn as a garment, but to become by use a part of myself. I believe I
know what true gentility — genuine good breeding — is. Let me but
live out what is within, and I am vain enough to think that little of what
is important would be found wanting.

CHAPTER m
BEGINNING PROFESSIONAL LIFE — VISIT TO TEXAS
HAYES returned to Ohio early in 1845, and, having been
admitted to the bar, March 10, at Marietta, established
himself at Lower Sandusky_ (now Fremont) where his uncle,
Sardis Birchard, was engaged in business. He formed a partner
ship with Ralph P. Buckland, whom he describes as "a sound
lawyer, without ostentation or brilliancy, and of excellent prin
ciples, strict integrity, an inveterate politician (Whig, of course)
— every way an estimable man." He continues his studies in
law and literature, talks of love, and waits for clients — the
usual experience of most young lawyers.
Two years of this routine, following immediately after the
close and prolonged application of his student years, made
heavy inroads on the young lawyer's vitality; and his friends
became alarmed about his health. He himself was aware that a
decided change in his mode of life was necessary. He was grow
ing restless and despondent. He longed for active employment,
for leadership. As a boy he had dreamed of a soldier's life, its
perils and possible fame. The dream now came back to him, and
on the first day of June he decided to volunteer for the Mexican
War. He writes : —
I am induced to this by a mixture of motives. My friends, and those
whose advice I was bound to listen to, have resolved that I shall leave
the office for six months or a year to come, and I can think of no way of
spending that time which is half so tolerable as the life of a soldier. If I
can enjoy health I shall be most happy and receive benefit I am sure.
I have no views about war other than those of the best Christians, and
my opinion of this war with Mexico is that which is common to the
Whigs of the North — Tom Corwin and his admirers of whom I am
one. My philosophy has no better principle than that of the old woman
who, while she mourned over her neighbor's calamity, was yet rejoiced
to be able to witness the conflagration. Whatever doubts I might other
wise have of the morality of this feeling are entirely swamped in the love
of enterprise which I share in common with other young men of my age.

BEGINNING PROFESSIONAL LIFE 47
Hayes promptly acted on this resolution by applying to influ
ential friends for letters which might aid him in his purpose. One
of these, Judge Ebenezer Lane, who had recently retired from the
Ohio Supreme Court, responded in a letter which as clearly
voices the repugnance of the intellectual class of the North to the
war with Mexico as does the eloquent speech of Senator Corwin
in the previous February. The virtues of an eminent man, the
solicitude of an elder friend, and the conscientious convictions of
a patriotic citizen are all reflected in the letter, which follows : —
While I earnestly deplore the occasion which leads you into another
field of life, I can scarcely reconcile myself to the thought that you may
participate in the scenes of this accursed war. I do not count the risks
and perils : they are incident to a life of action; but I cannot look with
patience or hope upon it, its authors, or its results.
Most willingly do I enclose the letter to Mitchell.1 I only wish it
might be used for a different purpose. If in any other form you believe
I can be of service, do not fail to ask me. Wherever you are led may
God bless and keep you, and give you back to us in restored health.
May God lead you into other employments than that of fighting in a
cause so foul.
Though grieved that one he esteemed should give support to
an unjust war, still he would not withhold his endorsement of
that one's character. The letter to Professor Mitchell follows : —
Sandusky, June 5, 1847.
My dear Sm, — My friend R. B. Hayes, Esq., one of my professional
brethren, of Lower Sandusky, is the bearer of this; — a graduate of
Gambier and who received his law education at Cambridge, and has
profited well by his opportunities. Among all my young friends in
Ohio, there is none to whom I feel more closely attached than to Mr.
Hayes; and none, whose character, attainments, position, aims, and
professional prospects are higher than his.
I do not know precisely his views and wishes; but if it be in your
power to aid him, I commend him to your kind offices, with entire con
fidence that he will amply justify the expectations and representations
of his friends. — I am very respectfully, E. Lane.
These are the words of a friend, to be sure, but also of a
man of culture and affairs, who had achieved distinction in his
1 The famous scientist, Professor O. M. Mitchell, a man of military experience,
who was at that time in charge of the Adams Observatory.

48 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
profession, and who was revered by all classes for the purity of
his life, and the uprightness of his character. They show what
impression Hayes at twenty-five had made on a man of large
experience of life, alike as to his qualities of mind and character
and as to his professional prospects.
Armed with letters, Hayes journeyed to Cincinnati where he
met "the leading military characters." Applicants for positions
were very numerous, but Hayes wrote that his chances were good
if he chose to press them.1 This, however, he decided not to do.
He had promised his friends to take the advice of physicians
before committing himself. Dr. Mussey and Dr. Dresbach were
consulted, and they both warned him that the Mexican climate
would be perilous to him in the existing state of his health.2
Judge Lane's letter, he writes his uncle, "has done more to sat
isfy me with the doctors' decision than anything else I have
received or heard." Without great reluctance, therefore, he
withdrew from the company he had provisionally joined and
presently decided on a trip to New England. There, in the
mountains and at the seashore, he spent the summer months,
coming back to his desk the last of September with powers
greatly refreshed. But by the end of another year the need of
complete rest was again imperative, when a radical change of
climate was resolved on. In December,1848, accompanied by his
uncle, Sardis Birchard, he started for Texas on a visit to his
classmate, Guy M. Bryan, the possessor of a vast estate in lands,
who had already entered upon an honorable career in that newly
acquired empire. Hayes gave himself up to the enjoyment of
this trip. His cheerfulness and keen sense of the humorous are
conspicuous whether on river steamboat, in crowded hotel, or in
camp on the frontier.
The journey from Cincinnati to New Orleans by river con
sumed eight days, with many glimpses of the cities by the way,
and with much enjoyment of the new phases of character which
'.He hoped to be lieutenant in one of the two companies from Lower San
dusky, and went to Cincinnati with these companies, taking with him Benjamin
Inman to be his substitute if the physicians advised against his purpose. Inman
later became a prosperous farmer, and was a member of the Ohio Legislature
when Mr. Hayes was elected President.
2 Dr. Mussey gruffly said: "Go by all means; you may live six weeks in that
climate with your trouble."

VISIT TO TEXAS 49
the chance of travel revealed. We have these pictures of life on
the steamboat, Moro Castle, in the diary : —
December 15. — I like this sort of life. Table equal to our best hotels.
Captain Scott more resembles a landlord with his smiles and jokes than
[the] haughty autocrat of a Western steamer. In the after part of the
cabin are four or five ladies with their children; one apparently an
unmarried lady and another a widow. The latter is the object of the
particular attentions of a fat, self-sufficient old nabob whom Uncle
styles "old soap grease." . . . Two ladies and two gentlemen generally
play cards in the after cabin. Next towards the bow another table of
social card players consisting of a loud-talking, boastful youngster (a
Jew Moses, of Cincinnati) whose garb and gab alike proclaim a volun
teer officer, a good-natured, laughing Hoosier, [and] a third only remark
able for his height and the prodigious length of his arms. I noticed him
to-day at dinner; he reaches like a well-sweep to all parts of the table,
gathering and storing away an unheard-of quantity of provisions. Next
forward a table of chess or chequer players, with a few gaping lookers-
on. Next is a group of nondescripts, quite at a loss how to bestow them
selves, some dozing listlessly in their armchairs, waiting patiently for
the next meal, others reading cheap tales of pirates, "love and murder,"
etc. Last group forward four professional gentlemen busy at poker for
money. I have read Warren's "Now and Then," Dickens's "Battle of
Life," and am now doing Cooper's "Bee Hunters." I read, play chess,
walk the deck, study the map, and chat occasionally. Mem. This is not
a talking boat.
December 20. — Yesterday heard frightful stories of cholera in New
Orleans. Reports dwindling away with every boat we meet. Saw Gen
eral Taylor's residence, a neat, one-story, long cottage, porch all round,
on a pleasant hill. Saw an old white horse quietly feeding near the
house, supposed to be "Old Whitey." Baton Rouge is a fine town;
beautiful Statehouse building. At a sugar plantation land 250 barrels.
The overseer, on reading in the letter enclosing the bill of lading the
words "Dear Sir," broke out with great warmth: "Dear Sir! As if he
knew me!" After this exhibition of himself, I was not surprised to find
that he could not count the barrels.
New Orleans was reached December 21. Three days later pas
sage was taken "on the fine ocean steamer Galveston bound for
the port of the same name." " General Worth and staff on board.
An exceedingly agreeable, fine-looking man; medium size,: of a
plump, upright person, with good features, a bright, piercing black
eye (Bishop Mcllvaine's), a bushy head of grey hair, affable and
easy in his manners." Christmas was spent on the Gulf, the chief
topic of conversation being the endless slavery question, and the

50 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
next day Galveston was reached, which presented a "glorious
contrast to the disease and filth of New Orleans." One day more
by river steamer brought the Ohioans to Bryan's plantation
near the Brazos, where they were received with the warmth of
true Southern hospitality — a hospitality which once enjoyed
becomes a delightful memory. The house was "beautifully
situated on the edge of the timber, looking out upon a prairie on
the south, extending five or eight miles to the Gulf," with a large
and beautiful flower-garden in front.
Social life here afforded no end of entertainment — balls and
parties rapidly following one another, the guests riding ten,
fifteen, and even twenty miles, arriving early in the afternoon,
and remaining for nearly twenty -four hours, the great plantation
house supplying room for all. "An exceedingly agreeable, gay,
and polished company," we are told in the diary — "the ladies
particularly noticeable for the possession of the winning quali
ties. Merriment and dancing until 4.30 a.m. — like similar
scenes elsewhere." "Gentlemen breakfast from 10 till 11.30; all
off by 12 o'clock." Several weeks passed in this delightful social
intercourse, with frequent visits to neighboring plantations,
hunting parties, and fishing excursions. Thus, January 25, 1849,
the diary records : —
* Ride with Uncle and Guy over Gulf Prairie to the mouth of the Ber
nard, to fish and eat oysters. A glorious day. Deer, cattle, cranes, wild
geese, brant, ducks, plover, prairie hens, and the Lord knows what else,
often in sight at the same time. The roar of the Gulf is heard for miles,
like the noise of Niagara. Staked out horses with "lariats," eat old
Sailor Tom's oysters, picked up shells, fished and shot snipe until 5 p.m.,
then rode home through clouds of mosquitoes, thicker than the lice or
locusts of Egypt — like the hair on a dog's back. Notice the eagle's nest
on the lone tree in the prairie, and reach home glad to get away from
the mosquitoes.
Tuesday, January 30. — Ride with Mr. Perry over to Sterling
McNeal's plantation. A shrewd, intelligent, cynical old bachelor, full of
"wise saws and modern instances"; very fond of telling his own experi
ence and talking of his own affairs. Living alone he has come to think
he is the "be all " and "end all" here. The haughty and imperious part
of a man develops rapidly on one of these lonely sugar plantations,
where the owner rarely meets with any except his slaves and minions.
Sugar hogsheads vary from 1100 to 1800 lbs. White and black mechan
ics all work together. White men generally dissolute and intemperate.

VISIT TO TEXAS 51
Returned, found Uncle Birchard returned from Oyster Creek with the
trophy of a successful onslaught upon a tiger cat. Glorious weather.
One little shower.
Monday, February 5. — Cold and clear. Forenoon spent with Stephen
and the ladies — music and flirting. Afternoon rode up to Major
Lewis's. Three agreeable young ladies; music, singing, and dancing —
city refinement and amusements in a log cabin on the banks of the
Brazos, where only yesterday the steam whistle of a steamboat was
mistaken for a panther.
But parties and rides across the prairies to call upon ladies
do not fill up the whole time. There are conversations with the
able men who are laying the foundations of a new State, and a
taste of the rough life in frontier towns. A grand tour was taken
through northern and western Texas — the party of course
travelling on horseback. The start was made February 7,
"Guy mounted on a high Mexican saddle, covered with a red
sheepskin, on Joel's mule, a grand beast; Uncle on a stout bright
bay — 'Hotspur,' Guy's favorite horse; and I on a tall, gaunt,
black, awkward, frisky piece of horseflesh, bought out of one of
the Kentucky regiments sent to Mexico; — all with saddlebags,
overcoats, and ropes for lariats."
The travellers find accommodations at the widely scattered
plantations and are always welcome. Occasionally a "norther"
keeps them indoors for a day, but for the most part they have
bright skies and perfect weather. One night they pass at Colonel
R.'s, a laughing joker of Indian blood, who had a lovely place on
the banks of the Brazos — "keeps fine horses for racing and
always wins."
Monday, February 12, 1849. — Cold and clear. To-day rode over a
high rolling prairie "most glorious to behold." . . . In the course of the
day passed the house of the identical man whose chickens come up in the
spring and cross their legs to be tied, so strong is the force of habit — their
owner having moved once a year a day's journey (or week's) until he
reached Texas, all the way from Kentucky!
February 17. — Clear and cold but bearable. Twenty-six miles to
Colonel Chambers'. Through the village of Bastrop. First sight to-day
of the green Colorado, with its picturesque hills and beautiful, wide
spread meadows. Ascend Guy's future home, one mile south of the
village of B. He calls the hill on which he wishes to put his mansion,

52 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
"Bald Knob." It overlooks a lovely bottom, in horseshoe shape, of one
thousand acres.
February 18. — Clear and bright, but still cool weather. Thirty-
three miles to Austin over a fine rolling country. The last two days,
pine and cedar in abundance — the country looking like one which
suffers from the drouth; hills covered with small round pebbles, some
places to the depth of four or five inches, under this layer a rich black
soil. Austin is an inconsiderable village on the Colorado, with "large
expectations." Governor's office, judges' rooms, etc., are little log
cabins sixteen feet square; not more than one or two passable buildings
in the city (?). Town full of discharged "Rangers," officers, and soldiers
of the United States army, gamblers, and others. Costumes of every
variety — Indian, Mexican, Christian, civil, military, and mixed. All
armed to the teeth, fierce whiskers. Gaming and drinking very abound
ing in all quarters.
February 19. — Cloudy, but pleasant. "Surround" the city with
Uncle afoot. Cross the lovely blue Colorado. The capitol is a low frame
building on the top of a gravelly hill overlooking the village. The hotel
consists of a number of log cabins, and is very comfortable, all things
considered. The landlord is one of the famous "Rangers," — Captain
McCulloch. General Harney is in town. In the evening, peep in upon
a California meeting, held in the hall of the House of Representatives —
a room with two ornaments, a map of the Holy Land, and another of the
wanderings of the Jews. Called at the room of an old law student, of
Delaware — Royal T. Wheeler, now a judge of the Supreme Court. His
office as judge, "den " he calls it, being a log cabin about fourteen feet
square, with a bed, table, five chairs, a washstand, and a "whole raft"
of books and papers. Visit the Supreme Court : consists of three judges.
Tuesday, February 20. — Weather warm and balmy, but cloudy.
Walk with Uncle over the Colorado to Barton Spring, named after the
Barton who sent word to the commanding officer of a company of
Regulars, sent out to guard the frontier, that if he did n't withdraw, he
would let the Indians kill them! Spring is large but not unusually so.
p.m. Ride to the top of Mount Bonvel north of Austin — a steep, high
hill overlooking the valley and affording a fine view of mountain
scenery, stretching off towards the northwest. Evening spent with
Judge Wheeler, talking over old times.
Character sketches are not lacking.
Colonel K. was vain of his horsemanship and being Senator from San
Patricio, and a candidate for United States Senator, took pains to
exhibit his horsemanship by riding through the streets of Austin in every
variety of posture; and was also voted a bore for making harangues,

VISIT TO TEXAS 53
intended to be impressive and eloquent. To cut his comb, Williamson,
of Washington County, nicknamed "Three-legged Willie," after one
of Colonel K.'s efforts, rose and replied: "The gentleman from San
Patricio is a great man; the gentleman from San Patricio is a very great
man. He rides at a swift gallop through the streets of Austin, standing
upright upon his horse — he is a great man; the gentleman from San
Patricio is a very great man! He can swing himself from side to side
of his horse when galloping at full speed — he is a great man. Mr.
Speaker, the Senator from San Patricio is a very great man. I have
seen him while riding swiftly, stoop from his saddle and pick up a dollar
on the ground and safely regain his seat. Oh, Mr. Speaker, the gentle
man from San Patricio is a great man! — he is a very great man!"
Replying [on another occasion] to a member from Galveston ["Willie"
said]: "Galveston! What is Galveston? An isolated portion of the
North American continent. Formerly, it was the haunt of the slave-
dealer and the pirate, and now, it is the abode of the most graceless set
of vagabonds that these two blue eyes ever looked upon!" Canvassing
for the Legislature, his competitor, a military hero, boasted of the
exploits he had performed in wars with the Comanches and Mexicans.
Willie asked him how many he had killed. "Oh," said he, "that I can
not tell — it was in battle and I took good aim; but, come, Willie, how
many men did you ever kill?" " I don't know," said Willie, "how many
I have killed, but I've killed two that I got!" He had shot two men
in duels.
Wednesday, February 21. — Misty and threatening, but no rain. Set
out for San Antonio. Cross the Colorado and ride over a high dry prairie
without much timber to San Marcos, on the beautiful stream of the
same name, and the county-seat of Hays County. Visit the spring. The
water spouts out of the foot of the mountain in streams of a foot in
diameter. Thursday, February 22. — Weather in the morning same as yesterday,
clearing off in the afternoon. Ride twenty miles over a fine rolling
country, looking old and cultivated with its orchards (mezquite trees),
meadows, flocks and herds, but no houses, to New Braunfels. This is a
German village of two or three hundred people at the junction of two of
the most beautiful streams I ever saw, the Guadaloupe (pronounced
Wah-Ioop) and the Comal. The water which flows from springs is so
transparent the fish seem hanging in the air.
Saturday, February 24- — Off over high rolling prairies thirty-five
miles to San Antonio. Stop at Mrs. Shelton's. Visit the Alamo with
Mr. Bean; visit the graves of Walker and Gillespie. Find a party of
California emigrants cooking in the room where Crockett fell.
Sunday, February 25. — Early in the morning go to mass at the
Church of the Cracked Chimes. Mexican girls of all colors, with no

54 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
bonnets, but shawls gracefully thrown over the shoulders, kneeling
reverently on the ground floor. Attend Mr. McCulloch's church in the
morning; sacrament administered, and a description of Christ's cruci
fixion by a ghost-like, consumptive gentleman from the North, with one
foot in the grave, in the most elegant and impressive style imaginable.
Singing by officers of the army. p.m. Walk about over this old ruined
Spanish town — one or two American houses only. In front of one see
General Worth walking about.
On his return to the North, in the early spring, Hayes found
the cities of New Orleans and Cincinnati stricken with the
cholera, and the citizens depressed with direful apprehensions.
The summer was spent quietly in closing up his law partnership
at Fremont x and in preparing to remove to Cincinnati.
1 It was by reason of a petition presented to the County Court by Hayes about
this time that the name of the town was changed from Lower Sandusky to
Fremont.

CHAPTER IV
REMOVAL TO CINCINNATI — INTEREST IN LITERATURE
AND ETHICS
THE removal to Cincinnati was determined by considera
tions of health and by the hope of gaining a larger field of
effort. The climate of the northern part of the State caused
frequent throat trouble and excited apprehension of pulmonary
weakness. Moj«ovejLHayeshad the feeling that he had fallen
into a rut, that he was not making the progress he was capable
of, that the somewhat narrow life of the county town was ^^dead
ening to ambition and restrictive of the wider outlook on life that
he craved. The travels in the East and the visit to Texas had
brought him home with renewed strength of body and with more
eager desire for professional activity and success. In this mood
he turned hjs^^s^ojCJndnimti^ atjhj^tme not only the largest
city_ofJJie J3tate, but also the leading city of the West, the centre
of the greatest business activity and of the highest culture. For
twenty years its growth had been the marvel of the whole coun
try; its central situation, mild climate, and other natural advan
tages attracting to it able, energetic, and ambitious young men
from the older States, and industrious and worthy immigrants
from Germany and Great Britain, until in 1849 it numbered
118,000 people. Thirty years had passed since its incorporation
as a city. The increase of population from 1830 to 1840 was
ninety per cent, and for the next decade one hundred and fifty
per cent. Its accessibility to_iron and coal mines and limestone,
the facilities offered for ch^a^tonsportatk2n_byj^n^^ndriver,
and railway to all points of the_compass,^aiid^sjg^iaUyJo_the
vast territory stretching to the west and south, for the distribu-
tion of products, and the fruitfulness of _ihe Jagds [constituting
the gre^Mississippi basin, had made Cincinnati one of the
mosFuTapjort^tjna^ Thus, Cincinnati had become the mart of an extensive com
merce. Wharves crowded the river front for several miles, ware-

56 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
houses were built for the reception of the great staples of the
South, and jobbers, packers, and manufacturers supplied in
exchange the commodities of the North. Intimate social rela-
tion^spjraM UP between tne People of the two .sections, whose
interests werejMWjsojjlp^lj^^
nati had winter Jiomesjui .New ^Qrlgans^ and in joidsjimmer,
many planters of the Missisjippj, Valley sought recreation on the
beautiful hills overlooking the jOJjip, or found temporary homes
on the shores of the Great Lakes. This intercourse influenced
prof oundly the poKticspf likejferih.wejitem States, .and. retarded
the growth of antislavery sentiments. Nay, more, to the shame
of a class, be it said, policy led for a time to the suppression of
free discussion.
Cincinnati was not merely a business centre. It had an in
telligent and cultivated society, whose influence, was widely ex
tended^ In 1837, Harriet Martineau, who was entertained in the
best private houses, was charmed with the life of the city. If
some whom she met were timid and awkward, most were well-
bred, and the "spirit and sovereignty of the conversation were
worthy of the people assembled." Each year added to the ethical
as well as the material growth of this young city. Its schools
became the pride of all; religious institutions were strongly sup
ported; libraries were established; literary societies were formed;
the fine arts were encouraged; and the press increased in excel
lence and influence. The surrounding country impressed visitors
with its loveliness. Miss Martineau has described it as it was in
1837 — and as many recall it at a later period, before the exi
gencies of growth had destroyed the contour of the hills. The view
was from the Montgomery Road : " It was of that melting beauty
which dims the eyes and fills the heart, — that magical combina
tion of all elements, of hill, wood, lawn, river, with a picturesque
city steeped in evening sunshine, the impression of which can
never be lost, nor ever communicated."
It was November 10, 1849, when Hayes left Fremont for Cin
cinnati. "Health and stimulus my principal motives," he con
fides to his diary. A visit of some weeks with his relatives at
Columbus delayed his arrival at his new home until Christmas
Eve. The first few days were spent in renewing old acquaint
ances, in making new, and in seeking an office. By January 8 he

REMOVAL TO CINCINNATI 57
was established in an office with John W. Herron, "a good fellow
by accounts and by appearance and 'sign' — as the hunters
say." And "now," he adds, "for a period of waiting, patience,
perseverance." He was full of hope and strong of purpose to
succeed. The best houses were open to him; social life was
attractive and congenial; and courts and bar were cordial in
good will. There were at that time some hundred and seventy-
five lawyers dividing the business — not a large ratio to the
population of the district. Among^H^emjsuchjnen as Salman P.
Chase, Caleb B. Smith, Judge William ^Johnston, George E. ^
Pugh, Alphonso Taft, George H. Pendleton, William S. Groes-
beckf and Bellamy Storer were prominent. Hayes was prepared
to be patient and to trust to his success in making friends for
winning his share of business. His Kenyon College friend. Stan- *-
ley Matthews, andJNfanning F. Force and George Hoadley, Jr.,
whom he had met at the Harvard Law School, jverejalready
well started jn practice, and they gave him jnuc^ej^qurage-
ment. But this period of waiting was not to be one of sitting with
folded hands. The old habit of reading, study, and persistent
self-examination was renewed. January 25 the diary says : —
I am now living again a student, with abundant leisure and few cares.
Why may I not, by a few hours daily spent in systematic study, regain
all I have lost in the last three or four unfortunate years spent or
wasted at the North? Let me awake to my old ambition to excel as a
lawyer, as an advocate. For style and language read Webster and
Burke, Byron and Bulwer. The last two are strange names to be heard
in a student's mouth, but to counteract the cramping effect of legal
studies and practice and to give one that copia verborum and power of
intense expression, which are so essential to success as a jury advocate,
what are better? For mental discipline, read carefully and thoughtfully
the most logical treatises on evidence, pleading, or kindred topics.
February 19 he wrote his uncle of his mode of life and pros
pects as follows : —
My office is in the "Law Building." The lower story is occupied by
the express offices, an auction store, and a telegraph office; the upper
stories by about eighteen lawyers, three or four architects, and a cooper
or two, about one third of whom sleep in their offices or rooms adjoin
ing. The rooms rent for about $10 per month each. Our office is one of
the best, if not the best, in the building. In one corner of the room,

58 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
about twelve feet square is partitioned off for a bedroom, in which are
two husk mattresses on bunks the size of Mrs. B.'s lounge, a washstand,
a bureau, and divers pegs on which hang divers dusty garments. In the
morning about five o'clock, an Irishman (who is not a son of temper
ance) comes in, builds a fire, and sweeps out the office; about seven,
more or less, the newsboy comes with the daily paper, and we get up,
scratch open our eyes, read the news, and go to breakfast. My boarding-
house is three squares off; a very respectable set of boarders; one Old
School Presbyterian clergyman; four or five intelligent Scotch mer
chants, also Presbyterians, but not members of our preacher's church,
and strong on doctrinal points; an agreeable lawyer and his lady (an old
schoolmate of Fanny's) ; a young Methodist New Yorker who is always
getting the worst of the argument from the Scotchmen; an insurance
broker from Connecticut, very like John Pease, and with more sense
than all the rest; two or three nondescripts; an old widow lady, great on
homoeopathy and Swedenborgianism, a son of hers, about forty, who
echoes his mother's sentiments most dutifully; and myself.
While we are gone to breakfast, our Irishman and his wife make up
the beds, bring water and brush off the dust, never omitting to arrange
the books and papers on our tables right wrong exactly. After breakfast,
I read law, student fashion, till noon, when one of us goes to the post-
office, and then read news and letters, if there are any, until dinner.
Every few days a forenoon is spent in court, if anything interesting is
going on. Dinner at one o'clock. Remain in the office until near four,
when we sally out to call on friends or ladies — in short, in search of
prey. About half-past five I go to the gymnasium. . . . About half our
evenings are spent in the office, one or two evenings a week with the
ladies, and one or two at lectures, "Sons " [of Temperance], or something
of that sort. Among the lawyers in this building are Judge Walker,
Judge Road, Tom Gallagher, Gohlson & Minor, etc., etc., all clever and
social. I attend church at Mr. Nicholson's (Episcopal). He is a very
showy, dashing declaimer, once a Methodist, who draws large crowds of
the younger sort. My Sunday resort is Mr. Jones's (who, by the way,
often mentions you). There I find often some young lady (or now that
George is East, his wife) with whom I go to church in the morning and
return to dine (mem., great Sunday dinners Mrs. Jones gets up), and in
the afternoon to church again, or not, as suits the crowd.
I belong to a delightful little club composed of lawyers, artists, mer
chants, and teachers, which meets once a week — has debates, conver
sations (similar, I suppose, to those of the "Fremont Literary Associa
tion, H. Everett, Secretary"), essays, and oysters. All this looks well
for enjoyment; but you would know the prospect of getting into busi
ness. This is not different from what I expected when I came here. All
who stay and are found in their offices ready to do business, do get it. I
think I can see some symptoms of work. About a week ago a substan
tial coal dealer accidentally stumbled in and gave me a five-dollar
retainer to defend a suit for which I shall charge him twenty -five

REMOVAL TO CINCINNATI 59
dollars when finished. Mr. Jones has given me a lot of notes which will
probably have to be sued; if so, there is probably a hundred dollars
more if I succeed in collecting them. It is a difficult affair, but I feel
pretty confident of collecting them. I have two houses which wish to do
for me what they can; at present, their business is in the hands of regu
lar attorneys and they cannot change except by degrees and slowly.
Their business would support me. Stem, Baker & Co., also speak good
words for me occasionally.
In the months that follow the diary gives frequent evidence of
diligent reading in law and literature, the attendance on lectures,
and the making of acquaintances. After a month the young law
yer could see some hopeful signs of business. There is recurrence
to the thought that the years spent in the North had been
wasted. "Oh, the waste of those five precious years at [Lower]
Sandusky! " he writes in one place. "Shall I ever recover what I
have lost? I believe I can, and so will go on, high of heart and
full of hope, determined to do whatever my hand findeth to do
with my might." In these months there was assiduous reading of
the law writers — "Starkie on 'Evidence,' with occasional sips of
Greenleaf and reported cases; Kent on 'Negotiable Paper,' refer
ring to our statutes and the decisions in Ohio; Story's 'Promis
sory Notes,' in connection with Ohio Reports." Besides this
there was renewed study of logic and a return to German; Bul-
wer's "Schiller" reviving interest in the language and literature
of the Fatherland.
The little club Hayesspoke of in the letter to his uncle was the
Literary Club, which included in its membership some_of the
ablest men of the city. The club was famous in the years that
followed for the number of eminent men who were members, and
for having furnished to the Union armies a greater number of
officers than perhaps any other society in the North. In the
weekly meetings which Hayes was diligent in attending, he came
in contact in a helpful and inspiring way with all that was best
in the intellectual life of the city, and he made enduring friend
ships. March 3, 1850, he records: "Made my first speech in the
club last night. So-so, but ratherish good, considering. Shall im
prove the privileges of the club in future to the fullest. " That
he kept his resolution is evidenced by many entries in his diary.
But speaking at the club was not easy for him, nor was he en
tirely satisfied with his success. "I am not a good speaker, for

60 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
such a body, " he writes; "I must have the stimulus of an audi
ence, or of a cause — an object — or I am a tame talker. This
I shall try to mend for the sake of the exercise. "
Subsequently, Hayes became a member of the Ohio Histori
cal and Philosophical Society, and of other societies of a social
and charitable nature. During the decade in Cincinnati he was
also an active member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel
lows, which he had joined at Lower Sandusky, and for a part of
the period, at least, of the Sons of Temperance. He was in fre
quent requisition for lectures before various lodges of the Odd
Fellows, and the diary mentions with natural pride the ap
plause and prominence that came to him therefrom. Hayes's
interest in temperance led him to make his first efforts at dis
tinctively public speaking. Of his first temperance speech, which
was made November 18, 1850, at a Presbyterian church, he
says : —
The remarks were extempore, being the first speech of the kind I ever
made to a mixed audience. It is not very difficult, requires more prepa
ration of the particular discussion, so as to fasten the heads of it in my
mind, or a better knowledge of the subject without any previous prep
aration for the particular speech. In time I fancy I can make a decent
temperance speech.
Two or three days later the diarist defines somewhat his
temperance views — views which he continued substantially
to hold throughout his life: —
I am a sincere but not extreme or violent friend of the temperance
cause. I mean to prepare myself to speak on this subject by accumu
lating and arranging in my memory as many interesting facts, argu
ments, and statistics as I can; also by jotting down my own ideas on the
subject as they occur to me. The learning to speak as well as the notori
ety (not to speak of the good I may do) are objects worthy of the pains.
There was much of a public character to amuse, to entertain,
and to instruct, as this was the period when Jenny Lind and
Kossuth made captive with song and eloquent pathos all Ameri
cans; when the great figures of the stage were Charlotte Cush-
man, Edwin Forrest, James E. Murdoch, and James Henry
Hackett; and when it was the fashion to attend the lectures of
such men as Emerson, Agassiz, Mann, Lieber, Stockton, and

INTEREST LN LITERATURE 61
Beecher. We catch glimpses of these in the diary, and of the
impression they made; as, for example: —
February 19, 1850. — Just returned from the lecture-room of the
Young Men's Mercantile Library Association, where I heard a most
eloquent and glorious lecture from Rev. Thomas Stockton — "Materi
alism, the Foundation of Irreligion, and Spiritualism the Corner-stone
of Piety." Mr. Stockton certainly resembles Henry Clay in personal
appearance as well as in genius.
In the spring of 1850, Emerson delivered a course of lectures
which were well attended. Of his first lecture on "Natural
Aristocracy" we are told that, "It was quaint and queer in
expression, but suggestive and pithy — rather a series of dis
jointed thoughts on the same subject than a methodical, sus
tained chain of reasoning and discourse." "It strikes me that
he shows himself a keen, close observer rather than a profound
thinker." Hayes met Emerson and we have preserved the
points of two conversations: —
Friday, May 24- — Called on Ralph Waldo Emerson at the Burnet
House in company with Collins and Spofford, as a committee to invite
Mr. Emerson to meet the Literary Club on some evening convenient to
himself for the purpose of a free confab on literary men and matters.
Mr. Emerson is above the middle height, a tolerable figure, but rather
awkward; dresses in the plainly genteel style — black surtout and
pants, black satin vest and cravat, common shoes. His head is not
large, forehead low and narrow, hair cut short — a brown color, eyes a
greyish blue, a rather large nose with deep lines from the nostrils on
either side arching around the mouth, but not so as to give an unpleas
ant expression. Is agreeable in his manners and first address. Talks, as
he speaks, freely, and in a somewhat quaint way.
He spoke of the clubs of London. Said he, "The clubs are London.
One does not know London until he knows the clubs." He was intro
duced to the Athenaeum as an honorary member. "Only thirteen
strangers can be introduced at the same time — one from a nation.
There are some twelve hundred members. And to a bachelor, his club
is his all. It introduces him to an agreeable society of the first men in
London, to a good library and reading-room — the best selected library
in London, to good eating at cost prices. Entrance fee one hundred dol
lars, and thirty dollars per year. The bachelor's letters are sent to the
club hall, a noble building. He meets his friends here, invites others to
dine with him, gets the latest news, etc. . . .
"English gentlemen affect a slowness and hesitancy of speech. It is
like the country — like a man just from his estate. To speak fluently is
too like an attorney, which is thought low.

62 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
"Macaulay was not a successful debater. His best efforts were on
the Reform Bill. He did not come into the debate until near its close.
After he had spoken, all the speeches on the other side were in reply to
him. Macaulay is the growth of the present state of society in England.
He is a cockney. All the English are cockneys. He affects an elegance
and youthfulness of style in his dress, which is unfitting in a man who
has grey hairs. I have an old grudge against him because of his abuse
of Bacon. He has abused all of England's noblest names. His History
is a libel on the English character. No man is found who escapes him.
Sidney and Hampden are not spared. His History has the merit of
proceeding upon the principle that the history of a nation is not the
history of its officers, but of its people — not an original notion with
him, although Jeffrey very ungenerously gives him credit for it.
Jeffrey knew that Carlyle had stated it long ago.
"I met Prince Albert in one of the clubs. Buckland was explaining
to him some mechanism. He is a fine-looking man. I have said I never
saw a good-looking German, but he is one."
Such are a few points he spoke of in a half-hour's chat. He has the
common fault of his sect — 'Transcsndenialists — of thinking that the
hearly^arnest, sincere bjenevpJenceJniheJBtcjldJg allxejakedinihem-
selyes; that all others are so bigoted as not to see the truth, or are too
timidboldly to avowjtiorAa£Mr. Emerson said, "have top,Ji£tl&pluck
to avowjt." He spoke of Henry Ward Beecher as one of the bold,
hopeful reformers. Bushnell he wishes well, because he thinks well and
hopes well for mankind.
Sunday, May 26. — This evening our Literary Club met and received
a visit from Mr. Ralph Waldo Emerson. He, after being introduced to
each member, sat down and began a free and easy conversation on
literary men and things in England. Talked two and a half hours on all
matters from letters to raising corn and pigs. A very pleasant man.
A few items I give: —
"There are in London, it is estimated, seventy thousand persons
who are considered 'good society'; and those who compose it find such
a variety of persons, ideas, facts, important and trifling, always inter
esting in this great multitude, that the rest of the world is scarcely
thought of. America is like Turkey or Hungary, interesting and talked
of only when some particular circumstance makes it an object of notice.
These people are therefore quite uninformed as to all the rest of the
world — that is, the local peculiarities, politics, and geography which
are usually known to travelled people.
"I spoke to Carlyle — thinking he would have none of this narrow
cockneyism about him — of the future of the English race, and said that
America was to be the seat of the English. With a continent, a quarter
of the world at their command, to be peopled and improved by them,
in America would be their history. Carlyle was restive, vexed, uneasy,

INTEREST IN LITERATURE 63
could n't think of it. They see so much wealth, power, energy, and
talent; they see the whole world passing in and out of their gates, that
they cannot realize or imagine the possibility that there is any outside
nation or people who shall ever be their rivals.
"In America there have been no creative, constructive, imaginative
men. They do not come much oftener than once in two hundred years,
and perhaps it is not our turn yet to have one. Wordsworth, Scott, and
Shakespeare are creative men.
"Every author's writings are the transcript of his own life, emotions,
etc., — it is autobiography thinly veiled. George Sand, the best living
French novelist, has written nothing but her own confessions, veiled
under the names and characters of her romances. Shakespeare had all
emotions and passions — portrayed all in his dramas. . . .
"I never knew what people meant by 'Transcendental.' If it means
those who believe with Plato in man's immortality, they should be
called Platonists. But that does not describe the class to whom the term
is applied — Coleridge and others. They are men who believe in them
selves, in their own convictions, and rely upon them; these are the true
men. I have some hope of such; they hope for themselves, they believe
there is something more than this narrow scene in which we are to act.
Men who are self-trusting, self-relying, earnest are called by the name
Transcendentalists." Mr. Emerson seemed quite puzzled, not to say vexed, when speaking
of this subject. It was forced upon him by questions and suggestions.
"Macaulay is a man whose wares are all marketable. He is popular,
simple, splendid in style. He has a prodigious memory, but to what
end? What good does he do?"
Mr. Stephenson asked, "What good has Carlyle done?"
"Why, Carlyle [replied Emerson] has done the good which any man
does who makes people think. He makes them/eeZ their immortality; a
man can't think without feeling that.
"Macaulay wrote a letter to his constituents dated 'Windsor Castle.'
He happened to be there once a half-hour and took that opportunity to
write the letter, or rather to date it, for he carried it with him ready
written. It has been thrown up to him ever since. It was such a. faux
pas. A man like Macaulay, too, with such a sense of the proper.
"Children ought to have their imaginations cultivated; it must be
done while they are young. Some things must be impressed on the
mind when it is susceptible and tender, or they never can be. If children
want to hear a story, tell it to them if you can, or get somebody that can
do it, if you cannot. Give them the 'Arabian Nights,' attractive books;
fill their minds with glorious thoughts. Let them early learn what they
are, spiritual and immortal; and they must be, when men, such as
they ought to be."
* In a letter to his sister, Mrs. Piatt, Mr. Hayes further dis
courses of Emerson: —

64 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Cincinnati, June 12, I860.1
Dear Fanny, — I do not' think I shall visit you until the July term of
the Circuit Court, when I suppose Uncle will also be at Columbus to
look after his immortal lawsuit. ...
I more than half suspect that you manifest an interest in Mr. Emer
son more for the purpose of affording me an excuse to branch out on
topics which have been uppermost in my circles the last few weeks than
because of any great attractiveness you discover in the subject. I can
say, as I heard Mr. Emerson say of Carlyle, that I have gossiped so much
about him lately that I am almost ashamed to open my lips about him.
His qualifications and peculiarities as a lecturer or essayist on miscella
neous subjects stand quite differently in my estimation from his opinions
— not opinions either/but impressions or "inspirations" — in regard to
religious subjects. On general subjects, such as "The Gentleman,"
"Eloquence," "England," etc., he is a charming, but not, in an equal
degree, an instructive lecturer. He strikes me, contrary to my precon
ceived notions of him, as a close, keen observer rather than a profound
thinker. There is no logic or method in his essays or lectures. A syl
logism he despises. The force of a connected chain of reasoning, his
mind seems incapable of appreciating. There is no such thing as one of
his thoughts following from another. The natural result of this lack of
logic is that one finds it next to impossible to grasp and hold fast what
he says. When you leave the lecture-room you remember that he
said many witty, sensible, pretty, and some deep things, but you feel
at a loss where to begin in attempting to recall them. The whole lec
ture seems but a bead-string of suggestions, fancies, ideas, anecdotes,
and illustrations, having no connection with each other except that
they are upon the same subject. They are all either quaint, paradoxi
cal, sensible, humorous, or have some other element which gives them
interest if not positive value. They are expressed in a terse, singular
style — Saxon but not at all Carlylish, and delivered in a subdued,
earnest tone which is in perfect keeping with the style and thought.
Mr. Emerson is middle-aged, modest but self-possessed, of a good-
humored, honest strain, which gives one a favorable impression of his
heart and character. He gesticulates scarcely at all and awkwardly.
I never knew one who could hold more undivided attention of his
audience. The matter of his lectures — the substance of them — is contained
in a few leading ideas which pervade all his productions. The filling up
— the seasoning — is, of course, new and different in different lectures,
and his lectures are remarkable for being stuffed with thoughts; but still
the great stratum which underlies and supports all he writes and says
consists of a very few notions which are repeated and reappear over and
over again, a thousand times in his various writings. Reading any one
1 Mr. Hayes wrote at the head of this letter: "Carlyle said America had
twenty milhons of bores. Here is a specimen of my nationality."

INTEREST IN LITERATURE 65
book or even lecture will make you master of nearly all of them. They
are such as the following : That men are born with a certain portion of
magnetism, or Divinity in them, which determines their rank among
their fellows. That man should have faith in this Divinity, faith in him
self; that he, in fact, does have this faith in proportion to the amount
of magnetism which belongs to him. That all uneasiness and striving
is vanity. If a man strives after what is not in him he can never attain
to it. If he appears to win it by effort he is after all a sham. He may
deceive the world, but he does n't deceive himself, for when in the
presence of another who has the true magnetism, both know and feel
where the real power is. This is a sort of fatalism, but it is comfortable,
it is satisfying to a man, whatever is his condition. I remember one of
his sentences expressing this notion: "When you meet a man with the
same tastes with yourself, but with greater magnetism, he will not only
rule you but make you love your ruler." If your tastes are not the same,
your strength does not work on the same level — you are not antago
nists — you do not come in collision.
Mr. Emerson says Macaulay is a cockney, that his memory is a prod
igy, like Jenny Lind's voice, but to what purpose is it? He is the great
est conversationalist in England except Charles Austin, an eminent
advocate of London. Macaulay has no faith in high souls, high des
tiny. His History is a libel on English character. He touches no great
name in history that he does n't daub, e.g., Penn, Sidney, Bacon, and
others. Disraeli is a fop. He has strung together in his novels things beautiful
and true from the literatures of all languages. Like all his tribe he is a
vender of old clothes, collected from a thousand backs, soaped and
washed and varnished to look like new.
He is a worshipper of Carlyle, but says that in temper and manners,
particularly to strangers, Carlyle is a bear.
Mr. Emerson was a Unitarian clergyman. Now he has some misty
notions on religion resembling the German philosophy. He delivered
three lectures, "Instinct and Inspiration," "Nature," etc., of which no
one could make out anything definite or valuable. I guess at the ideas
in this wise : (If what I say seems foolish don't suppose Emerson said the
sanie, for he does n't say at all — he hints or intimates or walks round
about what he would say, but don't say.) — The common distinction
between mind and matter — there is nothing in it. Matter is spirit with
certain attributes superadded, as color, weight, hardness, etc., etc.
Spirit in the abstract, without these attributes, there is no such thing.
Matter in the abstract, not based on spirit, is an absurdity. Matter and
spirit are identical, in a certain sense; therefore spirit is the subtle
essence which pervades all things. There is no personal creative God,
but spirit which is diffused through all, which is a part of man and beast,
is God. The highest manifestation of spirit is man. Man differs from
mere matter in this: his spirit is self-conscious. Therefore man is
nearer than any other object in nature to an impersonation of Deity.

66 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
And it may be said with more truth of man than of anything else, that
he is God — that there is more God in him than in anything else. It is
of the nature of spirit to be creative, to work itself out into material
forms. This spirit is like an all-pervading yeast which ferments inces
santly, working out new and constantly improving forms of what is
called matter. Men die, but the spirit which was in their bodies takes to
itself new attributes of a higher and more perfect nature, or mixes with
the spirit of all things — with God — and goes on bubbling to all eter
nity, a drop in the great caldron of spirit which is at once God and the
universe. Now, in all this account of Mr. Emerson's theology (?) I have not said
a word or used an illustration that I ever heard him use; but if I could
comprehend what he would have said, if he had come down out of the
clouds or up out of the mists, the notions I have given you are like those
he would have expressed. The German philosophers, with Coleridge,
Carlyle, Emerson, and others, are called by some Pantheists or Tran-
scendentalists. Mr. Emerson hates those terms. He says Platonists
would be more accurate, but yet not precisely so. He classes the writ
ings of Plato, Mahomet, Confucius, the Bible, and the religious books of
all nations, in the same category — all valuable as exhibiting the striv
ings of the human mind after a knowledge of Deity, or of themselves.
He speaks of the feelings awakened by music, by the sight of boundless
landscape, the ocean, the skies, etc., etc., as the longing of the spirit in
us to mingle with the great ocean of spirit of which every being has a
part. The interest manifested by Hayes in the lectures of Emerson
was characteristic of his catholic intellectual sympathies. He
always read much and widely. He early made friends of the
great authors, and the friendship was one that lasted him through
life. In his student days he found time for extensive readinh
outside of his courses of study. History and modern poetry hag
most attraction for him at that period, but the older English
poets also began to claim his attention. Near the beginning of
his last year in college (at the age of nineteen) he writes : —
Kenyon College, December 10, 1841. — My reading heretofore has
consisted chiefly of history, modern poetry, and such miscellaneous
writings as chanced to fall in my way. I have it is true for a long time
been an ardent admirer of Shakespeare and Milton, but till within a
week I never tasted the sweet waters which are to be found in the
authors of old English literature. I have as yet but just sipped the pure
streams which flow from this source, but a single taste makes me love
them. I first read Spenser, the father of English poetry. He has not the
studied elegance of some modern writers, but his deficiency in polish and
grace is more than compensated by the rich, vigorous flow of thought

INTEREST IN LITERATURE 67
which runs through all his poems. Nature is painted as she is, not
always beautiful or grand but ever charming from variety. Spenser has
faults, but they are like spots on the sun which do not mar the beauty
of his light, nor prevent the vivifying influence of his warmth. The tales
of Spenser are of that romantic and marvelous kind which is usually
found in the writings of the chivalrous ages when the Evil One employed
magic spells to overcome the virtue of the good, and horrid monsters to
subdue the bravery of the "trow Knights." In the "Fairy Queen" the
master passions of the human bosom are drawn with a pencil of light.
The meaner passions, envy, hatred, and jealousy, are represented as a
"right jollie teem" drawing the "Queen of Darknesse " in her two-
wheeled "carr" and driven by "Satanie" sitting on the beam, lashing
them into a foam with his scourge of scorpion's tails. Ah! that some
modern genius would show the deluded victims of passions, what a
driver directs their course, and what a "jollie teem" is hurrying them to
destruction. How quick they would lock the wheel, and cut the tugs to
escape from the "faire crew" which madly rushes on! They would even
risk life and limb in leaping from the "carr" of the damned one who
drives. But no, our modern gentry are too busied culling the choice
flowers of the "old poets" to think of benefiting their race. Instead of
resorting to the same source from which they drew immortality, these
are content to deck themselves with the cast-off drapery of another's
creation. A few days later he records the pleasure with which Scott's
"Lord of the Isles" had set his heart tingling. He wishes he
had the power of description there displayed. Then "the char
acters of our Revolutionary sires should be portrayed in colors
whose brightness would eclipse the sun. The names of our heroes
and sages would outlive 'the Bruce ' in the affections of freemen."
Before his graduation from college Hayes had read the princi
pal English poets: Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, Pope, Byron,
Moore, Campbell, and Scott. In history, besides various com-
pendiums, he had read Goldsmith's Rome and Greece, Gillie's
Greece, Ferguson's Rome, Gibbon's "Decline and Fall," Mil-
man's Jews, Bancroft, Marshall, Hume, Mackintosh, and others.
He had the habit of noting in his diary striking passages from
the authors he was reading. These quotations, which are very
numerous, show an appreciation of what was finest in thought,
loftiest in sentiment, and noblest in motive. A man does not
write down great and inspiring words, unless these appeal to
him; he does not record what is pure and ennobling in sentiment
unless this strikes a responsive chord in his own bosom. "Who-

68 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
ever is a genuine follower of Truth, " Hayes quotes in one place
from Burke, "keeps his eye steady upon his guide, indifferent
whither he is led, provided that she is the leader. " There was a
principle of action which Hayes desired to make his own. His
frequent self-examination, his constant measuring of his achieve
ments, not by what others had done or by what the world said,
but by his own ideal of conduct and effort, show how simply
and sincerely he strove to follow where Truth led the way.
There was no relaxation in general reading while he was a law
student at Columbus and at Cambridge. Much time was given
to German and satisfactory progress is recorded from time to
time. Shakespeare and Milton are read again, and at Cam
bridge a considerable course in ethics is undertaken. This
embraced Cicero's "Offices," Aristotle's "Ethics" in Gillie's
translation, Beattie's writings on morals, Paley's "Moral Phi
losophy," and Locke's "Essay on the Human Understanding."
Of Aristotle's "Ethics" Hayes writes: —
Upon the whole, I have not learned so much from this volume as I
should from the perusal of a modern book upon the same subject. I
found many ideas which are to be found in later writers without any ac
knowledgment; much that was very sensible and little that was not so.
Yet the impression upon my mind was not so enduring or strong as to
render the whole my own.
Commenting on Paley's discussion of the moral sense Hayes
writes : —
I cannot, at present, form an opinion upon this celebrated question,
but incline to the belief in a moral sense to a certain extent. My posi
tion is, that all men naturally approve what they believe right; or per
haps better this, all men have a faculty, or by what other name it may
be called, by which they are led to believe there is a moral quality in
actions. This does not assert that men naturally approve what is
right, for this would imply that men really know what is right, and all
would then agree, which is confessedly false; but it only means that men
have such a disposition that, if conscience was sufficiently enlightened,
all would think alike upon all important points in casuistry. Now, this
cannot be overturned by the arguments advanced against a moral sense
which at the same time discerns and approves the right. First, all men
do not approve the same acts. True; but all men do approve what
they believe is right. Secondly, neither imitation, nor any principle of
association by which certain acts done to third persons are judged of as
if they affected ourselves, can account for the fact, that in all ages every

INTEREST IN LITERATURE 69
individual of every nation has exhibited the strongest evidence of pos
sessing this disposition — to approve certain acts and disapprove of
others. Nor can it be accounted for on our author's principles: that
everything is to be judged of by its tendency, and is right because it is
expedient. For men speak of this moral quality in many instances, when
the act is of such a nature that they cannot say it is either expedient
or the contrary; and acts are every day pronounced wrong which, to
human foresight, are highly expedient.
This reasoning is by no means satisfactory to myself, but in my pres
ent circumstances I can give no better. I do believe that "honesty,"
according to the old adage, "is the best policy," as a general rule, or
that which is really expedient is right; yet I do not believe that this
expediency is the test of the morality of actions, or that an act is there
fore right, which conduces to the greatest happiness, because of such
tendency. But a safer rule would, it seems to me, be to say, that is right
which God commands or wills, because He wills it. With this rule men
would only be solicitous to know his will. While if the rule makes happi
ness the test, it will vary as greatly as do men's ideas of this greatest
good, and the standard would really be made to depend on the whims,
prejudices, and passions of men who are enough under the dominion of
these, without constituting them guides. Virtue, he defines, the doing
good to man, in obedience to the will of God, for the sake of eternal
happiness. Why would it not be equally correct to say, "for the sake of
eternal happiness, because God commands it"? Rewards and punish
ments appear to me additional motives to obedience, not the sole, nor
even the "chiefest" inducements.
And of Locke's distinctive doctrine this judgment is ex
pressed: —
I do not know what opinion to form about his doctrine of innate
ideas. If I had heard nothing against it, I should adopt it. I cannot
discover its weak points. His remarks about the idea of God are cer
tainly correct. What two persons have the same notion of the Supreme
Being? Besides this course in solid reading Hayes was becoming ac
quainted with Addison, whom he found a pleasant companion,
and he was not forgetting the poets, either English or Ameri
can. Recording the purchase of a volume containing the poems
of Drake, Prior, and Keats he says: "The poems I 've not read,
but Willis's observations give their chief characteristics, I sup
pose. If Willis would not strive so much after quaint forms of
expression and would write with more shortness and perspi
cuity, I would be better pleased with the drippings of his pen. "

70 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
In fiction Scott and Dickens were his favorite authors at this
time. Writing March 3, 1844, Hayes says: —
"Form your habits so that every change must be for the better," says
Paley. This I am trying to do, so far as reading aright goes. I read
Chillingworth over and over again. For Saturday nights' reading the
"Spectator" is my companion. Sunday the German Testament and
Milton are my friends.
The good habit of reading was maintained during the first
years of law practice spent at Fremont. In addition to the con
tinued study of the law writers, time was regularly given to
general literature. D'Aubigne's "History of the Reformation"
was early read.1 May 7, 1845, soon after he had established
himself in practice, we have this entry in the diary: —
I am now fairly settled. Let me see how I will arrange my plans for
study and business: — Read Greenleaf 's "Evidence" and Story's
"Agency," so as to finish them both in six weeks. Read a chapter in the
Testament (German). One case a week in Smith's "Leading Cases"
touching some topic of agency or evidence. Read a little Bacon and
Burke. Study Livy an hour in the morning and logic at night. Poetry
and light literature Sunday. Attend church regularly, and do all my
business promptly. Now, of so much, some must many days be neg
lected. The order of the preference shall be: Latin, Evidence, Agency,
German, Bacon, Logic, Burke, Smith's Cases; business first, always.
During the trip to Texas many novels of Scott, Bulwer,
Dickens, and Cooper were read. And with the removal to Cin
cinnati study and general reading were resumed, as has already
been noted, with quickened enthusiasm. Webster and Burke,
Shakespeare and Milton, Byron and Bulwer, are sought again
and again, while constantly the range of interest is widened.
Mrs. Adams's letters are read with keen pleasure. Taylor's
"Natural History of Society," Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter,"
1 "D'Aubigne constantly affirms that in his opinion, the Reformation was the
immediate work of the Divine hand. Now it seems to me that Providence inter
feres no more in the greatest affairs of men than in the smallest, and that neither
individuals nor nations are any more the objects of a special interposition of the
Divine Ruler than the inanimate things of the world. The Creator gave to every
creature of his hand its laws at the time of its creation; and whatever can happen
in accordance with those laws He doubtless foresaw, and it cannot be supposed
that his laws are so imperfect that special interpositions are necessary to render
them capable of fulfilling their design nor that it is possible for them to be
violated. The Reformation like other revolutions was agreeable to principles
which have existed since the world began." (Diary, April 15, 1845.)

INTEREST IN LITERATURE 71
Emerson's "Essays," Humboldt's "Cosmos," Thackeray's
"Pendennis," Ik Marvel's "Fresh Gleanings" ("a pleasant
book, dreamy and spirituelle, mixed with the spice of close
homely observation — a good hash — served with the relish
of pure, undented old English"), John Forster's "Statesmen of
the Commonwealth" and "Life of Sir John Eliot," and "Tris
tram Shandy, " 1 are some of the books mentioned as being read
in the first eighteen months of life in Cincinnati. All this was, of
course, in addition to the reading of law and the study of Ger
man, the work for the Literary Club and the Odd Fellows, and
the attendance on courses of lectures by Emerson, Agassiz, and
others. But the young lawyer was by no means satisfied with
what he had accomplished. Writing August 16, 1851, he says : —
I feel that I have read too much light reading, too little that is useful,
instructive, solid, of late. I must give up my mental habits; become
more energetic by tough reading. Let my lightest for a time be biogra
phies and miscellanies such as [concern] the statesmen of Cromwell's
time. The same day he began the thorough reading of the life of
William Ellery Channing, — "one of the noblest, purest men
who ever lived," in his opinion, — from which he gained much
inspiration; and two months later he writes: —
In general literature, read Burke, Shakespeare, and the standard
authors constantly, and always have on hand some book of worth not
before perused. Avoid occasional reading of a light character. Read
always as if I were to repeat it the day afterwards.
In the years that followed to the outbreak of the war, while
increasing business, a larger participation in public affairs, and
the growing cares and responsibilities of domestic life left less
leisure for general reading, still the principle just set forth con
tinued to be consistently practiced. More of the standard books
were constantly being added to the list read by him, like Pope's
1 "August IS, 1851. — Finished Sterne's Tristram Shandy yesterday. An
amusing book; it seems to me not a great one. Sterne's fame rests upon it. Tom
Jones, Oil Bias, Don Quixote, etc., etc., are none of them books which I like.
Don Quixote is by far the best; the rest are bawdy, show great knowledge of
human nature in its lower developments, but not great, pure, high, eloquent, or
holy. One thinks less hopefully of man and woman after reading them. I am
now attacking The Sentimental Journey — another of the same ilk." (Diary.)

72 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Homer and Burton's "Anatomy of Melancholy "; modern writers
like De Tocqueville, Irving, Carlyle, Buckle, and Prescott were
read, and comprehensive courses in American history and ex
ploration were pursued. Shakespeare, Milton, Burke, and the
Bible were never for long periods out of his hands.1 In what
spirit he read portions of the sacred Scriptures the following pas
sage from his diary of Sunday, April 24, 1853, reveals: —
Have been reading Genesis several Sundays, not as a Christian reads
for "spiritual consolation," "instruction," etc., not as an infidel
reads to carp and quarrel and criticize, but as one who wishes to be
informed and furnished in the earliest and most wonderful of all literary
productions. The literature of the Bible should be studied as one studies
Shakespeare, for illustration and language, for its true pictures of man
and woman nature, for its early historical record.
The demands of the law, however exacting, into whatever
fields of special research they rendered it necessary for Hayes
to make excursions, were never allowed to monopolize all his
thought and all his interest. Always he had an ear for other
voices than those that spoke with such eloquence of evidence
and agency, of constitutional limitations and the intricacies of
real property; always he had an eye for something higher and
finer than jury trials and arguments before the Supreme Court.
1 The diary continues to make frequent mention of the books read. Now and
then with comment. For example, December 17, 1859, we have this: "Have read
Recollections of Choate this week. He was a 'remarkable man,' as Dickens says
so many Americans are. I have heard him pour out in impetuous torrents his
warm and wordy eloquence. It was no doubt most effective in compelling ver
dicts from juries, but never struck me as 'high art' or (the real thing) genuine
nature. His best production, 'Eulogy on Webster,' at Dartmouth, is very beau
tiful. The lesson of his life — that is, the best suggestion one gets from it — is
the importance and value of perpetual and persevering labor in any direction
which one's judgment selects. Diction — verbiage — was his idol. He sacrificed
pleasure, health, all to it. Well, it is important. Western lawyers, Cincinnati
lawyers, do neglect too much what is termed learning, scholarship. Let me read
and reread the best poets, as Shakespeare, Milton, Byron; the model prose
writers, or speakers rather, as Burke, Webster. Addison does not interest me.
He is smooth but, to me, dull. Choate, if this book contains his best, was not
equal to Corwin, or Judge Johnston in wit, in shrewd and telling remark, in
anecdote, or illustration. With vastly more reading and scholarship than Judge
Johnston, with more magnetic power, with warmth and enthusiasm, he was not
equal to the Judge in brains, in natural ability, in power of illustration, in wit,
or in shrewd mastery of the prejudices and biases of juries. Judge Johnston as a
thinker, as a man of intellect, is far his superior."

INTEREST IN LITERATURE 73
He continued always to drink copiously at the wells of English
undeflled; to associate in spirit with the great souls of the race,
speaking to the world in books that are not for an age but for all
time. And so steadily he was growing stronger and wiser in un
conscious preparation for the greater work yet to be done.

CHAPTER V
COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE
YOUNG Hayes speaks of himself in one place as not a "la
dies' man." But his diary affords abundant proof that from
early manhood he found pleasure in woman's society. While he
was in college he records how agreeable had been his vacation
intercourse with the young ladies of his home neighborhood. In
his early days of law study he laments that the ladies were tak
ing too much of his time. At Cambridge, as at Gambier, the dis
tractions of society were not allowed to interfere with his stud
ies. But in the few years at Fremont, when he was making his
first efforts at the bar, much time was given to the fair sex. He
had expected, or rather had hoped, to marry early. While at
Cambridge he records a whimsical wager with a fellow student
that he should be married before he was twenty-five. The diary
discloses that now and again he fancied himself becoming deeply
interested in some young woman whose charms and graces he
gallantly celebrates. But, as he writes, "reflection and observa
tion prevented anything serious" resulting from these "incipient
courtships"; and the more of life he saw, the more critical he be
came and the less inclined to yield to a sudden vision of captivat
ing grace. "How crotchety one grows on that subject as years
bring wisdom and experience," he says; and he records from time
^-to time the marriage of some young woman on whom he had be
stowed attention; wishes her all happiness, and rejoices that he
had not pressed his suit.
The beginning of the year 1851 found him heart whole and
fancy free. Perhaps not quite fancy free. The fair face and win
ning presence of the one destined to complete and bless his life
were already much in his thoughts. She, Lucy Ware Webb, had
just completed her course at the Wesleyan Woman's College at
Cincinnati.1 There had been some slight acquaintance between
1 Mrs. Mary C. Wilber, wife of the president of the college and an instructor,
wrote in after years of Lucy Webb's college life: "She was ambitious to excel
in her studies, to do thorough work; was ever diligent, and marked 'perfect in

COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE 75
the two for more than three years. The first meeting had been
when he was on a visit at Delaware, Ohio, in July, 1847, when
she was "a bonnie schoolgirl of sixteen." x She was a girl of
singular charm of personality who made an instant impression
on every one she met. The young attorney was no exception.
He recalled three years later how in his thought he had then con
trasted or compared her graces with those of a young woman
whom he at that time somewhat "affected." Chance and incli
nation gave Hayes many opportunities during his first year in
Cincinnati to cultivate his acquaintance with Miss Webb. One
of the first calls he made after going to Cincinnati was at Wes
leyan College, and before the springtime was over he was aware
that he "must keep a guard on his susceptibilities or he should
be in beyond his depth." This fate, however, seemed to have
no terrors for him, for his attentions were not relaxed.
In the following September, at the marriage of Dr. Little, at
Delaware, Hayes and Miss Lucy Webb with another couple "as
sisted"; and Hayes, in describing the wedding reception, re
veals how constantly his thoughts were occupied with "the bright
eyes and merry smiles of that lovely girl." This preoccupation
was intensified with the passing months, and it was not long
before it became manifest to the young man that he was "in
beyond his depth," and that the great river against whose cur
rent he had ineffectually striven was bearing him, no longer
deportment,' and thus she won immediately the respect and approval of her
teachers, to whom she was a beloved, trusted young friend. She had the affec
tion and confidence of her schoolmates, for the unfaltering courtesy, which
marked her course in public life, was equally marked in her schoolgirl associa
tions. She was of a hopeful nature, wore a sunny face; was gay in a conserva
tive sense, enjoying all proper amusements like a bright, healthy, happy school
girl. But I do not believe she ever engaged in any pleasures inconsistent with
her profession as a Christian. Her loyalty to principle was as notable when a
student as when mistress of the White House. She possessed in a large degree
the ofttimes dangerous gift of wit; was quick in repartee, but was careful in its
exercise never to wound the feelings of others. She had a high sense of honor,
and an abounding charity for the weaknesses and mistakes of those not well
anchored in principle."
1 Mrs. Webb had moved from Chillicothe to Delaware, Ohio, to be with her
two sons while they were in college. Lucy was permitted to attend some of the
classes with her brothers and to receive instruction from the professors. When
the sons graduated in 1847, the family moved to Cincinnati, where the young
men began their courses in medicine and Lucy entered the Wesleyan Woman's
College.

76 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
resisting, to the main. May 23, 1851, after an evening with Miss
Webb, he dwells in his diary on her graces of person and charac
ter and frankly confesses that he is ready to surrender. "So we
go," he says. "Another bachelor's revery! Let it work out its
own results."
The climax now was rapidly reached. Three weeks later the
happy lover almost burst into song as he wrote of troth plighted
and serene peace attained: —
Saturday, June 14, 1851. — Last night, Friday evening, — Friday no
longer an ill-starred day in my calendar, — I went out on Sixth Street,
passing up from Fourth on the west side of] Race, when, just as I passed
the corner of Race and Longworth, I saw a magnificent horse plunging
and leaping like mad, with a buggy at his heels, along the sidewalk
towards the corner I was passing. — Let every one look and jump for his
life! At the moment I saw a lady, nearly at my side, in equal danger
with myself. Involuntarily I threw my arms around her and hurried
her back into the friendly protection of the receding doorway of the
engine-house at the corner. She was alarmed, but accepted most gra
ciously my apology and thanked me for my gallantry. Why do I speak
of this? As a good omen, or what? It was almost as unpremeditated
as another [act] which is the occasion of all this gossip. I went on my
way rejoicing, an inch taller for this feat — of "arms," shall I say? —
and naturally turned into the gate south side of Sixth, next house east of
Dr. Presley's church, and soon was chatting gaily with my — since a
goodly time — "received ideal" of a cheerful^truthful, trusting, loving,
and lovable girl, who might have been the original in many points
of Hawthorne's Phoebe — the sunbeam of the "House of the Seven
Gables"; or of the fairy in Ik Marvel's revery over the anthracite, with
the "deep eye reaching back to the spirit; not the trading eye, weighing
your purse; nor the worldly eye, weighing your position; nor the beastly
eye, weighing your appearance; but the heart's eye, weighing your soul!
An eye full of deep, tender, earnest feeling. An eye which looked on
once, you long to look on again; an eye which will haunt your dreams;
an eye which will give a color, in spite of you, to all your reveries. An
eye which lies before you in your future, like a star in the mariner's
heaven, by which unconsciously you take all your observations."
Then he writes of the joy with which he listened "to her talk,
'soft and low' — tones and voice just matching that otherwise
matchless eye." They spoke of a family they had known at Del
aware, then living in a house near by, and went to call on them.
They had "a queer, cordial welcome from the two old maids"
and their brother. After their return, Miss Webb "compared

LUCY AVARE WEBR (AFTERWARDS MRS. R. R. HAYESJ
At the age of sixteen, from a Daguerreotype

COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE 77
the two spinsters to Dora's aunts in 'Copperfield'"; and then,
"on a sudden impulse, unmeditated, involuntary," he declared
his love, to her manifest surprise, and she confessed she "liked
him very well," and "faith was plighted for life." No wonder
the happy lover "went home to dream of it all again and
again." Lucy Ware Webb was the daughter of Dr. James Webb, of
Chillicothe, where she was born August 28, 1831. Her father
had died when she was two years old, at Lexington, Kentucky,
whither he had gone to arrange for manumitting slaves of his in
heritance, with the intention of sending them to Liberia. This
was the year of the terrible cholera scourge and he remained at
Lexington, his native place, to care for the poor slaves and to
encourage friends, — as Henry Clay was doing at Ashland at
the same time, — until he himself was stricken and died. He
had served when a mere youth as a member of the Kentucky
mounted riflemen in the War of 1812, participating in the cam
paign of General Harrison at Fort Meigs and Fort Stephenson.1
His father, Isaac Webb, was a soldier in the Virginia line in the
Revolutionary War, and after its close, in 1790, removed to Ken
tucky. The mother of Lucy, Mrs. Maria Webb, was the daugh
ter of Isaac Cook, a Revolutionary soldier of Connecticut, who
emigrated to the old Northwest Territory about ten years before
Ohio became a State.2
It is an interesting and remarkable fact that Mrs. Lucy Webb
Hayes, who won the hearts of the Union soldiers in field and
1 The site of Fort Stephenson is now a public park in Fremont, containing
the City Hall and the Birchard Library. The Harrison Trail winds through
Spiegel Grove. A great white oak, under which young Webb bivouacked one
winter night, is known as "Grandfather's Tree."
8 This well-known pioneer is said to have been six feet two inches in height,
slender and perfectly erect to the day of his death. His hair was fine, black, and
usually combed straight back. His complexion was dark, his eyes black and
pleasant. His step was quick and elastic; his manners genial. He had facility
in writing verse, and wrote the Carriers' Addresses for New Year's Day for over
thirty-five years for the Scioto Gazette, the Galaxy, and other publications. He
held official positions of local importance for many years. He was appointed a
justice of the peace by Governor Tiffin in 1803; in 1804 a judge of the Court of
Common Pleas, to which office he was afterward elected by the Legislature —
serving twenty-seven years. He was appointed brigadier-general of militia by
Governor Worthington in 1816. He was repeatedly elected a Representative in
the Legislature from Ross County, serving from 1819 to 1830.

78 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
hospital, and later, as wife of the President, gained the high re
spect and honor of the whole American people, numbered among
her direct ancestors seven men that served in the Revolutionary
armies, two grandfathers, three great-grandfathers, and two
great-great-grandfathers.1 Toward the close of the century some
of these, who had received lands for services, emigrated to the
West, settling in Ohio and Kentucky. After Dr. Webb's death,
his wife and children freed the family slaves without conditions,
and continued always to take interest in their welfare, repeatedly
giving them needed assistance.2
Late in July, Miss Webb left Cincinnati for a long visit to
friends in other parts of the State. Apropos of her departure
Hayes writes: —
I do and shall feel quite lonely without her. Pouring out one's
thoughts and feelings into the same kindly listening ear daily for a
month is enough to endear the listener, even without the aid of sex,
beauty, and sweetness to strengthen the tie. . . . My loving, of course,
grows with intercourse; but, what is better for the permanency of
the attachment, my good opinion, my liking, gains with every day's
acquaintance. 1 Captain Isaac Webb, of the Virginia line of the Continental army, and
Isaac Cook, 3d, of the Connecticut line, grandfathers; Lieutenant-Colonel
Isaac Cook, Jr., of the Connecticut line, Captain Matthew Scott, of the Penn
sylvania line, and James Ware, of the Virginia line, great-grandfathers; Captain
Isaac Cook (who was in his sixty-sixth year when the war began), father of
Lieutenant-Colonel Isaac Cook, of Connecticut, and Brigadier-General William
Thompson, of Pennsylvania, great-great-grandfathers. General Thompson was
a native of Ireland. He emigrated to America, and settled at Carlyle, Penn
sylvania. He was captain in the cavalry service during the French war and made
the acquaintance of Arthur St. Clair at Quebec, with whom he served during
most of the Revolutionary War. He resided for a time at Pittsburgh, and was
one of the purchasers of old Fort Pitt when it was abandoned by the British.
In June, 1775, he was appointed colonel of a regiment of riflemen, joined the
American forces at Cambridge, and, November 10, had a skirmish with the
British at Lechmere Point. Was appointed brigadier, March 1, 1776; soon after
succeeded Lee in command at New York, and in April was ordered to Canada
to join General Sullivan in command of that department. He was in command
at Three Rivers, and was made prisoner with Colonel Irvine. After his exchange,
which was painfully prolonged, he returned to the service. (The St. Clair Papers,
vol. I, pp. 17-21, and 368 et seq.)
2 Friends advised Mrs. Webb, who was left in moderate circumstances, to
sell the slaves, inasmuch as they could not then be sent to Liberia, and it was
unlawful to free them in Kentucky. She replied: "Before I sell a slave I will
take in washing to support my family."

COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE 79
Miss Webb greatly disliked to write letters — a characteristic
which she retained throughout her life; though her letters when
she did write were bright and interesting. It was nearly a month
before Hayes received a word from her. He did not even know
part of the time where she was, and his diary shows his anxiety
and impatience. August 16 he writes: "Not heard from L. yet.
Do not know where she is even. Her mother is equally in the
dark. She thinks letter-writing a horrible task — little less than
martyrdom. I did feel vexed about it, but am clear of that feel
ing now." It was not easy, however, to keep the vexed feeling
down at the long intervals between her infrequent letters. The
quality of Hayes's letters to Miss Webb, during this first period
of separation after the engagement, is shown by the following
excerpt from a letter dated Cincinnati, August 21 : —
To drive dull care away I have filled up my leisure hours reading
(when not thinking of you) Sterne's works — the "Life, etc., of Tris
tram Shandy," and the "Sentimental Journey." This Mr. Sterne was a
clergyman, witty and a shrewd observer of the worst parts of human
nature. Such funny, dirty, worthless trash as delighted the good old
times in which he wrote would now not be tolerated in decent society,
except as picturing to one the manners of the olden time, and yet in the
classic age of English literature a clergyman could write these books
without serious damage to his reputation. When I see the immeasurable
changes which a century or two have produced, it gives me heart to
throw my little efforts in favor of the good projects of the age, however
slow their apparent progress. Nothing great is accomplished in a day,
but gradually the strong hours conquer all obstacles.
I have read another book — not yet finished — calculated to fill one
with hope, "The Life and Works of Dr. Channing." The Doctor may
be in error as to some doctrinal points, but the great features of his
system are founded on the rock of truth. If ever I am made a Christian
it will be under the influence of views like his. He says the test of Chris
tianity is the state of the heart and affections, not the state of a man's
intellectual belief. If a man feels the humility becoming one prone to
sinfulness, looks above for assistance, repents of what he does that is
wrong, aspires to purity of intention and correctness of conduct in all
the relations of life, such a man is a Christian, for he adopts the spirit of
Christ's teaching and imitates his example, — this, too, in spite of his
faith, — whether it be Calvinistic, Unitarian, Universalist, or Papist.
That I can comprehend. The half of the orthodox creeds I don't under
stand and can't fully believe.
When you feel lonely hereafter on a gloomy, country, summer Sunday,
I would prescribe writing to your humble servant as a sovereign remedy.

80 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Just take up a pen, — no matter how wretched a one, — dip it into the
ink, — never mind its color or "consistency" (that's a word they use in
speaking of glue), — and write right on; write the blues, or your sor
rows, your hopes, or your fears, facts or fancies, fold up the sheet or
sheets and mail them to me. They will find a willing reader; they will go
to a sympathizing heart, one whose every pulsation will, if that be pos
sible, be in harmony with your own. If there be one person in the world
to whom I would unbosom my thoughts, my feelings, even my weak
nesses and failings, that person is yourself. Nay, more, I believe now I
could open to you any part of my own nature which I dare to look upon
myself. For sooner or later it must all be known to you; and the more
that is known of a true heart the better will a true heart love it. This
proves the fallacy of Emerson's notion that the charm of the maiden is
gone when her consent is known. For until that consent is known the
lovers are both, in some sense, playing a game of deceit. Each wishes
to conceal from the other supposed defects of whatever sort. But after
the word is spoken and the spirit of genuine trustfulness awakened,
then the discovery of trifling spots which do not reach the soul's purity
is no longer to be dreaded. It only endears the loved one the more.
There is a positive happiness in having something to overlook, to for
give, to set off against one's own shortcomings. To be linked to a
perfect being in every sense would not be an equal and therefore not a
happy union.
I can speak of your perfections and not exaggerate. Such, so great,
and so many are the substantial and sterling qualities you own that
whatever defects there may be are dwarfed by them, like spots on the
sun, lost in the surrounding brightness. I do not fear the growth of your
self-esteem or I might, as you advise me, be guarded in the expression
of my sentiments and feelings, but if you have any failing it is the lack of
a rational self-confidence in small matters. In important things I do not
doubt that your fine sense of duty will always overcome easily any of
those modest misgivings which sometimes annoy you.
Finally to his great joy Miss Webb returned in mid-October
to the city, "looking more beautiful than ever," and manifestly
endowed with "good health, that master blessing." In the
months that ensued the entries in the diary are not numerous,
but they are enough to indicate that in this case at least the
course of true love ran smooth and with deepening current.
Every allusion breathes of increasing content and fuller anticipa
tion of happiness to come. December 5, noting the receipt of a
Detroit paper containing the announcement of his college friend
Trowbridge's marriage, Hayes writes : —
And speaking of good luck in such matters, I wonder who has fallen on
a more precious prize than my own. She to-day happened accidentally

COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE 81
to hear of a family in great distress — the father sick — the mother
working from 3 o'clock a.m. until 12 p.m. for fifteen to twenty cents,
making corsets. No help but a little girl of eight or nine years old; no
wood, no furniture, no food, a bundle of straw in one corner. Lucy shed
"some natural tears," but not stopping with tears, she stirred herself —
got bedclothes, dishes, food, wood, medicine, etc.1
And with the beginning of the new year he prays Heaven's
blessing on the "loved one whose nameless and numberless vir
tues and winning ways are growing into and around my heart."
For one reason or another the marriage was delayed until the
very end of the year 1852.2 It was celebrated December 30,
Professor L. D. McCabe, of the Ohio Wesleyan University, per
forming the ceremony. "Thursday afternoon about 2 o'clock,"
the diary particularizes, " at the residence of Lucy's mother, on
the south side of Sixth Street, between Race and Elm (No. 141),
Cincinnati, Ohio. Present, sister Fanny and her daughter
Laura, Uncle Birchard, Rogers and Andrews (Phi Zetas), Lucy's
mother, two brothers, Uncle Isaac Cook, Aunt Lucy, and Will
Scott, together with about thirty friends." Hayes was at this
time entering on his thirty -first year, while his bride was nine
years younger. A happy honeymoon was spent at Columbus in
the household of the beloved sister Fanny.3 Then a home was
1 This incident foretokened the constant habit of Mrs. Hayes's life. No case
of distress or need ever came to her knowledge that she did not seek instantly
to alleviate it.
2 There is evidence that the delay was borne with some impatience. In a
letter to Miss Webb from Columbus, August 22, 1852, Hayes writes: "I have
had a delightful summer vacation the last six weeks; have enjoyed myself as
much as I ever did in the same length of time in my life, but yet I see how the
pleasure could have been immeasurably increased. Do you grasp how? By
simply having with me as my own dear wife the loved and I am sure loving one
with whom I am now conversing. That was all that was wanting to fill the cup,
and another summer shall not be passed by me without your sweet self as my
own if I can help it. That glorious country house of Mr. Valette's [at Fremont]
would have been enlivened, lively as it was, for me and for all so much if you
could have been there with your sunny smile and sunnier heart to cheer it as
Phoebe did the old ' house of seven gables.' And your songs — let me exhort
you for the fiftieth time, as you love me (is there a stronger adjuration?) not to
neglect the songs which can be sung anywhere, any time, without note or in
strument. You do not know how all my happiest hours are associated in my
memory with pleasant songs. With no musical taste or cultivation myself, I
am yet so fond of simple airs that I have often thought I could never love a
woman who did not sing them."
' Mrs. Laura Mitchell, writing soon after Mrs. Hayes's death, said of this
time: "When my uncle brought her to us for the bridal visit, we children were

82 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
established with Mrs. Webb, and a life of conjugal felicity was
begun which through all the years that followed never knew
change except to increase in intensity and sweetness. After two
months of wedded bliss Hayes writes : —
February 27 : — Almost two months married. The great step of life
which makes or mars the whole after journey, has been happily taken.
The dear friend who is to share with me the joys and ills of our earthly
being grows steadily nearer and dearer to me. A better wife I never
hoped to have. Our little differences in points of taste or preference are
readily adjusted, and judging by the past I do not see how our tender
and affectionate relations can be disturbed by any jar. She bears with
my "innocent peculiarities" so kindly, so lovingly; is so studious in
providing for my little wants; is — is, in short, so true a wife that I
cannot think it possible that any shadow of disappointment will ever
cloud the prospect, — save only such calamities as are the common
allotment of Providence to all. Let me strive to be as true to her as she
is to me. Let me, too, be loving, kind, and thoughtful. Especially let
me not permit the passion I have to see constant improvement in those
I love, to be so blind in its eagerness as to wound a nature so tenderly
sensitive as I know I sometimes have done. This is, indeed, life! The
love of wedded wife! Can anything enjoyed on earth be a source of
truer, purer happiness — happiness more unalloyed than this? Bless
ings on his head who first invented marriage ! j
These two months are prophetic of the long life that is to fol
low. It will have many cares, many sorrows, large responsibili
ties, great honors. But through it all the golden thread of love
will run. There will be happiness and peace and rest and com
plete understanding whereof is born content at home, and so
there shall be the atmosphere in which the true man can grow to
his best estate.
The Hayeses continued to live with Mrs. Webb until the
spring of 1854. While with her, their first child, a son, was born
on November 4, 1853. To him was given the name of Birchard
Austin, in honor of the uncle. Mrs. Hayes spent the summers of
1853 and 1854 with relatives at Chillicothe, Columbus, and other
places of Ohio. When she returned to Cincinnati in the autumn
clamorous to appropriate her for our exclusive possession, glorying that in our
house only she was indeed 'Aunt Lu.' Very soon her name became the herald
to us all, and to our childhood friends, of happy, hilarious times. With later
years the joyful music of her dear name has softened and deepened into that
sweet, full chord of tenderness and love for which we have listened, since ever
she came to us, in all of our life's experiences of joy or sorrow."

RUTHERFORD B. AND LUCY W. HAYES
At the time of their marriage, December 30, 1852, from a Daguerreotype

COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE 83
of 1854, it was to go into a new home which Mr. Hayes had just
bought. This was at number 383 Sixth Street, on the south side,
west of Mound Street. Getting settled was attended with "all
sorts of laughing over our loads of furniture — a good deal of it
Lucy's mother's when she went to housekeeping — good but
old." There was "a great sending of it back and forth for clean
ing, varnishing, making as good as new," but at last everything
was settled in comfortable and pleasant shape. Mrs. Webb, to
whom Hayes was as devoted as to his own mother, became a
welcome member of the household. She was a woman of great
strength of character, combined with a sunny, hopeful disposi
tion which always looked on the bright side of things. Here the
family continued to live as long as a home was maintained at
Cincinnati. Here was born March 20, 1856, the second son, who
was named Webb Cook; and on June 24, 1858, the third son, who
was named Rutherford Piatt. Here all three boys were baptized
Wednesday, June 8, 1859, in the presence of their near relatives.
Here in tender and loving ministrations to their children in times
of sickness, in mutual rejoicing as the little lives given into their
keeping developed, in supporting and complementing each other
in all their endeavors, husband and wife grew continually into
closer and completer spiritual sympathy. Each was dependent
on the other; each was necessary to the other. The diary con
tains many references to this deepening affection; J and makes
many records in fond parental pride of the growth in body and
character of the boys.
It was in this period also that Hayes was called upon to mourn
the loss of his sister Fanny. The tie between these two had al
ways been of the closest; their mutual, love, devotion, and pride
knew no bounds. There was complete sympathy between them
in all the joys or the sorrows, the triumphs or the reverses, of
either. "She loved me," Hayes wrote in his diary nearly a year
after her death, " as an only sister loves a brother whom she im
agines almost perfect, and I loved her as an only brother loves a
sister who is perfect." To his sister Hayes first turned for advice
1 For example, in September, 1853, writing of a visit among relatives, Hayes
says: "This is the statistical summary of the summer. But its real enjoyment
embraces many special things. I know my Lucy far better than before. We
have been alone together among strangers, and I can't express how much deeper
my love for her is."

84 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
or encouragement; of her he first thought when any good thing
came into his fife. His satisfaction was not complete till he could
share it with her. To her he wrote more fully and freely than to
any one else. To her house in Columbus — she was happily mar
ried before her twentieth birthday to William A. Piatt, a man of
substance and affairs — he made frequent visits in his college
days and during his life at Fremont and Cincinnati. It was like
a second home to him, and Fanny's children were almost as dear
to him as his own. His first acute grief was when he sorrowed
with her in January, 1851, over the death of her six-year-old son,
Willie, — a bright and winsome lad, whom all had dearly loved.
During the time of his engagement he had great joy in discover
ing a resemblance to his sister in the character of his betrothed.
His marriage made no difference with the closeness of the rela
tions between brother and sister. When in July, 1856, the end of
things earthly came for her, the affliction fell upon Hayes with
heart-breaking force. He writes : —
My dear only sister, my beloved Fanny is dead ! The dearest friend
of childhood, the affectionate adviser, the confidante of all my life, the
one I loved best, is gone — alas! never again to be seen on earth. Oh,
how we shall always mourn her loss ! how we shall lament her absence at
every family meeting ! The pride of us all, the charm of every circle, and
my own particular loss.
In his review of the year, on December 28, he writes: —
The most eventful, longest, and saddest year in its one great affliction
that I have ever known. The void still remains. The wound does not
heal. Not a day passes that this shadow does not darken some otherwise
happy moments. I never am present at any scene of joyousness or fes
tivity that Fanny's image is not present with its saddening influence.
Oh, what a blessed sister she was ! No other such loss could have hap
pened to me. The long years of common experiences, joys, and sorrows,
going back to the rosy period of life, bound her to me in a way that no
acquaintance begun at a later period, however dear and close the rela
tion, can equal. As we grow nearer the term of life, how sweet all the
recollections of childhood become, and how dear those who can travel
back to the same early memories !

CHAPTER VI
SUCCESS AT THE BAR
THE few years of practice at Fremont, Hayes looked back
upon, as we have seen, as largely time wasted. There were
occasions, indeed, while he was still at Fremont when the feeling
that he was not using his powers to the best advantage came over
him. But the hours of despondency and doubt were probably due
more to physical than to psychical causes. He was not robust
and his mental states took their color at times from his impaired
bodily condition. We know, however, that in these years he made
an excellent beginning in the practice of his profession, such, in
deed, as to give older lawyers a decidedly favorable impression of
his capabilities. This is shown by the letter of Judge Lane, given
on a previous page, and by expressions in the letters of lawyer
friends at Cincinnati whom he consulted in regard to the advisa
bility of removing to that city. Moreover, in his diary, after a
year and a half at Fremont, Hayes writes: "I have succeeded, in
all the senses of that word, as well as I could desire in my profes
sional career."
The change to Cincinnati was rather against the advice of
Hayes's uncle, Sardis Birchard, to whose fostering guardianship
he owed so much. But Hayes was confident that the event would
prove the wisdom of his decision. He was conscious of the need of
a larger arena to stimulate his powers to their best development.
He began his professional life at Cincinnati in a very quiet way.
He shared an office, it will be recalled, with another young law
yer, John W. Herron. Studying and reading and making ac
quaintances, the young man waited for business. He had been
in Cincinnati six weeks before his first client appeared. This was
a coal trader who gave him "a retainer of five dollars to defend
a suit in the commercial court." In the next few months the
references in the diary indicate that few clients sought his door.
Late in November, 1850, when he had been in Cincinnati nearly
a year, he writes: "I am now to work my way almost unaided.

86 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
Push, labor, shove, — thre^ words of great power in a city like
this. Twoyears must find me with a living and increasing busi
ness or I quit the city and probably the profession." Four
months later he is in a despondent mood at his prospects — partly
due as he admits to impaired health. Herron has just left him
to enter another office as partner. He is alone, contrasting his
aspirations with his accomplishments : —
I have now no prospects for good or glory immediately before me. . . .
I fear I am wasting not [only] my substance, but what is even more, my
mental endowments. Let me prick up a little of my ancient mettle and
again at it. I see many of my early friends and acquaintances of no
greater promise than mine evidently outstripping me in the race of life.
Yet I feel that I am not inferior to them. The gift of continuance, aye,
and health, I fear, are lacking. . . . My prospects here are in some
points of view not dark, and in others not so bright as I could desire.
I have made friends and with them acquired some position — some
reputation — and yet I have next to no practice at all.
But Hayes's periods of despondency were never of long dura
tion. Constitutionally he looked on the bright side of life. What
we have just copied, he wrote in the gloom that precedes the
dawn. The acquaintances he had been making, the faithful work
he had been doing, had prepared the way, and the demands on
his professional services began soon to increase. The patience
his lawyer friends had warned him, on coming to Cincinnati, that
he must exercise "until the tide should bring his turn around,"
was now to be rewarded. With the incoming of the year 1852
he was able to say: "So begins the new year. Rather prosper
ously with me. Money and friends more abundant than ever
before." The year thus opening prosperously was to see Hayes
engaged for the defense in several criminal cases of a very notable
character — cases which gave him an opportunity to display his
powers such as no previous cases had given. January 16 he made
his maiden effort in the criminal court in the defense of a young
man indicted for grand larceny. The man was convicted, but
Hayes had done his part in such a way as to draw compliments
from the court and the prosecuting attorney. So favorably was
the judge impressed that he at once appointed Hayes to assist
in the defense of Nancy Farrer, the poisoner of two families.
Whereupon Hayes writes: —

SUCCESS AT THE BAR 87
It is the criminal case of the term. Will attract more notice than any
other, and if I am well prepared, will give me a better opportunity to exert
and exhibit whatever pith there is in me than any case I ever appeared
in. The poor girl is homely — very; probably from this misfortune has
grown her malignity. I shall repeat some of my favorite notions as to
the effect of original constitution, early training, and associations in
forming character — show how it diminishes responsibility, etc., etc.
Must look over my Odd Fellow speech on Happiness. Study medical
jurisprudence as to poisons; also read some good speech or poetry to
elevate my style, language, thoughts, etc., etc. Here is the tide and I
mean to take it at the flood — if I can.
His investigations brought to light many facts of the woman's
heredity which made a strong presumptive case of insanity.
But the community had been so horrified by the circumstances
attending the poisoning that such a plea had little chance of suc
cess before a jury of the vicinage. Moreover, the repulsive face
of the woman was enough to condemn her. She had a large and
ugly mouth, a monstrous nose flattened at the tip, small eyes,
deep-set and wide apart, shaded by heavy brows and glowering
with malignant cunning. The very difficulties of the case only
heightened the interest and zeal of the lawyer for the defense in
preparing for the trial.
In the summer of 1851, a Mrs. Green living in the southern
part of Cincinnati, who had recently been confined, was sud
denly taken seriously ill, but lingered, alternately better and
worse, until October 3, when she died. She was nursed during
her confinement and subsequent illness by Nancy Farrer and an
Italian woman named Brazilli. On her death the latter dis
appeared, and Nancy became a servant in the home of Elisha
Forrest.a well-to-do merchant in Fulton, whose family consisted
of himself, his wife, and three children. At the first meal cooked
by Nancy, Mrs. Forrest was violently attacked and died in
twenty-four hours. Two weeks later, her son John was attacked
and died in thirty-six hours, and late in November another son,
James Wesley, succumbed. Mr. Forrest and the third child also
fell ill, but recovered. On the death of James suspicions were
aroused and investigation resulted in the finding of arsenic and
the label of the druggist from whom it was purchased. The drug
gist said he had sold the arsenic to Nancy Farrer to poison rats.
In the stomachs of the victims arsenic was found sufficient to

88 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
cause death in each case. When the post mortem of the boy
James was held, Nancy was present, but neither her countenance
nor manner gave indication of conscious guilt. Three indict
ments were found against Nancy for poisoning Mrs. Forrest and
her children, and a joint indictment against her and Mrs. Bra-
zilli for the murder of Mrs. Green. In the following February,
Nancy was tried on the indictment for the murder of James
Wesley Forrest, the last victim of these tragedies.
- The trial lasted ten days and throughout absorbed public
attention. Mr. Hayes fought every inch of ground for the pris
oner, but his principal plea was that she was not a free moral
agent. He proved that her origin, training, and associations
were vicious; that her father had died of delirium tremens, and
that her mother was insane, professing to be a Mormon prophet
ess. Nancy made similar professions. She said to her counsel
one day that the Italian woman poisoned Mrs. Green and taught
her how to use arsenic. It was clear that her motive was not
gain nor revenge, for her victims were her friends and benefac
tors. The only plausible theory was, that it was insane love of
power. The ruling of the court was, as it had been in similar cases,
that insanity must be proved affirmatively when pleaded as an
excuse for crime. The medical experts were asked whether they
believed the prisoner knew right from wrong. On their declara
tion that they so believed the jurors were charged to find accord
ing to the facts. The assumption, that if a person knew right
from wrong, insanity was not proved, Hayes confronted with the
opinion of Dr. Bell, of the McLean Asylum, who asserted that
insane persons generally knew right and wrong; and with an im
pressive discussion of the tendency of hereditary traits, which
science has since much emphasized. He illustrated his theory by
telling the pathetic story of Mary Lamb, impelled against her
will to slay her father and mother, and added: —
Awful as are the tragedies which she [Nancy Farrer] has been the
instrument — as I believe, the unconscious instrument — of commit
ting, their horrors sink into insignificance when compared with the
solemn and deliberate execution by reasoning, thinking men of such a
being as she. On the subject of insanity I have asked more than is
sustained by the weight of judicial opinion even in this country. But I

SUCCESS AT THE BAR 89
suppose that when the facts and principles of any science come to be so
well established that they are universally recognized and adopted by
the most intelligent as well as the most conservative members of the
profession which deals with that science, it is in strict harmony with
the expansive and liberal rules of the common law that courts should
also recognize and adopt those facts and principles. The calamity of
insanity is one which may touch very nearly the happiness of the best
of our citizens. We all know that in some of its thousand forms it has
carried grief and agony unspeakable into many a happy home; and we
must all wish to see such rules in regard to it established as would
satisfy an intelligent man if, instead of this friendless girl, his own sis
ter or his own daughter were on trial. And surely to establish such rules
will be a most noble achievement of that intelligence and reason which
God has given to you, but which he has denied to her whose fate is in
your hands.
The deep impression made on the jury by this argument was
evident from the fact that they were out three days before they
brought in a verdict of guilty. Failing in his motion for a new
trial, Hayes carried up the case to the Supreme Court. In his
argument on insanity before that court, he said: —
There is no fact more essential to crime than the possession of reason.
The existence of this fact the law properly presumes. But if that pre
sumption is denied, if there is evidence tending to overthrow it, why not
apply to that evidence the same humane maxim which is extended to
every other presumption of the law? The only answer I find to this
inquiry is, that the safety and protection of society require this depar
ture from principle; that otherwise the defense of insanity would be
successfully interposed in cases where in truth, depravity, not insanity,
was at the bottom of the crime. It is needless to remark in reply that
every presumption for the protection of innocence is liable to be used as
a shield for guilt. The question is still to be answered, Why is the de
fense of insanity to be treated as odious by the law? Is it so peculiarly
liable to abuse that fundamental rules are to be changed to guard soci
ety against it? On the contrary, I believe it has been shown by those
who have investigated the subject, the danger is in the opposite direc
tion; that until a recent period there were ten insane and therefore
innocent persons who suffered punishment, to one criminal who escaped
on the pretext of insanity; and that now, in view of the state of the law
and the prejudices of the community, injustice is more frequently done
to the insane accused than to the public.
I admit that cases are occurring frequently in which this defense is
set up and the accused acquitted where there is, in truth, very little
that looks like permanent and real insanity. But what are these cases?
Are they cases of feigned insanity, cases in which the jury are deceived

90 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
and acquit the accused because they are deceived? Far from it. They
are cases in which verdicts of acquittal are rendered against the rigorous
requirements of the law, because the juries are satisfied that the acts
charged are such as good men and good women might commit, acts
which do not evince "a heart regardless of social duty, and fatally bent
on mischief." They are cases in which the accused has suffered some
great wrong for which the law provides no adequate remedy. Cases like
that of young Mercer, at Philadelphia, who slew the seducer; the Irish
girl lately at Newark who killed the man who had betrayed, ruined, and
deserted her; and the Ohio girl at Milwaukee who did the same thing.
In all these cases the defense was insanity, and the verdict acquittal; but
the verdict would have been the same on any other plea. Nobody is
deceived by the defense. Insanity is set up because under that defense
more conveniently than under any other the story of the wrong suffered
by the accused can be spread before the jury. The general sense of the
community approves these verdicts of acquittal, because it is felt that
the best person in the community might, under the same circumstances,
commit the same acts; because there is no other redress for such a
wrong; because, finally, the slain deserves his fate.
We submit that the defense of insanity is not to be regarded as odious
in the law because of these cases. The same verdict would be rendered
in the same cases if the plea of self-defense were set up, if under that
plea the circumstances of provocation could as well be got before the
jury. Laying this class of cases out of view and how often is it that
juries are deceived by feigned insanity? I suppose there may have been
such cases, but I have not met with them. But cases of the other sort
are but too easily found. The famous case of the negro Freeman in
New York, convicted but insane beyond all question, will be remem
bered; but we need not travel from home for examples. In our own
reports (12th Ohio) is the case of a man convicted in this county — the
case of Clark convicted on the opinion of the sheriff and other experts
against the opinion of Dr. Ackley. At the time of that conviction very
painful doubts were felt by many as to its justice; and after the execu
tion of Clark the post-mortem examination demonstrated that he was
totally irresponsible. His brain was softened to the consistency of lard,
and the opinion of Dr. Ackley was confirmed. I submit, in view of facts
like these, that the presumption against insanity is not so necessary
to the safety of society that a greater amount of evidence should be
required to overthrow it than is requisite to overthrow other similar
presumptions of law.
Hayes's plea was successful. The judgment of the lower court
was reversed in an opinion, fully sustaining his leading positions,
four in number, which has since been accepted as good authority.
On the principal points the court held : That it is not enough to
charge the jury that "the only insanity which exonerates from

SUCCESS AT THE BAR 91
criminal responsibility, is the inability to distinguish right from
wrong, as to the act charged, at the time of its commission"; but
it must be remembered that sanity signifies a freedom of will
to avoid a wrong, no less than the power to distinguish between
right and wrong — without which capacity no responsibility
attaches. An application was next made for an inquest of lunacy, which
found Nancy Farrer of unsound mind. "She will now go to a
lunatic asylum," writes Hayes in his diary, "and so my first case
involving life is ended successfully. It has been a pet case with
me; has caused me much anxiety, given me some prominence in
my profession, and indeed was the case which first brought me
practice in this city. It has turned out fortunately for me —
very, and I am greatly gratified that it is so."
Before the argument on appeal in the Nancy Farrer case,
which was in December, 1853, he had been retained in two other
murder cases, the most prominent of which — that of the State
of Ohio vs. James Summons — he took to the Supreme Court in
January of the same year, when he made his first oral argument
before that court. It was pronounced by Thomas Ewing "the
best first speech " he had ever heard in the Supreme Court. The
conclusion of this argument was in the following words : —
We are not here to plead merely for James Summons. He is bankrupt
in fortune and character, broken in health and intellect, and bereft of
almost every rational hope in life. Occasional fits of delirium tremens
and repeated attacks of epilepsy have reduced him almost to imbecility,
and the little remnant of existence which a reversal of this judgment
will spare to him has perhaps very little value. Nor are we here to plead
for those little ones who derive their being through him and who are
growing up to bear his name. Nor even for the sake of his aged father,
already crushed to the earth, and who has such claims to our sympa
thy and regard. Nor for his mother, who has clung to him through all
these years of sorrow and shame with a devotion at once so touching
and so sublime! But we are here earnestly to beg of this court — very
respectfully to ask, to demand of this court that fundamental rules upon
which depend the liberty and life of every citizen, long established
and solemnly guarded, shall not now be disregarded, nor broken down
merely in order that James Summons may perish. We are here, in the
language of the great lawyer of our day — we are here, in the language
of Mr. Webster — "to hold up before this unfortunate man the broad
shield of the Constitution," and if through that he be pierced and fall,
he wUl be but one sufferer in a common calamity.

92 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
The plea presented to the court will best be understood by
some statement of the case. In July, 1849, Summons was ar
raigned on two indictments charging murder in the first degree,
committed by poisoning with arsenic the tea of which his mother,
father, and other relatives partook; two of them with fatal effect.
The chief witness was a servant girl, who brewed the tea; and it
was conceded that without her testimony no conviction could
be had. Summons was first tried in May, 1850, when after seven
days' hearing, the jury failed to agree. He was tried again in
June, and after ten days' hearing the jury again failed to agree.
At these two trials the servant girl, Mary Clinch, testified. Be
fore the third trial in April, 1851, she died, and her testimony was
then supplied by a witness who undertook to give it from mem
ory, aided by notes taken at the former trials. The jury again
disagreed. At the fourth trial in April, 1852, the testimony of
Mary Clinch was supplied in the same manner as before. The
trial resulted in conviction, the jury accompanying the verdict
with a recommendation to executive clemency. From this sen
tence an appeal was taken by writ of error to the Supreme Court.
The ground of reversal mainly relied upon, was'that the District
Court erred in permitting the testimony of Mary Clinch to be
given to the jury from memory, by any witness, and especially
by the actual witness who was alleged to be legally incompetent.
Pending the discussion and determination of these questions,
four of the five judges of the court as first constituted retired, and
new judges took their places. Twice did a majority of the court
determine to reverse judgment against the prisoner; twice was
this determination recalled, and finally, by a majority of the
new judges, the sentence was affirmed.
During all this time Summons protested his innocence; and
his father and mother, who drank of the poisoned tea, declared
their belief in his innocence. The Governor on petition of the
judges of both the District and the Supreme Courts commuted
the sentence to imprisonment for life.
In ApriL 1853, Hayes made his first argument in the United
States Circuit Court, Justice McLean presiding, in association
withjrhcmajjJEwing and George E. Pugh, in a case involving an
importantc^uesjion. It arose under a motion to enjoin the Junc
tion Railway Companvrfrom Sandusky to the Maumee River,

SUCCESS AT THE BAR 93
from crossing Sandusky Bay by means of a causeway and draw
bridge, on the ground that this would be injurious to navigation,
and consequently in violation of rights guaranteed by the Ordi
nance of 1787. It was also doubtful whether under its charter the
railway company could claim a prima-facie right to cross the bay,
even leaving apart the general question of interference with navi
gation. The people of Fremont, with Sardis Birchard in the lead,
were much aroused on the subject, fearing that the obstruction
of the bay would do their town irreparable damage. Hayes made
a very thorough study of the law and the authorities bearing on
the question, being engaged in the preparation of the case at inter
vals for several months. Practically all the work of preparing
the bill on which the injunction was asked fell on him. He was
thoroughly convinced, in the light of the previous decisions of
the United States courts, that the causeway and drawbridge
would be a legal nuisance; but looking at the whole subject
of transportation and the growing importance of railways in the
economy of life, he had doubts whether larger utilities would
not be secured by allowing the construction of the bridge, rather
than by seeking to preserve absolutely uninterrupted water
communication in the bay. But his doubts did not lessen the
zeal with which he sought to establish what he believed to be
legal rights; even if there was failure in securing all that was
claimed, the contest, he believed, would result in minimizing
the obstruction. Mr. Pugh was associated with him in the case
from the start. On Hayes's advice, when the time drew near for
appearing in court, Mr. Ewing, who at that time was one of the
leaders of the Ohio bar, was also engaged. To him the bill, affi
davits, and case as already prepared by Hayes were submitted
and he pronounced them perfect. Hayes had neglected nothing
that would tend to strengthen the position for which he was con
tending, which was, indeed, characteristic of the thoroughness
with which he regularly prepared his cases.
Some time after Herron left Hayes, another young lawyer,
named McDowell, came to share the office. Hayes's geniality,
his love of books, and his eagerness for intellectual growth at
tracted men of similar tastes to him. His office was the frequent
resort of older members of the bar, in whose conversation Hayes
found pleasure and profit, and of members of the Literary Club

94 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
who came to discuss things uppermost in the world of literature,
science, and politics. On January 1, 1854, Hayes entered into
partnership with R. M. Corwine and W. K. Rogers under the
firm name of Corwine, Hayes & Rogers. The last named left
Cincinnati to make his home in Minnesota in 1856, when the
firm style became Corwine and Hayes. The firm was reasonably
prosperous and Hayes continued in the partnership until Decem
ber, 1858. When he withdrew from the firm, several thousand dol
lars were due him as his share of the earnings of the partnership.
In March, 1855, Hayes was associated with Salmon P. Chase
and Timothy Walker in saving a slave girl named Rosetta Arm-
stead from a return to the South. The case excited great popular
interest, as did all slave cases at the time, especially as it in
volved a conflict between federal and state jurisdiction. The
point was that Rosetta had not fled to Ohio, but had been
brought there, and so was not amenable to the Fugitive Slave
Law. Her master, a clergyman named Henry M. Dennison, of
Louisville, had entrusted her to a friend to take to Richmond,
Virginia. This man left the boat at Cincinnati and proceeded
by way of Columbus, where he was detained over Sunday. Here
the girl was brought before the Probate Court on a writ of habeas
corpus and was adjudged to be free. The court appointed Lewis
G. Van Slyke as her guardian. Meanwhile Mr. Dennison ap
peared on the scene. He had a talk with Rosetta, Mr. Van Slyke
and others being present, and gave her a choice of returning with
him or of remaining free. When she chose the latter, he bade her
good-bye, adding that he should probably never see her again.
In spite of all this he obtained a warrant for her arrest from
United States Commissioner John L. Pendery, of Cincinnati, to
which city she was thereupon brought by the marshal. Her
guardian at once obtained a writ of habeas corpus from Judge
Parker, of the Court of Common Pleas of Hamilton County.
After thorough argument by Messrs. Chase, Walker, and Hayes
for Rosetta, and by Messrs. Pugh and Flynn for the master, the
court ordered the girl set free, holding that a state court on a
writ of habeas corpus had a right to inquire into the legality of the
detention of persons by a United States marshal, and deciding
that "under the constitution of Ohio the alleged right of transit
with slave property' through the State did not exist."

SUCCESS AT THE BAR 95
But no sooner was Rosetta restored to the custody of her
guardian than she was rearrested on the warrant issued by Com
missioner Pendery, who now heard argument on the whole ques
tion. Popular excitement ran high, and the court-room was
thronged. In this case the chief legal argument was made by
Mr. Hayes who, Mr. Chase says, "acquitted himself with great
distinction." x He denounced Mr. Dennison's conduct in "de
spising his pledged word and suing out a writ that she was a fugi
tive as worse than the most ultra fanaticism of those classed
as abolitionists"; and he argued: "The parol manumission the
claimant made of her is good in Ohio — good in law, good in
morals. A slave court says that acts of manumission may be in
ferred from the 'acts and conduct of the master.' The acts of
Mr. Dennison at Columbus were impliedly and expressly to the
liberation of Rosetta." He then analyzed the Fugitive Slave
Law and showed that, even waiving the parol manumission, the
law did not apply to the case of Rosetta. She had not fled from
her master; she had made no effort to escape. She had been
brought into the State with her master's consent, by his agent.
He reminded the commissioner of the opinion of a Southern
Judge of the United States Supreme Court under the Law of
1793 (which was similar in language to the Law of 1850) which
said: "If a slave go from one State to another with the consent
or connivance of the master, it is not an escape under the fugitive
slave clause." The argument was heard with close attention by
the commissioner, while the audience followed it in profound
silence to the close, when there was an outburst of prolonged
applause; while his fellow lawyers pressed about him with their
congratulations. He had not spoken in vain. The commis
sioner held the case under advisement for nearly a week, when
he reached the same conclusion that had already been reached
by the state courts, and set the girl at liberty, when no further
effort was made to restore her to bondage.2
At the end of five years in Cincinnati, Hayes writes : " I cannot
' Warden's Life of Chase, p. 345.
2 This was not the only fugitive slave case in which Hayes's activity was
aroused. Eecalling this period later in life, he wrote: "My services were always
freely given to the slave and his friends in all cases arising under the Fugitive
Slave Law from the time of its passage until such cases were ended by the War of
the Rebellion."

96 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
but look back with a feeling of gratification, not to say pride.
I told Uncle that in five years I believed that he and every other
friend I had would be glad that I had gone to Cincinnati. It is
enough to fill me with pleasant feeling that I am sure that my
hope has been realized." Two years later he looks back with sat
isfaction over the "business, success in life, etc.," of the previous
twelvemonth. Again, after two years he says: "I am now fairly
established as a lawyer, with a good reputation and flattering
prospects"; and Christmas Eve, 1859, just ten years after his
arrival in Cincinnati, he writes: "Without any extraordinary
success, without that sort of success which makes men giddy
sometimes, I have nevertheless found what I sought — a re
spectable place. Good!"

CHAPTER VII
INTEREST AND ACTIVITY IN POLITICS
LIKE all normally constituted young Americans of his time,
Hayes began early to be an interested observer of political
movements, though in his student days he looked askance at
young men who were inclined to dabble in pohtics. He came
of sturdy Whig ancestry, and so, naturally, his sympathies were
with the Whig cause, and his political heroes were men who had
been most faithful and efficient in its proclamation and defense.
The great campaign of 1840 roused him, boy of eighteen as he
was, to a high pitch of enthusiasm. His deep interest is revealed
by his diary in which he wrote a consecutive history of the cam
paign, beginning it in June, and making additions from time to
time as the memorable contest advanced, until in November he
was able to record the success of Harrison at the polls. This ac
count of the campaign is remarkable for its clearness of insight
and its maturity of judgment. It is difficult to realize that it is
the work of a lad in his sophomore year at college. After de
scribing the causes which contributed to Van Buren's declining
popularity, and giving an account of the Harrisburg Convention,
the young historian proceeds: —
•
In this State (Ohio) many who had before been supporters of Van
Buren came out publicly and declared their intention to go for Harrison.
About this time the Baltimore Republican, a Van Buren print, sneer-
ingly said of General Harrison: "Give him a pension of two thousand
dollars and a barrel of hard cider and he will be content to live in a log
cabin the remainder of his days." Great use was made of this by the
Harrison party. They styled themselves the "Log Cabin and Hard
Cider Party." In February and March, '40, log cabins began to be
built for council houses for the Harrison party.
A convention was held on the 22d of February in this State (Colum
bus) to respond to the nomination and nominate candidates for state
officers. Large and spirited meetings were held in the different counties
nominating delegates to "the Convention." All knew that the State
was aroused, but as the weather was bad, the roads almost impassable,
few expected that there would be much of a "turn out," but the day

98 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
came and with it the greatest convention in many respects ever held;
there was no plan or system, but each delegation bore as their emblem
whatever their caprice dictated. Log cabins, hard cider, canoes, boats
(all kinds) were brought with thousands of mottoes. At this conven
tion it was, that political songs were first sung to any great extent;
and this was the first of that series of great conventions for which this
campaign will be remarkable. Number present 20,000.
Then follow comments on the results of the various state elec
tions, the enthusiasm and confidence of the writer rising as the
summer, with its shouting, singing, marching hosts, its vast con
courses of people, and its ringing oratory, passed into autumn.
Early in October Hayes writes : —
The Van Buren party know that nothing but success in this State can
save them. They are accordingly straining every nerve. Johnson,
Allen, and others are stumping it over the State. Mr. Corwin (candi
date for Governor) has also been before the public.
October 20 the election of Corwin is noted with exclamations
of delight and the narrative is brought to an end early in Novem
ber with these sentences : —
The long agony is over. The "whirlwind" has swept over the land,
and General Harrison is undoubtedly elected President. I never was
more elated by anything in my life. His majority in this State, about
sixteen acres or 23,000. Kentucky and everywhere else is going fine.
Glorious! Up on the Reserve, Birney and Van Buren ran about alike.
Ha-ha! With the election of Harrison, Hayes's interest in politics
temporarily subsided; and yet only relatively. An entry in the
diary of September 6, 1841, when he was on vacation at Colum
bus, while disclaiming interest, shows that the young man was
closely following the current of public affairs and forming his
opinions thereon. He writes : —
The grogshop politicians of this goodly city have been in a constant
ferment for a few weeks past because of the veto of the Bank Bill by
President Tyler. The Van Buren men who opposed him so strenuously
last fall now laud him to the skies for his integrity and firmness in dis
regarding his party relations for the sake of the Constitution. On the
other hand, his former friends, the old Whigs, stigmatize him as a
traitor to his principles for disregarding the wishes of a majority of his
supporters. For myself I do not consider the professions of the Van
Buren men sincere, nor do I think the harsh denunciations of the Whigs
as very becoming the original supporters of Harrison and Tyler. It is

INTEREST AND ACTIVITY IN POLITICS 99
only by remaining united that they can continue to advance the great
interests of the country, and they should be careful how they hazard all
by casting loose from John Tyler for a conscientious discharge of duty.
I was never more rejoiced than when it was ascertained that Harrison's
election was certain. I hoped we should then have a stable currency of
uniform value, but since Tyler has vetoed one way of accomplishing
this, I would not hesitate to try others. So much for politics in which
I have ceased to take an interest. My hopes and wishes were all realized
in the election of old General Harrison and I am glad to be able to say
that I am now indifferent to such things.
Doubtless, in common with most of his countrymen, Hayes
later modified his opinion of Tyler. It is worthy of special note
that Hayes was most interested "in a stable currency of uniform
value." We shall find him much later in life doing valiant service
in that cause.
In the next two years we hear nothing from Hayes in regard
to politics. But at Cambridge, November 14, 1843, in telling of
the political speeches that he had heard, he says: "I am not so
easily enlisted in the excitements attending political discussions
as I was prior to the election of General Harrison to the Presi
dency." But as the excerpts from the diary summarizing Judge
Story's lectures, given in a preceding chapter, show, Hayes was
quick to catch and retain whatever the great jurist had to say
that bore on the political development of the country, thus un
consciously revealing his abiding interest in the subject. And
while he was not "easily enlisted," as he thought, in election con
troversies, yet within a month we find him saying: "Literature
and politics fill the current of my thoughts." But he decides
that he has not the ability to win literary honors, while "mere
political honors, as such, are too dearly purchased at the price
of tranquil enjoyment, fine feelings, and a fair fame." The
passage shows, however, into what regions the young man's day
dreams were taking him. A month later he records Story's ad
vice : " Keep out of politics till you are forty. Then you can with
the experience of forty years direct your course for yourselves."
Hayes was past forty and had had ample experience of life
before he entered the arena of national politics as an aspirant
for public office. But every national campaign before that time
found his sympathies, and, in many of them, his voice, enlisted
on the Whig or Republican side. In 1844 the young man of

100 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
twenty-two, while not so moved as he had been four years be
fore, was profoundly interested in the fortunes of Henry Clay,
whom all good Whigs not only believed in but even devotedly
loved. How deep Hayes's feelings were, how bitter his disap
pointment at the news of defeat, is revealed by the diary on
November 9, 1844: —
Politics have filled all minds for the last ten days. . . . The result of
the Presidential election has disappointed me greatly. I would start in
the world without a penny if by my sacrifice Henry Clay could be
chosen President. Not that the difference to the country is likely to be
very great, in my opinion, but then to think that so good and great a
man should be defeated! Slandered as he has been, it would have been
such a triumph to have elected him. But it cannot be.
! These words correctly reflect the feelings of unnumbered thou
sands of the American people of that day whose political idol
and ideal Clay had long been.
The diary fails to record one incident which shows more clearly
than his words how deeply young Hayes's feelings were enlisted.
Under the auspices of the Henry Clay Club of Boston, a great
demonstration occurred which was attended by Hayes, his uncle
Sardis Birchard, and an acquaintance from Delaware, Ohio. As
the procession passed the Tremont House, Hayes, observing that
different States were represented, remarked that only an Ohio
delegation was lacking. He disappeared, but soon returned with
a rude banner bearing the word "Ohio" in bold letters with
which he joined the procession. Ohio men continued to drop in
behind the standard until, when Boston Common was reached,
the Ohioans numbered twenty-four, and were received with
cheers. About the campaign of 1848 the diary contains very meagre
information. But enough is given to show that Hayes had caught
the infection of Whig enthusiasm for Taylor. He records having
made a trip to Xenia to hear Corwin speak, and he sums up the
campaign by saying: "Work like a trooper for old Zack and
enjoy the victory."
In 185U Hayes began tp take some part in the local politics of
Cincinnati. He attended ward and county meetings, and at the
County Temperance Convention Jig-jdisplaved his usual good
senseby speaking in opposition t° thft plan of forming a separate

INTEREST AND ACTIVITY IN POLITICS 101
temperance party. The meeting decided against his views, but
he was well satisfied with his speech. He "found it an easy thing
to speak in such bodies. The thing is energy, brevity, and sound
positions; clearness in argument and control of temper. A little
joking may do, enough to show one's good nature and give an
impression of cleverness (in the American sense) is well, but any
more fun-making than this does not succeed in such businesslike
bodies." To this sensible ideal of public speaking, thus early
evolved, Hayes remained loyal throughout his career. His politi
cal speeches were always distinguished for their plainness, their
clearness of argument, their directness of appeal, and their per
vasive common sense. It was in the state campaign of 1851 that
Hayes made his first attempts at political speaking. He found
it "a very easy kind of talking." He summarizes his experience
as follows: —
The first half or three quarters with my speaking faculties should be
spent in calm, dispassionate, sensible talk. I then seem to have estab
lished a sort of relationship or sympathy with my audience and also to
have acquired a warmth which enables me to branch out into humorous
and impassioned speaking with tolerable success. I think I have made a
very favorable impression. I spoke first twenty minutes, next about
forty-five, next an hour, and so on until I reached an hour and three
quarters. In the Presidential contest of the next year, Hayes was found
among the workers for General Scott. He had seen Scott on the
occasion of his visit to Ohio in the spring of 1851, and had been
favorably impressed with his appearance. "He will do for Pres
ident,"1 was his judgment then.
1 " April 9, 1851: — Monday morning, the 7th, saw General Scott for the first
time. Great crowds of people thronged the streets leading to the landing. The
general came down the river on the Pittsburgh packet. The uncertainty in the
time of his arrival prevented there being anything like a formal reception. The
old general stepped out in the forepart of the boat, dressed in full military cos
tume, with a yellow plume in his chapeau, etc., etc. Was cheered, and bowed
gracefully, as he ascended from the deck and made his way to the carriage. Great
numbers crowded toward him and seized his hand, and one Irishman even
embraced him. Monday evening, there was a class graduated by the Law School
at College Hall. General Scott was present. The orator of the evening, B. Storer,
alluded to General Scott, which brought the house down. The general then made
a neat little speech, saying that he could not venture to call himself a lawyer, —
that he had only practised six months, — but he had felt the benefit of his law
studies in every week of his life, and, addressing the class, he added: 'You will
find yourselves benefited by your studies here whatever may be your subsequent

102 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
But he was not at all sanguine of Whig success; and his favor
able impression of Scott did not deepen with the advance of the
canvass. As early as June 28 he wrote to his uncle expressing
doubt of Scott's chances, but declaring his purpose to do all he
could in his behalf. The letter, which throws much light on the
political condition of the time, follows: —
The preliminaries of the great political play of 1852 are concluded.
The old stagers have been killed off, and new actors are upon the boards.
There is a sad satisfaction in the political taking-off of Webster. The
Presidency could add nothing to his greatness, and the refusal of the
Southrons to support him, though very mortifying, carries with it a
lesson that may prove useful to younger men who have ambition. The
same may be said of Cass, barring emphasis on the greatness. No one
ever made the mistake to believe him a great statesman. He never was
true to republican principles, to freedom. He deserved his defeat in
1848, and his rejection now by the barons he served, is cause for gratu-
lation. As to these new actors : Now that light is thrown on the proceedings
at Baltimore, it does not seem difficult for me to foretell who will win
the plaudits of the multitude in the last act. But the favor will not go
by merit, or as we would wish. The advantage is with the leaders of our
hereditary enemy — more 's the pity. The times are out of joint; the
Whig leaders proved unequal to the task of setting them right, and our
opponents prosper because the Democratic party is a party of spoilsmen
who work in harmony, each hoping for a share. Not so with the Whigs.
They are hopelessly divided. The continued possession of the offices did
not prove a centripetal force sufficient to bind them together. The
Southerners who can contribute a few electoral votes insisted on aban
doning ancient principles, and on making the faithful enforcement of
the Fugitive Slave Law a test of party loyalty, which weakens the party
in the North where we must look for the votes to elect our candidate.
Scott is our candidate and we must do the best we can for him under the
circumstances. There is a fighting chance — this much I say to revive
your enthusiasm. Of course, I shall take part in the canvass as you
wish. "My mother whips me and I whip the top."
Hayes spoke frequently during the campaign, dwelling on past
differences of the parties rather than on the new subserviency to
careers. I wish you all success in your profession. May your career in it be longer
and more brilliant than mine was. Accept an old soldier's prayer for your suc
cess.' " He is a noble-looking man for a soldier, — six feet four inches high, well-pro
portioned, — keen, clear, grey eye; dignified and commanding in person, his
hair a little thinned on the top of his head and slightly grizzled with age. He'll
do for President." (Diary.)

INTEREST AND ACTIVITY IN POLITICS 103
slavery of both, on the successful military career of General
Scott, and on what Ohio needed to secure good local government.
The last topic he treated with a thoroughness and plainness pro
phetic of his future career. But he felt that he was fighting in a
losing cause. September 24 he writes: —
I have made some political speeches, neither very good nor very bad;
enough to satisfy me that with a motive, and my heart in the work, I
could do it creditably. I would like to see General Scott elected Presi
dent. But there is so little interest felt by the great body of thinking
men that I shall not be surprised at his defeat; indeed, my mind is pre
pared for such a result. The real grounds of difference upon important
political questions no longer correspond with party lines. The pro
gressive Whig is nearer in sentiment to the radical Democrat than the
radical Democrat is to the "fogy" of his own party; vice versa. Politics
is no longer the topic of this country. Its important questions are
settled — both on the construction of the Constitution and the funda
mental principles which underlie all constitutions. Consequently the
best minds of the country will no longer be engaged in solving political
questions, in meditating on political subjects. Great minds hereafter
are to be employed on other matters; or if upon political or semi-
political questions it will not be upon those which are to determine
who are to govern, to hold office, etc. Government no longer has its
ancient importance. Its duties and its powers no longer reach to the
happiness of the people. The people's progress, progress of every sort,
no longer depends on government. But enough of politics, henceforth
I am out more than ever.
A few days later (October 14) he is still less confident of the
outlook: —
My hopes of a successful result in the approaching Presidential elec
tion are waxing feeble "by degrees and beautifully less." I shall speak
a few times before the election, and then farewell for a time — I hope
for a long time — to politics, with its excitements, its disappointments,
and all the distracting and dissipating cares and thoughts which belong
to it.
November 3, when it was known that the Whigs had suffered a
crushing defeat, Hayes wrote to his uncle, who had been much
more hopeful of success, the following letter of jocose consola
tion: —
"Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth." Very consolatory text that
is. I trust you will apply it to your own case with proper unction; I am
doing so with a good deal of success. — You have heard of the philos
opher who endeavored to extract sunbeams from cucumbers. Well, we

104 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Whigs may as well do the same thing in this wise : your town I see by the
reports did well. So did my ward, and my town and county tolerably
fair. You may reckon that as sunbeam number one. Not a very bright
beam, it is true, but then you must consider it comes from a cucumber!
Another ray of comfort is, we are beaten so preposterously that we can't
lay our defeat to any neglect or blunder on the part of any of Scott's
friends. No prudence or sagacity, no industry or expense, could have
averted the result; there is, therefore, no self-condemnation. Count
this beam number two. Our Waterloo is so huge that we are not kept
several days dangling in suspense between the heaven of success and
the pit of despond, but are compelled to make one big plunge which is
over before we have time to shiver with apprehension, and we are re
joiced to find ourselves not killed after all but alive and kicking. This
will do for glimmer number three. I will give but one more; that is,
that the Locofoco majority is so great that they must needs divide and
so again be conquered. As Judge Matthews said to me a few days ago,
speaking of a legislative body, if we have only two majority we can
rely upon it, but if it is twenty some men will think for themselves and
we are beaten by divisions. Well, well, it 's all over now. No great odds
anyhow; hope you take it with your usual philosophy.
Finally on the same day Hayes in his diary dismisses the de
feated general in these words: —
My candidate, General Scott, is defeated by the most overwhelming
vote ever recorded in this country. A good man, a kind man, a brave
man, a true patriot, but an exceedingly vain, weak man in many points.
General Scott no doubt deserves defeat if weakness and undue anxiety
to be elected can be said to deserve such treatment. I have long antici
pated such a result. Should have felt more sure of it but for my diffi
dence in my own judgment and reliance on that of others; henceforth
1 shall trust more to my own opinions in these matters.
These paragraphs afford an admirable reflection of Hayes's
equipoise and political sagacity. He kept a clear head and a
steady judgment even in the heat of partisan advocacy. His own
ardent wishes did not blind him to the signs of the times. He
was able to keep the other side in view, to weigh its chances and
to estimate the sources of its strength. He could see also the
weak places in the battle line to which he himself was contribut
ing what strength he had.
Hayes was roused into activity by the Kansas-Nebraska meas
ure. He had been a layman hitherto, interested in all public
questions and taking his share in discussing them as occasion
offered, but henceforth he was a leader in organizing sentiment

INTEREST AND ACTIVITY IN POLITICS 105
to defeat the consummation of the intent underlying that meas
ure, and in preparing the antislavery Whigs for a new depar
ture in party action. He had a just opinion of the sentiment in
the South, as the following letter to his uncle, of June 5, 1854,
shows : —
I agree with you as to the proceedings at Washington. A deed has
been done by Congress that promises no end of evil to the country.
The President, in flagrant violation of his pledge, made it an adminis
tration measure. Does this mean that Pierce, jealous of the growing
power of Douglas, decided to exceed him in a show of zeal in anticipation
of 1856? Be that as it may, his agents here have been very industrious
in disseminating the information among Democrats that the Adminis
tration has rewards for the faithful and scourges for those who fail in
fealty at this time. Timothy C. Day's wit has less of the Attic flavor
and more of irony than usual when speaking of the Dem ocratic leaders,
but he has been unsound for several years. W. MTUorry's Democracy
you cannot question, yet his comments to friends on the Kansas-Ne
braska business leave a tang in his mouth. A split is probable. Disney's
careerTs~certam to close with this Congress. Able as he is, he cannot
stem the tide that has set in. It is now remarked that he has been an
exponent of Southern rather than of Northern opinion; of the school of
Cass and Buchanan, that placed the power of the Government under
the absolute dominion of the South.
Who shall blame the South for accepting what the Northern Demo
crats offered freely? I shall not, for one. My censure is reserved for those
who, reared in the atmosphere of freedom, have needlessly struck down
restriction and brought in strife. It is different in the South. There
party lines are obliterated in the defense of the institution that is at
once the foundation of their social order and of their business system.
They leave no one in doubt as to their views; they do not resort to double
dealing. Their public men do not pander to Northern sentiment for
the Presidency. They play for the possession of power, and when won
they use it to strengthen their position. Since their disappointment at
the results of the Mexican War; since California was admitted as a
free State, they have cast about for some means of restoring the sec
tional equality in the Senate. Why they should place such emphasis
on this, except as a matter of pride, one cannot understand, since they
control the Senators of a number of Northern States, and never fail
to command a majority in that body on any proposition that relates
to slavery.
The Southern people have been educated to believe in the superiority
of their social system; in the primacy of the State; in an undefined
obligation of the Constitution to protect their peculiar property every
where. This belief is so universal, so far as my observation goes, that
I am not surprised they present a solid front. They do not anticipate

106 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
a solid North. Shall we not have it? The danger is great. We must
meet it. Just what course we shall take, is as yet undecided. OurJWhigs
cling to the old party name and traditions. Can we make themaunit
on tEi~question? "In the North without doubt. But — ?
' But J5^6_^te_^U^l_contest_ of JJ3£5j_Hj^s_topk no
active part, though he ,had_^one j^a d^legate^rornj^amilton
County to the State Repubfeanjgo^ the
campaign is onjmt^says. Jthai, he is not .em^eAiftiLasd is
reasonably in^erentas to results. The next year, however, he
threw himself with gr^t^rdor^to jh^newJRe^ubficj^move-
ment. He was earnestly in favor of Fremont, "for free States
and against new slave States"; and as he reviewed the cam
paign after it was over he could say: "I took a part which satis
fies me in the great struggle for liberty." J But here again he
had no illusions — no false hopes of success. He could, as four
years before, calmly consider the chances of immediate success,
and see that they were not flattering; while at the same time he
had confidence that the movement which was beginning must
contain the principles of ultimate triumph. It was actuated by
the spirit of liberty; it embodied the consciousness of the "irre
pressible conflict"; it was evidence of a quickened and quicken
ing public conscience. It might not win now; but sooner or later
win it must. Writing October 30, when the campaign was prac
tically completed, Hayes says: —
I feel seriously the probable defeat of the cause of freedom in the
approaching Presidential election. Before the October elections in
Pennsylvania and Indiana, I was confident Colonel Fremont would be
elected. But the disastrous results in those States indicate and will
probably do much to produce his defeat. The majorities are small, —
very small, — but they discourage our side. I shall not be surprised if
Colonel Fr6mont receives less than one hundred electoral votes. But,
after all, the good cause has made great progress. Antislavery sentiment
has been created and the people have been educated to a large extent. I
did hope that this election would put an end to angry discussion upon
1 Years afterward, he wrote: "I was an earnest and active Republican 'from
thejtart' and aided in the organization of the party, in Qhjo in 1855. An anti-
slavery Whig before that date, I took no interest or part in the Know-Nothing
movement, to which I was opposed on principle; but believing slaveryJobe_the
one great evil andcrime of the country, I enlisted in the first party jjYjiieh was
organized to oppose it with any prospect of success, with my whole soul in the
work. I supported Fremont in 1856 zealously, hopefully, ardently, joyously."

INTEREST AND ACTIVITY IN POLITICS 107
this exciting topic, by placing the general Government in the right posi
tion in regard to it, and thereby securing to antislavery effort a foot
hold among those who have the evil in their midst. But further work
is to be done and my sense of duty determines me to keep on in the path
I have chosen — not to dabble in politics at the expense of duty to my
family and to the neglect of my profession, but to do what I can con
sistently with other duties to aid in forming a public opinion on this
subject which will " mitigate and finally eradicate the evil." I must
Study the subject, and am now beginning with Clarkson's history of
the "Abolition of the Slave Trade."
A few days later Hayes finds encouragement in the history of
the abolition of the slave trade by England. After four years of
effort the question first came to vote in the House of Commons
in 1791.
Pitt, Fox, Burke, Windham, Sheridan, and almost all of the great
men of that day spoke eloquently for the cause of justice and humanity,
but on the division the motion of the friends of abolition was lost by
88 to 163! ! Look at those figures, faint-hearted Republicans, and take
courage ! After twenty years of defeats, disappointments, and disheart
ening reverses the cause triumphed gloriously in 1807 — 283 to 16 ! ! ...
How similar the struggle to that now going on here ! The same arguments
pro and con, the same prejudices appealed to, the same epithets of re
proach, the same topics. Onjme^jde^ jiusjk^ Jbiman^
the other, prejudice, interest,, selfishness^ timidity, conseryatismjjthe
advocates of right called "entiiusiasts," "fanatics," and "incendiaries."
... In short, the parallel between that struggle and this is complete thus
far. I shall be content if it so continues to the end.
The election of day after to-morrow is the first pitched battle. How
ever fares the cause, I am enlisted for the war.
Verily he was "enlisted for the war"; and the war involved a
greater effort and a larger sacrifice than he had any conception
of when he recorded this determination. Through the four years
that ensued the ferment was working; more and more it was be
coming apparent to thoughtful men that the country could not
continue half slave and half free; the times were ripening fast
for the long and bitter struggle — still scouted as altogether
impossible — which should redeem liberty and should save our
nation as by fire.
Meanwhile, in his sphere and according to his opportunities,
Hayes was doing what he could, while not neglecting his profes
sion, to form public opinion on the all-absorbing topic. He had
been forced by circumstances to relinquish the view he had held

108 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
in 1852 that "politics is no longer the topic of this country," that
all the "important questions were settled." Here loomed a ques
tion — long becoming more acute, more exigent of solution —
of supreme importance. And Hayes now saw its importance —
its possibilities of disaster; not fully, to be sure, but with in
creasing clearness of vision.
It was in these years that Hayes had his first experience in
public office, but in an office strictly in the line of his professional
work. His progress as a lawyer, as we have already seen, while not
specially striking or sensational, had been steady and continu
ous; and his success had been of the solid and substantial sort
which at the same time won the respect of his fellow lawyers and
inspired confidence in the community at large. He had appeared
in many important cases on which the popular attention had
been fixed, and he had done his work with such zealous thorough
ness and painstaking devotion to the interests of his clients as to
leave on the public mind an altogether favorable impression of
his powers and trustworthiness. Earlv_in Decemberg(T85&Xhe
office of Cjty^SohdtoxJ^camj^yacant . JhrojyjhJjifi. deathjof its
incumbent. It fell to the City Council to fill the vacancy. The
Council, consisting of thirty-four members, was pretty evenly
divided among Republicans, Democrats, and Americans. Seven
men were placed in nomination, Hayes last of all. The leading
Republican candidate was Caleb B. Smith, afterwards a member
of Mr. Lincoln's Cabinet, but the Americans were opposed to
him. They preferred Hayes. Eigbteen.yoJ.es_yy£r^Iiej&esaarg.to
a choice. On the jnjstjbjdle^jlmiti} Jh&d J,ffielv^JIaxej^nlyJpur
votes. With succeeding ballots Hayes's vote increased, while
Smith's fell off, till on the seventh ballot Hayes had seventeen
votes, thus lacking only one of an election. Five more ballots
were taken with the same result. But on the thirteenth ballot,
a young Irish attorney, Dennis J. Toohy, a Democrat represent
ing the Thirteenth Ward, broke the deadlock by casting his vote,
much to the consternation of his Democratic associates, for
Hayes.1 1 William Disney, one of the candidates before the Council, writing of this
incident in the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette, January 31, 1893, says: "So it
was that Hayes was taker^ from private life, and without his solicitation was
placed in his first public office. His lucklollowed him to the end of his days."

INTEREST AND ACTIVITY IN POLITICS 109
Hayes entered at once upon the duties of this office, which
thus unexpectedly, and without solicitation on his part, had been
conferred on him. The press greeted his selection with words of
cordial commendation, and the impression made by his first
appearance in the Council Chamber (literally his first appear
ance, for though he had been in the city eight years he had
never before entered the Council Chamber) satisfied the Council
that no mistake had been made in his election. "The duties of
my new office," he wrote his uncle, "are all in the line of my pro
fession. The suits of the city, advice to all officers in legal mat
ters, etc., etc., occupy my attention. The litigation of a city like
this is very important and of great variety. My assistant will
attend to the less important matters, leaving me free to devote
to the leading cases all my time. The amount of business is not
large — at least not too large; not so perplexing I think as my
old place." So well did he meet expectations that at the city
Republican Convention the next spring he was, under suspen
sion of the rules, unanimously nominated for the post he was
filling. His popularity in the city was revealed by the election,
his majority being greater than that of any other man on the
ticket, and exceeding the majority for the head of the ticket —
the candidate for Mayor — by one hundred and ninety-eight
votes. This evidence of Hayes's popularity, as well as his con
tinued display of ability in meeting the requirements of his office,
attracted to him the attention of his fellow Republicans in other
parts of the State. When the Republican State Convention
began to assemble at Columbus in June, a movement was started
with the view of nominating him for the Supreme Bench. Men
from the northern part jof the State were especially active in
this. But Hayes was very well satisfied with^thejoogition he
alreadyTieldT" The salary was $3500, and the duties agreeable.
He had no desire to leave the active practice of the law for the
bench. As soon, therefore, as he heard of what was going forward
at Columbus he notified his friends on the ground that he could
not consent to be a candidate.
But while he refused to consider a place on the state ticket,
Hayes was by no means a mere disinterested observer of the
progress of the political campaign of that year. He was eager
for the growth of Republican sentiment and was doing what he

110 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
"could to stimulate it. The American party, while_working with
the Republicans in local affairs, was not yet wholly fused with it.
HayeThad no affiiiation with the American party at any stage
of Jts development, but ..he had seen the wisdom aLtceating its
adherents in a conciliatory spirit in the hop£that the third party
might disappear — merged in the growing party of freedom.
When it was arranged that Mr. Lincoln, whose great debate with
Douglas had made him peculiarly the prophet of the new Re
publicanism, should speak at Cincinnati in September, Hayes
was apprehensivejest the orator might say something which
would tend to mar the existing harmonious relations between
Americans and Republicans. He undertook qn^hisjow^jesrjgnsi-
bility to get a hint of warning to Mr. Lincoln in a letter, interest-
ing not only for this main fact, but also because itjhjjjEs. inci
dentally the doubt then prevailing in Ohio as to Mr. Lincoln's
exact political standing. The letter, which was dated September
14, and addressed to A. P. Russell x at Columbus, follows: —
I am not a member of any executive committee and am not "one in
authority" except in the humble capacity of "a sovereign." As a pri
vate, I write to make a suggestion, which I hope you will see carried to
the right person. Mr. Lincoln is to speak here the last of this week (I
am sorry it was not a week later, after our ticket is in the field) ; and all
honest Americans as well as Republicans are waiting to give him a
rousing reception. My suggestion is that Mr. Lincoln be informed of
the facts in regard to ourjaosition here, so that _bg_rnfly nn| gjye p. ton
strictly partisan cast tolas address. We go by thename j>f " Opposition
Party,'s'an^njury"rnig£t be done if party names and party doctrines
were used by Mr. Lincoln m a way to displease the American_element
of our organization. The Americans are hberal,3flweye_r, ancLyery
generally sympathized with Mr. Lincoln in his contest jwith^Douglas,
although perhaps not subscribing to all his views. I understand Mr.
Lincoln was an old Clay Whig, of Kentucky parentage, jindwi^a^iole-
some dislike of Locofocoism. These qualities with a word of caution as
to our peculiar position will enable him to make a fine impression here.
If our ticket is formed without a rumpus, we are confident of carry
ing a majority for all. I write, supposing you will see Mr. Lincoln at
Columbus. Dennison seems to be a full match, if not an overmatch, for
his competitor. — Sincerely,
R. B. Hates.
P.S. The Douglas meeting was largely attended, but was not a suc
cess. It rather injured than strengthened the "Party of Permanency."
1 Author of Half Tints, Library Notes, A Club of One, and other charming
books, and at that time Secretary of State.

INTEREST AND ACTIVITY IN POLITICS 111
Hayes attended the Lincoln meeting in Fifth Street Market,
and he gives us his impression : —
Mr. Lincoln has an ungainly figure, but one loses sight of that, or
rather the first impression disappears in the absorbed attention which
the matter of the speech commands. He is an orator of an unusual kind,
so calm, so undemonstrative, but nevertheless an orator of great merit.
It is easy to contrast him after the manner of Plutarch, but his like
has not been heard in these parts. His manner is more like Crittenden's,
and his truth and candor are like what we admire in the Kentuckian,
but his speech has greater logical force, greater warmth of feeling.
Clearly, Hayes did not see in the speaker the next President,
or he would have set that down in his comments.

CHAPTER VIII
THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1860 — OUTBREAK OF
THE CIVIL WAR
EVENTS were moving rapidly toward the great crisis in our
nation's life. How rapidly, contemporary opinion shows,
hardly one of the actors in the scene conceived. It is easy
enough to see now upon what rocks the ship of state was surely
drifting, but the abounding optimism of the American people
blinded them to the drift, and kept them hopeful that the rocks,
of which they could not help now and then to have an indistinct
and fleeting vision, would dissolve into thin air as they were ap
proached. North and South had drawn apart further than either
knew. Minor differences between them, in their institutions,
their maimers, their attitude to life, had existed for generations.
But out of these alone serious dispute could never have arisen.
Lapse of time and increasing commercial and social intercourse
would surely have modified them, or at least have made each
section tolerant of the other's views. Even the larger differences
of constitutional interpretation and of protection or free trade,
acute and exasperating as they might be at times, had in them
no potency of disintegration and disruption.
The one great source of difference, which no compromise long
could lay, which gave force and effect to all other differences, —
emphasizing their importance, using them to create prejudice
and antagonism, — was the existence of slavery. Against this
all the forces of civilization were steadily working; against this
the moral sentiment of Christendom was arraying itself with
ever-increasing clearness of view and determination of purpose.
Gradually more and more of the people of the North were com
ing to look upon slavery with horror and detestation. While
all but comparatively few believed that the rights of the slave
States, as guaranteed by the Constitution, should be main
tained, yet the open sympathies of vast numbers were with the
slaves that escaped from bondage; and if they did not aid them

THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1860 113
b their flight, they put no obstacle in their way and rejoiced
when they had crossed the border beyond reach of recapture.
And the more certainly, as we can now see, that slavery was
doomed, the more arrogant the slaveholders of the South be
came in their political demands; the more determined they were
that the power of the general Government should be exercised
for the protection of their institution; that the slave power
should be coequal with the forces of freedom in settling the
public domain beyond the Missouri and in establishing new
States. It was the repudiation by Congress of the Missouri Compro
mise that created the Republican party; it was the struggle in
Kansas, with the National Administration aiding the slave
power, and the Dred Scott decision that caused its rapid growth.
However careful its leaders might be to proclaim, as they did
proclaim, their rejection of abolitionist intention or views and
their purpose steadfastly to respect and maintain the integrity
of the constitutional safeguards protecting slavery, yet it was
clear to all that the new party was the party of freedom; the
new party recognized, or rather embodied, the growing abhor
rence of slavery; the new party had its face clearly set toward a
future — sometime sure to come, its coming to be hastened in
all legitimate ways — when all men should be free. The instinct
of friends and enemies alike of the new movement was unerring
in recognizing the words of Abraham Lincoln, "I believe this
government cannot permanently endure half slave and half
free," 1 and the phrase of William H. Seward, "It is an irrepressi
ble conflict," 2 as expressing the true and dominant sentiments
of the new force in American politics. But, in spite of the frequent
threats of fiery Southern orators and journalists, neither leaders
nor followers then had any serious notion that the conflict would
result in attempted disunion and the unspeakable woes of civil
war. Not till States had actually revolted, had set up a separate
government, had put armies in motion, had fired upon the na
tional flag, did men cease to dispute over even the right of the
Federal power to send the national troops into rebellious States
and to preserve the national life by force of arms.
1 At Springfield, Illinois, June 17, 1858.
• At Rochester, New York, October 25, 1858.

114 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
During this period, when the nation was anxiously watching
the progress of events in Kansas, when the determination of the
slave power to exact its uttermost demands was leading to the
hopeless division of the Democratic party, when the excited
agitation of uncompromising abolitionists was stimulating John
Brown to his abortive attempt to incite a slave insurrection,
Hayes had no clearer prevision of the tremendous fate impending
over the country in the immediate future than the great mass of
his fellow citizens. He recognized the Fremont campaign as the
first battle in the contest for freedom; he gloried in the part he
had taken in that campaign; he registered a vow, as we have seen,
that he was enlisted for the war; he continued steadfastly to do
what he could to create public opinion in favor of larger liberty
and against the encroaching spirit of the slave power; and he
looked forward hopefully to the political combat of 1860 for a
long step forward toward the prevalence of the principles he held
dear. But he had no premonition of the approaching cataclysm.
During the years 1859 and 1860 life passed agreeably with him.
His work as City Solicitor was pleasant and not too arduous.
Domestic and social relations were all that could be desired.
His influence in his party was increasing; his position in the
community was one of recognized leadership; his duties afforded
him ample leisure for reading and for the society of his friends.1
In the midsummer weeks of 1860 he was able to lay work aside
and in company with his wife to take a delightful trip down the
St. Lawrence to Quebec and the Saguenay and on to Boston and
other Eastern points. A year later the events of this journey
were recalled with peculiar interest in the midst of mountain
campaigning in western Virginia.
Some weeks before this trip, the day after the divided Demo
crats at Baltimore had made their nominations for the Presi
dency, Hayes recorded in his diary his estimate of the political
1 " You ask what I am doing. Not working hard, not working much. I earn
my salary, I am sure, and am therefore conscience-clear. I have read a good deal
this winter, — more than usual, — some history, some poetry, some religion,
biography, and miscellaneous matter; but no novels and no politics. I am intend
ing to go into politics and novels as soon as I finish three or four books that I
have now on hand. I never enjoyed life better. Barring two or three anxious
weeks on the boys' accounts, this has been a happy winter." (Letter to Sardis
Birchard, February 4, 1860.)

THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 186a 115
probabilities. Four tickets in the field, he observes, was a new
thing in his day. He continues: —
My Republican friends are confident that Lincoln and Hamlin will
be elected by the people. I have a good deal of apprehension on the sub
ject. I fear the election will go to the House. — Let me cipher. There
are 303 electoral votes; 152 are required for a choice. We may count for
Lincoln the States carried by Fremont in 1856; — eleven States, 114
electoral votes. Add Minnesota, 4 votes, — 118 votes certain. Penn
sylvania (27), Oregon (3), probably, — 148. Four more votes necessary
to elect him. If California, New Jersey, Illinois, or Indiana should go
for Lincoln, the vote of either State added to 148 would elect.
Hayes thought New Jersey and Illinois might both be counted
as probable for Lincoln, his chance depending on there being "a
small defection in favor of Bell and an equal or larger defection
from Douglas." With these two States counted for Lincoln his
electoral vote, Hayes figured, would probably be 167. Hayes
figured that Bell was certain of 39 votes, from Kentucky, Ten
nessee, Louisiana, and Maryland. He did have exactly that
number, though Virginia, which Hayes had counted as only
probable, contributed her vote to the total in the place of the
two last States given in Hayes's list as certain. Douglas, Hayes
thought, was sure of no votes, but likely to get the votes of In
diana, California, Missouri, and Delaware. (He did get the 9
votes of Missouri and 3 from New Jersey.) While Breckinridge,
Hayes thought, was sure of 45 votes. "On the whole," Hayes
concludes, "I think Lincoln's chances the best, but not a moral
certainty; — that Bell or Breckinridge will be next."
On Hayes's return from his Eastern trip he entered into the
canvass, but not at first with great spirit; which indicates clearly
that up to this time he had no foreboding of the consequences
with which the campaign was pregnant. September 30, in a
letter to his uncle, Hayes wrote: —
I have made a few little speeches in the county townships, and shall
make a few more. I cannot get up much interest in the contest. A
wholesome contempt for Douglas, on account of his recent demagoguing,
is the chief feeling I have. I am not so confident that Lincoln will get
votes enough, as many of our friends. I think his chances are fair,
but what may be the effect of fusions in such anti-Republican States as
New Jersey and Pennsylvania, is more than I can tell, or confidently
guess until after the state elections. In this county the fight is doubtful,
but probably against us.

116 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
A few days later he speaks of the lively election canvass and
says that he has enjoyed it well. The meetings were "prodigious "
and the chances improving. There is no further reference to the
campaign until election day. The October elections had prac
tically determined the result, and Hayes is no longer in much
doubt. He writes: "The election is quiet, but the voting active.
All right, of course." On the same day Hayes made in his diary
the first entry touching politics since the one in June after the
Baltimore Convention — an entry which shows that the violent
threats of the Southern leaders had begun to impress him as
possibly more than campaign rhetoric : —
The Southern States are uneasy at the prospects of Lincoln's election
to-day. The ultra South threatens disunion, and it now looks as if South
Carolina and possibly two or three others would go out of the Union.
Will they? And if so what is to be the result? Will other slave States
gradually be drawn after them, or will the influence of the conservative
States draw back into the Union or hold in the Union the ultra States?
I think the latter. But at all events I feel as if the time had come to test
the question. If the threats are meant, then it is time the Union was
dissolved or the traitors crushed out. I hope Lincoln goes in. All now
depends on New York. The October election settled Pennsylvania and
the other doubtful States.
The rejoicing over the triumph of Lincoln at the polls was.
soon dampened by the ominous clouds gathering forebodingly
along the southern horizon. The threats of disunion began rap
idly to be carried out. The North was in dismay for the time
being. Everywhere efforts were made to ward off the coming
disaster by conciliation, concessions, and compromises. Men
were loath to contemplate the idea of the National Government
exercising coercion upon a revolting State; so pervasive still was
the notion that in the American Commonwealth the constituent
parts were in some of the essential elements of government
greater than the whole. Only gradually did the loyal people of
the North come to a clear apprehension of the fundamental
truth, that the first duty of every government is self-preserva
tion, by all means, not only against alien foes but domestic
enemies. It seems difficult now to understand that men ever
could so long have disputed over the right of the National Gov
ernment to coerce a rebellious State. On December 19, a meeting
was held at the Opera House in Cincinnati in the interest of

THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1860 117
public peace. Speeches were made denying the constitutional
right of secession, but counselling moderation and kind treat
ment; and resolutions to the same effect were adopted. The
resolutions, at the same time, denounced the "uncandid discus
sion of the slavery question as the chief cause of the political
evils of the day"; declared with all emphasis against state laws
intended to defeat the execution of the Fugitive Slave Law; ex
pressed abhorrence of any efforts to excite the slaves to insubor
dination; and, finally, expressed confidence in the "efforts of
candid men to counteract the evil spirit so long spreading in the
land and to preserve our glorious Union."
It is known that Hayes, while he took no active part in this
meeting, was in sympathy with the spirit of conciliation which
actuated it. But he no longer entertained hopes that, the emer
gency could be met_by compromise. The time for that was past.
January 4, 1861, he writes in his diary: —
South Carolina has passed a secession ordinance, and Federal laws
are set at naught in the State. Overt acts enough have been committed
— forts and arsenal taken, a revenue cutter seized, and Major Anderson
besieged in Fort Sumter. Other cotton States are about to follow. Dis
union and civil war are at hand; and yet I fear disunion and war less
than compromise. We can recover from them. The free States alone, if
we must go on alone, will make a glorious nation. Twenty millions in
the temperate zone, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, full of
vigor, industry, inventive genius, educated and moral, increasing by
immigration rapidly, and above all free — all free — will form a con
federacy of twenty States scarcely inferior in real power to the unfortu
nate Union of thirty-three States which we had on the first of November.
I do not feel gloomy when I look forward. The reality is less frightful
than the apprehension which we have all had these many years. Let us
be temperate, calm, and just, but firm and resolute. Crittenden's com-
promise!_NoJ_ao. Windham, speaking of the rumor that Bonaparte
was about to invade England, said: "The danger of invasion is by no
means equal to that of peace. A man may escape a pistol however
near his head, but not a dose of poison."
Three weeks later Hayes writes again; preferring with many
moderate men of all parties that the States bent on the suicidal
course of secession should be allowed to have their way : —
Six States have "seceded." Let them go! If the Union is now dis
solved it does not prove that the experiment of popular government is
a failure. In all the free States, and in a majority if not in all of the

118 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
slaveholding States, popular government has been successful. But the
experiment of uniting free and slaveholding States in one nation is,
perhaps, a failure. Freedom and slavery can, perhaps, not exist side by
side under the same popular government. There probably is an "irre
pressible conflict" between freedom and slavery. It may as well be
admitted and our new relations may as well be formed with that as an
admitted fact.
Monday, February 11, Mr. Lincoln began his memorable
progress from Springfield to Washington. A committee from
Cincinnati met Mr. Lincoln's party at Indianapolis to give it
welcome and to escort it to the Ohio metropolis. Mr. and Mrs.
Hayes were of this committee. Mr. Lincoln's speeches and con
versation gave Hayes great confidence in the new President. He
writes his uncle: "He is in good health, not a hair grey or gone,
in his prime, and fit for service, mentally and physically. Great
hopes may well be felt." In another letter Hayes gives details
of the Cincinnati reception: —
The reception given to the President-elect here was most impressive.
He rode in an open carriage, standing erect with head uncovered, and
bowing his acknowledgments to greetings showered upon him. There
was a lack of comfort in the arrangements, but the simplicity, the homely
character of all was in keeping with the nobility of this typical American.
A six-in-hand with gorgeous trappings, accompanied by outriders and a
courtly train, could have added nothing to him; would have detracted
from him, would have been wholly out of place. The times are unsuited
to show. The people did not wish to be entertained with a display; they
did wish to see the man in whose hands is the destiny of our country.
You will read the speeches in the papers, and search in vain for any
thing to find fault with. Mr. Lincoln was wary at all times, wisely so
I think, and yet I hear no complaint. Our German Turners, who are
radical on the slavery question and who are ready to make that an issue
of war, planned to draw from him some expression in sympathy with
their own views. They serenaded him and talked at him, but they were
baffled.1^ In private conversation he was discreet but frank. He believes
in a policy of Jrindness, of delay_to_giveJime_fOT_passions to. cool, but
not in a compromise to extend the power andJiha deadly influence of the
slave system. This gave me great satisfaction. The impression he made
was good. He undoubtedly is shrewd, able, and possesses strength in
reserve. This will be tested soon.
Meanwhile Hayes's term of office as City Solicitor was draw
ing to a close. It would end Monday, April 8. The day for the
1 Cf. Francis F. Browne, The Life of Abraham Lincoln, p. 385.

OUTBREAK OF THE CIVIL WAR 119
city election was April 1. Hayes was a candidate for reelection,
but he had little hope of success. The Democrats and. the Know-
Nothings, who stillliad. a _censjdejable .following jnj^ftpjnnati,
had united in the naming of a city ticket whjch.. they were
sup^ortimi with njnch.earnestness. Combined they ,cpuld _com-
m25d _a dlcM£iSai9ri^Xe.Lt^^ Hayes wrote to
his uncle, March 17: —
Our chance is that there will be some slip or mistake whichjwill upset
the unTph7~Oha]l^o~under with the rest, but expect to run ahead of
the ticket. Of course I prefer not to be beaten, but I have got out of the
office the best there is in it for me. . . . Yes, giving up Fort Sumter is
vexing. It hurts our little election, too; but I would give up the prospect
of office, if it would save the fort, with the greatest pleasure.
There was no slip or mistake to "upset the union," and three
days before the election, Hayes again writes his uncle, who was
solicitous for his success, in these words: —
You are more anxious that I should be reelected than the occasion
ealls for. I philosophize in this way : I have got out of the office pretty
much all the good there is in it — reputation and experience. If I quit
now, I shall be referred to as the best, or one of the best Solicitors, the
city has had. If I serve two years more, I can add nothing to this; I
may possibly lose. I shall be out of clients and business a little while,
but this difficulty will perhaps be greater two years hence; so you see it
is no great matter; still I should prefer to beat and with half a chance
I should. The election turned out quite as Hayes expected. The entire
Republican ticket was routed, but Haves received more votes
than any of his fellows in defeat.
Hayes "lost no time in making new arrangements for the future.
FredericlTHassaurek|had^ustJ?een appointed by the"President
Minister to Bolivia. He left a good law practice, largely among
the Germans. Hayes arranged to take this in partnership with
Leopold Markbreit, Hassaurek's brother-in-law, "a bright, gen
tlemanly, popular young German," and the day after his term
of office expired he had moved into his new quarters and was
already at work.
The reduction of Fort Sumter and the call of the President for
seventy-five thousand volunteers practically put a stop to idle
controversy in the North as to the right of the Government
to defend and to recover its own. The effect everywhere was

120 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
electric. Party cries were drowned for the time in patriotic
shouts. The minority that still could not, in spite of the impera
tive logic of events, escape from the logical coil in which their
views of States' rights had involved them, could make no head
against the vast majority eager to spring to the rescue of the
threatened Republic. Hayes writes in his diary: —
\ Sunday evening, April 14, the news qL Lincoln's call for seventy-five
' -, thousand men~[was] received here with unbounded enthusiasm. _Bow
C relieved we were to have a Government again! I shall never forget the
strong emotions, the wild and joyous excitement of that Sunday evening.
Staid and sober church members thronged the newspaper offices, full
of the general joy and enthusiasm. Great meetings were held. I wrote
the resolutions of the main one. Then the rally of troops, the flags float
ing from every house, the liberality, harmony, forgetfulness of party
and self — all good. Let what evils may follow, I shall not soon cease
to rejoice over this event.
The meeting to which Hayes refers was held in the hall of the
Catholic Institute, Monday evening, April 15. The room was
packed long before the hour and hundreds were turned away.
Speeches of glowing patriotism were made by Thomas J. Gal
lagher, the chairman, and by Judge Storer, Judge Dickson,
Judge Stallo, Edward F. Noyes, and others. The resolutions
written by Mr. Hayes were read by him as chairman of the reso
lutions committee and adopted by the meeting with enthusiastic
unanimity. They were as follows : —
Resolved, That the people of Cincinnati, assembled without distinc
tion of party, are unanimously of opinion that the authority of the
United States, as against the rebellious citizens of the seceding and dis
loyal States, ought to be asserted and maintained, and that whatever
men or means may be necessary to accomplish that object the patriotic
people of the loyal States will promptly and cheerfully furnish.
Resolved, That the citizens of Cincinnati will, to the utmost of their
ability, sustain the general Government in maintaining its authority,
in enforcing the laws, and in upholding the flag of the Union.1
In a letter to his uncle, written earlier in the day on which this
meeting occurred, Hayes says: —
We are all for war. The few dissentients have to run like quarter
horses — a great change for two weeks to produce. As the Dutchman
says : " What a beeples ! " Poor Anderson, what a chance he threw away.
1 Cincinnati Gazette, April 16.

OUTBREAK OF THE CIVIL WAR 121
The Government may overlook it or even whitewash it, but the people
and history will not let him off so easily. I like it; anything is bet
ter than the state of things we have had the last few months. . . .
Mother thinks we are to be punished for our sinfulness, and reads the
Old Testament vigorously. Mother Webb quietly grieves over it. Lucy
enjoys it and wishes she had been in Fort Sumter with a garrison of
women. Dr. Joe is for flames, slaughter, and a rising of the slaves.
In the days that followed Hayes's thoughts were constantly
upon the national crisis. He decided not to "think of going into
this first movement." He would wait and see. He went to
Columbus, April 19, to help his brother-in-law, Dr. James D.
Webb, to obtain an appointment as surgeon to one of the first
regiments. The next day he writes his uncle : —
I have joined a volunteer home company to learn drill. It is chiefly
composed of the Literary Club; includes Stephenson, Moline, John
Groesbeck, Judge James, McLaughlin, Beard, and most of my cronies.
We wish to learn how to "eyes right and left," if nothing more. A great
state of things for Christian people, and then to have old gentlemen say
as you do, "I am glad we have got to fighting at last." Judge Swan and
Mr. Andrews and the whole Methodist clergy all say the same. Shock
ing! One thing: don't spend much on your house or furniture hence
forth. Save, save, is the motto now. People who furnish for the war
will make money, but others will have a time of it. Mother thinks it is
a judgment on us for our sins. Henry Ward Beecher, who is now here,
says it is Divine work — that the Almighty is visibly in it.1
May 12 he writes to the same correspondent: —
The St. Louis and other news revives the war talk. We are likely, I
think, to have a great deal of it before the thing is ended. Bryan writes
me a long, friendly secession letter — one-sided and partial, but earnest
and honest; perhaps he would say the same of my reply to it. I wish
I could have a good talk with you about these days. I may be carried
off by the war fever, and would like to hear you on it. Of course, I mean
to take part, if there seems a real necessity for it, but I am tempted to
1 April 23, he wrote his uncle: "No doubt the accounts sent abroad as to the
danger we are in from Kentucky are much exaggerated. Kentucky is in no con
dition to go out immediately. If the war goes on, as I think it ought, it is prob
able that she will leave us, and that we shall be greatly exposed, but she has no
arms, and almost no military organization. Even their secession Governor is
not prepared to precipitate matters under these circumstances. We are rapidly
preparing for war, and shall be on a war footing long before Kentucky has de
cided what to do. ... A great many gentlemen of your years are in for the
war. One old fellow was rejected on account of his grey hair and whiskers. He
hurried down street and had them colored black, and passed muster in another
company."

122 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
do so, notwithstanding my unmihtary education and habits, on general
enthusiasm and glittering generalities; but for some pretty decided
obstacles, I should have done so before now.
A few days later his plans are practically decided on, and he
writes to his uncle: —
You say nothing about my going into the war. I have been fishing
for your opinion in several of my late letters. Unless you speak soon,
you may be too late. My new business arrangement, and my prospects,
bad as times are, are evidently good. Whenever other lawyers have
business, I shall easily make all that is needed; but still, as Billy Rogers
writes me, "This is a holy war," and if a fair chance opens, I shall go
in; if a fair chance don't open, I shall, perhaps, take measures to open
one. So don't be taken by surprise if you hear of my soldiering. All the
family have been sounded, and there will be no troublesome opposition.
In view of contingencies, I don't like to leave home to visit you just
now. I shall be able to leave money to support the family a year or two,
without reckoning on my pay. Events move fast these days.
Since writing the foregoing, Judge Matthews called, and we have
agreed to go to Columbus to lay the ropes for a regiment. There are a
thousand men here who want us for their officers.
The talk with Judge Matthews (Stanley Matthews), when the
decision to enter the service was formed, is the subject of an entry
in the diary under date of May 15 : —
Judge Matthews and I have agreed to go into the service for the war,
— if possible into the same regiment.1 I spoke my feelings to him
which he said were his also, viz., that this was a just and necessary war
and that it demanded the whole power of the country; th^tljwujd pre
fer to go into it i) ' 1 [knew_I_wqsJo_ die or be_killedin thejcowcaejfJLJbfln
to live through and after it without taking any part iajit.
These concluding words, underscored as they were written,
are the solemn and deliberate expression of a high and holy
patriotism. Not with the rashness of sudden impulse, when flags
were flying and martial music filled the air with its intoxicat
ing strains, but with ample weighing of possibilities, with full
1 Secretary Chase, who was the personal friend of both men and knew their
worth, offered to obtain colonelcies for Matthews and Hayes. They preferred
to enter the service with lower rank and win their way upward. The regiment,
of which they became respectively lieutenant-colonel and major (the Twenty-
third Ohio Volunteer Infantry), was the first Ohio regiment enlisted for three
years or the war, and the first whose field officers were appointed by the Governor.
The field officers of the three-months regiments had been elected by vote of the
men themselves.

i3

M t, n l

OUTBREAK OF THE CIVIL WAR 123
understanding of what the cost might be, Hayes made his choice
and determined his course. In this he was a type of thousands
of his fellow countrymen. The country was in peril. Better
death in helping to save it than life with the consciousness of
having turned a deaf ear to its summons when its need was dire
and friends and neighbors were springing gladly to its rescue!

CHAPTER IX
1861 — CAMPAIGNING IN WEST VIRGINIA
STEPS were at once taken by Hayes and Matthews to carry
their resolution into effect. They put themselves in com
munication with the Governor, who personally knew of their
worth and ability. But the State's quota of troops seemed al
ready to be full, and for some weeks no new regiments were ac
cepted. "We find a good deal of difficulty," Hayes writes in his
diary May 19, "in getting new companies or regiments accepted
for the war, but we shall persevere." And a week later a letter
to his uncle says: —
I have been watching the enlistments for the war during the last
week with much interest, as the chance of our enterprise for the present
depends on it. If twenty regiments enlist out of the twenty-six now on
foot in the State, there will be no room for ours. If less than twenty
go in for three years, we are safe. Until the news of the advance into
Virginia arrived, and the death of Colonel Ellsworth, there was a good
deal of hesitation in the various camps. The natural dissatisfaction
and disgust which many felt, some with, and some without, adequate
cause, were likely to prevent the quota from being filled out of the three-
months men. But now all is enthusiasm again. Of course, I like to see
it, but for the present, it probably cuts us out. Well, we shall be ready
for the next time.
Early in June, however, the Governor was able to make the
two men an offer, which they were prompt to accept. The his
tory of the next few weeks is fully recorded by diary and letters:
June 7. — I received a dispatch from Governor Dennison asking me
if I would accept the majority in a regiment of which William S. Rose-
crans was to be colonel and Judge Matthews lieutenant-colonel. I read
it to Lucy, consulted with my old law partner, who happened to be
visiting Cincinnati, and thereupon replied that I would accept as pro
posed. Late in the afternoon of the next day I received a dispatch from
the Governor addressed to Judge Matthews and myself directing us to
report to the adjutant-general at Columbus Monday morning. Not be
ing able to find Judge Matthews in the city, on the next day (Sunday
p.m.) I rode out to his residence in Glendale, took tea with him and his

1861 — CAMPAIGNING IN WEST VIRGINIA 125
family, and rode into the city, arriving a few minutes before 9 P.M. I
bid good-bye to my family and at 9.30 p.m. we took the cars by way
of Dayton for Columbus.
June 10. — Monday morning we went to the Governor's office and
learned that the Governor had made up a regiment composed of com
panies chiefly from the extreme northern and jiortheasternjjajt of the
State, the field officers beihg~airfroinT!incInnati, to be the Twenty-third
Regiment, Ohio Volunteer infantry, for the service of the United States
during the war. This regiment was to be organized under General Order
No. 15, issued by the Adjutant-General of the United States, May 4,
1861, and was the first regiment in Ohio in which the regiment did not
elect its own field officers. We feared there would be some difficulty in
reconciling the men to officers not of their own selection. . . . All the
captains came into the Governor's office soon after we entered, in a
state of some excitement, or atjeag^omejeejing,,^^^^!!!^^^"1 selves
placed under strangers from a distant part of the State. We were intro
duced to them. Colonel Rosecrans, unfortunately, was not present, hav
ing not yet arrived from some military service at Washington. ... A
little acquaintance satisfied us that our captains were not disposed to
be unreasonable; that their feeling was a natural one under the circum
stances, and that all ill-feeling would disappear if we showed the dis
position and ability to perform our duties. Captain Beattv, however.
would not be content. He had been a Senator in the Legislature-, was fifty-
five or sixty years old, and not disposed to go-under, ¦Y.Q,U,Pig„TP,eri. Wp
took" a hack~out to Camp Jackson,1 four miles west of Columbus on
the National RoadT Several companies were mustered into service by
Captains Simpson and Robinson the same day. Colonel E. A King, of
Dayton, was under state authority in command of all the soldiers,
some twenty-five hundred in number, not mustered into service. As
rapidly as they were mustered in, they passed under Colonel Matthews
as the ranking field officer in United States service. Luckily Captain
Beatty was not ready for the mustering officer and we succeeded in
getting Captain Zimmerman's fine company in his place. Ditto Captain
Howard in place of Captain Weller. Our mustering was completed
June 11 and 12. We were guests of Colonel King (for rations) at
the log headquarters and slept at Piatt's.2 Both good arrangements.
Wednesday evening [June] 12, we got up a large marquee — fine, but
not tight, and that night I had my first sleep under canvas — cool but
refreshing. June 13. — Colonel William S. Rosecrans appeared and assumed the
command. Our regiment was paraded after retreat had been sounded.
The long line looked well, although the men were ununiformed and
1 Name soon after changed to Camp Chase.
1 Mr. Hayes's brother-in-law.

126 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
without arms. We were lucky in having a band enlisted as privates at
Ashland. Colonel Rosecrans is a spirited, rapid talker and worker and
makes a fine impression on officers and men. . . . There are many good
singers in camp, and as we are not reduced to order yet, the noises of the
camp these fine evenings and the strangeness have a peculiar charm.
How cold the nights are! I am more affected as I look at the men on
parade than I expected to be — not more embarrassed. I am not greatly
embarrassed, but an agreeable emotion, a swelling of heart possesses
me. The strongest excitement was when I saw the spirit and enthusiasm
with which the oath was taken. Our captains impress me as a body
most favorably.
June 16. — Colonel Rosecrans and Matthews having gone to Cin
cinnati and Colonel King to Dayton, I am left in command of camp,
some twenty-five hundred to three thousand men — an odd position
for a novice, so ignorant of all military things. All matters of discretion,
of common judgment, I get along with easily, but I was for an instant
puzzled when a captain in the Twenty-fourth, of West Point education,
asked me formally as I sat in tent for his orders for the day, he being
officer of the day. Acting on my motto, "When you don't know what
to say, say nothing," I merely remarked that I thought of nothing re
quiring special attention; that if anything was wanted out of the usual
routine I would let him know.1
Early the next week Colonel Rosecrans returned and set vigor
ously to work organizing the regiment. The very evening of the
day he returned, a dispatch came from Washington announcing
his appointment to the rank of brigadier-general, and ordering
1 Hayes himself failed to record one incident of these early days in camp which
showed his tact and good sense in dealing with the men. Mr. McKinley de
scribed it in a speech before the Ohio Grand Army the year of Mr. Hayes's
death. "I saw General Hayes," he said, "for the first time in June, 1861. He
had been commissioned as majer of the Twenty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry,
in which was the company to which I belonged. I remember — and it was the
first incident that attracted my attention to the new major — that when the
regiment was taken to the arsenal to receive its arms, it was proposed to give
to the regiment a lot of old-fashioned muskets, which we believed — and we
knew all about it, of course — were unsuitable for service at the front. And that
entire regiment, after receiving them, stacked them about the arsenal and re
turned to their camp, refusing to accept the muskets offered by the State. I
suppose if that had occurred later in the war, every company in the regiment
would have been put in arrest; but Matthews and Hayes went from company to
company, and addressed the young men in a most patriotic appeal. I remem
ber well and vividly the speech of young Hayes. He said it was not so much the
weapons that we were to use in the war as it was the spirit with which we used
the best weapons that were given us by the Government to sustain the Govern
ment of the United States. We took our guns, and it was but a little while until
we had very much better ones."

1861 — CAMPAIGNING IN WEST VIRGINIA 127
him to western Virginia to take command of Ohio troops moving
in that direction. "I shall never forget," Hayes wrote, "how his
face shone with delight as he read the dispatch."
June 20. — Yes, the loss of our colonel did trouble us. Matthews
does not yet wish the responsibility of command. With a few weeks'
experience, I would prefer his appointment; in fact, I would anyhow,
but we are casting about, and the Governor will consult our wishes.
Our present preference is either Colonel Scammon or Colonel George
W. McCook — the latter, if he would take it. It will probably be satis
factory. If the new man is competent, he will be a very mean man if he
does not get on well with us.1
The next day Colonel Eliakim Parker Scammon was ap
pointed to command the regiment, and June 30, Hayes writes
his wife: —
Our colonel is fond of pleasantry, amiable and social. He enjoys
the disposition of Matthews and myself to joke, and after duty, we
get jolly. But he has not a happy way of hitting the humors of the
men; still, as we think him a kind-hearted, just man, we hope the men
will learn to appreciate his good qualities, in spite of an unfortunate
manner.t A few days later the diary says: —
Colonel Scammon is a gentleman of military education and experi
ence ; intelligent and agreeable, but not well fitted for volunteer command ;
and I fear somewhat deficient in health and vigor of nerves. We shall
find him an entertaining head of our mess of field officers. After some
ups and downs we have succeeded in getting for our surgeon my brother-
in-law, Dr. Joseph T. Webb. Our field officers' mess consists of Colonel
Scammon, Lieutenant-Colonel Matthews, Dr. Webb, and myself.
July 23. — We are in the midst of the excitement produced by the
disastrous panic near Washington. We expect it will occasion a very
early movement of our regiment. We shall, perhaps, be ordered to the
Kanawha line. We certainly shall, unless the recent defeat shall change
the plan of the campaign. . . . The Washington affair is greatly to be
regretted; unless speedily repaired, it will lengthen the war materially.
The panic of the troops does not strike me as remarkable. You recol
lect the French army in the neighborhood of the Austrians were seized
with a panic, followed by a flight of many miles, caused merely by a run
away mule and cart and "nobody hurt." The same soldiers won the
battle of Solf erino a few days after. But I do think the commanding
officer ought not to have led fresh levies against an enemy entrenched
1 Letter to Mrs. Hayes.

128 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
on his own ground. Gradual advances, fortifying as he went, strikes me
as a more prudent policy. But it is easy to find fault. The lesson will
have its uses. It will test the stuff our people are made of. If we are a
solid people, as I believe we are, this reverse will stiffen their backs.
They will be willing to make greater efforts and sacrifices.
We worked late last night getting our accoutrements ready. In the
hurry of preparations to depart, I may not be able to write you before
I go. Good-bye.1
July 24- — Our regiment was reviewed by the Governor and Major-
General Fremont. It was a gratifying scene. The Colonel (Fremont —
I must always think of the man of '56 as the "Colonel") looked well.
How he inspires confidence and affection in the masses of people ! The
night before I was introduced to him at the American. He is a roman
tic, rather, perhaps, than a great, character. But he is loyal, brave,
and persevering beyond all compare.
July 25. — Last night I went into Columbus to bid good-bye to the
boys; on the road met Lucy, Laura, and Mother Webb; advised them
to return. After we were at home (Piatt's) Lucy showed more emotion
at my departure than she has hitherto exhibited. She wanted to spend
my last night with me in Camp Chase. I took her out. We passed a
happy evening going around among the men, gathered in picturesque
groups, cooking rations for three days at the camp fires. Early in the
morning, as she was anxious Mother Webb should see the camp before
I left, I sent her in by a hack to return with Mother Webb, which she
did, and they saw us leave the camp. I marched in with the men afoot
— a gallant show they made as they moved up High Street to the depot.
Lucy and Mother Webb remained several hours until we left. I saw
them watching me as I stood on the platform at the rear of the last car
as long as they could see me. Their eyes swam. I kept my emotions
under control enough not to melt into tears. ... A pleasant ride to
Bellaire. Stayed in the cars all night.
The loyal people of western Virginia were in the vast major
ity. They had refused to be carried out of the Union by the ordi
nance of secession, but had organized a new government. There
upon Confederate forces had been sent across the mountains and
McClellan had fought his brief and successful Rich Mountain
campaign. After the Bull Run disaster McClellan was sum
moned to Washington and General Rosecrans was left in com
mand of the Union force along the line of the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad. The three-months men were leaving for home and the
long-time regiments were coming in to take their places. The
1 Letter to Sardis Birchard. '

1861 — CAMPAIGNING IN WEST VIRGINIA 129
purpose in view was to drive the remaining Rebel troops from
the State, to check the rising secession feeling, and to sustain and
protect the Union people. Hayes's regiment reached Clarksburg
July 26. The next day he wrote his wife: —
Our second day, from Bellaire to this place, was an exceedingly happy
one. We travelled about one hundred and thirty miles in Virginia, and
with the exception of one deserted village of secessionists (Farmington)
we were received everywhere with an enthusiasm I never saw anywhere
before. No such great crowds turned out to meet us as we saw from
Indianapolis to Cincinnati assembled to see Lincoln; but everywhere,
in the corn and hay fields, in the houses, in the roads, on the hills,
wherever a human being saw us, we saw such honest, spontaneous
demonstrations of joy as we never beheld elsewhere. Old men and
women, boys and children — some fervently prayed for us, some laughed,
and some cried; all did something which told the story. The secret of it
is, the defeat at Washington, and the departure of some thousands of
three-months men of Ohio and Indiana led them to fear they were left
to the Rebels of eastern Virginia. We were the first three-years men
filling the places of those who left. It was pleasant to see we were not
invading an enemy's country, but defending the people among whom
we came. Our men enjoyed it beyond measure. Many had never seen
a mountain, none had ever seen such a reception. They stood on top
of the cars, and danced and shouted with delight. We got here in the
night. General Rosecrans is with us. No other full regiment here. We
march to-morrow up the mountains. All around me is confusion —
sixteen hundred horses, several hundred wagons, all the preparations
for a large army — our own men in a crowded camp putting up tents.
No time for further description.
P.S. — Colonel Matthews showed me a letter from his mother re
ceived at the moment of his leaving. She said she rejoiced she was the
mother of seven sons all loyal and true, and that four of them were able
to go to the war for the national rights. — The view from where I sit
is most beautiful, long ranges of hills, a pleasant village, an extensive
sweep of cultivated country, the fortified hill where an Indiana regiment
proposes to defend itself against overwhelming odds, etc., etc.
The Twenty-third Ohio was a model regiment, composed of
intelligent men who faced danger without dismay, and who sub
mitted cheerfully to thorough discipline. The march from Clarks
burg to Weston was made in rainstorms over muddy roads. The
first night many of the men, too tired to put up tents, threw
themselves on the ground and slept none the less soundly. The
glorious scenery on the west fork of the Monongahela was recom
pense for the toil endured, and the men had great sport pickmg

130 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
blackberries which covered the hills in profusion.1 There were
rumors of an army under General Robert E. Lee moving west
ward with the avowed purpose of driving Rosecrans — the
"Dutch General" as the Rebel press designated him — into the
Ohio River, and Rosecrans with characteristic energy was pre
paring for the conflict. He had only eleven thousand men to
guard and hold the country, but reenforcements were promised
by the Governor of Ohio.
The Twenty -third was in the enemy's country at Weston, and
local tribunals having been suppressed or discontinued, the quar
rels of the citizens were settled by the major, who held a sort of
police court. No 'punishment more severe than a bread-and-
water diet was inflicted. Details were made for the apprehension
of guerrillas who infested the mountains, picking off our soldiers
or plundering and oppressing Union men. July 30, Hayes writes
his wife : —
* We are in the loveliest spot for a camp you ever saw — no, lovelier
than that; nothing in Ohio can equal it; it needs a mountainous region
for these beauties. We do not know how long we shall stay, but we
suppose it will be three or four days. We have had two days of marching
— not severe marching at all, but I saw enough to show me how easily
raw troops are used up by an injudicious march. Luckily we are not
likely to suffer that way. We are probably aiming for Gauley Bridge
on the Kanawha where Wise is said to be fortified. General Rosecrans
is engaged in putting troops so as to hold the principal routes leading
to the point.
The people here are divided; many of the leading ladies are secession
ists. We meet many good Union men; the other men are prudently
quiet; our troops behave well.
August 8. — Our regiment is divided for the present. One half under
Colonel Matthews has gone forty-four miles south. We remain in charge
of a great supply depot, and charged with keeping in order the turbulent
of this region. The Union men are the most numerous, but the other
side is the more wealthy and noisy. . . . We are so busy that we do not
complain much of the tediousness of camp life. We are now constantly
hearing of the approach of General Lee from eastern Virginia with a force
large enough to drive us out and capture all our stores, if one fourth that
is told is true. He is said to be about seventy-five miles southeast of
us in the mountains. Whether there is truth in it or not, I have no doubt
1 " This is the land of blackberrying. We are a great, grown-up, armed black
berry party and we gather untold quantities." (Letter, July 30, to Sardis Birch
ard.)

1861 — CAMPAIGNING IN WEST VIRGINIA 131
that troops will be urged into this region to hold the country. At any
rate, as it is on the route to east Tennessee, and on a route to cut off
the railroads from the southwest, I am sure there ought to be a splendid
Union army assembled here. I suppose it will be done.1
August 17. — We are kept very busy, hunting up guerrillas, escorting
trains, etc., etc. Attacking parties are constantly met on the roads in
the mountains, and small stations are surrounded and penned up. We
send daily parties of from ten to one hundred on these expeditions, dis
tances of from ten to forty miles. Union men persecuted for opinion's
sake are the informers. The secessionists in this region are the wealthy
and educated, who do nothing openly, and the vagabonds, criminals,
and ignorant barbarians of the country; while the Union men are the
middle class — the law-and-order, well-behaved folks. Persecutions are
common, killings not rare, robberies an everyday occurrence. Some
bands of Rebels are so strong that we are really in doubt whether they
are guerrillas or parts of Wise's army, coming in to drive us out. The
secessionists are boastful, telling us of great forces which are coming.
Altogether, it is stirring times just now. Lieutenant-Colonel Matthews
is nearly one hundred miles south of us with half our regiment, and is not
strong enough to risk returning to us. With Colonels Tyler and Smith,
he will fortify near Gauley Bridge on Kanawha.2
August 18. — We have received word that the enemy in force is
coming towards us through the mountains to the southeast, and have
been ordered to prepare three days' rations, and to be ready to march
at a moment's notice, to attack the enemy. I am all ready. We are to
go without tents or cooking utensils. A part of Colonel Moor's Second
German Regiment are to go with us. Markbreit is among them. They
reached here last night. It will be a stirring time if we go, and the result
of it all, by no means clear. I feel no apprehension — no presentiment
of evil.8
Buckhannon, August 21. — On Sunday night, August 18, about 12
o'clock, we were ordered to quietly pack and march rapidly to this place.
Some of our men had just returned from long scouting expeditions.
They were weary with marching over the hills in rain and mud, and here
was another march without sleeping. It was borne cheerfully — the
men supposing it was to meet an enemy. We find this a lovely spot —
superior in some respects to the scenery about Weston. We have a
beautiful camp about one and one half miles from the village. Here we
have parts of five regiments — all but this from Cincinnati. Men are
constantly arriving, showing the rapid concentration at this point of a
large body of troops. We are ignorant of its purpose, but suppose it to
be for service.4
1 Letter to Sardis Birchard. ' Letter to Sardis Birchard.
8 Letter to Mrs. Hayes. * Letter to Hayes's mother.

132 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
August 22. — It is a cold, rainy, dismal night. We are all preparing
for an early march. ... All are cut down to regulation baggage — many
trunks will stop here. A tailor sits on one end of my cot sewing fixings;
all is confusion. The men are singing jolly tunes. Our colonel takes his
half-regiment, the left wing, and half of McCook's Germans, and we
push off for the supposed point of the enemy's approach. We shall
stop and camp at Beverly awhile, and then move as circumstances
require.1 Beverly, August 24. — We marched from Buckhannon, as I wrote you,
but the rain stopped; the air was delicious, the mountain scenery beau
tiful. We camped at night on the hills without tents. I looked up at the
stars and moon — nothing between me and the sky, and thought of you
all. To-day had a lovely march in the mountains; was at the camp of
the enemy on Rich Mountain and on the battlefield. Reached here to
day. . . . The Guthrie Grays greeted us hospitably. Men are needed here
and we were met by men who were very glad to see us for many reasons.
We go to the seat of things on Cheat Mountain perhaps to-morrow.2
Beverly, Va., August 25, 1861. Sunday a.m. — Supposing I might
have to go on towards Cheat Mountain this morning I wrote you a very
short note last night. I now write so soon again to show you how much
I love you and how much my thoughts are on the dear ones at home. I
never enjoyed any business or mode of life as much as I do this. I really
feel badly when I think of several of my intimate friends who are com
pelled to stay at home. These marchings and campings in the hills of
western Virginia will always be among the pleasantest things I can re
member. I know we are in frequent perils — that we may never return
and all that, but the feeling that I am where I ought to be, is a full com
pensation for all that is sinister, leaving me free to enjoy as if on a pleas
ure tour. I am constantly reminded of our trip and happiness a year
ago. I met a few days ago in the Fifth Regiment, the young Moore we
saw at Quebec. . . . We saw nothing prettier than the view from my tent
this morning. McCook's men are half a mile to the right, McMuIlen's
Battery on the next hill in front of us, the Virginia Second a half mile
in front, and the Guthries to the left. We, on higher ground, see them
all; then mountains, meadows, and streams — nothing wanting but
you and the boys.
Sunday evening. — Just got orders to go to Huttonsville. Look on
my map of Virginia and you will see it, geography style; but the beau
tiful scenery you will not see there. We are to be for the present under
General Reynolds — a good officer, and then General Benham or Gen
eral Rosecrans — all good. The soldiers are singing so merrily to-night.
It is a lovely, sweet, starlit evening. I rode over to Colonel Sonders-
hoff (I think that is the name of McCook's soldierly and gentlemanly
1 Letter to Mrs. Hayes. * Letter to Mrs. Hayes.

1861 — CAMPAIGNING IN WEST VIRGINIA 133
lieutenant-colonel) to tell him about the march, and from his elevated
camp I could see all the camps "sparkling and bright." I thought of
the night you walked with me about Camp Chase. Good-night.1
Somewhere in Tygart's Valley, near Cheat Mountain Pass, Virginia,
August 26, 1861; Monday evening, 8.80 p.m. After a march of 18 miles. —
You will think me insane, writing so often and always with the same
story — delighted with scenery and pleasant excitement. We are camped
to-night in a valley surrounded by mountains on a lovely stream under
great trees, with the Third Ohio, Thirteenth Indiana, one half of Mc
Cook's Ninth, and the Michigan Artillery, which mother remembers
passed our house one Sunday about the last of May, and McMulIen's
Battery all in sight. Our General Reynolds makes a good impression.
We are disposed to love him and trust him. We expect to remain
here, and hereabouts, until the enemy, which is just over the mountain,
either drives us out, which I think he can't do, or until we are strong
enough to attack him. A stay of some weeks, we suppose.2
French Creek, August 30. — " The best laid schemes of mice and men,"
etc., especially in war. That beautiful camp at the head of the valley
where we were to stay so long had just been gotten into fine order when
the order to leave came: "Make a forced march to French Creek by a
mountain path, leaving tents, baggage, and knapsacks to be sent to you."
We obeyed and are yet alive. A queer life. We are now as jolly as if we
never saw trouble or hardship. Two nights ago and three nights ago
we lay in the rain in the woods without shelter, or blankets, and almost
without food, and after such hard days' toil that we slept on the moun
tains as soundly as logs. All the horses used up, Uncle Joe's "Birch"
among the rest, except my pretty little sorrel "Webby," which came
through better than ever. Let me describe my kit: Portmanteau, con
taining two pairs of socks, one shirt, a towel containing bread and sugar,
a tin cup, a pistol in one holster and ammunition in the other, a blanket
wrapped in the India rubber you fixed, and a blue (soldier's) overcoat.
Seven miles we made after 2.30 p.m. on a good 'road to Huttonsville,
then by a bridle path part of the way [and] no path the rest, following a
guide six miles over a steep, muddy, rocky mountain. At the foot of
the mountain I put Captain Sperry, who was footsore, on "Webby,"
and pushed ahead afoot. I could see we would not get over the moun
tain to a stream we wished to camp on until after night unless we pushed.
I put on ahead of the guide and reached the top with Lieutenant Botts-
ford, the keen-eyed snare-drummer, Gillett (Birch remembers him, I
guess), a soldier, and the guide alone in sight.
We waited till the head of the column came in sight, got full instruc
tions from the guide, directed him to wait for the column and leaving
him — reenforced, however, by the silver-cornet player — we hurried
1 Letter to Mrs. Hayes. ' Letter to Mrs. Hayes.

134 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
down. In half an hour it was dark as tar. I led the little party, blunder
ing sometimes, but in the main right, until we could hear the river; long
before we reached it, all sound of the column was lost and the way was
so difficult that we agreed they could not get down until daylight. We
got to the river at 9.15 with three matches and a Fremont Journal to
kindle fire with, no overcoats and no food. It was a wet night. Did n't
we scratch about to get dry kindling, and were n't we lucky to get it and
start a great fire with the first precious match? . . . The head of the column
got down to us, to our surprise, at 10 p.m. McMullen gave up at 11 p.m.,
halfway up the mountain, and the Germans were below him. The next
day we toiled on, thirteen and one half hours' actual marching over the
hills to this place, thirty miles. About three hundred of our men reached
here at 8 p.m.; dark, muddy, rainy, and dismal — hungry, no shelter,
nothing. Three companies of the Fifth, under Captain Remley (part
of Dunning's Continentals) were here. They took us in, fed us, piled
hay, built fires, and worked for us until midnight like beavers, and we
survived the night. Our men will always bless the Cincinnati Fifth.
Those who seemed unable to keep up, I began to order into barns and
farmhouses about six o'clock. The last six miles was somewhat settled.
I took care of the rear. In the morning we found ourselves in a warm
hearted Union settlement. We got into a Presbyterian church. We made
headquarters at a Yankee lady's and fared sumptuously. But McMul
len and the Germans were still behind. They got in twenty-four hours
after us in another dark, wet night. Dr. Joe was in his glory. He and
I took [charge] of the Germans. They were completely used up. The
worst-off we took into a barn of Mrs. Sea. I mention the old lady's
name for she has two sons and a son-in-law in the Union army of Vir
ginia, and gives us all she had for the Germans. We got through the
night's work about midnight, and to-day have enjoyed hugely compar
ing notes, etc., etc. Our tents reached us just now and I am writing in
mine. The colonel was used up. Joe and I are the better for it. The
move is supposed to be to meet the enemy coming in by a different
route.1 Sutton, or Sutlonsville, Virginia, September 5, 1861. — We are in an
other camp of fine views. This is the last stronghold of our army as we
advance toward the enemy. We are now part of an army of from six to
eight thousand, and are pushing towards an advancing enemy stronger
in numbers, it is said. Some time will perhaps elapse before we meet,
but we are pretty certain to meet unless the enemy withdraw. This I
think they will do. I like the condition of things. Our force, although not
large, is of good regiments for the most part. . . . General Rosecrans
is in command in person, with General Benham of the regular army to
second him. We are camped on both sides of Elk River, connected by a
beautiful suspension bridge; camps on high hills, fortifications on all
1 Letter to Mrs. Hayes.

1861 — CAMPAIGNING IN WEST VIRGINIA 135
the summits — "gay and festive" scene, as Artemus Ward would say,
especially about sundown, when three or four fine bands are playing in
rivalry. Elk River empties into the Kanawha, so that the water now
dripping from my tent will pass you perhaps about a fortnight hence.
The clearest, purest water it is, too. From the tops of the high hills you
can see the rocks in the river covered by ten or twenty feet of water.
Nothing finer in Vermont or New Hampshire.
. . . We got to-day papers from Cincinnati, the Times of the 28th
and the Commercial of the 2d. Think of it — only three days old. It
has rumors that General Rosecrans is captured — well, not quite. He
is in good health and the Twenty-third Regiment is his especial guard.
No force can get him here without passing my tent.
Among the interesting things in camp are the boys. You recollect
the boy in Captain McIIrath's company? We have another like him in
Captain Woodward's. He ran away from Norwalk to Camp Dennison,
went into the Fifth, then into the Guthries, and as we passed their camp
he was pleased with us and now is a boy of the Twenty-third. He drills,
plays officer, soldier, or errand boy, and is a curiosity in camp. We are
getting dogs, too, some fine ones. Almost all the captains have horses,
and a few mules have been "realized" — that's the word — from se
cessionists.1 The forced marching of the troops, which Rosecrans led in
person to the Gauley River, was a very severe test of the endur
ance of new recruits. On Sunday before the battle of Carnifex
Ferry we learn from the diary that Hayes rode in nineteen hours
a distance of between fifty and sixty miles, crossed a stream with
more water than the Sandusky at Fremont over thirty times, —
wet above the knees all the time, — and had no sleep for thirty-
six hours; and on Tuesday, the day of the battle, the troops
marched seventeen miles, drove the enemy's pickets out of Sum-
merville, followed them nine miles to Gauley River where Gen
eral Floyd was entrenched behind formidable works on a high
hill, with a precipitous side for his front, and both flanks pro
tected by the bluffs of the river. Rosecrans had with him less
than eight regiments. His army was divided. Receiving word
that General Wise was threatening to cut off General J. D. Cox,
who was on the Kanawha with a small force, he left the larger
part of his army under General Reynolds in a strong position
at Cheat Mountain Pass to engage the attention of General
Lee, and moved by forced marches to the relief of General Cox.
1 Letter to Mrs. Hayes.

136 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Floyd was in his way at the crossing of the Gauley at Carnifex
Ferry, and, without pausing, he prepared to carry the entrench
ments. The first brigade under the unfortunate General Ben-
ham of the regular army was directed to move with caution
against the enemy's front. That officer, after driving in the out
post, dashed ahead with his brigade through the woods, and sud
denly found himself in close proximity to Floyd's works. He
could not safely withdraw and the regiments in his brigade
engaged the enemy for several hours, at a disadvantage, until
darkness put an end to the contest. Major Hayes, with four
companies of the Twenty-third, after an exhausting struggle over
cliffs and through dense masses of mountain laurel, got under
fire, but he had no opportunity to display the qualities of his
command. His men went in with enthusiasm, but night soon
intervened.1 The troops were withdrawn from the woods and posted in the
order of battle behind ridges, preparatory to renewing the as
sault in the morning, but in the grey of the morning it was ascer
tained that the enemy had withdrawn across the river during
the night and had destroyed the ferryboat to prevent rapid pur
suit. General Rosecrans complimented Hayes and his detach
ment for what was done; and attributed the hasty retreat of the
enemy in part to their belief that his detachment had uncovered
their rear and flank. General Rosecrans's loss was twenty killed
and about one hundred wounded. Colonel Lowe, of the Twelfth
Ohio, was killed, and Colonel Lytle and Captain Stephen Mc-
Groarty, of the Tenth, severely wounded. The courage and
steadiness of the Ohio men was widely commented on, and at
Columbus a salute was fired in their honor.
The disappointment in the Union ranks over the escape of
Floyd was intense, but as this movement caused Wise also to
withdraw, a junction between the forces of Rosecrans and Cox
was effected without loss. Rosecrans again went in search of
the enemy, but with a force entirely inadequate for the work
before him. An attack by a portion of Lee's army on the Cheat
River stronghold occupied by Reynolds had been repulsed
and the Confederate general now hoped to cut off Rosecrans's
1 Cincinnati Commercial, September 18. Report by Captain W. D. Bickham,
of General Rosecrans's staff.

1861 — CAMPAIGNING IN WEST VIRGINIA 137
communications in the rear on the Kanawha and then over
whelm him in front. But the "Dutch general" was not to be
caught, and the Confederates withdrew from western Virginia.
It was conceded that he had outgeneralled Lee.1
The first letter after this affair to his family by Major Hayes,
adds some particulars: —
Gauley River, eight miles south of Summerville, September 11, 1861. —
We have had our first battle and the enemy has fled precipitately. I
say "we," although it is fair to say that our brigade, consisting of the
Twenty-third, the Thirtieth (Colonel Ewing), and Mack's battery,
had little or nothing to do except to stand as a reserve. The only
exception to this was four companies of the Twenty-third, Captains
Sperry, Howard, Zimmerman, and Woodward, under my command,
who were detailed to make an independent movement. I had one
man wounded and four others hit in their clothing and accoutrements.
You will have full accounts of the general fight in the papers. My little
detachment did as much real work, hard work, as anybody. We crept
down and up a steep, rocky mountain, on our hands and knees part of
the time, through laurel thickets almost impenetrable, until dark. At
one time I got so far ahead in the struggle that I had but three men.
I finally gathered them by a halt, although a part were out all night.
We were over half an hour listening to the cannon and musketry wait
ing for our turn to come.
You have often heard of the feelings of men in the interval between
the order of battle and the attack. Matthews, myself, and others were
rather jocose in our talk, and my actual feeling was very similar to what
I have when going into an important trial — not different, nor more in
tense. I thought of you and the boys and other loved ones, but there was
no such painful feeling as is sometimes described. I doubted the success
of the attack and with good reason and in good company. The truth is
our enemy is very industrious and ingenious in contriving ambuscades
and surprises and entrenchments, but they lack pluck. They expect to
win and often do win by superior strategy and cunning. Their entrench
ments and works were of amazing extent. During the whole fight we
rarely saw a man. Most of the firing was done at bushes and logs and
earth barricades. We withdrew at dark — the attacking brigades having
suffered a good deal from the enemy, and pretty severely from one of
those deplorable mistakes which have so frequently happened in this
war — viz., friends attacking friends. The Tenth and Twenty-eighth
(Irish and Second German of Cincinnati) fired on each other, and charged
doing much mischief. My detachment was in danger from the same cause.
I ran upon the Twenty-eighth, neither seeing the other until within a
rod. We mutually recognized, however, although it was a "mutual
1 See Pollard, The Lost Cause, chap. rx.

138 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
surprise." It so happened, curiously enough, that I was the extreme
right man of my body and Markbreit the left man of bis. We had a jolly
laugh and introductions to surrounding officers, as partners, etc., etc.
The enemy were fairly panic-stricken by the solid volleys of McCook's
Ninth and the rifled cannon of Smith's Thirteenth. The Tenth suffered
most. The enemy probably began their flight by a secret road soon after
dark, leaving flag, ammunition, trunks, arms, stores, etc., but no dead
or wounded.1
The test made this season between the Southern and the West
ern soldiers justified the opinion that the former were inferior
in the qualities that make good soldiers. Their skirmishers were
not good marksmen, and they flinched from close contests. The
Ohio and Indiana men proved themselves the best shots and the
steadiest fighters. Hayes, September 14, wrote: —
The enemy are no match for us in fair fighting. They feel it and so do
our men. . . . The letters, diaries, etc., etc., found in Floyd's trunks and
desks, show that their situation is desperate. Thousands are in the
army who are heartily sick of the whole business. We retook a large part
of the plunder taken from Colonel Tyler, as well as prisoners. The pris
oners had been well treated — very. The young men in Floyd's army,
of the upper class, are kind-hearted, good-natured fellows who are unfit
as possible for the business they are in. They have courage, but no
endurance, enterprise, or energy. The lower class are cowardly, cunning,
and lazy. The height of their ambition is to shoot a Yankee from some
place of safety.
Hayes had attended to all of the legal business for General
Rosecrans in addition to his regimental duties, and September
19, General Rosecrans appointed him judge-advocate-general.
He accepted the appointment as the order of his superior, though
it was against his preferences. He writes in his diary: —
I dislike the service, but must obey, of course. I hope to be relieved
after a few weeks' service. In the meantime I will try to qualify myself
for an efficient discharge of my new duties. I agree with General Rose
crans that courts-martial may be made very serviceable in promoting
discipline in the army.
While Hayes was attached to headquarters he was allowed
when practicable to remain with his regiment. He moved about
1 " Where I was a few balls whistled forty or fifty feet over our heads. The next
day, however, with Captain Drake's company I got into a little skirmish with an
outpost, and could see that the captain and myself were actually aimed at, the
balls flying near enough, but hurting nobody. The battle scared and routed the
enemy prodigiously." (Letter to Mrs. Hayes, September 15.)

1861 — CAMPAIGNING IN WEST VIRGINIA 139
from camp to camp wherever the duties of his new position
demanded his presence. From General Cox's camp on Sewell
Mountain, "September 27 (Saturday or Friday, I am told)," he
wrote his wife: — ¦
We are in the midst of a very cold rainstorm — not farther south than
Lexington or Danville, and on the top of a hill or small mountain. Rain
for fifteen hours, getting colder and colder, and still raining; in leaky
tents, with worn-out blankets, insufficient socks and shoes, many with
out overcoats; this is no joke. I am living with McCook in a good tent,
as well provided as anybody in camp; better than either General Cox
or Rosecrans. I write this in General Cox's tent; he sits on one cot
reading, or trying to read, or pretending to read, Dickens's new novel
" Great Expectations." McCook and General Rosecrans are in the op
posite tent over a smoke, trying to think they are warmed a little by the
fire under it. Our enemy far worse provided than we are, and no doubt
shivering on the opposite hill, now hidden by the driving rain and fog.
We all suspect that our campaign in this direction is at an end. The
roads will be miry, and we must fall back for our supplies. My regiment
is fourteen miles back on a hill — when clear we can see their tents. Just
now my position is comparatively a pleasant one. I go with the generals
on all reconnaissances, see all that is to be seen and fare as well as any
body. We were out yesterday p.m. very near to the enemy's works; were
caught in the first of this storm and thoroughly soaked. I hardly expect
to be dry again until the storm is over.
Up Gauley River, Camp Sewell, October 3. — We are in the presence of
a large force of the enemy — much stronger than we are, but the mud
and floods have pretty much ended this campaign. Both the enemy and
ourselves are compelled to go back to supplies soon. I think, therefore,
there will be no fight. We shall not attack their entrenchments now
that they are reinforced, and I suspect they will not come out after us.
Donn Piatt just peeped in. He always has funny things. I said, quoting
Webster, "I still live." "Yes," said he, "Webster — Webster; he was
a great man ; even the old Whigs about Boston admit that ! " And again,
speaking of the prospect of a fight he said, "This whistling of projectiles
about one's ears is disagreeable. It made me try to think at Bull Run of
all my old prayers; but I could only remember, 'O Lord, for these and
all thy other mercies, we desire to be thankful.' "
We shall soon go into winter quarters at posts chosen to hold this
country — Gauley Bridge, Charleston, etc., etc. Who will get into a
better place is the question. We all want to go to Washington or to
Kentucky or Missouri. We are in General Schenck's Brigade, and hope
he will make interest enough to get us into good quarters. There is much
sickness among officers and men. My health was never better than
during these four months. . . .

140 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
I am still on General Rosecrans's staff, but having just finished an
extensive tour of court-martial, am again in camp with my regiment in
good order. It is like going home to get back. Still this practising on the
old circuit after the old fashion, only more so, — an escort of cavalry and
a couple of wagons with tents and grub, — has its attractions. I shall
get out of it soon, but as a change, I rather enjoy it.1
Camp Lookout, Monday, October 7, 1861. — Our campaign is closed
— no more fighting in this region unless the enemy attack, which they
will not. We are to entrench at Mountain Cove eight miles from here,
at Gauley Bridge, twenty miles off, and Summerville about the same.
These points will secure our conquest of western Virginia from any com
mon force and will let half or two thirds of our army go elsewhere. I
hope we shall be the lucky ones to leave here.
The enemy and ourselves left the mountains about the same time —
the enemy first and for the same reason, viz., impossibility of getting
supplies. We are now fourteen miles from Mount Sewell and perhaps
thirty from the enemy. Our withdrawal was our first experience in
backward movement. We all approved it. The march was a severe one.
Our business to-day is sending off the sick, and Dr. Joe is up to his
eyes in hard work. We have sixty to send to Ohio. This is the severest
thing of the campaign. Poor fellows — we do as well as we can with
them — but road wagons in rain and mud are poor places. . . .
Don't worry about the war. We are doing our part, and if all does not
go well, it is not our fault. I still think we are sure to get through with
it safely. The South may not be conquered, but we shall secure to the
nation the best part of it. We hope to go to Kentucky. If so we shall
meet before a month. Our regiment is a capital one. But we ought to
recruit; we shall be about one hundred to one hundred-fifty short when
this campaign is ended.
To-morrow is election day. We all talked about it to-day. We are
for Tod 2 and victory.
Tuesday morning, 6 a.m., October 8. — Your election day. This wet,
dirty letter and its writer have had considerable experience in the last
twenty-four hours, and since the above was written. In the first place
we have had another bitter storm — and this cold, raw morning, we
shiver useless near the fires. At one time yesterday I thought I should
have to take back a good deal of what I said in the letter I had just
started to Cincinnati. I was at the hospital three quarters of a mile from
camp, helping Dr. Joe and Captain Skiles put the sick into the wagons
to be transported to Gallipolis and Cincinnati, when firing was heard
and word came that the enemy in force had attacked our camp. The doc
tor and I hurried back leaving Captain Skiles to look after the sick. All
the army, seven regiments (5000 to 6000 men) were forming in line of
battle. I joined my regiment and after waiting a half hour or so we were
1 Letter to Sardis Birchard. * Republican candidate for Governor of Ohio.

1861 — CAMPAIGNING IN WEST VLRGINIA 141
ordered to quarters with word that it was only a scouting party driving in
our pickets. This was all in a rainstorm. The poor fellows in hospital,
many of them panic-stricken, fled down the road, and were found by
Dr. Joe on his return three or four miles from the hospital. Three of our
regiment got up from their straw piles, got their guns and trudged up
the road and took their place in line of battle. The behavior of the men
was for the most part perfectly good. The alarm was undoubtedly a
false one — no enemy is near us.
We shall go if the sun come out seven miles nearer home to Mountain
Cove, and begin to build quarters and fortifications for a permanent
stronghold. This brings us within an easy day's ride of the navigable
waters of the Kanawha. Thence a steamboat can take us in about a day
or so to Cincinnati — pretty near to you. Telegraph also all the way; —
speaking of telegraph makes me think I ought to say, Captain Gaines
(our Prosecuting Attorney) has done as much, I think more, useful serv
ice, dangerous too, than any other officer in western Virginia. The his
tory of his company protecting the telegraph builders would be a volume
of romantic adventures.1 Head-Quarteks 23d Reg't., 0. V. Inf., U.S.A.,
Mountain Cove, Six Miles above Gauley Bridge,
October 9, 1861.
Dear Brother, — We are now near, or at the point, where an en
trenched camp for winter quarters is to be established. It will command
the main entrance to the head of the Kanawha Valley, and can be held
by a small force — it is within a day's ride of navigable waters connect
ing with Cincinnati, and telegraphic communications nearly complete.
From half to two thirds of the men in western Virginia can be spared as
soon as a few days' work is done; indeed, green regiments just recruited
could take charge of this country, and release soldiers who have been
hardened by some service. Our regiment is second to no other in dis
cipline, and equal in drill to all but two or three in western Virginia. We
think it would be sensible to send us to Kentucky, Missouri, or the sea-
coast for the winter. We can certainly do twice the work that we could
have done four months ago, and there is no sense in keeping us housed
up in fortifications, and sending raw troops into the field. In Kentucky,
disciplined troops — that is, men who are obedient and orderly — are
particularly needed ; a lot of lawless fellows plundering and burning would
do more hurt than good among a Union people who have property. We
have met no regiment that is better than ours, if any so good. Now, the
point I am at is, first, that a large part of the soldiers here can be spared
this winter; second, that for service, the best ought to be taken away.
With these two ideas safely lodged in the minds of the powers that be,
the Twenty-third is pretty sure to be withdrawn. If you can post the
Governor a little, it might be useful.
We are pleasantly associated. . . . My connection with General
1 Letter to Mrs. Hayes.

142 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Rosecrans's staff, I manage to make agreeable by a little license. I quar
ter with my regiment, but am relieved from all but voluntary regimental
duty. I think I have never enjoyed any period of my life as much as the
last three months. The risks, hardships, separation from family and
friends are balanced by the notion that I am doing what every man,
who possibly can, ought to do, leaving the agreeable side of things as
clear profit. My health has been perfect. A great matter this is. We
have many sick, and sicknesses on marches and in camp are trebly
disturbing. It makes one value health. We now have our sick in good
quarters and are promised a ten days' rest. The weather to-day is
beautiful, and I don't doubt that we shall get back to good condition
in that time.1
October 9. — Captain Zimmerman and I have just returned from a
long stroll up a romantic gorge with its rushing stream. . . . We found
the scattered fragments of a mill that had been swept away in some
freshet last winter, and following up came to the broken dam, and near
by a deserted house — hastily deserted lately; books, the cradle and
child's chair, tables, clock, chairs, etc. Our conjecture is that they fled
from the army of Floyd about the time of the Carnifex fight. We each
picked up a low, well-made, split-bottom chair and clambered up a
steep cliff to our camp. I now sit in the chair. We both moralized on
this touching proof of the sorrows of war, and I reached my tent a little
saddened — to find on my lounge, in my tidy, comfortable quarters,
your good letter of October 1. . . . Tell Mother Webb not to give up.
In the Revolution they saw darker days — far darker. We shall be a
better, stronger nation than ever, in any event. A great disaster would
strengthen us; and a victory, we all feel, will bring us out to daylight.
... I feel as you do about the Twenty-third, only more so. There are
several regiments whose music and appearance I can recognize at a great
distance over the hills, as thejjTenth, Ninth, and so on; but the Twenty-
third I know by instinct. I was sitting in the court house at Buckhan
non one hot afternoon, with windows up — a number of officers present,
when we heard music at a distance. No one expected any regiment at
that time. I never dreamed of the Twenty-third being on the road, but
the music struck me like words from home. "That is the band of my
regiment," was my confident assertion; true of course. We have lost by
death about six, by desertion four, by dismissal three, by honorable
discharge about twenty-five to thirty; about two hundred are too sick
to do duty, of whom about one fifth will never be able to serve. I was
called to command parade this evening while writing this sheet. The
fine is much shorter than in Camp Chase, but so brown and firm and
wiry that I suspect our six hundred would do more service than twice
their number could have done four months ago.2
1 Letter to William A. Piatt. ! Letter to Mrs. Hayes.

CHAPTER X
IN WINTER QUARTERS — GUERRILLAS
THE work of suppressing the Rebellion did not go forward
without disappointments, without hardships and disasters
as well as successes, and the newspapers were filled with com
plaints, with censorious comments on the incapacity of officers
in the field, and of those administering the Government, and
with appeals for relief of suffering soldiers. The general in com
mand of the fighting men in western Virginia came in for his
share. Rosecrans was not the first commander to suffer because
of the dereliction or incapacity of quartermasters in the prompt
distribution of supplies. The forced marches rendered necessary
by the attempts of the enemy to recover West Virginia caused a
good deal of sickness. Fault was found with Rosecrans for his
march from Clarksburg. Ought he to have remained there to
preserve the health of his troops, leaving Cox on the Gauley to
be cut off by an overwhelming force, as he probably would have
been if not supported? His movement beyond the Gauley failed
because General Lee had also made a flank movement and joined
Floyd and Wise. Rosecrans had not the force to attack Lee, and
it was good generalship to fall back so as not to have a long
stretch of impassable road behind him. In letters to his wife,
Hayes comments sanely on the injustice being done to the Presi
dent and others charged with responsibilities, and on the condi
tions of soldier life: —
October 17. — I am practising law again. My office is pleasantly lo
cated in a romantic valley on the premises of Colonel Tompkins of the
Rebel army. His mansion is an elegant modern house, and by some
strange good luck it has been occupied by his family and escaped unin
jured while hundreds of humbler homes have been ruined. Mrs. Tomp
kins has kept on the good side of our leaders and has thus far kept the
property safe. The Twenty-third is seven miles or so up the valley of
New River. I was there last evening. Dr. Joe has been sick a couple of
days, but is getting well. Very few escape sickness, but with any sort
of care it is not dangerous. Not more than one case in a hundred has
thus far proved fatal. Colonel Matthews has gone home for a few days.

144 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
You will see him, I hope. If he succeeds in one of the objects of his trip,
I shall probably visit you for a few days, within six weeks or so. Our
campaign here is ended, I think, without doubt. We hear stories which
are repeated in your papers which look a little as if there might be an
attempt to cut off our communications down the Kanawha, but I sus
pect there is very small foundation for them. We are strongly posted. No
force would dare attack us. To cut off supplies is the most that will be
thought of, and any attempt to do that must meet with little success,
if I am rightly informed about things.
We have had the finest of fall weather, for several (it seems many)
days. The glorious mountains all around us are of every hue, changing
to a deeper red and brown as the frosts cut the foliage. I talk so much
of the scenery you will suspect me to be daft. In fact I never have en
joyed nature so much. Being in the open air a great part of each day
and surrounded by magnificent scenery, I do get heady I suspect on
the subject. I have told you many a time that we were camped in the
prettiest place you ever saw. I must here repeat it. The scenery on New
River and around the junction of Gauley and New River where they
form the Kanawha is finer than any mere mountain and river views we
saw last summer. The music and sights belonging to the camps of ten
thousand men add to the effect. Our band has improved and the choir
in McHrath's company would draw an audience anywhere. The com
panies, many of them, sound their calls with the bugle which with the
echoes heighten the general charm.1
Camp Tompkins, October 19, 1861. — I got your letter of last Sunday
yesterday. You can't be happier in reading my letters than I am in
reading yours. . . . Don't worry about suffering soldiers and don't be
too ready to give up President Lincoln. More men are sick in camps
than at home; sick are not comfortable anywhere, and less so in armies
than in good homes. Transportation fails, roads are bad, contractors
are faithless, officials negligent or fraudulent, but, notwithstanding all
this, I am satisfied that our army is better fed, better clad, and better shel
tered than any other army in the world. And, moreover, where there is a
want it is not due to the General or State Government, half as much as
to officers and soldiers. The two regiments I have happened to know
most about, and to care most about, McCook's Ninth and our Twenty-
third, have no cause of complaint. Their clothing is better than when they
left Ohio and better than most men wear at home. I am now dressed as a
private and I am well dressed. Jlive habitually on soldiers' rations and
I live well. No, Lucy, the newspapers mislead you. It is the poor fami
lies at home, not the soldiers, who can justly claim sympathy. I except,
of course, the regiments which have bad officers, but you can't help
their case with your spare blankets. Officers at home begging better be
with their regiments, doing their appropriate duties.
1 Letter to Mrs. Hayes.

IN WINTER QUARTERS 145
Government is sending enough if colonels, etc., would only do their
part. McCook could feed, clothe, or blanket half a regiment more any
time, while alongside of him is a regiment, ragged, hungry, and blanket-
less, full of correspondents writing home complaints about somebody.
It is here as elsewhere. The thrifty and energetic get along and the lazy
and thoughtless send emissaries to the cities to beg. Don't be fooled
with this stuff. I feel for the poor women and children in Cincinnati.
The men out here have sufferings but no more than men of sense
expected, and were prepared for, and can bear. I see Dr. S. wants
blankets for the Eighth Regiment. Why is n't he with it, attending to
its sick? If its colonel and quartermaster do their duties as he does his,
five hundred miles off, they can't expect to get blankets. I have seen the
stores sent into this State and the Government has provided abundantly
for all.
It vexes me to see how good people are imposed on.„ _I_haye_been
through the camps of eight thousand men to-day t_and I tell you they are
better fed and clothed than the people of half the wards of Cincinnati.
We have" sickness, which is had enough, but it is due to causes insepa
rable from our condition. Living in open air, exposed to changes of
weather, will break down one man in every four or five, even if he was
clad in "purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day." As
for Washington, McClellan and so on, I believe they are doing the thing
well. I think it will come out all right. Wars are not finished in a day.
Lincoln is perhaps not all that we could wish, but he is honest, patriotic,
cool-headed, and safe. I don't know any man that the nation could say
is, under all the circumstances, to be preferred in his place. As for the
new Governor, I like the change as much as you do. He comes in a little
over two months from now.
A big dish of politics. I feared you were among croakers and
grumblers — people who do more mischief than avowed enemies to the
country. It is lovely weather again. I hope this letter will find you as
well as it leaves me.1
Camp Tompkins, October 21, 1861. Monday morning before breakfast.
— Dr. Clendenin goes home this morning and I got up early to let you
know how much I love you. . . . The doctor will give you the news. I
see Colonel Tom Ford has been telling big yarns about soldiers suffering.
They may be true — I fear they are — and it is right to do something;
but it is not true that the fault lies with the Government alone. Colonel
Ammon's Twenty-fourth has been on the mountains much more than
the Guthrie Grays, for they have been in town most of the time; but
nobody growls about them. The Twenty-fourth is looked after by its
officers. The truth is, the suffering is great in all armies in the field in
bad weather. It can't be prevented. It is also true that much is suffered
from neglect, but the neglect is in no one place. Government is in
1 Letter to Mrs. Hayes.

146 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
part blamable, but the chief [blame] is on the armies themselves, from
generals down to privates. It is certainly true that a considerable part
of the sick men now in Cincinnati, would be well and with their regi
ments if they had obeyed orders about eating green chestnuts, green
apples, and green corn. Now, all these men ought to be helped and cared
for, but in doing so it is foolish and wicked to assail and abuse as the
authors of the suffering any one particular set of men. It is a calamity
to be deplored and can be remedied by well-directed labor, not by indis
criminate abuse. I am filled with indignation to see that Colonel Ewing
is accused of brutality to his men. All false. He is kind to a fault — all
good soldiers love him; and yet he is pubUshed by some lying scoundrel
as a monster. I'll write no more on this subject. There will be far more
suffering this winter than we have yet heard of ; try to relieve it, but don't
assume that any one set of men are to be blamed for it. A great share
of it can't be helped. Twenty-five per cent of all men who enlist can't
stand the hardships and exposures of the field, if suddenly transferred
to it from their homes, and suffering is inevitable to all.1
The Potomac divided the hostile forces of the United States
and the Confederacy in the vicinity of Leesburg for several
months without a serious conflict between them. The purpose of
the Confederates was to cross into Maryland and flank the army
defending Washington. To prevent this threatened danger, Mc
Clellan had kept a strong force well in hand. Late in October an
attempt was made to ascertain the strength of the enemy in front.
The reconnaissance on the 20th, made in considerable force un
der Colonel Devens, was supported on the morning of the 21st
by a larger force commanded by Colonel Edward D. Baker, who
was placed in charge by General Stone. The order to cross was
definite, but no adequate provision of boats had been made for
the safe return of the troops in case of disaster. The enemy,
under cover of the woods, sharply attacked Colonel Baker's force.
The Union soldiers fought with great intrepidity, but they were
outnumbered, and were at the mercy of the attacking party as
they had no means of recrossing the river. The loss of life was
great considering the numbers engaged.2 Colonel Baker fell
while cheering his men, pierced by six bullets. His loss alone was
a disaster to the cause, as it created a feeling of discouragement
highly injurious at this time. Somebody had blundered, and the
1 Letter to Mrs. Hayes.
2 The Union force numbered 2100, of which 944 were returned as "killed,
wounded, and missing." The Confederate loss was 300.

IN WINTER QUARTERS 147
popular indignation was so great as blindly to embrace the inno
cent with the guilty. The battle of Ball's Bluff stands out as one
of the darkest incidents of the war. This brief recital will explain
the reference to Colonel Baker in the following: —
Camp Tompkins, October 29. — We hear that Lieutenant-Colonel
Matthews, who left for a stay of two weeks at home, about the 18th,
has been appointed colonel of the Fifty-first Regiment. This is deserved.
It will, I fear, separate us. I shall regret that much, very much. He is
a good man of solid talents, and a most excellent companion. Well, if
so, it can't be helped. The compensation is the probable promotion I
shall get to his place. I care little about this. As much to get rid of the
title "Major" as anything else, makes it desirable. I am prejudiced
against " Major." Doctors are majors, and (tell it not in Gath) Dick
Corwine is major. So, if we lose friend Matthews there may be this
crumb, besides the larger one of getting rid of being the army's lawyer or
judge, which I don't fancy.
Colonel Baker, gallant, romantic, eloquent, soldier, senator, patriot,
killed at Edwards Ferry on the upper Potomac! When will this thing
cease? Death in battle does not pain me much. But caught, surprised in
ambush again after so many warnings! I do not lose heart. I calmly
contemplate these things. The side of right with strength, resources,
endurance, must ultimately triumph. These disasters and discourage
ments will make the ultimate victory more precious. But how long? I can
wait patiently if we only do not get tricked out of victories. I thought
McClellan was to mend all this. "We have had our last defeat; we have
had our last retreat," he boasted. Well, well, patience. West Pointers
are no better leaders than others.1 Camp Tompkins, Virginia, October 29, 1861.
Tuesday Morning after Breakfast.
Mt hear Bot, — If I am not interrupted I mean to write you a
long birthday letter. You will be eight years old on the 4th of Novem
ber — next Monday, and perhaps this letter will get to Cincinnati in
time for your mother or grandmother to read it to you on that day. If
I were with you on your birthday I would tell you a great many stories
about the war. Some of them would make you almost cry and some would
make you laugh. I often think how Ruddy and Webby and you will
gather around me to listen to my stories — and how often I shall have
to tell them — and how they will grow bigger and bigger as I get older,
and as the boys grow up, until if I should live to be an old man they will
become really romantic and interesting. But it is always hard work for
me to write, and I can't tell on paper such good stories as I could give
you if we were sitting down together by the fire.
I will tell you why we call our camp Camp Tompkins. It is named
1 Diary.

148 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
after a very wealthy gentleman named Colonel Tompkins who owns the
farm on which our tents are pitched. He was educated to be a soldier of
the United States at West Point, where boys and young men are trained
to be officers at the expense of the Government. He was a good student
and when he grew up he was a good man. He married a young lady
who lived in Richmond and who owned a great many slaves, and a great
deal of land in Virginia. He stayed in the army as an officer a number of
years, but getting tired of army life he resigned his office several years
ago, and came here and built an elegant house and cleared and improved
several hundred acres of land. The site of his house is a lovely one. It is
about a hundred yards from my tent, on an elevation that commands
a view of Gauley Bridge, two and a half miles distant, — the place where
New River and Gauley River unite to form Kanawha River. Your
mother can show you the spot on the map. There are high hills or moun
tains on both sides of both rivers, and before they unite they are very
rapid and run roaring and dashing along in a very romantic way. When
the camp is still at night, as I he in bed, I can hear the noise like another
Niagara Falls.
In this pleasant place Colonel Tompkins lived a happy life. He had
a daughter and three sons. He had a teacher for his daughter and an
other for his boys. His house was furnished in good taste; he had books,
pictures, boats, horses, guns, and dogs. His daughter was about sixteen,
his oldest boy was fourteen, the next twelve, and the youngest about
nine. They lived here in a most agreeable way until the Rebels in South
Carolina attacked Major Anderson in Fort Sumter. Colonel Tompkins
wished to stand by the Union, but his wife and many relatives in eastern
Virginia were secessionists. He owned a great deal of property which
he feared the Rebels would take away from him if he did not become a
secessionist. While he was doubting what to do and hoping that he could
live along without taking either side, Governor Wise with an army
came here on his way to attack steamboats and towns on the Ohio
River. Governor Wise urged Colonel Tompkins to join the Rebels; told
him, as he was an educated military man, he would give him command
of a regiment in the Rebel army. Colonel Tompkins finally yielded and
became a colonel in Wise's army. He made Wise agree that his regiment
should be raised among his neighbors, and that they should not be called
on to leave their homes for any distant service but remain as a sort of
home guards. This was all very well for a while. Colonel Tompkins
stayed at home and would drill his men once or twice a week. But when
Governor Wise got down to the Ohio River and began to drive away
Union men, and to threaten to attack Ohio, General Cox was sent with
Ohio soldiers after Governor Wise.
Governor Wise was not a good general or did not have good soldiers,
or perhaps they knew they were fighting in a bad cause; at any rate,
the Rebel army was driven by General Cox from one place to another
until they got back to Gauley Bridge near where Colonel Tompkins
lived. He had to call out his regiment of home guards and join Wise.

IN WINTER QUARTERS 149
General Cox soon drove them away from Gauley Bridge and followed
them up this road until he reached Colonel Tompkins's farm. The colonel
then was forced to leave his home, and has never dared to come back to
it since. Our soldiers have held the country all around his house.
His wife and children remained at home until since I came here. They
were protected by our army and no injury done to them. But Mrs.
Tompkins got very tired of living with soldiers all around, and her
husband off in the Rebel army. Finally a week or two ago General Rose
crans told her she might go to eastern Virginia, and sent her in her car
riage, with an escort of ten dragoons and a flag of truce over to the Rebel
army about thirty miles from here, and I suppose she is now with her hus
band. I suppose you would like to know about a flag of truce. It is a
white flag carried to let the enemy's army know that you are coming not
to fight but to hold a peaceful meeting with them. One man rides ahead
of the rest about fifty yards carrying a white flag — any white hand
kerchief will do; when the pickets, sentinels, or scouts of the other army
see it, they know what it means. They call out to the man who carries
the flag of truce and he tells them what his party is coming for. The
picket tells him to halt, while he sends back to his camp to know what to
do. An officer and a party of men are sent to meet the party with the
flag of truce, and they talk with each other and transact their business
as if they were friends, and when they are done they return to their own
armies. No good soldier ever shoots a man with a flag of truce. They
are always very polite to each other when parties meet with such a
flag. Well, Mrs. Tompkins and our men travelled till they came to the
enemy. The Rebels were very polite to our men. Our men stayed all
night at a picket station in the woods along with the party of Rebels
who came out to meet them. They talked to each other about the war
and were very friendly. Our men cooked their suppers as usual. One
funny fellow said toaRebel soldier,"Do you get any such good coffee as
this, over there? " The Rebel said, "Well, to tell the truth, the officers are
the only ones who see much coffee, and it's mighty scarce with them."
Our man held up a big army cracker, "Do you have any like this?"
and the Rebel said, "Well, no — we do live pretty hard"; and so they
joked with each other a great deal.
Colonel Tompkins's boys and the servants and tutor are still in the
house. The boys come over every day to bring the General milk and
pies and so on. I expect we shall send them off one of these days and
take the house for a hospital or something of the kind. And so you see
Colonel Tompkins did n't gain anything by joining the Rebels. If he
had done what he thought was right everybody would have respected
him. Now the Rebels suspect him, and accuse him of treachery if any
thing occurs in his regiment which they don't like. Perhaps he would
have lost property, perhaps he would have lost his life ift he had stood
by the Union. But he would have done right and all good people would
have honored him.

150 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
And now, my son, as you are getting to be a large boy I want you to
resolve always to do what you know is right. No matter what you will
lose by it, no matter what danger there is, always do right. I hope you
will go to school and study hard, and take exercise too, so as to grow and
be strong; and, if there is a war, you can be a soldier and fight for your
country as Washington did. Be kind to your brothers and to grand
mother and, above all, to your mother. You don't know how your mother
loves you and you must show that you love her by always being a kind,
truthful, brave boy; and I shall always be so proud of you. Give my
love to "all the boys " and to mother and grandmother. — Affectionately,
Your Father.1
The promotion and relief from court duty both came promptly.
October 31. — A dispatch from Adjutant-General Buckingham an
nounces my promotion to lieutenant-colonel vice Matthews, and James
M. Comly as major.2
Camp Tompkins, Virginia, November 2, 1861. — I am about to return
to my regiment six or eight miles up New River at Camp Ewing. I shall
probably be comfortably settled there to-night. . . . We had a noisy
day yesterday. A lot of Floyd's men (we suppose) have got on the
other side of the river with cannon. They tried to sink our ferryboats
to prevent our crossing Gauley River at the bridge (now ferry, for Wise
destroyed the bridge). They made it so hazardous during the day that
all teams were stopped; but during the night the ferry did double duty,
so that the usual crossing required in twenty-four hours was safely done.
Both sides fired cannon and musketry at each other several hours, but
the distance was too great to do harm. We had two wounded and
thought we did them immense damage. They probably suffered little,
or no less, but probably imagined that they were seriously cutting us.
So we all see it. Our side does wonders always! We are not accurately
informed about these Rebels, but appearances do not make them for
midable. They can't attack us. The only danger is that they may get
below on the Kanawha and catch a steamboat before we drive them off.
I wish you could see such a battle. No danger, and yet enough sense of
peril excited to make all engaged very enthusiastic. The echoes of the
cannon and bursting shells through the mountain denies were wonder
ful. I spent the day with two soldiers making a reconnaissance — that is
to say, trying to find out the enemy's exact position, strength, etc. We
did some hard climbing, and were in as much danger as anybody else,
that is, none at all. One while the spent rifle balls fell in our neighbor
hood, but they had n't force enough to penetrate clothing, even if they
should hit. It 's a great thing to have a rapid river and a mountain gorge
between hostile armies!3
1 Letter to Birchard A. Hayes. 2 Diary.
3 Letter to Mrs. Hayes.

IN WINTER QUARTERS 151
November 8, Sunday. — Yesterday and to-day it has been rainy,
stormy and disagreeable. I came up to my regiment yesterday as lieu
tenant-colonel. The men and officers seemed pleased with my promo
tion. . . . A. M. Flicklin, of Charlottesville, Virginia, a brother-in-law
of Mrs. Colonel Tompkins, came with her bearing a flag of truce. He
stayed with us last night. He is an agreeable, fair-minded, intelligent
gentleman of substance, formerly, and perhaps now, a stage proprietor
and mail carrier. He says he entertains not the shadow of a doubt that
the Confederate States will achieve independence. He says the whole
people will spend and be spent to the last before they will yield. On
asking him, "Suppose, on the expiration of Lincoln's term, a States'
rights Democrat shall be elected President, what will be the disposition
of the South towards him? " he replied hesitatingly, as if puzzled, and
seemed to feel that the chief objection to the Union would be removed.
So it's Lincoln, Black Republican, prejudice, a name, that is at the
bottom of it all. His account of things goes to show that great pains
have been taken to drill and discipline the Rebel troops, and that their
cavalry are especially fine.1
Camp Ewing, November 5. — We are having stirring times again. The
enemy has got a force and some cannon on the other side of New River
and are trying to shell such of our camps as lie near the river bank. We
are just out of reach of their shot. McCook, in sight of us below, is
camped in easy range, and they are peppering at him I hear their guns
every two or three minutes as I write. He does n't like to move, and
probably will not until they do him some serious harm. They fired all
day yesterday without doing any other mischief than breaking one tent
pole. A ball or shell would hardly light before his men would run with
picks to dig it up as a trophy. It is probable that we shall cross the
river to attempt to drive them off in a day or two. You will know the
result long before this letter reaches you.2
Camp Ewing, November 9. — I wish you could see how we live. We
have clothing and provisions in abundance, if men were all thrifty, food
enough and good enough in spite of unthrift. Blankets, stockings,
undershirts, drawers, and shoes are always welcome. These articles or
substitutes are pretty nearly the only things the soldiers' aid societies
need to send. India rubber or oil-cloth capes, or the like, are not quite
abundant enough. Our tents are floored with loose boards taken from
deserted secession barns and houses. For warmth we have a few stoves,
but generally fires in trenches in front of the tents or in little ovens or
furnaces formed by digging a hole a foot deep by a foot and a half wide
and leading under the sides of the tent — the smoke passing up through
chimneys made of barrels, or sticks, crossed cob-house fashion, daubed
with mud. 1 Diary. l Letter to Mrs. Hayes.

152 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
There is not much suffering from cold or wet. The sickness is gener
ally camp fever — a typhoid fever not produced I think by any defect
in food, clothing, or shelter. Officers who are generally more comfortably
provided than the privates suffer quite as much as the men — indeed,
rather more in our regiment. Besides, the people residing here have a
similar fever. Exposure in the night and to bad weather in a mountain
climate to which our men are not accustomed seems to cause the sick
ness, irrespective of all other circumstances. . . .
I never was healthier in my life. I do not by any means consider my
self safe from the fever, however, if we remain in our present location,
higher up in the mountains than any other regiment. If I should find
myself having any of the symptoms I shall instantly come home. Those
who have done so have all recovered within a week or two, and been able
to return to duty. I do not notice any second attacks although I
suppose they sometimes occur. Other regiments have had more deaths
than we have had, but not generally a larger sick list.
Our men are extremely well behaved, orderly, obedient, and cheerful.
I can think of no instance in which any man has ever been in the slight
est degree insolent or sullen in his manner towards me. During the last
week the enemy have made an attempt to dislodge us from our position
by firing shot and shell at our camps from the opposite side of New River.
For three days there was cannonading during the greater part of day
light of each day. Nothing purporting to be warfare could possibly be
more harmless. I knew of two or three being wounded, and have heard
that one man was killed. They have given it up as a failure and I do not
expect to see it repeated. . . .
The newspapers do great mischief by allowing false and exaggerated
accounts of suffering here to be published. It checks enlistments. The
truth is, it is a rare thing for a good soldier to find much cause for com
plaint. But I suppose the public are getting to understand this. I would
not say anything to stop benevolent people from contributing such
articles of clothing and bedding as I have described. These articles are
always put to good use.1
November 10. — Went with Colonel Scammon, Captain Crane, and
Lieutenant Avery to Pepper-box Knob and looked over into enemy's
camps on south side of New River; thence with Avery to Townsend's
Ferry — the proposed crossing place. Most romantic views of the deep
mountain gorge of New River near the ferry. Climbed down and up the
hill by aid of ropes. Two Rebel soldiers got up an extempore skiff just
opposite where our men were getting our skiffs and crept down the cliffs.
They came over and were caught by our men as they landed. They were
naturally surprised and frightened. A third was seen on the other bank
who escaped. So our scheme is by this time suspected by the enemy.2
1 Letter to Hayes's mother. J
* Diary.

IN WINTER QUARTERS 153
November 13. — We left all baggage early in the morning except what
the men could carry and started down to Gauley to pursue Floyd, or
rather to attack him. Had a good march down to Gauley — the whole
Third Brigade under General Schenck. Weather warm as summer —
almost hot. Crossed New River at a ferry near its mouth worked by
Captain Lane and his good men, thence down left bank of the Kanawha
to the road from Montgomery's Ferry to FayetteVille, thence about two
miles to Huddleston's farm where we bivouacked among briars and
devil's needles; officers in corn fodder in a crib. The band played its
best tunes as we crossed New River, Captain Lane remarking, "I little
hoped to see such a sight a week ago when the enemy were cannonading
us." About 10.30 o'clock General Schenck got a dispatch from General
Benham saying Floyd was on the run and he in pursuit, and urging us to
follow. At midnight the men were aroused and at one we were on the
way.1 November 14. — Thursday. — A dark, cold, rainy morning; marching
before daylight in pitchy darkness. (Mem.: Night marches should only
be made in extremest cases; men can go farther between daylight and
dark than between midnight and dark of next day, and be less womout.)
We stopped in the dark, built fires and remained until daylight;
when we pushed on in mud and rain past enemy's entrenchments on
Dickinson's farm to Fayetteville where we arrived about eight or nine
a.m. After passing enemy's works the road strewed with axes, picks,
tents, etc., etc., — the debris of Floyd's retreating army. Fayetteville,
a pretty village, deserted by men and by all but a few women. We quar
tered with Mrs. Manser; her secession lord gone with Floyd. We heard,
P.M., of General Benham's skirmishers killing Colonel St. George Cro-
ghan to-day — colonel of Rebel cavalry and son of Colonel George
Croghan of Fort Stephenson celebrity. Died in a bad cause, but Father
O'Higgins of the Tenth says he behaved like a Christian gentleman.
Colonel Smith wears his sword — shot through the sword-belt.2
November 15. — General Benham's brigade returned from the pursuit
of Floyd. He runs like a quarter horse. One of the servants says that
when Floyd was here (Fayetteville) Mrs. Manser said she hoped he
would n't leave. He replied, "I assure you, madam, I'll not leave Cot
ton Hill until compelled by death or the order of the Secretary of War,"
and, added the darky, "the next I saw of him he was running by as fast
as he could tar." 3
November 17. — I was sent in command of one hundred men of the
Twenty-third and one hundred of Twenty-sixth six miles towards Raleigh
to Blake's to watch a road on which it was thought Colonel Jenkins's
Rebel cavalry might pass with prisoners and plunder from Guyandotte.
i Diary. ' Diary. • Diary.

154 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
We bivouacked on the snow in fence corners — ice half-inch thick —
and passed the night not uncomfortably at all. A party of Rebels from
Floyd's army met us here with a flag of truce. Had a good little chat
with several of them. They did not seem at all averse to friendly ap
proaches. It seemed absurd to be fighting such civil and friendly fel
lows. I thought they were not so full of fight as our men — acted sick of
it. One youngster, a lieutenant in Phillips's Legion, T. H. Kennon of
Milledgeville, Georgia, wanted to buy back his little sorrel mare, which
we had captured — a pleasant fellow. They were after Croghan's
body.1 Fayetteville, Virginia, November 19 (Tuesday), 1861. — We are
housed comfortably in a fine village deserted by its people, leaving us
capital winter quarters. Floyd intended to winter here, but since his
retreat we are left in possession. We have had severe marching — two
nights out without tents, one in the rain, and one on the snow. We stood
it well, not a man sick of those who were well — and the sick all improv
ing, due to the clear, frosty weather. Dr. Joe is reading with much sat
isfaction the news of the success of our fleet. It is most important. We
are hoping to stay here for the winter if we do not leave Virginia. It is
much the best place we have been in. All or nearly all the people gone,
fine houses, forage, healthy location, etc., etc. . . . We are now entirely
clear of the enemy. I met a party of Georgians yesterday with a flag of
truce — had a good friendly chat with them. They are no doubt brave,
fine fellows, but not hardy or persevering enough for this work. They
really envied us our healthy and rugged men. They are tired of it,
heartily.2 Fayetteville, Virginia, November 25. — I rode yesterday over Cotton
Hill and along New River, a distance of thirty miles. I was alone most
of the day, and could enjoy scenes made still wilder by the wintry storm.
We do not yet hear of any murders by "bushwhackers" in this part
of Virginia, and can go where we choose without apprehension of
danger. We meet very few men; the poor women excite our sympathy
constantly. A great share of the calamities of war fall on the women.
I see women, unused to hard labor, gathering corn to keep starvation
from the door. I am now in command of the post here, and a large part
of my time is occupied in hearing tales of distress and trying to soften
the ills the armies have brought into this country. Fortunately a very
small amount of salt, sugar, coffee, rice, and bacon goes a great ways
where all these things are luxuries, no longer procurable in the ordinary
way. We try to pay for the mischief we do in destroying corn, hay, etc.,
etc., in this way.'
Fayetteville, Virginia, November 29, 1861. — We are to stay here this
winter. Our business for the next few weeks is building a couple of forts
1 Diary. 2 Letter to Mrs. Hayes. s Letter to Hayes's mother.

IN WINTER QUARTERS 155
and getting housed 1500 or 2000 men. . . . The village was a fine one,
pretty gardens, fruit, flowers, and pleasant homes. All natives gone
except three or four families of ladies. . . . We are in no immediate
danger here of anything except starvation, which you know is a slow
death and gives ample time for reflection. All our supplies come from
the head of navigation on the Kanawha over a road, remarkable for
the beauty and sublimity of its scenery, the depth of its mud, and the
dizzy precipices which bound it on either side. On yesterday one of our
bread wagons with driver and four horses missed the road four or six
inches and landed (landed is not so descriptive of the fact as lit) in the
top of a tree ninety feet high after a fall of about seventy feet. The
miracle is that the driver is here to explain that one of his leaders
"hawed" when he ought to have "geed." We are now encouraging
trains of pack mules. They do well among the scenery, but unfortu
nately part of the route is a Serbonian bog where armies whole might
sink if they have n't, and the poor mules have a time of it. The dis
tance, luckily, to navigable water is only sixteen to twenty miles. If
however the water gets low the distance will increase thirty to forty
miles, and if it freezes, why then we shall be looking to the next thaw
for victuals. We are to have a telegraph line to the world done to
morrow, and a daily mail subject to the obstacles aforesaid, so we can
send you dispatches showing exactly how our starvation progresses
from day to day. On the whole I rather like the prospect. We are most
comfortably housed and shall no doubt have a pretty jolly winter.
There will be a few weeks of busy work getting our forts ready, etc. ;
after that I can no doubt come home and visit you all for a brief

December 13. — Another beautiful winter day — cold, quiet, sun
strong enough to thaw all mud and ice. No ice on streams yet that will
bear a man. Building redoubts at either end of town. Since I came to
Virginia in July I have not shaved; for weeks at a time I have slept
in all clothes except boots — occasionally in boots, and sometimes with
spurs; a half-dozen times on the ground without shelter; once on the
snow. I have worn no white clothing (shirts, drawers, etc.) for four
months, no collar or neckerchief or tie of any sort for two months,
and have not been the least unwell until since I have taken winter
quarters here in a comfortable house. Now I have a slight cold.2
December 16. — Rode with Colonel Scammon to Townsend's Ferry;
that is we rode to the top of the cliffs on New River, thence with six men
of Company B we scrambled down by the path to the river, perhaps by
the path three quarters of a mile. A steep rocky gorge, a rushing river,
the high precipices, all together make a romantic scene. It was here
we intended to cross with General Schenck's brigade to cut off Floyd's
1 Letter to Laura Piatt, a niece. ! Diary.

156 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
retreat. Boats were prepared, four skiffs brought from Cincinnati, but
the river rose just as we were about to cross, making it impossible. It
has always been a question since whether the enemy were aware of our
purpose and would have opposed our crossing. I supposed that so much
work preparing could not have escaped their notice, and that they were
ready for us. Opposition on such a path would have been fatal. From
all I saw at the ferry I am inclined to think they knew nothing of our
purpose. There are no signs of pickets or ambuscades to be found on
this side. The distance from the river to the village is only two miles
and we could probably have taken it and held it. The bold enterprises
are the successful ones. Take counsel of hopes rather than of fears to
win in this business.1
December 21. — It is rumored that Great Britain will declare war on
account of the seizure of Slidell and Mason. I think not. It will blow
over. First, bluster and high words; then, correspondence and diplo
macy; finally, peace. But if war, what then? First, it will be a trying, a
severe, and dreadful trial of our stuff. We shall suffer, but we will stand
it. All the Democratic element, now grumbling and discontented, must
then rouse up to fight their ancient enemies, the British. The South
too, — will not thousands there be turned towards us by seeing their
strange allies? If not, shall we not with one voice arm and emancipate
the slaves? A civil, sectional, foreign, and servile war — shall we not
have horrors enough? Well, I am ready for my share of it. We are
in the right and must prevail.2
December 23. — I have just heard by telegraph of the birth of my
fourth son. In these times, boys are to be preferred to girls. . . . Yes,
we are in winter quarters — most comfortable quarters. I have to my
self as nice a room as your large room, papered, carpeted, a box full of
wood, and with a wild snowstorm blowing outside to make it more
comfortable by contrast. We have had eighteen days of fine weather to
get ready in, and are in pretty good condition. We have our telegraph
line running down to civilization — get Cincinnati papers irregularly
from four to ten days old. I have enjoyed the month here very much.
Busy fortifying — not quite ready yet, but a few more days of good
weather will put us in readiness for any force. The enemy are disheart
ened; the masses of the people want to stop. If England does not step
in, or some great disaster befall us, we shall conquer the Rebellion
beyond doubt, and at no distant period.8
The close of the year saw the Union forces in control of the
situation in western Virginia. The Rebels had been beaten and
forced back at every point. The President in his annual message
1 Diary. * Diary. - Letter to Sardis Birchard.

IN WINTER QUARTERS 157
could say : "After a somewhat bloody struggle of months, winter
closes on the Union people of western Virginia, leaving them
masters of their own country."
New Year's Day, 1862, in the mountains of Virginia dawned
bright and clear, following twenty-six fine days in December.
The conditions favoring military operations kept Hayes and his
command on the alert to check any advance of the enemy. Win
ter quarters remained at Fayetteville, but there was much ardu
ous campaigning in the surrounding region and plans were made
for pushing farther to the south. The diary and letters continue
to tell the story of events: —
Camp Union, Fayetteville, Virginia, January 2. — Major Comly re
ports finding about 120 muskets concealed in and about Raleigh; also
twelve or fifteen contrabands arrived. What to do with them is not so
troublesome yet as at the East. Officers and soldiers employ them as
cooks and servants. Some go on to Ohio. Nobody in this army thinks
of giving up to Rebels their fugitive slaves. Union men might, perhaps,
be differently dealt with — probably would be. If no doubt of their
loyalty, I suppose they would again get their slaves. The man who re
pudiates all obligations under the Constitution and laws of the United
States is to be treated as having forfeited those rights which depend
solely on the laws and Constitution. I don't want to see Congress
meddling with the slavery question. Time and progress of events are
solving all the questions arising out of slavery, in a way consistent with
eternal principles of justice. Slavery is getting deathblows. As an
"institution" it perishes in this war. It will take years to get rid of its
d6bris, but the "sacred" is gone.1
A few weeks later there is an advance in opinion. The slow
progress made in suppressing the "insurrection" leads to reflec
tions on the most certain way to end the conflict: —
I am gradually drifting to the opinion that thisJRebellion can only
be crushed finally by either the execution of all the traitors or the aboli
tion ofslayery. Crushed, I mean, so as to remove all danger of its break-
ing~out again_in the^future. Let the border States, in which there is
Union sentiment enough to sustain loyal State Governments, dispose
of slavery in their own way; abolish it in the permanently disloyal
States — in the cotton States — that is, .set free _the_slaxes. of. Rebels.
This will come, I hope, if it is found that a stubborn and prolonged re
sistance is likely to be made in the cotton States. President Lincoln's
message, recommending the passage of a resolution pledging the aid of
1 Diary.

158 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
the general Government to States which shall adopt schemes of gradual
emancipation, seems to me to indicate that the result I look for is an
ticipated by the Administration. I hope it is so.1
January 3. — Charles, an honest-looking contraband, six feet high,
stout-built, thirty-six years old — wife sold South five years ago —
came in to-day, from Union, Monroe County. He gives me such items
as the following: "Footing boots, $9 to $10; new boots, $18 to $20;
shoes, $4 to $4.50; sugar, 25 to 30 cents; coffee, 62| cents; tea, $1.50;
soda, 62j; salt, $24 a sack; bleached cotton domestic, 40 to 50 cents. . . .
Companies broken up in the Rebel armies by furloughs and sickness.
Rich men's sons get discharges. Patrols put out to keep slaves at home.
They tell slaves that the Yankees cut off arms of some negroes to make
them worthless and sell the rest in Cuba for $2500 each to pay cost of
the war. — 'No Northern gentlemen fight; only factory men thrown
out of employ.' They [the negroes] will fight for the North, if they find
the Northerners such as they think them. They 'press' the poor folks'
horses and teams, not the rich folks'. The poor folks grumble at being
compelled to act as patrols to keep rich men's negroes from running off.
When I came with my party, eleven of us, in sight of your pickets, I
hardly knew what to do. If you were such people as they had told us
we would suffer. Some of the party turned to run. A man with a gun
called out 'Halt!' I saw through the fence three more with guns. They
asked, 'Who comes there?' I called out, 'Friends.' The soldier who
had his gun raised dropped it and said, 'Boys, these are some more of
our colored friends,' and told us to come on, not to be afraid, that we
were safe. Oh, I never felt so in my life. I could cry, I was so full of joy.
And I found them and the Major [Comly] and all I have seen so friendly,
such perfect gentlemen, just as we hoped you were, but not as they told
us you were." 2
But the Unionists living within the military lines of the Con
federate Government had to pay dearly for the fugitives who
made their way to the Union forces. Numbers of them were
murdered, all were robbed, and marked for future depredations.
A court was held at Huntersville in January, and the magistrates
were compelled to levy a tax upon the people to pay for the
slaves who had recently run away from Pocohontas County.3
January 4- — Major Comly calls his camp at Raleigh "Camp
Hayes." It rained last night as if bent to make up for the long drouth.
Foggy this morning, warm and muddy enough to stop all advances. —
Besides, yesterday, the Twenty-sixth Regiment was ordered from here
to Kentucky. Two other regiments go from below. Ten regiments from
1 Diary, March 27, 1862. 2 Diary. » Wheeling Intelligencer.

IN WINTER QUARTERS 159
New York in same direction. Such an immense force as is gathering
ought to open the Mississippi River, capture Memphis, New Orleans,
and Nashville before the heat of summer closes operations on that line.
Oh, for energy — go-ahead! With horses here we could do wonders,1
but such a rain as last night forbids any extensive movements.2
Hayes had hoped that his regiment would be transferred to
Kentucky or to some other field. The service in the mountains
of Virginia was important, but it was unsatisfactory because it
offered no opportunity for his regiment to be made part of a
great army and to participate in large movements. The desire
for a wider field was natural; but when a fellow officer expressed
the opinion that the Twenty-third Ohio was unfairly treated
he repelled the imputation: "Don't think our position an in
significant one. We make more captives and do more than any
regiment I have yet heard of in Kentucky."
January 7. — Since writing you a deep snow has fallen, postponing
indefinitely all extensive movements southward. We shall have a thaw
after the snow, then floods, bad roads for nobody knows how long, and
so forth, which will keep us in our comfortable quarters here for the
present at least. 1 shall not leave for home in less than three weeks.
... I sent Laura some letters written by lovers, wives, and sisters to
Rebels in Floyd's army. The captured mails on either side afford curi
ous reading. They are much like other folks, these Rebel sweethearts,
wives, and sisters. I trust we shall crush out the Rebellion rapidly. The
masses South have been greatly imposed on by people who were well
informed. I often wish I could see the people of this village when they
return to their homes. On the left of me is a pleasant cottage; the sol
diers, to increase their quarters, have built on three sides of it, the awk-
wardest possible shanty extensions; one side has a prodigious stone and
mud chimney, big enough for great logs ten feet in length. On three of
the prominent bills of the village, considerable earthworks have been
built; there are no fences in sight, except around the three buildings
occupied by leading officers. Such is war. — One young lady writing
to her lover, speaks of a Federal officer she had met, and laments that
so nice a gentleman should be in the Union army.'
1 Hayes recurs to this idea about cavalry in a letter to his brother-in-law,
William A. Piatt, January 28: "We are a good deal in the field just now, and
have made some good moves lately, considering the weakness of our force, and
that we had but forty cavalrymen. I see in the papers a good deal said about
'too much cavalry accepted.' If we had only five hundred now, we could do more
injury to the enemy than has yet been done by the Port Royal expedition."
! Diary.
5 Letter to Mrs. Hayes.

160 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
January 7. — The day before Christmas Private Harrison Brown,
Company B, stole a turkey from a countryman who came in to sell it.
I made Brown pay for it fifty cents, and sent him to the guardhouse
over Christmas. I hated to do it. He is an active, bright soldier, full
of sport and lawless, but trusty, brave, and strong. He just came in to
offer me a quarter of venison, thus "heaping coals of fire on my head."
He probably appreciated my disagreeable duty as well as any one, and
took no offense.1
January 12 (Fayetteville). — We are letting a good many of our sol
diers go home now that the snow, rain, and thaw have spoiled the roads.
Joe 2 seems worried that we are not holding somebody's horses in the
" Grand Army " (a f oolish phrase) in Kentucky. We are, or rather have
been, having our share of enterprises toward the jugular vein of rebel-
dom — the Southwest Virginia Railroad — and have captured pris
oners and arms in quantity. I was out beyond Raleigh (Camp Hayes)
last week and returned the day before yesterday. Such consternation
as spread among the Rebels on the advance of our troops was curious
to behold. The advance party went fifty miles from here. People pro
posed to go as far up as Dublin Depot. Regiments were sent for to
Richmond; rumor said two bodies of Yankees one thousand strong were
approaching, one on each bank of New River. The militia of five coun
ties were called out, and a high time generally got up. There are many
Union men south of here who kept us well posted on Rebel movements.
Major Comly is left at Raleigh, and I feel somewhat apprehensive about
him. Since the Twenty-sixth has been recalled I am in command of the
post here. I shall send home a sabre captured by Company G on the
late trip up New River towards the railroad. It is one of a dozen taken,
which belonged to a company of Richmond cavalry commanded by
Captain Caskie. . . .
You will send Joe off as soon as it is safe for him to go. I am always
amused with his talk on one subject. He is resolved to consider our regi
ment as a much abused and neglected one. We were in about the only
successful campaign made last summer. We have the best winter quar
ters in the United States. He thinks we can't be favorites of General
Rosecrans because he don't send us away to Kentucky or somewhere
else ! And so on. Joe seems to feel as if something was wrong about the
regiment ; as if he would like to leave it, etc., etc. Now, if he is not satis
fied with it, I will do all I can to get him a place in another regiment.
Don't let him stay in this on my account. I am liable to leave it at any
time, and I really don't want anybody in high position in the regiment
who is dissatisfied, and particularly, if he is a friend or relation of mine.
I feel a duty in this matter. The happiness of several hundred men is
affected more or less, if one of the prominent officers allows himself to
be habitually out of sorts about things. You may show this to Joe.
1 Diary. 2 His brother-in-law, Dr. Joseph T. Webb.

IN WINTER QUARTERS 161
Don't let there be any misunderstanding. I prefer greatly, that Dr. Joe
should be our surgeon, but if he feels that he can't return to western
Virginia, or go anywhere else that the chances of war may take us with
out feeling injured and soured, then my preference is that he do not
come. ... I ought not to trouble you with this, but it is written, and
you will not think me unkind, will you? x
January H. — My old veteran, Orderly Gray, says it makes his flesh
creep to see the way soldiers enter officers' quarters, hats on, just as
if they were in civil life! — The Twenty-sixth Regiment left to-day.
Spent the afternoon looking over a trunkful of old letters, deeds, docu
ments, etc., belonging to General Alfred Beckley. They were buried in
the graveyard near General Beckley's at Raleigh. Some letters of mo
ment showing the early and earnest part taken by Colonel Tompkins in
the Rebellion. The general Union and conservative feeling of General
Beckley is shown in letters carefully preserved in his letter-book. Two
letters to Major Anderson full of patriotism, love of the Union and of
the Stars and Stripes — replies written, one the day after Major Ander
son went into Sumter, the other much later. His (General Beckley's)
desire was really for the Union. He was of West Point education. Out
of deference to popular sentiment he qualified his Unionism by saying,
"Virginia would stay in the Union as long as she could consistently with
honor." 2
January 15. — Two more contrabands yesterday. These runaways
are bright fellows. As a body they are superior to the average of the
uneducated white population of the State, who are unenterprising, lazy,
narrow, listless, and careless of consequences to the country, if their own
lives and property are safe. Slavery leaves one class, the wealthy, with
leisure for cultivation — for intellectual enjoyment. They are usually
intelligent, well-bred, brave, and high-spirited. The rest are serfs. . . .
I discharged three suspected persons heretofore under arrest; all took
the oath. Two I thought too old to do mischief. One I thought possibly
honest and gave him the benefit of the possibility.3
January 17. — We hear of the resignation of Cameron and Welles.
What does this mean? I think we must gain by it. I hope such men as
Holt and Stanton will take their places. If so, the nation will not lose
by the change.4
January 18. — All important movements everywhere are stopped by
the rain and mud already. Still further "postponement on account of
the weather." How impatiently we look for action on Green River; at
Cairo! As to the Potomac, all hope of work in that quarter seems to
be abandoned. Why don't they try to flank the Rebels — get at their
1 Letter to Mrs. Hayes. 2 Diary. 3 Diary. * Diary.

162 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
communications in the rear? But patienee! Here we are in a good posi
tion to get in the rear via two railroads. Suppose two, or even three or
four bodies of men were to start, one by way of Lewisburg for White
Sulphur Springs and Jackson Depot; one via Peterstown and Union east
side of New River for Central Depot; one via Princeton and Parisburg,
right bank of New River for Dublin; and another via Logan Court
House for some point lower down on the railroad. . . .
The scenery of New River is attractive. The river runs in a deep
gorge cut through the rocks to a depth varying from one thousand to
two thousand feet. The precipitous cliffs are occasionally cut through
by streams running into the river. The rapid rushing river and brawling
mountain streams furnish many fine views. The "Glades," a level re
gion near Braxton and Webster Counties, where streams rise, and a
similar region, called the "Marshes of Cool," are the battle grounds of
this part of western Virginia. Braxton and Webster are the haunts of
the worst Rebel bushwhackers of the country. Steep mountains, deep
gorges, and glens afford them hiding-places. They are annoying, but
not dangerous except to couriers, mail carriers, and very small parties.
They shoot from too great a distance at large parties to do much harm.1
Rumors of activity in other parts of the country penetrate the
mountain district and are joyfully received. "What we want,"
Hayes wrote, January 19, "is greater energy, more drive, more
enterprise, not unaccompanied with caution and vigilance."
A few days later came the news of Thomas's great victory over
Zollicoffer at Mills Springs. The only dash to the satisfaction
this gave was the first report that Colonel Robert McCook,
of the Ninth Ohio, was dangerously wounded. "Later: — not
seriously but gloriously wounded."
I am delighted with the Kentucky victory, and particularly that
my friend McCook and his regiment take the honors. We were good
friends before the war, but much more intimately so since we came
into service.2
1 Diary. The following agreement captured by Colonel Hayes's men ex
plains the guerrilla "principles." It is given here verbatim et literatim : —
"We the undersigned do heartily constitute ourselves into a company of
guerillas, known by the name of the flat top copperheads, for the purpose of de
fending our immediate country, our Western Va. against the invation of the Yan-
keys. We Bind ourselves By Every obligation of honor and patternage, to obey
the command of our officers and to be true and faithful to the confederate states
of America, and to be true to our selves and families and serve for the during
term of six months Except sooner discharged. March 26th, 1862." (Signed by
C. F. Foley, Captain, and over eighty others.)
2 Letter to Mrs. Hayes.

GUERRILLAS 163
January 22. — Three prisoners brought down last night. Captain
McVey, a bushwhacking captain, armed with sword and rifle, was ap
proaching a Union citizen's house to capture him, when the Union
man, hearing of it, hid behind a log, drew a bead on "secesh" as he
approached, called out to him to lay down his arms, which "secesh"
prudently did, and thereupon the victor marched him to our camp at
Raleigh. Another prisoner, a son of General Beckley, aged about six
teen. Why he was taken I don't understand. He carried dispatches
when the militia was out under his father, but seems intelligent and
well disposed. Disliking to see one so young packed into a crowded
guardhouse (thinking of Birch and Webb, too), I took him to my own
quarters and shared my bed with him last night.1
January 24. — Alfred Beckley, Jr., left with a pledge to return if he
failed to get exchanged for young Henderson of Company H, Twenty-
third, the captured scout.2
The release of the favorite scout was obtained by young
Beckley.3 When Hayes was at Raleigh again some time after this
event, he writes: — ¦
Mrs. General Beckley called with another lady. Mrs. Beckley, in
tears, said her husband was at home, and had concluded to surrender
himself; that she had n't seen or heard from him for three months;
hoped we would n't send him to Columbus, etc. In his letter, he pledged
his honor not to oppose the United States, and to behave as a loyal
citizen. I called to see him; found him an agreeable old gentleman of
sixty; converses readily and entertainingly. Told an anecdote of Gen
eral Jackson capitally. He said Old Hickory's hair bristled up, his eyes
shot fire, and his iron features became more prominent as, in a passion,
raising both hands, he said (speaking of a postmaster Beckley wished
to retain in office and who had himself taken no active part against
General Jackson, but whose clerks had been against the general):
"What if the head is still when both hands are at work against me?" —
shaking his hands outstretched and in a towering passion. The lieu
tenant then subsided in the presence of such wrath. General Beckley
thinks western Virginia is given up to us, and that his duty is to go
with his home — to submit to the powers that be. I agreed to his views
generally, and told him I would recommend General Cox to assent to
his surrender on the terms proposed.4
1 Diary. 2 Diary.
3 " He left Richmond February 23. He is called ' Cleveland ' by his company,
from the place of his enlistment. Others call him 'the pet lamb,' from his deli
cate and youthful appearance. He is a quiet, observing, enterprising youngster
— slender, sickly-looking, amiable; runs all risks, endures all hardships, and
seems to enjoy it. A scout in fact, he is in constant danger of being taken for a
spy. " (Diary, March 14.) l Diary.

164 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
But this lenity was not approved. In due course an order was
received requiring General Beckley to be arrested and taken to
Wheeling. His wife and family felt grieved enough. The general
said he recognized the propriety of it and did not complain.
January 30. — People constantly come who are on their way to Ohio,
Indiana, or other Western States. Many of them young men who are
foot-loose — tired of the war. No employment, poor pay, etc., is driv
ing the laboring white people from the slave States. Mr. Ellison and his
wife and little boy are here to see their son John R. who is a prisoner in
our guardhouse to be sent to the government prison at Columbus as a
prisoner of war. They seem glad to find their son safe out of the Rebel
ranks and not at all averse to his going to Columbus as a prisoner of war.
Their only fear seems to be that he will be exchanged into the Rebel
army again.1
Having obtained leave of absence Hayes started for Ohio
February 1. On his way down the Kanawha, he visited General
Cox at Charleston. "A good talk — a sound man — excellent
sense. Heard the church bells at Charleston, the first for six
months. A home sound." The weeks of absence were pleasantly
spent at home with visits to Columbus, Delaware, and Fremont.
The last day of February found Hayes again at Fayetteville.
Then followed several weeks of bad weather, snows and heavy
rains and bottomless mud, which rendered military movements
exceedingly difficult, if not impossible. The Twenty- third Regi
ment was soon all concentrated at Raleigh, where several com
panies had been since early in the winter under Major Comly.
Small detachments were constantly sent out to scour the sur
rounding hills for bushwhackers, of whom many were captured.
Virginians, fleeing from the Confederate draft, were received and
helped on their way to the North and West. The regiment was
drilled whenever "falling weather" (to use the locution of the
mountains) did not forbid, and preparations were made for a
forward movement toward the East Tennessee and Virginia
Railroad as soon as roads and weather permitted. About the
middle of March General Fremont was placed in command of
the Mountain Department. The brigade of which the Twenty-
third Regiment was part belonged to the division of General
J. D. Cox which constituted the extreme right wing of Fremont's
1 Diary.

GUERRILLAS 165
army. The Twenty-third Regiment occupied at Raleigh the
most advanced position when spring opened. The brigade was
under command of Colonel Scammon; and Hayes was in com
mand of his regiment. The men of the brigade were in fine
condition for service — nearly all were well and strong. They had
learned their trade; they marched with the elastic step and the
precision of veterans; they had faith in themselves and confi
dence in their leaders. Open-air life was so exhilarating that
Hayes often felt that indoor life was unworthy of manhood.
"How the blood leaps and thrills through the veins as we race
over the hills," he says. "Physical enjoyments of this sort are
worth a war. How the manly, generous, brave side of our people
is growing. With all its evils war has its glorious compensations."
Fayetteville, March 11. — The last of the Twenty-third quartered in
Fayetteville is gone. Camp Hayes, Raleigh, headquarters henceforth.
Heard of the evacuation of Manassas. How did they do it undisturbed?
What was McClellan doing ? A great victory over the combined forces
of Van Dorn, Price, McCulloch, and Mcintosh reported to have oc
curred in Arkansas.1
March 12. — A bright warm day. I go to Raleigh, bidding good
bye to Fayetteville. We entered Fayetteville either the 13th or 14th
of November; four months in one home — not unpleasant months con
sidering the winter weather of this region. Rode to Raleigh on my new
bright bay; a good ride; reached Raleigh just as our regiment was
forming for dress parade; eight companies in line — looked large. Was
greeted warmly. I gave them the news of the evacuation of Manassas
and the victory in Arkansas. Three cheers given for the news, three
more for General Curtis, and three for the Colonel (?). All seemed
pleased to be again together. How well they looked! The band is in
capital condition. How I love the Twenty-third! I would rather com
mand it as lieutenant-colonel than to command another regiment as
colonel.2 Raleigh, March 16. — I am here in command of nine companies of
the Twenty-third, one section (two guns) of an artillery company (thirty
men), and one company of cavalry. We are quartered in the court
house, churches, and deserted dwellings. It is near the spurs of the
Alleghany Mountains, which about twenty miles from here are filled
with militia. A few regulars and bushwhackers are just in front of us.
We are kept on the alert all the time. ... As a general rule, we get the
1 Diary. ! Diary.

166 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
better of the bushwhackers in these affairs. There is no hesitation on
our part in doing what seems to be required for self -protection.1
March 18. — A queer prisoner brought in from New River by Rich
mond. — Richmond who is a resolute Union citizen was taken prisoner
at his house by three Rebels — two dragoons and a bushwhacker. One
of the dragoons took Richmond behind him and off they went. On the
way . . . Richmond drew his pocket knife slyly from his pocket, caught
the dragoon before him by his hair behind and cut his throat and
stabbed him. Both fell from the horse together. Richmond cut the
strap holding the dragoon's rifle, took it and killed a second; the third
escaped, and Richmond ran to our camp.2 — Jesse Reese, brought in
as a spy by Richmond, says he is a tailor; was going to Greenbrier to
collect money due him. Says he married when he was about fifty; they
got married because they were both orphans and alone in the world.3
March 19. — "About noon a gentleman rode up and inquired for the
colonel commanding. He turned out to be Clifton W. Tayleure, a local
editor formerly of Baltimore American, lately of Richmond Enquirer.
Left Richmond a week ago to avoid the draft. All between eighteen and
forty-five to be drafted to fill up the old regiments; all between sixteen
and eighteen, and forty-five and fifty-five, to be enrolled as home guards
to protect the homes and guard the slaves. He is a South Carolinian by
birth, lived there until he was fifteen; came North; has been a "local"
in various cities since; has a family in Baltimore; went to Richmond
to look after property in August last; could n't get away before; got off
by passes procured by good luck, etc., etc.; is a Union man by prefer
ence, principle, etc. This is his story. He is about thirty-three years of
age, of prepossessing appearance, intelligent, and agreeable. Gives us
interesting accounts of things in the capital of secession. Says the
tradespeople are anxious for peace, ready for the restoration of the old
Union. He seems to be truthful. I shall give him a pass to General Cox,
there to be dealt with as the general sees fit.4
1 Letter to Sardis Birchard. — Men that promised to keep the peace had noth
ing to fear. Hayes issued this notice: "No citizen who remains peaceably at home
and who neither directly nor indirectly gives aid or comfort to the enemies of
the United States will be molested in person or property by the troops under
my command." Many of the people of the region played fast and loose with
both sides. "None of the people," Hayes says, "are perfectly reliable. They
will do what is necessary to protect their property."
2 " Abram Bragg and William C. Richmond with other Union men never sleep
at home. They hide up on the hills during the night. This they have done for
two months past." (Diary, March 28.) Dr. Webb in a letter narrates the same
incident, saying in conclusion: "There is no mistake about this; he came to camp
with their two guns. His knife and coatsleeve is covered with blood. Richmond
is a trump, and two hundred such men would clear out this country of Rebels."
8 Diary.
4 Diary. — In 1885, Mr. Hayes received an interesting letter from this gentle-

GUERRILLAS 167
March 20. — Fremont at the head of our department — the Moun
tain District, western Virginia and east Tennessee. Good. I admire
the general. If he comes up to my anticipations we shall have an active
man, at that time temporarily sojourning in London. Mr. Tayleure details the
incidents attending his capture while, as correspondent of the Richmond En
quirer, he was seeking to reach General Jenifer's headquarters. Fleeing from a
bushwhacker he says: "I found myself upon the Raleigh turnpike and in the im
mediate presence of a squad of foot-soldiers belonging to the Twenty-third Ohio.
I put a bold face on it and saluting the sergeant was passing on — eastward,
when he quite courteously halted me, and asked me my name, where I was from,
and whither I was going. I gave my name, stated I was a noncombatant from
Richmond, and that I was a physician hurrying to a wounded patient. 'Of
course you have the password?' he inquired. I had not; and the man apologeti
cally told me it was then his duty to report with me at headquarters. There was
no resisting, and in a short time I stood before — Colonel Hayes of the Twenty-
third Ohio. You were so courteous to me, my dear General, so considerate when,
in reply to a question of yours, I replied I was a soldier, and begged to be excused
from answering, that you quite disarmed my hostile prejudices and inspired me
with much respect for you instead. I have never forgotten, shall never forget,
your kindness on the occasion. I pardon even the member of your staff who in
duced me to drink some bad whiskey; it flattered my pride to deal in that sort
of magnanimity; but in your case, I stood debtor to your generous dealing, and
was glad to remember the debt. One of your staff with whom I slept that night
in a dismantled house tried to shoot me as 'a spy'; another interfered and saved
my life. I am uncertain or not whether it was you, who thus interposed. It was
you, however, who next day restored my horse to me, and with no other check
upon me than the parole of a gentleman, sent me forward to Brigadier-General
Scammon, whom I only remember as a bigoted Catholic. From thence I was
sent to Major-General Cox (whom I then thought one of the handsomest men I
had ever seen), and by General Cox was paroled to report to army headquarters
in Baltimore, where, in obedience to my parole, I remained. The exposure, diffi
culties, and dangers I encountered in keeping my parole, I should not like again
to encounter. I am now a grey-haired old man, not distant I hope from the eter
nal rest I desire, and thinking to-day of the danger I had passed through, the
dear good people I had met, and been glad to meet, your own name, with the
pleasant memories it suggests, recurred to my mind. ... I would have written
you long ago, but you were high in power, or on the line of political advancement,
and I was afraid my motives would be mistaken; now, however, that I am tem
porarily absent from my native land (I am a Southerner), and you out of power,
— temporarily, I hope, — I think I may venture to thrust myself upon your at
tention, and to salute you with my best wishes and with my highest respect."
Mr. Hayes wrote Mr. Tayleure, quoting in his letter the paragraph from his
diary given in the text. Mr. Tayleure replied gratefully with further remi
niscences of the experience of 1862, especially about General , Scammon, and
added: "I don't know whether or not General Scammon is alive, but I must say
to you that I was as much annoyed at his manner, as I was impressed with your
courtesy and confidence. It would have given me pleasure to outwit General
Scammon. I would have died rather than betray your trust. When you were
President and my countrymen of the South were saluting you, the 'amen' which
my heart pronounced was as sincere a response as manhood could ask of truth.",

168 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
campaign. . . . Colonel Scammon returned, also Major Comly, to
Fayetteville. They send no news and bring no newspapers. Thoughtless
fellows ! No, I must not call the colonel fellow. He put down a country
man who came in with, "Are you the feller what rents land?" Colonel
Scammon: "In the first place I am not a feller. In the second place,
take off your hat; and in the third place, I don't rent land. There is the
door."1 March 22. — We are all feeling very hopeful. We expect to move
soon and rapidly, merely because Fremont is commander. I do not see
but this war must be soon decided. McClellan seems determined, and
I think he is able to force the retreating Manassas army to a battle, or
to an equally disastrous retreat. A victory there ends the contest, I
think. We shall be months, perhaps years, getting all the small parties
reduced, but the Rebellion, as a great peril menacing the Union, will
be ended. . . .
You ought to see what a snowstorm is blowing. "Whew!" I had a
tent put up a few days ago for an office; before I got it occupied, the
storm came on, and now it is split in twain. . . . Our regiment was never
so fine-looking as now. It is fun to see them. No deaths, I believe, for
two months, and no sickness worth mentioning. Chiefly engaged in
hunting bushwhackers. Our living is hard — the grub, I mean, and
likely not to improve; salt pork and crackers. The armies have swept
off all fresh meats and vegetables; a few eggs once in a great while.2
March 84- — The recent victories convince a great many in the re
gion south of us, that the game is up. On the other hand, the Govern
ment at Richmond is making desperate efforts to get out under arms
nearly the whole population of military age. Many are running away
from drafting. Being the extreme outpost, we see daily all sorts of queer
characters. They sometimes come in boldly; sometimes, with fear and
trembling. I am often puzzled what to do with them, but manage to
dispose of them as fast as they come. An odd, laughable incident oc
curred to Joe the other day. You know his fondness for children. He
always talks to them and generally manages to get them on his knee.
Stopping at a farmhouse, he began to make advances toward a three-
year-old boy who could scarcely talk plain enough to be understood.
The doctor said, " Come, my fine little fellow, I want to talk with you."
The urchin with a jerk turned away saying something the doctor did
not comprehend. On a second approach, the doctor made it out — " Go
to Hell, you damn Yankee!" This from the little codger was funny
enough.3 April 13. — A year ago to-day Sumter was taken. Great events,
great changes since then. The South was eager, prepared — "armed
1 Diary. « Letter to Mrs. Hayes.
,' Letter to Sardis Birchard.

GUERRILLAS 169
and equipped." The event found the North distracted, undecided,
unarmed, wholly unprepared, and helpless. Then came the rousing up
of the lion-hearted people of the North. For months, however, the
superior preparation of the South triumphed. Gradually the North —
the nation, got ready. And now the victory over Beauregard and at
[Island] No. 10, following Fort Donelson, put the Nation on firm ground
while the Rebellion is waning daily.1
Camp, south of Raleigh, April 88. — The ugly chap on the enclosed
bill is Governor Letcher, of Virginia. He is entitled to our lasting grati
tude. He is doing more for us in this State than any two brigadiers I
can think of. He has, in all the counties not occupied by our troops,
little squads of volunteers busily engaged in hunting up and "squadding
in," as they call it, all persons capable of military duty. Thousands
who wish to escape this draft, are now hiding in the mountains, or seek
ing refuge in our lines. Meantime, the rascals are plundering and
burning in all directions, making friends for the Union wherever they go.
The defeat of the enemy in eastern Virginia [will] send this cob-house
tumbling very fast.
We left Raleigh last week, and have been struggling against storms
and freshets ever since. To-day it has snowed, rained, sleeted, and
turned off bright but gusty a dozen times. Camp muddy, tents wet,
but all glad to be started.
I have for the present an independent command of the Twenty-third
Regiment, a section of McMullen's Battery, and a small body of horse.
We are the advance of Fremont's column. We are directed to move by
"easy marches" forward south, the design being, I suppose, to overtake
us in full force by the time we meet any considerable body of the enemy.
We meet and hear of small bodies of enemy now constantly, but as yet
nothing capable of serious resistance.2
v * Diary. 2 Letter to Sardis Birchard.

CHAPTER XI
1862 — RAIDING IN WEST VIRGINIA
CONSTANT rains delayed the forward movement. April 29
found Hayes's command only nine miles from Raleigh.
Foley's band of guerrillas was causing much annoyance, and on
that day Hayes dispatched Lieutenant Bottsford with Company
C on ahead, sixteen miles, to run Foley to earth. The next day
Hayes moved forward twelve miles and received word from
Bottsford "that he found Foley's nest, but the bird gone." By
6 o'clock, May 1, Hayes had his command in motion toward
Princeton, twenty-two miles to the south, which was reached at
5 p.m. In a letter to his wife, written the next day, Hayes gives
a graphic account of the exciting day's experiences: —
Princeton, Mercer Co., Virginia, May 8, 1862. — I reached yesterday
this town, after a hard day's march of twenty-two miles through deep,
slippery mud and a heavy rain, crossing many streams which had to be
waded — one waist-deep. The men stood it bravely and good-humor-
edly. To-day, only twelve are reported as excused from duty. Our ad
vance company (C) had a severe battle.1 Seventy-five of them were at
tacked by two hundred and forty of Jenkins's Cavalry (now Jenifer's)
[dismounted] with seventy-seven of Foley's guerrillas. The battle lasted
twenty minutes, when the Rebels fled, leaving their killed and wounded
on the ground. One of our men was killed outright, three mortally
wounded, and seventeen others more or less severely injured. The
whole regiment came up in a few moments, hearing the firing; didn't
they cheer us? As I rode up, they saluted with a "Present arms."
1 " The company was in line ready to move off to return to camp, when they saw
a party of bushwhackers coming down the road who called out (Captain Foley
called): 'Don't fire. We're Richmond's men.' Immediately after, a volley
was fired into our men from all sides. They were surrounded by three hundred
' secesh.' Finding the attack so heavy, Company C was ordered by Lieutenant
Bottsford to take shelter in the log house where they had quartered. They kept
up such a spirited fire that the enemy retreated, leaving four dead, four mor
tally, four more dangerously, wounded. All these we got. Captain Foley had his
shoulder broken. The enemy fled in confusion. This was a splendid victory for
Lieutenant Bottsford and Sergeant Ritter (Company C) and Sergeant Abbott
(Company I)." (Diary, May 1.)

1862 — RAIDING IN WEST VIRGINIA 171
Several were bloody with wounds as they stood in their places; one boy
limped to his post who had been hit three times; as I looked at the glow
of pride in their faces, my heart choked me; I could not speak, but a
boy said, "All right, Colonel, we know what you mean." The enemy's
loss was much severer than ours.
We pushed on rapidly, hearing extravagant stories of the force wait
ing for us at Princeton. Prisoners, apparently candid, said, we would
catch it then. We would have caught Lieutenant-Colonel Fitzhugh and
his men, if our cavalry had had experience. I don't report to their preju
dice publicly, for they are fine fellows, gentlemen, splendidly mounted
and equipped. In three months they will be capital, but their caution,
in the face of ambuscades, is entirely too great. After trying to get
them ahead, I put the Twenty-third in advance and the cavalry in the
rear, making certainly double the speed, with our footmen trudging in
the mud, as was made by the horsemen on their fine steeds. We caught
a few and killed a few. At the houses, the wounded Rebels would be
left. As we came up, the men would rush in, when the women would
beg us not to kill the prisoners or the wounded. I talked with several
who were badly wounded. They all seemed grateful for kind words,
which I always gave them. One fine fellow, a Captain Ward, was
especially grateful.
This work continued all day; I, pushing on; they, trying to keep us
back. The fact being that General Heth had sent word that he would be
in Princeton by night with a force able to hold it. As we came on to a
mountain a couple of miles from Princeton, we saw that the Rebels were
too late; the great clouds were rolling to the sky — they were burning
the town. We hurried on, saved enough for our purposes, I think, al
though the best buildings were gone. The women wringing their hands
and crying and begging us to protect them, with the fine town in flames
around us, made a scene to be remembered. This was my May day.
General Heth's forces got within four miles; he might as well have been
forty. We are in possession, and I think I can hold it. Joe and Dr. Mc-
Curdy had a busy day. They had secesh wounded as well as our own to
look after. Dr. Neal, of the Second Virginia Cavalry (five companies of
which are now here in my command), a friend of Joe, assisted them.
Saturday morning. — I intended to send this by courier this morning,
but in the press of business, sending off couriers, prisoners, and expedi
tions, I forgot it. Telegraph is building here; anything happening to
me will be known to you at once. It now looks as if we would find no
enemy to fight.
The weather, yesterday and to-day, is perfect. The mountains are in
sight from all the high grounds about here, and the air pure and exhil
arating. The troubles of women, who have either been burnt out by
secesh or robbed of chickens and the like by us, are the chief thing this
morning. One case is funny. A spoiled, fat Englishwoman, with great
pride and hysterics, was left with a queer old negro woman to look after
her wants. Darky now thinks she is mistress. She is sulky — won't

172 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
work, etc., etc. Mistress can't eat pork or army diet. There is no other
food here. The sight of rough men is too much for her nerves! All
queer. We are now eighty-five miles from the head of navigation in
time of flood and one hundred twenty-five in ordinary times; a good
way from "America," as the soldiers say.
May 8. — The cavalry yesterday took the Bluff Road and came into
the road from Princeton to Giles Court House — five miles. They came
across tracks leading to Princeton. Soon saw soldiers, opened fire and
had a fusillade of wild firing, the enemy fleeing to the mountains. It
was the Forty-fifth Virginia coming to reenforce Princeton.1
May 3. — The Forty-fifth Regiment had marched twenty miles
through the rain to reach here, were very tired and straggled badly.
They were regularly stampeded — panic-stricken and routed; they re
port three killed in one party of stragglers. They had a cannon drawn
by six horses, but our men "yelled so" and "fired so fast" that it was
no place for cannon, so they wheeled about and fled with it. All queer.
Company C killed eleven. Colonel Jenifer burned Rocky Gap (four
houses) and continued his flight towards Wytheville. The Rebels report
us two thousand cavalry and eight thousand infantry!! Got our tents
to-day; got into a good camp overlooking the town.2
May 6. — I have been rather anxious to-day. We heard from contra
bands and others that the Narrows [of New River] was deserted except
by a small guard for property and tents. Major Comly, with companies
H, I, and K, and Captain Gilmore's cavalry, was dispatched to the
point eighteen to twenty-two miles distant. No tidings yet, although a
courier ought to have reached here before this time if they and he trav
elled rapidly. I suggested that, if necessary to secure property, they go
to Giles Town.
In the meantime I hear that a foraging party of six of our men as
guards under Corporal Day, with three battery men and a wagon, has
been taken by a large party of cavalry on the Tazewell Road — ten
miles. Jenifer's cavalry have gone to Tazewell, got their horses and are
now in the saddle ready to cut off our men. Oh, for an enterprising
cavalry force!
I have looked for a messenger since 5 o'clock from Major Comlyi At
midnight received a message from Major Comly that the party finding
the Narrows deserted and all property gone, had gone on to Giles and
taken it completely by surprise, capturing some prisoners and a large
amount of stores — two hundred and fifty barrels of flour and every
thing else. Very lucky, and Colonel Scammon- therefore approved of
the whole expedition, although it was irregular and in violation of the
letter of orders. The enemy just out of Giles were at least eleven
1 Diary. 2 Diary.

1862 — RAIDING IN WEST VIRGINIA 173
hundred and had forces near to increase it to fifteen hundred. Our
party was only two hundred and fifty ! The colonel, fearing the capture
of our little party ordered me to proceed at daylight with two com
panies Second Virginia Cavalry and the rest of Twenty-third Regiment
to reenforce Giles.1
Giles Court House, or Parisburg, May 7, 6.30 p.m. — Just reached here
from Princeton after a fatiguing march of twenty-eight miles. Found
the major very glad to see us. All anxious, hearing reports of Forty-
fifth [Virginia] reenf orced by Thirty-sixth or Twenty-second with artil
lery, etc., etc. Now, all safe if we are vigilant. The country after the
road strikes New River is romantic, highly cultivated, and beautiful.
Giles Court House is [a] neat, pretty village with a most magnificent
surrounding country both as regards scenery and cultivation. The peo
ple have all been secesh, but are polite and intelligent. When Major
Comly, Captain Gilmore, and Captain Drake entered town, the people
were standing on the corners, idly gossiping; — more numerous than
the invaders. They did not at first seem to know who it was. Then
such a scampering, such a rushing to the streets of women, such weeping,
scolding, begging, etc., etc. Spent the night posting pickets and arrang
ing against an attack, so as to prevent a surprise. At midnight a citizen
came in saying the enemy were preparing to attack us — the Forty-
fifth and Twenty-second — when he was at their camp, twelve miles
from here at Cloyd Mountain. I doubled the pickets, dressed myself,
and kept about quietly all the rest of the night.2
Parisburg, May 8. — No attack or approach last night. Passed out
at daylight a mile and a half in direction of enemy. Selected my ground
in case of an approach of the enemy. Talked with Mr. Pendleton,
Colonel English. Find more intelligence and culture here than any
where else in Virginia. To-day Sergeant Abbott found a Rebel picket
or scouting party on the mountain overlooking the village, peering into
us with a field-glass. A reconnaissance to-day discovered three regi
ments in line, marching coolly and well to the front as our men crossed
Walker's Creek, ten or twelve miles from here. They are said to have
three pieces of artillery and some cavalry. We get no reinforce
ments to-day and hear of none on the way. I have asked for artillery
two or three times and get none. No message, even, to-day. It is a
great outrage that we are not reenforced. We are losing stores all the
time, which the enemy slips away — not [to] speak of the possibility
of an attack by an overwhelming force. Shameful! Who is to blame?
I think we shall not be attacked, but I shall have an anxious night.3
The reconnaissance penetrated the enemy's country to within
ten miles of the railway which it was so important to cut. But
1 Diary. ' Diary. 3 Diary.

174 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
the Confederate Government fully realized the necessity of pre
venting the destruction or the interruption of this most impor
tant line of communication to the West. Reenforcements had
been hurried forward to General Heth and Generals Williams
and Humphrey Marshall were not far away. The Confederate
commander was pushing on in force and with artillery to retake
Parisburg and drive the little body of Union men back into the
mountains. Hayes's call for aid was not heeded until too late.
It is doubtful, indeed, whether sufficient men could have arrived
in time to prevent the necessity of a retreat in the face of the
forces the Confederates were bringing against the town. The
position in the midst of a hostile region was too far from the base
of supplies to make it tenable, with the number of troops in Gen
eral Cox's division. May 9 was an anxious day for Hayes and
his little command. An attack by a superior force was known to
be imminent, before which, unless reenforcement came, a retreat
was inevitable.
At the first streak of dawn Saturday morning Hayes was up
and out on the picket line. Hearing six shots fired in the direc
tion of the enemy, he was sure the attack was coming. He has
tened back to camp and got his men in motion. The cavalry was
sent to the front; Captains Sperry and DrcJke were ordered to
skirmish before the enemy and check their advance; while the
rest of the regiment formed to support them. The entire force
was led by Hayes to the ground he had already selected beyond
the town. Presently the enemy was seen approaching, four regi
ments or battalions strong, in line of battle.
The artillery soon opened on us [wrote Hayes in his diary that after
noon]. The shell shrieked and burst over [our] heads; the small arms
rattled and the battle was begun. It was soon obvious that we would be
outflanked. We retreated to the next ridge and stood again. The men
of the Twenty-third behaved gloriously. The men of Gilmore's cavalry
ditto. The men of Colonel Paxton's company not so well. I was
scratched and torn on the knee by a shell or something, doing no serious
injury. I felt well all the time. The men behaved so gallantly! And so
we fought our way through town — the people rejoicing at our defeat —
and on for six hours until we reached the "Narrows" five and one half
miles distant. The time seemed short. I was cheered by Gilmore's
cavalry at a point about three and a half miles from Giles Court House,
and we were all in good humor. We had three men killed, a number
wounded — none severely, and lost a few prisoners. In the "Narrows "

1862 — RAIDING IN WEST VIRGINIA 175
we easily checked the pursuit of the enemy and held him back until he
got artillery on to the opposite side of New River and shelled us out.
Reached here [Adairs, ten and one half miles from Giles] about 1 p.m.
safely. A well-ordered retreat which I think was creditable.
! Hayes was very proud of the conduct of the Twenty-third
Regiment in this masterly retreat. To Mrs. Hayes the day after
the battle he wrote: —
The Twenty-third looked gloriously after this. We got off by a
miracle. We lost one killed, one wounded badly, and a host slightly.
Applause was never so sweet as when right in the midst of the struggle
Gilmore's cavalry gave me three cheers for a sharp stroke by which I
turned the column out of range of the enemy's guns which with infi
nite trouble he had placed to sweep us.1
The enemy lost thirty-one killed and seventy-two wounded.
The retreating force had the best of the fighting notwithstand
ing the enemy had artillery. "Never was a man prouder of his
regiment," said Hayes, "than I of the Twenty-third. I keep
thinking how well they behaved."
The command remained at Adairs one day and then moved
back a short distance to a strong position at the mouth of East
River, where it was joined by the rest of the brigade under Colo
nel Scammon. In the retreat Hayes's force had been obliged to
abandon the stores captured at Parisburg and had lost also its
tents, except those belonging to headquarters. The supplies
were inadequate, owing to lack of transportation, the brigade
1 In a letter (February 14, 1884) from Edward E. Henry, — a member of the
regiment in 1862, — is this reference to the retreat: "Since the day of the Giles
Court House raid (and many other tight places) — the ' Narrows ' — where you
asked Mcllrath to take his company and keep back the enemy a short time and
he answered: 'Colonel, if I take my men up among those rocks I can never get
them out in God's world'; so well we remember your reply, 'Company A, will
you follow me? ' With a shout we followed you without fear of those shells and
came back all right."
" Colonel Hayes in the whole affair has shown himself an able commander and
fully established the'confidence of every man in the Twenty-third Ohio Regiment,
and while he exhibits the true gentleman in every respect, he is a noble, brave
officer, and the men under him are willing to follow him under every circum
stance." (Cincinnati Commercial, May 28.)
The Cleveland Leader, May 29, had a letter from a member of Company A
describing the retreat from Parisburg. It said Hayes showed himself ready for
any emergency and adds : " Our regiment to a man are ready to follow Lieutenant-
Colonel Hayes wherever he chooses to lead. He has the entire confidence of the
regiment."

176 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
was without bread, and but for the bacon procured in the neigh
borhood would have suffered. Meanwhile General Cox was ad
vancing from Fayetteville. He reached Princeton the morning
of the 16th. Hardly had camp been pitched when General
Humphrey Marshall appeared with a greatly superior force and
drove him out. The next day General Cox returned the com
pliment. But he was convinced that with the forces at his com
mand it was impossible to hold so advanced a position, and he
sent word to Colonel Scammon's brigade to fall back and join
him at Princeton. The retrograde movement was continued to
Flat Top Mountain, about seventy miles from the farthest point
reached by Hayes, where camp was established in a secure
position. Hayes was greatly chagrined for the time at the retreat. He
thought the issue should have been tried with Williams and
Marshall at Princeton after the whole division had got together.
But with fuller knowledge of the situation this mood changed.
Moreover, as he had led the advance and had covered the re
treat during the whole movement, he could not fail to be satis
fied with his share in it.1 General Fremont complimented him
for "energy and courage," and also noticed the "gallantry" of
the Twenty-third. Two companies of Paxton's cavalry and the
Thirty -fourth Ohio had behaved badly, and the fleeing men had
reported the army routed and Hayes fatally wounded. The re
port caused many days of intense anxiety to Mrs. Hayes. This
was finally relieved by a dispatch from Hayes which reached
Cincinnati about a week after the battle at Parisburg. From
Flat Top Hayes wrote reassuringly: —
Flat Top Mountain, May 85. — Dr. Joe has a letter from McCabe in
which he speaks of your anxiety on my account. I hope that it has not
been increased by my dispatch. You will always hear the precise truth
from me. You may rely on it that you hear exactly the state of things.
It would be idle to say that we have been in no danger, or that we are
not likely to be in peril hereafter; but this is certain that there is not
1 " We got off very well, having the best of all the fighting, losing very little
property in the retreat, and conducting it in good order. General Cox and staff
narrowly escaped capture. My command had a narrow escape. With any com
mon precautions we should have been captured or destroyed, but luckily I had
mounted pickets two miles further out than usual and got notice of the trap in
time." (Letter to Sardis Birchard, May 20.)

1862 — RAIDING IN WEST VIRGINIA 177
half the danger for officers in a regiment that can be trusted to behave
well, as there would be in a regiment of raw troops. Besides, the danger
on this line is much diminished by a victory which one of our brigades
under Colonel Crook gained day before yesterday at Lewisburg. He
routed the army under General Heth, which drove me out of Giles,
captured their cannon, etc.
May 26. — Your excellent letters of 17th and 19th came this morn
ing — only a week in getting to me. I wrote you yesterday by the sol
diers, Corporal West and Harper, but I must give you another by the
sutler who goes in the morning, just to show how much I think of you
and your letters. We are now at rest on a mountain-top with no imme
diate prospect of anything stirring. We stand for the moment on the
defensive, and are not likely to be disturbed. We have been having ex
changes of wounded and prisoners with the enemy. They have behaved
very well to our men, and were exceedingly civil and hospitable in our
negotiations with them. They feel a good deal discouraged with the
general prospect, but are crowding our small armies with Banks and
Fremont pretty severely. All will be well if we carry the pivots at
Richmond and Corinth. Enough of this.
I still feel, just as I told you, that I shall come safely out of this war.
I felt so the other day when danger was near. I certainly enjoyed the
excitement of fighting our way out of Giles to the Narrows as much
as any excitement I ever experienced. I had a good deal of anxiety the
first hour or two on account of my command, but not a particle on my
own account. After that, and after I saw we were getting on well, it
was really jolly, we all joked and laughed and cheered constantly. Old
Captain Drake said it was the best Fourth of July he ever had. I had
in my mind Theo. Wright singing the Star-Spangled Banner; "the
bombs bursting in air " began before it was quite light, and it seemed to
me a sort of acting of the song, and in a pleasant way, the prayer would
float through my thoughts, "In the dread hour of battle, 0 God be
Thou nigh."
A happy thing you did for the soldiers, good wife.1
1 Letter to Mrs. Hayes. This is in allusion to the gracious incident de
scribed by Mrs. Hayes in her letter as follows: " Our hospitals are all full of sick
and wounded. A great difference can be seen between* the sick and wounded.
The sick appear low-spirited, downcast, while the wounded are quite cheer
ful, hoping soon to be well. I felt right happy the other day, feeling that I
had made some person feel a little happier. Going down to Mrs. Herron's, I
passed four soldiers — two wounded and two sick. They were sitting on the
pavement, in front of the office where their papers were given them; they were
just in from Camp Dennison, too late to get their tickets to Chicago. I passed
them, and then thought, well, anyhow, I will go back and ask them where they
are going. A gentleman, whom I saw there was with them, said he had just
got in from Camp Dennison, and found they were too late to get their tickets
for that evening. I asked, ' Where will you take them? ' He said, he did not

178 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Flat Top, May 30. — A hot summer day. A very singular thing hap
pened this afternoon. While we were at supper, 5.30 p.m., a thunder
storm broke out. It was pretty violent. Avery and Dr. McCurdy got
up a warm discussion on electricity. As the storm passed away, we all
stepped out of the tent and began to discuss the height of the clouds,
the lapse of time between the flash and the thunder. While we were talk
ing, Avery having his watch out and I counting, there came a flash and
report. It seemed to me that I was struck on the top of the head by
something the size of a buckshot. Avery and McCurdy experienced a
severe pricking sensation in the forehead. The sentinel near us was stag
gered as by a blow. Captain Drake's arm was nearly benumbed; my
horse Webb (the sorrel) seemed hit; over a hundred soldiers felt the stun
or pricking; five trees were hit about a hundred yards off and some of
them badly splintered. In all the camps something similar was felt.
But no harm done ! x
June 2. — General McClellan telegraphs that he has had a "desper
ate battle"; a part of his army across the Chickahominy is attacked by
"superior numbers" — they "unaccountably break"; our loss heavy,
the enemy's "must be enormous"; "enemy took advantage of the terri
ble storm"; all of which is not very satisfactory. General McClellan's
right wing is caught on the wrong side of a creek raised by the rains —
loses its "guns and baggage" — a great disaster is prevented. This is
all, but it will demonstrate that the days of Bull Run are past.2
June 4- — News that Fremont has pushed over into the Valley of
Virginia and is regaining what Banks lost. The battle at Richmond
seems more favorable.3
June 5. — Rained most of the day. Want of exercise these rainy days
begets indigestion, indigestion begets headache, blue devils, ill nature,
sinister views, and general disgust. Brightened up a little by news that
know, but must get them to the nearest place, as they were very weak. Some
one had told him the Heme House was the nearest. I said, 'Doctor' (the
wounded man had told me he was his family doctor and had come to take him
home), 'if you will take them to my house, I will gladly keep them and have
them taken to the cars. There is the street car which will take you near my
house.' He was very thankful, and we put sick and wounded on, and I started
them for Sixth Street, while I finished my errand, took the next car, and
found my lame man hobbling slowly along. We fixed them in the back par
lor. The doctor I asked to stay also, to take care of them. He said he could
not thank me enough; that he was a stranger here, and was almost bewildered
as to what to do or where to take them. Mary was u~> early, and we had a
cup of coffee for them before five. I thought of you in a strange country,
wounded and trying to get home; the cases were not exactly alike, but if any
one was kind to you, would I not feel thankful?"
1 Diary. 2 Diary. ' Diary.

1862 — RAIDING IN WEST VIRGINIA 179
General Pope has taken 10,000 men and 15,000 stand of arms from
Beauregard's retreating army. It looks as if Beauregard's army was
breaking up. — Later, news of the taking of Memphis and Fort Pil
low. General Cox read me a letter from General Garfield in which he
speaks of the want of sympathy among army officers with the cause of
the war; that they say Seward, Chase, and Sumner are more to blame
than Davis and Toombs! General Sherman said he was "ashamed to
acknowledge that he had a brother (Senator John Sherman) who was
one of these damned Black Republicans." x These semi-traitors must
be watched. Let us be careful who become army leaders in the reorgan
ized army at the end of the Rebellion. The man who thinks that the
perpetuity of slavery is essential to the existence of the Union is unfit
to be trusted. The deadliest enemy the Union has is slavery — in fact,
its only enemy.2
June 12. — On this mountain the weather is colder than Nova
Zembla, and since the enemy left us we have been in a state of prepara
tion to go ahead, which means do-nothingness so far as soldiers are
concerned. I have now an expedition out under Major Comly — not im
portant enough for a regimental commander, so I am here in inglorious
idleness. A day's life runs about thus : At 5 a.m. one or the other of our
two Giles County contrabands, Calvin or Samuel, comes in hesitatingly
and in a modest tone suggests, " Gentlemen, it is 'most breakfast time" ;
about ten minutes later, finding no results from his first summons, he
repeats, perhaps with some slight variation; this is kept up until we
get up to breakfast, that is to say, sometimes, cold biscuit cooked at
the hospital; sometimes, army bread, tea, and coffee, sugar; sometimes,
milk, fried pork; sometimes, beef, and any "pison" or fraudulent (?)
truck in the way of sauce or pickles or preserves (!) — good peaches
sometimes — which the sutler may chance to have. After breakfast
there is a little to be done; then a visit of half an hour to Brigade Head
quarters, Colonel Scammon's; then a visit to Division ditto, General
Cox's, where we gossip over the news, foreign and domestic, all outside
of our camps being foreign, the residue domestic; then home again, and
novel-reading is the chief thing till dinner. I have read "Ivanhoe,"
"Bride of Lammermoor," and [one] of Dickens's, and one of Fielding's
the last ten days.
p.m. Generally ride with Avery from five to ten miles, and, as my high-
spirited horse has no other exercise, and, as Carrington (Company C
boy) is a good forager and feeds him tip-top, the way we go it is locomo
tive-like in speed. After this, more novel-reading until the telegraphic
1 Some months later a similar report reached John Sherman who promptly
called his brother's attention to it. (Cf. The Sherman Letters, letters of Septem
ber 23 and October 1, 1862.)
2 Diary.

180 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
news and mails, both of which come about the same hour, 5.30 p.m.
Then gossip on the news and reading newspapers until bedtime
early bedtime — 9 p.m. We have music, company drills — no room for
battalion drills in the mountains — and target practice with other little
diversions and excitements, and so "wags the world away." . . •
Keep up good heart. It is all coming out right. There will be checks
and disappointments, no doubt, but the war goes forward. We are
much better off than I thought a year ago we should be — a year ago !
Then we were swearing the men in at Camp Chase. Well, we think
better of each other than we did then and are very jolly and friendly.1
June 13. — Put up our tents on new camping-ground on Brammer's
farm one and one half miles on Pack's Ferry Road.2
June 16. — Last night walked with Captain Warren down to General
Cox's headquarters. Talked book. The general is a reader of the best
books — quite up in light literature; never saw the Shakespeare novels;
must try to get him "Shakespeare and his Friends." . . . The extracts
from Richmond papers and Jeff Davis's address to the soldiers indicate
that the Rebels are making prodigious efforts to secure the victory in the
approaching struggle. I trust our Government will see that every man is
there who can possibly be spared from other quarters.3
June 22. — Inklings and hints of matters before Richmond are more
encouraging. But these delays of McClellan are very wearisome.4
June 85. — Dined with General Cox. He has a plan of operations
for the government forces which I like: To hold the railroad from Mem
phis through to Huntsville, Chattanooga, Knoxville, [and] southwest
Virginia to Richmond; not attempt movements south of this except by
water until after the hot and sickly season. This line is distant from
the enemy's base of supplies — can therefore by activity be defended
and gives us a good base.6
June 27. — Read the account of the disaster on White River, Arkan
sas, to the gunboat Mound City. The enemy sent a forty-two pound
ball through her boilers and a horrible slaughter followed, scalding and
drowning one hundred and fifty men!
General Pope appointed to the "Army of Virginia," being the com
bined forces of Fremont, Shields, Banks, and McDowell, now in the
Valley of Virginia. Sorry to see Fremont passed over, but glad the
1 Letter to Mrs. Hayes.
2 Diary. — The regiment had been without tents since the retreat three weeks
before, except barely enough for the officers. "The men build shelter of bark,
rail pens, and the like. I call this 'Woodchuck Camp.'" (Diary, June 6.) Much
of the time it was extremely cold. But the men bore it all uncomplainingly.
s Diary. 4 Diary. 6 Diary.

1862 — RAIDING IN WEST VIRGINIA 181
concentration under one man has taken place. General Pope is impul
sive and hasty, but energetic, and, what is more important, patriotic
and sound — perfectly sound. I look for good results.1
June 30. — We have rumors of "tremendous fighting" before Rich
mond — that we have achieved a success, etc. What suspense until the
truth is known.2
July 3. — General Cox is trying to get our army transferred to Gen
eral Pope's command in eastern Virginia. The dispatches received this
afternoon fill me with sorrow. We have an obscure account of the late
battle or battles at Richmond. There is an effort to conceal the extent
of the disaster, but the impression left is, that McClellan's grand army
has been defeated before Richmond! If so, and the enemy is active and
energetic, they will drive him out of the Peninsula, gather fresh courage
everywhere, and push us to the wall in all directions. Foreign nations
will intervene and the Southern Confederacy be established !
Now for courage and clear-headed sagacity. Nothing else will save us.
Let slavery be destroyed and this sore disaster may yet do good.3
July 6. — I knew you would be troubled when Fremont was relieved
from duty, and perhaps still more when you hear of McClellan's repulse
before Richmond. These things appear to postpone the termination of
the war, but are such disasters as must be looked for in such a contest.
We must make up our minds that we have a heavy work, and that re
verses must frequently occur. We have no right to complain of our lot.
We have a beautiful and healthy camp — with the enemy in front
strong enough to keep us busy holding our position, without much
danger of losing it. It is the common opinion that if the reverse before
Richmond has been serious, we shall be sent to eastern Virginia, and I
may add, that it is the universal wish that we may see some of the
movements that are going on there. . . .
Don't get down-hearted about the war and our separation. It will all
come right, and then how happy we shall be — happier than if we had
not known this year's experience.4
July 7. — The news of to-day looks favorable. McClellan seems to
have suffered no defeat. He has changed front — been forced (perhaps)
to the rear; sustained heavy losses, but his army is in good condition;
and has probably inflicted as much injury on the enemy as it has suffered.
This is so much better than I anticipated that I feel relieved and satisfied.
The taking of Richmond is postponed, but I think it will happen in time
to forestall foreign intervention.6
Flat Top Mountain, July 10. — I think you would enjoy being here.
We have a fine cool breeze during the day; an extensive mountain scene,
1 Diary. 2 Diary. " Diary.
4 Letter to Mrs. Hayes. 6 Diary.

182 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
always beautiful but changing daily, almost hourly. The men are
healthy, contented, and have the prettiest and largest bowers over the
whole camp one ever saw. They will never look so well or behave so well
in any settled country. Here the drunkards get no liquor, or so little
that they regain the healthy complexion of temperate men. Every but
ton and buckle is burnished bright, clothes brushed and washed clean. . . .
We have dancing in two of the larger bowers from soon after sun
down until a few minutes after nine o'clock. By half-past nine all is
silence and darkness. . . . Occasionally the boys who play the female
partners in the dance exercise their ingenuity in dressing to look as
girlish as possible. In the absence of lady duds they use leaves,
and the leaf-clad beauties often look very pretty and always odd
enough. We send parties into the enemy's lines which sometimes have strange
adventures. A party last Sunday, about forty miles from here, found a
young Scotchman and two sisters, one eighteen, and the other fourteen,
— their parents dead, — who have been unable to escape from rebel-
dom. They have property in Scotland and would give anything to get to
"the States." One officer took one girl on his horse behind him, and an
other the other, and so escaped. They were fired on by bushwhackers,
the elder lady thrown off, but not much hurt. They were the happiest
girls you ever saw when they reached our camp. They are now safe on
the way to Cincinnati, where they have a brother.1
Camp Green Meadows, July 14. — We came here yesterday. It is a
fine camp, but warm and summery compared with Flat Top. There is no
noticeable scenery in view from camp, but we are near New River, at the
mouth of Blue Stone River, where the scenery is truly grand. I rode
down there this morning to enjoy it. We marched fifteen miles yester
day — the happiest gang of men you ever saw. We are nearer the
enemy, and have more of the excitement incident to such a position
than at Flat Top. I am in command here, having six companies of the
Twenty-third, Captain Gilmore's cavalry (the men who behaved so well
when we fought our way out of Giles), a section of McMullen's artillery,
besides two squads of the First and Second Virginia Cavalry. Every one
seems to be happy that we are out by ourselves; besides, Major Comly
with the other four companies Twenty-third is only five miles from us. . . .
I sent off Captain Drake and two companies with a squad of cavalry just
now, to effect a diversion in favor of Colonel Crook, who is threatened
by a force said to be superior to his own. The captain is instructed to
dash over and "lie like a bulletin" as to the immense force of which he is
the advance, then to run back double-quick — risky but exciting. . . .
Don't worry about the country — "it's no good." We can't help it if
things go wrong. We do our part and I am confident all will come right.
We can't get rid of the crime of centuries without suffering.2
1 Letter to Hayes's mother. s Letter to Mrs. Hayes.

1862 — RAIDING IN WEST VIRGINIA 183
July 15. — Captain Drake with Companies H and I returned this
morning. The mounted men crossed the ford just above Blue Stone on
New River. . . . They learned that the only enemy in Monroe is probably
the Forty-fifth, some cavalry, and artillery, and they have withdrawn
from the river towards Centreville or some other distant part of the
country. All others gone on towards the Narrows or railroad.
At nine o'clock I took four companies and the band and went to Pack's
Ferry where the men went in swimming. Crossed 262 of them in the
flying bridge, which swings from side to side of the river by force of the
' current alone. The bow (whichever way the boat goes) is pulled by
means of a windlass up the stream at a small angle. . . . The scenery is of
the finest. The river is a clear, beautiful river. Strange, no fish except
catfish, but they are of superior quality and often of great size.
The enemy shows signs of activity in Tennessee again. Our men will
have a hard time during the next two or three months, trying to hold
their conquests. We will have our day when cold weather and high
water return, not before. — About Richmond there is much mystery,
but supposed to be favorable.1
Camp Green Meadows, July 17. — I am not satisfied that so good men
as two thirds of this army should be kept idle. New troops could hold
the strong defensive positions which are the keys of the Kanawha Val
ley, while General Cox's eight or ten good regiments could be sent where
work is to be done. Barring this idea of duty, no position could be pleas-
anter than the present. I have the Twenty-third Regiment, half a bat
tery, and a company of cavalry under my command stationed on the
edge of Dixie; part of us here, fourteen miles, and part at Pack's Ferry,
nineteen miles from Flat Top and Colonel Scammon's and General Cox's
headquarters. This is pleasant. Then we have a lovely camp, copious
cold water springs; and the lower camp is on the banks of New River —
a finer river than the Connecticut at Northampton — with plenty of
canoes, flatboats, and good fishing and swimming. The other side of the
river is enemy's country. We cross foraging parties daily to their side;
they do not cross to ours, but are constantly threatening it. We moved
here last Sunday the 13th. On the map you will see our positions in the
northeast corner of Mercer County on New River near the mouth of and
north of Blue Stone River. Our camps five miles apart — Major Comly
commands at the river, I making my headquarters here on the hill. We
have pickets and patrols connecting us. . . .
It is now a year since we entered Virginia. What a difference it makes.
Our camp is now a pleasanter place with its bowers and contrivances for
comfort than even Spiegel Grove. And it takes no ordering or scolding
to get things done. A year ago, if a little such work was called for, you
would hear grumblers say, "I did n't come to dig and chop, I could do
that at home. I came to fight, etc., etc." Now, springs are opened,
1 Diary.

184 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
bathing-places built, bowers, etc., etc., got up as naturally as corn grows;
no sickness either. About 815 to 820 men; none seriously sick and
only eight or ten excused from duty. AH this is very jolly. We have been
lucky with our little raids in getting horses, cattle, and prisoners —
nothing important enough to blow about, although a more literary regi
ment would fill the newspapers out of less material. We have lost but
one man killed and one taken prisoner during this month. There has
been some splendid running by small parties occasionally; nothing but
the enemy's fear of being ambushed saved four of our officers last
Saturday. So far as our adversaries over the river goes they treat our
men taken prisoners very well. The Forty-fifth, Twenty-second, Thirty-
sixth, and Fifty-first Virginia are the enemy's regiments opposed to us;
they know us and we know them perfectly well. Prisoners say their
scouts hear our roll calls and that all of them often enjoy our music.1
Camp Green Meadows, July 18. — I am really jolly over the Rebel
Morgan's raid into the Blue-Grass region of Kentucky. If it turns out a
mere raid, as I suppose it will, the thing will do great good. The twitter
into which it throws Cincinnati and Ohio will aid us in getting volunteers.
The burning and destroying the property of the old-fashioned conserv
ative Kentuckians will wake them up, stiffen their sinews, give them
backbone, and make grittier Union men of them. If they should burn
Garrett Davis's house he will be sounder on confiscation and the like. In
short, if it does not amount to an uprising it will be a godsend to the
Union cause. It has done good in Cincinnati already. It has committed
numbers, who were sliding into secesh, to the true side.2
July 80. — Morgan's gang, or Rebels encouraged by him, have got
into Warrick County, Indiana. This is the first successful (if it turns out
successful) invasion of free soil. I regret it on that account. I wished to
be able to say that no inch of free soil had been polluted by the footsteps
of an invader. However, this is rather an incursion of robbers than of
soldiers. I suppose no soldiers have yet set foot on our soil.3
Camp Green Meadows, July 23. — I to-day received a dispatch from
Captain Clements that I have been appointed colonel of the Seventy-
ninth Regiment to be made up in Warren and Clinton Counties. I shall
make no definite decision as to acceptance until I get official notice of it.
I suppose it is correct. I shall much hate to leave the Twenty-third. I
can't possibly like another regiment as well, and am not likely to be
as acceptable myself to another regiment. If there was a certainty of
promotion to the command of the Twenty-third I would certainly wait
for it. ... I begin to fear another winter in these mountains. I could
stand it after two or three months' vacation with you in Ohio, but to
go straight on another year in this sort of service is a dark prospect.
1 Letter to Sardis Birchard. 2 Diary. » Diary.

1862 — RAIDING IN WEST VLRGLNIA 185
Altogether, much as I love the Twenty-third, I shall probably leave it. I
shall put off the evil day as long as I can, hoping something will turn up
to give me this regiment, but when the decision is required I shall prob
ably decide in favor of the new regiment and a visit to you and the boys.
I know nothing of the Seventy-ninth except that a son of the railroad
superintendent, W. H. Clements, is to be major. I knew him as a captain
in the Twelfth — a well-spoken-of youngster. It will be a sad day all
around when I leave here.1
Hayes with a strong force of infantry, artillery, and cavalry,
went on an errand of mercy over New River into Monroe
County, the night of July 25, to rescue the wife and four children
of Archibald Caldwell, a Union man who had been kept away
from home and persecuted for his loyalty. He succeeded in get
ting them from under the noses of the heavy forces of the enemy
and returned to camp the next day without loss or accident. The
cavalry marched almost fifty miles in twelve hours; the artillery,
with a mountain howitzer, twenty -five miles in nine hours; the
infantry thirty-six miles in fourteen hours' marching time and
twenty hours altogether. Horses fell down, men fell down, Cald
well got faint-hearted and wanted to give it up, but the com
mander persisted. At half -past one a house was reached where
after much difficulty it was ascertained that no Rebels were on
the road in front. Thereupon the cavalry was ordered to push
on rapidly the remaining seven miles to Mrs. Caldwell's house
and fetch away the family. The rest of the force was ordered to
bivouac and no pickets were posted. The position was secure
and Hayes himself watched till daybreak while the weary men
slept. In spite of the risk and hardship Hayes calls it "a pretty
jolly expedition."
Camp Green Meadows, August 6, 1862. — This has been a day of ex
citement and action. Before I was out of bed a courier came saying our
pickets on New River above Blue Stone were probably cut off — that
firing had been heard near them, and none had come in to the picket
station. I ordered Companies C and E to go down and look them up,
supposing some small party of the enemy had attempted to cut them
off. Before the companies could get away another courier came reporting
that the enemy in force — 3000 to 4000 — had passed down New River
on the other side; of course this was to attack the ferry. I sent word to
the ferry and to Flat Top; directed the men to put one day's rations in
1 Letter to Mrs. Hayes.

186 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
haversacks, forty rounds of ammunition in boxes, and fill canteens.
Then word came that the force was smaller than supposed, and no can
non. I dispatched Flat Top (Colonel Scammon) to that effect and that
reenforcements were not needed. Soon after a courier came from [the]
ferry that the enemy in large force were firing cannon, rifled, at them. I
sent this to Flat Top; then called up Companies E, C, and K to go to
reenforce the ferry. I sent the band to give them music and told the
men: "Fighting battles is like courting the girls — those who make
the most pretensions and are boldest usually win; so go ahead, give
good hearty yells as you approach the ferry, let the band play, but do
not expose yourselves. We all know you are brave; keep together and
keep under cover. It is a bushwhacking fight across the river. Don't
expose yourselves to show bravery. We know you are all brave." The
men went off in high spirits. — A courier came from Blue Stone saying
the enemy were at the ford with a cannon in some force. I sent Com
pany I down there to watch them and hinder them if they attempted to
cross. Under what he deemed obligatory written orders Major Comly
destroyed the large ferryboat. Soon after, the enemy ceased firing and
made a rapid retreat. They ran their horses past the ford at Blue Stone.
Whether they left because they heard our band and reenforcements
coming, or because they saw the Major had done their work, is problem
atical. . . .
A singular and almost fatal accident occurred about 5.30 p.m. In the
midst of a severe thunderstorm the guard tent was struck by lightning.
Eight men were knocked flat; cartridge boxes exploded, muskets were
shattered, etc. The eight were all badly hurt, but dashing cold water
on them they revived. They were playing "seven-up." They thought
it was [a] shell. One said as he came to, "Where are they? Where are
they?" Another spoke up repeating the question — "Where is Colonel
Hayes? Where,is the Colonel?" 1
August 9. — Am planning to go to the salt well and destroy it, also
to catch " Old Crump " if he is at home. Jacobs, of Company G, a scout,
went up yesterday to Crump's Bottom and reports favorably. All safe
now. Curious, quiet fellow, Jacobs. He takes no grub, wears moccasins,
passes himself for a guerrilla of the Rebels, eats blackberries when he can't
get food, slips stealthily through the woods, and finds out all that 's going.
Old Andy Stainwault, a fat, queer-looking old fifer with a thin voice,
and afflicted with a palpitation of the heart ! (a great coward, otherwise
a worthy man), was one of the first men who reached here from the ferry
after the attack of Wednesday. He was informed that the enemy was in
great force. I asked him if they fired their cannon rapidly. "Oh, yes,"
said he, "very rapidly — they fired twice before I left the camp."
Sad news. The dispatch tells us that "General Bob McCook was
murdered by guerrillas while riding in front of his brigade in Tennessee."
1 Diary.

1862 — RAIDING IN WEST VIRGINIA 187
He always said he did not expect to survive the war. He was a brave
man, honest, rough, — "an uncut diamond," — a good friend of mine.
We have slept together through several stormy nights. I messed with
him in his quarters on Mount Sewell. Would that he could have died in
battle! Gallant spirit! Hail and farewell.1
Camp Green Meadows, August 10. — Your letter of the 2d came last
night ; a great comfort it was. Several things last night were weighing on
me, and I needed a dear word from you. I had got a reluctant permis
sion to send a party to attempt to destroy the salt works at the Mercer
Salt Well twenty-five miles from here, over a rough mountain country
full of enemies, and uncertain who might be at the well. I started the
party at 6 p.m. to make a night march of it to get there, and do the work
and get fairly off before daylight. Captains Drake and Zimmerman were
in command with twenty of Gilmore's gallant cavalry and one hundred
thirty of our best men. I had got all the facts I could before they left,
but after they were gone three hours, a scout I had given up, came in
with information that the works were strongly guarded. I slept none
during that night, and then, too, the sad news that McCook was mur
dered was in the evening dispatches, casting a deep shadow over all. It
needed your letter to carry me through the night. I was out at early
dawn walking the camp, fearing to hear the gallop of a horse; time
went on slowly enough, but it was a case where no news was good news;
if they had run into trouble, the word would have returned as fast as
horseflesh could bring it. By breakfast time, I began to feel pretty safe;
at eight, I visited the hospital and talked cheerfully to the sick, feeling
pretty cheerful really; about half -past nine, Captain Drake rode in; the
fifty miles had been travelled, and the secesh salt well for all this saltless
region was burned out root and branch. Three horses were badly
wounded; many had their clothes cut, but not a man was hurt. They
reached the well at 2 a.m. — found it in full blast - — steam on, etc., etc.,
received one feeble volley of rifle balls and the thing was done. . . .
As I am writing a messenger from headquarters comes with a signifi
cant order headed "secret." I am ordered to place all things in readiness
to move on thirty minutes' notice, . . . any time after to-morrow at three
o'clock p.m. This means what? I suspect a move to the east by way of
Lewisburg and White Sulphur Springs; it may be a move to eastern
Virginia, it may be toward Giles and the railroad again.2
August 12. — I send this morning to J. C. Dunlevy the following dis
patch : " I am glad to hear that the Seventy-ninth is likely to be promptly
filled without drafting. If so I shall join it as soon as leave can be
obtained." So I am committed ! 3
1 Diary. — "Robert L. McCook, who entered the service at the head of the first
German, or Ninth Ohio Regiment. He was murdered while sick on a cot in an
ambulance. The incident caused widespread sorrow and excitement."
2 Letter to Mrs. Hayes. 3 Diary.

CHAPTER XII
ANTIETAM CAMPAIGN — WOUNDED AT SOUTH MOUNTAIN,
SEPTEMBER 14, 1862
ABOUT the middle of August, General Cox's division was
ordered east of the mountains. It remained there for two
months, taking part in the memorable battles of South Moun
tain and Antietam. Hayes's letters and diary continue to give
details. On Steamer Monitor, Kanawha Riveb,
Evening, August 18, 1862.
Deab Wife, — I am four hard days' marching,1 and a few hours' travel
on a swift steamer nearer to you than I was when I last wrote you, and
yet I am not on my way home. You will see in the newspapers, I sup
pose, that General Cox's division (the greater part of it) is going to
eastern Virginia. We left our camp Friday, the 15th, making long and
rapid marches from the mountains to the head of navigation on this
river. We now go down to the Ohio, then up to Parkersburg, and thence
by railroad eastwardly to the scene of operations. My new regiment
fills slowly, I think, and it may be longer than I anticipated before I
shall be called for at Cincinnati, if at all. There is talk of an order that
will prevent my going to the new regiment, but I think it is not cor
rectly understood, and the chance, it seems to me, is, that I shall go
home notwithstanding this change of place. Our men are delighted with
the change. They cheer and laugh, the band plays, and it is a real frolic.
During the hot, dusty marching, the idea that we were leaving the
mountains of West Virginia kept them in good heart. . . .
1 "The weather was extremely hot, and the pace trying, but our officers were
very considerate, ordering frequent rests, and directing wagon masters and all
others in charge of transportation to aid in carrying men who were disabled and
tired. In this there was none more considerate than Colonel R. B. Hayes. He
made personal effort to mingle with the men marching, often walking that some
footsore soldier might ride, and when words of cheer seemed to fail in their pur
pose, the clear, ringing order would be given, ' Let us hear from the band.' Right
nobly the band would respond and the most encouraging strains were found in
the tune, 'We are so glad to get out of the wilderness'; at this the men would
cheer and push on with more life." (MS. by Captain John S. Ellen.)
The Twenty-third marched, August 15, twenty-four miles; August 16, twenty-
four and one half miles; August 17, twenty-two and one half miles; August 18,
by noon, sixteen miles.

ANTIETAM CAMPAIGN 189
August 19. Evening ; same steamer on the Ohio River. — We have [had]
a particularly jolly day. The river is very low, and at many of the bars
and shoals, we are compelled to disembark and march the troops around.
In this way we have marched through some villages and fine farming
neighborhoods in Meigs County. The men, women, and children turned
out with apples, peaches, pies, melons, pickles (Joe took to them), etc.,
in the greatest profusion. The drums and fifes and band all piped their
best; the men behaved like gentlemen and marched beautifully. Was
n't I proud of them? How happy they were. They would say, " This is
God's country." So near you and marching away from you ! That was
the only sad point in it for me. Only one man drunk so far; his captain
put him under arrest; he insisted on an appeal to me, and on my saying,
"It's all right," he was sober enough to submit, saying, "Well, if the
Colonel says it's right, it must be right," so he made no trouble.1
Washington, August 25. — We arrived here after ten days' marching
and travelling this morning. We go over to Alexandria in an hour or
two to take our place in General Sturges's army corps of General Pope's
command. Colonel Scammon leads the First Brigade of General Cox's
division in the new position. If the enemy press forward, there will be
fighting. It is supposed they are trying to push us back. Reenforce
ments are pouring in rapidly.
In case of accident, Joe and I will be reported at the Kirkwood House in
this city. I feel a presentiment that all will be right with us. If not, you
know all the loving things I would say to you and the dear boys. My
impression is that the enemy will be in no condition to hurry matters
fast enough to get ahead of the new legions now coming in. They must
act speedily or they are too late.2
Washington, August 26. — Here all arrangements connected with
army matters are perfect. An efficient military police or patrol arrests
all men and officers not authorized to be absent from their regiments, and
either returns them to their regiments or puts them under guard and
gives notice of their place. A good eating-house feeds free of expense and
"sleeps" all lost and stray soldiers. An establishment furnishes quarter
masters of regiments with cooked rations at all times. Fine hospitals,
easily accessible, are numerous. The people fed and complimented our
men (chiefly the middling and mechanical or laboring classes) in a way
that was very gratifying. We felt proud of our drill, and healthy brown
faces. The comparison with the new, green recruits pouring in was
much to our advantage. Altogether Washington was a happiness to
the Twenty-third.3
Camp near Upton's Hill, near Falls Church, on the road to Manassas,
August 80. — Nearly all day we have heard cannon firing as is supposed
1 Letter to Mrs. Hayes. J Letter to Mrs. Hayes. ! Diary.

190 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
in [the] direction of Manassas Junction. It is believed that General
Jackson is fighting Pope. The firing was heard yesterday a considerable
part of the day. We all listen, look at the couriers — anybody moving
rapidly attracts a thousand eyes. For a long time the thing was not very
much attended to; now it gets exciting. We feel anxious. We wish to
know whether the battle is with us or with our foes. It is now 5 or 5.30
p.m. The decision must come soon. It is not a bright nor a dark day. It
is neither hot nor cool for the season — a fair fighting day. The only
report we hear is that a Union man eight miles out says we got posses
sion of Manassas yesterday, and that the Rebels to-day are trying to
get it back — that they have been repulsed three times. . . . Anxious
moments these ! I hear the roar as I write.
7.30 p.m. — A lovely, quiet sunset — an exhilarating scene around us
— the distant booming growing more faint and more distant apparently
till at early dark it died away. With us or with our foes? — It is said . . .
that Jackson made a speech saying that they must win this fight; that
it would decide the fate of the Confederacy! Well, we wait. The sus
pense is less dreadful since the cannon no longer roars.
9.30 p.m. - — No news. This I interpret to mean that there has been
no decided victory, no decided defeat — a drawn battle. Why not mass
to-night all the thousands of troops to overwhelm Jackson to-morrow?
It could have been done in time to have flogged him to-day. He is the
Rebel chieftain. His destruction destroys the Rebel cause.1
August 31. — This Sunday evening the reports from the battlefield are
less favorable than the morning rumors. There is talk of " no result";
. . . that our army has fallen back four miles to Centreville. . . . No
firing all day to-day. This evening, after dark, firing of heavy guns was
heard for a few minutes, apparently in the same place as before.2
September 1. — ¦ About five o'clock this p.m., heavy firing began in the
old place; said to be near Centreville or at Bull Run. A fierce rainstorm
with thunder set in soon after, and for the last two hours, there has been
a roaring rivalry between the artillery of earth and heaven. It is now
dark, but an occasional gun can still be heard. The air trembles when
the great guns roar. The place of the firing indicates that our forces still
hold the same ground, or nearly the same, as before. It is queer; we
really know but little more of the fight of two or three days ago, than
you do; in the way of accurate knowledge perhaps less, for the telegraph
may give you official bulletins. We have seen some, a great many of our
wounded, some five or six hundred of the enemy taken prisoners, and a
few of our men paroled. Some think we got the best of it; some other
wise. As yet, I call it a tie. I am very glad to be here. The scenes around
us are interesting, the events happening are most important. You can
hardly imagine the relief I feel on getting away from the petty warfare
1 Diary. 2 Diary.

ANTIETAM CAMPAIGN 191
of western Virginia. Four forts or field works are in sight, and many
camps. The spire of Fairfax Seminary (now a hospital), the flags on
distant hills whose works are not distinguishable, the white dome of
the Capitol, visible from the higher elevations, many fine residences in
sight, all, all make this seem a realization of the pride and pomp of glo
rious war. The roar of heavy artillery, the moving of army wagons, car
riages, and ambulances with the wounded, marching troops and couriers
hastening to and fro, fill up the scene. Don't think I am led to forget the
sad side of it, or the good cause at the foundation. I am thinking now of
the contrast between what is here and what I have looked on for fifteen
months past. . . .
I just got an order that I must be especially vigilant to-night to guard
against surprise, or confusion in case of alarm. I don't know what it
indicates, but that I have done so often in the mountains that it is no
great trouble. So I go to warn the captains.1
Tuesday, September 2. — A clear, cold, windy day, bracing and north
ern. No news except a rumor that the armies are both busy gathering
up wounded and burying the dead; that the enemy hold rather more of
the battlefield than we do. . . . The impression I get is, that we have
rather the worst of it, by reason of superior generalship on the part of
the Rebels.
9.30 p.m. — New and interesting scenes this evening. The great army
is retreating — coming back. It passes before us and in our rear. We
are to cover the retreat if they are pursued. They do not look or act like
beaten men; they are in good spirits and orderly. They are ready to hiss
McDowell. When General Given announced that McClellan was again
leader, the cheering was hearty and spontaneous. The camps around us
are numerous. The signal corps telegraphs by waving lights to the
camps on all the heights. The scene is wild and glorious this fine night.
Colonel White of the Twelfth and I have arranged our plans in case of an
attack to-night. So to bed. Let the morrow provide for itself.2
Wednesday, September 3. — No alarm last night. Enemy quiet in
front. A little firing near Chain Bridge, supposed to be feeling of our
positions. It is rumored that the main body is going up the Potomac to
cross. . . .
p.m., after supper. — I am to-night discouraged — more so than ever
before. The disaster in Kentucky is something, but the conduct of men,
officers, generals and all, in the late battles near Bull Run, is more dis
couraging than aught else. The Eastern troops don't fight like the
Western. If the enemy is now energetic and wise, they can take great
advantage of us. Well, well, I can but do my duty as I see it.3
On the same day Hayes wrote to his uncle, Sardis Birchard,
as follows : —
1 Letter to Mrs. Hayes. * Diary. ' Diary.

192 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
We had decidedly the advantage in the fighting of Thursday and Fri
day — 28th and 29th. At the close of the 29th, Jackson was heavily
reenforced, and worsted us on Saturday. Saturday evening our reen
forcements reached General Pope and we were about equal in the sub
sequent skirmishing. I get some notions of the troops here as I look on
and listen, not very different from those I have had before. The enemy
here has a large force of gallant and efficient cavalry. Our cavalry is
much inferior. The Rebel infantry is superior to ours gathered from the
cities and manufacturing villages of the old States. The Western troops
are, I think, superior to either. The Rebels have as much good artillery
as we have. We have largely more than they, but the excess is of poor
quality. In generalship and officers they are superior to us. The result
is we must conquer in land warfare by superior numbers. On the water
we have splendid artillery, and are masters. High water, deep rivers,
heavy rains, are our friends.
General Sigel is a favorite with the troops. Generals Banks and
Schenck are praised by them. General McDowell is universally de
nounced. General Pope is coldly spoken of. General McClellan is un
doubtedly a great favorite with [the] men under him. Last night it was
announced that he was again in command at this, the critical region
now. Everywhere the joy was great, and was spontaneously and up
roariously expressed. It was a happy army again. There is nothing of the
defeated or disheartened among the men. They are vexed and angry —
say they ought to have had a great victory — b ut not at all demoralized .
I speak, of course, only of those I see, and I have seen some of the most
unfortunate regiments. . . . Unless the enemy gets decided and damag
ing advantages during the next fortnight, it is believed we can push them
back with heavy loss, and with a fair prospect of crushing them. . . .
We see that a strong Rebel force occupies Lexington, Kentucky. All
the river towns are threatened. This is our dark hour. We will weather
it, I think. Generalship is our great need. ... I shall stay with the
Twenty-third. I saw Haynes L and told him I supposed we were cut out
by the order. I care nothing about it.
1 William E. Haynes, of Fremont, then a captain in the Eighth O.V.I., to
whom had been offered the command of the Hundredth' O.V.I. The "order"
referred to was issued from the War Department and forbade any transfer, resig
nations, or leave to officers serving in the Army of the Potomac, which worked
against new regiments' having the benefit of the experience of officers promoted
from old regiments. Writing of this to his mother, September 1, Hayes said:
" I suppose it is settled that old officers can't go to the new regiments. This set
tles my chance for the Seventy-ninth also. All right, as far as I am personally
concerned. The rule is a bad one — a very bad one, so bad, that it will, perhaps,
be changed, but it is no hardship to me personally. I see no regiments here that
I would prefer to the Twenty-third. General Cox's six regiments from Ohio are
among the crack troops of the army in the opinion of everybody. Colonel Scam
mon distinguished himself the other day, and will, I doubt not, be a briga
dier." For the present Captain Haynes was under the objectionable rule, but

ANTIETAM CAMPAIGN 193
P.S. Since writing I have been in a caucus of the major-generals. It
is curious, but a large number of truthful men say Sigel is an accom
plished military scholar, but such a coward that he is of no account on
the battlefield. Funny ! We don't know all about things and men from
the newspapers.
Thursday, September 4- — A cheerful, bright morning and a sound
sleep dispel the gloom resting on my mind as to the future. During
the night a courier came to my tent saying that two thousand of our
wounded are in the hands of the enemy and are starving. The enemy
is in bad condition for food. Siege guns were put in the fort on our
right (Ramsey) during the night. The preparations are advancing
which will enable us to hold the post and "save Washington."
10 a.m. The rumor is that the enemy is directing his course up the
Potomac, intending to cross into Maryland. We now hear cannon at a
great distance in a northern direction.
About 4.30 p.m. The enemy began to fire at our cavalry picket about
three miles out. Wagoners rolled in; horsemen ditto in great haste.
The regiments of General Cox's division were soon ready — not one
quarter or one third absent or hiding, or falling to the rear, as seems to
be the habit in this Potomac army, but all, all fell in at once. The
Eleventh, Twelfth, Twenty-third, Twenty-eighth, Thirtieth, and
Thirty-sixth Ohio can be counted on. After skedaddling the regiment
of cavalry who marched out so grandly a few hours before, the firing of
the enemy ceased. A quiet night followed.
Cincinnati is now threatened by an army which defeated our raw
troops at Richmond, Kentucky. Everywhere the enemy is crowding
us. Everywhere they are to be met by our raw troops, the veterans be
ing in the enemy's country too distant to be useful — a queer turning
the tables on us; and yet if they fail of getting any permanent and sub
stantial advantage of us, I think the recoil will be fatal to them. I think,
in delaying this movement until our new levies are almost ready for the
field, they have let the golden opportunity slip; that they will be able
to annoy and harass, but not to injure us; and that the reaction will
push them further back than ever. We shall see.1
September 6. — Left Upton's at 7.30 a.m., marched through George
town and Washington . . . towards Leesboro' road — a very dusty, hot,
oppressive day.2
Sunday, September 7. — Left the suburbs of Washington to go on the
Leesboro' road about twelve to fifteen miles. Road full of horse, foot,
November S his resignation was accepted to enable him to accept promo
tion, and November 10, 1862, he was promoted to be lieutenant-colonel of the
Tenth Ohio Cavalry in which regiment he served with distinction.
1 Diary. * Diary.

194 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
and artillery, baggage and ambulance wagons; dust, heat, and thirst.
"The Grand Army of the Potomac" appeared to bad advantage by the
side of our troops. Men were lost from their regiments; officers left
their commands to rest in the shade, to feed on fruit; thousands were
straggling — confusion and disorder everywhere. New England troops
looked well; Middle States troops badly; discipline gone or greatly re
laxed. On coming into camp Major-General Reno, in whose corps we are,
rode into the grounds occupied by General Cox's troops in a towering
passion because some of the men were taking straw or wheat from a
stack. Some were taking it to feed to horses in McMullen's battery and
to cavahy horses; some in the Twenty- third Regiment were taking it
to lie upon. The ground was a stubble-field in ridges of hard ground. I
saw it and made no objection. General Reno began on McMullen's men.
He addressed them, "You damned black sons of b  ." This he re
peated to my men and asked for the colonel. Hearing it, I presented
myself and assumed the responsibility, defending the men. I talked re
spectfully, but firmly; told him we had always taken rails, for example,
if needed to cook with — that if required we would pay for them. He
denied the right and necessity, said we were in a loyal State, etc., etc.
Gradually he softened down. He asked me my name. I asked his, all
respectfully done on my part. He made various observations to which
I replied. He expressed opinions on pilfering. I remarked in reply to
some opinion substantially, "Well, I trust our generals will exhibit the
same energy in dealing with our foes that they do in the treatment of
their friends!" He asked me, as if offended, what I meant by that. I
replied, "Nothing; at least I mean nothing disrespectful to you." (The
fact was I had a very favorable opinion of the gallantry and skill of
General Reno; and was most anxious to so act as to gain his good will.)
This was towards the close of the controversy, and as General Reno
rode away the men cheered me. I hear that this, coupled with the re
mark, gave General Reno great offense. He spoke to Colonel Ewing of
putting colonels in irons if their men pilfered ! Colonel Ewing says the
remark "cut him to the quick"; that he was "bitter" against me. Gen
eral Cox and Colonel Scammon (the latter was present) both think I
behaved properly in the controversy.1
September 8. — Camp near Leesboro', Maryland. Nothing new this
morning. Men from Ohio all in a talk about General Reno's abusive
language. It is said that when talking with me he put his hand on his
pistol; that 'many standing by began to handle their arms also. I am
sorry the thing goes so far.2
1 Diary.
2 Diary. — After Mr. Hayes had returned to private life at Spiegel Grove, Gen
eral Jacob D. Cox (September 4, 1882) wrote him, enclosing an extract from the
History of the Twenty-first Massachusetts Volunteers, containing a reference to the
Reno incident grossly reflecting on the Western soldiers, and asked him to put

ANTIETAM CAMPAIGN 195
Camp northwest of Broolcville, Maryland, September 10. — We are now
abouttwenty-five or thirty miles northwest of Washington, about thirty
the facts in a letter which Major E. C. Dawes (formerly of the Fifty-third Ohio)
would lay before the Massachusetts Military Historical Society, of which he was
a member, for the purpose of having the error corrected. The History declared:
"The Fourth Division (under General Cox) waged war on the Pope principle,
plundering the country unmercifully, the President's regiment being fully as bad
as the rest in this respect"; — and more quite as unwarranted. In his letter
General Cox said: "As to discipline on the march, my remembrance is clear that
it was much better than that of troops about us. . . . We were warmly compli
mented by McClellan, Burnside, and Reno himself on the soldierly bearing and
discipline of the command." He urged General Hayes to write out his recollec
tions of the incident, adding: "It is not worth while to let such things pass into
history uncontradicted"; but General Hayes declined. His reply is characteris
tic:— {Private) Fremont, Ohio, 8th Sept. 1882.
My dear General, — Your note of the 4th inst. came during a brief absence
from home. I appreciate your kindness and your kindly suggestions. After sleep
ing over it, I am not inclined to depart from my custom in dealing with attacks
upon me. The extract you send seems to be an inexcusable assault on your com
mand and on me personally. To give a correct relation of the Reno altercation
would be to disparage an officer who died in battle a few days after the affair,
and who cannot now give his side of the controversy.
One of the brigades of the division was commanded by General Crook and an
other by General Scammon, both regular army officers, conspicuous for strictness
of discipline. General Scammon was, at the time, still colonel of the Twenty-
third. The regiment on that march repeatedly reported, as I was glad to do, not
a single absentee on the first roll-call immediately after the halt.
The altercation in its general facts was as you recall it. But the occasion of it
was this: The regiment halted to bivouac in a stubble-field. The men got bun
dles of straw, or possibly of wheat unthreshed, from a stack in a field to lie upon.
General Reno saw it. I was temporarily absent. The general, as you say, "in a
rough way" accosted the men, and as I returned I heard his language, and re
torted in behalf of my men — not in my own at all, for he had said nothing to me.
Hence the row between us.
I was told while I was lying wounded that General Reno was greatly pleased by
our vigorous attack, and that he had paid us a high compliment, expressing grat
ification that our difficulty had gone no further than it did.
Now, excuse my suggestion. Let officers tell the story whose names are not
called in question in the note referred to — say General Scammon, General
Crook, and yourself. I am grateful for your attention to this misrepresentation,
and hope you will not differ widely from me as to the correctness of the course I
take. — Sincerely, R. B. Hates.
General J. D. Cox.
General Cox wrote General Crook, as General Hayes suggested, and received
a letter corroborating his statement of the good discipline and conduct of his divi
sion. Crook also said: "I heard at the time something with reference to a con
troversy between Generals Reno and Hayes, but if ever I knew what it was about
I have forgotten it. In this matter it seems as if the statement of General Hayes

196 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
miles from Baltimore, in Maryland. The army is gradually moving
up, to operate against the Rebels who have crossed the Potomac. We
march about eight to twelve miles a day. General Cox's division al
ways near the front, if not in front. We are now in front. Captured a
Rebel patrol last night. . . . Order is coming out of chaos. The great
army moves over three roads, five or eight miles apart. Sometimes we
march in the night and at all other hours, moving each subdivision
about six or eight hours at a time in each twenty-four hours. Some large
body is moving on each road all the time. In this way the main body is
kept somewhere in the same region. General Burnside is our commander .
I have not yet seen him. He was cheered lustily, I am told, yesterday
when he met his troops below here. His Yankee regiments are much the
best troops we have seen East. "The Grand Army of the Potomac"
suffers by comparison with General Cox's or General Burnside's men.
It is not fair, however, to judge them by what we here see. They are
returning from a severe and unfortunate service which of necessity has
broken them down.
We march through a well-cultivated, beautiful region, poor soil but
finely improved. I never saw the Twenty-third so happy as yesterday.
More witty things were said as we passed ladies, children, and negroes
(for the most part friendly) than I have heard in a year before. The
question was always asked, "What troops are these?" or, "Where are
you from?" The answers were, "Twenty-third Utah," "Twenty-third
Bushwhackers," "Twenty-third Mississippi," "Drafted men," "Raw
Recruits," "Paroled prisoners," "Militia going home," "Home Guards,"
"Peace Men," "Uncle Abe's Children," "The Lost Tribes," and others
"too numerous," etc. Nearly all the bands are mustered out of serv
ice. Ours, therefore, is a novelty. We marched a few miles yesterday
on a road where troops have not before marched. It was funny to see
the children. I saw our boys running after the music in many a group
of clean, bright-looking, excited little fellows.1
Frederick, Maryland, September 13, 1862, a.m. — Yesterday was an
exciting but very happy day. We retook this fine town about 5.30 P. M.,
after a march of fourteen miles and a good deal of skirmishing — can
non firing and uproar and with but little fighting. We marched in just
at sundown, the Twenty-third a good deal of the way in front. There
was no mistaking the Union feeling and joy of the people, — fine ladies,
pretty girls, and children were in all the doors and windows, waving
flags and clapping hands; some "jumped up and down" with happi
ness. Joe enjoyed it and rode up the streets bowing most gracefully.
should be conclusive." General Scammon was out of the country at the time of
this correspondence, and while General Cox was waiting to procure his state
ment, so much time elapsed that the original purpose of correcting the misstate
ments through the Massachusetts Military Historical Society was abandoned.
1 Letter to Mrs. Hayes.

ANTIETAM CAMPAIGN 197
The scene as we approached across the broad bottom lands in line of
battle, with occasional cannon firing and musketry, — the beautiful Blue
Ridge mountains in view and the fine town in front, — was magnificent.
It is pleasant to be so greeted. The enemy had held the city just a
week. "The longest week of our lives"; " We thought you were never
coming"; " This is the happiest hour of our lives," were the common
expressions. It was a most fatiguing day to the men. When we got pos
session of the town — before the formal entry — men lay down in the
road, saying they could n't stir again. Some were pale, some red as if
apoplectic. Half an hour after they were marching erect and proud,
hurrahing for the ladies ! Colonel Moor, Twenty-eighth, of Cincinnati,
was wounded and taken prisoner in one of the skirmishes yesterday.
The enemy treat our men well — very well. We have of sick and
wounded five hundred or six hundred prisoners taken here.1
By crossing the Potomac east of the Blue Ridge, and threaten
ing Washington and Baltimore, General Lee expected to cause
the Union troops to withdraw from the south bank where their
presence endangered his communications. Having accomplished
this result, he proposed to move into western Maryland, estab
lish communications with Richmond through the Shenandoah
Valley, and, by threatening Pennsylvania, induce McClellan to
follow and thus draw him from his base of supplies. He hoped
to detain the Union army on the northern frontier until the ap
proach of winter should render its advance into Virginia difficult
if not impracticable. Thus the Confederate commander had a
comprehensive plan which he pursued with energy. He had sup
posed that the advance upon Frederick would lead to the evacua
tion of Martinsburg and Harper's Ferry, thus opening the line
through the Valley. This not having occurred he entrusted to
General Jackson the task of seizing those points, and detached
from his army a strong force for that purpose on the 10th of
September.2 The Union forces marched leisurely, and were
lingering at Frederick on the 13th, the day on which the Con
federates had obtained possession of the Loudoun, the Bolivar,
and the Maryland Heights, and were investing Harper's Ferry.
Knowledge of this movement coming to McClellan through an
1 Letter to Mrs. Hayes.
1 General Halleck estimated Lee's entire strength at 97,000 men, over one
third of whom were sent against flarper's Ferry; and McClellan's force at
90,000 — an overestimate in both cases. Lee claimed that he had less than
40,000 at Antietam, probably an underestimate.

198 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
intercepted order, he began to push forward with greater rapid
ity, and sent word to Colonel Miles in command at Harper s
Ferry that he would send relief.
To accomplish this it was necessary to force the passage of the
South Mountain Range and gain possession of Boonsborough
which was already occupied by the enemy. The main army
moved along the National Road which crosses the mountain by
Turner's Pass, while a detachment under General Franklin was
directed to carry Crampton's Pass, some six miles below, which
afforded the most direct route for the relief of Harper's Ferry.
The mountain near Turner's Pass is about one thousand feet in
height. Its slopes are precipitous, rugged, and wooded, and form
a strong natural military barrier. Here the enemy's troops were
in considerable force, with artillery bearing upon all the ap
proaches to their position. On the morning of the 14th, General
Pleasanton, on making a reconnaissance with cavalry, brought
on an engagement. The division of General Cox, of Reno's corps,
cooperating with Pleasanton, moved up the mountain by the old
Sharpsburg Road to the left of the main road, the First Bri
gade — Scammon's — being in advance with Hayes's regiment
in front. The Second Brigade under Colonel Crook marched
in column of reserve, and in supporting distance. Hayes was
directed to follow a mountain path, and get around the enemy's
right and attack and take a battery of two guns supposed to be
posted there.1 He went with a guide by the right flank up the
hill, Company A deployed in front as skirmishers. Soon after
nine o'clock he saw a strong force of the enemy approaching him
from the opposite hill. He formed hastily in the woods and
pushed on through bushes and over rocks toward the enemy,
who fired a heavy volley wounding and killing some. It being
difficult to hold men under such a hot fire, Hayes ordered a
charge, which his men, with a yell, made in gallant style. The
enemy gave way, but soon re-formed and began another furi
ous fire. Hayes again ordered a charge, and the Twenty-
third this time drove them out of the woods, halting at a
fence near the edge of the woods, from which position they kept
up a brisk fire on the Rebels who had taken shelter behind
1 Hayes said : " And if I find six guns and a strong support? " Colonel Scammon
replied: "Take them anyhow!" , —

BATTLE OF SOUTH MOUNTAIN, MARYLAND, SEPTEMBER 14, 1862
Where Colonel Hayes was severely wounded

WOUNDED AT SOUTH MOUNTAIN 199
stone walls and fences beyond a cornfield near the summit of
the hill.1
Just as Hayes had given the command to charge a second
time, he felt a stunning blow and found that a musket ball had
struck his left arm immediately above the elbow, fracturing the
bone. Hayes, fearing an artery might be severed, asked a soldier
near him to tie his handkerchief around his arm above the
wound; but a few minutes after, weak and faint from loss of
blood, he was forced to lie down. He lay about twenty feet
behind the line held by his men and could form a pretty accurate
notion of the progress of the fight and could still direct his men.
Presently, seeing something going wrong, he staggered to his feet
and began to give directions. But returning faintness compelled
him again to lie down. The enemy's fire was occasionally very
heavy — balls passed near his face and hit the ground all around
him. Men fell or were carried to the rear, but the line of the
Twenty-third did not waver. Being informed that there was
danger of the enemy flanking him on the left, he directed Cap
tain Drake to wheel his company so as to meet the threatened
attack. This movement caused the whole line to fall back a few
yards, thus leaving him between his own men and the enemy.
Later, there being a lull in the firing, he called out, "Halloo,
Twenty-third men, are you going to leave your colonel here for
the enemy?" In an instant half a dozen men sprang forward to
carry him off the field. This brought on renewed firing, when he
ordered the men back to cover. A little later Lieutenant Jackson
came and insisted on taking him out of range of the enemy's
fire. He laid him down behind a log and gave him a canteen of
water, which revived him. When the firing again slackened,
b ' The Reverend C. E. Manchester, who had served in the Twenty-third, in
an address at Broadway M.E. Church, Cleveland, the Sunday after Mr. Hayes's
death, said: "On the morning of the famous battle of South Mountain in Mary
land we were sent out to reconnoitre. After a quiet, almost noiseless march
through the woods, we came face to face with a larger body of the enemy. They
were behind a stone wall, and we were in the edge of the woods with a cleared
space between us and them. Bullets pattered about us like raindrops on the
leaves. It was a pivotal moment. Could we stand such odds? Then we heard
the voice of Colonel Hayes saying: 'Men of the Twenty-third, when I tell you to
charge, you must charge. You must not flinch if hell yawns before you. Charge
bayonets!' We were up and at them, met by a cloud of bullets that brought
down many a brave fellow. Among the rest, Colonel Hayes was wounded and
borne from the field.

200 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Hayes was carried back up the hill where his wound was dressed
by Dr. Webb. The command now devolved upon Major Comly.
The enemy suddenly opened fire from the left, and the regiment
changed front on the first company, thus effectually meeting the
change of tactics. Soon after, the remainder of the brigade came
up, when a united charge up the hill with bayonets dislodged
the enemy and put the crest in possession of the Union troops.1
From this vantage-ground the contest was continued until the
enemy were driven from the mountain. The victory was won at
heavy cost to the Twenty-third. The severely wounded included
Lieutenant-Colonel Hayes, Captain Skiles (who lost an arm),
Captain Hunter, Lieutenant Ritter (leg amputated), and Lieu
tenants Hood, Naughton, and Smith. The loss of the regiment
altogether was nearly two hundred, of whom almost one fourth
were killed on the field or afterwards died of their wounds. The
colors of the regiment were riddled, and the blue field almost
completely carried away by shells and bullets.2
This recital shows the valor of Hayes and his men, which won
the admiration and praise of the officers in chief command. They
made three bayonet charges during the day, in each of which the
enemy were driven with heavy loss. In one of these charges
the Twenty-third was pitted against the Twenty-third North
Carolina, whose flagstaff the Ohio regiment bore away in remem
brance of the day. In his diary Hayes makes this record: "While
I was lying down I had considerable talk with a wounded Con
federate soldier lying near me. I gave him messages for my wife
and friends in case I should not get up. We were right jolly and
friendly. It was by no means an unpleasant experience."
Colonel Hayes was taken to the residence of Captain Jacob
Rudy in Middletown, where he remained until convalescent.
The night after the battle he received this message from Colonel
1 General J. D. Cox in his report says: "The Twenty-third Ohio having
reached the crest on the left, established itself there in spite of a most vigorous
resistance on the part of the enemy." (War Records, vol. xix, p. 459.) General
Cox on the death of General Reno succeeded to the command of the corps,
Colonel Scammon to the command of the division, and Colonel Ewing to the
command of the brigade.
2 " Of the many good men who fell that day in our command, there was none
more regretted than our brave, bright, and youthful Sergeant-Major Reynolds.
His remains were found the morning after the battle at a point in advance of any
position held by our troops." (MS. by Captain John S. Ellen.)

WOUNDED AT SOUTH MOUNTAIN 201
Scammon: "I was sorry to hear of your wound. Take care of
yourself, and get well as soon as you can. Our brigade and divi
sion did splendidly. We can say this between ourselves. General
Cox sends his best regards and sympathy." The feeling of gratifi
cation over the victory of South Mountain was moderated by the
death of General Reno, who was shot near sunset while in front,
observing the operations of his corps. He was a brave and
capable officer.
The Twenty-third Regiment under Major Comly gave a good
account of itself in the battle of Antietam which immediately
followed. The wounded of the heroic troops who took part in
the battles of South Mountain and Antietam were nursed by
the citizens of Middletown and Frederick with a tenderness, said
Hayes, "as if they were their own brothers." The Rudys, with
whom he himself found refuge, gave him every attention. "Here
I lie," he records, September 18, "nursing my shattered arm, "as
snug as a bug in a rug,'" but impatient for the arrival of
Mrs. Hayes. She reached Washington Sunday morning, Septem
ber 21. A diligent and anxious search was made through the
Washington hospitals, and then at Frederick. At last, when hope
was almost exhausted, a wounded soldier of the Twenty-third
Regiment directed the searching party to Middletown. As may
be supposed the reunion was most joyful. To his uncle Hayes
wrote, September 26 : —
Lucy is here and we are pretty jolly. She visits the wounded and
comes back in tears; then we take a little refreshment and get over it.
I am doing well. Shall perhaps come home a little sooner than I ex
pected to be able to. I am now in a fix. To get me for the Seventy-
ninth some of its friends got an order to relieve me from the Twenty-
third from the War Department. So I am a free man and can go or
come as I see fit. I expect, however, to remain with the Twenty-third.1
1 The New York Herald in April, 1877, printed a long letter from Middletown,
Maryland, in which its correspondent gives many reminiscences of Mrs. Rudy
and her daughter of Colonel Hayes's sojourn under their roof. Miss Ella Rudy
said: "Though he suffered constantly and got little sleep for a week and longer,
he was always cheerful. He not only would n't be cross — he would n't allow
any extra trouble to be taken on his account. Mother used to ask him if she
could not 'do something' for him. He always thanked her, but said no; he
did n't need anything, he was doing very well. The only thing he did have
changed was his bed." It was a corded bed. He asked to have boards substituted
for the cords so that the mattress would lie level. Mrs. Rudy said: "We fell in
love with him directly. He did n't talk much, but what he said was to the point.

202 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
The prospect of immediate promotion to the command of his
old regiment decided Hayes against going to the Seventy -ninth
if the order relieving him could be rescinded. General Cox inter
ested himself in the matter and to good purpose. The following
letter was very welcome to its recipient: —
Camp near Antietam, October 2.
My nEAB Colonel, — Your request to have the order revoked dis
charging you for the purpose of allowing you to take the colonelcy of
the Seventy-ninth Ohio, has been forwarded by me through army head
quarters to the War Department, recommending that your request be
at once granted, and I trust this will be done. I regard the order as a
conditional one, based upon your taking command of the Seventy-
ninth, and the condition failing, I incline to think the order itself inop
erative. I have so expressed myself and hope to see you soon in com
mand of the gallant old Twenty-third. Comly will take good care of it
in your absence. Your wound I deeply regret in itself, but coming as it
did, as the seal and signet of your glory at South Mountain, I don't
know but you are to be congratulated upon it. Trusting you will have
a speedy and thorough recovery, I remain, Ever your sincere friend,
J. D. Cox. <
LlETJT.-CoLONEL R. B. HAYES,
Twenty-third Ohio Volunteers.
The order was revoked by the War Department. On October
15, Colonel Scammon received his appointment as brigadier-
general and Hayes became colonel of the Twenty-third, Comly,
lieutenant-colonel, and Captain Mcllrath, major, and the happy
family remained unbroken except as the shot and shell of the
enemy thinned the ranks. How Hayes was esteemed at home
is shown by an editorial of the Cincinnati Commercial which
appeared about this time: —
» There is not in all the bright and honored roll of our citizen soldiers,
one of whom the people of Hamilton County have better reason to be
proud than Colonel It. B. Hayes. His name has been frequently used
He never used harsh language toward the Rebels, and never liked to hear others
do so. He spoke generously of the Southern officers, and of the bravery of their
men. His manners were remarkably mild. It was the same with Mrs. Hayes.
As soon as he was out of danger, she used to spend a part of every day in the
hospitals, visiting Rebels and Union men alike. She took grapes to them, and
any other delicacies she could get, and sometimes she would read to those who
liked to hear her. She had a great many favorites, but she was attentive to all,
and admired by everybody." — Friendly relations were maintained between the
Hayes and Rudy families for many years.

WOUNDED AT SOUTH MOUNTAIN 203
within a few days in connection with the representation in Congress of
the Second District; and it is due to truth to say that the district is for
tunate, indeed, if it contains a more able, excellent, popular man. His
capacity as a civilian has been shown in a successful career at the bar;
and it is well known that he is a clear-sighted, strong, honest man, with
deep convictions, earnest purposes, and an unblemished record. He
entered the army early in the war, and has been faithful, alert, brave,
and energetic in the discharge of his duties as an officer. In the several
engagements in which he has participated, he handled his men with
skill and without bravado performed a heroic part.1
This further record (made by Colonel Comly) relating to the
Twenty-third at this time is of interest: —
President Lincoln arrived from Washington October 1, and remained
several days, visiting the battlefields of South Mountain and Antietam,
and reviewing the victorious troops. In so doing he rode along in front of
the line, accompanied by generals McClellan and Burnside, with several
of their staff officers. He rode a white horse, and his pantaloons had
worked up nearly to the top of his boots, presenting a comical appear
ance. When he arrived at that portion of the line where the Twenty-
third was stationed, General Burnside pointed towards the regiment,
making some remark, when President Lincoln immediately turned his
horse and rode over towards the colors of the regiment. General Burn
side called his attention to the flag which was at salute. The color ser
geant then raised the flag and held it horizontally, to show how it had
been riddled by bullets and shells. The President seemed much affected
by the account which General Burnside gave him of the loss which the
regiment had sustained in the two battles, and particularly at South
Mountain. The healing of Hayes's wound made rapid progress and
October 4 he was able to write his mother as follows: —
My birthday — forty years old — a good, happy day, pleasantly and
sadly spent looking over the battlefield and visiting the graves of our
gallant dead with Lucy. We leave here to-morrow, go to Baltimore
and thence via Harrisburg and Cleveland to Fremont, and expect to
reach Columbus about the last of next week, — say the 10th or 11th.
My arm is doing well, will be all right in a month or six weeks.
Hayes was with his family and friends in Ohio on leave during
October and most of November, where he was an interested
observer of the progress of events. He was not disheartened by
the Union reverses nor by the result of the elections. To Sardis
Birchard, November 12, he wrote: —
* Commercial, October 1, 1862.

204^ RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
The elections don't worry me. They will, I hope, spur the Adminis
tration to more vigor. The removal of McClellan, and the trial of Buell
and Fitz-John Porter; the dismissal of Ford, and substituting Schenck
for Wool, all look like life. General Burnside may not have ability
for so great a command, but he has energy, boldness, and luck on his
side. Rosecrans, too, is likely to drive things. All_fhj_s is more than
compensation fxg-thfi.defea_t-of a number_af. ojux . politicians by the poli
ticians of thejrttarjikje^J^y^^ it will be_warlike,
notwithstanding Vallandigham and others. Governor*~Seymour has
made a speech in Utica since his election indicating this. Besides, that
party in power_must be a war party.
Meanwhile, early in October, General Cox and his division had
been ordered back to West Virginia. The Twenty-third Regi
ment marched to Hancock to take the cars for Clarksburg. At
Hancock it was ordered to go in hot pursuit of Stuart's cavalry,
which was reported to be making a raid in Pennsylvania. No
enemy was discovered and the following day (October 13) the
Twenty-third returned to Hancock, having eaten breakfast in
Pennsylvania, dinner in Maryland, and supper in Virginia. The
next day the regiment was transported to Clarksburg, from
which point it marched to the Kanawha, passing over almost
exactly the same route by which it moved on its first arrival in
western Virginia fifteen months before. The regiment went into
quarters at Camp Maskell, on the south side of the Kanawha,
two miles below Gauley Bridge and in sight of the falls. There
Hayes joined his regiment November 30, his wound well healed,
but his arm not yet fully restored to its normal strength. The
next day he wrote his wife : —
We are on the south side of the Kanawha — same side as the Eighty-
ninth — at the ferry below, and in sight of, the falls, two miles below
Gauley Bridge. There, do you know where we are? It is a muddy (bad,
slippery mud) place, and as it rains or sleets here all winter, that is a
serious objection. Now you have the worst of it. In all other respects,
it is a capital place. Beautiful scenery, — don't be alarmed, I won't de
scribe, — no guard or picket duty, scarcely; good water and wood, con
venient to navigation, no other folks near enough to bother, and many
other advantages. The men are building cabins without tools or lumber
(sawed lumber, I mean), and will be at it some weeks yet before we look
like living. It was jolly enough to get back with the men, all healthy
and contented; glad to be back in western Virginia by themselves.
They greeted me most cordially. It was like getting home after a long
absence. The officers all came in, twenty-four in number, and around

WOUNDED AT SOUTH MOUNTAIN 205
the wine, etc., you saw packed, talked over the funny and sad things
of the campaign; few sad, many funny. We resolved to build a five
hundred dollar monument to the killed, to be put in cemetery ground
at Cleveland. . . .
The Eighty-ninth were camped on this ground. When the Twenty-
third moved up alongside of them, the officer of the day in the Eighty-
ninth was heard by some of our men telling in his camp that they were
near an old regiment now, and that they must be watchful at night or the
Twenty-third would steal whatever they wanted. That night, cook-
stoves, blankets, a tent from over the sleepers' heads, and a quantity
of other property mysteriously disappeared from the Eighty-ninth,
notwithstanding their vigilance. Our men sympathized; our camp was
searched, but, of course, nothing was found. After the Eighty-ninth
moved, men were seen pulling out of the river stoves and other plunder
by the quantity. The Eighty-ninth surgeon was a friend of Captain
Canby. He called on the captain a few days ago and was surprised to
find his cooking-stove doing duty in Captain Canby's tent. The best
of it was, the Eighty-ninth appeared to take it in good faith.
Camp Maskell, December 14. — Very glad, indeed, the bag is found;
glad you read the article of Dr. Holmes in the Atlantic Monthly.1 It
is indeed a defense pat for your case. I knew you would like it. You
must keep it. When we are old folks it will freshly remind us of a very
interesting part of our war experience. If the enchanted bag contains
my spurs, and if they are both alike (which I doubt), you may send
them to me when a good chance offers. The pair I now use are those
worn by Lorin Andrews, and given me by McCook. I don't want to lose
them. — The fine weather of the past week has been very favorable for
our business and we are getting on rapidly. The river is so low that a
cold snap would freeze it up, and leave us "out in the cold" in a very
serious way — that is, without the means of getting grub. . . .
One of our new second lieutenants, McKinley [William McKinley,
Jr.], a handsome, bright, gallant boy, got back last night. He went to
Ohio to recruit with the other orderly sergeants of the regiment. He
tells good stories of their travels. The Twelfth and Thirtieth sergeants
stopped at second-class hotels, but the Twenty-third boys " splurged."
They stopped at the American and swung by the big figure. Very
proper. They are the generals of the next war.2 . . .
1 " If you were only here, would n't I like to read My Hunt after the Captain.
Don't laugh any more. Really, the learned doctor was more bothered and out
of his wits than 'your wife; once within ten miles, then back again to Philadel
phia. I shall send you the number, for fear you do not get it. This has pleased
me a great deal. Let me know how you like it." (Letter from Mrs. Hayes,
December 4.)
2 The report of Lieutenant-Colonel Comly after the battles of South Mountain
and Antietam, on which Colonel Hayes recommended the promotion of young
McKinley, is worth reading in this connection: " Commissary Sergeant McKinley

206 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
P.S. Three months ago to-day, the battle of South Mountain. We
celebrated it by climbing the mountain, on the other side of the river, to
the castle-like looking rocks which overlook the falls of the Kanawha.
Captains Hood, Zimmerman, Canby, Lovejoy, and Lieutenant Bacon
were of the party. Hood and I beat the crowd to the top. Hood, the
worst wounded, up first. When I saw him shot through that day, I
little thought I would ever see him climbing mountains again.1
Camp Maskell, December 20. — Another serious reverse. Burnside's
repulse at Fredericksburg is bad enough, as it looks from my point of
view. It would seem as if neither party in eastern Virginia was strong
enough to make a successful invasion of the territory of the other,
which is equivalent to saying that the Rebellion can there sustain itself
as long as it stands on the defensive. I don't like two things in this cam
paign of General Burnside: First, it looks as if his first delay opposite
Fredericksburg was an error. Second, to attack an enemy of equal (or
nearly equal) strength behind entrenchments is always an error. This
battle is a set-off for Antietam. That forced the Rebels back across the
Potomac. This forces us back across the Rappahannock. We suffer, I
fear, a larger proportionate loss. I suspect the enemy lost but little com
paratively. Now remains our last card — the emancipation of the slaves.
That may do it. Some signs of wavering are pointed out by the corre
spondents, but I trust the President will now stand firm. I was not in
a hurry to wish such a policy [adopted, but I don't now wish to see
it abandoned. Our army is not seriously weakened by the affair at
Fredericksburg and very slight events will change the scale in our favor.
Push on the emancipation policy, and all will yet go well. Our partisan
ship about generals is now rebuked. General McClellan has serious
faults or defects, but his friends can truly claim that if he had retained
command this disaster would not have occurred. The people and press
would perhaps do well to cultivate patience. It is a virtue much needed
in so equal a struggle as this. If the people can hold out we shall find
the right men after a while.2
showed ability and energy of the first class, in not only keeping us fully supplied
with rations throughout the fight, but in having them fully prepared for eating
also. We had plenty when everybody else was short. He delivered them to us
under fire in two instances, with perfect method and coolness."
, * Letter to Mrs. Hayes. ! Letter to Sardis Birchard.

CHAPTER XIH
1863— IN GARRISON AND ON FORAY — MORGAN'S RAH)
THE beginning of 1863 found the Twenty-third in comfort
able log cabins at the camp near the falls of the Kanawha.
The name was changed from Camp Maskell to Camp Reynolds.
Ditches had been dug under Hayes's direction which thoroughly
drained the camp, a good parade ground was made, and the regi
ment was settled down to easy winter service. General Ewing
had just been sent south with several regiments, and the com
mand of the brigade had devolved upon Colonel Nelson H.
Van Vorhes, of the Ninety-second Ohio. This was a new regi
ment which had seen no service and Colonel Van Vorhes was
fresh from civil life. But his commission was issued a few weeks
before Hayes's promotion, and so despite Hayes's abundant
experience Van Vorhes outranked him. Hayes could not fail to
feel the injustice of being made the subordinate of an untried
officer, but he writes in his diary: "It is according to rule and I
shall cheerfully submit. ... I am here to do my duty wherever I
am placed, and I mean to do it fully and cheerfully wherever the
credit goes." The command of Van Vorhes was of short dura
tion. Barely a week passed before Hayes was appointed to the
command of the First Brigade of the Second Kanawha Division,
consisting at first of his own regiment, the Eighty-ninth Ohio,
and two small bodies of cavalry.
The last week in January Mrs. Hayes with the two eldest
boys joined her husband for a two months' visit and shared his
quarters — a double log cabin with two rooms eighteen by
twenty feet in size. The next two months passed very pleasantly.
On this visit and on subsequent visits to the army, Mrs. Hayes
by her beauty, charm of manner, tact, and assiduous kindness
in caring for the comfort of the soldiers in camp and hospital,
won their admiration and gratitude, which were manifested on
every suitable occasion as long as she lived.1 About the middle
1 One instance of Mrs. Hayes's kindness the men of the Twenty-third never

208 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
of March, Hayes was ordered to garrison Charleston. He estab
lished headquarters at Camp White, directly across the river
from the city, having the Twenty-third Regiment with him.
The other parts of his brigade were stationed at various points on
the river above and below, but all within easy reach. March 22,
Hayes writes his uncle: —
We seem intended for a permanent garrison here. We shall probably
be visited by the Rebels while here. Our force is small, but will perhaps
do. My command is Twenty-third Ohio, Fifth and Thirteenth Virginia,
three companies of cavalry, and a fine battery. I have some of the best,
and, I suspect, some of about the poorest, troops in service. They are
scattered from Gauley to the mouth of Sandy on the Kentucky line.
They are well posted to keep down bushwhacking and the like, but would
be of small account against an invading force. We have three weak but
very good regiments, Twenty-third, Twelfth, and Thirty-fourth Ohio,
some — a small amount of — good cavalry and good artillery, and
about three or four regiments of indifferent infantry. So we shall prob
ably see fun, if the enemy thinks it worth while to come in.
Hayes believed that the general conditions were favorable for
a vigorous prosecution of the war. March 24 he writes in his
diary: —
In the North a reaction favorablejtojthejwar is taking_place. The
peacelnerT^^sympaf mzenTwith .the Rebels,, called Copperheads or. But
ternuts — are mostly of the Democratic .party ._ Theyjgained. jstrength
last fall by an adroit handling of the draft, the ta,x.,law arrests, the
policy favorable to the negrp^ and the mistakes^and lack .OJ_yjgor in
tired of relating. There was in the regiment an unsophisticated country lad
named James Saunders who never suspected when his comrades played jokes on
him. Soon after Mrs. Hayes's arrival in camp and before it was generally known,
one of the boys said to Jim, who was lamenting the sad condition of his blouse:
" Did n't you know there is a woman at the colonel's quarters whose business it is
to mend the boys' clothes?" "I'll go this afternoon," Jim said, "and have my
blouse doctored." The boys waited in high glee for his return. He soon reap
peared in shirt-sleeves. The boys asked what happened. Jim replied : " I told the
colonel that I heered there was a woman there to do sewing for the boys, and as
my blouse needed mendin' and buttons sewed on, I had come to get it done. He
kind o' smiled, and turned to the woman settin' there and asked her if she could
fix the blouse for me, and she said she could as well as not, as she had nothing
special on hand. So I took it off and left it, the colonel tellin' me to call
'round this afternoon and git it. You all seem to laugh, but I don't see anything
funny." The boys broke into a loud chorus of laughter, and one of them said:
"Jim, don't you know that that woman is the colonel's wife?" "I don't care;
she 's a lady anyhow, and I am goin' to git my blouse, just as she told me to." He
did go, and was again received in that manner which made him forget himself
and his awkwardness, and his blouse was restored to him in perfect repair.

1863 — IN GARRISON AND ON FORAY 209
prosecuting the war. This led to overconfidence, and a more open hos
tility to the war itself. ThTsgajara inTEe Held consiaered this "a fire
in the rear," and "giving aid and comfort to the enemy ";_they_accord-
mglyTSy addresses and resolutions made known their sentiments. Loyal
Democrats, like John Van Buren [and] James T. Brady, begin to speak
out in the same strain. A considerable reaction is observable. The late
acts of Congress, the conscription, the financial measures, and Habeas
Corpus Act give the Government great power and the country more
confidence. If the conscription is wisely and energetically administered
there is much reason to hope for good results. In the meantime the
Rebels are certainly distressed for want of provisions. The_ negro policy
doesji^t seemjto accomplish much. A few negro troops give rise to dis
turbances where they come in contact with our men a.nd do not as yet
worry the enemy a great deal.
Camp White was fortified so as to enable the small garrison
to hold out against a largely superior force in case of attack.
Jenkins and his men made a sudden foray upon Hurricane
Bridge where the Thirteenth Virginia of Hayes's brigade was
stationed. They were repulsed and started for Point Pleasant.
They attempted to seize two steamboats from Charleston, firing
on them from ambush from both sides of the river. But the cap
tains refused to stop, running the gantlet of the musketry and
so kept on their way. Thereupon the Rebels proceeded down the
river to Point Pleasant, taking all the horses and cattle they
could find, and captured the town. But they held it only a few
hours when they were driven out and retreated up the river.
Meanwhile, on the report reaching Charleston that the steamers
had been fired oh^Colonel Comly had been sent down the river
with five companies of the Twenty-third to defend Coalsmouth.
From there he was ordered to go on down the river to prevent
Jenkinsfs men from recrossing to the south side. But the Rebels
crossed/before Comly could get to them. The Jenkins "raid was
a failure," writes Hayes. "He lost about one hundred fifty men
while in this region and accomplished nothing."
Nothing disturbed the monotony of garrison life for many
weeks. Mrs. Hayes with her mother and all the boys visited the
camp in June and remained two weeks. The visit was saddened
by the death of the youngest boy, then eighteen months old. In
July a movement was made against Raleigh, the troops going
up the river by boat to Loup Creek and then marching toward
Fayetteville. Raleigh was reached July 14, and the enemy was

210 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
found to be strongly entrenched at Piney River. "It was deemed
unsafe," writes Hayes, "to assault in front, and finding it would
take much time to turn the position, it was resolved to leave
without attempting to storm the works. During the night the
Rebels kindly relieved us by running away." The next day the
Rebel camp was destroyed and General Scammon's command
started back to Fayetteville, which was reached on the 16th.
There the telegraph brought word of John Morgan's raid in
Ohio. The famous leader was reported to be at Piketon moving
east to destroy the Union stores at Gallipolis and to escape across
the river at that point. It was expected that he would reach
Gallipolis on the morning of the 18th. Hayes conceived the
idea that it would be possible to march to Loup Creek that night,
take steamers there in the morning, and arrive at Gallipolis in
time to give Morgan a warm welcome. He telegraphed to his
quartermaster at Charleston, asking if there were steamers avail
able. The instant reply was that two were there. Hayes ordered
these started at once for Loup Creek. General Scammon was
inclined to doubt the feasibility of the plan when Hayes asked
permission to carry it out. The men had marched seventeen
miles in the hot sun that day and were in no condition for a
forced night march. It was doubtful whether if they embarked
they could reach the Ohio in time to be of service. But Hayes
was so much in earnest in pressing his plan that Scammon finally
accepted it and prepared to go with four regiments and McMul
len's battery, Hayes having command of the Twenty-third Ohio
and the Thirteenth Virginia. Hayes at once went to the camp
where the men were busy cooking their suppers and told them
what it was proposed to do. They received the word with a shout
of pleasure, and crying, "We are off for God's country," made
hasty preparations for the march. They marched steadily till
near midnight when they rested for two hours or so. Just after
daylight, as they were approaching Loup Creek, they saw the
steamers rounding the river bend. Boats and men reached the
landing at' almost the same time. The embarkation took place
without delay. The tired men threw themselves upon the decks
and slept most of the day as the steamers moved down the river.
The next morning bright and early the steamers were at Galli
polis. The troops quickly disembarked and prepared to receive

MORGAN'S RAID 211
Morgan, who was reported to be within five miles of the town.
Presently, however, word was brought in by scouts that he had
veered off and was making up the river as though with the inten
tion of seeking to cross at Pomeroy. The troops at once returned
to the steamers which started up the river to Pomeroy, arriving
there the next morning. Militia were in force here. About noon
Morgan came. The Twenty-third went out to meet him, and
finding him in force sent back for the Thirteenth Virginia, and
the two regiments formed in line of battle and threw out skir
mishers. Morgan's men dismounted and did the same. The
Rebel commander evidently expected to find only militia. On
seeing the well-defined skirmish line he held a brief consultation
with his officers. Doubt was dispelled as to the character of the
forces confronting him when the battle line appeared. Seeing
that the Federal troops were "regulars and not militia," — to
use the Rebel's words, — Morgan refused battle and hurried off
with some loss. One man in the Twenty-third was wounded
slightly in the hand.
Morgan started across country for Buffington Island. Hayes's
men reembarked and the steamers started around the long bend
of the river, reaching the island at daylight the next morning.
Here Morgan was attacked by General Judah's cavalry assisted
by the gunboats and by Hayes's command. There was "not
much fighting by the Rebels," Hayes records, "but great confu
sion, loss of artillery, etc." Many of Morgan's men surrendered;
the remnant fled up the river seekmg some place to cross.
Hayes's steamers started up the river and guarded the fords at
Lee's Creek, Belleville, and Hocking. The next day they went
back to Gallipolis, Hayes recording: "Morgan's army gone up.
We got over two hundred prisoners. Everybody got some. No
fight in them. The most successful and jolly little campaign we
ever had." It is probably not to be wondered at that there was
"no fight in them" after their long and arduous raid and running
fight of a fortnight across two States. Lieutenant Abbott with
ten men captured a hundred of Morgan's men and a whole com
pany of our militia. Morgan's men, being without horses or food
and completely exhausted, were seeking some regulars to sur
render to. They saw Union troops approaching and sent out a
flag of truce with instructions to surrender if the troops were

212 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
regulars; to demand their surrender if they were militia. They
proved to be militia, who promptly gave up their arms to the
Rebels. Not long after, Lieutenant Abbott and his handful of
men were met, and when Morgan's men found them to be regu
lars they surrendered, prisoners and all, and were marched into
camp.1 Hayes had a right to be happy over the success of this
little campaign. While the cavalry that pursued Morgan so long
and far deserved the lion's share of the credit for annihilating the
Rebel army, and the militia and gunboats did their part, there
can be little doubt that Morgan would have got across the Ohio,
with the most of his force, at least, at Pomeroy, if the troops
from the Kanawha had not been there to intercept him.
Hayes got back to Camp White with the Twenty-third on
July 22. The Thirteenth Virginia was left at Point Pleasant.
During his absence General Scammon's cavalry had gone from
Raleigh on a* raid into Virginia to cut the East Tennessee
and Virginia Railroad. They penetrated the enemy's country as
far as Wytheville, where they had a desperate encounter, and
1 A similar capture is recorded in the following report: —
On boabd Steameb B. C. Levi, 20 July, 1863.
Colonel Hates, — We have the honor to submit the following report: On
Friday, July 19, we were going from Racine, Ohio, to Buffington Island; when
within about four and one half miles of the latter place, two armed citizens (we
supposed them to be militiamen) came riding toward us at full speed. They halted
and informed us that they had just seen two hundred Rebel cavalry on the road
leading to Oldtown, and that they were advancing on the place. We had met a
company of militia a short distance back, and proposed that these two citizens
ride on and bring them up. They went in pursuit of the company of militia, but
returned with only one man, a private in the Eighth Kentucky U.S. Cavalry.
We now advanced cautiously toward the Oldtown Road, and when within a short
distance of said road, overtook one Captain Seeson. We now numbered six, all
told. When within sight of the road leading to Oldtown, we saw the column of
Rebel cavalry advancing. It was our intention to fire, which we were preparing
to do, when the column halted, and the man in advance drew his rammer, tied a
white handkerchief to it, and rode forward. When he came up, he stated that
they were one hundred and forty-five of Morgan's command of Confederate
cavalry, and wished to surrender, making the remark, " Boys, we have captured
lots of you, but you have got us this time." The terms of the surrender were
"unconditional"; we accepted them, went forward, disarmed the Rebels, and
having no transportation for arms, threw them by the roadside. We then
escorted the column to General Hobson's quarters, near Buffington Island, where
we were relieved. — Very respectfully, Alfred Abthttb,
D. H. KlMBERLEY,
Co. A, 23d O.V.I.

MORGAN'S RAID ' 213
sustamed severe losses. But the raid did great damage to the
Rebels, as the following letter to Sardis Birchard of August 6
shows: —
I think it probable that we shall remain in West Virginia. The enemy
has become alarmed by our movements against the Tennessee Rail
road, and has been strengthening their posts in front of us until now we
have twice our numbers watching us. To keep them out of mischief,
it is more likely that our force will be increased rather than diminished.
A gunboat has come up to help us within the last half -hour. Our Wythe-
ville raid did the Rebels more harm than was reported — five thousand
suits of clothing, over four thousand new arms, and quantities of sup
plies were burned. I think they will not attempt to drive us out in their
present scarcity of men and means.
The next few months were spent in garrison duty at Camp
White. Excerpts from letters and diary will show the progress of
events: —
Camp White, August 25. — I keep my cavalry moving as much as pos
sible; the infantry has little to do. The prisoners taken and deserters
coming in all talk in a way that indicates great despondency in Dixie.
If the movements of Rosecrans on Chattanooga, Burnside towards Cum
berland Gap, and Gilmore at Charleston are reasonably successful, the
Rebellion will be nearer its end by the middle of October than I have
anticipated. A great contrast between the situation now and a year ago
when Lee was beating Pope out of the Valley and threatening Washing
ton. Beat the peace men in your elections and the restoration of the
Union is sure to come in good time.1
Gallipolis, September 24- — Lucy arrived here safely last night. We
shall go up the Kanawha to-morrow. I hope that Rosecrans will be able
to hold Chattanooga after all. If he does, this struggle will be a most
serious disaster to the Confederacy, even if they have gained the battle,
as a mere military result.2
September 30. — To-day I explained to the Twenty-third Order No.
191 respecting the reenlistment of veteran volunteers. I told them I
would not urge them to reenlist; that my opinion was that the war
would end soon after the inauguration of a new President or of Lincoln
for a second term — say within one year after the expiration of their
present term i.e., June, 1865, — unless foreign nations intervened, in
which case they would all expect to fight again. About sixty (60) re-
enlisted.3 1 Letter to Sardis Birchard. ' Letter to Sardis Birchard.
• Diary.

214 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
October 19. — You are a prophet. Brough's J majority is "glorious to
behold." It is worth a big victory in the field. It is decisive as to the
disposition of the people to prosecute the war to the end. My regiment
and brigade were both unanimous for Brough. Lucy will go to Chilli-
cothe and home this week. She will fix up mother, gather the chickens
and return in two or three weeks, if all things look well, for the winter.2
November 7. — I am asked if I would not be gratified if my friends
would procure me promotion to a brigadier-generalship. My feeling is
that I would rather be one of the good colonels than one of the poor
generals. The colonel of a regiment has the most agreeable position in
the service and one of the most useful. "A good colonel makes a good
regiment," is an axiom. Two things make me sometimes think it desir
able to have the promotion, viz., the risk of having a stupid brigadier
put over me and the difficulty and uncertainty of keeping up my regi
ment, — that is, the risk of losing my colonelcy.3
Camp White, December 4- — We are threatened with a Rebel invasion
again; if they don't come after us, it looks now as if we should go after
them. When this is over, our men will generally go home, and I am
pretty likely to go also. About the last of this month or early in Janu
ary, if matters go well, I shall probably visit you.4
' Four days later Hayes started with his command under
General Scammon for a campaign to Lewisburg, to cooperate
with General Averell in an attack on the railroad at Salem.
There were four days of hard marching after leaving the boats
at the head of navigation. The outposts of the Rebels were
encountered twelve miles out from Lewisburg and were driven
back through the town. The next day the army started back for
the Kanawha. Many of the men of the Twenty-third, having
been so long in camp at Charleston, had discarded their heavy
service shoes for closer-fitting footgear. The marching in the
mild weather soon made them footsore and they threw away
their shoes. But on leaving Lewisburg a cold rain set in which
presently turned to snow. To add to their discomfort they had
no shelter at night. The last day and night they marched nearly
all the time to keep warm, singing to keep up their spirits. Be
fore leaving Charleston Hayes had been urging the men to
reenlist. Now the men kept shouting, "Show me the man who
wants us to reenlist," or "Show me the d  d fool who will
1 Union candidate for Governor of Ohio. i Letter to Sardis Birchard.
• Diary, j >, « Letter to Sardis Birchard.

MORGAN'S RAID 215
reenlist." But when the boats were reached, Hayes telegraphed
to Camp White to have rousing fires kindled in all the quarters
and hot coffee and supper ready against the arrival of the men.
Then, when they were refreshed by the good cheer, he spoke to
them again, urging them to reenlist. A ball in the interest of the
Sanitary Commission was to be given Christmas Eve at Cleve
land. By leaving next morning, December 19, men could get
there in time. All that reenlisted should have an immediate fur
lough. The appeal was not in vain; many reenlisted and the next
day two companies started on furlough for Ohio. A few days
later Hayes was able to record that about three hundred had
reenlisted and that his regiment could now fairly be called a
veteran regiment. It was, indeed, the first regiment of Ohio to
be entitled to that distinction. This was due to the zeal and
earnestness with which Hayes had exhorted the men to continue
in the service.
Hayes's headquarters remained at Camp White till the last of
April, 1864. Mrs. Hayes and the two younger boys were in camp
with him till that time and the oldest boy for the last month and
a half, when Hayes and Mrs. Hayes returned from a month's
visit in Ohio. During the winter most of the men went home
on furlough; new recruits were added to the regiments and
received much drill. Early in February, General Scammon and
two members of his staff were surprised at night on a steamboat
a few miles up the river from Point Pleasant and captured. Of
this incident Hayes wrote his uncle: —
The capture of General Scammon and two of his staff will postpone
my coming a few days — only a few days, I hope. I must be cautious
what I say, but to you I can write that his capture is the greatest joke
of the war. It was sheer carelessness, bad luck, and accident. Every
body laughs when he is alone, and very intimate friends laugh in concert
when together. General Scammon's great point was his caution. He
bored us all terribly with his extreme vigilance. The greatest crime in
his eyes was a surprise. Here he is caught in the greenest and bmost
inexcusable way.
General Crook was placed in command of the Kanawha
forces, much to Hayes's satisfaction, and preparations were
made for a vigorous campaign, as soon as the weather permitted,
by much the same route as that taken by General Cox's army in

216 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
the spring of 1862 and by General Scammon's cavalry in 1863,
to reach the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad, burn the
bridges and destroy the tracks. With the coming of settled
weather in the last of April, General Crook's command was
materially strengthened. April 20, Hayes wrote his uncle: —
It now seems certain that we are to take an active part in the sum
mer's campaign. We expect to see some of the severe fighting. The
Rebel troops in our front are as good as any, and we shall attempt to
push them away. My brigade is three large regiments of infantry, con
taining a good many new recruits. They have been too much scattered
(at ten or twelve places) to be properly drilled and disciplined. Still,
we have some of the best men in service. Of course, if they should make
a falter in action, I will be a good deal exposed, otherwise, not so much
as heretofore. Still I have no misgivings on my own account, and
even if I had, you know my views of such things well enough to know
that it would not disturb me much.
A week later Hayes bade good-bye to wife and boys, and the
great raid was begun.

CHAPTER XIV
1864 — ADVANCE AND RETREAT — CLOYD MOUNTAIN
GENERAL FRANZ SIGEL was in command of the Depart
ment of West Virginia and was the immediate superior of
General Crook. But the latter had been in direct communica
tion and consultation with General Grant, who originated the
plan for the West Virginia campaign. Sigel was to move up the
Shenandoah Valley simultaneously with Crook's advance from
the Kanawha. Crook was to reach the railway, do all the damage
he could, subsisting as much as possible on the country, and
withdraw when he could no longer maintain himself to Lewis
burg, whence he was expected to be able to effect a junction
with Sigel if that general was successful in pushing forward
to Staunton. General W. W. Averell, in command of Crook's
cavalry division of about two thousand men, was sent from
Charleston by way of Logan Court House to strike the railway
at Saltville. He was to burn the saltworks if possible and march
east to Dublin destroying the railroad as he went. Crook with
the rest of the army proceeded by way of Fayetteville and
Raleigh to Princeton. His army was in three brigades and num
bered 6155 men. Hayes commanded the First Brigade, consist
ing of the Twenty-third and Thirty-sixth Ohio and parts of
the Thirty-fourth Ohio, mounted infantry, and the Fifth and
Seventh Virginia Cavalry, all dismounted. To deceive the enemy
as to his point of attack, Crook had ordered a demonstration
made from Beverly, and had sent the Fifth Virginia to Lewis
burg. So well did his plan succeed that he met no opposition
until he reached Princeton, where a small force of cavalry was
encountered and driven off. McCausland's brigade had gone
from there only the night before to meet Crook at Lewisburg,
leaving their tents standing. These were burnt and Crook pushed
on south by the shorter but more difficult Rocky Gap Road,1
1 " At Princeton we found and captured without a shot an elaborate earth
fort, beautifully sodded on its side and marked with sod 'Fort Breckinridge.'
The boys soon changed the lettering to 'Fort Crook.'" (Russell Hastings,
MS. Memoirs.)

218 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
avoiding the easier route by way of the New River Narrows by
which the Rebels now expected him.
Two days' march from Princeton brought the Union forces on
May 8 to Shannon's Bridge, on the northwestern slope of Cloyd
Mountain. Here it was reported that General A. G. Jenkins was
in force on the summit of the mountain. The next morning, with
the Second Brigade and two regiments of the Third, Crook
ascended the mountain to the left of the road. When he reached
the summit he discovered the enemy three quarters of a mile
away entrenched on a wooded spur opposite to and commanding
the road where it leaves the mountain. As soon as the Union
forces appeared, the Rebel artillery opened vigorously. Crook
sent the Second Brigade to the left to turn the enemy's right
flank, and with the two regiments of the Third joined the rest
of his command which was already descending the slope. The
Second Brigade had many bushy ridges and deep gullies to pass
and was some time in getting into position. Meanwhile the First
Brigade (Hayes's) was ordered to the left of the road to join on
to the right of the Second Brigade, and the Third to form on
the right of the First. Hayes's brigade found great difficulty in
reaching its position. The woods were so dense and the acclivi
ties so precipitous that the officers had to abandon their horses
and proceed on foot. Finally about noon position was reached
at the foot of the mountain in the edge of a forest, where the lines
were hastily formed. Between the forest and the base of the hill
on which the Rebels were posted stretched a meadow several
hundred yards in width. The hill was skirted by a muddy stream
two or three feet deep. As soon as the firing on thejextreme
left indicated that the Second Brigade was in position, General
Crook ordered the other two brigades to charge.
Across the meadow Hayes's men went under a galling fire of
musketry and artillery, never wavering, plunged through the
stream, and dropped down for a moment's rest under cover of
the hill. Then up the steep hill they rushed, Hayes in the van,
undeterred by the fierce volleys of musketry and grape which
wrought sad havoc in their ranks — up the hill and over the
breastworks yelling like demons, as at South Mountain. The
fight continued for a time at close range, but the impetuosity of
the Union charge at last bore all before it; the Rebel line began

CLOYD MOUNTAIN 219
to waver and fall back, and soon broke in confusion and was in
full retreat toward Dublin Depot, five miles away. Two miles
from the railway the fleeing Rebels were met by reenforcements,
five hundred men that had just arrived by train from Morgan's
army at Saltville, and a fresh stand was made. Hayes with part
of his brigade and two guns of McMullen's battery was in close
pursuit. The guns were at once brought into play, and Hayes
ordered his men to charge, "yelling like devils." The enemy was
quickly routed and the day was won. Crook's losses were 107
killed, 508 wounded, and 28 missing. He captured 230 prisoners,
— not including wounded men, among whom was General
Jenkins, — two guns,1 and many small arms. Crook estimated
the Rebel losses in dead and wounded at about a thousand, say
ing, "We buried over two hundred of the enemy's dead." But
the report of General McCausland, who assumed command
when Jenkins was disabled, gives the total Rebel loss, killed,
wounded, prisoners, and missing, as 538.
At Dublin Depot many public stores were captured. The rest
of the day was spent in burying the dead and caring for the
wounded. From lack of transportation two hundred of the more
severely wounded had to be left in charge of surgeons and with
abundant supplies near the battlefield. The Rebels retreated
eastward toward New River Bridge, and the next morning our
1 " The battery was captured, and the Twenty-third Ohio, having fortunately
passed over it, claimed it as their own. A young recruit of Company B passing
by one of the guns took off his cap and with an Indian war-whoop jammed it into
the muzzle. . . . Some few members went back to these guns after the enemy had
been thoroughly routed and found them in the possession of a corporal's guard
of the Pennsylvania Buck Tails. They claimed they had charged and captured
them. The boys tried to persuade them they were in the wrong; that the Twenty-
third had passed over the battery a few moments after the Buck Tails had turned
tail and run away. The guard would not allow any one to pass. Our boys
thought they might have to capture the guns again by force, when the boy recruit,
without cap, came back. He took the case in at once, and in the most respectful
tone said: 'Mr. Corporal, may I go to that gun and get my cap?' The corporal
was considerably nonplussed and said: 'No one can touch those guns. We have
had charge of them ever since we captured them, and shall continue to hold
them.' The boy said: 'Well, Mr. Corporal, if I cannot go to the gun, won't you
please run your hand into that gun on the left of the battery, and there you will
find my cap, which I jammed in there while you were skedaddling back into the
woods.' The cap was found with '23d Ohio' on the front, and that corporal's
guard, amidst the jeers of the Twenty-third boys, melted away." (Russell
Hastings, MS. Memoirs.)

220 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
army followed destroying the railway as it moved. The Rebels
had crossed the river and posted their artillery so as to command
the approach to the bridge. Crook's artillery was placed in
position at advantageous points on the west side of the river
and an artillery duel, which made much noise and caused little
damage, continued for two hours. Meanwhile a company was
sent to burn the bridge. In spite of the continuous firing of the
enemy this was successfully accomplished by fighting fires in
freight cars and pushing them out upon the bridge. Soon cars
and bridge were burning fiercely. The band of the Twenty-third
played and all the men hurrahed as the flames crept to the top of
the high bridge leaping from timber to timber. Within two hours
this great bridge, four hundred feet long, had tumbled into the
river and disappeared.1
Crook had accomplished the main purpose of his raid in burn
ing the bridge. At Dublin he had seen dispatches from Rich
mond reporting the repulse of General Grant, and he decided
that he had best direct his course at once toward Lewisburg. The
afternoon after the bridge was destroyed he marched twelve
miles down the river to Pepper's Ferry and crossed to the east
side and the next day reached Blacksburg. From here the army
moved back over Salt Pond and Peter's Mountains by way of
Union to Alderson's Ferry on the Greenbrier River, reaching
there on May 15. The four days' march was full of hardship. A
cold, dreary rain fell most of the time, the roads were seas of
mud, provisions and forage were scanty, horses gave out, and
wagons had to be abandoned, and the enemy's cavalry appeared
from time to time, and, though always repulsed, caused some
anxiety. At Union, General Averell had joined Crook. His movement
had been almost barren of results. After a most arduous march
of eight days through the mountains he drew near to Saltville
only to learn that it was strongly held. Without venturing an
attack he moved on to Wytheville, where, on the afternoon of
1 " One spectacle you would have enjoyed. The Rebels contested our approach
to the bridge for two or three hours. At last we drove them off and set it on fire.
All the troops were marched up to see it — flags and music and cheering. On a
lovely afternoon the beautiful heights of New River were covered with our regi
ments watching the burning bridge. It was a most animating scene." (From
letter, May 19, to Mrs. Hayes.) ..

CLOYD MOUNTAIN 221
May 10, he attacked a force under General Morgan which he
believed to be considerably larger than his own. The fight was
maintained till dark without decisive result. Averell, hopeless of
winning, moved rapidly east,1 crossed New River, the 12th, de
stroyed the railway for several miles east, burning the shops at
Christiansburg, and started north to overtake Crook. It took
two days to get all of Crook's command across the Greenbrier by
the ferry, the high water making fording impossible. By May 19
the whole army had reached Meadow Bluff — having spent nine
days in making a march which with good weather would have
been made in four. The Fifth Virginia was there with supplies,
and the men were soon rested and recuperated from their three
weeks of continuous marching, fighting, and exposure.2 The first
day in camp Hayes wrote his uncle: —
Meadow Bluff, Greenbrier County,
West Virginia, May 19, 1864.
Deab Uncle, — We are safely within what we now call "our own
lines" after twenty-one days of marching, fighting, starving, etc., etc.
For twelve days we have had nothing to eat except what the country
afforded. Our raid has been, in all respects, successful. We destroyed
the famous Dublin Bridge and eighteen miles of the Virginia & Ten
nessee Railroad, and many depots and stores; captured ten pieces of
artillery, three hundred prisoners, General Jenkins and other officers
among them, and killed and wounded about five hundred, besides ut
terly routing Jenkins's army in the bloody battle of Cloyd Mountain.
My brigade had two regiments and part of a third in the battle. The
Twenty-third lost one hundred killed and wounded. We had a severe
duty, but did just as well as I could have wished. We charged a Rebel
battery, entrenched on a wooded hill, across an open, level meadow
three hundred yards wide,3 and a deep ditch, wetting me to the waist,
1 " I see the papers call this' AvereU's raid.' Very funny! The cavalry part of
it was a total failure. General Averell only got to the railroad at points where we
had first got in. He was driven back at Saltville and Wytheville." (From letter.
May 26, to Mrs. Hayes.)
2 Lieutenant-Colonel Comly in his diary, May 19, says: "Have not had my
clothes off since the 29th of April. Slept outdoors in the rain considerably, and
have been a great deal short of food. No grumbling, however, in the command.
About four hundred miles marched." — Hayes in his diary says: "One of the
most interesting and affecting things is the train of contrabands, old and young,
male and female, one hundred to two hundred, toiling uncomplainingly along
after and with the army."
3 General Crook in his report says the meadow was "from one fourth to one
half mile wide"; Lieutenant Comly, "five hundred or six hundred yards in
width." Hayes's estimate, therefore, is evidently very conservative.

222 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
and carried it without a particle of wavering or even check, losing, how
ever, many officers and men, killed and wounded. It being the vital
point, General Crook charged with us in person. One brigade from the
Army of the Potomac (Pennsylvania Reserves) broke and fled from the
field. Altogether, this is our finest experience in the war, and General
Crook is the best general we have ever served under, not excepting
Rosecrans. Many of the men are barefooted, and we shall probably
remain here some time to refit. We hauled in wagons to this point over
two hundred of our wounded, crossing two large rivers by fording and
ferrying and three high ranges of mountains. The news from the out
side world is meagre and from Rebel sources. We almost believe that
Grant must have been successful from the little we gather.
Meanwhile Sigel had advanced up the Shenandoah Valley
according to the original plan. At New Market, May 15, his
progress was disputed by General Breckinridge, and his forces
were utterly routed and sent flying down the Valley to Strasburg.
General Grant was so dissatisfied with Sigel's performance that
he at once put General Hunter in his place. General Hunter
promptly assumed the offensive and began to advance on Staun
ton, at which point General Crook's forces were ordered to join
him. Crook's losses in the recent raid had been made good by
fresh arrivals, but he was still deficient in equipment, some of
his men being barefooted. Camp was broken up at Meadow
Bluff May 31, and the march across the mountains by the route
of the present Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad was begun. The
Virginia Central Railroad was struck at Goshen and from there
eastward many miles of the road were demolished. The men,
Hayes wrote in his diary, "turn over rails and ties and tumble
them down the embankment; burn culverts and ties as far as
possible. The railroad can be destroyed by troops marching
parallel to it very fast."1 The Rebels made attempts to impede
the advance of the army, but they were in too small force to
offer serious resistance. June 5, Hunter routed the enemy at
1 " On this march we became experts at destroying railways, the brigade in one
day tearing up twelve miles and breaking and bending all the iron rails. We drew
the spikes, placed the ties some fifteen feet apart so the rails when piled upon
these ties would rest at their ends and with no support in the middle. Under the
middle a fire was kindled, the heat would soften the iron, and the rails would bend
by their own weight. These rails would have to be sent to the mills and rolled
before they could again be used. One day the soldiers bent some rails in the
shape of U.S. and twisted others around trees, and it is said these rails are to be
seen there to this day." (Russell Hastings, MS. Memoirs.)

CLOYD MOUNTAIN 223
Piedmont and the following day took possession of Staunton,
capturing many prisoners and supplies. Here Crook joined him
June 8,1 and obtained shoes for his barefoot men. The next day
nine officers and one hundred and sixty men of the Twenty-third
Ohio, along with many others whose terms had expired, were
sent' back under Colonel Moor, guarding a train and refugees
and contrabands by Buffalo Gap to Beverly, to be mustered out.
The band played "Home, Sweet Home" as their old comrades
bade them a final good-bye and turned their faces to the north.
After destroying all public supplies and workshops and much
of the railroad at Staunton, Hunter moved on up the Valley in
four columns, his advance line skirmishing with the Rebels
almost constantly, but steadily driving them back. At Lexington
the enemy was in force with artillery well posted, and the bridge
across the North River burnt. While our artillery and Hayes's
brigade in front kept the Rebels engaged, General Averell
crossed the river several miles above the town and Crook's
Second Brigade was sent to cross about two miles above to
attack the town on the flank. As soon as the Rebels discovered
this movement they promptly retired. Hayes's brigade was the
first to enter the town. At Lexington, for reasons which appear
hardly satisfactory, Hunter lingered for two whole days. He
destroyed all public stores and burnt the house of ex-Governor
Letcher and the Virginia Military Institute. This was not ap
proved by many of the officers, among whom were Crook and
Hayes.2 June 14 the forward movement was resumed. The
1 "We reached the beautiful Valley of Virginia yesterday over North Mountain
and entered this town this morning. General Hunter took the place after a very
successful fight on the 6th. We seem to be clear of West Virginia for good. We
shall probably move on soon. Our march here over the mountains was very
exciting. We visited all the favorite resorts of the chivalry on our route, White
Sulphur, Blue Sulphur, Warm, and Hot Springs, etc., etc. Lovely places some of
them. I hope to visit some of them with you after the war is over." (Letter to
Mrs. Hayes, from Staunton, June 8.)
* " You wrote one thoughtless sentence — complaining of Lincoln for failing
to protect our unfortunate prisoners by retaliation. All a mistake, darling. All
such things should be avoided as much as possible. We have done too much
rather than too little. General Hunter turned Mrs. Governor Letcher and daugh
ters out of their home at Lexington and on ten minutes' notice burned the beau
tiful place in retaliation for some bushwhacker's burning out Governor Pierpont.
And I am glad to say that General Crook's division officers and men were all dis
gusted with it. . . . You use the phrase 'brutal Rebels.' Don't be cheated in that

224 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
scattered forces of the enemy were driven back without diffi
culty, and two days later the army had crossed the Blue Ridge
near the Peaks of Otter, had struck the railway at Liberty, and
had moved eastward toward Lynchburg, destroying the road as
it went. Meanwhile a detachment of two hundred picked men
from Averell's cavalry division had made a circuit of Lynchburg,
doing considerable damage, but bringing back little definite
information. Rumors came to Hunter that Breckinridge was
holding Lynchburg with twenty thousand men. But he advanced
cautiously all day June 17, skirmishing constantly. Near night
fall Crook's Second Brigade had a sharp engagement and drove
the Rebels back to within three miles of the town. The First
Brigade went at double-quick for a mile or two to the support of
the Second and bivouacked that night in close promixity to the
Rebel lines.1 All night long trains could be heard arriving in
Lynchburg, bringing reenforcements. The next morning Hunter
made an effort to capture the city and some lively fighting
occurred, in which Hayes's command had its share, but he
became convinced that with the constantly arriving reenforce
ments under Early the Rebel army was far superior to his. Had
he not delayed at Lexington, or had he even pushed forward
way. There are enough 'brutal Rebels,' no doubt; but we have brutal officers and
men, too. I have had men brutally treated by our own officers in this raid. And
there are plenty of humane Rebels. I have seen a good deal of it on this trip.
War is a cruel business and there is brutality in it on all sides, but it is very idle
to get up anxiety on account of any supposed peculiar cruelty on the part of
Rebels. Keepers of prisons in Cincinnati as well as in Danville are hard-hearted
and cruel." (Letter to Mrs. Hayes, from Charleston, West Virginia, July 2,
1864.) 1 " About dark we (First Brigade) were filed off and lay in line of battle until
about eight, waiting for orders to make a night attack. About this time our skir
mishers noticed a force camping alongside of them. Too dark to see who it was.
One of our officers asked: 'What brigade is that?' 'Gordon's brigade of Early's
division. Who do you uns belong to?' — 'The same,' said the officer, who found
that if he did not already belong to them, there was danger that he would
shortly. After waiting some time for the order to charge, we were ordered into
camp, where we were within pistol shot of the enemy's camp. . . . Soon after
going into position we could hear a sudden challenge, then a shot, then a shower
of bullets from the enemy's line came whistling over our heads. Then our skir
mishers opened fire and for an hour or two they blazed away at each other every
opportunity. This is a most murderous style of amusement, and pretty soon
they commenced shouting: 'What are you uns firing at we uns for?' — 'What
did you shoot for, then, you d  d scoundrels? ' " (MS. Diary of Lieutenant-
Colonel Comly.)

CLOYD MOUNTAIN 225
more boldly and vigorously on the 16th, there is little doubt that
he could have captured Lynchburg.1 Now his duty was to save
his army and get back as quickly as possible within our lines.
His ammunition was too nearly exhausted to permit him to
venture on retracing his steps by the Shenandoah Valley, as Early
could easily have got in his rear or fallen on his flank by the nu
merous gaps through the Blue Ridge. His only recourse was to
retreat with his scantily provisioned army westward and across
the mountains to the Kanawha. Early considerately held off
from making a strong attack on the 18th, Hunter throughout
that day maintaining a bold front. But as soon as night came,
Hunter drew off his forces and marched rapidly to Liberty.
Early followed in force with cavalry and infantry, and between
Liberty and Buford Gap caused our forces much annoyance
though inflicting small injury. The Rebel cavalry kept up the
pursuit as far as the Catawba Mountains. Hunter's army fol
lowed the line of the railway four miles beyond Salem, destroying
bridges and track as thoroughly as the hasty march permitted.
Then it turned to the north, crossed the mountains to New
Castle, and pushed on night and day by Sweet Sulphur and
White Sulphur Springs to Meadow Bluff; where supplies were
expected to be found. But the officer left in charge of that post
with four hundred men had become alarmed at a guerrilla
demonstration and had retired with the trains to Gauley Bridge.
Finally two days later a provision train was met near Mountain
Cove and the starving men were fed. The retreat was begun the
night of June 18; the supply train was reached the forenoon of
June 27. In the nine days and nights the army had marched over
two hundred miles, throughout the time with insufficient sup
plies, many of the men going hungry for days. The men bore the
1 "Had General Hunter moved by way of Charlottesville, instead of Lexing
ton, as his instructions contemplated, he would have been in a position to have
covered the Shenandoah Valley against the enemy, should the force he met have
seemed to endanger it. If it did not, he would have been within easy distance of
the James River Canal, on the main line of communication between Lynchburg
and the force sent for its defense. I have never taken exception to the operations
of General Hunter, and I am not now disposed to find fault with him, for I have
no doubt he acted within what he conceived to be the spirit of his instructions
and the interests of the service. The promptitude of his movements and his gal
lantry should entitle him to the commendation of his country." (U. S. Grant,
"Report" July 22, 1865, Official War Records, vol. xxxiv, part I, p. 20.)

226 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
fatigue and hunger uncomplainingly but many dropped out
exhausted by the way,1 and wandered off into the mountains
seeking food. The night of the 27th the army camped in old
Camp Ewing, near Gauley Bridge. The ambulances were
emptied and sent back along the line of march to pick up sick
and exhausted men. The army passed on by easy marches to
Charleston, arriving there July 1. Meanwhile from Camp Piatt,
ten miles above Charleston, June 30, Hayes wrote his uncle: —
Back home again in the Kanawha Valley. Our raid has done a great
deal; all that we at first intended, but failed in one or two things which
would have been done with a more active and enterprising commander
than General Hunter. General Crook would have taken Lynchburg
without doubt. Our loss is small. The Twenty-third has nobody killed.
My brigade loses less than one hundred. Our greatest suffering was
want of food and sleep. I often went asleep on my horse.2 We had to
go night and day for about a week to get out.
We are all impressed with the idea that the Confederacy has now got
all its strength of all sorts in the field, and that nothing more can be
added to it. Their defeat now closes the contest speedily. We passed
through ten counties where Yankees never came before; there was no
thing to check us even, until forces were drawn from Richmond to drive
us back.
There are rumors that we are to go East soon, but nothing definite is
known. We hope we are to constitute an independent command under
General Crook. We have marched in two months past, about eight
hundred miles; have had fighting or skirmishing on our front forty
days of the time. My health and my horse's (almost of equal moment)
are excellent.
Two days later from Charleston he wrote again: —
We are told this morning that General Crook is to have the command
of the "Army of the Kanawha," independent of all control below Grant.
* " Marched all the next day, still without a bite to eat. It is incredible that
men should endure so much, but the glorious old regiment did not even
grumble. Once in a while a man would drop out silently, exhausted, but
not a word of complaint. One curious thing I noticed: when daylight came,
the men always seemed in some sort refreshed by it, as if they had taken a
meal." (MS. Diary of Lieutenant-Colonel Comly.)
J " In this condition we marched, the men dropping down frequently asleep
in the road. They were waked and started again. I myself went to sleep
walking a number of times. Dr. Barrett went to sleep standing up, and was
near being left behind. Captain Warren was left once in the same way and
did not wake until nearly the whole column had passed." (MS. Diary of
Lieutenant-Colonel Comly.)

CLOYD MOUNTAIN 227
If so, good. I don't doubt it. This will secure us the much-needed rest
we have hoped for and keep us here two or three weeks. My health is
excellent, but many men are badly used up. . . .
I do not feel sure yet of the result of Grant's and Sherman's campaigns.
One thing I have become satisfied of. The Rebels are now using then-
last men and last bread. There is absolutely nothing left in reserve.
Whip what is now in the field and the game is ended.
But there was to be short rest for the worn and weary soldiers.
Their presence was urgently demanded east of the Alleghanies.
As soon as Hunter and his army were well in the mountains,
Early started with a large force for the Shenandoah Valley which
was now left unguarded. He reached the Potomac, meeting
slight resistance (Sigel, of course, running away from Martins-
burg at the first alarm) , passed over into Maryland, defeated Lew
Wallace, who with an inferior force had bravely sought to check
his advance at Monocacy, and advanced to the very fortifica
tions of Washington, reaching there July 11. Meanwhile the
scanty forces at the National Capital had been reenforced with
veterans sent by Grant from Petersburg. Early soon saw that
the capture of Washington was impossible, and the night of July
12 retired rapidly and succeeded in crossing the Potomac to
Leesburg, Virginia, with all the plunder his raiders had gathered
in Maryland. Then followed three weeks of perpetual fighting,
raiding, marching, and countermarching in the lower Shenandoah
Valley and in western Maryland, with frequent changes of com
manders of departments and corps, with clashings of authority
and conflicting orders, resulting in dissipating the strength of the
Union forces and giving the alert and clear-headed Early almost
constant success.1 At last (August 5) Grant solved the perplex
ing situation by insisting on a consolidation of the Middle,
Washington, Susquehanna, and West Virginia Departments and
placing General Sheridan with an adequate army in command.
Then began the brilliant campaign in the Valley which finally
crushed the Confederate strength in that quarter.
1 See Grant's Memoirs, chap. Lvn.

CHAPTER XV
IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY — BATTLE OF OPEQUON
SEPTEMBER 19, 1864
MEANWHILE at Charleston the men : were being refitted
as rapidly as possible and started east; by steamers to
Parkersburg, and by the Baltimore and Ohio Railway to Martins-
burg. The water in the Kanawha and the Ohio was so low that
only the smallest steamers could be used, and even so the men
had frequently to disembark and march around the shallows. It
was July 14 when Hayes with Crook reached Martinsburg.
Major-General Wright was in command of the troops pursuing
the retreating Early, who was making for Snicker's Gap and
Ferry. Hunter and the other department commanders were sup
posed to be cooperating with him. But no one seemed to know
exactly what to do or what was being done. Grant was too far
away to keep in close touch with affairs and Halleck shirked
responsibility. July 18, Hayes was sent up the west bank of
the Shenandoah with his full brigade and a battery to strike the
Rebels on the flank and to unite with Wright's command at
Snicker's Ford, it being supposed that Wright would by that
time have driven Early before him and be in possession of the
ford. But Wright's advance under General Crook had been
unable after a sharp engagement to dislodge the Rebels. The
night of the 18th, having driven the Rebel outposts before him,
Hayes camped at Bull Skin Creek, ten miles or so from Harper's
Ferry and about the same distance from Snicker's Ford. The
cannonading at the latter place had been distinctly heard, but the
result of the fighting he did not know. A night of much anxiety
was passed, and the next morning Hayes proceeded cautiously
up the river, presently meeting the enemy's skirmish line which
vigorously contested his progress. Then, leaving two regiments
to guard the train, he pushed on with the Twenty-third and
Thirty-sixth Ohio, skirmishmg with Bradley Johnson's cavalry
1 The Twelfth Ohio was here consolidated with the Twenty-third.

IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY 229
till he was within six miles of the ford. Rodes's infantry division
was sent to meet him and the enemy was then in such force as to
compel him to retire. He came near being surrounded, but fought
his way back, moving the regiments hand over hand, to the camp
of the previous night.
The next day Hayes retired to Charlestown, where he received
orders from Crook (who had been promoted to brevet major-
general and was in command of the Army of West Virginia in the
field) to join him at Snicker's Ford; Early having abandoned that
position and retreated toward Winchester. He made the junc
tion with Crook the following day, and Crook with his full com
mand advanced to Kernstown beyond Winchester. His forces,
much less numerous than the army he was pursuing, were no
match for Early, who turned (July 24) and fiercely attacked.
There was sharp fighting, but the contest was too unequal to be
long sustained.
At the first fire Crook's dismounted cavalry, along with some
infantry, broke to the rear and fled to Martinsburg, accompanied
by many-tongued rumor. Hayes's brigade was in the thickest of
the fight. His brigade was formed in line of battle on the left of
Colonel Mulligan's division. The orders were to advance and
charge the enemy, gradually wheeling to the right, so as to take
the enemy, who Were believed to be passing around the Union
right, on the flank. There were signs that the Rebels were in the
hills on both sides of them, thus having the Federal forces in a
trap. But the advance movement was made rapidly and in good
order. It had not proceeded far before the enemy in large force,
in two lines of battle, preceded by a strong line of skirmishers,
moved rapidly over the ridge of hills on the Union left and opened
fire on flank and rear. An effort was made to change front to
meet this attack, but the fire was so heavy and destructive that
the left was doubled back in confusion on the right of the brigade.
Hayes soon formed a new line behind a stone fence, at right
angles to the original direction, the right resting near the point
reached by the right of the brigade when the enemy attacked on
the left. Fire was opened on the enemy and his course checked
long enough to enable a great part of the wounded to be got to
the rear. It was now discovered that the enemy, with his greatly
superior force, enveloped the troops on Hayes's right and that

230 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
these had been driven back. Colonel Mulligan was mortally
wounded while rallying his regiment, the Twenty-third Illinois.
Hayes moved his brigade back in good order, and was directed by
General Crook in person to hold the enemy in check long enough
to enable one of his batteries, which was very much exposed, to
withdraw, and then to fall back slowly, bearing to the right of
Winchester going north.1
Hayes had a horse shot under him and he was struck in the
shoulder by a spent ball. His brigade sustamed a loss of four
hundred. But he brought his men off in good order, the Twenty-
third covering the retreat,2 and reached Bunker Hill in safety,
where the army bivouacked. After a few hours' rest, the retreat
was continued to Martinsburg, where the Rebels again appeared
and were beaten back. Then the retreat was continued across the
Potomac and the camp Was pitched July 26 near the Antietam
battle ground.3 Two days later Crook's army was back at Hall-
town, where it was joined by the Sixth and Nineteenth Corps
with General Wright, who took command of the combined
1 Official Report of Colonel R. B. Hayes, War Records, vol. xxxvn, pp. 311-12.
The total loss of Crook's army was 1185. — "We reached here to-day after two
nights and one day of pretty severe marching — not so severe as the Lynchburg
march — and one day of very severe fighting at Winchester. We were defeated
by a superior force at Winchester. My brigade suffered most in killed and
wounded and not so much in prisoners as some others. . . . This is all a new
experience — a decided defeat in battle. My brigade was in the hottest place
and then was in condition to cover the retreat as rear guard, which we did suc
cessfully and well for one day and night. Of course, the reason — the place for
blame to fall — is always asked in such cases. I think the army is not disposed
to blame the result on anybody; the enemy was so superior that a defeat was a
matter of course if we fought. The real difficulty was, our cavalry was so in
efficient in its efforts to discover the strength of the enemy that General Crook
and all the rest of us were deceived until it was too late. We are queer beings.
The camp is now alive with laughter and good feeling. More so than usual —
the recoil after so much toil and anxiety." (Letter to Mrs. Hayes, from camp
near Sharpsburg, July 26, 1864.)
2 "Hayes covered retreat with our regiment, marching in hollow square.
Cavalry followed us very closely. Once after dark Hayes set a trap for them.
We halted in edge of woods, and lay down and waited until they came within
a few yards, when the whole line rose and fired a blizzard right into them. They
did not follow us so closely after that." (MS. Diary of Lieutenant-Colonel
Comly.) * "Not many signs existed of a great battle having been fought there. Some
fences showed the bullet marks, and in Sharpsburg the marks of shells were
found, but the fields were all in cultivation as though no trampling host had
ever passed over them. " (Russell Hastings, MS. Memoirs.)

IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY 231
forces.1 The next day, on learning that McCausland had crossed
the Potomac with his cavalry and was pushing north on a plun
dering raid to Pennsylvania, General Wright transferred his
whole army to the Maryland side of the Potomac, and the next
few days were spent in a series of apparently aimless marches,
under a blistering midsummer sun, alike maddening to officers
and disastrous to men. The irritation is shown by brief entries in
Hayes's diary as: "July 31, Men all 'gone up,' 'played out,' etc.
Must have time to build up or we can do nothing. Only fifty to
one hundred men in a regiment came into camp in a body." 2
While in camp at Monocacy, August 4, ninety recruits for the
Twenty-third Regiment arrived. Among them was a "bounty-
jumper" named Whitlow, who was at once recognized. He had
enlisted in the Twenty-third at Charleston the previous winter
as a Confederate deserter; had deserted with his arms shortly
before the spring campaign opened; and had been captured in
the Rebel ranks at Cloyd Mountain. He was to have been tried
there, but he made his escape on the homeward march. Now he
was promptly arrested, tried by drumhead court-martial, and
condemned to be shot. The sentence was executed at sundown in
the presence of the entire brigade, formed in hollow square.
General Sheridan took command of the four consolidated de
partments and of the Army of the Shenandoah, August 5. Grant
had proposed that General Hunter should remain at the head of
the department and that General Sheridan should have command
of the forces in the field. But General Hunter, with an unselfish
ness and patriotism that cannot be too highly praised, suggested
that the situation would be simplified by his retirement and vol
untarily made way for Sheridan's full control. Sheridan's army
consisted of the Sixth and Nineteenth Corps under Generals
Wright and Emory respectively, General Crook's Army of West
1 Wright had been called back to Washington as soon as Early appeared to
be retreating up the Shenandoah, Grant believing that he was returning to
Richmond and desiring to have the Sixth Corps sent to him. As soon as it was
seen that Early had no idea of going south, except as he was driven, the orders
to Wright were changed.
2 Lieutenant-Colonel Comly the same day wrote: "Nobody knows what we
are marching for. It seems as if some man in a delirium was sending us up and
down from sheer restlessness. " Hunter a few days later told Grant that he had
been so bewildered by contradictory orders from Washington that he had lost
all trace of the enemy. See Grant's Memoirs, chap. lvii.

232 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Virginia, which usually acted as the left wing, and ample cavalry
under General Torbert, with Merritt and Averell as division
commanders. The troops were mostly veterans under officers of
proved ability and bravery. The whole army made something
like forty thousand men, but it was impossible to bring the entire
force into the field, as so many men had to be employed on
detached service, protecting the railways, convoying trains, and
guarding fords and supply depots. During the next five weeks
Sheridan's operations consisted principally of offensive and de
fensive manoeuvring for certain advantages which the enemy
sought to counteract.1 He hoped to keep Early in the northern
part of the Valley and to bring on a decisive engagement some
where in the region of Winchester. But Early was well informed
of what was going on in Sheridan's camps about Harper's Ferry,
and presently began slowly to retire up the river. As soon as
Sheridan had his forces well in hand he started after Early, the
Sixth Corps on the right, Crook's army on the left, the Nine
teenth Corps in the centre, all within supporting distance, and his
cavalry protecting the flanks and skirmishing in advance of the
main line. In this way with numerous skirmishes he went up the
Valley about forty miles to Cedar Creek, where he found that
Early had just passed and established himself in a strong position
at Strasburg. Here Sheridan's army remained for three days,
when reports reached the commanding general that heavy reen
forcements for Early were arriving from Richmond. These re
ports were confirmed by a dispatch from General Grant, who
consequently directed Sheridan to exercise the greatest caution
and to act for the time being on the defensive. The configuration
of the Valley offered no good line of defense south of Halltown,
four miles from Harper's Ferry. Sheridan therefore decided to
fall back to that point. The movement was at once begun and
successfully carried out, though the Rebels followed closely and
attacked frequently; and a strong line was formed at Halltown
which was maintained for a week, with Early and his reenforced
army close at hand and daily combats on the picket line or by
sorties. The retrograde movement was a source of much appre
hension and condemnation in the North and there was a clamor
of the critics for Sheridan's displacement. But the troops were
1 Sheridan's Memoirs, chap. ran.

IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY ^233~
not in the least disturbed by it; rather their confidence was in
creased by the masterly manner in which they felt that they were
being handled.1 While near Strasburg, August 14, Hayes wrote
Sardis Birchard: —
You see we are again up the famous Valley; General Sheridan com
mands the army; Generals Early and Breckinridge are in our front;
they have retired before us thus far; whether it is.for the purpose to fol
low and force a battle, I don't know; the effect is to relieve our rail from
Rebels. My health is excellent. Our troops are improving under the
easy marches. We shall get well rested doing what the Sixth and
Nineteenth Corps of the Potomac (who are with us) regard as severe
campaigning. One reason that influenced Sheridan in his cautious policy was
the intimation he had received from Washington of the disastrous
effect a defeat might have in the Presidential campaign then in
progress. Everywhere the Republicans were exceedingly appre
hensive. The belief was widespread that the Administration had
not measured up to the requirements of the great emergency.
The principal effort nf the Republican leaders of the political
1 " Notwithstanding we have been falling back from one position to another
for a week past the men have not only not lost confidence, but have gained
steadily, and are now ready to do anything Sheridan and Crook may order.
These indications are not to be despised. Troops know when they are properly
handled." (Lieutenant-Colonel Comly's MS. Diary, under date of August 22.)
August 23, Hayes wrote Mrs. Hayes from camp near Charlestown: "Winchester
is a noble town. Both Union and secesh ladies devote their whole time to the
care of the wounded of the two armies. Their town has been taken and retaken
two or three times a day several times. It has been the scene of five or six battles
and many skirmishes. There are about fifty Union families. Many of them
'F.F.' But they are true as steel. Our officers and men all praise them. One
queer thing, the whole people turn out to see each army as it comes and wel
come their acquaintances and friends. The Rebs are happy when the secesh
soldiers come, and vice versa. Three years of this sort of life have schooled them
to singular habits. — I have heard heavy skirmishing ever since I began to
write. Now I hear our artillery pounding, but I anticipate no battle here, as I
think our position too good for Early to risk an assault and I suppose it is not
our policy to attack them. ... I believe you know that I shall feel no_appre-
hension of the war being abandoned if McClellan is elected President. I, there
fore, feel desirous to see him nominated at Chicago. Then no odds how the
people vote, the country is safe. If McClellan is elected, the Democracy will
speedily become a~war party. A great good that will be^Jjmspect some of our
patriots Tbavingfat offices and contracts might Ihin. on losing them, become
enamoreJ^ipeace! I feel more hopeful about things than when I saw you.
This Presidential election is the rub.: that once .o.Yer.without outbreak or other
calamity and I think we save the country."

234 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
campaign in OJiiqjvas directed to obtainnigJthjMiomination of
the most popular citizens for_tie_various_offices. ., Thiswas looked
to particularly in the Congressional districts. Hayes, while on
the march, had given a reluctant consent to the use of his name,
on the assurance that it was necessary tojnafe the,,Se£QnoL Dis
trict safe.1 He got word of his nomination just before the army
began to advance to Strasburg, and notes the fact without
comment in his diary. When the army got back to Halltown
he received a letter from William Henry Smith in behalf of his
constituents entreating him to come home and make speeches
in his district. In the midst of arduous camp duties and with
the sound of hostile artillery sounding in his ears, Hayes
immediately wrote this characteristic reply: —
Camp of Sherman's Army,
August 24, 1864.
Feiend Smith, — Your favor of the 7th came to hand on Monday.
It was the first I had heard of the doings of the Second District Conven
tion. My thanks for your attention and assistance in the premises. I
cared very little about being a canclidateA_but haying consented to the
useof my nameTpreferred to succeed. Your suggestion ahout_g^tting
a furlouglTto takelne stump was certainly made without reflection.
An officer fit for duty who at this crisis would abandon his post to
electioneer for a seatTm Congress ought to be scalped. You may feel
perfectly sureT shall do no such thing.
We are, and for two weeks Tiave been, in the immediate presence of a
large Rebel army. We have sMrmishing and small affairs constantly.
I am not posted in the policy deemed wise at headquarters, and can't
guess as to the prospects of a general engagement. The condition and
spirit of this army are good and improving. I suspect the enemy are
sliding around us towards the Potomac. If they cross we shall pretty
certainly have a meeting. — Sincerely, R. B. Hates.
Mr. Smith never felt that he had any cause to regret writing
the letter to which this reply — destined to become famous in the
Presidential campaign of 1876 — was made. It was his belief,
which he shared with many good and wise men, that failure to
reelect Mr. Lincoln, or failure to elect a Congress with a decided
1 '" As to^jaLsandidagy.fQr. Congress, I.jPArj.nflthingji^I^ahouJ.it.^-neither
for the nomination nor. fpr,,thg eleEtio^^..It.wasjnierjelyjeaaiexto.letJiieJhing
take its own course than to get up a letter declining to run and.then explain it
to everybody who might choose to bore me about it." (Hayes to Sardis Birch
ard, July 10, 1864".)

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IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY 235
Union majority, would be more disastrous than the loss of a
battle, as either result would probably lead to a fatal peace.
Hence the presence among the people of men with the smell of
the smoke of battle on their garments_might saye,the_c,ampaign
to the party of the Union.1 There were abundant facts to show
how desperate the political situation was at this~period.
Early~dTd not dare attack Sheridan's strong position at Hall
town in force. There were daily engagements, sometimes ap
proaching the importance of battles, between detachments of
the two armies, and the interchange of hostile courtesies was for
a time almost continuous on the picket lines.2 Early started a
strong force as if to cross into Maryland, but this was intercepted
by Torbert's cavalry. The last of August, as the Union cavalry
was moving to the south threatening the Rebel right flank, Early
began to retire slowly up the Valley, Sheridan promptly follow
ing him. August 30, Hayes was in camp near Charlestown where
he wrote his uncle: —
We have had no general engagement, but a world of small affairs the
last week. I think the enemy are giving it up. We are slowly pushing
them back up the Valley. General Sheridan's splendid cavalry do a great
share of the work; we look on and rest. This has been a good month for
us. We are a happy army.
1 "With a full understanding of the importance of your services in the posi
tion you now occupy, you have been chosen to represent the loyal sentiment of
this district, from a conviction that courage, ability, and a single-hearted de
votion to the country, are qualities as necessary in the legislative assemblies
of the nation as on the battlefield. The conflicts to be fought there, though free
from danger of ball and steel, are fully as essential to the welfare of our coun
try, and as honorable as the more bloody fields of strife." (From letter, signed
Thomas H. Weasner, President, and Harry C. Armstrong, Secretary of Con
vention, notifying Hayes of his nomination.)
2 "The skirmish lines kept up a constant firing until they finally agreed to
stop firing and each hold their line where it was then established; though before
this happened short truces of peace were agreed upon. Between the two fines
was a promising cornfield, full of luscious corn just fit for roasting-ears. One day
when I was on the line about midday I noticed a white handkerchief shaken and
a voice called out: 'Hullo, Yank! Let 's stop firing for dinner and go down to
the cornfield for roasting-ears!' This, after some talk of 'honor bright,' 'true
as Indian,' etc., was agreed to, and the two lines met in the cornfield, exchanged
lies and newspapers, carried back the corn-ears, roasted them, and had dinner.
When dinner was all through, one of our boys shook a handkerchief calling out:
'Hullo, Johnny Reb, are you all through?' The reply was: 'Yes, say when
you are ready.' And each skirmisher found his hole in a hurry, and at the
word 'ready!' bang went the rifles all along the line." (Russell Hastings, MS.
Memoirs.)

236 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
I see it is likely McClellan will be nominated. If they don't load him
down with too much treasonable peace doctrine, I shall not be surprised
at his election. I can see some strong currents which can easily be turned
in his favor, provided always that his loyalty is left above suspicion.
I have no doubt of his personal convictions and feelings; they are sound
enough, but his surroundings are the trouble.
For several days the manoeuvring for position continued.
Hayes's brigade, on September 3, held the extreme left wing of
Sheridan's line near Berryville. Grant was vigorously occupying
Lee's attention, and Lee had directed Early to return to Rich
mond a part of the troops with which he had recently been ree'n-
forced. Thereupon Early started back Kershaw's division to go
by Berryville and Ashley's Gap, supposing the way was clear.
But near Berryville, late in the afternoon of September 3, Ker
shaw encountered Hayes, who had no idea of letting him pass.
The Rebels came on as though with the expectation of sweeping
all before them, but the Ohio veterans, unconfused by the stam
pede of certain companies of recent recruits, stubbornly stood
their ground, and after a long and fierce engagement, involving
considerable loss, the Rebels were defeated and forced back to
Early's main line.1 Three days later Hayes wrote of this fight to
Sardis Birchard : — Camp of Sheridan's Army,
Neah Berryvilijj, Virginia,
September 6, p.m., 1864.
Saturday evening (3d Sept.) my brigade and two regiments of the
other brigade of the Kanawha Division fought a very fierce battle with
1 "It was a magnificent fight. . . . After dark every shell-burst looked like
a belch of fire. It was indescribable. . . . There was an immense amount of fir
ing, but the darkness saved us from many casualties. . . . One sad thing hap
pened to me. As I rode up and down the line almost too dark to see, I saw three
men going to the rear, one limping and one each side holding him up. This was
a common dodge for getting away, if there were any sneaks. I rode up angrily,
and recognized a big Irishman who had come a short time before as a substitute.
I ordered him back to the regiment. 'But, Kur-r-nel, I'm wounded,' he said
with a long roll on the r. 'No, you 're not wounded,' I said angrily. 'You and
these other two men are trying to sneak out of the fight in the dark. Go back!'
He came alongside as I sat on my horse. ' Give me your hand, Kur-r-nel ! ' I let
him take my hand, not knowing what he meant. 'Feel,' said he, and he stuck
my hand into a hole in his shoulder which it scarcely filled. The hot blood
spirted up my arm to the shoulder. I drew back in horror, shocked beyond
measure. 'You poor fellow, poor fellow! forgive me! Go back to the doctor,
quick!' He started away and fell dead almost instantly." (Lieutenant-Colonel
Comly 's MS. Diary.)

IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY 237
a division of South Carolina and Mississippi troops under Kershaw. We
whipped them handsomely after the longest fight I was ever in. Took
seventy-five officers and men prisoners and inflicted much severer loss
than we suffered. Prisoners say it is the first time their division was
ever flogged in a fair fight. My color-bearer was killed and some of the
best officers killed or wounded. We have fought nine times since we
entered this Valley and have been under fire when men of my com
mand were killed and wounded probably thirty or forty times since the
campaign opened. I doubt if a brigade in Sheridan's army has fought
more; none has marched half as much. I started with two thousand
four hundred men; I have now less than twelve hundred, and almost
none of the loss is stragglers.
I hope they will now get Sherman's army to Richmond. It will be
taken if they do it promptly; otherwise, I fear, not for some time.
McClellan would get a handsome soldiers' vote if on a decent plat
form; as it is, he will get more than any other Democrat could get.
I am glad you feel as you do about my safety. It is the best philos
ophy not to borrow trouble of the future. We are still confronted by the
enemy. I can't help thinking that the fall of Atlanta will carry them
back to Richmond. What a glorious career Sherman's army has had!
That is the best army in the world. Lee's army is next. There is just
as much difference between armies, divisions, and brigades as between
individuals. Crook, I think, has the best and the worst divisions in this
army; of the one you can always count upon that it will do all that can
be expected, and of the other, that it will behave badly.
For the next few days the army remained practically at rest
holding the lines already established. On September 8, Crook's
command was sent around to the extreme right and stationed
at Summit Point.1 From there Hayes wrote Sardis Birchard,
September 12: —
We have had no severe fighting since the 3d. The frequent rains have
filled the Potomac so it is no longer fordable. I look for no attempt now
1 From this point, writing to Mrs. Hayes September 9, Hayes said: "Speak-
ing of politics. It is quite common for youngsters, adopting their ..narents'
notions, to get very bitter talk into their innocent littjejrnouthfl,, I was q"'*'*
willing Webb should ' Hurrah for Val ' [Vallandigham] ..,last_sujnmer, wjthjhe
addition", rand a rope to~hang him.' But I feel quite cfifferentjibou£ McQellan.
He Is on a mearTplatform and is in bad company, but I do not doubt his
personal loyalty and he has been a soldier, and what is more, a soldier's friend.
No"man~ever treated the private soldier Better. No commander was ever more
loved by his men. I therefore want my boys taught to think and talkwell of
General McClellan. I think he will makejthe best Presidentof any Democrat.
If on' ITsounoTpiatforinTcould support^jm'. Do not be alarmed. I do not think
he w"' Iv fltvtpH. The improved ^condition of jam- militarj^affajrs injnrpg his
chances jveryjnaterially. He will not get so large an army vote as his fnVnHg
seem" to~expect ¦ ''With reasonably good luck in the war, Lincoln will go in."

V

238 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
on the part of the Rebels to get over the river, and think there will be
very little fighting unless we attack. We are gaining strength daily.
Our pohcy seems to be not to attack unless the chances are greatly in
our favor. Military affairs wear a much better look. Our armies are
rapidly filling up. I should not be surprised if Grant should soon find
himself able to make important moves.
I like McClellan's letter. It is an important thing. It is the best evi
dence to Europe and the South that the people intend to prosecute the
war until the Union is reestablished. Still, if things continue as favor
able as they now are, I think Lincoln will be elected.
I see that _Mr._Lpng is nptjenpminated. I supposed he would-be., and
that my election over him was quite a sure_ things Against Mr,,Lord,
the result wiiTdepend on the general "drift* matters take. IjELflot. going
to takejtto heart jfl am beaten. "It's of no consequence at jillj" as
Mr. Toots would say. Mr! EorcFs wife and family arejmrjjejudar_and
intimate friends of my wife and family. His wife is a sister of JStepJien-
son*s wife. "Divers' friends of his and mine wiUjBe in a worry how to vote,
I suspect. Hayes was quite right in his surmise of the commanding gen
eral's policy. Sheridan proposed not to strike until he was sure
that he could deliver an effective and decisive blow. Meanwhile,
in response to Lee's urgent demand, Early had finally got Ker
shaw's division off for Richmond, both Lee and Early evidently
believing that events had shown that Early's regular force was
sufficient to handle Sheridan. Sheridan got definite information
of the departure of Kershaw the evening of September 16. He
decided that the time had come to strike, and he began his prep
arations for an immediate advance, intending to throw a large
force into Newton, to the south of Winchester, beyond Early's^
right flank. But a dispatch that night from General Grant sum
moned him to Charlestown the next day for a conference.1 Grant
had come with a carefully made plan of campaign for Sheridan in
his pocket, which, however, he never took out nor referred to,
when he heard Sheridan's clear exposition of the situation of
affairs, grasped the plan of operations he had formed, and caught
the enthusiasm of his confidence in its success. He simply gave
Sheridan the laconic direction: "Go in!"
Sheridan, on his return to his headquarters near Berryville,
1 "Saturday, September 17. Waited with the regiment at Charlestown while
train loaded at Harper's Ferry. General Grant here to-day to visit Sheridan.
Passed through our camp. Had only one orderly — nobody else — with him.
Not much like McClellan, that!" (Comly's MS. Diary.)

BATTLE OF OPEQUON 239
learned that Early had sent two of his divisions (Rodes's and
Gordon's) north to Martinsburg. Thereupon he determined to
attack directly in front, hoping to crush Ramseur and then turn
and strike the divisions farther north. But Early at Martinsburg
the morning of the 18th heard of Grant's visit to Sheridan, and,
apprehensive that it portended some aggressive movement, at
once began to withdraw his troops from Martinsburg and get
them within supporting distance of the rest of his army. At
3 a.m., September 19, Sheridan's forces began to move into
position for the great battle of the Opequon. The cavalry was
to advance on both flanks and seize the fords across the Opequon
Creek; the Sixth and Nineteenth Corps were to cross the Ope
quon at the Berryville Pike, after Wilson's cavalry had captured
the crossing and driven the Rebels from the gorge beyond, to
form in battle line on the open ground at the head of the defile,
and press the attack upon the Rebel main line; Crook's command
(now sometimes unofficially known as the Eighth Corps, from
the addition to it of the remnant of that corps) was to march
from Summit Point eight miles to the rear of the main position
and be held in reserve. Sheridan purposed, if all went as he
hoped, to send Crook to the left toward Newton to cut off
Early's retreat.
But things did not go quite as he had hoped. Wilson's cavalry
successfully seized the crossing, passed rapidly up the long defile,
surprised and captured Ramseur's outworks at the head of it, and
held their ground till the infantry pressed through to their sup
port. It took much longer, however, for the two corps to pass
through the defile and get in line of battle than Sheridan had
counted on, and during this precious time the divisions of Rodes
and Gordon were hastening from near Stephenson's Depot and
Bunker Hill, whither they had been returned the day before from
Martinsburg, to the field of battle; while Wharton's division
under Breckinridge remained at Stephenson's to contest the
Federal advance from that quarter.1 While the cavalry on both
flanks was continuing to do effective work, it was late in the
forenoon before the infantry corps were ready to press forward.
1 It was gradually driven back by Merritt's cavalry, and in the afternoon
when the final charge was made held position to the left of Gordon's division
and nearer Winchester.

240 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
By that time Rodes and Gordon were both in position, Rodes on
Ramseur's immediate left and Gordon to the left of Rodes. The
Confederate line was in strong position along elevated ground
about two miles east of Winchester, stretching from Abraham's
Creek on the south to Red Bud Run on the north, a distance of
something over two miles. Beyond both streams the cavalry
forces were operating. Between the Rebel position and Sheridan's
line lay a mile or so of undulating farmland, dotted here and there
with patches of wood and undergrowth, but for the most part
open meadow and cornfields already ripe for the harvest. The
Union lines were formed under heavy artillery fire, and their
advance shortly before noon was met with obstinate resistance.
For an hour or so the battle raged furiously. Some slight gain was
made by the Sixth Corps on the extreme left, but for the most
part the Confederates held their position, and Rodes detecting
a weak place, where the Sixth and Nineteenth Corps joined,
charged and repulsed our line. Russell's reserve division was
sent to drive back the charging foe and brilliantly executed its
commission, though at the cost of its able leader's life.
A lull in the engagement followed while the broken divisions of
Ricketts of the Sixth and Grover of the Nineteenth Corps were
rallied, and the whole line was reestablished in nearly the same
position as at the first advance. Not hearing from Torbert, who
was to drive the outposts of the enemy before him on the extreme
right, join with Averell at Stephenson's Depot, and sweep on
against the Confederate left, Sheridan somewhat reluctantly —
for he disliked to give up his original plan — decided to order up
Crook's command and put it into action at the right of the Nine
teenth Corps and to act as a turning column on the enemy's left
flank. Meanwhile Crook's army, or the Eighth Corps, was waiting,
expectant, in a clover-field some two miles distant. The battle
line was in view and the firing of small arms could be dis
tinctly heard. The day was bright and every aspect of nature
beautiful. Crook and Hayes, with the members of their staffs,1
1 The staff of Colonel Hayes was constituted as follows: Lieutenant-Colonel
Joseph T. Webb, surgeon; Captain Russell Hastings, adjutant-general; Lieu
tenant William McKinley, aide; Lieutenant O. J. Wood, aide; Lieutenant A. W.
Delay, quartermaster and commissary; Lieutenant B. A. Turner, ordnance.

BATTLE OF OPEQUON 241
lay in the clover, chatting, laughing, and exchanging jokes.
Crook looks up with a smile : " I cannot find a four-leaved clover,
so I suppose we shall have to go in." Hayes responds: "I saw
the moon over my left shoulder, so I suppose we must go in";
and another officer adds : "One of my socks is on wrong side out,
so I suppose we must go in"; J and thus the joke goes around.
And sure enough, the moment for them to enter the combat is
near at hand. Sheridan's headquarters and signal station are
in plain sight. The flags are fluttering out the commander's
orders with impetuous rapidity. Presently a staff officer is seen
to mount a horse and start rapidly in their direction. The men
spring to their feet; the officers tighten their sword-belts; Crook,
looking through his field-glass, says, "It is Tony Forsyth, and
he is coming to tell us to go in." The officer alights from his
panting horse, salutes General Crook, and delivers Sheridan's
order. The Army of West Virginia marched as rapidly as pos
sible through the long defile, impeded with ambulances, wounded
men seeking the field hospitals, and panic-stricken cowards
straggling to the rear. Once out of the defile, it took position
to the right of the Nineteenth Corps. Here General Sheridan
joined Crook, his face shining with the fire of battle.
The situation is explained in a few words, and then Crook is
ordered to take one division and make a detour to the right to
find the enemy's left. He is "then to strike and carry all before
him at all hazards. Let there be no question as to this movement
being a success." The duty of the Sixth and Nineteenth Corps
now was to hold the enemy desperately occupied until the Eighth
Corps could execute the turning movement with which Sheridan
hoped to decide the combat.2
Crook selected the Second Division, under Colonel Duval, to
perform the arduous and hazardous feat of swinging around on the
enemy's left flank. He knew that the elan with which the veter
ans of this division entered battle carried with it a force more im
portant than numbers. The line of march was along the line of
Red Bud Run, the Second Division north of the stream, the First
1 June 7, on the march to Staunton, Hayes writes in his diary: "The General
(Crook) found a four-leaved clover yesterday. I saw the moon over my right
shoulder. Funny how a man of sense can think even for a moment of such
follies." 1 Harper's Monthly, vol. SO, p. 199.

242 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Division south, in supporting distance. Hayes's brigade formed
the extreme right. The Second Division marched through deep
gullies and tangled thickets, over wooded hills and across open
fields for a mile, then westward over the same kind of country
for a half mile, and then southward in the direction of the firing
and the supposed left flank of the enemy.1 The march had con
sumed an hour and a half and it was now about half -past three.
Meanwhile Torbert's cavalry, operating on the right flank, had
driven the opposing infantry and cavalry before him, had joined
with Averell, and was ready to cooperate with Crook's command
in turning the Rebel left. Just before Crook's Second Division
got fairly around, the First Division under Colonel Thoburn
made a gallant charge driving the enemy back. The arrival of
the Second Division completed the work. The Second Division
reached its position under cover of a dense cedar thicket, where it
halted and formed with the First Brigade (Hayes's) in advance.
Throwing out a light line of skirmishers, the division moved
rapidly to the front repelling the enemy's cavalry. At the same
time the Union cavalry emerged from the woods on the right.
Advancing thus under a scattering fire across two or three open
fields, Hayes's men reached the crest of a slight elevation. Off
diagonally to the left was seen the enemy's infantry line, which
at once began a brisk cannonade. On now under a galling fire
Duval's division rushed at double-quick to a thick fringe of
underbrush, through which it quickly dashed, when for the first
time the character and strength of the enemy's position were
revealed. His front was covered by a stone wall, while his left
rested on an almost impassable morass created by Red Bud Run.
It was nearly waist-deep, with thick soft mud at the bottom,
while its surface was closely overgrown with moss nearly strong
enough to support a man. The banks of the slough were over
grown with tangled thickets; beyond, the ground was rough and
uneven; the whole was covered by a Rebel battery.
To cross the morass seemed impossible; to cross it under fire
was, indeed, rushing into the jaws of death. The whole line hesi
tated for a moment. The well-known voice of Hayes, ringing
distinct and clear, said, " Come on, boys," as he spurred his horse
into the morass and, regardless of the bursting shells, pushed
1 Russell Hastings, MS. Memoirs.

BATTLE OF OPEQUON 243
ahead; with his horse sometimes down and sometimes up, he rode,
waded, and dragged his way through.1 His horse stuck fast.2
He dismounted and floundered on, the first man over. When
his feet struck firm ground, he found he was protected from the
battery by the bank above him. He greeted the first man 3 that
followed him with lifted cap and hearty hand-grasp. The men
inspired by Hayes's example quickly followed, many directly in
his path, others seeking narrower and less difficult places to right
and left. It was a task of almost incredible difficulty even if grape
and canister from the Rebel battery had not been playing upon
them. Men were killed; others, wounded, sank helpless into the
thick, slimy mud. Only a few hundred got over. Lines and or
ganizations were completely broken, and the men of the different
regiments and brigades were mingled into one great throng; but
no time was lost in re-forming. "Now, men," shouted Hayes,
"up the bank and at them." Up they went, and, supported by
the cavalry, Crook's whole command, now united, though still a
disorganized mass, "cheering as they went, rushed on, heedless
of the destructive fire of shot, shell, canister, and musketry that
thinned their ranks, and which would have driven back in dis
order troops less determined, all seemingly intent on one grand
object, the total and complete rout of the enemy." 4
1 Hayes crossed at the widest point. The width here he says in his official
report was twenty to thirty yards. Later in life he estimated it as forty to fifty
yards, in which estimate others agreed. General Hastings's estimate was still
higher. — In his diary, April 5, 1887, Hayes wrote: "Captain James M. Craig,
formerly sergeant of Company H, Twenty-third, came yesterday. He seemed
by his dress and general appearance not to be a favorite of fortune. I recall him
as a tall, fine-looking soldier — a brave and faithful officer. He was wounded
at Cloyd Mountain, also twice at Sheridan's victory of Winchester after crossing
the slough. He crossed (then a lieutenant of Company F) soon after I did. He
describes the slough as fifty yards wide, and up to his shoulders, with a soft deep
mud at the bottom. . . . Craig with a few joined me under the bank; the bank
or hill up to the enemy's rifle pits was twenty to twenty-five feet high. We
were there protected from the enemy's shot until enough joined us to rush up
the hill. Not more than three hundred got over the slough."
2 The horse, lightened of his rider, struggled out, and Hayes mounted him
again. But he had been mortally wounded while in the slough and soon gave out.
3 There is some doubt as to who this man was; it was an officer of the Thirty-
sixth Ohio. Captain B. F. Stearns and Lieutenant Jacob Reasoner both claimed
the distinction. A letter from the latter, written September 18, 1887, is so cir
cumstantial in its description of the crossing and so manifestly conscientious in
statement of details as to throw the weight of probability in his favor.
4 Official Report of General Crook, War Records, vol. xun, part i, p. 362.

244 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
But some of the best men of the whole army, Colonel Comly
declared, were in that line, and there was no "give-back" to it.
"They never looked behind them." l
They met several checks in passing over the space to the ene
my's works, being swept by a cross-fire from the battery in front
and from the Star Fort in flank. A number of men of General
Gordon's command, under cover of a stone fence on the right,
poured in a most galling enfilading fire. The Thirty-sixth Ohio
and the Fifth Virginia of Hayes's brigade drove them from cover
in confusion, when the cavalry charged and captured them.2
Whenever a body of the enemy had been dislodged by the
infantry, the cavalry charged, capturing the fleeing soldiers. The
gallantry of this attack on the flank of the enemy is vividly
portrayed in a description written shortly after the battle by an
officer of the Nineteenth Corps.3 He says: —
To our right we heard a mighty battle yell which never ceased for ten
minutes, telling us that Crook and his men were advancing. To meet
this yell there rose from the farthest sweep of the isolated wood, where
it rounded away toward the Rebel rear, the most continuous wail of
musketry that I ever heard. It was not a volley nor a succession of
volleys, but an uninterrupted explosion without a single break or tremor.
As I listened to it I despaired of the success of the attack, for it did not
seem to me possible that any troops could endure such a fire. The cap
tain of our right company, who was so placed that he could see the
advance, afterward described it as magnificent in its steadiness; the
division which accomplished it moving across the open fields in a single
line without visible supports, the ranks kept well dressed in spite of the
stream of dead and wounded which dropped in the rear, the pace being
the ordinary quickstep and the men firing at will, but coolly and
rarely. At this moment the whole army assumed the offensive.
1 Account by Colonel James M. Comly, in Cincinnati Commercial.
2 This wall according to the account of General Hastings, cited above, was
on the famous historical Hackwood Farm, where General Braddock camped in
1755 before taking up his fatal march for Fort Duquesne, accompanied by young
George Washington. Gordon's soldiers, behind the stone wall and stationed in
a large stone building and an ancient log house, poured into the ranks of Hayes's
command such a galling fire as to call for a determined effort to dislodge them.
In accomplishing this the Thirty-sixth Ohio especially lost many men.
3 Captain J. W. DeForest, Harper's Magazine, vol. 30. In referring to this
account in a letter to Sardis Birchard, Hayes said: "When you read on the 199th
page the writer's account of our battle yell as we advanced, and of the Rebel
musketry which met it, you will remember that I led the advance brigade of the
advance division, and that perhaps the happiest moment of my life was then,
when I saw that our line did n't break and that the enemy's did."

BATTLE OF OPEQUON 245
At the critical period of this forward movement General Crook
was riding up and down the line, as was his wont in battle, silent,
but by his presence inspiring the men with heroism. It was then
that Colonel Duval fell, wounded, and was succeeded in com
mand of the Second Division by Hayes, who was everywhere
exposing himself with reckless daring. As he was the first over
the slough, so he had been in advance of the line half the time
since. His adjutant-general — Captain Russell Hastings —
had been severely wounded, men were dropping all around him,
but he rode through it all as though he bore a charmed life.1
Other brave men were on that line, a short distance from the
enemy's works, lying under the terrific cross-fire, and waiting for
a demonstration from the left which should enable them to charge
the works. They waited wearily, minutes seeming hours, but the
expected help did not come. Something must be done, as the
concentrated fire was cutting up the charging column. Selecting
some Saxony rifles in the Twenty-third Ohio (pieces of seventy-
one calibre, with a range of twelve hundred yards), Comly
ordered Lieutenant McBride to creep forward to a little knoll
and kill the enemy's artillery horses, which were in plain sight.
They crept up like Indians, keeping under cover as much as
possible. At the first shot a horse dropped. Almost immediately
another was killed. A panic seized the artillerists and they began
to limber up. The infantry took the alarm and a few men ran
from the entrenchments. Then the whole Union line rose, and
with a tremendous yell rushed for the breastworks. The Con
federates of Gordon's and Breckinridge's divisions, without stop
ping to fire another shot, rushed out pell-mell, and were captured
1 Cincinnati Commercial. — "Several years after the close of the war I met
General Gordon, who commanded the Confederate left on that afternoon. He
pointed with pride to a scar on his cheek, and said, ' I am indebted to Hayes's
boys for this beauty spot.' He further said: 'When we first saw you coming over
the hills, we rather laughed the movement to scorn, knowing of this morass on
our left; but when on you came, plunging into the morass as though it was mere
pastime, we began to wonder of what metal such men were made. One of my
staff remarked "they must be devils," and as you rose to the brink of the hill
away went my boys as though the devil was after them. After that charge my
men always spoke of your corps as Crook's devils.' He further said: 'At Fisher's
Hill, three days afterwards, when Crook played the same trick on us, of turning
our left, our men, as soon as they saw you charging down the mountain-side,
passed the word along the line, "Here come Crook's devils again, we had better
be getting out of this, " and away they went.' " (Russell Hastings, MS. Memoirs.)

246 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
by that terrible cavalry which had been hanging like a cloud on
the Union flank waiting its opportunity. Eight battle-flags were
captured, and a large number of prisoners, probably two thirds
of the whole number captured in the battle. The "greybacks"
soon looked as numerous as the "blue coats." The enemy's artil
lery in the Star Fort was obliged to stop firing and fall back,
and the battle was at an end. About this time the Sixth Corps
emerged from the woods in the rear, and started forward in
magnificent style, lines all well dressed, and everything in striking
contrast with the shattered appearance of the Eighth Corps.1
Crook, triumphant, and accompanied by the gratified Sheridan,
moved forward through Winchester (his command the first to
enter the town), and as far as Milltown, two miles south on the
Strasburg Pike, where his army went into camp as the shades of
night were gathering, having thus passed from the extreme right
of the infantry line to a point beyond the extreme left.2 The
Sixth and Nineteenth Corps did not pass through Winchester
until the following day.
And thus ended the battle of Opequon, which sent Early
"whirling through Winchester," which finally redeemed the
lower Shenandoah Valley from Confederate control, and relieved
Maryland and Pennsylvania from all apprehension of further
incursion. The victory, despite its cost in loyal blood, filled the
north with exultant jubilation and added to the increasing de
spondency of the South. Grant ordered a salute of one hundred
guns. Lincoln sent a congratulatory dispatch. Sheridan's policy
of caution was vindicated. He was once more the popular hero,
to grow in favor till Appomattox. His promotion immediately
followed, while he pressed on up the Valley to make Early's
disaster complete.
1 Comly's MS. Diary.
2 Official Report of Colonel R. B. Hayes of the movements of the Second
Division. War Records, vol. xliii, part I, p. 402.

CHAPTER XVI
FISHER'S HILL AND CEDAR CREEK
THE next day the victorious army advanced to the neighbor
hood of Strasburg. Early had occupied a very strong posi
tion two miles to the south on Fisher's Hill, a precipitous bluff,
along the front of which runs a brawling stream, called Tumbling
Run. His right was perfectly protected by the north fork of the
Shenandoah, just beyond which the Massanutten Range sprang
abrupt. The Valley here is at its narrowest, about three and a
half miles wide. Along the bluff formidable earthworks had been
constructed, when Early retreated up the Valley in August.
These were now strengthened, especially in the more open coun
try on the Confederate left beyond the Valley Pike to the base of
the steep, cedar-covered North Mountain.
A brief survey of the position satisfied Sheridan that a direct
assault would involve very serious losses besides being of doubt
ful success. He decided to repeat the manoeuvre which had won
the day before, namely, to turn Early's left by sending the gal
lant Crook and his hardy veterans to scale North Mountain and
pass along its side through the dense cedar growth. At a council
of officers that afternoon Sheridan outlined his plan. Crook ap
proved, but General Wright doubted its practicability, in which
he was supported by Emory. Wright wished to assault the works
in front, and was confident he could carry them. As for the
flanking movement, "a goat could not climb over that moun
tain, much less armed men." l Crook quietly expressed his
ability to execute the manoeuvre and said: "If the Sixth and
Nineteenth Corps will advance from the front when they hear
my guns, the battle can be won with very little loss of life."
The discussion grew warm, when Sheridan adjourned the council
1 This was Early's opinion, too. General Gordon, so Hayes records later in
life, suggested to Early that his position was not safe, that his left flank had
been turned once and might be again. But Early, or some one for him, replied,
"Nothing but a crow could go up there."

248 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
to meet at his quarters in the evening. At the evening meeting
Colonels Thoburn and Hayes, Crook's division commanders,
were present and joined in the support of General Sheridan's
plan. As to the practicability, Hayes said the men of his division
had been climbing the mountains of West Virgmia for three years
and could do almost any feat.1 He was confident he could take
his division along the mountain-side to the desired point with
perfect success. The discussion was animated, but Sheridan
decided on the flanking movement.
Success depended on complete secrecy, as Sheridan's army lay
in full view of the Confederate signal station on the Massanutten
Mountain. To escape observation, in the night of September 20
Crook's command was moved into heavy timber north of Cedar
Creek, where it lay concealed all the next day, Wednesday. Early
continued industriously strengthening his works while Sheridan
spent the day in gradually moving his army to the right, driving
the Confederates from two or three advantageous points that
they still held north of Tumbling Run. Wednesday night Crook's
troops were brought across Cedar Creek and hidden in a wood
behind Huff's Hill, where they lay until daylight . Then, protected
by ravines and woods, they were marched beyond the right of the
Sixth Corps, which was directly in front of Early and a little to
the right of his centre. Then Ricketts's division was pushed out
so as to confront the enemy's left, where with Averell's cavalry
it would be in position to swing round and join Crook when the
critical moment came.
While this movement of Ricketts absorbed the enemy's atten
tion and he was expecting the attack from that quarter, Crook
passed unobserved into the heavy forest of the mountain-side.
Hayes's division was in the van, and Crook and Hayes rode
together at the head of the column. Presently the way became
so steep and difficult that officers had to dismount and proceed
on foot. Hayes alone, who was riding a team horse he had picked
up on the way from Winchester, which could go anywhere a man
could, remained on his horse. It was hard climbing, but the
men pressed eagerly forward. By half -past three they had passed
1 An old fifer in the Thirteenth West Virginia Regiment used to say, " I was
born on the mountain-side, have always stood sidewise with one foot higher than
t'other ever since I can remember." (Russell Hastings, MS. Memoirs.)

FISHER'S HILL AND CEDAR CREEK 249
beyond the enemy's left, when they began to descend the moun
tain by the left flank. As they reached the edge of the timber the
enemy discovered them and opened with their batteries, but it
was too late. Crook's men threw off knapsacks, rations, some of
them coats even, and sprang to the charge with the same wild
yell which had startled Gordon's men at Opequon three days
before. All before them gave way in panic and ran like sheep
in utter confusion. Ricketts swung in on their left about a
mile from the base of the mountain and Wright's and Emory's
corps rushed to the assault in front across Tumbling Run, up the
frowning bluff and over the breastworks, all with such daring
and impetuosity that almost before the Confederates could real
ize what had happened their rout was complete x and they were
once more madly whirling up the Valley before Sheridan's exult
ant army. Sheridan with the main army followed rapidly after
the fleeing Rebels for fifteen miles that night. Crook's corps,
weary with its strenuous all-day exertion, culminating in its furi
ous charge, returned to the point where impedimenta had been
divested and camped for the night. The next three days it spent
1 "The rout was utter and complete. Nothing but inability to run any longer
prevented us from capturing the enemy's train. We were in sight of it when it
moved out. Our cavalry on this occasion, being in command of Averell, did as
much of nothing as it was possible to do; with Sheridan's cavalry, we should
have captured the enemy's wagon train, and the greater part of his force. As it
was, the success was beyond_that of any battle I have been in. Piece after piece
of artillery was abandoned as we got in rear; it could not be brought off. Some
of the officers (brave fellows) stood at their guns, serving them with their own
hands, until dragged off by our men. One of these, a Virginian, and a splendid
fellow, told me that some of his men had insisted, early in the day, that there
were men moving among the thickets of cedar on the mountain, and that they
bothered him about it so, that he finally sent a shell up there to satisfy them,
but that nothing came of it. He was told that the shell went through the color
guard of one of our regiments, knocking the Enfield out of the hands of one of
the corporals of the guard. 'The devil it did! Well, I thought it was a mistake.
We supposed a goat could n't climb up that mountain, yet we had a picket up
there, and expected to hear from it, if any disturbance occurred. The men were
so uneasy that I kept watching; could n't see a sign of anything; I was just turn
ing away, when suddenly it seemed as if that mountain just belched out Yankees
at us. There was n't a spot that was not covered by blue coats and bayonets.
I sprang to the gun, there, myself, and began firing as fast as it could be loaded;
but it was no use. By the time I would get your range and be ready to fire, you
would be a hundred yards below, and running like devils for our works!' This
officer was seized and dragged from his gun as he was in the very act of discharg
ing it into the masses of our men who were piling all around him. He was well
cared for by our men who admired his pluck." (Comly 's MS. Diary.)

250 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
with the rest of the army in pursuing the demoralized Confeder
ates up the Valley. There were frequent small engagements with
the Rebel rear guard which made desperate efforts to save Early's
train.1 Harrisonburg was reached Sunday and Crook's army
went into camp for a much enjoyed respite of several days.2
Here the next day Hayes wrote his uncle of the eventful week's
experience : —
You have heard enough about our great victories at Winchester and
Fisher's Hill. I will say only a word. No man can see or know what
passes on all parts of a battlefield. Each one describes the doings of the
corps, division, or what-not, that he is with. Now, all the correspond
ents are with the Sixth and Nineteenth Corps and the cavalry com
mand. General Crook has nobody to write him or his command up.
They are, of course, lost sight of.3
1 "And succeeded pretty well, although a number of wagons were burnt.
Every little while we saw fresh fires, as parts of the train would be abandoned
and sacrificed, until we thought they could not have much left." (Comly, ut
supra.) 2 "It is understood that the infantry will not pass this point, although the
cavalry is to go as far as Staunton. The men are all jolly; laughing and gossiping
and telling stories and reading the illustrated papers, which follow us closer than
our own trains, except the ones that carry our ammunition. Sheridan keeps them
on time. I noticed a group of our men reading a very affecting account from one
of the pictorials (accompanied by an illustration) of a dog standing sentinel over
a dead Confederate soldier, when one of the listeners spoke up eagerly, 'Who got
that dog?' Every soldier who can get one, has a pet dog. Some of them have
lambs or sheep which they take a deal of trouble in leading on the march- One
had a rooster which he carried. They would rush in a body after a rabbit or a
coon, no matter what was going on. They are all crazy after children, petting
them and 'hovering' them as tenderly as mothers." (Comly, ut supra, Septem
ber 26.)
3 Comly, in his diary, September 21, speaks in a similar strain of the partial
reports of the correspondents: "The peculiarity of the correspondent is, that he
seems to think all the fighting is done by the corps he happens to be with. This
curious hallucination is said to be produced by the bread and butter at corps
headquarters. The difficulty with us is, that General Crook will not keep any
of this bread and butter on hand; or, if he does, it is not eaten by correspondents.
The other corps are mostly Eastern troops, while ours are Western. And, if our
own Cincinnati papers will not send correspondents with us, it is too much to expect
of Eastern papers to do so. The consequence is, that it is only when the official
dispatches are published that we are heard of; by that time the Eastern papers
have decided the question, and the public are convinced that the fighting has
all been done by the Eastern troops. Our Western papers, having no corre
spondents of their own with us, copy the accounts of the Eastern press, and our
friends at home have the veracious intelligence that the Sixth and Nineteenth
Corps have won a glorious victory. General Crook's command being in reserve I
So, in the account of this battle, which we read to-day in the Baltimore
American, we are placed in reserve, supporting the Nineteenth Corps through the

FISHER'S HILL AND CEDAR CREEK 251
At Winchester at noon the Sixth and Nineteenth Corps had been
worsted. In the afternoon General Crook (who is the brains of the
whole thing) with his command turned the Rebel left and gained the
victory. The cavalry saved it from being lost after it was gained. My
brigade led the attack on the Rebel left, but all parts of Crook's com
mand did their duty. The Sixth Corps fought well; the Nineteenth
failed somewhat, and the cavalry was splendid and efficient throughout.
This is my say-so. My division entered the fight on the extreme right
of the infantry — Merritt's splendid cavalry on our right and Averell
still further on our right. We ended the fight on the extreme left. The
Rebels retreated from our right to our left, so that we went in at the
rear and came out at the front — my flag being the first into and through
Winchester. My division commander was wounded late in the fight,
and I commanded the division from that time. It is the Second —
General Crook's old division.
At Fisher's Hill the turning of the Rebel left was planned and exe
cuted by General Crook against the opinions of the other corps generals.
My division led again. General Sheridan is a whole-souled, brave man
(like Dr. Webb), and believes in Crook, his old class- and room-mate at
West Point. Intellectually, he is not General Crook's equal, so that, as I
said, General Crook is the brains of this army.
The completeness of our victories can't be exaggerated. If Averell
had been up to his duty at Fisher's Hill, Mr. Early and all the rest
would have fallen into our hands. As it is, we have, I think, from the
two battles five thousand Rebel prisoners unhurt, three thousand
wounded, five hundred killed, twenty-five pieces of artillery, etc., etc.
In the Fisher's Hill battle the Sheridan cavalry [Torbert' s] was over
the mountains going around to the rear. This, as it turned out, was
unfortunate. If they had been with us instead of Averell there would
have been nothing left of Early. General Averell is relieved. I lost one
orderly; my adjutant-general — Captain Hastings — and field officers
in all regiments wounded.
The next day Hayes wrote his uncle again: —
One Hundred Miles South of the Potomac,
September 27, 1864.
Our work seems to be done for the present. The cavalry and small
scouting parties are after the scattered and broken army. It looks as if
we should after [a] while return towards the Potomac. We are resting
in the magnificent Valley of Virginia. A most happy campaign it has
been. Our chance to act has been good and it has been well improved.
action; when the truth is, we had the extreme right — the post of honor — the
place where the hardest fighting was done, and the most of the enemy killed and
wounded — the place where three fourths of all the prisoners were captured,
and the place where the enemy was first driven from his line of works, forcing
the whole line to fall back in confusion, or to be surrounded."

252 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
My immediate command is one of the very finest and has done all one
could desire. There are five or six brigadier-generals and one or two
major-generals, sucking their thumbs in offices at Harper's Ferry and
elsewhere, who would like to get my command, — one came out here yes
terday to ask for it, — but General Crook tells them he has all the com
manders he wants and sends them back. There is not a general officer
in General Crook's army and has not been in this campaign.
Things look well in all directions. Lincoln must be reelected easily, it
seems to me. Rebel prisoners — the common soldiers — all talk one
way. "Tired of this rich man's war — determined to quit if it lasts
beyond this campaign."
While the army was lying at Harrisonburg, Lieutenant Meigs,
Sheridan's engineer officer, was perfidiously killed, within the
Federal lines and less than three miles from camp, by men
dressed as Union soldiers. Sheridan, who was much attached to
the brilliant young officer, regarding the murder as a culminating
atrocity of the guerrilla warfare continually waged upon his men
on detached service by the inhabitants of the Valley, ordered the
burning of all the houses within an area of five miles. Hayes,
even at the time when indignation was hot at guerrilla enor
mities, did not believe in the righteousness of this act (as an entry
in the diary shows), which involved the cruel suffering of inno
cent people. Probably even the warmest admirer of the great
commander would find it hard now to justify the act.1 Sheridan
in retiring down the Valley, which he began to do October 6, was
thoroughly executing Grant's order to destroy all provisions and
forage so that "a crow in flying from Staunton to Winchester
must carry his rations." 2 Hayes's old regiment had a share in
this arduous and distressing work of desolation, which was not
at all to the taste of Colonel Comly.3 Early followed Sheridan
1 The severity of the order was mitigated in its execution. "When a few
houses in the immediate neighborhood of the scene of the murder had been
burned Custer was directed to cease his desolating work." (Sheridan's Memoirs,
vol. n, p. 52.)
• 2 " Great droves of cattle and sheep are going past us north. Everything
eatable is taken or destroyed. No more supplies to Rebels from this Valley. No
more invasions in great force by this route will be possible." (Hayes to Mrs.
Hayes, from Harrisonburg, Virginia, October 2, 1864.)
3 " Saturday, October 8. — The Twenty-third sent across the Shenandoah
to rake in cattle and stock, and burn all supplies capable of furnishing aid and
comfort to the armies of the enemy — to burn mills, destroy barns, having sup
plies in them, etc. To rejoin command at Strasburg. I demanded written orders
— not liking to burn things. Had a very hard march across mountains and

FISHER'S HILL AND CEDAR CREEK 253
closely, his cavalry, which had been reenforced and placed under
the command of the energetic but boastful General Rosser, con
stantly harassing the Union rear. Wearying of this, Sheridan
halted for a day at Fisher's Hill and Strasburg and ordered Tor
bert and Custer to go out and whip Rosser or be whipped by him.
The Union generals preferred the former alternative and they
proceeded to secure their choice in most brilliant style under the
eyes of the commanding general and his staff.1 Two days later
Sheridan established himself on high ground north of Cedar
Creek, and Early occupied his old position at Fisher's Hill. The
Sixth Corps was started toward Manassas to be sent to Peters
burg, but, on indication of Early's renewed confidence, it was
called back and took position to the right and a little in the rear
valleys, most of the way without any road; forded the Shenandoah four times —
waist-deep and very cold. Brought in over fifteen hundred nice cattle; lost over two
hundred crossing the river; also twelve or fifteen horses. Routed several guer
rilla camps. Killed a Captain Brown. We had several narrow escapes, my regi
ment being entirely alone on that side of the river, and with all those cattle to
guard and bring safe to camp. The people were much enraged against us, and
there were many pitiful scenes that fairly broke my heart, but ' orders is orders,'
as Colonel Scammon's orderly used to say. We executed the order as carefully
and tenderly as possible, burning and destroying only what we were impera
tively ordered to do. Of course, it is the right thing to destroy the enemy's sup
plies in this Valley, but I hate none the less to have such a duty to perform. It
does not seem real soldierly work. We ought to enlist a force of damned scoun
drels for such work. Once during the day, the enemy got between us and our
army, in strong force, and there was quite a little battle in front of us. (Rosser's
division of cavalry.) It looked bilious for us with all those cattle. I struck back
into the mountains at as rapid a pace as possible, with our menagerie, and made
a large circumbendibus over toward Massanutten Mountain. We found a ford
and got safely into camp. Sheridan sent word to us, thanking us, and we were
ordered into camp near his headquarters, Hayes, with the rest of the brigade
being at the rear, guarding against Rosser's cavalry." (Comly's MS. Diary.)
1 "Monday, October 10. — Custer licked Rosser beautifully. Captured eleven
pieces of artillery and three hundred-fifty prisoners, and destroyed his ambu
lances and wagon train. The Richmond papers said the horsemen in the Valley
were to be called out, and cavalry sent in their places ; so Rosser was sent. Yes
terday our cavalry run him out from a little beyond Strasburg to a little place
called Edenburg, capturing and destroying all his artillery (one piece escaped),
train, and ambulances, and breaking up his command. Send us more cavalry,
gentlemen. Sheridan, who has a boisterous sort of humor, said yesterday, when
he rode out, that he was 'going to see this new saviour of the Valley'; and when
he came back past our camp, he was laughing and swearing, and said: 'By 
Custer's got everything he had on wheels. The last we saw of him, he was going
over Rude's Hill with only one piece of artillery left, and that was going so fast
that only one wheel touched the ground!'" (Comly, ut supra.)

254 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
of the Nmeteenth Corps. The latter occupied the centre while
Crook's command held the extreme left, his First Division under
Colonel Thoburn holding a hill in the angle formed by the junc
tion of Cedar Creek with the Shenandoah, and his Second Divi
sion under Hayes lying a short distance behind the First, con
necting closely with the Nmeteenth Corps. Over on the extreme
right, between the Sixth Corps and North Mountain, Custer's
cavalry was posted, strongly protecting that flank. Powell was
at Front Royal with his cavalry guarding against a Rebel ad
vance by way of the Luray Valley, and the fords of the Shenan
doah were picketed.1 Sheridan's forces were busy at Fisher's
Hill; both armies were making reconnaissances in force with
varying fortunes. October 15, Hayes wrote Sardis Birchard: —
We are resting. Early, reenforced, came up a few days ago, evidently
thinking a good part of our army had gone to Grant. Finding his mis
take, he moved back to his old fortifications on Fisher's [Hill], and is
now there digging and chopping like mad. What we are to do about it,
I can't tell. It must be serious business for the Rebels to feed an army
there now.
It was a serious business to feed the army after the havoc
wrought by Sheridan. Early was conscious that he could not long
maintain himself so far from his base. Through reenforcement
his army was again about as strong as before the recent disasters.
Lee had written him: "The enemy must be defeated. I rely on
you to do it." He was eager to retrieve his fallen fortunes. More
over, he was laboring under the illusory notion that a large
part of Sheridan's army had been detached and was on its way
to Grant. Sheridan did not believe Early would be so rash as to
bring on a general engagement. There was a difference of opinion
between him and Grant as to what should be the future policy of
his army. It was important to discuss the subject with Stanton
and Halleck, and October 15 Sheridan started for Washington
with cavalry escort through Manassas Gap to Rectortown and
then with two of his staff by rail, reaching his destination the
morning of the 17th. General Wright, of the Sixth Corps, was
by virtue of seniority left in command. He was made somewhat
1 Crook had recognized the weakness of the protection of the fords, and had
asked for a cavalry force there. This had been ordered sent, but for some reason
seems not to have arrived by the night of the 18th.

FISHER'S HILL AND CEDAR CREEK 255
solicitous by a dispatch caught from the Rebel signal station
which implied that Longstreet was on his way to join Early. The
dispatch had overtaken Sheridan at Front Royal, and while he
thought it likely to be a ruse (as in fact it proved to be), he sent
Torbert's cavalry — which he had brought with him to begin a
raid toward Charlottesville — back to Wright, and he himself
went on his way, haunted, despite his judgment, with apprehen
sion lest the intercepted dispatch might be true.
Early, of course, knew nothing of Sheridan's absence. But the
consideration noted above made him eager to attack, and he and
his able lieutenants were seeking to devise a plan which might
have promise of success. Finally, Tuesday, October 18, Early
decided to adopt the tactics which had been used against himself
by Sheridan at Winchester and Fisher's Hill with so disastrous
results. This plan l was to send Gordon with a heavy force, by a
difficult and circuitous route, which involved fording the Shenan
doah twice and passing around the Massanutten Mountain by a
rugged footpath, to turn the Union left while Rosser engaged the
Union right and the rest of Early's force attacked directly in
front. The plan was well conceived and brilliantly executed.
Gordon started at eight o'clock that night and reached his posi
tion at early dawn without incident. The Union camp had gone
to rest that night in perfect security, a reconnaissance of the
afternoon having brought back reassuring news, confirmation of
which General Wright proposed to obtain by another reconnais
sance under General Grover from the right early the next morn
ing. But before dawn broke the Rebels, without sending out
skirmishers, advanced, in full battle line, capturing or driving
in the Union pickets and falling suddenly in front and flank on
Crook's First Division.
The surprise was complete, and the division, not more than
fifteen hundred strong, fell back in considerable disorder 2 to the
1 The plan was suggested by General Gordon and Captain Hotchkiss, topo
graphical engineers, who from Three Top Mountain had made a careful study
of the Federal lines and the approaches thereto.
2 "Is it any wonder that this small division of infantry (First Division of
Crook's command) and the brigade of the Nineteenth Corps still further to the
rear were swept backward pell-mell by the onset of Early's whole army except
one division — an onset which drove not only the Nineteenth Corps, but the
irreproachable Sixth about four miles to the rear after they had full notice by

256 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Second Division (likewise with about fifteen hundred men pres
ent), which had been quickly roused and got in line by Hayes.
In this movement Crook's artillery, under the brave and alert
Captain du Pont, did admirable work in checking the Rebel
advance and got off with the loss of seven guns. "When the
enemy's line had reached within easy range of the Second Divi
sion" — to quote an account written shortly after the battle
by Colonel Comly and submitted for correction to Crook and
Hayes — "an order came from General Wright to move up by
the right flank and close upon the Nmeteenth Corps whose left
was a short distance to Hayes's right. About the same time the
provisional brigade [Kitchings's] on the left — which had come
up as train guard, and did not belong anywhere in particular —
commenced falling back. (They did some good fighting during
the day.) And fugitives from the First Division and a brigade
of the Nineteenth Corps, which had been hurried into the woods
on our right when the fight opened, came pouring back through
the interval between Hayes's division and the Nineteenth Corps.
General Wright's order, in the noise, was misunderstood by a
part of the line and it commenced falling back slowly. As soon
as it was understood the line halted in a belt of woods near the
pike." When Hayes saw his men wavering he rode down the line in
front, imploring them to stand their ground. The ground was
steep, his horse on a gallop; suddenly, out of the bank of fog
obscuring the whole field, came a blaze of musketry and Hayes's
horse fell pierced by twenty balls. Hayes himself was unscathed,
but from the speed of his horse he was thrown violently to the
ground where for a brief space he lay stunned. He was badly
bruised and one ankle, which had caught fast in the stirrup, re
ceived a severe and painful wrench. When he recovered full con
sciousness the Rebel line was close upon him, but he managed to
the alleged 'disgraceful flight' of the Eighth Corps and plenty of time to form?
It ' bangs Banaker ' to understand why it is that historians of regiments, brigades,
even army corps, find it so disgraceful in one poor little division of infantry,
a mile or more from support, and with little warning, to fall back, somewhat
nimbly, from an attack which sent two stately corps and more, four miles
to the rear, after the fullest possible notice." (Letter of General James M.
Comly to Major John M. Gould, dated "Toledo, Ohio, January 8, 1884.")
This letter was written to correct erroneous statements as to the action of
Crook's command.

FISHER'S HILL AND CEDAR CREEK 257
regain his feet and escaped unhit to his men in the woods, where
he mounted his orderly's horse.1 Presently the whole line was
1 Some of his retreating men, who had seen him fall and not rise immediately,
carried word to the rear that Hayes had been killed. In an informal address
before the Loyal Legion at Cincinnati, March 6, 1889, Mr. Hayes in recounting
incidents of this battle said : —
"It happened that my family was better known than other families were
in the command to which I belonged, as my wife had been frequently with us in
camp. About that time a very interesting circumstance had occurred in my
family, at home, in Ohio. A child had been born. We had been having some
victories that were notable, at the battle of Winchester and Fisher's Hill, and
then the news came of this incident at my home. I let it be known that I had a
new boy at home and that I should call him George Crook, after our corps
commander. ... At night, the reporters, who had got together at the telegraph
headquarters, were sending off accounts of the battle. The colonel commanding
the First Division of Crook's corps had been killed; the colonel commanding the
Second Division, which was myself, had been killed, and so on, making out a
large list. These reporters liked a good butcher's bill, you know. A gentleman,
a captain of my command, who had seen me on horseback all of the latter part
of that battle, said to them: 'Why, you are not sending off word that Colonel
Hayes is dead?' 'Oh, yes, it has gone off long ago; he was killed in the morning.
We have seen men who saw him killed.' 'Well,' said he, 'that is not so; I saw
him until dark.' — You know Sheridan had carried out his promise to those
stragglers; you remember his promise to them? As he met them he said, Bu
chanan Read has it, 'a terrible oath.' Do you remember what that terrible oath
was? He said: ' Boys, turn back; face the other way. I am going to sleep in that
camp to-night or in hell.' Those were the words with which Sheridan turned
them back. —
"Well, that captain was a man of sense, a good man to have about when any
thing was going on. He sat right down at the instrument and telegraphed to
my wife, at Chillicothe, Ohio. 'The report that your husband was killed this
morning is untrue. He was wounded, not dangerously, and is safe.' The next
morning, or the next but one after the battle, the carrier took the daily paper
to my wife as usual. . . . Her uncle saw the paper coming, and hurried into the
room, and before she could take it up, he grabbed it and quietly put it to one
side, a little disturbed. He had heard what was in it. . . . Just at that moment
it so happened that the telegraph boy came with the dispatch from the captain
of my command, giving the message that I have recited. When that was read,
the relief came.
" Rather an interesting incident grew out of the sending of that dispatch. As
soon as I learned of it, I inquired for the name that was signed to the dispatch.
It was given to me, and I at once inquired for persons of that name. I found a
reporter of the New York Herald of that name. 'Did you send that dispatch?'
I asked him, for I desired to thank him for this good act. ' No, ' said he ; ' I should
have been very glad to have done it, but I did not send it.' I found four persons
of the same name. The first name was not known, but I found four of the same
surname. Each one resolutely denied sending it, and for thirteen years I con
tinued to inquire, telling about it in circles, hoping to find that man, and one
time about thirteen years afterward, when I was telling about it in the White
House to some gentlemen from West Virginia, one of them said: 'Why, I know
who that man is; it is so-and-so, of our village.' It turned out to be a quiet man

258 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
engaged and, taken front and flank, fell steadily back. An
obstinate and successful stand was made by Crook's command
to save the headquarters trains of Sheridan and Crook where
Colonel Thoburn, the First Division commander, and other
brave officers were killed.
"From this point" — to resume Colonel Comly's narrative —
"the whole of Crook's line fell slowly back, fighting stubbornly,
finding themselves after this on the left of the Sixth which had
seemingly been thrown to the left, via the rear of the Nineteenth
as the train moved out." The Union lines fell back some three or
four miles through Middletown, where they made a stand and
constructed hasty barricades of rails, whereupon many of the
soldiers who had had no breakfast lighted fires and brewed coffee.
The Rebels were in full possession of the Union camps which
men and officers lingered behind to plunder. Early was seeking
to re-form his lines for another advance.
Meanwhile the greatest reenforcement possible to the Union
army was hurriedly approaching from Winchester — a single
man, to be sure, but better than a legion, General Sheridan. He
had left Washington by special train Monday noon after six
hours in the city, the uncertainty of the situation he had left at
Cedar Creek giving him no respite from anxiety; had spent that
night at Martinsburg, and had ridden to Winchester Tuesday.
There reassuring word from Wright had sent him to bed with a
light heart. Wednesday morning at daybreak a picket had wak
ened him with a report of firing. He knew of the reconnaissance
to be made that morning by General Grover and he thought it
came from that. Even a second report some time later that the
firing still continued did not change his opinion as to its character.
But he had breakfast hastened and about half-past eight set
forth with his escort toward Cedar Creek, nearly twenty miles
south. He had not gone far when his trained ear taught him that
a general engagement was on and his men were falling back. He
quickened his pace, and soon panic-stricken fugitives were met,
telling dire tales of disaster as they fled by. Nearer the field the
men were resting by the roadside brewing coffee. They cheered
who had not told it to me, and made no fuss about it, but at home had told it.
So, thirteen years after the battle of Cedar Creek, I found the man who sent
that dispatch, and I have been very fond of him ever since."

FISHER'S HILL AND CEDAR CREEK 259
as he passed, and many of them, abandoning their coffee, fell in
behind him and started back to their commands. It is all a famil
iar story but of undying interest — how everywhere the young
commanding general's appearance revived the spirits of his men
and infused in them fresh courage and confidence. Here is Com-
ly's description of the arrival of Sheridan at Crook's command : —
Crook was lying a rod or two over to our left. Hayes and I were to
gether with our commands. He was badly bruised by his fall when his
horse was killed under him, and had several slight wounds besides. He
was teasing me and grumbling because we did not advance, instead of
waiting for the enemy.
Suddenly there is a dust in the rear, on the Winchester road, and al
most before we are aware, a fiery-looking, impetuous, dashing young
man in full major-general's uniform, and riding furiously a magnificent
black horse, literally "flecked with foam," and no poetic license about
it, reins up and springs off by General Crook's side.1 There is a perfect
1 Hayes, in the Loyal Legion address quoted in the last preceding note, said,
speaking of Sheridan's account of the battle in his Memoirs : —
"He [Sheridan] says that passing up the pike, sometimes on one side, and
sometimes on the other, coming to Cedar Creek, he struck first the division of
Getty of the Sixth Corps; that he passed along that division a short distance,
when there arose out of a hollow before him a line consisting entirely of officers
of Crook's Army of West Virginia and of color-bearers. The army had been
stampeded in the morning, but these people were not panic-stricken. They
saluted him, but there was nothing now between the enemy and him and the
fugitives but this division of Getty's. Said he, 'These officers seemed to rise
right up from the ground.' This was twenty-four years afterward, but he re
collects it perfectly well except names. Among them, however, he recollects
seeing one, Colonel R. B. Hayes, since President of the United States, and drops
the story there, leaving the impression that there were no men there — no pri
vates, no army — simply some color-bearers and some officers. The fact is that
in the hollow, just in the rear, was a line of men, a thousand or twelve hundred
probably, and they had thrown up a little barricade and were lying close behind
it. He came up and saw these officers and did not see the men, or seems not to
have seen them; but I had no idea at the time that he did not see the private
soldiers in that line. . . . We had then been, I suppose, an hour or an hour and
a half in that position. We had learned that General Sheridan was in Winchester,
and the moment he found out there was a battle on, and that disaster had be
fallen his men, we knew that he would come as rapidly as the horse could bear
him to the scene of the trouble. We were confident of another thing — that we
were strong enough, if any commander would take charge of our army, to com
pletely overwhelm the army that had driven us in the morning. In the first
place they had marched that night and were worn out, and we had slept well
until they disturbed us early in the morning. We were comparatively rested,
therefore, and when Sheridan came there was along the whole line a thrill of joy
and satisfaction, for we knew that when he came victory was not far off.
"I do not, of course, mention this by way of criticism. It only shows that the

260 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
roar, and everybody recognized Sheridan. He talks with Crook a little
while, cutting away at the tops of the weeds with his riding-whip. Gen
eral Crook speaks half a dozen sentences that sound a great deal like
the whip, and by that time some of the staff are up. They are sent fly
ing in different directions. Sheridan and Crook he down and seem to be
talking, and all is quiet again, except the vicious shells of the different
batteries and the roar of artillery along the line. After a while Colonel
[James W.] Forsyth comes down in our front and shouts to the General :
"The Nineteenth Corps is closed up, sir." Sheridan jumps up, gives one
more cut with his whip, whirls himself around once, jumps on his horse,
and starts up the line. Just as he starts he says to the men: "We are
going to have a good thing on them now, boys!" It don't sound like
Cicero or Daniel Webster, but it doubled the force at our end of the line.
And so he rode off, a long wave of yells rolling up to the right with
him. We took our posts, the line moved forward — and the balance of
the day is already history.
It was between three and four when Sheridan had reestab
lished his line and was ready to attack. In the whirl of prepara
tions for the aggressive movement, when the tension must have
been the greatest, he had thought of the honor and glory of
Crook's command on which the disaster of the morning had
first fallen. "When I reached the Valley Pike," said Sheridan,
"Crook had reorganized his men, and as I desired that they
should take part in the fight, for they were the very same troops
that had turned Early's flank at the Opequon and at Fisher's
Hill, I ordered them to be pushed forward; and the alacrity and
celerity with which they moved on Middletown demonstrated
that their ill-fortune of the morning had not sprung from lack of
wisest and best and bravest of men cannot see all that occurs in a battle, and
this has led me very often to regret to see the accounts that we sometimes see
in print. We hear that such an organization behaved badly, from a person who
perhaps knows nothing of the situation of that organization. Soldiers, it seems
to me, should be careful to be very charitable toward their neighbors. It is so
difficult to put ourselves in their places. Suppose you had been with that divi
sion where Colonel Thoburn was killed, which was surprised in the morning —
would you have done better? And so with three fourths — I don't know but
nine tenths — of the unpleasant controversies that we see in the magazines and
newspapers between soldiers. The practical lesson that I would draw from all
this loose talk that I have been giving you, is that battles cannot be known in
their entirety, from beginning to end, from one end of a long fine to another, by
any one man. No one is authorized to say that in some distant part of the field
there was bad behavior or inexcusable behavior. There may have been disaster,
but if I had been there with my favorite troops the same disaster would perhaps
have occurred. "

FISHER'S HILL AND CEDAR CREEK 261
valor." l "At one of the pauses in this forward movement," by
which Early's victorious army of the morning was utterly routed
and driven in wild disorder from the Union camp, Comly writes,
"our command w»s delayed at a very high rail fence (I can hardly
believe such a fence was left, but it was), Crook was on his horse
and had passed the fence when Hayes climbed up, and by holding
to one of the stakes and standing on the rider was more elevated
than Crook, and could use his glass more effectively. He was
able thus to give Crook some important information, which I did
not hear. But the result was that Hayes mounted his horse and
dashed to the front at a headlong gallop, ahead of his infantry.
I have learned since that he found Captain du Pont, who was
moving down the pike, and under his immediate orders Captain
du Pont passed through Middletown at a swinging trot, with his
own battery, going to the front. Hayes, being very well mounted,
and free to 'cut across,' got ahead out of sight, and on the emi
nence near where our camps had been, found General Sheridan,
entirely alone, using his glass in the most excited manner. As
soon as he saw Hayes he yelled at him: 'If I had a battery here
we could knock h — 11 out of their train and capture all their artil
lery!' Hayes answered: 'All right, General; I've got just what
you want, coming as fast as it can!' He galloped back to Du
Pont, who immediately started all his horses at a gallop, and
came down the pike like a whirlwind. The first shell he fired lit
in the very midst of a narrow place where the head of the enemy's
retreating column had got gorged by attempting to pass too many
abreast. General Hayes has described the scene to me vividly,
and it is enough to make one get up and give three cheers all
alone by himself to think of it as he describes it — shell after
shell dropping in the thickest of the throng, drivers cutting traces
and scampering out of it, teams, ammunition, caissons, and can
non abandoned and left literally piled up by the gorge."
No wonder that Early was in the depths of despair at this
third overwhelming disaster, coming as it did when he had
thought the day was his, and that he should report to Lee his
willingness to lay down his command. And no wonder the North
was wild with delight at disaster turned, by one man's splen
did audacity and confidence in his men, into a glorious triumph.
1 Sheridan's Memoirs, vol. n, p. 89.

262 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Promotions were showered upon the redoubtable army. Sheri
dan, Crook, Hayes, Comly, and many others received well-
merited recognition, in some cases long and unjustly withheld.
Two days after the battle Hayes wrote his uncle very briefly
of the great victory and of his share in the battle: —
Early, reenforced by a division or two of Longstreet's corps, was fool
ish enough to attack us again on the 19th. It was a foggy morning, and
the attack before daylight. One of General Crook's divisions (the First)
was doubled up and our whole army flanked out of its position in con
fusion. But after daylight, order was gradually restored, and in the af
ternoon, General Sheridan attacked in turn — retook all we had lost
and utterly ruined Early. It was done easily and with small loss. The
fact is, all the fight is out of Early's men. They have been whipped so
much that they can't keep a victory after it is gained. This is the last
of fighting on this line, I am confident. My horse was killed under me
instantly, dashing me on the ground violently; luckily, I was not much
hurt. I was hit also fairly in the head with a spent ball. Narrow escape!
The Rebs got my saddle, pistol, etc.
General Max Weber, a "veteran of European reputation," and one
of the senior brigadiers in our service, came out yesterday with the
intention of taking command of this division. General Crook sent him
to Hagerstown, Maryland, to await orders !
In a letter to Mrs. Hayes, October 27, Hayes added about the
battle: —
Some of the foolish fellows in the Sixth and Nineteenth Corps, feeling
envious of our laurels in previous battles, have got the Eastern corre
spondents to represent the rout of Crook's corps as worse than theirs,
etc., etc. There is not a word of truth in it. A sentence in General Sher
idan's dispatch was no doubt intended to correct this, in a quiet way :
"Crook's corps lost seven pieces of artillery, the Nineteenth, eleven, and
the Sixth Corps, six." We were attacked before them and of course
under more unfavorable circumstances and yet we lost no more. In fact
I lost nothing. My division fell back, but brought everything we had —
our two cows, tents, and everything. Of course we lost no artillery, but
did save an abandoned piece of the Nineteenth Corps.
The battle of Cedar Creek was the end of the active cam
paigning in the Shenandoah Valley. There were many minor
engagements with small detachments of the enemy, especially
with Rosser's cavalry and Mosby's [raiders, but Early had had
enough and Lee had no further hopes of a victory in that quarter.
The Union forces began to settle down to guard and routine
duties.

CHAPTER XVII
END OF THE WAR — BREVET MAJOR-GENERAL
AFTER a few days Sheridan began to withdraw his army
down the Valley, so as to be nearer his base of supplies, and
to send the divisions that he no longer needed to Grant. Finally,
after several changes of camp, Crook was established in winter
quarters at Cumberland, Maryland, where Hayes named his
camp Camp Hastings, in honor of his gallant adjutant-general,
who was still hovering between life and death on his bed of pain
at Winchester. October 11, the Ohio state election had occurred,
when Hayes was elected to Congress in the Second District by a
majority of 2455. x
The Ohio men in Sheridan's army had voted that day, and
nearly unanimously for the Union ticket. November 9 came the
general election, when with almost as great unanimity the Ohio
men in the Valley had cast their ballots for Lincoln. In that
election General Sheridan voted for the first and perhaps the last
time, and Lieutenant William McKinley, Jr., voted for the first
time. Hayes records in his diary that he "went with Generals
Sheridan and Crook and Colonel Forsyth to the polls of Thirty-
fourth Regiment. All vote for Lincoln. Sheridan's maiden vote."
Later in life Hayes gave a fuller description of this event,
saying: —
Sheridan had never voted, as he was an army officer, but he under
stood that, under the laws of Ohio, an Ohio soldier could vote. He
learned that the polling-place was at my headquarters, so he came over
the day before and talked about it. Next day he came with General
Forsyth, of Toledo, and General Crook. I passed the word around that
1 "I suppose you are pleased with the result of the election. Of course I am
on general reasonsTMy particular gratification'is'rnuchTess' than ltjvOTnabe, if
I were^of sio"much gratTfiecTby my good luck in winning ' golden opinions ' in
the more stirring scenes around me here. My share of notoriety here is nothing
at all, and my real share of merit is also small enough, I know; but the conscious
ness" that I am doing my part in these brilliant actions is far more gratifying
than anything the election bringTme." (Letter to Mrs. Hayes, October 21.) .

264 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Sheridan and Crook would vote about nine o'clock, and five thousand
soldiers and two brass bands were on hand. The polling-place was a
wagon, and three non-commissioned officers were judges and two young
fellows clerks. I said I would vote first, so as to show Crook and Sheri
dan how it was done. I stepped up and said: "My name is Rutherford
B. Hayes; I vote in Hamilton County, Ohio, in the Fifteenth Ward,
Cincinnati." All this was put down. Then Sheridan stepped up. He
was a little embarrassed under the gaze of all the men. He looked at the
judge, the judge stared at him. "Your name, sir!" said the judge, with
infinite dignity. Sheridan spoke up, "Philip H. Sheridan." "In what
State do you vote?" asked the judge, impressively. "In Ohio." "In
what county?" "Perry County." "In what ward or township, sir?"
asked the judge, with solemnity. "My father lives in Reading Town
ship," Sheridan replied, in an embarrassed way, for it was all new to him.
Then General Crook stepped forward, pulling his mustache nervously,
as was his habit. He gave his name, and said he lived in Dayton, Mont
gomery County. "What ward, sir?" asked the judge. "I don't know,"
General Crook said; "I always stopped at the Phillips House, though."
"Oh, call it the First Ward," I said, and down it went that way. In
speaking with Sheridan afterward, he said, with feeling: "Thisjs my
firstvote: I don't ever expect to voteagain, but I did want to vote for
OWA.be." Letters from Hayes to his uncle give interesting glimpses of his
life during these closmg months of that eventful year. Thus, from
Camp Russell, near Kernstown, November 20, he wrote: —
We have had no battle for a month, and it is a week yesterday since
I heard Rebel firing ! This is wonderful. It is now six months since I
could say the same. We do not feel settled here, but are getting very
comfortable. It is probable that we shall have a rest sometime this
winter, but not yet certain. The Sixth and Nineteenth Corps may be
needed at Richmond or somewhere, but I think the Army of West Vir
ginia will do guard duty merely. What an interest the country now feels
in Sherman; it looks as if he might strike some vital blows.
A few days later came word of his promotion to brigadier-
general. After the battle of Cedar Creek, great injustice had
been done to Crook's command by the newspaper correspond
ents, who had represented the brave veterans, that had done
such heroic and effective service at Opequon and Fisher's Hill, as
becoming utterly demoralized by the morning rout. Sheridan
commiserated with Crook at this misrepresentation, saying that
no army had suffered more from that cause; and, commenting on
the fact that its divisions had been led throughout the campaign

END OF THE WAR 265
by colonels, he declared to Hayes that from the date of the battle
of Cedar Creek he should be a brigadier-general. If conspicuous
bravery and sound military judgment ever merited reward, they
did in the case of Hayes. When the announcement of the promo
tion reached the camp, Hayes was overwhelmed with congratu
lations, and General Crook presented him with shoulder straps
that he himself had worn, of which Hayes was justly proud. The
commission dated from October 19, the day of the battle of
Cedar Creek, and the reason for the promotion, as officially
announced, was "For gallant and meritorious services in the
battles of Opequon, Fisher's Hill, and Cedar Creek."
Writing of this and of other topics of current interest to his
uncle, December 12, Hayes said: —
The campaign in the Valley is closed. The Rebel infantry has all
been withdrawn; our own is leaving rapidly; it goes to Grant. The des
tination of Crook's command is not yet known. It probably waits news
from Sherman. I shall ask for leave of absence as soon as we get orders
to go into winter quarters, which may come any day.
I have been promoted to brigadier-general. The honor is no great
thing, it having been conferred, particularly at the first part of the war,
on all sorts of men for all sorts of reasons ; but I am a good deal gratified,
nevertheless; it is made on the recommendation of General Crook, ap
proved by Sheridan. This, at the close of such a bloody campaign, is
something; besides, I am pleased that it seems so well received by offi
cers and men of the command. It has not yet been officially announced,
and will not be for perhaps a week or so.
I am very glad Governor Chaseis Chief Justice^ I had almost given
up his appointment. I received letters from Judge Swayne's friends
urging me to write"in his Behalf. I heard nothing of the kind from the
friends ofGovernoF Chase. "1 suppose they Jeltjsaf e^Jf replied .to, Mr.
Perry and others that I wasJiorChase.
Itlseems I have a place at West Point at my disposal. It is quite
encouraging to know that my district abounds in young Napoleons. I
hear of a new one almost every mail. The claim of one is based largely
on the fact that he has two brothers in the service. I happen to know
that they (both officers) have been so successful in finding soft places in
the rear, that neither of them, after more than three years' service, has
ever been in a battle.
I begin to feel very anxious about Sherman. His failure would be a
great calamity in itself. Besides, it would bring into favor the old-fogy,
anaconda style of warfare. Boldness and enterprise would be at a dis
count. If he has made a mistake, it is in not moving with more celerity.
We ought to have another draft without delay; or rather, another call

266 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
for troops, to be followed by a draft if volunteering failed to produce the
required number within a reasonable period.
Not only had Hayes reason for gratification in his promotion,
but he had cause for great pride in the valor, the confidence in
him, and the efficient service of the men of his brigade, during
the almost continuous marching and fighting of this memorable
battle year. The severest service was during Hunter's raid from
Staunton through Lexington to Lynchburg, and the retreat over
the mountains to the Kanawha. The most disastrous service was
in the defeat at Kernstown, near Winchester, July 24. The most
conspicuous service was in the brilliant flank movements at Ope
quon and Fisher's Hill. The brigade during these campaigns
marched over all of the ranges of the Alleghany Mountains four
times, and crossed all the different ranges of the Blue Ridge
twice. The diary of Colonel Comly shows that the Twenty-third
Ohio Regiment — and this may be considered as showing the
character of the service of the whole brigade — was engaged in
battles, affairs, or skirmishes, of greater or less importance, on
nineteen days in the month of June; that in July, August, Sep
tember, and October it was under fire at some point in every five
miles of distance in the Shenandoah Valley from Harper's Ferry
to Harrisonburg. Twenty-six officers of the regiment were pres
ent for duty at the beginning of the campaign. Twenty-three out
of the twenty-six were either killed or wounded. At the close of
the year the three officers who escaped unhurt were commended
to army headquarters for conspicuous bravery in action.
The number of men of the rank and file who were killed or
wounded was in almost as great proportion as the casualties
among the officers. The total number of men and officers en
rolled in the regiment first and last during its service was 2230.
Of this number 159 were killed or mortally wounded, and 408
others were wounded. The deaths from disease were 131, includ
ing 39 deaths in Confederate prisons. The Twenty-third Regi
ment was one of the 300 regiments out of the 2047 of the Union
armies which sustamed the heaviest losses in battle.1 Its largest
loss was at South Mountain and Antietam — nearly all that it
had suffered till this last year of the war. And in this year the
1 Colonel William F. Fox, Regimental Losses in the Civil War, p. 377.

END OF THE WAR 267
Twenty-third met with no special disaster. Its losses simply
indicate its severe and hazardous service throughout the long
summer and autumn. Only seven Ohio regiments of infantry and
two of cavalry lost more officers than the Twenty-third, and six
regiments suffered an equal loss in killed and wounded. Only
about one regiment out of fifteen of all that Ohio sent to the field
saw as hard service as the Twenty-third. Hayes himself was
wounded in battle six times and had four horses shot under him.
Of all the Presidents from Washington to Wilson, twelve were
officers in the regular or volunteer service. None of these besides
Hayes was wounded except James Monroe, who as a young
lieutenant was wounded at the battle of Trenton.
From Stephenson's Depot, December 20, Hayes wrote his
uncle: —
We broke camp at Camp Russell yesterday at early daylight, and
marched to this place on the railroad from Harper's Ferry towards Win
chester. It rained, snowed, blew, and friz again; awful mud to march in
and still worse to camp in; but to-day it is cold, and none of us got sick,
so far as I know. Our First Division took cars to join Grant. It is said
we shall follow in a day or two. This is not certain, but I shall not be
surprised if it is true. I prefer not to go, and yet one feels that it is almost
necessary to be present at the taking of Richmond. I am content, how
ever, to go. I believe in pushing the enemy all winter, if possible. Now
that we have a decided advantage is the time to crowd them. Things
look as if that were to be the policy. I like the new call for troops. What
good fortune we are having. If Sherman takes Savannah, and then
moves north, this winter will be the severest by far that our Rebel
friends have had.
As soon as winter quarters were comfortably established at
Camp Hastings, Hayes obtained leave of absence for twenty
days, which he spent in a happy and well-earned visit to his
family and friends in Ohio. He was back at his post by February
10 and soon immersed in preparations for the spring campaign.
Within a few days occurred the sensational capture of Generals
Crook and Kelley, while quietly sleeping at their headquarters in
Cumberland. At three o'clock in the morning of February 21, a
company of Confederate soldiers under Lieutenant McNeill, of
Early's army, quietly entered the town, overcame the headquar
ters guard, and went directly to the room of General Crook and,
without disturbing anybody else in the house, ordered him to

268 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
dress and accompany them. General Kelley and his adjutant
were captured in the same way. "It was done so quietly," re
ported Major Robert P. Kennedy, "that others of us, who were
sleeping in adjoining rooms to General Crook, were not dis
turbed." x The alarm was given in a few minutes by a watchman,
and a party dispatched in pursuit, but the captors were too fleet.
The unfortunate officers were lodged in Libby Prison.
When General Hayes realized the situation, he dispatched an
officer, who was personally acquainted with Secretary Stanton,
to Washington to explain the affair and ask that an effort be
made to procure an early exchange for General Crook. The Sec
retary of War was in a furious mood, and declared that Crook and
Kelley deserved to rot in prison for being captured. When the
officer pressed his suit, he was threatened with arrest for being in
Washington without permission. He was glad to take the first
train leaving the Capital. Hayes then addressed General Grant
a letter and dispatched it by special messenger to City Point.
This appeal met with kind and sympathetic attention. An ex
change for General Crook was procured. He was placed in com
mand of a division of cavalry in Sheridan's corps and bore a
conspicuous part in its brilliant movements. A letter from Hayes
to his uncle (of March 24) contains additional particulars: —
Crook was all right with Grant, but Stanton was angry. Grant, how
ever, rules matters where he really attempts it. Stanton refused to make
an effort for a special and privileged exchange. Grant had it done.
Crook stopped at headquarters of the army, and was invited by General
1 War Records, vol. xlvi, p. 470. — Writing of this incident to Mrs. Hayes,
February 21, General Hayes said: "You will be sorry to hear that the Rebs got
General Crook this morning. A party of perhaps fifty or so dashed into town in
the night — went direct to the hotels where General Crook (the Revere) and
General Kelley (the St. Nicholas) quartered, took them prisoners and hurried
off. All possible pains to recapture them have been taken, but I have no con
fidence of success. No special blame will attach to any one, I suppose. General
Kelley commanded the post and had such guards posted as he deemed neces
sary — the same, I suppose, he has had for the last year or more. The picket
post was not blamable, I think, at least not flagrantly so. It is a very mortifying
thing to all of us. I have been in the habit of staying at my camp out a mile or
so, and so was not looked for. The fact was I had received an order to get
quarters in town, and was in town that night at General Duval's headquarters.
But he having left, as everybody knew, a week before, his quarters were not
searched; — a narrow chance for me. The only other officer taken was Captain
Melvin, adjutant-general of General Kelley. The only possible danger to Gen
eral Crook is the chance of his attempting to escape and failing."

END OF THE WAR
Grant to stay and take an important active command before Richmond.
Crook told him he wanted to be restored to the Department of West
Virginia, if only for a day, to show the public that he was not in disfavor.
It was accordingly so arranged. He returned here, took command, came
out to my camp and had a happy meeting with the men. The next
day he left to report to General Grant. It is supposed he will take the
cavalry of the Army of the Potomac. It is probably better for his
reputation that it is so.
Letters of Hayes in March and April give details of his last
weeks of army service: —
Camp Hastings, March 16, 1865. — I have very little care or re
sponsibility. My command is exclusively a fighting command. I have
nothing to do with guards, provost, or routine duty connected with posts.
Mine is the only movable column west of Winchester; if an enemy
threatens any place, I am to send men there when ordered. My time is
wholly occupied drilling and teaching tactics and the like. My brigade
furnishes details for guard and provost when needed, but I am not both
ered with them when on such duty. My regiments are all large; nearly
four thousand men in the four, of whom twenty-five hundred are present
at least. . . . We like Hancock very well. He behaved very handsomely
with Crook's staff, and all of the troops and officers which were particu
larly favorites with Crook. We were all left in our old positions, although
some pressure was brought against it.
I see gold is tumbling. If no mishap befalls our armies, the downward
tendencyjwiljjpjpbab^co^ look out. It will
notbeso easy to pay debts when greenbacks are worth eigh|y_to ninety
on the dollar. MyTour years areuriabout the first of June.1
New Creek, West Virginia, April 5, 1865. — The victories at Richmond
are breaking up all our arrangements in this quarter. I am assigned to
a new command, mostly of West Virginia troops,2 including cavalry,
1 Letter to Sardis Birchard.
2 Hayes, the day after this letter was written, issued the following address to
the men from whom his new command now separated him : —
Head-Quarters Second Brigade,
First Division, Department West Virginia,
New Creek, W. Va., April 6th, 1865.
To the Officers and Men of the First Brigade, First Division, Department West
Virginia.
It is with very great regret that I have been compelled to part with the officers
and men of the First Brigade. With many of you I have been associated in the
service almost four year»with three of the Regiments of the Brigade more than
two years, and with all tffe Regiments during the memorable campaign of 1864.
The battle of Cloyd Mountain, the burning of New River Bridge, and the night
march over Salt Pond Mountain under Gen'l Crook in May — the days and

270 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
infantry, and artillery, and am ordered to take my little army by moun
tain routes to some point west of Lynchburg, or to Lynchburg, and unite
with somebody there. It is almost an impossible thing to do on account
of want of supplies in a destitute country over awful roads. I hope it
will be given up. My headquarters, while getting ready, are to be here.
I hope the plan will be given up, and that I shall go to the Valley with
the other troops. I am very busy getting ready. I go down to Cum
berland to-night and will return in the morning.1
New Creek, West Virginia, April 8, 1865. — The glorious news is
coming so fast that I hardly know how to think and feel about it. It
is so just that Grant, who is by all odds our man of greatest merit,
should get this victory. It is very gratifying, too, that Sheridan gets
the lion's share of the glory of the active fighting. The clique of showy
shams in the Army of the Potomac are represented by Warren. We do
not know the facts, but I suspect Warren hung back, and after the
Potomac fashion, did n't take hold with zeal when he found Sheridan
was to command. So he was sent to the rear! General Crook wrote me
the day before the battle that the men were in superb condition and
eager for the fray, but that some of the generals were half whipped al
ready. No doubt he meant Warren. Crook commanded the advance
of Sheridan's attack. No doubt his strategy had much to do with it.
Personally, matters are probably as well as they could be, considering
that "we are in the hands," as Joe says, "of the Yankees." The fall of
Richmond came the day before we all left Camp Hastings. We had a
glorious time; all the men gathered, all the bands, and Chaplain Collier
nights of marching, fighting, and starving on the Lynchburg Raid in June, —
the defeat at Winchester and the retreat on the 24th and 25th of July — the
skirmishing, marching, and countermarching in the Shenandoah Valley in
August — the bloody and brilliant victories in September — the night battle
at Berryville — the turning of the Enemy's left at Sheridan's battle of Winches
ter, the avalanche which swept down North Mountain upon the Rebel strong
hold at Fisher's Hill, the final conflict in October, the surprise and defeat of the
morning and the victory of the evening at Cedar Creek — these and a thousand
other events and scenes in the campaign of 1864 form part of our common
recollections which we are not likely ever to forget. As long as they are remem
bered we shall be reminded of each other and of the friendly and agreeable
relations which so long existed between us.
It is very gratifying to me that I was allowed to serve with you until we re
ceived together the tidings of the great victory which ends the Rebellion. What
ever may be your fortune, I shall not cease to feel a lively interest in everything
which concerns your welfare and your reputation. Under the able and gallant
officer who succeeds me — under whom we have served together with so much
satisfaction — I am confident that your future will be worthy of your past. As
an organization and as individuals you have my mojt fervent wishes for your
happiness and success. R. B. Hates, Brig.-Gen'l.
1 Letter to Sardis Birchard.

END OF THE WAR 271
and I talked. I did not then, of course, say good-bye, but I said about
all I would have said if just parting. The Thirty-sixth is about as near
to me — the officers possibly more so — than the Twenty-third. I am in
command of all sorts now — a good regiment of cavalry, the old Penn
sylvania Ringgold Cavalry, two batteries of Ohio men, one of them Cap
tain Glassie's (the old Simmonds Battery), one of the veteran West Vir
ginia regiments, Second Veterans, and a lot of others of less value. It
was intended to send me in command of about five thousand men —
quite a little army — by mountain routes towards Lynchburg. We are
still preparing for it, but I have no idea now that we shall go.
I wish to remain in service until my four years is up in June. Then I
shall resign or not as seems best. If matters don't suit me I'll resign
sooner.1 New Creek, West Virginia, April 12, 1865. — I am just beginning to
fully realize and enjoy our great victories. I am more glad to think my
fighting days are ended than I had expected. Grant deserves his great
victory. Crook, too, had a conspicuous place. It was his immediate
command which captured the wagon trains, Armstrong guns, prisoners,
etc., which figure so largely in Sheridan's reports.
I am still preparing for my expedition, but I am confident it is given
up and will never be undertaken; it is rendered useless. I think it not
improbable that there will be an extra session of Congress; if so I go out
of service then, of course. I am pretty well pleased with matters now.a
New Creek, West Virginia, April 16, 1865. — My mountain expedi
tion is given up. If I go at all from here, it will be directly up the Valley
to occupy Staunton. In any event, I think I shall see no more active
campaigning. I have been greatly shocked by the tragedy at Washington ! At first
it was wholly dark. So unmerited a fate for Lincoln ! Such a loss for the
country! Such a change! But gradually, consolatory topics suggest
themselves. How fortunate that it occurred no sooner! Now the march
of events will neither be stopped nor changed. The power of the nation
is in our armies, and they are commanded by such men as GranLBher-
man, and Thomas, instead_filMcClellan,. Hooker, etc. Lincoln's fame
is safe. He is Jhe_darling__of_ history evermore.. His life andjlEbieve-
ments_jive_Bm titlesj.q regard second^o_j;hnae.nlTno^3ito^ni,an in
ancient or modern times. Tothese. this tragedy now adds thp m""1 of
martyrdom.3 The same day in a letter to his wife Hayes gave fuller expres
sion to his feelings and apprehensions at the receipt of the news
of the overwhelming calamity at Washington: —
1 Letter to Mrs. Hayes. J Letter to Sardis Birchard.
5 Letter to Sardis Birchard.

272 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
When I heard first, yesterday morning, of the awful tragedy at Wash
ington I was pained and shocked to a degree I have never before experi
enced. I got on to the cars, then just starting, and rode down to Cum
berland. The probable consequences, or rather the possible results, in
their worst imaginable form, were presented to my mind, one after the
other, until I really began to feel that here was a calamity so extensive
that in no direction could be found any, the slightest, glimmer of conso
lation. The nation's great joy turned suddenly to a still greater sorrow.
A ruler tested and proved in every way, and in every way found equal
to the occasion, to be exchanged for a new man whose ill-omened begin
ning made the nation hang its head. Lincojn^orJ[o^^on]__The-work
of reconstruction, requiring so much statesmanship, just begun ! . .The
calamity TxTMr". Tincolnf in a personal point of view, so uncalled-for a
fate ! — so undeserved, so unprovoked! Tneprobable effect upon the
future of public men in tins country*, the necessity for guards; our ways
ton6e"a^simUale7^o~tbnse~*oY1Ehe despotisms of the Old World. And
soTwouT3~nncTmy mind nTIeoTohly jivrtnTmages of j;yil and calamity,
until I felt a sinking of heart hardly equalled by that which oppxessed
us all when the defeat of bur army at Manassas almost crushed the
nation. But slowly, as in all cases of great affliction, one comes to feel that it
is not all darkness; the catastrophe is so much less, happening now, than
it would have been at any time before, since Mr. Lincoln's election. At
the period after his first inauguration; at any of the periods of great
public depression; during the pendency of the last Presidential election;
at any time before the defeat of Lee, such a calamity might have sealed
the nation's doom. Now the march of events can't be stayed, probably
can't be much changed. It is possible that a greater degree of severity
in dealing with the Rebellion may be ordered, afld that may he-for.the
besU As to Mr. Lincoln's name and fame and memory, — all is safe. His
firmness, moderation, goodness of heart; his quaint humor, his perfect
honesty and directness of purpose, his logic, his modesty, his sound
judgment, and great wisdom; the contrast between his obscure begin
nings and the greatness of his subsequent position and achievements;
his tragic death, giving him almost the crown of martyrdom, elevate
him to a place in history second to none other in ancient or modern
times. His success in his great office, his hold upon the confidence and
affections of his countrymen, we shall all say are only second to Wash
ington's; we shall probably feel and think that they are not second even
to his.1
1 A year later Mr. Hayes wrote: "The truth is, if it were not sacrilege, I
should say Lincoln is overshadowing Washington. Washingtdn is formal, statue-
I like — a figure for exhibition. But both were necessary to complete our history.
! Neither could have done the other's work." (Letter (April 15, 1866) to Sardis
Birchard.)

BREVET MAJOR-GENERAL 273
General Hayes participated in the grand review, and after
wards spent several days, in Washington. He was accompanied
by Mrs. Hayes, and the reunion with old friends was all that they
had anticipated. He sent in his resignation to take effect just
four years from the time he enlisted. His appointment of brevet
major-general, for "gallant and distinguished services during the
campaign of 1864," dated from March 13, 1865. From Washing
ton he returned to New Creek, where he remained in command
until mustered out.1 Twenty-one years later Hayes records in his
diary the following modest reflections on his military service: —
May 13, 1886. — I read with emotion that brought tears to my eyes
the following, in the semiweekly (New York) Tribune, in a notice of the
second volume of General Grant's "Memoirs": —
"In the fighting before Petersburg,2 Grant had under his command
General Rutherford B. Hayes [of whom he says]: 'His conduct on the
field was marked by conspicuous gallantry as well as the display of
qualities of a higher order than that of mere personal daring. This
might well have been expected of one who could write at the time he is
said to have done so: "Any officer fit for duty who at this crisis would
abandon his post to electioneer for a seat in Congress, ought to be
scalped." Having entered the army as a major of volunteers at the
beginning of the war, General Hayes attained by meritorious service the
rank of brevet major-general before its close.' "
We are in the habit in the family of calling flattering mention, par
ticularly of Lucy, "Aaron's beard." This is a particularly agreeable
specimen of "A.B." I am more gratified by friendly reference to my
war record than by any other flattery. Of course I know that my place
was a very humble one — a place utterly unknown in history. But I
am also glad to know that I was one of the good colonels. I was not
promoted to brigadier-general until after the close of the active opera
tions in 1864. I never fought in battle as a general. An important com
mand was arranged for me by General Hancock in the spring of 1865,
1 To Sardis Birchard: — May 20, 1865.
Private Underhill, Twenty-third Ohio V.I., will take my private horse, a large
white horse, to Fremont. He was formerly in a government wagon train, but
was too high-spirited, and was exchanged for my private horse. He has been in
many battles, and is a capital war horse.
R. B. Hayes.
This horse, "Old Whitey," lived, a pensioner, for nearly fifteen years after
his establishment at Spiegel Grove. He was buried near the base of Cemetery
Knoll in the grove, a great boulder marking his grave.
2 This is, of course, the blunder of the Tribune. Grant (Memoirs, vol. n,
p. 340) is speaking of Sheridan's campaign in the Shenandoah Valley.

274 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
but the sudden collapse of the Confederacy at Appomattox put an end
to the war just as I was preparing and concentrating my forces for an
expedition from the Baltimore and Ohio, at or near Clarksburg, with
Lynchburg and the Southwest Virginia and Tennessee Railroad as my
objective. The delay in my promotion to brigadier-general was due mainly to
myself. Early in political life I had made it a rule never to seek office.
When I went in the army, feeling that I lacked the military education
necessary for command, my aversion to office-seeking was intensified
by the consideration that to seek and get a place beyond my capacity
might lead to disaster and failure which would involve the fives of the
men under me. I therefore firmly resolved to seek no promotion — no
place — and I used absolutely no effort at any time to get ahead. With
political, family, and social influences I could, perhaps, have begun
higher in rank, and probably could a year or two earlier have been made
a general. My feeling, often expressed, after my promotion to colonel
was, "I prefer to be one of the good colonels to being one of the poor
generals." So decided was this that I often considered the question of
declining promotion to the brigadier-generalship, and have sometimes
regretted that I ever accepted it.
As a colonel or lieutenant-colonel I commanded a brigade, important
posts with infantry, cavalry, and artillery, and in battle repeatedly com
manded a division. Brigadier-generals and even major-generals, it was
said, were sent to the Army of West Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley
in 1864, when all its brigades and divisions were commanded by colonels,
but the War Department which had sent them was persuaded by Sheri
dan and Grant to recall them. I may feel without undue personal vanity
that, though unknown as a general, I was one of the good colonels in the
great army. This fortunate (for me) sentence of our great commander
proves this. I think with pleasure of two other facts pointing the same
way. After I left my old command in the spring of 1865 and assumed
duties elsewhere, without my knowledge a meeting was called in the
camps near Winchester of Ohio troops, with Colonel Devol of [the]
Thirty-sixth Ohio as chairman, and with entire unanimity they passed
resolutions touching my conduct and character as a soldier, and recom
mended me for Governor of Ohio to the Republican convention then
about to meet at Columbus. When I heard of it I peremptorily refused
my assent. Having just been elected to Congress I could not, without
the approval of my constituents, leave the place they have given me.
In 1871, on the anniversary of the battle of Cedar Creek, October 19,
a meeting of the Society of the Army of West Virginia was held at Wheel
ing. It was the first regular meeting of the society in pursuance of an
adjournment of a general meeting held the year previous at Mounds-
ville, West Virginia. A constitution and by-laws were adopted, and the
officers were elected. I was not present at either meeting, and had
nothing at all to do with either. I was, however, pleased to learn that I
was elected first President of the Society of the Army of West Virginia.

BREVET MAJOR-GENERAL 275
(See Report of the Ninth Reunion of the Army of West Virginia at
Portsmouth, p. 8.)
At the time of my promotion to brigadier-general I was greatly
pleased. (1) It came as a recognition in the field of my conduct during
the fiercest and bloodiest campaign of the war. (2) It relieved me of
the apprehension I had often painfully felt that I was liable for want of
work to lose my splendid brigade and division and to be put under some
incompetent political brigadier.
After Grant's commendation, words of eulogy of Hayes's sol
diership by a civilian would be superfluous. A simple resume
of the important battles in which he bore a worthy part is more
impressive than laudatory phrases: —
1. He commanded the regiment which led the attack and
successfully opened the battle of South Mountain, where he was
severely wounded.
2. He commanded the brigade which led the assault and car
ried the works of the enemy in the fierce battle of Cloyd Moun
tain, where the Rebel General Jenkins was defeated and killed.
3. He commanded one of the two brigades which covered the
retreat that saved Crook's army after the defeat at Winchester,
July 24, 1864.
4. He commanded one of the two brigades selected by Sheri
dan to lead in repeated attacks on Early's lines in the Shenan
doah Valley in August, 1864.
5. He commanded one of the two brigades which fought at
Berryville, September 3, and by great gallantry saved the day.
6. He commanded the brigade which led the flank attack
which turned Early's left and defeated him in Sheridan's great
victory at Opequon, September 19. And it was while marching
to secure position to strike the enemy that Hayes performed
one of the daring feats of the war: charged through an almost
impassable morass upon a battery.
7. He commanded the division of Crook's army which led the
way in scaling North Mountain, and, striking Early on the left
flank, made certain the victory of Fisher's Hill, September 22.
8. He commanded one of the divisions which retained its
organization and gained great distinction in the battle of Cedar
Creek, October 19.
9. In more than fifty engagements, large and small, he always
displayed personal daring, self-possession, and efficiency.

CHAPTER XVIII
IN CONGRESS — 1865-1867
MR. HAYES had resigned his commission in the volunteer
service in June, 1865, and returned to Ohio. The summer
months were spent for the most part in Fremont and among
friends and relatives in various parts of the State. It was not till
October that he returned to his old home in Cincinnati and rees
tablished himself there. M^anwhjk._a_state campaign for the
election of Governor and otherjstate officers, including the Legis-
lature which would elect a United States Senator, was in progress.
General J. T>. Cox was the ; Union candidate for ¦Gfly,ejQQr...Mr.
Hayes was not content to be a silent participant in_the.c,aovass,
but offered his services Jtp. the campaign managers and made
many speeches which contributed^ th^ir_share to the triumph in
October of the Union ticket.
While still in the field in the Shenandoah Valley, engaged in
almost daily fighting, and without taking any part in the can
vass, he ha<T^a¥ldready recorded) been nominated and filpeted
to Congress in the Second Ohio District — a part of Hamilton
CojmtyjCmcinnati) . Congre^assranbjedji. tf)ft regular, time,
early in December. .This was the_fjimousThirtyrninth,Congress.
In the period that had elapsed since the expiration of the Thirty-
eighth Congress, on March 4, history had rapidly been making.
The final overthrow of the Confederate forces and the complete
downfall of the Confederate Government had been signalized;
the foul assassination of the great Lincoln had plunged the nation
into gloom and mourning; Andrew Johnson had succeeded to
the Presidency, and, by virtue of his authority as commander-in-
chief of the military forces of the Republic, had by proclamation
instituted measures for the rehabilitation of the rebellious States.
The action of the President and the results accomplished there
under in the Southern States had been watched by the loyal peo
ple of the North with intense interest and with many misgivings.

LN CONGRESS — 1865-1867 277
The growing sentiment was that the President was moving too
precipitately; that the States which had sought with all their
resources to destroy the Union should not be allowed to resume
their "proper practical relations," to use Mr. Lincoln's phrase,
in the Government, until guaranties against possible future
efforts to secede had been established.
The great task of the Thirty-ninth Congress, therefore, was to
solve the tremendously important problem of reconstruction.
This was made all the more difficult by the obstinate insistence
of the President on the adequacy of the method of readjustment
he had proposed and pursued, and by the rapidly developing
alienation of the President from sympathy and cooperation with
the leaders in Congress of the party to which he owed his election.
The longer the dispute continued the more determined the Presi
dent became in his attitude, and the less inclined to compromise
grew the spirit of the controlling element in Congress. But it is
unnecessary to follow in detail the progress of this historic con
troversy. The Thirty-ninth Congress contained an unusual number of
able and experienced legislators. The delegation from Ohio was
particularly strong. Mr. Hayes in his diary (December^., 1865) •
records his impressions of his Ohio colleagues on the occasion of
their first caucus: —
A caucus of the Ohio Union delegation held at Mr. Delano's room to
night. Present: Ashley, Bingham, Buckland, Bundy, Clark, Delano,
Eggleston, Garfield, Hayes, Hubbell, Lawrence, Plants, Schenck, Shell-
abarger, Spalding, and Welker. Absent: Eckley. It was our first and a
very agreeable meeting.
We agreed to oppose the admission of any delegate from the Rebel
States for the present.
Ashley is a large, good-natured, popular style of man — full of good
humor. Shellabarger, a sober, gentlemanly, able man. General Gar
field, a smooth, ruddy, pleasant man; not very strong. Clark, disposed
to talk rather too much. Lawrence, ditto, and not quite happy in his
views. Delano, clear and correct. Hubbell, talky. Schenck, Delano,
Spalding and Shellabarger, in the order I name them, strike me, judging
by to-night, as the strongest men. Bingham and Ashley said so httle
that I can't place them.
General Schenck gave notice that he would propose an amendment
on the first opportunity by which Representatives would be based on
suffrage. All seemed to acquiesce. On General Schenck's suggestion,

278 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES $
I offered the resolution, with educational test or condition added.
Adopted, with two negatives, viz., j^hleyjand.Sbellahargfir.1
Of the general Republican caucus Mr. Hayes writes the next
day: —
The general caucus to-night a pleasant thing. Mr. Morrill, of Ver
mont, ah intelligent merchant, — who put the vote "contrary-minded
will say no," — presided. Thad Stevens made the important motions.
A committee of seven reported resolutions, to be submitted to the Sen
ate and House, providing for the appointment of a Joint Committee of
fifteen, nine from the House, six from the Senate, to report as to the status
of the Rebel States and whether they were in a condition to be repre
sented; and in the meantime all members from these States to be kept
out. [The caucus] adopted on a test vote the Ohio idea [Mr. Hayes's
resolution relating to representation based on suffrage, adopted the
night before by the Ohio delegation]. Stevens angry — resisted —
threatened to leave 'the caucus. Finally carried his point, as stated,
namely, a Joint Committee of fifteen.
"The Ohio idea" was emboolied b^yJ^^JSaj^e^ injthe^ folio w-
ing resolutions : —
Resolved, That it is the sense ofjhe caucus Jft^tJtlwJ)esJt^jiotthg only
mode of obtaining from the States lately in ^ jej^eihon^aranties^which
wifTBe irreversible is "by amendments of the national Constitution.
Resolved, That such amendments to the national Constitution as may
be deemed necessary ought to be submitted to the^ouse fqrjts, action
at as early a day as possible, in order to propose th,emJtaJth&.several
States during the present sessions of their Legislatures.
1 Of the leaders in Congress Mr. Hayes gave his impression in a letter to Mrs.
Hayes of December 7: "Thus far the noticeable men on our side of the house are
Thad Stevens, Judge Kelley, and Roscoe Conkling, and on the Democratic side,
James Brooks. — Stevens is over seventy — sharp-faced, grim-looking. The
only blemish in his puritanical severe appearance is a brown wig. He is witty,
cool, full of and fond of 'sarcasms,' and thoroughly informed and accurate. He
has a knack of saying things which turn the laugh on his opponent. When he
rises every one expects something worth hearing, and he has the attention of all.
You remember his speech on confiscation. He is radical throughout except I am
told he don't believe in hanging. He is leader. Judge Kelley, of Philadelphia,
talks often — has studied rhetoric and elocution, and I am told is theatrical over
much, but so far his little short speeches have been exceedingly well delivered.
Roscoe Conkling, of New York State, delivers measured sentences in a grave,
deliberate way that is good. James Brooks, former Know-Nothing leader, speaks
pleasantly and is the leader of the Democrats; has, of course, to talk for bun
combe. Delano has talked a little, and is a good specimen of the lively, earnest
style of Western talkers. No doubt abler men have not yet showed themselves —
Banks and others. The House is a more orderly and respectable body so far than

LN CONGRESS — 1865-1867 (279/
\ Resolved, That an amendment, basing representation on. voters in- t
\stead of population, oughtto_bejn,omptly acted upon, and the judiciary
rcommittee is requested to prepare resolutions for thatpurgose, and
subnifftEem to the House as soonas possible. "
In the event, the "Ohio idea" sub^tanti^y_rjrevailed. What
Mr. Haven's trend of thought was at this period in regard to
universal manhood suffrage is revealed by an entry in his diary
of January lOv 1866 : —
Caucus decided against the bill of Kelley [enfranchising the negroes
I in the District of Columbia] preferring qualified to universal suffrage.
Universal suffrage is sound in principle. The radical element is right.
I w^s_pjleased, however, that the despotism of the committees and of
the older members was rebuked. The suffrage bill ought not to have
been pressed iii^advancepj other and far more important business. The
frights of the majority; as_ against committors'
[Much/ confusion and some feeling. Mr. Stevens quite angry. Said he
would vote against qualified suffrage. Preferred no bilLat all.LThe signs
of harmony are more hopeful.
Again, April 15, 1866: —
The policy is to leave to the States the question of suffrage, but in the
District [of Columbia], a^_theTerritories_it_is for Congress to lay down
the rule. Now, colored people are citizens of the United States. In some
Stl!^lil'.^X-^LsllC!3^.flJ" ZP.ffTjjJ ?n1"::~th^v 3TP "^t- Anfl '" fbe places
where all the States a,re interested jtjs right .to_treatjdLjQiiisens, alike.
Whenjthey "comeTto Jorm State Goyexnmeflj^.le^ve..iJJiDjie_n£ople
t° say^— ras injCojnrado.
! Besides, in the District and in Territories they have no political power.
Myjieckledj^eferencejis] suffrage for all in the South, colored and
^ white, to depend on education. "SooneTorTatoTnTthe Jvlortiralso; say,
jtll new voterei~to"be able .to_writeandread.
February 26 Mr. Hayes wrote his uncle: —
I don't know whether I have written to you since the veto or not.
[The veto of the Freedmen's Bureau Bill.] Many of our good men still
hope that we may retain the President; but it is a very faint hope,
scarcely more than a wish that he may return " to the bosom of the
family." The general impression is, however, that Rebel influences are
now ruling the White House, and that the sooner Johnson is clear over
the better for us. Almost all are for going forward with business and
measures in the usual and proper way, without excitement or abuse.
I had expected. The reading of the President's Message was an imposing thing.
The members, all attentive, looked like the thing we imagined."

280 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
A few days later [March 4] he wrote to the same correspond
ent: —
We are still not clear as to the chances of harmony with the President.
He no doubt differs, and has all along avowedly and openly differed,
with us on some important matters. At the time of his unfortunate talk
on the 22d [February], he seemed to be surrounded and possessed by all
manner of evil influences. He now seems to feel that he was misled and
is really anxious to conciliate. If he signs [the] Civil Rights Bill and the
Tennessee Resolution, which will both pass soon, the chances are that a
complete rupture will be avoided. Otherwise, otherwise. It is an inter
esting time to be here, and I enjoy it very much now — the last three
weeks more than ever before. My ever hopeful temper is a good thing
in these perplexing and exciting times.
March 17, to General M. F. Force, Mr. Hayes wrote: —
I could argue with you on the wisdom and justice of what Congress
is doing with our erring sisters, if I knew exactly your points. The truth
is Congress has done next to nothing yet on that subject and can give
good reasons for not having yet done anything. The position held by
the majority is this : The Rebel States having gone into insurrection and
lost their 'lawful State Governments, it is for the lawmaking power of
the nation to say when (or whether) such new State Governments have
been set up as ought to be recognized. Is not this sound? Granting this,
ought we to recognize any State Government which does not undertake,
at least, to afford adequate protection to Union people and freedmen?
And further, is there evidence showing such State Governments except
in Tennessee and possibly Arkansas?
These citations are sufficient to show that Mr. Hayes was in
full sympathy and accord with the dominant influences in Con
gress and in the country as to the proper mode of dealing with
the refractory States. He did not approve of the extremeradical-
ism, the uncompromisingbitterness ofjsgpression, of Thaddeus
Stevens, the dominating leader in Congress of the Republican
majority. That was alien to his temper of mind and disposition.
But he was convinced that hostages for the future must be re
quired of the "erring sisters" before they could be allowed to sit
as equals about the common hearthstone. His votes, both during
this session and subsequent sessions of Congress, on all the im
portant resolutions and measures dealing with the reconstruction
problem were uniformly given with the majority of his party.1
1 How deeply he felt the imperative necessity of making the adoption of the

LN CONGRESS — 1865-1867 281
But he took no part in the prolonged debates that these subjects
evoked. He was without experience in legislative work; he was of
the opinion that Congressmen were inclined to talk too much;
and he found himself in a body of men most of whom had had
years of congressional service. It was not in accord with the fun
damental qualities of his character or his desire to push himself
forward or to seek to make himself conspicuous. But in his rela
tions with his fellow Congressmen and in committee work his
sound good sense and his calm judgment made him a wise coun
sellor and an efficient member. The impression made upon his
colleagues in Congress was well expressed later by General Gar
field in conversation with the well-known newspaper correspond
ent, Ben: Perley Poore. He said that when Mr. Hayes entered
the House he was firmly "resolved not to make the mistake of
talking too much and he became the most patient listener in the
Capitol. Yet when it was known that he advocated the passage
of a bill, it was pretty sure to pass. ' Hayes says it 's all right ' was
a valuable endorsement."
It was in the activity of the Committee on Library, of which
he was chairman, that he found his most congenial employment.
This was a joint committee, the other House members being
William D. Kelley, of Pennsylvania, and Calvin T. Hulburd, of
New York. The Senate members were Messrs. Howe, of Wis
consin, Fessenden, of Maine, and Howard, of Michigan. In this
period, and largely through the efforts of Mr. Hayes, the Library
space was vastly expanded, the Smithsonian Institution's collec
tion of books and papers was transferred to the Library of Con
gress, and the valuable Peter Force collection of Americana was
Fourteenth Amendment a condition precedent to the readmission of Representa
tives of the rebellious States in Congress, is shown by a letter to Murat Halstead,
editor of the Cincinnati Commercial, dated February 2, 1866, commenting on an
editorial of January 30: "You say: 'We would not make the adoption of the
amendment a condition precedent to the admission of the Southern Representa
tives.' I move a reconsideration of that opinion. The amendment never can be
got except as a condition. The South will never give up its power if admitted
with it. I would be disposed, I think, to let in the loyal Tennesseeans when their
State adopts it. The Rebel States will always be represented (during our day, at
least) by repudiators — by men willing to assume every sort of claim payable
South. Twenty-two Senators added to the twelve or fifteen now there, and the
political power of four millions and a quarter negroes in the House and the
Electoral College, is a serious thing. It deserves reconsideration — that idea of
yours."

282 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
purchased by the Government.1 One of the functions of the
committee also was to pass upon works of art which the Govern
ment was importuned to purchase. Mr. Hayes possessed too
good taste 2 to be influenced by the confidence of artists or the
enthusiasm of their friends in behalf of feeble or meretricious per
formances. He exerted his influence in favor of selectmg artists
of known and established reputation to execute government com
missions. Mr. Hayes also served on the Committee on Private Land
Claims; and throughout his career in Congress he was attentive
and assiduous in serving the interests of his constituents that
were committed to his care and in protecting claimants of pen
sions from greedy attorneys.
, In HT£JUinmex of 18J6 Mn fffSggJgS?. rennmipated for Clnn.
sgress by acclamation and_ in October was^ejledted_by_an in-
'creased majority, though the Republican majojjty_in_ih£_other
^.Cincinnati district : was TOnsiderably^reduced. The election fol
lowed a strenuous canvass in which Mr. Hayes took an .active
part. Ohio being one of the ' ' OctoberStates, " and members of
its_delegationhaving been^consgicupus_ in Jbj;,.djsir^te^j£iih the
President/Both parties made the^ strongest egort^ojsibig, Ja,win
popjikx_agproyaI. Success in the Octobex-Slates wonlcLfnrp-
shadow and strengthen the result^in the Lmajgrity^j^jjiaies in
November. Speakers of national reputation came from other
States to assist the local orators, and everywhere the respective
1 In January, 1893, Mr. Ainsworth R. Spoff ord, long Librarian of Congress,
wrote: "As chairman of the Committee on the Library of Congress on the part
of the House, Mr. Hayes took a lively interest in its affairs. When the great
historical collection of Peter Force, the Washington printer and journalist, was
offered to the Government in 1866, his keen appreciation of the value of its stores
was evinced in the committee, which unanimously recommended its purchase,
and this rich library of books, pamphlets, manuscripts, and newspaper files was
secured to the nation. The knowledge and experience then acquired of historical
documents were of much value to him in later years, when he aided in securing
for the State of Ohio the manuscript papers of Governor St. Clair; and it also
helped him in his always vigilant and zealous collection of the materials of history
for his own large private library."
2 Mr. Spoff ord records of Mr. Hayes while President: "Once, he asked me to
take him to see a noted historical picture — Carpenter's 'Emancipation Procla
mation' — then newly presented to Congress, on the artistic merits of which
opinions were much divided. After standing before it a few minutes, taking in the
effect, he turned and said to me: 'Well, Spoff ord, it is bitter bad, is n't it? ' and in
this caustic judgment candor compelled me to concur."

RUTHERFORD B. HAYES, 1866
While Member of Congress, 1865-1867

IN CONGRESS — 1865-1867 283
merits of the President's policy and the policy of Congress,
including the newly submitted Fourteenth Amendment, were
exhaustively debated and fervidly advocated. Even a cursory
reading of the speeches of that campaign gives one a vivid im
pression of the intensity of feeling which then stirred the hearts
of men.
Mr. Hayes was constantly in the campaign the last few weeks
before the election. A speech made by him in the Seventeenth
Ward of Cincinnati on September 7 was widely circulated as a
campaign document. It presented a calm review of the pending
issues and a judicious defense of the Fourteenth Amendment.
After a brief introduction Mr. Hayes declared: —
There are now only two plans of reconstruction before the country.
sThe plan of those who^uE^rtodj^he_war_me,asure§ jafJ^JLineoJn's
Administration, which may be called the Union plan, and the plan which
mini-—" ¦ -nfiir^i |»Mlir»n.ii.l — - - J-r M-WPV' **Mmm*^JIV' i «u« *>¦¦«¦ I-* a-—  ¦¦ ' IV* ¦* ' ¦ ' "-"mil *H» nWi . -iJ»,Ju«~w
originated with those who opposed the war measures of_Mr._Lincoln,
andwhich may be called the Rebel plan. There was another plan before
the country which in some of its featureswas like the Union plan; in
others it resembled the Rebel plan; and it had some provisions peculiar
tqJtSelf. This_plan, which may properly be called the Administration
plan, never had man^upjorters^putside of Jjjejnfluencfi, of .thaxxecu-
tiye patronage, andjhas now been, as I shall^ hereaftejr,sh.affi»ior all
practical purposes jdjandoned.
He then proceeded to show by quotation from Mr. Johnson's
speeches, made before his election as Vice-President and immedi
ately after he succeeded to the Presidency, how different were
the earlier views of the President as to the proper treatment of
the rebellious States from those for which he now stood sponsor.
He reviewed the action of President Lincoln in reorganizing cer
tain States, and summarized the results accomplished under the
application of Mr. Johnson's policy in these words : —
From this it appears that the result of what is usually called the Pres
ident's policy in dealing with the people of the rebellious States, is,
that in all of those States except West Virginia and Tennessee, which
repudiated his pohcy, loyal men have been compelled to take back
seats, while the places of honor and of political power have been filled
by Rebels. . . .
We often hear from unthinking or uncandid people that Congress pre
vents ten States from having their due representation in Congress. Even
General Dix said something of this sort at Philadelphia. Senator Hen
dricks, of Indiana, strongly partisan as he is, is compelled to admit, in

284 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
the elaborate speech he lately delivered at the capital of his State, and I
quote his words, that "Rebels are not excluded by the action of the
present Congress; they stand excluded by the law." If every man duly
elected from the Rebel States, claiming to have been loyal, was ad
mitted to a seat in Congress, more than nine tenths of those States
and of their people would still be wholly unrepresented. There is much
talk of taxation without representation. The truth is that those people
deprived themselves of representation by going into the Rebellion, and
now, actuated by the same spirit as they were then, they continue to
deprive themselves of that right by refusing to obey the law.
Certain conditions were required of these people. They comply with
some of them. As to this essential condition — obedience to the law of
the country — they refuse compliance; they become exacting; they be
come arrogant; they say, by their conduct, to the Government and to
the loyal people of the country : "We are the conquerors; we make con
ditions; it is for us to dictate terms. If you wish the proper relations
between us and the Union to be fully restored you must change your
law. We will not consent to be represented in your Congress except by
men whom you call traitors. If you want your Union restored we de
mand that you repeal the law which prescribes the loyal oath. You
must allow Rebels to take part in the work of restoration." . . .
The rebellious people of the South having, with such great unanimity,
refused to elect Senators and Representatives to Congress who were
qualified according to law as the Administration plan required, the ques
tion at once arose: Who shall yield — the nation or the Rebels; the vic
tors or the vanquished? The peace party of the North, under the same
influences which controlled it during the war, promptly took sides with
the Rebels. By their votes and speeches in Congress they denounced the
loyal oath, declared it to be tyrannical and unconstitutional, and began,
in the usual way, an agitation looking to its repeal. The Union party
was equally prompt and explicit in taking sides against the Rebels and in
favor of the law. Upon the first opportunity after the meeting of Con
gress in December last, Mr. Hill, a Union member of the House from
Indiana, submitted this resolution: —
"Resolved, That the Act of July 2, 1862, prescribing an oath to be
taken and subscribed by persons elected or appointed to office under the
Government of the United States before entering upon the duties of
such office, is of binding force and effect on all departments of the public
service, and should in no instance be dispensed with."
A Democrat from Ohio, Mr. Finck, moved that it be tabled, which
was disagreed to — yeas 32, nays 126 — and the resolution was passed
— every Union man save one voting for it and every Democrat voting
against it. Among those voting for the resolution were Mr. Raymond,
General Rousseau, and all the other members who subsequently became
known as the special friends of the President. What course the Presi
dent himself would pursue was not for a long time clearly apparent.
There were passages in his speeches and veto messages during the winter

IN CONGRESS — 1865-1867 285
and spring, which, taken by themselves, indicated a purpose on his
part to stand by the loyal oath. The same speeches and messages, how
ever, contained repeated and violent attacks upon Congress for refusing
representation to eleven Southern States, when it was perfectly well
known by him and by the country that, with a few exceptions, those
States had elected no members of either House qualified to take their
seats, unless the loyal oath was repealed or disregarded. Besides, we
heard neither from him or his supporters any complaint of the refractory
spirit of the Rebels, which has prevented them from yielding a cheerful
obedience to the law. All complaints and accusations were aimed at
Congress. . . .
The speeches and messages of the President on these bills [the Freed-
men's Bureau and Civil Rights Bills] indicated his conversion to the
Rebel plan of protecting Southern Unionists and freedmen — that is,
that they were to have such protection only as might be granted by the
laws of the Rebel States, administered by Rebel officials. This left but
one important step to take to completely commit his Administration to
the Rebel plan of restoration, namely, to abandon the condition that
Representatives and Senators from the Rebel States must be, in the
President's words, "unmistakably and unquestionably loyal." This
step he has never ventured clearly and publicly to take. But the Phila
delphia Convention settled that question. The fatal step has, in fact,
been taken. The Rebels know that they are to have their own way. The
nation is to yield. Nothing will keep Rebels out of Congress but the
election by the people of men determined to maintain and enforce Mr.
Lincoln's loyal oath. The Philadelphia Convention on this subject
passed the following resolution : —
" Fourth — We call upon the people of the United States to elect to
Congress none but men who admit the fundamental right of representa
tion, and who will receive to seats loyal Representatives from every
State in allegiance to the United States, and submit to the consideration
of each House to judge of the election returns and qualifications of its
own members."
This resolution is intentionally ambiguous, but it will deceive nobody
who does not wish to be deceived. The peace men and Rebels, who were
a large majority of that convention, openly declare that a " loyal Repre
sentative" is one who is ready now to support the Constitution of the
United States, and that no inquiry should be made as to his loyalty
during theRebellion. They say that the word "loyal" refers to the pres
ent or the future, not to the past. In this sense it was adopted by the
convention, and accepted by the President and his friends. If votes can
be gained by claiming that it refers to past loyalty — to loyalty during
the Rebellion — no doubt the claim will be made ; but the simple truth is,
under that resolution, Mr. Stephens, late Vice-President of the Rebel
Confederacy, and about seventy other Rebels, intend to obtain seats in
the Congress of the United States.
The last remaining feature of the Administration plan of dealing with

286 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
the people of the rebellious States having thus been abandoned, let us
examine briefly the Rebel plan. It has the support, in all its parts, of
the men who during the war were peace men at the North, and Rebels
at the South. It has the advantage of being consistent with itself and
with the previous history of its authors and friends. Those who in the
North opposed the war were, during the whole struggle, in very close
sympathy with the people engaged in the Rebellion; their sympathy for
the loyal white people was not strong, and they were bitterly hostile to
the loyal colored people both North and South. Their plan is in harmony
with all this. According to it, the Rebels are hereafter to be treated in
the same manner as if they had remained loyal. All laws, state and
national, all orders and regulations of the military, naval and other de
partments of the Government, creating disabilities on account of partici
pation in the Rebellion, are to be repealed, revoked, or abolished. The
rebellious States are to be represented in Congress by the Rebels they
have chosen, without hindrance from any test oath. All appointments
in the army, in the navy, and in the civil service, are to be made fsom
men who were Rebels, on the same terms as from men who were loyal.
The people and governments in the rebellious States are to be subjected
to no other interference or control from the military or other depart
ments of the general Government than exists in the States which
remained loyal. Loyal white men and loyal colored men are to be pro
tected alone in those States by state laws, executed by state authorities,
as if they were in the loyal States.
The Union party objects to this plan, because it is wrong in principle,
wrong in its details, and fatally wrong as a precedent and example for
the future. It treats treason as no crime, and loyalty as no virtue. It
restores to political honor and power in the Government of the nation
men who have spent the best part of their lives in plotting the over
throw of that Government, and who, for more than four years, levied
public war against the United States. It allows Union men in the South
who have risked all, and many of whom have lost all but life, in uphold
ing the Union cause, to be excluded from every office, state and national,
and in many instances to be banished from the States they so faithfully
labored to save. It abandons the four millions of loyal colored people,
who lost the protection which owners give their property, when they
were made free to save the nation's life, to such treatment as the ruffian
class of the South, educated in the barbarism of slavery and the atroci
ties of the Rebellion, may choose to give them. It leaves the obligations
of the nation to her creditors, and to the maimed soldiers and to the
widows and orphans of the war, to be fulfilled by men who hate the
cause in which those obligations were incurred. It claims to be a plan
which restores the Union without requiring conditions, but in conceding
to the conquered Rebels the repeal of laws important to the nation's
welfare, it grants a condition which they demand, while it denies to the
loyal victors conditions which they deem of priceless value.
Instead of this mode of dealing with the people of the rebellious

IN CONGRESS — 1865-1867 287
States, the Union party presents a plan which, also, has the merit of
being in perfect harmony with the opinions and history of that party
during the whole war. We have already seen that the leading objects
of desire with the Union party have been : —
1. The removal _of every relic of jlavery from the Federal Constitu
tion, and from the institutions and laws of all the States.
2. That loyajty. should bexgspected and treason made odious.
3. That the national obligations to the patriotic people who furnished
men an^means tcijcrush. the Rebellion should be faithfully fulfilled.
The Union party undertakes to accomplish these objects by an amend-
ment of the national Constitution. No"otEer~form of guaranty has
anytitTe^to Be" called irreversible. The constitutions^and laws of the
States andthe resolutions of conventions afford no security to the na
tion. They are as changeable as the wishes and purposes of the men
who make them. The creditor who takes security does not leave it in
the possession and control of his doubtful debtor, but places it in his
own safe and keeps the key himself. The nation, accepting pledges from
the States lately in rebellion, will place them in the national Constitu
tion, where they will remain until removed by the nation's consent.
Mr. Hayes proceeded thereupon to a careful analysis, exposi
tion, and justification of the several clauses of the Fourteenth
Amendment, clearly setting forth the need for each and its
adequacy to meet that need, and ended his speech with this
impressive paragraph: —
This is a short and imperfect presentation of the Union plan of resto
ration. The chief objection to it remains to be considered. It is said that
the South will never accept of these terms, but, on the contrary, will
require the nation to change its laws, so that her seventy Rebel Senators
and Representatives, soon to be increased, by her full negro representa
tion, to eighty or ninety, will be admitted without question to the Con
gress of the United States. This presents the sole issue. The Rebels
say, "Peace, harmony, and restored union you can have by giving up
your just demands, and yielding to the unjust requirements of the
South"! This is the old familiar story. For many years the people of
the North believed it. For the sake of harmony and union they yielded
to every arrogant demand until, at last, they learned that every conces
sion was the parent of increased arrogance, and new threats of discord
and disunion. Their manhood and sense of justice were at length
aroused, and in opposition to slavery extension and slavery dictation,
they elected Abraham Lincoln President. The slaveholders rebelled
and, during four years, waged against their own Government a war of
unparalleled atrocities. Overthrown and beaten in that war, prostrate
and utterly helpless at its close, they now assume the air and bearing of
conquerors, and propose to dictate terms. The Seward-Johnson party
advises the people, for the sake of peace and union, to submit to this

288 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
demand. The Union party is prepared to make great sacrifices in the
future as in the past for the sake of peace and for the sake of union, but
submission to what is wrong can never be the foundation of a real peace
or a lasting union. They can have no other sure foundation but the
principles of eternal justice. The Union men therefore say to the South,
"We ask nothing but what is right, we will submit to nothing that is
wrong." With undoubting confidence we submit the issue to the candid
judgment of the patriotic people of the country, under the guidance of
that Providence which has hitherto blessed and preserved the nation.
It is hardly necessary to recall that the people voted by large
majorities to sustain Congress, and that the breach between
Congress and the President became irreconcilable.
During the midwinter recess, 1866, Mr. Hayes, accompanied
by his wife, went with other members of Congress and their wives
to New Orleans. The object of the trip was both social and polit
ical. The Congressmen wished to see for themselves the condi
tions in the South, to meet and talk with Southern leaders on
their own ground. Stops were made at Knoxville, Chattanooga,
Nashville, and Memphis, and two days were spent at New Or
leans. In all these cities receptions, banquets, and other social
attentions were showered on the party and speeches were made
by the men of both sections, mostly in a friendly and patriotic
spirit. Mr. Hayes's impressions of the people he met were
altogether agreeable. Writing to his uncle from Memphis
(December 26, 1866) Mr. Hayes says: —
We are thus far on our way to New Orleans, with everything thus far
the very pleasantest possible. I last night experienced a new sensation.
I went with General Howard to a meeting of colored people and made
them a short talk. Their eager, earnest faces were very stimulating.
We meet the leading Rebels everywhere. The Rebel officers are par
ticularly interesting. I get on with them famously. I talk negro suffrage
and our extremest radicalism to all of them. They dissent, but are
polite and cordial.
Two days later he again wrote, from New Orleans, that "one
of the pleasant points in this trip is making the acquaintance of
the leading Rebel officers." There was endless interest in com
paring with them experiences during the dreadful fighting days.
It is evident, while his views as to the governmental policy de
manded at the time were not changed, that his understanding
of Southern sentiment was enlarged and his sympathies with

IN CONGRESS — 1865-1867 289
Southern needs widened. It is evident, too, that he left a favor
able impression on the minds ofthe men he met in New Orleans;
for in the first months of his service as ChTeTMae^rate. when his
Southern policy was fiercely denounced by ex-Senator BenWade
(who JEadalso been of the visiting party of 1866), the^Tew
Orleans Democrat recalled "the liberal tone and bearing" of
Mr. Hayes at the time of the visit and contrasted it with/ 'the
coarse and narrow-minded truculency" displayed by Senator
Wade. "It was, indeed," the Pjiper continues,Jji greatrelief to
get away from  [Wade] andjto enjoy the agreeable and pleas
ant c<mipjm|onshJLg^)f his congressional colleague, the then Gen
eral R. B. Hayes, who, in all his intercourse with our people,
manifested a cordial sympathy and fraternity toward them, and
a delicacy and tact in the choice of topics of conversation which
impressed most favorably and kindly all with whom, he was
brought into intercourse."
The second session of the Thirty-ninth Congress was through
out tense and strenuous. The Republican majority continued to
override the vetoes of the President in legislating for the recon
struction of the Southern States, and coming to distrust the
President almost absolutely, — more, indeed, than a review at
this time seems quite to justify, — provided for a meeting of
the Fortieth Congress on March 4, 1867, immediately on the
expiration of the Thirty-ninth.
Throughout this session and the opening session of the Forti
eth Congress, Mr. Hayes acted consistently though unobtru
sively in support of the measures and policies of his party.

CHAPTER XIX
FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR
THE first suggestion of General Hayes's fitness to be Gov
ernor of Ohio was made by his old brigade in a meeting at
Winchester, Virginia, in April, 1865, just after he had been trans
ferred to a new command under Hancock.1 The complimentary
resolutions in which this suggestion was embodied were gratify
ing to the general as a renewed and emphatic expression of the
confidence of his men in their commander, but he gave the sug
gestion itself no serious thought. He was already elected to Con
gress. If the war was over, he would resign and take his seat;
he had no wish to seek, or to permit his friends to seek for him,
the nomination for any other office.2
But conditions were changed two years later. General Cox,
whose military qualities and success were of the highest charac
ter, had disappointed his friends as Governor. After a year's
experience at Columbus it was apparent to him, as well as to the
party, that his renomination would be inadvisable; especially as
under the able leadership of Messrs. Thurman, Pendleton, and
Vallandigham, the Democrats had been winning ground against
the extreme radicalism of the Reconstructionists represented
by Senator Wade, and were preparing to make an aggressive
campaign. As early as January 8 the Democrats met in state
convention at Columbus, adopted a platform, written by Mr.
1 The meeting was held April 20. The resolutions adopted by it were published
in the Cincinnati Commercial of May 3, and were as follows : —
"Resolved, That we propose Brigadier-General R. B. Hayes, of Hamilton
County, as the Union candidate for the next Governor of Ohio.
"Resolved, That General Hayes, in addition to possessing the ability and
statesmanship necessary to qualify him, in an eminent degree, for Chief Magis
trate of the great State of Ohio, is a soldier unsurpassed for patriotism and brav
ery, he having served four years in the army, earning his promotion from a major
in one of the Ohio regiments to his present position."
2 " General R. B. Hayes respectfully declines to permit his name to be used as a
candidate for the nomination of Governor of Ohio by the Union State Conven
tion." (Editorial paragraph in Cincinnati Commercial, May 12, inserted at Mr.
Hayes's request.)

FLRST TERM AS GOVERNOR 291
Vallandigham, denunciatory of the congressional mode of re
construction and of negro suffrage, and nominated their most
popular leader, Allen G. Thurman, for Governor.
Republican party leaders were at once on the alert to choose a
candidate who would be most likely to make a winning contest,
and General Hayes was urged to announce his candidacy or to
allow his friends to present his qualifications to the public. Gen
eral Hayes was at first extremely reluctant to permit the use of
his name. While the duties of a Congressman were not particu
larly congenial to him, and he had no ambition for a prolonged
career as a legislator, yet, as he had been elected to represent the
Second District in Congress for two years, he did not feel it would
be quite fair to his constituents to abandon the post they had
given him to further his own political interests. On January 29
he wrote an Ohio friend as follows: —
Private and Confidential Washington, D.C.,
29th Jany. 1867.
My hear Sir, — I am this morning in receipt of yours of the 26th
as to the next Union nomination for Governor.
Since General Cox's declination one or two persons, in a merely casual
way, have spoken to me on the subject. Your letter contains the first
and only serious suggestion of the sort I have received from Ohio. I
therefore do not wish to speak now decisively, or for the public. I will
mention a few things which strike me at first blush, one or the other of
which will perhaps end the matter. Having been elected by the Union
people of the Second District to an office which they knew I wanted, it
would not be right to resign it without their approval. Again, I would
not go into the state convention unless it was quite certain that I would
be supported by the delegates of Hamilton County. And finally, I
would not go into the contest with any other Union man of Hamilton
County, for the support of the delegation of that county. In short,
nothing but the general desire and approval of the party and its public
men in the county would justify me in consenting to leave the office to
which I have just been elected.
I prefer you would for the present keep this to yourself, with the un
derstanding that I will write you fully, frankly, and definitely when I am
a little better informed in the premises. — Sincerely,
R. B. Hates.
Wm. Henby Smith.
A few days later Mr. Hayes wrote the same correspondent as
follows: —

292 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Since writing you early last week, I have received a good many letters
from Cincinnati, and the drift of them all is to confirm me in the cor
rectness of my offhand impressions. I wish, therefore, to have it known
that I decline to allow my name to go before the Union State Conven
tion. Of course I feel flattered by the favorable way in which I have
been named, and greatly obliged to my friends for their partiality. I
would very much enjoy, I am sure, to make the canvass, and I do not
pretend to be indifferent to the honor. If I had no place such as the one
I now occupy I should quite willingly take the chances of getting a nom
ination. But under the circumstances, as I said in my former letter, I
ought not to resign without the approval of thepeople who sent me here;
and there is, judging by my correspondence, no general desire that I
should do so. I shall write no letter for publication and of course
want my decision made known without any " flourish of trumpets " or
the assignment of reasons. This letter is marked "private" merely to
indicate that I don't want it to be published.
At about the same time (February 2) Mr. Hayes wrote his
uncle: —
I get letters about the governorship. It does n't worry me any, but I
am really puzzled what to say. This is the truth as I now see it. I don't
particularly enjoy congressional life. I have no ambition for congres
sional reputation — not a particle. I would like to be out of it credit
ably. If this nomination is pretty likely, it would get me out of the
scrape, and after that I am out of political life decently. On the other
hand, I ought not and will not resign my seat in Congress to be Gov
ernor unless the people of my district approve it. You see the case.
In spite of this decision in February to stay out of the race, the
friends of Mr. Hayes continued to keep his name before the pub
lic. Of all the men that aspired to the nomination, or that were
proposed for it, the opinion of the party leaders and of the party
generally gradually became more and more convinced that Gen
eral Hayes, with his reputation as a soldier, his record in Con
gress as a consistent supporter of the reconstruction measures,
and his skill as a campaigner, would be best fitted to oppose the
able and astute Thurman. Mr. Hayes himself finally yielded to
the importunities of his friends and consented to appear as a can
didate. The convention met at Columbus, June 19. It adopted
a brief platform "fully endorsing" the reconstruction policy of
Congress and declaring for "impartial manhood suffrage, as em
bodied in the proposed amendment to the state constitution."
Mr. Hayes was nominated on the first ballot.

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR 293
The issue between the two parties was thus simple and clean-
cut, and national in its significance. Should the congressional
mode of reconstruction, requiring the rebellious States to give
guaranties for the future and placing them meanwhile under mil
itary rule, be condemned or approved? Should Ohio amend its
constitution so as to extend the suffrage to negroes and deny it to
deserters from the Union army, to Confederate soldiers, and to
men that had fled the State to escape the draft?
That Mr. Hayes recognized that he had a hard fight before
him, and one with extremely doubtful issue, is evidenced by a
letter to his uncle immediately after his nomination. Referring
to the midsummer meeting of Congress, which he was about to
set out for, he said, "This is probably my last of public life."
But he had no regrets for the step he had taken. He was not the
kind of man to look back after he had put his hand to the plough.
As soon as Congress adjourned (July 20) he resigned his seat and
began to prepare for a vigorous speaking campaign. His first
speech was made at Lebanon August 5, on the same day that
Mr. Thurman opened his campaign at Waverly. These two
speeches laid the lines on which the contest was principally
waged. Mr. Hayes's speech presents so clear and admirable a
review of the views and principles of the opposing parties, in
dealing with the questions of the day growing out of slavery and
the war of the Rebellion, that it is here given in full: —
Fellow Citizens, — President Lincoln began his memorable address
at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery with these
words: "Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on
this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the
proposition'that all men are created equal."
This was Abraham Lincoln's opinion of what was accomplished and
what was meant by the Declaration of Independence. His idea was
that it gave birth to a nation, and that it dedicated that nation to equal
rights. Now, so far as the performance of duty in the present condition of
our country is concerned, " this is the whole law and the prophets." The
United States are not a confederacy of independent and sovereign
States, bound together by a mere treaty or a compact, but the people
of the United States constitute a nation, having one flag, one history,
"one country, one constitution, one destiny." Whoever seeks to divide
this nation into two sections — into a North and a South, or into four
sections, according to the cardinal points of the compass, or into thirty

294 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
or forty independent sovereignties, is opposed to the nation, and the
nation's friends should be opposed to him.
Washington, in his Farewell Address, says: "The unity of govern
ment, which constitutes you one people, is also now dear to you. It
is justly so; for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence,
the support of your tranquillity at home, your peace abroad; of your
safety, of your prosperity, of that very liberty which you so highly
prize. . . .The name of American, which belongs to you in your national
capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism more than any
appellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of
difference, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political
principles. You have, in a common cause, fought and triumphed to
gether; the independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint
counsels and joint efforts — of common dangers, sufferings, and suc
cesses." The sentiment of nationality is the sentiment of the Declaration of
Independence; it is the sentiment of the fathers; it is the sentiment
which carried us through the war of the Revolution, and through the
war of the late Rebellion; and it is a sentiment which the people of the
United States ought forever to cultivate and cherish.
The great idea to which the nation, according to Mr. Lincoln, was
dedicated by the fathers is expressed in the Declaration in these familiar
phrases: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain in
alienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness. That to secure these rights governments are instituted
among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the gov
erned." An intelligent audience will not wish to hear discussion as to the im
port of these sentences. Their language is simple, their meaning plain,
and their truth undoubted. The equality declared by the fathers was
not an equality of beauty, of physical strength, or of intellect, but an
equality of rights. Foolish attempts have been made by those who hate
the principles of the fathers to destroy the great fundamental truth of
the Declaration, by limiting the application of the phrase "all men"
to the men of a single race.
But Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration leaves no room to
doubt what he meant by these words. The gravest charge he made
against the King of Great Britain in the original draft of the Declara
tion of Independence was the following: "He has waged cruel war
against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and
liberty in the persons of a distant people, who never offended him, cap
turing and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur
miserable death in their transportation thither. This piratical warfare,
the opprobrium of infidel powers, is the warfare of the Christian King
of Great Britain, determined to keep open market where MEN should
be bought and sold."

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR 295
In this sentence the word "men" is written by Jefferson in capital
letters, showing with what emphasis he wished to declare that the King
of Great Britain was making slaves of a people to whom belonged the
rights of men.
Unfortunately for our country, that king, and others who "waged
cruel war against human nature itself," had already succeeded in plant
ing in the bosom of American society an element implacably hostile to
human rights, and destined to become the enemy of the Union, when
ever the American people, in their national capacity, should refuse
assent to any measures which the holders of slaves should deem neces
sary or even important for the security or prosperity of their "peculiar
institution." I need not, upon this occasion, repeat what is now familiar history —
how, by the invention of the cotton-gin, and the consequent enormous
increase of the cotton crop, slave labor in the cotton States, and slave
breeding in the Northern slave States, became so profitable that the
slaveholders were able, for many years, largely to influence, if not con
trol, every department of the National Government. The slave power
became something more than a phrase — it was a definite, established,
appalling fact. The Missouri controversy, South Carolina nullification,
the Texas controversy, the adoption of the compromise measures of
1850, and the repeal of the Missouri Compromise in 1854, were all
occasions when the country was compelled to see the magnitude, the
energy, the recklessness, and the arrogance of the slave power.
Precisely when the men who wielded that power determined to destroy
the Union it is not now necessary to inquire. Threats of disunion were
made in the first Congress that assembled under the Constitution. Upon
various pretexts they were repeated from time to time, and no one
doubts that slavery was at the bottom of them. In 1833 General Jack
son wrote to Rev. A. J. Crawford: "Take care of your nullifiers; you
have them among you; let them meet with the indignant frown of every
man who loves his country. The tariff, it is now known, was a mere
pretext, . . . and disunion and a Southern Confederacy the real object.
The next pretext will be the negro or slavery question." General Jack
son was no doubt right as to the existence of a settled purpose to break
up the Union, and to establish a Southern Confederacy, as long ago as
1832. But why was there such a purpose? On what ground did it stand?
Great political parties, whether sectional or otherwise, do not come
by accident, nor are they the invention of political intrigue. A faction
born of a clique may have some strength at one or two elections, but
the wisest political wire-workers cannot, by merely "taking thought,"
create a strong and permanent party. The result of the Philadelphia
Convention last summer probably taught this truth to the authors of
that movement. Great political movements always have some adequate
cause. Now, on what did the conspirators who plotted the destruction of the
Union and. the establishment of a Southern Confederacy rely? In the

296 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
first place, they taught a false construction of the National Constitution,
which was miscalled States' rights, the essential part of which was that
"any State of the Union might secede from the Union whenever it
liked." This doctrine was the instrument employed to destroy the unity
of the nation. The fact which gave strength and energy to those who
employed this instrument was that in the southern half of the Union,
society, business, property, religion, and law were all based on the propo
sition that over four millions of our countrymen, capable of civiliza
tion and religion, were, because of their race and color, "so far inferior
that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect."
The practice, founded upon this denial of the Declaration of Independ
ence, protected by law and sanctioned by usage, was our great national
transgression, and was the cause of our great national calamity.
In a country where discussion was free, sooner or later, parties were
sure to be formed on the issues presented by the slaveholders. The sup
porters of the Union and of human rights would band together against
the supporters of disunion and slavery. For many years after the strug
gle really began, the issues were not clearly defined, and neither party
was able to occupy its true and final position, or to rally to its standard
all who were in fact its friends. Old parties encumbered the ground.
Men were slow to give up old associations and leave the discussion of
obsolete, immaterial, or ephemeral issues.
At last the crisis came. In 1860, Mr. Lincoln, who was unfriendly to
slavery and faithful to the Union, was elected President. The party of
disunion and slavery were prepared for this event. Their action was
prompt, decisive, and defiant. They proceeded to organize Southern
conventions, and formally to withdraw from the Union, and undertook
to establish a new government and a new nation on the soil of the
United States.
Prior to 1860 the party calling itself Democratic had gathered under
one name and one organization almost the whole of the secessionists of
the South, and a large body of the people of the North, many of whom
had no sympathy either with secession or slavery. In 1860 the seces
sionists were so arrogant in their demands that the great body of the
Democratic party in the North refused to yield to them, and supported
Mr. Douglas in opposition both to Mr. Lincoln, and to the disunion and
slavery candidate, Mr. Breckinridge. But it was well known that many
leading Democrats who supported Mr. Douglas leaned strongly toward
the Southern Calhoun Democracy, and that their sympathies were with
slaveholding, or at least with slaveholders.
The evidence of this is abundantly furnished in their recorded opin
ions. The most distinguished and perhaps the most influential Demo
crat now actively engaged in pohtics in Ohio, who presided over and
addressed the last Democratic State Convention held at Columbus,
Mr. Pendleton, delivered a speech in the House of Representatives on
the 18th of January, 1861.
You will recollect how far the slaveholders had progressed in their

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR 297
great rebellion at that date. Mr. Pendleton himself says: "To-day, sir,
four States of this Union have, so far as their power extends, seceded
from it. Four States, as far as they are able, have annulled the grants
of power made to the Federal Government; they have resumed the
powers delegated by the Constitution ; they have cancelled, so far as they
could, every limitation upon the full exercise of all their sovereign rights.
They do not claim our protection; they ask no benefit from our laws;
they seek none of the advantages of the confederation. On the other
hand, they renounce their allegiance; they repudiate our authority over
them, and they assert that they have assumed — some of them that
they have resumed — their position among the family of sovereignties,
among the nations of the earth. . . . To-day, even while I am speaking,
Georgia is voting upon this very question. And unless the signs of the
times very much deceive us, within three weeks other States will be
added to the number."
Mr. Pendleton might also have said that prior to that date, forts,
arsenals, dockyards, mints, and other places and property belonging to
the United States, had been seized by organized and armed bodies of
Rebels; the collection of debts due in the South to Northern creditors
had been stopped; South Carolina had declared that any attempt to
reenforce Fort Sumter by the United States would be regarded by that
State as an act of hostility against her and equivalent to a declaration
of war; the Star of the West, an unarmed vessel, with the American flag
floating at her masthead, carrying provisions to the famishing garrison
of Fort Sumter, had been fired on and driven from Charleston Harbor;
in short, at that date the Rebels were engaged in actual war against the
nation, and the only reason why blood had not been shed was that the
National Government had failed in its duty to defend the nation's
property, and to maintain the sacredness of the national flag.
At that crisis Mr. Pendleton delivered and sent forth a speech bearing
this significant motto: "But, sir, armies, money, blood, cannot maintain
this Union; justice, reason, peace, may." The speech was according to
its motto. Accustomed as he is to speak cautiously, and in a scholarly
and moderate way, we cannot be mistaken as to his drift. On the
authority of the National Government he says: "Now, sir, what force
of arms can compel a State to do that which she has agreed to do ? What
force of arms can compel a State to refrain from doing that which the
State Government, supported by the sentiment of her people, is deter
mined to persist in doing. . . . Sir, the whole scheme of coercion is im
practicable. It is contrary to the genius and spirit of the Constitution."
These extracts sufficiently and fairly show Mr. Pendleton's notion
of the duty and authority of the nation in that great crisis. He held
the States' rights doctrines of Calhoun and Breckinridge, and not the
national principles of Washington and Jackson.
As to the treatment of Rebels already in arms, and as to the "de
mands" of the slave power, consider this advice which he gave to Con
gress and the people: "If these Southern States cannot be conciliated;

298 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
if you, gentlemen, cannot find it in your hearts to grant their demands;
if they must leave the family mansion, I would signalize their depar
ture by tokens of love; I would bid them farewell so tenderly that
they would be forever touched by the recollection of it; and if in the
vicissitudes of their separate existence they should desire to come to
gether with us again in one common government, there should be no
pride to be humiliated, there should be no wound inflicted by my hand
to be healed. They should come and be welcome to the places they now
occupy." Thus we see there were those who, with honeyed phrases and soft
words, would have looked smilingly on, while the great Republic — the
pride of her children, the hope of the ages — built by the fathers at such
an expense of suffering, of treasure, and of blood, was stricken by trai
tors' hands from the roll of living nations, and while an armed oligarchy
should establish in its stead a nation founded on a denial of human
rights, and under whose sway south of the Potomac more than half of
the territory of the old Thirteen Colonies — soil once fertilized by the
best blood of the Revolution — should, for generations to come, con
tinue to be tilled by the unrequited toil of slaves.
The best known, the boldest, and perhaps the ablest leader of the
peace Democracy in the North is Mr. Vallandigham. He was Chairman
of the Committee on Resolutions in the last Democratic State Conven
tion in Ohio, and reported the present state platform of his party. He,
probably, still enjoys in a greater degree than any other public man the
affection and confidence of the positive men of the Ohio Democracy,
who, from beginning to end, opposed the war. On the 20th of February,
1861, he delivered a speech in the House of Representatives in support
of certain amendments which he proposed to the Constitution of the
United States. In an appendix to that speech, he published an extract
from a card in the Cincinnati Enquirer of November 10, 1860, from
which I quote: "And now let me add that I did say, ... in a public
speech, at the Cooper Institute, on the 2d of November, 1860, that if
any one or more of the States of this Union should at any time secede,
for reasons of the sufficiency and justice of which, before God and the
great tribunal of history, they alone may judge, much as I should de
plore it, I never would, as a Representative in Congress of the United
States, vote one dollar of money whereby one drop of American blood
should be shed in a civil war. . . . And I now deliberately repeat and
reaffirm it, resolved, though I stand alone, though all others yield and
fall away, to make it good to the last moment of my public life."
Here was another strong man of large influence solemnly pledged
to allow the Union to be broken up and destroyed, in case the Rebel
conspirators chose that alternative, rather than forego their demands
in favor of oppression and against human rights.
On the 23d of January, 1861, the Democratic party held a state con
vention at Columbus. Remember, at that date the air was thick with
threats of war from the South. The Rebels were organizing and drilling;

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR 299
arms robbed from the national arsenals were in their hands; and the
question upon all minds was whether the Republic should perish with
out having a single blow struck in her defense, or whether the people
of the loyal North should rise as one man, prepared to wage war until
treason and, if need be, slavery went down together. On this question,
that convention was bound to speak. Silence was impossible. There
were present war Democrats and peace Democrats, followers of Jack
son and followers of Calhoun. There was a determined and gallant
struggle on the part of the war Democrats, but the superior numbers,
or more probably the superior tactics and strategy, of the peace men
triumphed. The present candidate of the Democratic party for Governor of Ohio,
Judge Thurman, a gentleman of character and ability, a distinguished
lawyer and judge, and a politician of long experience, succeeded in
passing through the convention this resolution : —
"Resolved, That the two hundred thousand Democrats of Ohio send
to the people of the United States, both North and South, greeting; and
when the people of the North shall have fulfilled their duties to the Con
stitution and to the South, then, and not until then, will it be proper for
them to take into consideration the question of the right and propriety
of coercion."
In support of this famous resolution, Judge Thurman addressed the
convention, and, among other things, is reported to have said: "A man
is deficient in understanding who thinks the cause of disunion is that
the South apprehended any overt act of oppression -in Lincoln's Ad
ministration. It is the spirit of the late Presidential contest that alarms
the South. ... It would try the ethics of any man to deny that some of
the Southern States have no cause for revolution. . . . Then, you must be
sure you are able to coerce before you begin the work. The South are a
brave people. The Southern States cannot be held by force. The blacks
won't fight for the invaders. . . . The Hungarians had less cause of
complaint against Austria than the South had against the North."
When we reflect on what the Rebels had done and what they were
doing when this resolution was passed, it seems incredible that sane men
having a spark of patriotism could for one moment have tolerated its
sentiments. The Rebels had already deprived the United States of its
jurisdiction and property in about one fourth of its inhabited territory,
and were rapidly extending their insurrection so as to include within
the Rebel lines all of the slave States. The lives and property of Union
citizens in the insurgent States were at the mercy of traitors, and the
national flag was everywhere torn down, and shameful indignities and
outrages heaped upon all who honored it.
This resolution speaks of fulfilling the duties of the people of the
North to the South. The first and highest duty of the people of the
North to themselves, to the South, to their country, and to God, was to
crush the Rebellion. All speeches and resolutions against either the
right or the propriety of coercion merely gave encouragement, " moral

300 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
aid and comfort," more important than powder and ball, to the ene
mies of the nation.
Do I state too strongly the mischievous, the fatal tendency of these
proceedings? The resolution adopted by the peace Democracy of Ohio
is addressed in terms "to the people of all the States, North and South,"
and in fact was sent, I am informed, to the Governors of all the States.
In the South, Union men were laboring by every means in their
power to prevent secession. Their most cogent argument was that the
National Government would defend itself by war against rebellion. To
this, the Rebel reply was: "There will be no war. Secession will be
peaceable. The peace party of the North will prevent coercion. If there
is fighting, it will be as ex-President Pierce writes to Jefferson Davis,
' The fighting will not be along Mason and Dixon's line merely. It
will be within our own borders, in our own streets.' "
For the evidence of the correctness of this opinion, the Rebels could
point confidently to such speeches and resolutions as those we are now
considering. Governor Orr, of South Carolina, in a recent speech at
the Charleston Board of Trade banquet, is reported to have said: "I
know there is an apprehension widespread in the North and West that,
after the reconstruction of the Southern States, we shall fall into the
arms of our old allies and associates, the old Democratic party. I say
to you, gentlemen, however, that I would give no such pledges. We
have accounts to settle with that party, gentlemen, before I, at least,
will consent to affiliate with it. Many of you will remember that, when
the war first commenced, great hopes and expectations were held out by
our friends in the North and West that there would be no war, and that
if it commenced, it would be north of Mason and Dixon's line, and not
in the South."
Without pausing to inquire how much strength accrued to the Rebel
lion in its earlier stages by the encouragement it received from sympa
thizers in the North, let us pass on to the spring and summer of 1861,
after the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter, and when the
armies of the Union and of the Rebellion were facing each other upon a
line of operations extending from the Potomac to the Rio Grande. The
most superficial observer could not fail to discover these facts.
In the South, where slavery was strongest, the Rebellion was strong
est. Where there were few slaveholders, there were few Rebels. South
Carolina and Mississippi, having the largest number of slaves in pro
portion to population, were almost unanimous for rebellion. Western
Virginia, eastern Kentucky, east Tennessee, had few slaves, and love of
the Union and hatred of secession in those mountain regions was nearly
universal. The counterpart of this was found everywhere in the North. In coun
ties and districts where the majority of the people had been accustomed
to defend or excuse the practice of slaveholding and the aggressions
of the slaveholders, there was much sympathy with the Rebellion and
strong opposition to the war. Men who abused and hated negroes did

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR 301
not usually hate Rebels. On the other hand, antislavery counties and
districts were quite sure to be Union to the core.
In Ohio, as in other free States, the Democratic party could not be
led off in a body after the peace Democracy. Brough, Tod, Matthews,
Dorsey, Steedman, and a host of Democrats of the Jackson school,
nobly kept the faith. Lytle, McCook, Webster, and gallant spirits like
them, from every county and neighborhood of our State, sealed their
devotion to the Union and to true democracy with their life's blood.
They believed, with Douglas, in the last letter he ever wrote, that "it
was not a party question, nor a question involving partisan policy; it
was a question of government or no government, country or no coun
try, and hence it became the imperative duty of every Union man, every
friend of constitutional liberty, to rally to the support of our common
country, its Government and flag, as the only means of checking the
progress of revolution, and of preserving the Union of the States."
They believed the words of Douglas's last speech: "This is no time
for a detail of causes. The conspiracy is now known. Armies have been
raised, war is levied to accomplish it. There are only two sides to the
question. Every man must be for the United States or against it. There
can be no neutrals in this war — only patriots and traitors."
As the war progressed, the great political parties of the country under
went important changes, both of organization and policy. In the North,
the Republican party, the great body of the American or Union party
of 1860, and the war Democracy formed the Union party. The De
mocracy of the South, for the most part, became Rebels, and in the
North those who did not unite with the Union party generally passed
under the control and leadership of the peace Democracy.
At the beginning of the war, the creed of the Union party consisted
of one idea — it labored for one object — the restoration of the Union.
Slavery, the rights of man, the principles of the Declaration of Inde
pendence, were for the time lost sight of in the struggle for the nation's
life. As late as August, 1862, President Lincoln wrote to Mr. Greeley :
"My paramount object is to save the Union, and not either to save or to
destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I
would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it;
and if I could do it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would
also do that."
Slowly, gradually, after repeated disasters and disappointments, the
eyes of the Union leaders were opened to the fact that slavery and re
bellion were convertible terms; that the Confederacy, according to its
Vice-President, Alexander H. Stephens, was founded upon "exactly
the opposite idea" from that of Jefferson and the fathers. "Its founda
tions," said he, "are laid, its corner-stone rests upon the great truth
that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordina
tion to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition." Mr.
Lincoln and the Union party, struggling faithfully onward, finally
reached the solid ground that the American Government was founded

302 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
on the broad principles of right, justice, and humanity, and that, for
this nation, "Union and liberty" were, indeed, "one and inseparable."
The leaders of the peace Democracy were for a time overwhelmed by
the popular uprising which followed the attack on Fort Sumter, and
were not able during the year 1861 or the early part of 1862 to mark out
definitely the course to be pursued. But, like the Union party, they
gradually approached the position they were ultimately to occupy.
Their success in the autumn elections of 1862 encouraged them to
enter upon the pathway in which they have plodded along consistently
if not prosperously ever since. Opposition to the war measures of Mr.
Lincoln's Administration, and in particular to every measure tending
to the enfranchisement and elevation of the African race, became their
settled pohcy. By this pohcy they were placed in harmony with their
former associates, the Rebels of the South. The Rebels were fighting
to destroy the Union. The peace party were opposing the only measures
which could save it. The Rebels were fighting for slavery. The peace
party were laboring in their way to keep alive and inflame the prejudice
against race and color, on which slavery was based.
The abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, the repeal of the
Fugitive Slave Law, Mr. Lincoln's proclamation of emancipation, in a
word, every step of the Union party toward enfranchisement of the
colored people, the peace Democracy opposed. Every war measure,
every means adopted to strengthen the cause of the Union and weaken
the Rebellion, met with the same opposition. Whatever Mr. Lincoln or
Congress did to get money, to get men, or to obtain the moral support of
the country and the world — tax laws, tariff laws, greenbacks, govern
ment bonds, army bills, drafts, blockades, proclamations — met the
indiscriminate and bitter assaults of these men. The enlistment of col
ored soldiers, a measure by which between one and two hundred thou
sand able-bodied men were transferred from the service of the Rebels in
cornfields to the Union service in battlefields — how Mr. Lincoln and
the Union party were vilified for that wise and necessary measure! But
worse, infinitely worse, than mere opposition to war measures, were their
efforts to impair the confidence of the people, to diminish the moral
power of the Government, to give hope and earnestness to the enemies
of the Union, by showing that the Administration was to blame for the
war, that it was unnecessary, unjust, and that it had been perverted
from its original object, and that it could not but fail.
I need not go beyond the record of leaders of the Ohio Democracy of
to-day for proof of what I am saying. Mr. Pendleton, usually so gentle
manly and prudent in speech, lost his balance after the victories of the
peace Democracy in 1862. At the Democratic jubilee in Butler County
over the elections, Mr. Pendleton is reported as saying: "I came up
to see if there were any Butternuts in Butler County. I came to see if
there were any Copperheads in Butler County, as my friends of the
Cincinnati Gazette and Commercial are fond of terming the Democracy
of the country. I came up to tell you that there are a good many of

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR 303
that stripe of animals in old Hamilton. I have travelled about the
country lately, and I assure you there is a large crop of Butternuts
everywhere; not only that, but the quality and character of the nut is
quite as good as the quantity."
Of course Mr. Pendleton was applauded by his audience; and he re
turned to his place in the House of Representatives at Washington pre
pared to give expression to his views with the same plainness and bold
ness which marked the utterances of his colleague, Mr. Vallandigham.
On the 31st of January, 1863, he made an elaborate speech against
the enlistment of negroes into the service of the United States, in which
he said: —
"I should be false to you, my fellow Representatives, if I did not tell
you that there is an impression, growing with great rapidity, upon the
minds of the people of the Northwest that they have been deliberately
deceived into this war — that their patriotism and their love of country
have been engaged to call them into the army, under the pretense that
the war was to be for the Union and the Constitution, when, in fact, it
was to be an armed crusade for the abolition of slavery. I tell you, sir,
that unless this impression is speedily arrested it will become universal;
it will ripen into conviction, and then it will be beyond your power to get
from their broad plains another man, or from their almost exhausted
coffers another dollar."
In the same speech he says : —
" I said two years ago, on this floor, that armies, money, war cannot
restore this Union; justice, reason, peace, may. I believed it then; I
have believed it at every moment since; I believe it now. No event of
the past two years has for a moment shaken my faith. Peace is the first
step to Union. Peace is Union. Peace unbroken would have preserved
it; peace restored will, I hope, in some time reconstruct it. The only
bonds which can hold these States in confederation, the only ties which
can make us one people, are the soft and silken cords of affection and in
terest. These are woven in peace, not war; in conciliation, not coercion;
in deeds of kindness and acts of friendly sympathy, not in deeds of vio
lence and blood. The people of the Northwest were carried away by
the excitement of April and May. They believed war would restore the
Union. They trusted to the assurances of the President and his Cabinet,
and of Congress, that it should be carried on for that purpose alone.
They trusted that it would be carried on under the Constitution. They
were patriotic and confiding. They sent their sons, and brothers, and
husbands to the army, and poured out their treasures at the feet of
the Administration. They feel that the war has been perverted from
this end; that the Constitution has been disregarded; that abolition and
arbitrary power, not Union and constitutional liberty, are the govern
ing ideas of the Administration. They are in no temper to be trifled
with. They think they have been deceived. There is danger of revolu
tion. They are longing for peace."
Need I pause to inquire who would receive encouragement, or whose

304 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
spirits would be depressed, on reading these remarkable sentences?
Imagine them read by the Rebel camp-fires, or at the firesides of the
Rebel people. What hope, what exultation we should behold in the faces
of those who heard them ! On the other hand, at Union camp-fires, or
by the loyal firesides of the North, what sorrow, what mortification,
what depression such statements would surely carry wherever they were
heard and believed!
The course of the peace Democracy of Ohio during the memorable
contest of 1863, between Brough and Vallandigham, is too well known
to require attention now. Judge Thurman was one of the committee
who constructed the platform of the convention which nominated Mr.
Vallandigham, and was the ablest member of the State Central Com
mittee which had charge of the canvass in his behalf during his exile.
The keynote to that canvass was given by Mr. Vallandigham himself
in a letter written from Canada, July 15, 1863. That letter contained
the following : —
"If this civil war is to terminate only by the subjugation or submis
sion of the South to force and arms, the infant of to-day will not live to
see the end of it. No, in another way only can it be brought to a close.
Travelling a thousand miles and more, through nearly half of the Con
federate States, and sojourning for a time at widely different points, I
met not one man, woman, or child who was not resolved to perish rather
than yield to the pressure of arms, even in the most desperate extrem
ity. And whatever may and must be the varying fortune of the war, in
all which I recognize the hand of Providence pointing visibly to the ulti
mate issue of this great trial of the States and people of America, they
are better prepared now every way to make good their inexorable pur
pose than at any period since the beginning of the struggle. These may
be unwelcome truths; but they are addressed only to candid and honest
men." The assumption of the certain success of the Rebellion, and that the
war for the Union would assuredly fail, was the strong point of these
gentlemen in favor of the election of Vallandigham and the defeat of
Brough. Fortunately, the patriotic people saw the situation from an
other standpoint, and under the influence of different feelings and
different sympathies.
In the elections of 1863, the peace Democracy of Ohio and other
States sustained defeats which have no parallel in our political history.
But, notwithstanding their reverses, the year 1864, the year of the Presi
dential election, found the Ohio leaders possibly sadder, but certainly
not wiser nor more patriotic than before.
At the National Convention at Chicago, in August, Mr. Pendleton
was nominated for Vice-President, Judge Thurman was a delegate of
the State of Ohio at large, and Mr. Vallandigham as a district delegate,
and as a member of the committee on platform, was the author of the
following resolution adopted by the convention : —
"Resolved, That this convention does explicitly declare, as the sense

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR 305
of the American people, that, after four years of failure to restore the
Union by the experiment of war, during which, under pretense of mili
tary necessity, or war power higher than the Constitution, the Consti
tution has been disregarded in every part, and public liberty and private
rights have been alike trodden down, and the material prosperity of the
country essentially impaired, justice, humanity, liberty, and the public
welfare demand that immediate efforts be made for a cessation of hos
tilities, with a view to an ultimate convention of all the States, or other
peaceable means, to the end that at the earliest practicable moment
peace may be restored on the basis of the Federal Union of the States."
This resolution does not seem to require explanation or comment.
But as General McClellan's letter accepting the nomination for Presi
dent did not square well with this part of the party platform, Mr. Val
landigham, in a speech at Sidney, Ohio, September 24, 1864, explained
it at some length. In that speech, he said : —
"I am speaking now of the fact that this convention pronounced this
war a failure, and giving you the reasons why it is a failure. . . . What
has been gained by this campaign? More lives have been lost, more hard
fighting has been done, more courage has been exhibited by the Federal
as well as the Southern soldiers than in any former campaign, and what
has been accomplished? General Grant is nearer to Richmond, occupy
ing a territory of perhaps eleven miles, which was not in the possession
of the United States when the campaign began, from City Point to the
suburbs of Petersburg. To secure that he gave up all the country from
Manassas down to Richmond and a large part of the Valley. . . . How
about the Southern campaign? General Sherman, through the courage
of the best disciplined, best organized, and most powerful army that has
been seen since the campaigns of the first Napoleon, has taken Atlanta
— a town somewhat larger than Sidney. It has cost him sixty thousand
men and four or five months of the most terrible campaign ever waged
on this continent or any other, or any other part of the globe. He occu
pies from two to five miles on each side of a railroad of one hundred and
thirty-eight miles in length. He. has penetrated that far into Georgia.
What has been surrendered to obtain that? All of Texas, nearly all of
Louisiana, nearly all of Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, and a part of
Tennessee, which were in possession of the Federals on the first of May.
Kentucky has been opened to continual incursions of the Confederate
armies. All this has been surrendered in order to gain this barren strip
of country on the line of the railroad. The war, then, has been properly
pronounced a failure in a military point of view. The convention meant
that it has failed to restore the Union, and there is not a Republican in
the land who does not know it."
In the Sidney speech, Mr. Vallandigham says, also: —
"What will you have now? Four years more of war? What guaran
ties of success have you? Do you want two million more of men to go
forth to this war as the crusaders went to the sepulchre at Jerusalem?
The beginning of this Administration found us with very little debt,

306 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
comparatively no taxation, and peace and happiness among the States;
and now look at the scene! Four more years of war, do you tell me,
when the first four, with every advantage, has failed? Now, too, that
the hearts of one half of the people are turned away from war, and intent
upon the arts of peace? What will be the consequence? Four thousand
millions more of debt, five hundred millions more of taxation, more con
scriptions, more calls for five hundred thousand men, more sacrifices for
the next four years. All this is what Abraham Lincoln demands of you
in order that the South may be compelled not to return to the Union,
but to abandon slavery."
All this logic, this eloquence, this taxing the imagination to portray
the horrors of war, failed to deceive the people; Lincoln was reelected;
the war went on, and a few short months witnessed the end of the armed
Rebellion, and the triumph of Liberty and of Union.
Now came the work of reconstruction. The leaders of the peace De
mocracy, who had failed in every measure, in every plan, in every opin
ion, and in every prediction relating to the war, were promptly on hand,
and with unblushing cheek were prepared to take exclusive charge of the
whole business of reorganization and reconstruction. They had a plan
all prepared — a plan easily understood, easily executed, and which
they averred would be satisfactory to all parties. Their plan was in per
fect harmony with the conduct and history of its authors and friends
during the war. They had been in very close sympathy with the men
engaged in the Rebellion, while their sympathy for loyal white people
at the South was not strong, and they were bitterly hostile to loyal col
ored people both North and South. Their plan was consistent with all
this. According to it, the Rebels were to be treated in the same manner as
if they had remained loyal. All laws, state and national, all orders and
regulations of the military, naval, and other departments of the Govern
ment, creating disabilities on account of participation in the Rebellion,
were to be repealed, revoked, or abolished. The rebellious States were
to be represented in Congress by the Rebels without hindrance from any
test oath. All appointments in the army, in the navy, and in the civil
service were to be made from men who were Rebels, on the same terms
as from men who were loyal. The people and Governments in the rebel
lious States were to be subjected to no other interference or control from
the military or other departments of the general Government than
exists in the States which remained loyal. Loyal white men and loyal
colored men were to be protected alone in those States by state laws,
executed by state authorities, as if they were in the loyal States.
There were to be no amendments to the Constitution, not even an
amendment abolishing slavery. In short, the great Rebellion was to be
ignored or forgotten, or, in the words of one of their orators, "to be gen
erously forgiven." The war, whose burdens, cost, and carnage they had
been so fond of exaggerating, suddenly sank into what the Reverend
Petroleum V. Nasby calls "the late unpleasantness," for which nobody

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR 307
but the abolitionists were to blame. Under this plan the States could
soon reestablish slavery where it had been disturbed by the war. Jeffer
son Davis, Toombs, Slidell, and Mason could be reelected to their old
places in the Senate of the United States; Lee could be reappointed in
the army, and Semmes and Maury could be restored to the navy. Of
course this plan of the peace Democracy was acceptable to the Rebels
of the South.
But the loyal people, who under the name of the Union party fought
successfully through the War of the Rebellion, objected to this plan as
wrong in principle, wrong in its details, and fatally wrong as an exam
ple for the future. It treats treason as no crime and loyalty as no virtue ;
it contains no guaranties, irreversible or otherwise, against another
rebellion by the same parties and on the same grounds. It restores to
political honor and power in the Government of the nation men who
have spent the best part of their lives in plotting the overthrow of that
Government, and who for more than four years levied public war against
the United States; it allows Union men in the South, who have risked
all, — and many of whom have lost all but life in upholding the Union
cause, — to be excluded from every office, state and national, and in
many instances to be banished from the States they so faithfully labored
to save; it abandons the four millions of colored people to such treat
ment as the ruffian class of the South, educated in the barbarism of
slavery and the atrocities of the Rebellion, may choose to give them; it
leaves the obligation of the nation to her creditors and to the maimed
soldiers and to the widows and orphans of the war, to be fulfilled by men
who hate the cause in which those obligations were incurred; it claims
to be a plan which restores the Union without requiring conditions; but,
in conceding to the conquered Rebels the repeal of laws important to
the nation's welfare, it grants conditions which they demand, while it
denies to the loyal victors conditions which they deem of priceless value.
In the meantime, President Johnson having declared that "the Re
bellion, in its revolutionary progress, had deprived the people of the
Rebel States of all civil government," proceeded by military power to
set up provisional State Governments in those States, and to require
them to declare void all ordinances of secession, to repudiate the Rebel
• debt, and to adopt the Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution,
proposed by the Union party, abolishing slavery throughout the United
States. The peace Democracy opposed all conditions, and, instinctively
unsound upon human rights, opposed the amendment abolishing slav
ery. The elections of 1865 settled that question against them, and
deprived them of New Jersey, the last free State which adhered to their
fallen fortunes.
At the session of Congress of 1865-66, the President, finding that his
so-called State Governments in the Rebel States — created by military
power alone and without the sanction of the legislative power of the
Government — had accepted his conditions, insisted that those States
were fully restored to their former proper relations with the general

308 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Government, and that they were again entitled to representation in the
same manner with the loyal States. This plan accorded with the wishes
of all unrepentant Rebels, and as a matter of course received the support
of their allies of the peace Democracy.
The Union party, at the sacrifice of all of the power and patronage of
the Administration they had elected, firmly opposed and finally defeated
this project. They required, before the complete restoration of the
Rebel States, that the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution
should be adopted, which was framed to secure civil rights to the col
ored people, equal representation between the free States and the former
slave States, the disqualification for office of leading Rebels, the pay
ment of the loyal obligations to creditors, to maimed soldiers, and to
widows and orphans, and the repudiation of the Rebel debt and of
claims to payment for slaves. On the adoption of this amendment
turned the elections of 1866. After the amplest debates before the
people the Union party carried the country in favor of the amendment,
electing more than three fourths of the members of the House of Rep
resentatives. They also secured the adoption of the amendment in
twenty-one out of the twenty-four States now represented, which have
acted upon it by an average vote in the State Legislatures of more than
four to one.
In striking contrast with this was the action of the Rebel States.
Tennessee alone ratified the amendment. The other ten promptly and
defiantly rejected it by an average majority in their State Legislatures
of more than fifty to one. When, therefore, the Thirty-ninth Congress
met in the session of 1866-67 they found the work of reconstruction in
those ten States still unaccomplished.
Now, in what condition were those ten Rebel States? In the first
place, all political power in those States was in the hands of Rebels, and
for the most part of leading and unrepentant Rebels. Their Governors,
their members of Legislature, their judges, their county and city officers,
and their members of Congress, with rare exceptions, were Rebels.
Such was their political condition.
What was their condition with respect to the preservation of order,
the suppression of crime, and the redress of private grievances? After
the suppression of the Rebellion the next plain duty of the National
Government was to see that the lives, liberty, and property of all classes
of citizens were secure, and especially to see that the loyal white and
colored citizens who resided or might sojourn in those States did not
suffer injustice, oppression, or outrage because of their loyalty. Loyal
men, without distinction of race or color, were clearly entitled to the full
measure of protection usually found in civilized countries, if in the
nature of things it was possible for the nation to furnish it.
Inquiring as to the condition of things in the South, I waive the uni
form current of information derived from the press and other unofficial
sources from all parts of the South, and rely exclusively on the official
reports of army officers like Grant, Thomas, Sheridan, and Howard —

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR 309
officers of clear heads, of strong sense, and of spotless integrity, whose
business it is to know the facts, and who all united in warning the na
tion that Union men, either white or colored, were not safe in the South.
General Grant says that the class at the South who " will acknowledge
no law but force" is sufficiently formidable to justify the military occu
pation of that territory.
General Sheridan, in an official report, says the "trial of a white man
for the murder of a freedman in Texas would be a farce; and, in making
this statement, I make it because truth compels me, and for no other
reason. . . . Over the killing of many freedmen nothing is done." Gen
eral Sheridan cites cases in which our national soldiers wearing the uni
form of the Republic have been deliberately shot "without provoca
tion" by citizens, and the grand jury refused to find a bill against the
murderers. Even in Virginia, General Schofield was compelled to resort
to a military tribunal because "a gentleman" who shot a negro dead in
cold blood "was instantly acquitted by one of the civil courts."
General Ord reports in Arkansas fifty-two murders of freed persons
by white men in the past three or four months, "and no reports have been
received that the murderers have been imprisoned or punished. . . . The
number of murders reported is not half the number committed."
General Sickles says that in South Carolina, "in certain counties,
such as Newberry, Edgecombe, and Laurens, so much countenance was
given to outrages on freedmen by the indifference of the civil authorities
and by the population, who made themselves accomplices in the crimes,
that other measures became necessary."
In Mississippi, General Thomas calls attention to the legislation in
regard to colored people. "It is oppressive, unjust, and unconstitu
tional." The laws as to buying real estate, bearing arms, making con
tracts, and the like, are of such a character "that the constitutional gift
of freedom is not much more than a name."
General Sheridan, speaking of Louisiana, says: "Homicides are fre
quent in some localities. Sometimes they are investigated by a coroner's
jury, which justifies the act and releases the perpetrator; in other cases,
. . . the parties are held to bail in a nominal sum; but the trial of a white
man for the killing of a freedman can, in the existing state of society in
this State, be nothing more or less than a farce."
General Thomas, in February last, in relation to the display of the
Rebel flag in Rome, Georgia, said: "The sole cause of this and similar
offenses lies in the fact that certain citizens of Rome, and a portion of
the people of the States lately in rebellion, do not and have not accepted
the situation, and that is that the late civil war was a rebellion, and his
tory will so record it. . . . Everywhere in the States lately in rebellion
treason is respectable and loyalty odious. This the people of the United
States who ended the Rebellion and saved the country will not permit;
and all attempts to maintain this unnatural order of things will be met
by decided disapproval."
Upon these official reports, showing not merely that atrocious crimes

310 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
were everywhere committed against loyal people, but that the civil
authorities did not even attempt to prevent them by the punishment of
the perpetrators, it became the plain duty of Congress to adopt meas
ures "to enforce peace and good order in the Rebel States, until loyal
and republican State Governments could be legally established." How
well this duty was performed will appear from a brief examination of the
Reconstruction Acts which were passed by Congress in March last, and
by the auspicious results which followed their adoption and execution.
By these acts, the ten Rebel States were divided into five military
districts, subject to the military authority of the United States; and it
was made the duty of the President to assign military officers, not below
the rank of brigadier-general, to command each of said districts, and to
detail a sufficient military force to enable such officers to perform their
duties. The duties of military commanders were defined as follows, in
the third section of the act: —
"Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of each
officer assigned as aforesaid, to protect all persons in their rights of
person and property, to suppress insurrection, disorder, and violence,
and to punish, or cause to be punished, all disturbers of the public peace
and criminals; and to this end he may allow local civil tribunals to take
jurisdiction of and to try offenders; or when, in his judgment, it may be
necessary for the trial of offenders, he shall have power to organize mili
tary commissions or tribunals for that purpose; and all interference,
under color of state authority, with the exercise of military authority
under this act shall be null and void."
The act also sets forth the manner in which the people of any one of
the Rebel States could form a state constitution, and the terms on which
the State would be fully restored to proper relations with the Union.
The most important provisions are those relating to the qualifications
of voters and the one requiring the adoption of the amendment to the
Constitution proposed by the Thirty-ninth Congress, known as Article
Fourteen. The right of suffrage is given to all men of suitable age and
residence, without distinction of race or color, except a limited number
who are excluded for participation in the Rebellion.
In pursuance of these acts, the district of Louisiana and Texas was
placed under the command of General Sheridan ; Arkansas and Missis
sippi, under General Ord; Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, under Gen
eral Pope; North Carolina and South Carolina, under General Sickles;
and Virginia, under General Schofield. The merits of this plan are
obvious. (1) It places the Rebels again under the control of the power which
conquered them, and of the very officers to whom they surrendered.
(2) It is well calculated to afford protection to all loyal people, white
or colored, against those who would oppress or injure them on account
of their loyalty.
(3) It places the new State Governments of the South upon the solid
basis of justice and equal rights.

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR 311
This plan received in Congress the support of many members of Con
gress who did not uniformly vote with the Union party, and was accept
able to some of its most distinguished adversaries. In the Senate,
Reverdy Johnson, a Maryland Democrat, voted for it, and made effec
tive speeches in its support. The loyal press of the North, without
exception, upheld it.
In the South, its success was everywhere gratifying and unexampled.
Its enemies had said that it would organize anarchy in the Rebel States
— that it would immediately inaugurate a war of races between whites
and blacks — and compared the condition of the South under it to the
condition of India under English oppression, and to Hungary under the
despotism of Austria.
But the course of the public press, and the conduct, the letters, and
speeches of public men in the Rebel States, vindicated the wisdom and
justice of the measure. I will quote only from Rebel sources.
In Virginia, the Charlottesville Chronicle addressed its readers as
follows: —
"Fob White Folks anh CoLOBEn Folks. — Every colored person
may now go where and when he pleases. He is a free man and a full citi
zen. This is not all; by another bound they have become voters. They
will take part in the government of the country. No people was ever so
suddenly, so rapidly lifted up.
"Shall we all live happily together, or shall we hate each other, and
quarrel and bear malice?
"Let us all try and get on together. The land is big enough. Let the
whites accommodate themselves to the new state of things Let them
be polite and kind to all, and be always ready to accord to every man,
whether white or colored, his full rights. We make bold to say that the
behavior of the colored people of this State, since they were set free, has
surprised all fair-minded white people. We do not believe the white
people, under the same circumstances, would have behaved so well by
twenty per cent. They have shown the greatest moderation. They have
passed from plantation hands to freedom and the ballot without out
ward excitement."
The Richmond Examiner, the organ of the fire eaters, says of the
colored people: —
"This class of our population, as a general thing, manifest a disposi
tion to prepare themselves for the altered political condition in which
the events of the past two years have placed them. The sudden aboli
tion of slavery did not, as most persons expected, turn their heads. They
have been, in the main, orderly and well behaved. They have not pre
sumed upon their newly acquired freedom to commit breaches of the
peace or to be guilty of any acts calculated to sow dissension between
the two races. The utmost good feeling is felt by the white people of
this city toward the negroes. There is not one particle of bitterness felt
for them."
In South Carolina, Wade Hampton addressed a mixed assembly of

312 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
whites and colored people at Columbia, in which he quoted from a former
speech to his old soldiers: —
"There is oneother point on which there should be no misunderstand
ing as to our position — no loop on which to hang a possible miscon
struction as to our views — and that is the abolition of slavery. The
deed has been done, and I, for one, do honestly declare that I never
wish to see it revoked. Nor do I believe that the people of the South
would now remand the negro to slavery, if they had the power to do
so unquestioned.
"Under our paternal care, from a mere handful, he grew to be a
mighty host. He came to us a heathen; we made him a Christian. Idle,
vicious, savage in his own country, in ours he became industrious, gentle,
civilized. As a slave, he was faithful to us; as a freeman, let us treat him
as a friend. Deal with him frankly, justly, kindly, and, my word for it,
he will reciprocate your kindness. If you wish to see him contented,
industrious, useful, aid him in his efforts to elevate himself in the scale
of civilization, and thus fit him not only to enjoy the blessings of free
dom, but to appreciate his duties."
After" stating the provisions of the "military bill," as he calls the
Reconstruction Law, he said to the colored people: —
"But suppose the bill is pronounced unconstitutional; how then? I
tell you what I am willing to see done. I am willing to give the right of
suffrage to all who can read and who pay a certain amount of taxes; and
I agree that this qualification shall bear on white and black alike. You
would have no right to complain of a law which would put you on a
perfect political equality with the whites, and which would put within
your reach and that of your children the privilege enjoyed by any class
of citizens."
In Georgia, the prevailing sentiment is indicated by the following.
The Atlanta New Era says: —
"We freely accept the Sherman platform as the only means whereby
to rescue the country from total destruction, and if we mistake not, our
backbone will prove sufficiently strong to enable us to look the issue full
in the face, without a shudder. It is our bounden duty, and that of
every other patriot and well-wisher of the South, to at once signify an
unconditional acceptance of the measures perfected by Congress for our
restoration to the Union, and heartily cooperate with the United States
authorities in securing that most desirable end."
The Augusta Press, alluding to the recent meeting of negroes at
Columbia, South Carolina, and the fact that speeches were made by
General Wade Hampton and others, states that —
' ' All good citizens all over the South entertain precisely the same kind
f eelings for the colored people that were exhibited by these eminent Caro
linians, and it is unfortunate that these sentiments are not more widely
manifested in meetings for public counsel with them. 'Representative
men' in every community should be prompt and earnest in signifying
their wish to cooperate with the colored people in the administration of

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR 313
the laws and the preservation of harmony and good will. To this end,
we deem it our duty to urge that in every community public meetings
be held, in which the two races may take friendly counsel together."
In Florida, Hon. S. R. Mallory, a former Democratic United States
Senator, is reported to have said, at a large meeting composed of whites
and blacks, in Pensacola, that —
"The recent legislation of Congress ought to be submitted to in good
faith; that, as the negro was now entitled to vote, it was the interest of
the State that he should be educated and enlightened, and made to com
prehend the priceless value of the ballot, and the importance to himself
and to the State of its judicious use.
"Let us fully and frankly acknowledge, as well by deeds as by words,
their equality with us, before the law, and regard it as no less just to
ourselves and them than to our State and her best interests to aid in their
education, elevation, and enjoyment of all the rights which follow their
new condition."
Governor Patton, of Alabama, says: —
"It seems to me that it is the true feeling of the Southern people to
contribute their best influence in favor of an early organization of their
respective States, in accordance with the requirements of the recent
Reconstruction Act. Congress claims the right to control this whole
question. In my humble judgment, it is unwise to contend longer against
its power, or to struggle further against its repeatedly expressed will.
"The freedmen are now to vote the first time. We should cherish
against them no ill-feeling. The elective franchise is conferred upon
them; let them exercise it freely, and in their own way. No effort should
be made to control their votes, except such as may tend to enable them
to vote intelligently, and such as may be necessary to protect them
against mischievous influences to which, from their want of intelligence,
they may possibly be subjected. Above all things, we should discourage
everything which may tend to generate antagonism between white and
colored voters."
In Mississippi, Albert G. Brown, a former Democratic United States
Senator, and a Rebel, says: —
"To those who think it most becoming men in my situation to keep
quiet, I am free to say ' that is very much my own opinion.' As I speak
reluctantly, you will not be surprised if I say as little as possible.
"The negro is a fixture in this country. He is not going out of it; he
is not going to die out, and he is not going to be driven out. Nor is his
exodus from the country desirable. I am frank in saying if they, every
one of them, could be packed in a balloon, carried over the water, and
emptied into Africa, I would not have it done, unless, indeed, it were
already arranged that the balloon should return by the way of Germany,
Ireland, Scotland, etc., and bring us a return cargo of white laborers.
If the negro is to stay here, and it is desirable to have him do so, what

314 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
is the duty of the intelligent white man toward him? Why, to educate
him, admit him, when sufficiently instructed, to the right of voting, and
as rapidly as possible prepare him for a safe and rational enjoyment
of that 'equality before the law' which, as a free man, he has a right
to claim, and which we cannot long refuse to give."
The Mississippi Index says : —
"There are some laws on our statute-book respecting negroes that are
of no practical use, and will have to be done away with some day. The
sooner we dispense with them the better. But in the matter of educating
the negro we can accomplish more toward convincing the people of the
North that we have been misrepresented and slandered than by legisla
tive action. Let us take the work of education out of the hands of the
Yankees among us. We can do this by encouraging the establishment
of negro schools and placing them in the charge of men and women
whom we know to be competent and trustworthy."
In Louisiana, General Longstreet, one of the most distinguished of the
Rebel generals, says : —
"The striking feature, and the one that our people should keep in
view, is that we are a conquered people. Recognizing this fact fairly and
squarely, there is but one course left for wise men to pursue — accept
the terms that are offered us by the conquerors. There can be no dis
credit to a conquered people for accepting the conditions offered by
their conquerors. Nor is that any occasion for a feeling of humiliation.
We have made an honest, and I hope that I may say, a creditable fight,
but we have lost. Let us come forward, then, and accept the ends in
volved in the struggle.
" Our people earnestly desire that the constitutional Government shall
be reestablished , and the only means to accomplish this is to comply with
the requirements of the recent congressional legislation.
"The military bill and amendments are peace offerings. We should
accept them as such, and place ourselves upon them as the starting-
point from which to meet future political issues as they arise.
" Like other Southern men, I naturally sought alliance with the Demo
cratic party, merely because it was opposed to the Republican party.
But, as far as I can judge, there is nothing tangible about it, except the
issues that were staked upon the war and lost. Finding nothing to take
hold of except prejudice, which can not be worked into good for any one,
it is proper and right that I should seek some standpoint from which
good may be done."
Quotations like these from prominent Democratic politicians, from
Rebel soldiers, and from influential Rebel newspapers, might be multi
plied indefinitely. Enough have been given to show how completely and
how exactly the Reconstruction Acts have met the evil to be remedied
in the South. My friend, Mr. Hassaurek, in his admirable speech at
Columbus, did not estimate too highly the fruits of these measures.
Said he: —

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR 315
"And, sir, this remedy at once effected the desired cure. The poor
contraband is no longer the persecuted outlaw whom incurable Rebels
might kick and kill with impunity; but he at once became 'our colored
fellow citizen,' in whose well-being his former master takes the liveliest
interest. Thus, by bringing the negro under the American system, we
have completed his emancipation. He has ceased to be a pariah. From
an outcast he has been transformed into a human being, invested with
the great national attribute of self-protection, and the reestablishment
of peace, and order, and security, the revival of business and trade, and
the restoration of the Southern States on the basis of loyalty and equal
justice to all, will be the happy results of this astonishing metamorpho
sis, provided the party which has inaugurated this policy remains in
power to carry it out."
The peace Democracy generally throughout the North oppose this
measure. In Ohio they oppose it especially because it commits the peo
ple of the nation in favor of manhood suffrage. They tell us that if it is
wise and just to entrust the ballot to colored men in the District of
Columbia, in the Territories, and in the Rebel States, it is also just and
wise that they should have it in Ohio and in the other States of the
North. Union men do not question this reasoning, but if it is urged as an
objection to the plan of Congress, we reply: "There are now within the
limits of the United States about five millions of colored people. They
are not aliens or strangers. They are here not by the choice of themselves
or of their ancestors. They are here by the misfortune of their fathers
and the crime of ours. Their labor, privations, and sufferings, unpaid and
unrequited, have cleared and redeemed one third of the inhabited terri
tory of the Union. Their toil has added to the resources and wealth of
the nation untold millions. Whether we prefer it or not, they are our
countrymen, and will remain so forever."
They are more than countrymen — they are citizens. Free colored
people were citizens of the Colonies. The Constitution of the United
States, formed by our fathers, created no disabilities on account of color.
By the acts of our fathers and of ourselves, they bear equally the bur
dens and are required to discharge the highest duties of citizens. They
are compelled to pay taxes and to bear arms. They fought side by side
with their white countrymen in the great struggle for independence, and
in the recent war for the Union. In the Revolutionary contest, colored
men bore an honorable part, from the Boston massacre, in 1770, to the
surrender of Cornwallis, in 1781. Bancroft says: "Their names may be
read on the pension rolls of the country side by side with those of other
soldiers of the Revolution." In the War of 1812 General Jackson issued
an order complimenting the colored men of his army engaged in the
defense of New Orleans. I need not speak of their number or of their
services in the War of the Rebellion. The nation enrolled and accepted
them among her defendants to the number of about two hundred
thousand, and in the new Regular Army Act, passed at the close of the

316 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Rebellion, by the votes of Democrats and Union men alike, in the Sen
ate and in the House, and by the assent of the President, regiments of
colored men, cavalry and infantry, form part of the standing army
of the Republic.
In the navy, colored American sailors have fought side by side with
white men from the days of Paul Jones to the victory of the Kearsarge
over the Rebel pirate Alabama. Colored men will, in the future as in the
past, in all times of national peril, be our fellow soldiers. Taxpayers,
countrymen, fellow citizens, and fellow soldiers, the colored men of
America have been and will be. It is now too late for the adversaries of
nationality and human rights to undertake to deprive these taxpayers,
freemen, citizens, and soldiers of the right to vote.
Slaves were never voters. It was bad enough that our fathers, for the
sake of Union, were compelled to allow masters to reckon three fifths
of their slaves for representation, without adding slave suffrage to the
other privileges of the slaveholder. But free colored men were always
voters in many of the Colonies, and in several of the States, North and
South, after independence was achieved. They voted for members of
the Congress which declared independence, and for members of every
Congress prior to the adoption of the Federal Constitution; for the mem
bers of the convention which framed the Constitution; for the members
of many of the state conventions which ratified it, and for every Presi
dent from Washington to Lincoln.
Our government has been called the white man's government. Not
so. It is not the government of any class, or sect, or nationality, or race.
It is a government founded on the consent of the governed, and Mr.
Broomall, of Pennsylvania, therefore properly calls it "the government
of the governed." It is not the government of the native-born, or of the
foreign-born, of the rich man, or of the poor man, of the white man, or of
the colored man — it is the government of the freeman. And when
colored men were made citizens, soldiers, and freemen, by our consent
and votes, we were estopped from denying to them the right of suffrage.
General Sherman was right when he said, in his Atlanta letter, of
1864: "If you admit the negro to this struggle for any purpose, he has a
right to stay in for all; and, when the fight is over, the hand that drops
the musket cannot be denied the ballot."
Even our adversaries are compelled to admit the Jeffersonian rule,
that "the man who pays taxes and who fights for the country is entitled
to vote."
Mr. Pendleton, in his speech against the enlistment of colored soldiers,
gave up the whole controversy. He said: "Gentlemen tell us that these
colored men are ready, with their strong arms and their brave hearts, to
maintain the supremacy of the Constitution, and to defend the integ
rity of the Union, which in our hands to-day is in peril. What is that
Constitution? It provides that every child of the Republic, every citizen
of the land is before the law the equal of every other. It provides for all
of them trial by jury, free speech, free press, entire protection for life and

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR 317
liberty and property. It goes further. It secures to every citizen the
right of suffrage, the right to hold office, the right to aspire to every office
or agency by which the Government is carried on. Every man called
upon to do military duty, every man required to take up arms in its
defense, is by its provisions entitled to vote, and a competent aspirant
for every office in the Government."
The truth is, impartial manhood suffrage is already practically de
cided. It is now merely a question of time. In the eleven Rebel States,
in five of the New England States, and in a number of the Northwestern
States, there is no organized party able to successfully oppose impartial
suffrage. The Democratic party of more than half of the States are
ready to concede its justice and expediency.
The Boston Post, the able organ of the New England Democracy,
says: —
" Color ought to have no more to do with the matter [voting] than
size. Only establish a right standard, and then apply it impartially. A
rule of that sort is too firmly fixed in justice and equality to be shaken.
It commends itself too clearly to the good sentiment of the entire body
of our countrymen to be successfully traversed by objections. Once let
this principle be fairly presented to the people of the several States, with
the knowledge on their part that they alone are to have the disposal and
settlement of it, and we sincerely believe it would not be long before it
would be adopted by every State in the Union."
The New York World, the ablest Democratic newspaper in the
Union, says: —
"Democrats in the North, as well as the South, should be fully alive
to the importance of the new element thrust into the politics of the
country. We suppose it to be morally certain that the new constitution
of the State of New York, to be framed this year, will confer the elective
franchise upon all adult male negroes. We have no faith in the success
of any efforts to shut the negro element out of politics. It is the part of
wisdom frankly to accept the situation, and get beforehand with the
Radicals in gaining an ascendancy over the negro mind."
The Chicago Times, the influential organ of the Northwestern Democ
racy, says : —
"The word 'white' is not found in any of the original constitutions,
save only that of South Carolina. In every other State negroes, who
possessed the qualifications that were required impartially of all men,
were admitted to vote, and many of that race did vote, in the Southern
as well as in the Northern States. And, moreover, they voted the Demo
cratic ticket, for it was the Democratic party of that day which affirmed
their right in that respect upon an impartial basis with white men. AH
Democrats cannot, even at this day, have forgotten the statement of
General Jackson, that he was supported for the Presidency by negro
voters in the State of Tennessee.
"The doctrine of impartial suffrage is one of the earliest and most
essential doctrines of Democracy. It is the affirmation of the right of

318 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
every man who is made a partaker of the burdens of the State to be rep
resented by his own consent or vote in its government. It is the first
principle upon which all true republican government rests. It is the
basis upon which the liberties of America will be preserved, if they are
preserved at all. The Democratic party must return from its driftings,
and stand again upon the immutable rock of principles."
In Ohio the leaders of the peace Democracy intend to carry on one
more campaign on the old and rotten platform of prejudice against
colored people. They seek in this way to divert attention from the
record they made during the War of the Rebellion. But the great facts
of our recent history are against them. The principles of the fathers,
reason, religion, and the spirit of the age are against them.
The plain and monstrous inconsistency and injustice of excluding one
seventh of our population from all participation in a Government
founded on the consent of the governed in this land of free discussion is
simply impossible. No such absurdity and wrong can be permanent.
Impartial suffrage will carry the day. No low prejudice will long be
able to induce American citizens to deny to a weak people their best
means of self-protection for the unmanly reason that they are weak.
Chief Justice Chase expressed the true sentiment when he said, "The
American nation cannot afford to do the smallest injustice to the
humblest and feeblest of her children."
Much has been said of the antagonism which exists between the
different races of men. But difference of religion, difference of nation
ality, difference of language, and difference of rank and privileges are
quite as fruitful causes of antagonism and war as difference of race. The
bitter strifes between Christians and Jews, between Catholics and
Protestants, between Englishmen and Irishmen, between aristocracy
and the masses are only too familiar. What causes increase and aggra
vate these antagonisms, and what are the measures which diminish and
prevent them, ought to be equally familiar. Under the partial and un
just laws of the nations of the Old World men of one nationality were
allowed to oppress those of another; men of one faith had rights which
were denied to men of a different faith; men of one rank or caste enjoyed
special privileges which were not granted to men of another. Under
these systems peace was impossible and strife perpetual. But under just
and equal laws in the United States, Jews, Protestants, and Catholics,
Englishmen and Irishmen, the former aristocrat and the masses of the
people, dwell and mingle harmoniously together. The uniform lesson
of history is that unjust and partial laws increase and create antago
nism, while justice and equality are the sure foundation of prosperity
and peace.
Impartial suffrage secures also popular education. Nothing has given
the careful observer of events in the South more gratification than the
progress which is there going on in the establishment of schools. The
colored people, who as slaves were debarred from education, regard the
right to learn as one of the highest privileges of freemen. The ballot

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR 319
gives them the power to secure that privilege. All parties and all public
men in the South agree that, if colored men vote, ample provision must
be made in the reorganization of every State for free schools. The igno
rance of the masses, whites as well as blacks, is one of the most discour
aging features of Southern society. If congressional reconstruction suc
ceeds, there will be free schools for all. The colored people will see that
their children attend them. We need indulge in no fears that the white
people will be left behind. Impartial suffrage, then, means popular
intelligence; it means progress; it means loyalty; it means harmony
between the North and the South, and between the whites and the
colored people.
The Union party believes that the general welfare requires that meas
ures should be adopted which will work great changes in the South.
Our adversaries are accustomed to talk of the Rebellion as an affair
which began when the Rebels attacked Fort Sumter in 1861, and which
ended when Lee surrendered to Grant in 1865. It is true that the
attempt by force of arms to destroy the United States began and ended
during the Administration of Mr. Lincoln. But the causes, the princi
ples, and the motives which produced the Rebellion are of an older date
than the generation which suffered from the fruit they bore, and their
influence and power are likely to last long after that generation passes
away. Ever since armed rebellion failed, a large party in the South have
struggled to make participation in the Rebellion honorable and loyalty
to the Union dishonorable. The lost cause with them is the honored
cause. In society, in business, and in politics, devotion to treason is the
test of merit, the passport to preferment. They wish to return to the
old state of things — an oligarchy of race and the sovereignty of States.
To defeat this purpose, to secure the rights of man, and to perpetuate
the National Union, are the objects of the congressional plan of recon
struction. That plan has the hearty support of the great generals (so far
as their opinions are known) — of Grant, of Thomas, of Sheridan, of
Howard — who led the armies of the Union which conquered the Rebel
lion. The statesmen most trusted by Mr. Lincoln and by the loyal
people of the country during the war also support it. The Supreme
Court of the United States, upon formal application and after solemn
argument, refuse to interfere with its execution. The loyal press of the
country, which did so much in the time of need to uphold the patriot
cause, without exception, are in favor of the plan.
In the South, as we have seen, the lessons of the war and the events
occurring since the war have made converts of thousands of the bravest
and of the ablest of those who opposed the national cause. General
Longstreet, a soldier second to no living corps commander of the Rebel
army, calls it "a peace offering," and advises the South in good faith to
organize under it. Unrepentant Rebels and unconverted peace Demo
crats oppose it, just as they opposed the measures which destroyed
slavery and saved the nation.
Opposition to whatever the nation approves seems to be the pohcy

320 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
of the representative men of the peace Democracy. Defeat and failure
comprise their whole political history. In laboring to overthrow recon
struction they are probably destined to further defeat and further fail
ure. I know not how it may be in other States, but if I am not greatly
mistaken as to the mind of the loyal people of Ohio, they mean to trust
power in the hands of no man who, during the awful struggle for the na
tion's life, proved unfaithful to the cause of liberty and of Union. They
will continue to exclude from the administration of the Government
those who prominently opposed the war, until every question arising
out of the Rebellion relating to the integrity of the nation and to human
rights shall have been firmly settled on the basis of impartial justice.
They mean that the State of Ohio, in this great progress, "whose lead
ing object is to elevate the condition of men, to lift artificial weights
from all shoulders, to clear the paths of laudable pursuits for all, to
afford all an unfettered start and a fair chance in the race of life," shall
tread no step backward.
Penetrated and sustained by a conviction that in this contest the
Union party of Ohio is doing battle for the right, I enter upon my part
of the labors of the canvass with undoubting confidence that the goodness
of the cause will supply the weakness of its advocates, and command in
the result that triumphant success which I believe it deserves.
Mr. Thurman, on the other hand, vigorously defended the
course of the peace Democrats during the war, criticized Mr.
Lincoln, asserted that there was "scarcely a provision of the
Constitution" that had not been "shamelessly and needlessly
trampled under foot" by the Republican Administration in the
conduct of the war, which he averred had been unnecessarily
prolonged for partisan reasons; insisted that the purpose of the
war had been perverted from a contest to save the Union to a
crusade to free the slave and to exalt the negro above the white
man; and argued that the same spirit of defiance of constitutional
rights and limitations which had pervaded the Republican party
during the war was still controlling it in dealing with the problem
of reconstruction — a spirit which if not rebuked would surely
bring the nation to despotism and destruction. Fraught with
dire disaster was the project of negro suffrage.
Other topics were introduced in the campaign — the burden of
taxation, the danger and cost of a large standing army, the state
of the finances, the manner of paying the public debt (the green
back heresy beginning to make its appearance). But all these
questions General Hayes contended — and rightly — were of
secondary importance, even where the parties differed in their

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR 321
views — as in many cases they did not — in regard to them. The
question at this juncture of paramount importance was the com
plete rehabilitation of the Union on such terms as would guar
antee its integrity in the future; as would establish it on enduring
bases of right and justice; as would prevent the possibility of any
new revival of the heresy of the right of secession. This para
mount end could be attained, he argued, only by supporting the
plan and policy of Congress, representing the party that had suc
cessfully reduced the Rebellion, and not by turning now to the
party which in its obstinate adherence to the extreme States'
rights doctrine and its insistence on a narrow and literal con
stitutionalism demanded the instant and unconditioned res
toration of the Rebel States to full and equal relations in the
Union. These points were forcibly presented in a speech by Mr. Hayes
at Sidney on September 4, in the course of which he said: —
All of the side issues presented are merely urged on the people to
withdraw their minds from the great main issue which ought to engage
the attention of the American nation. What is that great issue? It is
reconstruction. That is the main question before us, and until it is set
tled, and settled rightly, all other issues sink into insignificance in com
parison with it. Fortunately for the Union party of Ohio, events are
occurring every day at Washington which tend more and more clearly
to define the exact question before the people, showing that the main
question is whether the Union shall be reconstructed in the interests of
the Rebellion or in the interests of loyalty and Union; whether that
reconstruction shall be carried on by men who, during the war, were in
favor of the war and against the Rebellion, or by men who in the North
were against the war, and who in the South carried on the Rebellion.
On one side of this question we see Andrew Johnson, Judge Black, and
the other leaders of the peace party of the North and the unrepentant
Rebels of the South; and on the other side is the great War Secretary,
Stanton, with General Grant, General Sheridan, General Thomas, Gen
eral Howard, and the other Union commanders engaged in carrying out
the Reconstruction Acts of Congress. This presents clearly enough the
question before the people. General Grant, in one paragraph of his letter
to the President, said to him: —
"General Sheridan has performed his civil duties faithfully and intel
ligently. His removal will only be regarded as an effort to defeat the
laws of Congress. It will be interpreted by the unreconstructed element
in the South — those who did all they could to break up this Govern
ment by arms, and now wish to be the only element consulted as to the
method of restoring order — as a triumph. It will embolden them to

322 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
renewed opposition to the will of the loyal masses, believing that they
have the Executive with them."
This presents exactly the question before the people. We want the
loyal people of the country, the victors in the great struggle we have
passed through, to do the work; we want reconstruction upon such
principles, and by means of such measures that the causes which made
reconstruction necessary shall not exist in the reconstructed Union; we
want that foolish notion of States' rights, which teaches that the State is
superior to the nation — that there is a state sovereignty which com
mands the allegiance of every citizen higher than the sovereignty of the
nation — we want that notion left out of the reconstructed Union; we
want it understood that whatever doubts may have existed prior to the
war as to the relation of the State to the National Government, that now
the National Government is supreme, anything in the constitution or
laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. Again, as one of the
causes of the Rebellion, we want slavery left out, not merely in name but
in fact, and forever; we want the last vestige, the last relic of that insti
tution, rooted out of the laws and institutions of every State; we want
that in the South there shall be no more suppression of free discussion.
I notice that in the long speech of my friend, Judge Thurman, he says
that for nearly fifty years, throughout the length and breadth of the
land, freedom of speech and of the press was never interfered with,
either by the Government or the people. For more than thirty years,
fellow citizens, there has been no such thing as free discussion in the
South. Those moderate speeches of Abraham Lincoln on the subject of
slavery — not one of them — could have been delivered, without en
dangering his life, south of Mason and Dixon's line. We want in the
reconstructed Union that there shall be the same freedom of the press
and freedom of speech in the States of the South that there always has
been in the States of the North. Again, we want the reconstructed
Union upon such principles that the men of the South who, during the
war, were loyal and true to the Government, shall be protected in life,
liberty, and property, and in the exercise of their political rights. It
becomes the solemn duty of the loyal victors in the great struggle to see
that the men who, in the midst of difficulties, discouragements, and
dangers in the South were true, are protected in these rights. And, in
order that our reconstruction shall be carried out faithfully and accom
plish these objects, we further want that the work shall be in the hands
of the right men.
Andrew Johnson, in the days when he was loyal, said the work of
reconstruction ought to be placed absolutely in the hands of the loyal
men of the State; that Rebels, and particularly leading Rebels, ought not
to participate in that work; that while that work is going on they must
take back seats. We want that understood in our work of reconstruction.
How important it is to have the right men in charge of this work appears
upon the most cursory examination of what has already been done.
President Lincoln administered the same laws substantially, — was

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR 323
sworn to support the same Constitution with Andrew Johnson, — yet
how different the reconstruction as carried out by these two men! Lin
coln's reconstruction in all the States which he undertook to reorganize
gave to those States loyal Governments, loyal Governors, loyal Legis
latures, judges, and officers of the law. Andrew Johnson, administering
the same Constitution and the same laws, reconstructs a number of
States, and in all of them leading Rebels are elected Governors, leading
Rebels are members of the Legislature, and leading Rebels are sent to
Congress. It makes, then, the greatest difference to the people of this
country who it is that does the work.
This, my friends, brings me to a proposition to which I call the atten
tion of every audience that I have occasion to address, and that is this,
that until the work of reconstruction is complete, until every question
arising out of the Rebellion relating to the integrity of the nation and to
human rights has been settled, and settled rightly, no man ought to be
trusted with power in this country, who, during the struggle for the na
tion's life, was unfaithful to Union and liberty. That is the proposition
upon which I go before the people of Ohio. At the beginning of the can
vass, as I have said, the gentlemen who are engaged in advocating the
claims of the peace party of Ohio did not desire to have this record dis
cussed. I am happy to know by this long Wapakoneta speech of Judge
Thurman that at last they have found it necessary to come to the dis
cussion of the true question. Judge Thurman, in that speech, invites us
to the discussion of it. He says : —
"I give all of them this bold and unequivocal defiance, that there is no
one act of my life, or one sentence ever uttered by me that I am not pre
pared to have investigated by the American people; and I wish them to
stand up to the same rule that I may see what is in their past record,
and see how it tallies with what they say to the American people at the
present time."
He proceeds to do this. He proceeds to examine the record of various
gentlemen connected with the Union party. ... I do not stop now to
discuss the correctness of Judge Thurman's opinions as to the course of
these men prior to the war. It is enough for me to say that the question
I make — the question which the people of Ohio make — is, What was
your conduct after it was found that there was a conspiracy to break up
the Union, after war was upon us, and armies were raised — what was
your conduct then? That is the question before the people. And I ask
of an intelligent audience, What was the duty of a good citizen after
that war for the destruction of the Government and the Union had
begun? Need I ask any old Jackson Democrat what is his duty when the
Union is at stake? In 1806, Aaron Burr proposed this matter to Andrew
Jackson, of making a new confederacy in the Southwest. Jackson said'
"I hate the Dons, and I would like to see Mexico dismembered; but
before I would see one State of this Union severed from the rest, I would
die in the last ditch." That was Jackson's Democracy.
Douglas said : " This is no time for delay. The existence of a conspiracy

324 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
is now known; armies are raised to accomplish it. There can be but two
sides to the question. A man must be either for the United States or
against the United States. There can be no neutrals in this war — only
patriots and traitors." There is the Douglas doctrine.
But I need not go back to Jackson and Douglas. I have the opinions
of the very gentlemen who now lead the peace party on this subject. Let
me read you a resolution, introduced and passed through a Democratic
convention, in 1848, by Clement L. Vallandigham: —
"Resolved, That whatever opinions might have been entertained of
the origin, necessity, or justice, by the Tories of the Revolutionary
War, by the Federalists of the late war with England, or by the Whigs
and Abolitionists of the present war with Mexico, the fact of their coun
try being engaged in such a war ought to have been sufficient for them,
and to have precluded debate on that subject till a successful termina
tion of the war, and that in the meantime the patriot could have experi
enced no difficulty in recognizing his place on the side of his country,
and could never have been induced to yield either physical or moral aid
to the enemy."
I will quote also from Judge Thurman himself. In a speech lecturing
one of his colleagues, who thought the Mexican War was unnecessary,
he says: —
"It is a strange way to support one's country, right or wrong, to
declare after war has begun, when it exists both in law and in fact, that
the war is aggressive, unholy, unrighteous, and damnable on the part of
the Government of that country, and on that Government rests its
responsibility and its wrongfulness. It is a strange way to support one's
country, right or wrong, in a war, to tax one's imagination to the utmost
to depict the disastrous consequences of the contest; to dwell on what
it has already cost and what it will cost in future; to depict her troops
prostrated by disease and dying with pestilence; in a word, to destroy,
as far as possible, the moral force of the Government in the struggle, and
hold it up to its own people and the world as the aggressor that merits
their condemnation. It was for this that I arraigned my colleague, and
that I intend to arraign him. It was because his remarks, as far as they
could have any influence, were evidently calculated to depress the spirits
of his own countrymen, to lessen the moral force of his own Government,
and to inspire with confidence and hope the enemies of his country."
He goes on further to say : —
"What a singular mode it was of supporting her in a war to bring
against the war nearly all the charges that were brought by the peace
party Federalists against the last war; to denounce it as an unrighteous,
unholy, and damnable war; to hold up our Government to the eyes of
the world as the aggressor in the conflict; to charge it with motives of
conquest and aggrandizement; to parade and portray in the darkest col
ors all the horrors of war; to dwell upon its cost and depict its calami
ties." Now, that was the doctrine of Judge Thurman as to the duties of

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR 325
citizens in time of war — in time of such a war as the Mexican War even,
in which no vital interest of the country could by possibility suffer. . . .
I propose to hold Judge Thurman to no severe rule of accountability for
his conduct during the war. I merely ask that it shall be judged by his
own rule: "Your country is engaged in war, and it is the duty of every
citizen to say nothing and do nothing which shall depress the spirits of
his own countrymen, nothing that shall encourage the enemies of his
country, or give them moral aid or comfort." That is the rule. Now,
Judge Thurman, how does your conduct square with it? I do not pro
pose to begin at the beginning of the war, or even just before the war,
to cite the record of Judge Thurman. I am willing to say that perhaps
men might have been mistaken at that time. They might have supposed
in the beginning a conciliatory policy, a non-coercive policy, would in
some way avoid the threatened struggle. But I'ask you to approach the
period when the war was going on, when armies to the number of hun
dreds of thousands of men were ready on one side and the other, and
when the whole world knew what was the nature of the great struggle
going on in America.
Taking the beginning of 1863, how stands the conflict? We have
pressed the Rebellion out of Kentucky and through Tennessee. Grant
stands before Vicksburg, held at bay by the army of Pemberton; Rose
crans, after the capture of Nashville, has pressed forward to Murfrees-
boro, but is still held out of east Tennessee by the army of Bragg. The
Army of the Potomac and the army of Lee, in Virginia, are balanced,
the one against the other. The whole world knows that that exhausting
struggle cannot last long without deciding in favor of one side or the
other. . . . There is not a friend of freedom in aU Europe who does not
know that Lincoln and the loyal army are fighting in the cause of free
government for all the world. Now, in that contest, where are you,
Judge Thurman? It is a time when we need men and money, when we
need to have our people inspired with hope and confidence. Your sons
and brothers are in the field. Their success depends upon your conduct
at home. . . .
Well, sir, in the beginning of that eventful year, there rises in Con
gress the ablest member of the peace party, to advise Congress and to
advise the people, and what does he say? "You have not conquered the
South. You never will. It is not in the nature of things possible, espe
cially under your auspices. Money you have expended without limit;
blood you have poured out like water."
Now, mark the taunt — the words of discouragement that were sent
to the people and to the army of the Union: "Defeat, debt, taxation,
sepulchres — these are your trophies. Can you get men to enlist now at
any price?"
Listen again to the words that were sent to the army and to the loyal
people: "Ah, sir, it is easier to die at home."
We knew that, Judge Thurman, better than Mr. Vallandigham knew
it. We had seen our comrades falling and dying alone on the mountain-

326 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
side and in the swamps — dying in the prison-pens of the Confederacy
and in the crowded hospitals, North and South. Yet he had the face to
stand up in Congress, and say to the people and the world, "Ah, sir, it is
easier to die at home." Judge Thurman, where are you at this time? He
goes to Columbus to the state convention, on the 11th of June of that
year, as a delegate, as committeeman, and as an orator, and he spends
that whole summer in advocating the election of the man who taunted
us with the words, "Defeat, debt, taxation, sepulchres — these are your
trophies." In every canvass you know there is a keynote. What was the keynote
of that canvass? Who sounded it? It came over to us from Canada.
On the 15th of July, 1863, Mr. Vallandigham wrote, accepting the nom
ination of that convention of Judge Thurman's. He said, in his letter: —
"If this civil war is to terminate only by the subjugation or submis
sion of the South to force and arms, the infant of to-day will not live to
see the end of it. No; in another way only can it be brought to a close.
Travelling a thousand miles and more, through nearly half of the Con
federate States, and sojourning for a time at widely different points, I
met not one man, woman, or child who was not resolved to perish, rather
than yield to the pressure of arms, even in the most desperate extremity.
And whatever may and must be the varying fortune of the war, in all of
which I recognize the hand of Providence pointing visibly to the ulti
mate issue of this great trial of the States and people of America, they are
better prepared now, every way, to make good their inexorable purpose
than at any period since the beginning of the struggle."
That was the keynote of the campaign. It was the platform of the
candidate in behalf of whom Judge Thurman went through the State of
Ohio — all over the State — in July, August, and September, up to the
night of the 12th of October, making his last speech just twenty-four
hours before the glad news went out to all the world, over the wires, that
the people of Ohio had elected John Brough by over one hundred thou
sand majority, in preference to the author of the sentiment, "Defeat,
debt, taxation, sepulchres."
This, my friends, is a part of that record which we are invited to
examine by my friend Judge Thurman. I ask you to apply to it the
principle that whoever, during the great struggle, was unfaithful to the
cause of the country is not to be trusted to be one of the men to harvest
and secure the legitimate fruits of the victory, which the Union people
and the Union army won during the Rebellion. . . . When ought we to
stop talking about that record, when leading men come before the peo
ple? Certainly not until every question arising out of the Rebellion, and
every question which is akin to the questions which made the Rebellion,
is settled. Perhaps these men will be remembered long after these ques
tions are settled; perhaps their conduct will long be remembered. What
was the result of this advice to the people? It prolonged the war; it
made it impossible to get recruits; it made it necessary that we should

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR 327
have drafts. They opposed the drafts, and that made rioting, which
required that troops should be called from all the armies in the field, to
preserve the peace at home. From forty to a hundred thousand men in
the different States of this Union were kept within the loyal States to
preserve the peace at home. And now, when they talk to you about the
debt and about the burden; of taxation, remember how it happened that
the war was so prolonged, that it was so expensive, and that the debt
grew to such large proportions.
There are other things, too, to be remembered. I recollect that at the
close of the last session of Congress, I went over to Arlington, the estate
formerly of Robert E. Lee, and I saw there the great National Cemetery
into which that beautiful place has been converted. I saw the graves
of eighteen thousand Union soldiers, marked with white headboards,
denoting the name of each occupant, and his regiment and company.
Passing over those broad acres, covered with the graves of the loyal men
who had died in defense of their country, I came upon that which was
even more touching than these eighteen thousand headboards. I found a
large granite, with this inscription upon it: —
"Beneath this stone repose the remains of two thousand one hundred
and eleven unknown soldiers, gathered, after the war, from the field of
Bull Run and the route to the Rappahannock. Their remains could not
be identified, but their names and deaths are recorded in the archives of
their country, and its grateful citizens honor them as of their noble army
of martyrs. May they rest in peace. September, 1866."
I say to those men who were instrumental and prominent in prolong
ing the war, by opposing it, that when honeyed words and soft phrases
can erase from the enduring granite inscriptions like these, the Ameri
can people may forget their conduct; but I believe they will not do so
until some such miracle is accomplished.
The contest was strenuously conducted from the day it was
opened until the polls closed in October. Both candidates visited
every quarter of the State and spoke daily, sometimes, indeed,
three or four times in a single day. Each was assisted by the
ablest speakers of his party in the State, and many brilliant
orators came from other States to add their eloquence to the
great debate. The whole country was interested because the
contest was on national lines, and Ohio's verdict on negro suffrage
would be significant of the opinion of the North on this absorb
ing question. Mr. Hayes was by no means sanguine of the result,
but he did not shirk discussion of any pertinent topic, nor allow
himself to be carried away into bitterness of denunciation of
his opponent or to forget the amenities of dignified and decent
debate — as did some of the orators who participated in the

328 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
canvass. The Sunday before the election (October 6) he wrote
this letter from Cincinnati to his uncle: —
My last speech of any consequence was made Friday night; one of the
best I have made, and particularly with the best voice. It was rather
queer. Governor Morton made a noble speech, but could not be heard
by half his audience. I reached them all more easily than ever before.
It looks well here. We shall elect our county ticket and do well for the
Amendment. But the Cary 1 affair is very much mixed. I shall not be
surprised at any result. It has been badly managed — very.
I sent my card to Judge Thurman when he was here. He was not in
hisroom. He afterwards sent me a note which I prize. He says: "What
ever the result, it is a great satisfaction to know that you and I have
behaved like gentlemen and friends."
' The result of the election was gratifying and disappointing
alike to both parties. While Mr. Hayes and the rest of the
Union state ticket were elected by a narrow margin (Mr. Hayes,
who ran slightly ahead of the ticket, receiving a majority of 2983
in a total vote of 484,603), the Legislature, on which the election
of a successor to Senator Wade would depend, was Democratic
on joint ballot by eight votes,2 and the suffrage amendment was
rejected by a decisive majority. The election was so close that at
first the Democrats were believed to have won a sweeping vic
tory. The day after the election (October 9) Mr. Hayes wrote to
his uncle: —
You need not be told how much the result of the election disappoints
me. You know I will bear it cheerfully and with philosophy. It is, how
ever, a puzzling thing to decide now what is next to be done. Assuming
that I am beaten, which I do not doubt, I must choose my path anew.
I will see you and talk it all over soon. No man in my place would prob
ably have done differently — but the thing is over and now for a sensible
future. I feel sorry for the boys — especially Birch. I hope your health
is good and that you will borrow no trouble on account of this.
Mr. Hayes was inaugurated as Governor, January 13, 1868,
when he made an address to the two houses of the Legisla
ture. The retiring Governor, General Cox, whose administra
tion he complimented, had already in his message set before the
1 S. F. Cary, Labor candidate for Congress against Richard Smith, in the
Second District, to fill the vacancy caused by Mr. Hayes's resignation.
2 The Legislature elected Mr. Thurman, though throughout the campaign it
had been assumed and expected that in case the Legislature should be Demo
cratic, Mr. Vallandigham would be chosen.

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR 329
Legislature the present condition and needs of the State. It was
unnecessary, therefore, for him to go over that ground. Fortu
nately many questions that had long been subjects of command
ing mterest, relating to the state indebtedness and to internal
improvements, had been solved or had been transferred to na
tional consideration. "State taxation," he said, "was formerly
the occasion of violent party contests. Now men of all parties
concur in the opinion that, as a general rule, everyjntizen ought
to be taxed~in proportion to the actual value of his property,
without. regard to the form in which he prefers to invest it; and
differences as to the measures by which the principle is practically
applied rarely enter into political struggles in Ohio."
There was no need in his opinion of much legislation. "Exces- •
sive legislation," hejjeclaxed.j^ and this was a thought to which
he more than once_recurred in later years, — " has become, a great
evil, and I submit to the ju(l^ment_of^e_Ge^neral^sjemJbly the
wisdom of avoiding^it." But there was one topic on which he
dwelt with especial emphasis, — the status of the negro in the
State and the nation, — led to such expression because of the
failure at the election of the Ohio constitutional amendment and
because of the action already undertaken by the dominant party
in the Legislature to rescind Ohio's approval of the Fourteenth
Amendment. Mr. Hayes's words were: —
r One important question of principle as old as our State Government
still remains unsettled. All are familiar with the conflicts to which the
policy of making distinctions between citizens in civil and political rights
has given rise in Ohio. The first effort of those who opposed this pohcy
was to secure to all citizens equality of jciyi.1 rights. Theiresult of the
struggle that ensued is thus given by an eminent and honored citizen of
our State: "The laws which created disabilities on the part of negroes
in respect of civil rights were repealed in the year 1849, after an obstinate
contest, quite memorable in the history of the State. Their repeal was
looked upon with great disfavor by a large portion of the people as a
dangerous innovation upon a just and well-settled policy, and a vote in
that direction consigned many members of the Legislature to the repose
of private life. But I am not aware that any evil results justified these
apprehensions, or that any effort was ever made to impose the disabili
ties. On the contrary, the new policy, if I may call it so, has been
found so consistent with justice to the negroes and the interests of the
whites that no one — certainly no party — in Ohio, would be willing to
abandon it."

330 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
An effort to secure to all citizens equal political rights was made in the
State Constitutional Convention of 1851. Only thirteen out of one hun
dred and eight members in that body voted in its favor; and it is prob
able that less than one tenth of the voters of the State would then have
voted to strike the word "white" out of the constitution.
The last General Assembly submitted to the people a proposition to
amend the state constitution so as to abolish distinctions in political
rights based upon color. The proposition contained several clauses not
pertinent to its main purpose, under which, if adopted, it was believed
by many that the number of white citizens who would be disfranchised
would be much greater than the number of colored citizens who would
be allowed the right of suffrage. Notwithstanding the proposition was
thus hampered, it received 216,987 votes, or nearly forty-five per cent of
all the votes cast in the State. Thjsresult shows^gr^tjijogress in public
sentiment since thejidoptiop . qi the constitutionjof 1851,and inspires
the friends of equal political rights with a confident hope thatni 1871,
when the opportunity is given to the people, by the provisions of the
constitution, to call a constitutional convention, the organic law of the
State will be^so amended^ as^to jecur^jn„jQhjo^jtojliL^ie_gaverned an
equalvoice in the Government.
But whatever reasonable doubts may be entertained as to the prob
able action of the people of Ohio on the question of an extension of the
right of suffrage when a new state constitution shall be formed, Isub-
mit with confidence : that nothing j?J;S occurred whiAy/^rantsJhe opin
ion that the ratification by the last General Assembly qfJJje_Fourteenth
Amendment of the Constitution.pl 'Jhe United StaJ^sjyasjjoihi.accord-
ance with the deliberate and settled con victions^ofj&ejpjsople. That
amendment was, after the amplest discussion upon an issue distinctly
presented, sanctioned by a large majority of the people. If any fact exists
which justifies the belief that they now wish that the resolution should
be repealed, by which the assent of Ohio was given to that important
amendment, it has not been brought to the attention of the public.
Omitting all reference to other valuable provisions, it may be safely
said that the section which secures among all the States of the Union
equal representation in the House of Representatives and in the Elec
toral Colleges in proportion to the voting population, is deemed of vital
importance by the people of Ohio. Without now raising the grave
question as to the right of a State to withdraw its assent, which has been
constitutionally given to a proposed amendment of the Federal Con
stitution, I respectfully suggest that the attempt which is now making
to withdraw the assent of Ohio to the Fourteenth Amendment to the
Federal Constitution be postponed until the people shall again have an
opportunity to give expression to their will. In my judgment, Ohio will
never consent that the whites of the South, a large majority of whom
were lately in rebellion, shall exercise in the Government of the nation
as much political power, man for man, as the same number of white
citizens of Ohio, and be allowed in addition thereto thirty members of

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR 331
Congress and of the Electoral Colleges, for colored people deprived of
every political privilege.
But in spite of Mr. Hayes's advice the Legislature promptly
attempted to rescind the vote of the preceding Legislature ap
proving the Fourteenth Amendment. Its action was duly certi
fied to Congress and the Secretary of State, but was regarded by
the federal authorities as nugatory. Indeed, at this session the
Legislature devoted a large share of its attention to purely parti
san efforts, especially to measures to prevent the voting of men
with a "visible admixture of African blood." As the Governor
of Ohio at that time possessed no veto power, Mr. Hayes was
powerless even to check for reconsideration any measure that
the small Democratic majority enacted.
Mr. Hayes took an active part in the national campaign of
1868, making many speeches in behalf of the election of General
Grant. Immediately after the nomination of Horatio Seymour
by the Democrats he wrote in his diary (July 9, 1868) : —
Horatio Seymour nominated because
(1) He was more distinctly and decidedly committed against the
greenback theory of Mr. Pendleton and the Western Democracy than
any other man before the convention;
(2) He was by record more completely identified with the peace party
than any man except Mr. Pendleton ;
(3) He is for a reconstruction of the South which will be agreeable
to the Rebels, and opposes the reconstruction which gives safety and
power to the loyal.
In his speeches he made the most of Seymour's record during
the war — his words and his acts, which, indeed, were not always
consistently those of the avowed peace Democrat. "He fre
quently said things and several times did things which looked as
if he meant to abandon the peace party and support the cause
of his country. For this he was applauded, complimented, and
flattered by the loyal press and by Stanton and other members
of Lincoln's Administration. They hoped he would follow Dix,
Dickinson, Griswold, and other New York war Democrats. And
what they said is now paraded as the best claim of Mr. Seymour
to the confidence of the country." But Mr. Hayes argued, from
a review of Mr. Seymour's whole record during the period of
the war, that such manifestations were the exception and not the

332 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
rule of his course of conduct; and that, judged by all the facts
of his public acts and utterances, he was — especially as com
pared with General Grant whose great services to the Union
cause needed no comment — unfit to be trusted at such a
juncture with the chief magistracy of the nation.
It was not till the session of the Legislature in November,
1868, that Governor Hayes had his first opportunity to address
the Legislature officially on the interests of the State. His mes
sage on this occasion presented in brief and condensed form the
financial condition of the State and pointed out the subjects
demanding immediate attention with businesslike directness.
The recommendations specially urged were, first, that provision
be made for a "comprehensive geological survey of the State,"
and, second, that legislation be undertaken better to protect the
purity of the ballot. On the latter subject Mr. Hayes said: —
The most important subject of legislation which, in my judgment,
requires the attention of the General Assembly at its present session,
relates to the prevention of frauds upon the elective franchise. Intelli-
gent men of all parties are persuaded that at the recent important state
and national elections great abuses of the right of suffrage were prac
tised. I am not prepared to admit that the reports commonly circulated
and believed in regard to such abuses woujg^so far as t.h<* elections in
Ohio are^concernedj^bejully sustained by a thorpugli inyestig"*1'"" of
the facts. But it is not doubted that even at the elections in our own
State frauds were perpetrated .to_such_an extent that aJl flood, citizens
earnestly desire that effective measures may be adonted bv vou to
prevent their^repetitipn. No elaborate attempt to portray the conse
quences of this evil is required. If it is allowed to increase, the confi-
de5cej^tijej3eogle_in the purity of elections wil} be lost ajtd the exercise
of the^right qf^suff rage will be neglected. To corrupt the ballot-box is
to destroy our free institutions. Let all good citizens, therefore, unite
in enacting and enforcing laws which will secure honest elections.
I submit to your judgment the propriety of such amendments to the
election laws as will provide, first, for the representation of minorities
in the boards of the_judges and clerks of the elections; and second, for
the_regjstratipn ^f jdl the lawful, yptersjri, each township- ward, and
election precinct, prior to the election. . . .
It is manifestly impossible, amid the hurry and excitement of an
election, that the legal right to vote, of every person who may offer his
baho^hpuicrbjej&nlv^^ The expe
rience of many of the older States has proved that this can best be done
at some period prior to the election, so as to give to every legal voter,
in an election precinct, an opportunity to challenge the claim of any

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR 333
person whose right is deemed questionable. Laws to accomplish this
have been in force in several other States for many years, and have been
carried out successfully and with the general approval of the people.
Beheving that an act providing for the registration of all legal voters is
the most effective remedy yet devised for the prevention of frauds on
the sacred right of suffrage, and that a registry Jaw can be so framed
that it will deprive no citizen, either native-born or naturalized, of his
just rights, I respectfully recommend to your earnest consideration the
propriety of enacting such a law.

CHAPTER XX
SECOND TERM AS GOVERNOR
SO successful and satisfactory was Mr. Hayes's first term as
Governor that there was no opposition to his renomination.
The state convention (June 23, 1869) made him the candidate
by acclamation. It adopted a platform condemning the extrava
gance of the Democratic Legislature, commending the national
Administration, and declaring in favor of the Fifteenth Amend
ment, providing for universal manhood suffrage. The situation,
therefore, was not much different from that which confronted
the parties in 1867, only now it was a national instead of a state
constitutional amendment declaring for negro suffrage that was
at stake. Governor Hayes appeared before the convention and
accepted the renomination in a carefully prepared speech dis
cussing the work of the Democratic Legislature and outlining
the questions demanding the attention of the voters. In this
speech he said : —
Twice since the organization of existing political parties the people
of Ohio have trusted the lawmaking power of the State in the hands of
the Democratic party. They first tried the experiment twelve years
ago, and such were the results that ten years elapsed before they ven
tured upon a repetition of it. Two years ago, in a time of reaction, which
was general throughout the country, the Democratic party, by a major
ity of the popular vote, having large advantages in the apportionment,
obtained complete control of the Legislature in both of its branches.
They came into power, proclaiming that the past ought to be forgotten ;
that old issues and divisions should be laid aside; that new ideas and new
measures required attention; and they were particularly emphatic and
earnest in declaring that the enormous burdens of debt and taxation
under which the people were struggling made retrenchment and econ
omy the supreme duty of the hour.
These were their promises, and the manner in which they were kept
is now before the people for their judgment. Disregarding the well-
known and solemnly expressed will of Ohio, they began the business of
their first session by passing fruitless resolutions to rescind the ratifica
tion of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United
States.

KUTHEKFORD B. HAYES, 1869
While Governor of Ohio, 1868-1872

SECOND TERM AS GOVERNOR 335
They placed on the statute-book visible admixture bills, to depri /e
citizens of the right of suffrage — a constitutional right long enjoyed
and perfectly well settled by repeated decisions of the highest court
having jurisdiction of the question.
They repealed the law allowing, after the usual residence, the disabled
veterans of the Union army to vote in the township in which the Na
tional Soldiers' Home is situated; and enacted a law designed to deprive
of the right of suffrage a large number of young men engaged in acquir
ing an education at "any school, seminary, academy, college, university,
or other institution of learning." To prevent citizens who were deprived
of their constitutional rights by these acts from obtaining prompt relief
in the Supreme Court, they passed a law prohibiting that court from
taking up causes on its docket according to its own judgment of what
was demanded by public justice, in any case "except where the person
seeking relief had been convicted of murder in the first degree, or of a
crime the punishment of which was confinement in the penitentiary."
I believe Jt is the general judgment of the people of. Ohijjjtliak the
passage of these measures., unconstitutional. as gQjne^oJtthem^aKujjnd
unjust as they all are, was mainly due .to.the .fact, tJiat.JJie.„cJasses..of
citizen's disfranchised by themjio not_ commonly vote, with iheJQtemo-
cratic party. The Republican party condemns all such legislation, and
demands its repeal.
On the important subject of suffrage, General Grant, in his inaugural
message, expresses the convictions of the Republican party. He says:
"The question of suffrage is one which is likely to agitate the public so
long as a portion of the citizens of the nation are excluded from its
privileges in any State. It seems to me very desirable that this question
should be settled now, and I entertain the hope and express the desire
that it may be by the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment to the
Constitution." But of all the pledges upon which the Democratic narty obtained
power mthe la£y^slatu"rer the most important, and those in regard
to which the just expectations _of_jtapeopJe^ay^e
disappointed, are their pledges in relation to finanejalafl^ai^^o^expend-
itureTtoTebX'and" to taxation. Upon this subject the people are com-
peTTecTto feel a*very deep interest. The flush times of the war have been
followed by a finMicialjreaction, and f or thelasTthree or fouxvears the
coulvtjyhas been on the verge of a financiaicrisjs^^The^burdensj)! tax-
ation"bear heavifyupon labor and upon capital. The Democratic party,
profuseliTik'e of accusations against.their adversaries, and of. promises
of retrenchment and reform, were clothed with, power to deal wit,h the
heaviest parfol thesTburdens, namely, with the expenditures, debts,
assessments, and taxes which are authorized by .sM&kgislatjon. The
results of their two years of power are now before the people. They are
contained in the 65th and 66th volumes of the Laws of Ohio. Let any
Republican diligently study these volumes, and he will fully comprehend

336 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
the meaning of Job when he said, "Oh, that mine adversary had
written a book." No intelligent man can read carefully these volumes,
and note the number and character of the laws increasing the expenses
and liabilities of the State and authorizing additional debts and addi
tional taxation for city and village, for county and township purposes,
without having the conviction forced upon him that the gentlemen who
enacted these laws hold to the opinion that the way to increase wealth is
to increase taxation, and that public debts are public blessings.
Now it is to be hoped, as to a considerable part of the local debts and
local taxes authorized by the late Democratic Legislature, that the peo
ple will not be burdened with them. It is to be hoped that county com
missioners, city councils, and other local boards, will show greater mod
eration and economy in the exercise of their dangerous and oppressive
powers under the laws than was exhibited in their enactment. But, in
any event, nothing is more certain than that the people of Ohio have
great reason to apprehend that the evil consequences of these laws will
be felt in their swollen tax bills for many years.
It is probable that many of the acts to which I have alluded, creating
additional offices, incurring state liabilities, and authorizing local debts
and taxes, were required by sound policy. But a candid investigation
will show that the larger part of these enormous burdens of expenditure,
debt, and taxation could and ought to have been avoided.
The last Legislature afforded examples of many of the worst evils to
which legislative bodies are liable — long_sessions, excessive legislation.
unnecessary expendituresJ_jmd recklessness in authorizing loeaLdebts
andTocal taxes. ^Ihese^vus have increased, are increasing, and ought
to be diminished." Let there be reform as to all of them. Especially let
the people of all parties insist that the parent evil — long legislative
sessions — shall be reformed altogether. . . .
It js_s^d_tha1t.j>TiP! of the ablest Democratic numbers, of .fthe last
Legislature declared at itsclosethat^enoinj^had been done to keep
the~Democratic party out of power in Ohio for twenty .y.ears." Let the
Republican press and the Republican speakers see to it that the history
of the acts of that body be spread fully before the people, and I entertain
no doubt that the declaration will be substantially made good.
It is probable that the discussions of... the present canvass will turn
more upon state lejflteJation.and .less.upon natipnal affairs than those of
any year sin.ce_18.61. Neither Senators nor Representatives in Congress
ar§Jj2Jj§.ch,Q§e.n. Butjtjsjmjimportant state election, and will be re-
garded as having a bearing on national politics. The Republicans of
Ohio heartily approve of the principles of General Grant's inajjgural
message, and are gratified by the manner in which he is dealing with the
leading questionsjjf the first three months .pf.his.^dniinistration. . . .
On the great question of reconstruction, in what a masterly way
and with what marked success has General Grant's Administration
begun. Congress had fixed its day of adjournment, and all plans for

SECOND TERM AS GOVERNOR 337
reconstructing the three unrepresented States had been postponed
until next December. At this juncture General Grant, on the 7th of
April last, sent to Congress a special message recommending that before
its adjournment it take the necessary steps for the restoration of the
State of Virginia to its proper relations to the Union. . . . The message
of the President was referred, in the House of Representatives, to the
Committee on Reconstruction. That committee the next day reported
a bill for the reconstruction of Virginia, and also of Mississippi and
Texas. ... It will be seen that by this bill the people of Virginia were
to proceed in the work of reconstruction at such time as the President
might deem best, and that such reconstruction in all its parts was to be
on the basis of equal political rights. The constitution to be submitted
was framed by a convention, in the election of which colored citizens
participated, and of which colored men were members. The "regis
tered voters" who are to vote on its ratification or rejection, and also for
members of the General Assembly, for state officers, and for members of
Congress, include the colored men of Virginia; and if the constitution is
adopted, it secures to them equal political rights in that State. The
remaining sections of the bill provide for the reconstruction of Missis
sippi and Texas on the same principles, and left the time and manner to
the discretion of the President.
This bill was reported to the House of Representatives and unani
mously agreed upon by a committee, of which four members were Demo
crats. The most distinguished Democratic Representatives of the
States of New York and Pennsylvania advocated its passage. Out of
about seventy Democratic members of the House, only twenty-five
voted against it, and the only Democratic members from Ohio who
voted on the passage of the bill, voted for it.
It thus appears that upon the recommendation of General Grant even
the Democratic party of Ohio, by their Representatives in Congress,
voted for equal political rights in Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas ! And
to-day the great body of the people of those States, Democrats and
Conservatives as well as Republicans, have yielded assent to that great
principle. In view of these facts I submit that I am fully warranted in
saying that General Grant has begun the work of reconstruction in a
masterly way and with marked success.
Again thanking you for the honor you have done me, I repeat, in con
clusion, what I said two years ago. The people represented in this con
vention mean that the State of Ohio in the great progress, "whose lead
ing object is to elevate the condition of men, to lift artificial weights
from all shoulders, to clear the paths of laudable pursuits for all, and to
afford all an unfettered start and a fair chance in the race of life," shall
tread no more steps backward. I shall enter upon my part of the labors
of the canvass believing that the Union Republican party is battling
for the right, and with undoubting confidence that the goodness of the
cause will supply the weakness of its advocates, and command in the
result that triumphant success which it deserves.

338 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
The Democratic convention, which met two weeks later, con
demned the Fifteenth Amendment, speaking with old-time vigor
of the reserved rights of the States; pronounced the exemption of
government bonds from taxation as unjust and intolerable, and
declared: "That the claims of the bondholders, that the bonds
which were bought with greenbacks, and the principal of which
is by law payable in currency, should nevertheless be paid in gold,
is unjust and extortionate; and, if persisted in, will inevitably
force upon the people the question of repudiation." General
W. S. Rosecrans was nominated for Governor, but on reflection
he was unwilling to make the canvass on the reactionary plat
form which he was asked to approve. On his declination of the
nomination the State Central Committee selected the able and
accomplished George H. Pendleton to head the ticket.
The active speaking campaign, which was opened by Mr.
Hayes at Wilmington, August 12, was conducted on the lines
indicated by Mr. Hayes's speech of acceptance and by the por
tion of the Democratic platform above mentioned; state and
national finances1 and the Fifteenth Amendment commanding
the greatest amount of attention. Mr. Pendleton argued force
fully and plausibly in favor of the partial repudiation of the war
1 Mr. Hayes constantly pressed home on his audiences the extravagance of
the Democratic Legislature in authorizing vast increases of local indebtedness.
The following excerpt from his speeches shows his method of discussion: —
"The last Democratic Legislature acted as if it believed that public debts were
public blessings. They could not easily increase the state debt, the state constitu
tion plainly forbidding it — and yet they attempted that. In the Appropriation
Bill of the last session the House, under the leadership of Judge Jewett, author
ized bonds to be issued to pay the Morgan raid claims. The Senate struck it out
and we are spared that dangerous precedent.
"But city debts, village debts, county debts, and township debts were author
ized amounting in the aggregate to many millions.
"They did not wish to increase the taxes for state purposes, but for city and vil
lage and for county and township purposes they passed act upon act. If you wish
to know the amount consult the laws, local and general, of the last two sessions
— or, if they are not convenient, compare your tax bills of 1867 and 1868 with
those of 1869 and 1870, and you will learn to your cost.
"But it is said the debts will not be contracted, the taxes will not be levied by
cities and counties to the extent authorized by these laws. My observation is
that city councils go to the limit always. This is not due to corruption. A rivalry
is begotten between cities. Fine parks, workhouses, city halls, forums, etc., etc.,
are admired. All must imitate the finest. Your law expresses the legislative wis
dom and will on the subject, and the average city councilman will act as if he
were bound to obey it."

SECOND TERM AS GOVERNOR 339
debt which its payment in greenbacks implied. But the sober
second thought of the voters was proof against his eloquence.
The Republicans regained control of the Legislature by a narrow
margin and Mr. Hayes was reelected by a small but increased
majority. When the Legislature assembled in January, 1870, Mr.
Hayes was able, therefore, to present his second message to a
friendly body. In this he renewed the recommendation of his
previous message for improved election laws, asked for the
repeal of the obnoxious partisan legislation of the preceding
Legislature relating to the suffrage affecting negroes, inmates
of the National Soldiers' Home, and students; and urged upon
the Legislature the importance of voting to ratify the Fifteenth
Amendment to the Federal Constitution. Further than this he
dwelt at some length on the progressive increase of municipal
taxation and debt and suggested the propriety of legislation to
restrict the taxing and borrowing power of local authorities.
He pointed out the urgent need of more humane methods in
dealing with the State's prisoners, especially young men con
victed of crime for the first time, with a view to reform rather
than mere punishment. In this connection he commended the
Irish convict system as worthy of study and possible adoption.
The salutary influence of the newly created Board of State Char
ities in exposing abuses was emphasized; better provision was
urged for caring for the insane; the immediate creation of a state
home for the orphans of soldiers of the Civil War was, he argued,
demanded in fulfilment of an obligation which the State ought
not to be willing to shirk; and the hope was expressed that the
establishment of a State Agricultural College, in accordance
with the terms of the federal land grant accepted in 1864, should
no longer be postponed.1
A few days later, January 10, Mr. Hayes was inaugurated for
his second term as Governor. In his address on this occasion, he
called attention to the opportunity to be presented the following
year to vote for a convention to amend the constitution of the
State and pointed out certain improvements which in his opinion
should occupy the thought of the voters and those whom they
should select for the high work of constitution-making. It is
i The Legislature embodied nearly all of the Governor's suggestions in laws.

340 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
significant, when one recalls the condition of public opinion and
popular thought of the time, that the two subjects on which he
laid most stress were reform of the civil service so as to base ten
ure of office on merit, and a return to the system of an appointive
judiciary. Mr. Hayes's words were: —
For many years political influence and. politicaI_services have been
essentiai qualifications for employmentmttieciyfl service,j£hetiier state
or national. As_a general rule^ such employments are regarded as ter
minating with thedefeat of the^political party under which thev began.
All political parties, have adopted this rule, fa many nfficfis. thp highest
qualifications are qnly obtained by experience. Such are the positions
of the warden of the penitentiary and his subordinates, and the super-
intendents of asylums and reformatories and their assistants. But the
rule is applied to_^ese as_wefl_as_to ^ other offices and employments. A
change in the political character of the executive and legislative branches
of the Government is followed by a change of the officers and employees
in all of the departments and institutions of the State. Efficiency and
fidelity to duty do not prolong the employment: unfitness and reelect
of duty do not always shorten it. The evils pf_ this system in state
affairs are, perhaps, of small moment compared with those wllich pre
vail under the same system ["_ the .transaction, of, the, b" sines," of the
National Government. But at no distant day they are likely to become
serious, even in the administration of state affairs. The number of per
sons employed in the various offices and institutions of the State must
increase, under the most economical management, in equal ratio with
the growth of our population and business.
A radical reform in the civil service of the general Government, has
beenjjroposed. The plan is to make qualifications, and not political
services and influence, fhe*cEief tesTm determining appointments, and
to give subordinates in the civil service the same permanency of place
which is enjoyed by officers of the army and naw. The introduction of
thisreform wfiTBe attended with some difficulties. But in revising our
state constitution, if this object is kept constantly in view, there is little
reason to doubt that it can be successfully accomplished.
Our judicial system is plainly inadequate to the wants of the people
of the State. Extensive alterations of existing provisions must be made.
The suggestions I desire to present in this connection are as to the man
ner of selecting judges, their terms of office, and their salaries. It is for
tunately true that the judges of our courts have heretofore been, for the
most part, lawyers of learning, ability, and integrity. Butjt must be
remembered that the tremendous events and the wonderful progress of
thejast few years are working great changes in the condition of our
society. Hitherto population has been sparse, property not unequally
distributed, and the bad elements which so frequently .control large
cities have been almost^ unknown w^ &ur,.£tate. But with a dense

SECOND TERM AS GOVERNOR 341
population crowding into towns and cities, with vast wealth accumulating
m the hands of a few persons or corporations, it is to be apprehended
that the time is coming when judges elected by popular v"tf. for.!"*""*
official terms, and poorly paid, wiUnot possess the independence re
quired iojprotectindividual rights'. Under the national Constitution,
judges are nominated by the Executive and confirmed by the Senate.
and hold office during gooTTJeKayjor" ft is. worthy,. of _ consideration
whether a return to the system established" by Se fathers is not the dic
tate Pl^he Jjighestpjudence.'Tbeliev£tha^ system under which judges
are so appointodTforXng terms and with adequate salaries, will afford
to the citizen the amplest possible security that impartial justice wul be
administered by an independent judiciary.
I forbear to consider further, at this ytime_the interesting questions
which will arise jn the revision and amendment of" the constitution.
CdnyincedloLthe. soundness of the maxim that "that government is
best which governs least," I woujdjreskt_tijeJendency_conmi all
systems to enlarge thejunctions of government. The law should touch
the rights, the business, and the „feelingsjof thejcitizen atasjfewjaoints as
is consistent with the preservation of order and the maintenance nf jus
tice. If every department of government is kept within its own sphere.
andevery_ officer performs faithfully hisjawjj ^nty_wit^nl't, rnagpifying
his nffice^axmnny^ efficiency, and Pcnnor"y will prpyail
Under the providence of God, the people of this State have greatly
prospered. But in their prosperity they cannot forget "him who hath
borne the battle, nor his widow, nor his orphan," nor the thousands of
other sufferers in our midst, who are entitled to sympathy and relief.
They are to be found in our hospitals, our infirmaries, our asylums, our
prisons, and in the abodes of the unfortunate and the erring. The
Founder of our religion, whose spirit should pervade our laws, and ani
mate those who enact and those who enforce them, by his teaching and
his example, has admonished us to deal with all the victims of adversity
as the children of our common Father. With this duty performed, we
may confidently hope that for long ages to come our country will con
tinue to be the home of freedom and the refuge of the oppressed.
Grateful to the people of Ohio for the honors they have conferred, I
approach a second term in the executive office, deeply solicitous to dis
charge, as far as in me lies, the obligations and duties which their partial
judgment' has imposed.
In his message to the Legislature in January, 1871, Mr. Hayes
recurred to the ideas he had previously particularly emphasized,
namely, the inadvisability of much legislation; the need of greater
economy in public expenditure, of restriction in local taxing
power, of progressive improvement in prison discipline and re
form methods, and of larger liberality in caring for soldiers'
orphans. Statistics showed, he noted, that in ten years state

342 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
taxes had increased 33 per cent; local taxes 170 percent. The
increase of local taxes had been far greater than the growth of
the State in wealth and population. Probably no single remedy
would cure the evil. He said: —
Much, however, can be accomplished by wise legislation. . . . Local
authorities should be empowered to levy no higher rate of taxation than
is absolutely required for practical efficiency under ordinary circum
stances. In extraordinary cases general laws should provide for the sub
mission of the proposed tax or assessment to the people to be affected by
it, under such regulations that it cannot be levied unless at least two
thirds of the taxpayers approve the measure.
One of the most valuable articles of the present state constitution is
that which prohibits the State, save in a few exceptional cases, from
creating any debt, and which provides for the payment at an early day
of the debt already contracted. I am convinced that it would be wise
to extend the same policy to the creation of public debts by county,
city, and other local authorities. The rule "pay as you go" leads to
economy in public as well as in private affairs; while the power to
contract debts opens the door to wastefulness, extravagance, and
corruption. In the early history of the State, when capital was scarce and expen
sive public works were required for transporting the products of the
State to market, public debts were probably unavoidable; but the
time, I believe, has come when not only the State, but all of its sub
ordinate divisions, ought to be forbidden to incur debt. . . .
It would promote an economical administration of the laws if all
officers, state, county, and municipal, including the members of the
Legislature, were paid fixed salaries.
Under existing laws a part of the public officers are paid by fees and
a part by fixed annual salaries or by a per diem allowance. The result
is great inequality and injustice. Many of those who are paid by fees
receive a compensation out of all proportion to the services rendered.
Others are paid salaries wholly inadequate. For example, many county
officers and some city officers receive greater compensation than the
judges of the Supreme Court of the State. The salaries paid to the
judges ought to be increased; the amount paid to many other public
officers ought to be reduced. To do justice, a system of fixed salaries,
without fees or perquisites, should be adopted. . . . To remove all
ground of complaint, on account of injustice to present incumbents,
the new system should apply only to those elected after its adoption.
The subjects dealt with at greatest length and with most
emphasis by Mr. "Hayes in his message of January, 1872, on the
eve of his retirement from the capital, were the railway problem
as related to the State and the need of devising some method of

SECOND TERM AS GOVERNOR 343
checking the growing corruption of local administration. Re
garding the railways, he said: —
The importance of wise legislation on the subject of railroads, in a
State having the geographical position which belongs to Ohio, cannot
be overestimated. . . . Last year they [the railways] carried twelve
millions of passengers, and their gross receipts exceeded thirty millions
of dollars.
All of the just powers of the corporations which conduct this immense
business are derived from the Jawsjjf the State. j[f these lawsfail to
guard adequately The rights and the jnterests of our^citizens,7it .is, the
duty^oTtne General Assembly ; to_supply ^ their defects. Serious^and well-
grounded apprehensions are felt .that in the managenjeii.ofjth.esft.com-
pames, whjchare ^
not sanctioned by Jbe i JaWjjoor Jay ^^imdjmoraJity,^ay„e jbecomg,cfim-
mon, "which" are prejudicial to .the^intgreslg^of ^.the. greatjbodXJil. the
people, and which, if continued, wilj^ultima.t^ly destroy the prosperity
of the~State.
Regarding railroads as the most useful instrumentality by which
intercourse is carried on between different sections of the country, the <
people do not desire the adoption of a narrow or unfriendly pohcy
toward" them. "But it should be remembered J;nat these corporations
were created, and their valuable franchises granted by the Legislature
to promote the interests of the people of the State., No railroad. en™-
*¦¦ I .ill. -^.  ¦.!¦ HHlll.li |— III, Mil — I I.I  HI H ¦•S^*—"— .jfc ¦ » ¦¦ J» MW* ¦ u iv^-^—JM" lUMlHI— '— ¦»- —
pany can sacrifice those interests without^wl^in^the jaw^ofits^ origin.
It is not to" be doubted that the iuj^gjty.,pf JtheJMaexaLAaaemhly is
competent to correct whatever abuses have, .grown, up^ jn^the^manage-
meSTof The railroads of the State.
Mr. Hayes cited the official reports of the State Commissioner
of Railroads and Telegraphs, to show that in many respects,
relating to rates, speed regulations, stock-watering, and the like,
the railways of the State were guilty of constant violation of the
laws, and he came to this conclusion: —
The interests involved are of such magnitude that all legislation
ought to be based on the fullest and most accurate information which a
careful investigation can furnish. I, therefore, recommend_Jhat_a com
mission of five citizens, of whom the railroad commissioner shall be one,
be ar^m^cL^itEainBkpw tne
railroad companies of the State, their legal rights, and tberights of the
State ancTits cI^ensTand to report ihejn.forin^icii^^mjredJ„yfith a
recommendation "of7such_measuresas l t^iPJMnissiofijhdLdeem ex
pedient. '
In regard to the other topic mentioned Mr. Hayes said: —

344 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
One of the most difficult and interesting practical problems which
now engages the thoughts of the American people is how to maintain
economy, efficiency, and purity in the administration of local affairs,
and especially in the government of towns and cities, without a depar
ture from principles and methods which are deemed essential to free
popular government. Many of the most important functions of gov
ernment are in the hands of the local authorities. They are directly
charged with the expenditure of large sums of money, with the protec
tion of life and property, and with the administration of civil and crim
inal justice. These duties, in one way or another, touch nearly and
constantly the interests and feelings of every citizen. Upon their faithful
performance depends the prosperity, happiness, and safety of the com
munity. It is true that as yet Ohio is happily, in a great measure, free
from the operation of causes which in the commercial metropolis of the
country recently led to such extraordinary corruption in the government
of that city. But those causes do not belong alone to the great cities of
the East. They are already at work in our midst, and they are steadily
and rapidly increasing in power. No political party is altogether free
from their influence, and no political party is solely responsible for them.
We have laws prohibiting almost every conceivable official neglect and
abuse, and penalties are affixed to the violation of those laws which
cannot be regarded as inadequate. The difficulty is to secure their
enforcement. Those whose duty it is to detect and prosecute are often
interested in maintaining good relations with the wrongdoers. The
contractors for public work and supplies not infrequently have a com
munity of interest with those who are the agents of the public to let and
superintend the performance of contracts. Where these abuses exist
there is apt to be a large circle of apparently disinterested citizens, who
labor to conceal the facts and to suppress investigation.
What the public welfare demands is a practical measure which will
provide for a thorough and impartial investigation in every case of sus
pected neglect, abuse, or fraud. Such an investigation, to be effective,
must be made by an authority independent, if possible, of all local
influences. When abuses are discovered, the prosecution and punish
ment of offenders ought to follow. But even if prosecutions fail in cases
of full exposure, public opinion almost always accomplishes the object
desired. A thorough investigation of official corruption and criminality
leads with great certainty to the needed reform. Publicity is a great
corrector of official abuses. Let it, therefore, be made the duty of the
Governor, on satisfactory information that the public good requires an
investigation of the affairs of any public office or the conduct of any pub
lic officer, whether state or local, to appoint one or more citizens who
shall have ample powers to make such investigation. If by the investi
gation violations of law are discovered, the Governor should be author
ized, in his discretion, to notify the Attorney-General, whose duty it
should be, on such notice, to prosecute the offenders. The constitution
makes it the duty of the Governor to "see that the laws are faithfully

SECOND TERM AS GOVERNOR 345
executed." Some such measure as the one here recommended is neces
sary to give force and effect to this constitutional provision.
Thus, in reference to both these problems, which in later years
have bulked so large in the thought of the American people and
in the activities of state and national legislators, Mr. Hayes was
prompt in grasping the need of remedial legislation; but he de
sired to have this result from a thorough knowledge of the facts
and conditions that made it necessary.
Throughout his incumbency of the Governor's office, Mr.
Hayes's state papers — inaugural speeches, messages, and proc
lamations — were distinguished for their conciseness, their
directness, and their businesslike quality. There was in them no
"playing to the galleries," and they reveal no conscious effort
to increase his personal political prestige. Rather they leave
the reader with the impression that the author, as the head of
the State Government, was desirous only of bringing about such
changes in the laws and the activities of the Commonwealth
as should increase the efficiency of the State Government and
should redound to the greater glory of the State. He was firmly
convinced - — as what thoughtful man is not? — that state legisla
tures pass too many laws — unnecessary, ill-digested^ of ephem
eral impulse and quality. Always he deprecated this tendency
and warnedagjjnstjt. Further he had an old-fashioned abhor
rence of public debts,1 lightly incurred, and of heavy taxation.
So, he constantly exerted his influence in favor of economy of
public expenditures not only of th^ state revenues, .but . espe
cially in the minor subdivisions of the State. It was his idea that a
community did best to live within the limits of its annual inenme.
which should nntJTe_a_ burdensome exaction upon the property
and mdustry of its citizens, and that debt — a draught on the
future — shoukdjb^in^curred only to meet some pressing need
or to provide somejjssential permanentJn^r^y^mejiLia. whose
benelfttEe long, future .woulgLshare.
The wide range of Governor Hayes's interest, the broad scope
of his statesmanship, becomes manifest, when one summarizes
the principal measures which he advocated and which, for the
1 " It is perhaps a hobby with me, but I do hate debt, and I am opposed to au
thorizing it except as a dernier ressort." (From letter, August 27, 1869, to Julius
O. Converse, Chardon, Ohio.)

346 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
most part, were adopted by the Legislature and carried into
effect. He always stood for simple manhood suffrage and for a
liberal attitude toward all classes of citizens in the exercise of
the right to vote. Naturally, therefore, he advocated in his first
campaign for Governor the adoption of the amendment to the
state constitution providing for negro suffrage, though friends
warned him not to be insistent, and though, no doubt, his advo
cacy lessened his chance of election and lowered the majority by
which he was chosen. This amendment failed, but Governor
Hayes had no regrets for his course and never doubted the ulti
mate prevalence of the principle it embodied. Again, in 1869, he
urged the adoption of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Federal
Constitution which placed negro suffrage under the protection of
the fundamental law of the nation. This the Ohio Legislature in
the session of 1870 sanctioned, much to Mr. Hayes's satisfaction.1
Further, he favored the repeal of the notorious "visible admix
ture" law, which, however, had been pronounced unconstitu
tional, and he obtained legislation restoring to men in the
National Soldiers' Home and to students in college the right to
vote in the Home and college precincts.
Mr. Hayes recommended in his messages, and used his influ
ence to obtain from the Legislature, action providing for minor
ity representation on boards of election — a provision of such
obvious importance and of so general acceptance now that it is
hard to think it should ever have been lacking in any State. He
also favored minority representation on boards of trustees of
state institutions and appointed Democrats to boards, even
where the law did not require such action and in the face of vio
lent opposition from his fellow Republicans.2 In the appointment
_J 1 The Legislature was so evenly divided that the vote for the Amendment
/tood, Senate, ayesT9~, noesT8j_House, ayes57, noes 55. The changeot a single
(vote in either house woulcfnave been fatal.
2 For example, Tie placeoTTTJembcraToh the board of the new Home for Sol
diers' Orphans. To a man who violently criticized the appointment he wrote: —
Columbus, O., 19th Apr., 1870,
O. H. Booth, Esq.,
Maksfield, O.
My dear Sib, — I am in receipt of yours of the 18th. You are totally mistaken
in my character when you say that you presume what you have written will
not disturb me in the least. I assure you I feel keenly the disappointment and

SECOND TERM AS GOVERNOR 347
of judges, when that duty devolved upon him, he took counsel
of the leaders of the bar in the jurisdiction involved and named
the men that the majority of the bar approved. He spoke on all
proper occasions in behalf of civil service reform to the end that
fitness and not partisan service should be the determining factor
in the appointment and retention of public officers. And in this
respect, too, he showed his faith by his works, by refusing to dis
miss a worthy State Librarian to make room for a Republican
aspirant for the position. To the latter, Dr. George R. Morton,
of North Bass, he wrote: —
The present incumbent of the librarianship is a faithful, painstaking
old gentleman with a family of invalid girls dependent on him. His
courtesy and evident anxiety to accommodate all who visit the library
have secured him the endorsement of almost all who are in the habit of
using the books, and under the circumstances I cannot remove him. Old
association, your fitness, and claims draw me the other way, but you
see, etc., etc.
A measure of large scientific and industrial importance, which
owed its adoption largely to Mr. Hayes's intelligent insistence,
was the act providing for a thorough geological survey of the
State. The appointment of the geologist for this work was en
trusted to the Governor, and he promptly selected Professor
J. S. Newberry, of Columbia College, a man of eminent scientific
attainments. Under Professor Newberry's efficient direction the
survey was rapidly but carefully prosecuted; the reports were
published in several volumes, giving for the first time full and
censures of my Eepublican friends in Mansfield, and feel vexed that you can so
write. I would not be just to myself not to say this.
I wrote the facts to Mr. Hedges and others [who had protested against the
appointment]. They are simply: 1st, All friends of the Home agreed that there
should be a Democratic representative on the Board. 2d, For three weeks I
named Colonel Burns to all who conversed with me (his name having been sug
gested to me by a friend of the Home) on the subject of the appointment, and all
spoke of him as a proper man if a Democrat was to go on the Board. You are in
error in saying I set aside anybody. No other Mansfield man was named.
Six good men are on the Board and I hope Colonel Burns will turn out less
objectionable than you anticipate. If I have made a mistake, it has been done
with the best of motives and in accordance with the views of many of our best
men. I hope you and my Mansfield friends will see in the facts room for a char
itable construction of my act. If not, one thing is sure, when you come to dispense
patronage, you will agree with me that it is no easy job to do satisfactorily. All
this is confidential. — Sincerely,
E. B. Hates.

348 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
accurate information regarding the many and varied mineral
resources of the State. It would be difficult if not impossible to
estimate how much this survey has done in stimulating the devel
opment of the coal, stone, and clay industries of Ohio.
Governor Hayes gave much and serious thought to the devel
opment and improvement of the State's penal and benevolent
institutions. In this work he was laying the foundation of knowl
edge and enlightened philanthropy displayed in his later career
in his large efforts in the interests of prison reform. He labored in
behalf of improved prison discipline, of enlarged prison accom
modation, and of a graded system among the prisoners. He was
instrumental in the establishment of a Girls' Reformatory; of a
Home for Soldiers' Orphans;1 of provision being made for the care
of the chronic insane. After the burning of the insane hospital
at Columbus/ he exerted his influence to have the new hospi
tal built outside the city; and further it was due to his advocacy
1 The Home for Soldiers' Orphans at Xenia was started first by private effort,
in which Mrs. Hayes shared enthusiastically, and was supported by voluntary
contributions. This was in 1869. Meetings in its behalf were held in various cities
at which Governor Hayes appeared and pleaded the cause of the orphans. In a
letter of January 21, 1887, to a Mrs. Harrison, Mr. Hayes, recounting the history
of the Home, wrote: "The first public affair of the voluntary Home was the holi
day celebration the 26th December, 1869. Mrs. Hayes, with Mrs. Lovejoy, of
Columbus, to make this enjoyable for the orphans, ransacked the city of Colum
bus for money, books, gifts, etc., etc. . . . There were then between forty and
fifty children in the Home. The gathering on this occasion gave to the institution
great prestige. . . . The next year (1870), after the State had adopted the institu
tion and Dr. Griswold was superintendent, the number of orphans had greatly
increased." The contest in the Legislature over the adoption of the Home by the
State was, as a memorandum in Mr. Hayes's handwriting records, "bitter, close,
and doubtful. Mrs. Hayes exerted all her influence with her friends, especially in
the Senate, and was very anxious and energetic. The bill making the Home a
state institution was passed by one majority. In April, 1870, the last night of
the session, the Home was defeated practically for several hours. The Senate
by a tie vote refused to confirm the nominees of Governor Hayes for the Board
of Managers. This was by reason of the absence of Senator Gatch, of Greene
County, who had gone home believing all was safe. Governor Hayes sent word
to Senator Potts and others that if they could keep the Senate in session a few
hours, he would get Senator Gatch from his home. Potts sent the Governor soon
after the following note: 'Goepper is making a Dutch speech (in Dutch). We
have them in a deadlock and they can't get out until Gatch comes. Will you send
to the depot and bring him forthwith? ' Goepper spoke in German, French, and
English several hours, until just at daylight a locomotive brought Gatch from
Xenia. The Board was then confirmed and the Home was safe. Hon. Michael
Goepper was a patriotic German from Cincinnati and a warm friend of Mrs.
Hayes."

SECOND TERM AS GOVERNOR 349
that the Board of State Charities, with its beneficent powers
of supervision and suggestion, was thoroughly established and
sustained. In this connection, too, may be noted his interest and
influence in the establishment of the State University by the use
of the funds derived from the sale of the lands given by the
National Government for that purpose. In the organization of
the board of trustees for the university politics was eschewed by
Mr. Hayes. "Gentlemen were selected," as he wrote some time
later, "either of known liberal views, or men of such character
and influence selected as would strengthen the institution. The
plan was not thought to be feasible by many of its well-wishers,
who were consulted, but perseverance and good judgment, it is
believed, will yet be able to smooth all difficulties and establish
at Columbus an institution worthy of the State, and worthy to be
the head of the educational system of the State."
Mr. Hayes was never engaged in more congenial employment
than when he was busied in preserving memorials of the earlier
days, of the struggles and sacrifices of pioneer times. Everything
relating to the settlement and progress of the country, and es
pecially of his own State, was of interest to him. Doubtless his
service on the Library Committee of Congress had enlarged his
conception of the importance of collecting and preserving the
materials of history. To the end of his life he never ceased to
increase his own collection of Americana nor lost interest in the
accumulation of the data of local history. It was only natural,
therefore, that as Governor he should do all in his power to fur
ther the acquisition of historical documents and other memorials
for the State. Through his efforts the papers of General Arthur
St. Clair, of great historical value, were purchased;1 a collection
of sketches, letters, and other manuscripts illuminative of pioneer
conditions was obtained; the portraits of the Governors of Ohio
were acquired; 2 a memorial to Lincoln and the Ohio soldiers was
1 In accomplishing this and similar work Mr. Hayes was assisted by the zeal
ous and intelligent efforts of William Henry Smith, Secretary of State of Ohio
during the first year of Mr. Hayes's incumbency of the Governor's office. The
St. Clair papers were published in two volumes, a few years later, having
been carefully edited and annotated by Mr. Smith.
2 No funds were provided for this purpose by the General Assembly. Mr.
Hayes obtained some portraits by applying to the relatives of the early Gover
nors. Where expense was involved he drew upon the contingent fund. In three

350 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
placed in the State Capitol;1 and a collection undertaken of ob
jects and casts of objects made by the mound-builders. This was
the beginning of the remarkable collection of objects from the
mounds of Ohio now gathered in the State Museum at Columbus,
the archaeological mterest and value of which can hardly be over
estimated. All through the years that Mr. Hayes was Governor, he was in
constant requisition for speeches on all kinds of occasions —
civic celebrations, old soldiers' gatherings, receptions, dedica
tions of public monuments, and the like. On most occasions it
was Mr. Hayes's custom to make very brief addresses, often
times with slight preparation; but the reports of such speeches
preserved in the newspapers of the day give evidence that his
utterances were seldom if ever of a purely perfunctory character.
Even in his briefest speeches there was an appropriateness of
sentiment which gave them a distinctive quality. But frequently
the speeches were carefully prepared beforehand, and these, while
never notable for rhetorical grace, were characterized by a fitness
for the particular occasion, a soundness of views, and a whole
some manliness of expression which lift them far above the
commonplace. Significant examples of these speeches are all that
can be given. In a speech at Youngstown, July 4, 1868, in an
ticipation of the erection of a monument to commemorate the
soldiers from that region that had perished in the Civil War, Mr.
Hayes said: —
We build a monument in honor of the men who died in the war for the
Union. They went out to do battle with the only enemy that could put
our nation in jeopardy, even for an instant. Separated by broad oceans
from every rival power, our nation was impregnable to foreign assault.
From the days of Washington, our danger had been the prevalence of a
false theory of the Constitution which might some day be carried into
years he succeeded in getting portraits of all who were ever elected Governor of
the State and of all the acting Governors except two.
1 "I did an unusual, and, I think, meritorious thing last night. Tom Jones's
Memorial to Lincoln and the Ohio soldiers was to be inaugurated in the rotunda
of the Capitol. I presided. I had a fairish little opening speech, which with my
good lungs I could make go off well. But there were three speakers to give ad
dresses. I knew that the little, pretty, pet things to be said were not numerous,
and that my speech would more or less interfere with the success of theirs. I
accordingly swallowed my speech and introduced the various actors without an
extra word. Who has beaten this?" (Diary, January 20, 1871.)

SECOND TERM AS GOVERNOR 351
practice. That theory was that the Union under the Constitution was
created by the States, each acting in a sovereign capacity, and that any
State might rightfully withdraw from, and thereby destroy, the Union.
The opposite theory is that the Constitutional Union, in the language of
Washington, " makes us one people." These soldiers gave their lives
that the people of the United States might have "one country, one
Constitution, one destiny." If their warfare had failed, this generation
would probably have seen the great central belt of this continent divided
into hostile nations, — no man knows how many, — each with its sepa
rate government, its standing army, its arsenals, its forts, and its camps.
Our people, so full of enterprise, energy, and courage, would have been
compelled to make war their study and their business. Whatever evil
belongs to a condition of war, its military courts and commissions, its
taxes, etc., its drafts, its idleness, ignorance, vice, and crime, its sacri
fices, privations, and sufferings; — all of those, if the war for the Union
had failed, would have been part of the familiar daily life of our people,
until, as a refuge from war, lawlessness, and anarchy, they would gladly
have sunk into the repose of a military despotism. The men we would
honor to-day have given the last full measure of devotion to save from
such a fate the precious inheritance won by our fathers. . . . The first
great purpose, then, of the monument we build is to expound to all
who behold it, as long as it shall endure, the true principles of the
Constitution on the unity of the people of the United States. . . .
All monuments in honor of the soldiers who fell in the struggle are at
the same time monuments to national unity, to impartial liberty, and to
universal education. They teach the world that North America belongs
to the Stripes and Stars, that under them, no man shall wear a chain,
and that every child of the Republic shall have a fair chance to grow to
the full stature of a mental and moral manhood. . . .
In other times and other lands monuments have seldom been built
in memory of subordinate officers or of private soldiers. Great leaders
are remembered and honored while they live, and after death, power,
fortune, and rank are the inheritance of their children. Too often their
brave followers, with their families, the public danger having passed
away, are forgotten or neglected. ... It has often been said that in our
army the bayonets could think. Unfortunately, the sword was not al
ways in the hand of a wise and trustworthy thinker. . . . The courage
of citizen soldiers depends more upon their personal character, their
patriotism, their manhood, and their faith in the goodness of their
cause. On a somewhat similar occasion, some time subsequently at
Toledo, Mr. Hayes used this language: —
This celebration needs little explanation and no apology. It has its
origin in a sound and healthy sentiment. It gratifies the noblest feelings
of the best side of human nature. We know very well that what we may

352 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
do and say cannot reach those who are gone. We are here to share in
these ceremonies because God hath so fashioned us that it is good for us
to take part in them. We are here to endeavor to express and to feel
what it is natural for us to express and to feel in the contemplation of
great sacrifices for country and for liberty. . . .
Good men and women do not need to be told that admiration, grati
tude, and everlasting remembrance are due to all men who with unsel
fish courage, in obedience to their convictions of duty, devote their lives
to the right side of a great cause. Mere daring in the presence of the last
enemy, under any circumstances, commands a degree of respect. Even
the intrepidity of the guilty in the very act of crime will win admiration.
But if to courage is added conscience — if a man goes to his death
bravely from a sense of duty, blinded and mistaken although he may be,
he has the sympathy of every true and noble heart. Old John Brown
and Stonewall Jackson are to be reckoned heroes for all coming time.
We do not stop to inquire as to their clearness of vision. We accept as
true that they did their duty as it was given them to see it, and we yield
them the homage to which they are entitled.
January 20, 1870, the members of the Legislature of Kentucky
and other distinguished citizens of that State visited Cincinnati
and were entertained by a banquet in the evening at the Burnet
House. The toast "Kentucky and Ohio" was responded to by
Governor Hayes in these words: —
Ohio and Kentucky; Kentucky and Ohio. How well these names
sound together. The early history of Ohio is inseparably blended with
the early history of Kentucky. At the beginning, Kentucky, first set
tled, was most populous, and most powerful; Ohio, in every moment of
alarm and peril, appealed to her sister State, and never appealed in vain.
That history alluded to here, so familiar, so hackneyed, we know it by
heart. Our favorite Governor, Corwin, in his eloquent speeches, in his
conversation still more eloquent and still more epigrammatic, made us
familiar with the history of his native State.
Why, I remember again and again to have heard him, fond as he
was, you know, of illustrating everything by reference to Scripture,
declare to great audiences in Ohio that never, since the dispersion on
the plains of Shinar, was a people more truly and literally cradled in war
than this same gallant people of Kentucky. In childhood they fought
the savages of the Northwest, by the side of their mothers and their sis
ters in their dwellings. In their youth and in their manhood, they fought
them upon the battlefield and in the ambuscade. "Go," said he, "and
trace the path of any savage incursion in early times, and you shall find
it marked with Kentucky blood. Wander over any of the battlefields
which rescued this Northwest from the savages, and you shall find the
whitened bones of Kentucky's sons."

SECOND TERM AS GOVERNOR 353
In early times, then, my friends, Kentucky and Ohio were of one
mind and one heart. Later, in 1824, aye, and in 1844, when the great
statesman of Kentucky was put up for the high office of the nation,
Ohio rallied to his support with the same zeal and heartiness that did
Kentucky. [Cheers — "Henry Clay."] Aye, Henry Clay. It is not
among the least of the pleasant recollections of my life that I cast my
first vote for Henry Clay, of Kentucky.
And you reciprocated; for, when, in 1836 and 1840, the pioneers of
the West selected her favorite soldier and statesman, General Harri
son, to be the Executive of this nation, he found his heartiest support
and largest majority in the State of Kentucky.
But now, my friends, if in latter days alienation, dissensions, estrange
ments, and hostility have arisen between us, it was from causes outside
either of Kentucky or Ohio — causes which neither Ohio nor Kentucky,
nor both united, could possibly control.
But now all that is past, causes and all. No more division, no more
separation, to the last syllable of recorded time. God grant that, as the
ancient friendship between Kentucky and Ohio depended upon and
arose out of a community of toils, sufferings, hardships, and dangers
that they endured for each other, that again that ancient accord and har
mony may return by reason, perhaps, we may say, of the community of
interests and participation in common enterprises, and the enjoyment
of the same common prosperity. I believe this is destined to be our
future history. I believe that the reviving harmony and friendship is
destined to increase; and God grant that it may last forever and ever.
In April, 1870, the colored people met at Columbus to celebrate
the adoption of the Fifteenth Amendment, when Governor
Hayes made this short but striking address : —
Fellow Citizens, — We celebrate, to-night, the final triumph of a
righteous cause, after a long, eventful, and memorable struggle. The
conflict, which Mr. Seward pronounced "irrepressible," at last is
ended. The house which was divided against itself, and which, there
fore, according to Mr. Lincoln, could not stand as it was, is divided no
longer; and we may now rationally hope that, under Providence, it is
destined to stand — long to stand the home of freedom, and refuge of
the oppressed of every race and of every clime!
The great leading facts of the contest are so familiar that I need not
attempt to recount them. They belong to the history of two famous
wars — the War of the Revolution and the War of the Rebellion — and
are part of the story of almost a hundred years of civil strife. They
began with Bunker Hill and Yorktown, with the Declaration of Inde
pendence and the adoption of the Federal Constitution. They end with
Fort Sumter and the fall of Richmond, with the Emancipation Procla
mation and the antislavery and equal rights amendments to the Con
stitution of the nation. These long and anxious years were not years of

354 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
unbroken, ceaseless warfare. There were periods of lull, of truce, of
compromise. But every lull was short-lived, every truce was hollow,
every compromise, however pure the motives of its authors, proved
deceitful and vain. There could be no lasting peace until the great
wrong was destroyed, and impartial justice established.
The history of this period is adorned with a long list of illustrious
names — with the names of men who were indeed "Solomons in coun
cil and Samsons in the field." At its beginning there were Washington,
Franklin, and Jefferson, and their compeers, and in the last great crisis
Providence was equally gracious, and gave us such men as Lincoln, and
Stanton, and George H. Thomas. All who bore their part in the great
conflict, may now with grateful hearts rejoice that it is forever ended.
The newly made citizens who seem to carry off the lion's share of
the fruits of the victory — it is especially fitting and proper that they
should assemble to congratulate each other, and to be congratulated
by all of us that they now enjoy for the first time in full measure the
blessings of freedom and manhood.
Those also who have opposed many of the late steps in the great
progress — it is a great satisfaction to know that so large a number of
them gracefully acquiesce in the decision of the nation.
The war of races, which it was so confidently predicted would follow
the einrondhisementof the colored people — where was it in the elec-
tions in Ohio last week? In a few localities the old prejudice and
fanaticism made, wemay 'hope, their last appearance. There was barely
enough angry dissent to remind us of the barbarism of slavery which
has passed* away forever. Generallyjjiroughout the State, especially in
the" cities of Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus. Dayton, and Toledo.
where the newelement is large, those who strove to avert the result over
which we rejoice, leaders as weTTas followers, were conspici ioys in setting
an example of obedience to the jaw.
Not the least among the causes for congratulation, to-night, is the
confidence we have that the enfranchised people will prove worthy of
American citizenship. No true patriot wishes to see them exhibit a
blind and unthinking attachment to mere party. But all good men wish
to see them cultivate habits of industry and thrift, and to exhibit
intelligence and virtue; and at every election to be earnestly solicitous to
array themselves on the side of law and order, liberty and progress,
education and religion.
Let them do this, and we may confidently expect that, in the judg
ment of history, the Fifteenth Amendment will take rank with the
Declaration of Independence and the Emancipation Proclamation.
In 1871, Mr. Hayes was urged by many of his personal and
political friends to stand for a third term. But that would have
been for him to violate the unbroken precedent of the State,
even had he not earnestly desired to return to private life. He

SECOND TERM AS GOVERNOR 355
therefore promptly and emphatically refused to allow his name
to be used as a candidate, and General Edward F. Noyes was
nominated by the RepubKcans as his successor. The Democrats
nominated Colonel George W. McCook, on a platform which
accepted the waT amendments to the Federal Constitution as
accomplished facts, while "denouncing the extraordinary means
by which they were brought about." This platform became
known as "the new departure," and was much ridiculed by
Republican orators in the campaign that followed. Mr. Hayes
made many speeches during the canvass in defense of Republi
can policies and in favor of the election of General Noyes who
was chosen, October 10, by a majority of 20,000. Governor
Hayes's speech at Zanesville, August 24, 1871, presents clearly
and vigorously the issues of the campaign and the position of the
Republican party of that period. It is here given in substantial
fulness: —
The change of principles which a majority of the late Democratic
State Convention at Columbus decided to make, commonly called "the
new departure," lends to the pending political contest in Ohio its chief
interest. Indeed, there is no other salient feature in the Democratic
platform. Resolutions in the usual form were adopted on several other
political topics; but the main discussion, and the absorbing interest of
the convention, was on the question of accepting as a finality the series
of Republican measures which is generally regarded as the natural and
legitimate result of the overthrow of the Rebellion, and which is em
bodied in the last three amendments to the Constitution.
Certain influential Democratic leaders in Ohio had become satisfied
by the repeated defeats of their party that no considerable number of
Republicans would ever aid the Democratic party to obtain power until
it fully and explicitly accepted in good faith, as a final settlement of the
questions involved, the leading Republican measures resulting from the
war. They were convinced that Republicans generally regarded these
measures of such vital importance that, until they were irrevocably
established, other and minor questions would not be allowed to divide
that great body of patriotic people who rallied together in support of the
Government during its struggle for existence. The important principles
which Republicans claim should be accepted as settled are: —
(1) That the national power is the supreme power of the land, and
that the doctrine that the States are in any proper sense sovereign,
including as it does the right of nullification and secession, is no longer
to be maintained.
(2) That all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and
subject to their jurisdiction, are citizens thereof, and entitled to equal

356 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
rights, civil and political, without regard to race, color, or condi
tion. (3) That the public debt resulting from the war is of binding obliga
tion, and must be fully and honestly paid.
Mr. Vallandigham, with that boldness and energy for which he was
distinguished, undertook the task of forcing his party to take the posi
tion required to make success possible in Ohio. In this work, he was
encouraged, and probably aided, by the counsel and advice of that other
eminent Democratic leader, Chief Justicg_CJtase,_ The first authentic
announcement of the new movement in Ohio was made by the Mont
gomery County Democratic Convention, held at Dayton, on the 18th
day of May last. The speech and resolutions of Mr. Vallandigham in
that body contained muchjsound Republicanism. He still clung to a
general assertion of the States' rights heresy, but accepted the last three
constitutional amendments "as a settlement, in fact, of all the issues of
the war," and "pledged " the Democratic party to the faithful and abso
lute enforcement of the Constitution as it now is, "so as to secure equal
rights to all persons, without distinction of race, color, or condition."
On the subject of the national debt, and of currency, he was equally
explicit. He declared "in favor of the payment of the public debt at the
earliest practicable moment consistent with moderate taxation; that
specie is the basis of all sound currency; and that true policy requires a
speedy return to that basis as soon as practicable without distress to
the debtor class of people.
Surely, here was a long stride away from the Democracy of the last
ten years, and toward wholesome Republican ideas. If a Democratic
victory could be gained by adopting Republican principles, the.framer
of the Dayton platform was not lacking in political sagacity. Unfortu
nately for the success of the scheme, no Ohio Democrat of conspicuous
position, except Mr. Chase, is known to have approved Mr. Vallan-
digham's resolutions as a whole. The Chief Justice wrote to Mr.
Vallandigham the well-known letter of May 20, in which he warmly
congratulated him on the movement which was to return "the Demo
cratic party to its ancient platform of progress and reform."
This was perfectly consistent with the previous opinions and public
conduct of Mr. Chase. He had supported the three amendments to the
Constitution, and notwithstanding the censure of his Democratic asso
ciates, he had been signally active and influential in procuring the rati
fication by Ohio of the Fifteenth Amendment. In addition to this, he
was probably the only prominent Western Democrat who was for the
payment of the public debt in coin, and in favor of a speedy return to
specie payments.
When the convention assembled, on the 1st of June, neither the tal
ents and energy of Mr. Vallandigham nor the great name and authority
of the Chief Justice were sufficient to carry through in all its parts the
Dayton programme. The financial resolutions were stricken .out and
the oft-defeated greenback theory, slightly modified, was inserted in its

SECOND TERM AS GOVERNOR 357
place. Other_ important paragraphs^^ also
onutted, in which "secession, slavery, inequality before the law, and
political inequality^were described as "bekmgjng,Jo_the_dead.past"
and_" buried out of sight." This left as the new departure two resolu
tions, which were adopted only after strong opposition: —
"1. Resolved, by the Democracy of Ohio, That denouncing the extraor
dinary means by which they were brought about, we recognize as accom
plished facts the three several amendments to the Constitution, recently
adopted, and regard the same as no longer political issues before the
country. "2. . . . The Democratic party pledges itself to the full, faithful,
and absolute enforcement of the Constitution as it now is, so as to
secure equal rights to all persons under it, without distinction of race,
color, or condition."
The Democratic managers claim that by this movement they have
taken such a position that, at least equally with the Republicans, they
are entitled to the confidence and support of the early and earnest
friends of the principles of the three recent constitutional amendments.
They claim at the same time, in the same breath, that they are entitled
also to the confidence of the Democratic people whom they have hitherto
taught that the amendments were ratified by force and fraud; that they
are revolutionary and void, and that they are a dangerous departure
from the principles of the fathers of the republic, and destructive of all
good government.
Now, the_important question presented is, whether it is safe and wise
to trust these amendments for interpretation, j:onstruction, and execu
tion Jx> the party which, from first to last, has fiercely opposed them.
The safe rule is, if you want a law fairly andTaitimTlly^dinmistered,
intrust power only to its friends. It will rarely have a fair trial at the
hands of its enemies. These amendments are no exception to this
rule. What the country most needs, and what good citizens most desire in
regard to these great measures, is peace — repose. They wish to be
able to rest confidently in the belief that they are to be enforced and
obeyed. They do not want them overthrown by revolutionary violence
or defeated by fraud. They do not wish them repealed by constitu
tional amendments, abrogated by judicial construction, nullified by un
friendly legislation, state or national, or left a dead letter by non-action
on the part of lawmakers or executive officers. Has the time come when
the country can afford to trust the Democratic party on these questions?
Consider the facts.
The new departurejs by no means generally accepted by the Demo-
cratic party, and where accepted the conversion is sudden and recent,
and against th^jsrotest^^ajtarj^^
Democrats. The only State touching the borders of Ohio which has been reliably
Democratic for the last five years is Kentucky. She sends to Congress

358 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
an undivided Democratic delegation of two Senators and nine Repre
sentatives. At the late election, notwithstanding the heroic efforts of her
Republicans under the splendid leadership of General Harlan, the Demo
cratic organs are able to rejoice that they still hold the State by from
thirty to forty thousand majority. Where did the Democrats of Ken
tucky, in their canvass, stand on the new departure? They marched in
the old Democratic path. They turned no back somersault to catch
Republican votes. On the very day that the Ohio Democracy were
wrangling in convention over the bitter dose, Governor Leslie, address
ing the Democracy of Lewis County, said: "As to the new amendments,
I am out and out opposed to them. I care not who in Indiana, Ohio, or
elsewhere may be for them. Those amendments were engrafted upon
the Constitution of the country, and proclaimed to the country as part
and parcel of the Constitution by force and by fraud, and not in the
legitimate way laid down in the Constitution. Ten States of this Union
were tied hand and foot, and bayonets were presented to their breasts
to make them consent against their will to the passage of these amend
ments. The procuring of these amendments was a fraud upon this peo
ple, and upon the people of the whole United States, and having been
thus obtained, I hold that they ought to be repealed. There may be
some Democrats who are not for their repeal, but the great body of our
party is for it."
The Democratic candidate for Lieutenant-Governor, Mr. Carlisle,
was equally decided. Said he : " In the first place, I do not think that the
resolution passed by the Ohio Democracy, declaring that these Consti
tutional amendments are no longer political issues before the country,
will have the effect which they appear to have supposed it would. In
stead of withdrawing them as subjects of political discussion, it will give
them far more prominence than they ever had heretofore, and they will
be confronted with them throughout the entire canvass. The only way
in which any question can be withdrawn from the arena of political
discussion is for both parties to ignore it altogether. This cannot be
done as to these amendments, because they present real living issues, in
which the people feel a very deep interest. They are not dead issues,
and politicians cannot kill them by resolutions. The Ohio Democrats
seem to recognize this to some extent at least, for they have simply
attempted to turn the discussion away from the validity and merits of
the amendments themselves to the question of their construction. In
this I think they have made a grievous mistake."
In Indiana, the last authoritative Democratic utterance on this sub
ject, was the passage, in January last, by the Senate of that State, of
the following resolution, offered by Mr. Hughes, every Democrat sup
porting it: —
"Resolved, That Congress has no lawful power derived from the
Constitution of the United States, nor from any other source whatever,
to require any State of the Union to ratify an amendment proposed
to the Constitution of the United States as a condition precedent to

SECOND TERM AS GOVERNOR 359
representation in Congress; that all such acts of ratification are null and
void, and the votes so obtained ought not to be counted to affect the
rights of the people and the States of the whole Union, and that the
State of Indiana protests and solemnly declares that the so-called Fif
teenth Amendment is not this day, nor ever has been in law, a part of
the Constitution of the United States."
It is not necessary to go to neighboring States for Democratic author-
ities, to show" how far the new departure is from modem JDemocracy.
Wl^njE^j|ueffion_'was "last .debated before the people qf^Obio^the
Democratic position on the principle of the Fifteenth Amendment^ and
on its constitutional validity, if decZara^ adopted, was thus stated: —
Speaking" ofthe principle of the amendment, Judge Thurman. said:
"I tell you it is only the entering wedge that will destroy all intelligent
suffrageTnThis~counfry, "an3Tturn our country from an^telligent jshite
maffs*~gbvernmeht into one of the most corrupt mongrel governments
m the world.
On its validity, if declared adopted, General Ward said: "Fellow citi
zens of Ohio, I boldly assert that the States of this Union Tiave always
had, both™Defore anTMnce^^^adoption of the Constitutjpji_pf the
UmtearBtates, entire sovereignty over the whole subject of suffrage in
all rts~reIafiohs and bearings. Ohio has that sovereignty now, and it can-
noTEetoken from her without her consent, even by all the other States
combined, except by revolutionary usurpation. The right to regulate
suffrage as to the organization of its own government, and the election
of officers under it, is an inalienable attribute of sovereignty, which the
State could not surrender without surrendering its sovereign existence
as a State. To take from Ohio the power of determining who shall exer
cise the right of suffrage is not an amendment of the Constitution, but a
revolutionary usurpation by the other States, in no wise constitution
ally binding upon her sovereignty as a State."
These opinions are still largely prevalent in the Democratic party.
When a new departure was announced _at_Day ton, the leading organ
of the partylnthis State said: "There, are matters in the Montgomery
County resolutions which, Jt is very safe. to v.sayAjvjUjnp^eoeive the
approyal_of Jthe_ state Jgpnyention^ and which should [not receive its
endorsement. They have faults of omission and commission. They
evince a desire to sail with thejwind, and as near the water as possible
wifEout getting wet. The Democracy everywhere believe that the
Constitution was altered by fraud and force, and do not intend to be
mealy-mouthed in their expression of the outrage, whatever they may
agree upon as to how the amendments should be treated in the
future, for the sake of saving, if possible, what is left of constitutional
liberty." After the scheme was adopted in convention, the common sentiment
was well expressed by the editor who said that "the platform was made
for present use, and is marked with the taint of insincerity."
The speeches of Colonel McCook and other Democratic gentlemen

360 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
exhibit, when carefully read, clearly enough the character of the new
departure. These paragraphs furnish no adequate reply to the questions which
an intelligent and earnest Republican, who believes in the wisdom and
value of the amendments, would put to these distinguished gentlemen,
when they ask him for his vote. He would ask: "If the Democratic
party shall obtain the controlling power in the general Government, in
its several departments, executive, legislative, and judicial, and in the
State Governments, what would it do? Would it faithfully execute
these amendments, or would it not rather use its power to get rid of
them — either by constitutional amendment, by judicial decision, by
unfriendly legislation, or by a failure or refusal to legislate? " Before the
new departure can gain Republican votes, its friends must answer satis
factorily these questions. The speeches I have quoted fail to furnish
such answers. Colonel McCook objects to the Fifteenth Amendment,
because "it contains a provision intended to confer power upon Con
gress which is dangerous to the liberties of the country." Now, what is
this dangerous provision? It reads: "Section 2. The Congress shall
have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." Each of
the three recent amendments contains a similar provision. Without this
provision, they would be inoperative in more than half of the late
Rebel States. The complaints made of these provisions warn us that in
Democratic hands the legislation required to give force and effect to
these provisions would be denied.
But the most significant part of these speeches are the passages which
refer to the repeal of the amendments. Mr. Hubbard [chairman of
Colonel McCook's first meeting] said: "We don't surrender the right to
make such returns to the old Constitution as we may deem expedient.
It is a future question that we are not bound to discuss." Colonel Mc
Cook says: "How can I answer for all the future? How can I tell what
the Democracy of New York or any other State may do?" Mr. Hunt
[candidate for Lieutenant-Governor] says: "The fact that they have
been declared a part of the Constitution does not preclude any legiti
mate discussion as to their expediency. Proper action will never be
barred." The meaning of all this is that the Democratic party will
acquiesce in the amendments while it is out of power. Whether or not
it will try to repeal them when it gets power is a question of the future
which they are not bound to discuss. Or, as another distinguished
gentleman has it, this question is "beyond the range of profitable dis
cussion." In reply to these gentlemen, the well-informed Republican
citizen when asked to vote for the new departure, is very likely to adopt
their own phraseology, and to say, "Whether I shah vote your ticket
or not is a question of the future which it is not now proper to discuss —
it is beyond the range of profitable discussion"; and if he has the
Democratic veneration for Tammany Hall, he will say, with Colonel
McCook, " How can I tell what the Democracy of New York may do? "

SECOND TERM AS GOVERNOR 361
Notwithstanding the decision of the late convention, it is probable
that the real sentiment of the Democracy of Ohio is truly stated by the
Butler County Democrat : —
" Our position, then, is, that while we regard the so-flajjed amend
ments as gross usurpation and base frauds — .not j, part of _tlj£,Efideral
Constitution de facto nor de jure — and, therefore, acts whichitre void,
we will abide by them until a majority of the people of the States united
shall, at the polls, put men in power who shall hold them to be null and
ofjiojgeetTWe adhere~sfrictfy. on tTiis pmnt.. tn thP second resolution
of Hon. L. D. Campbell, adopted at the Democratic cony en,ti,o,n,.h eld
in this countyjast May; and to refresh the minds of^ojirxeaders we
reproduce it here: —
2. That now, as heretofore, we.are ijapppsed ..to aU J^awjess.njggg.and
disorder, ancTfor maintaining the supremacy of the Constitntjori , and
laws as the only certain means of public safety, ..and ...will_ata.de.fcz all
their provisions untiTtEFsame shall b_^amended_ ajbj3jgaj_^l__sg_£gr_ealed
by "the lawfully constituted authorities.' "
The new departure has certainly very little claim to the support of
Republican citizens. What are its claims on honest Democrats?
Colonel McCook, to make the new departure palatable to his Demo
cratic supporters, tells them that a repeal of the Fifteenth Amendment
would fail of its object. That the right to vote, once exercised by the
black man, cannot be taken away. Is this sound either in law or logic?
By the Fifteenth Amendment no State can deny the right to vote to any
citizens on account of race or color. Suppose that amendment was re
pealed; what would prevent Kentucky from denying suffrage to colored
citizens? Plainly nothing. And in case of such repeal it is probable that
in less than ninety days thereafter every Democratic State would deny
suffrage to colored citizens, and the great body of Democratic voters
would heartily applaud that result. The truth is, no sound argument
can be made, showing or tending to show that the new departure is con
sistent with the Democratic record. Hitherto Democracy has taught
that, as a question of law, the amendments were made by force and
fraud, and are therefore void; that, as a question of principles, this is a
white man's government, and that to confer suffrage on the colored races
— on the African or Chinaman — would change the nature of the gov
ernment and speedily destroy it. Now the new departure demands that
Democrats shall accept the amendments as valid, and shall take a
pledge "to secure equal rights to all persons, without distinction of
race, color, or condition." Sincere Democrats will find it very difficult
to take that pledge, unless they are now convinced that their whole
political life has been a great mistake.
When an individual changes his political principles — turns his coat
merely to catch votes — he is generally thought to be unworthy of support.
I entertain no doubt that the people of Ohio, at the approaching election,
will, upon that principle, by a large majority, condemn the Democratic
party for its boldattempttocatchRepublicanvotesby thenew departure.

362 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
The last few days of Mr. Hayes's service as Governor were
marked by an episode which throws strong light on his character
for straightforwardness in politics and his loyalty in friendship.
John Sherman's term as United States Senator was about to
expire. He was a candidate for reelection and the Republicans
were in control of the Legislature. But Mr. Shernian_was by no
means the unanimous choice of the garty^and Jiejiadmany active
opponents am^n£jtheJR,epublican mejrJbers _qf. the . Legislature.
There were several aspirants for Mr. Sherman's place, and Mr.
Hayes was besought to allow his name to go before the Republi
can caucus. Indeed, early in 1871 he had been solicited to enter
the race; but after thirteen years of official life, during the greater
part of which his salary had been insufficient to meet his living
expenses, he felt that he must return to private life, attractive as a
seat in the Senate would be. Hejhoughtj too, that_Mr JBherman
deserved reelection. He therefore had resisted the importunities
of his friends and now again refused to entertain the question.1
MeanwhU^aasoonasjhe members of the Legislature assembled
at C(jumbus.Jthe Democratic legislators who were moat eager to
prevent Mr. Sherman's return to the Senate quickly let it be
known that they werewjUjng to join with the recalcitrant Repub-
licans and cast their votes for Mr. Hayes. All that was necessary
to insure tne success of the scheme was the permission of the Gov
ernor to the use of his name. This without the slightest hesitation
he sturdily and steadfastly refused. Writing to his uncle, Janu
ary 3, 1872, he said: —
Everything for two days or three has been absorbed in the senatorial
fight. I am squarely out of it. It has seemed, and still seems that I
could command the place by entering the contest. But I have steadily
refused. I could not consent, even if I wanted it, in the way proposed.
The requisite number of Republicans to elect, added to the Democrats,
would stay out of caucus if I would consent to be elected that way.
This is the only condition, my consent to be elected. The upshot will
be, I think, that Sherman will be nominated and elected. It is rather
pleasant to be so endorsed by one's opponents. But, etc., etc., etc.
The next day, January 4, Mr. Hayes put an end as he
thought to all possible manipulation in his behalf by obtaining
1 December 28, 1871, he wrote William Henry Smith: "I shall not go before
the caucus — shall not be a candidate under any circumstances."

SECOND TERM AS GOVERNOR 363
the publication in the Ohio State Journal of a brief editorial
paragraph which read : —
It is well known, and we speak by authority, that Governor Hayes
has not been and will not be a candidate for Senator, either in or out of
caucus. To this paragraph, as preserved in his scrapbook, Mr. Hayes
appended this note: —
I wrote the above and published it the first chance after it became
apparent that I was to be supported merely to defeat the nominee of the
Republican caucus, and at a time when it seemed to me certain that I
would be elected if I would consent to an election under such circum
stances. But in spite of this, and even after Mr. Sherman had received
<|Ee^aucus nondnation^ndjhe.vote had been taken in the sepa-
rate houses ofJhe^e^Matiire^ a Republican State Senator and a
Representative called on Mj^Haves JjJLJd_i.h_n]s^Iate_at-jnight
and tried to persuade him to aUow them to vote for him in the
jointsession. Enough Republicans, they assured him, were still
so opposed to the election of Mr. Sherman that they would turn
to him if he would consent to an election. They were confident
that after a few ballots, when it became apparent that Mr. Sher
man could not be chosen, the Republicans would come to him,
and they added: "The man now elected Senator over the caucus
will be the next President of the United States." But Mr. Hayes
refused to be tempted, declaring that with his ideas of duty he
could not honorably consent and would not. The Senator said
it was strange to see the Senatorship refused with the Presidency
in prospect. Later that same night Mr. Hayes was roused from a
sound sleep by another friend who came to him with a similar
plea and with an even stronger assurance that if he would give
the word the Senatorship would be his. Again he resisted the
temptation, saying: "I can't honorably do it and there is no use
talking. It is settled and has been for weeks." The visitor re
plied: "Well, if you say that, I must give it up. J admire_your
principle, but Jj>hn Shjerjnan wouldn't do jit." 1
The conclusion of Mr. Hayes's term was celebrated by a recep
tion given by Mr. and Mrs. Hayes to the new Governor (General
1 Diary.

364 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Noyes) and his wife attended by the state officers, the members
of the Legislature, and many others. His first day of release
from official duties gave him an unwonted sense of relief and
exhilaration. He wrote his uncle, January 9: —
I feel foolishly happy this, my first day of freedom. For a week or
two past, there has been a feeling with me that something might happen
to cast a shadow on the four years of good fortune in the Governor's
office. Besides, I was hurried with perplexing business to the last mo
ment. To-day I am independent. Our big reception went off nicely.
Everybody says pleasant things. It looks as if I might have been Sena
tor. My refusal gives me position, and, true or not, the common remark
is that I am the most esteemed of the Governors within the memory of
people living. But enough of this vanity.
And two days later: —
It seems good to be no man's servant — to be the equal of the best in
rights, at least.

CHAPTER XXI
, NOMINATED FOR CONGRESS — RETURN TO FREMONT
PREPARATIONS were immediately made to return to
Cincinnati — still Mr. Hayes's nominal residence, though
he had spent little time there since he entered the army in 1861.
He was cordially welcomed by his old friends and neighbors.
February 4, he wrote his uncle: "I shall enjoy life here, but more
and more I am satisfied with my final decision on two points —
public life and my permanent residence in future."
It was his purpose to abandon pohtics, to give up all thought
of further political preferment, and, as soon as his affairs at
Cincinnati could be put in proper shape, to make his permanent
home at Fremont. There cannot be the slightest doubt of the
sincerity of his determination to quit public life — so many and
emphatic are the expressions in his diary and his letters 1 of this
settled purpose. But his perennial interest in public affairs — in
the current of political discussion, in the fortunes of the party
with which he had so long been identified — was in no degree
abated. Only now he regarded himself rather as a disinterested
observer of the course of events.2 However, quite against his
1 For example, in a letter to Joseph A. Joel (an old comrade), of New York, of
May 29, 1871, Mr. Hayes wrote: "I am looking forward to a release from public
life, and to freedom, as hopefully as a schoolboy to his coming vacation, or a
soldier to a furlough. I retire absolutely. I shall make no attempt to go higher.
If I ever accept public employment again, it will be incidental and for special
reasons." Many letters before this and subsequent to it contain similar expres
sions. A letter to Murat Halstead, of December 29, 1871, had this postscript:
" My intention is to quit the struggle for political promotion and at the end of
my present term to go into private life. I don't want to quit with friends accusing
me of blind partisanship. I don't want any friend to take back his uttered opin
ions, but perhaps the fact here stated may influence the expression of them.
Hence this P.S."
2 "Having resolved to quit the race for political promotion, I can now look at
the current events in political affairs without the bias created by personal inter
est. The Swria-torship tf> be derided t,his year in Ohio .seems to be as likely to.fall
to me, if I enter the struggle for it, as to any other Republican. But the great
questions which have »p occupied my thoughts and enlisted my feelings — the
great questions of freedom for the slaves and the unity of the nation.— hberty

366 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
will and inclination, he soon found himself involved in the
activities of the national campaign of 1872.1 General Grant's
first term as President, beginning under the happiest auspices,
had gradually increased in unpopularity until a considerable ele
ment of the Republican party, guided by leaders of conspicuous
ability, undoubted patriotism, and sincerity of purpose, had
become completely alienated and saw no hope for a betterment,
of conditions except in direct opposition to the reelection of
Grant. The Liberal Republican movement, as it was called, was
early in 1872 in full swing. Wisely directed, and solidly sup
ported by the Democrats, Mr. Hayes was disposed to believe
that it might be successful in its purpose. But he saw little
prospect of the necessary unity of action. April 30 he wrote his
uncle from Cincinnati: —
The city is filling up with Liberals. No doubt the number here is
largely greater than the constituency they represent requires. But I am
satisfied that the opposition to Grant, if it could be united, would carry
the country. But the prospect of such unity does not strike me as
probable. The leading candidates are Adams and Judge Davis. Adams
would carry off more Republicans than any other man; but would not,
I think, get a solid Democratic support. In fact, I suspect they would
repudiate him. Judge Davis would be dropped by a large share of the
Liberal Republicans. But as he would probably get the solid Democratic
vote he would be very formidable. But I need not speculate about it.
and nationality — are now settled. No political or party resolutions can unsettle
the established facts that all men are to have in this country equal civil and
political rights and that the United States form one people — one nation.
"The small questions of to-day about taxation, appointments, etc., etc., are
petty and uninteresting. I cannot consent, after having borne my part in the
glorious struggle against slavery during the last seventeen years, now to endure
the worry and anxiety belonging to political life for the sake of the honors of
office merely, and without subjects interesting me deeply involved in the struggle.
I do not expect or desire to withdraw from all interest and participation in pass
ing events. It is simply I am out of the race for promotion. I am not a candidate,
and shall avoid being made one, for the Senatorship, or for any other high
office." (Diary, March 16, 1871.)
1 January 2, 1872, General John Pope wrote Mr. Hayes: "I am glad to hear
that you feel so much relief in retiring from office, but your resolution to take no
further conspicuous part in public affairs is not accepted with so much satisfac
tion, even if you had the power to carry it out. Men like you are too much
needed in public affairs to be permitted thus to escape the bondage of public
life, and whilst I have no doubt at all that your personal happiness would be
greatly promoted by leaving public life, if you can do so without regret, . . . yet
I do not for a moment believe that the people will permit you to withdraw from
what they consider a duty to the country." '

NOMINATED FOR CONGRESS 367
The affair is as well understood abroad as it is here. A new man in such
cases is always a possibility. I am glad to be out of such a muss.
With the nomination of the brilliant but erratic and imprac
ticable Horace Greeley, a man most offensive to the Democrats
though they accepted him as their candidate, Mr. Hayes was
at first not confident of results, but inclined to think that the
movement would be a failure and was convinced that it deserved
to fail. In his diary, May 6, three days after the nomination of
Greeley, he wrote: —
I am not confident of results. If the j)emocrats adopt Greeley as
their candidate he may win, and . winj}y_a large majority. The people
a£cskkjjf .politics — ready for change and may break in any new direc-
tion. Yet I rather incline to the opinion that the Dempcrats^dlUfld a
dissent m. thejrj^wnjanks, whenthey. take up Greeley ..wj^ckihejixan't
control — a dissent strong enough to let Gjant keep the chair. A queer
result it is ! Free traders nominate their bitterest and most formidable
foe. A party whose strength is mainlyjn IheJSerman element, which
is clamorous against temperance fanaticism, nominate the author of
 i*1 -J f,t.,^„jiij.fcMun nam iim jihimm i*n ¦¦¦¦¦¦ ¦rwimnBiii'i^ ¦¦ ¦  ' 'J  "ri-ii rTT ' i ¦ I ¦ »r i i i ¦ ¦iwmiriBifc— »¦¦« ^ i iii
that^ fanaticism. Democrats are required to support a man who, said
that he would gofor _Grant in preference to any Democrat. "Anything
to beat a Democrat " has been, and was up to the day of his nomination,
his lifekmgjnotto.
Against his preferences, Mr. Hayes was made one of the dele
gates at large to the Philadelphia Convention which renomi
nated Grant. On his return from the convention, in which he
served on the platform committee, he wrote his uncle, June 10,
from Delaware, Ohio, where his family was spending the heated
period: —
I returned from the Philadelphia Convention yesterday. It was com
pletely successful in all respects. It was united, harmonious, and the
most enthusiastic convention any of us ever saw. The recent vindictive
attacks on General Grant have created a strong reaction in his favor,
which accounts for the unexpected feeling in his behalf — I mean the
unlooked-for enthusiasm.
Disturbing reports of the number of disaffected Republicans
in Ohio and neighboring States came to him in the next few
weeks and caused him alarm. July 17 he writes in his diary: —
Altogether it is plain to my mind that Greeley will win, if the Demo
crats support him with their whole force. I think they can't do it, but I
fear it. I fear that the thing is in great doubt; but I have seen too little

368 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
to be positive. I must say that I have just now a feeling that Greeley
will be elected.
But a month later, after he had entered the campaign and been
somewhat about the State, he wrote: "I now think Grant's
election quite certain."
Meanwhile, his old friends of the Second Congressional Dis
trict were bombarding him with letters, soliciting him to allow
them to nominate him again for Congress. To all his corre
spondents he sent an emphatic "out of the question." He had
no desire to return to Congress, and had given assurances to
prospective candidates for the nomination that he would not
enter the race. He declared, therefore, that he could not under
any circumstances allow his name to be used against them. He
could see only one contingency which would induce him to
change his mind, — and this contingency he refused to give any
expression to lest his expression be used to bring the contingency
about, — namely, that it should be the general wish of the
RepubKcans and of the candidates themselves that he should
be nominated. But even in that event the nomination would be
against his preference. In spite, however, of his protests the
Congressional Convention, August 6, in his absence from the
city, nominated him on the first ballot and with manifestations
of great enthusiasm and elation. The announcement of the con
vention's action was conveyed to him in a dispatch from Richard
Smith, editor of the CmcipnatiCjazeflle, who added: "We assured
Republicans that Governor Hayes never retreated when ordered
to advance." Even then Mr. Hayes sought to decline the honor,
but he reluctantly yielded his preferences on the receipt of a
petition, numerously signed by influential Republicans and inde
pendent voters of the district, urgently soliciting his acceptance
of the nomination. His feeling is clearly indicated by a letter,
dated Delaware, Ohio, August 10, to General M. F. Force, of
Cincinnati : —
Returning from Fremont last night I found your dispatch of the 7th.
On hearing of the nomination, and long before the convention adjourned,
I sent dispatches to Smith, of the Gazette, and William E. Davis, ex
plicitly declining to accept. There would have been time after the
receipt of the dispatches to nominate another. I am now placed in a
position where to withdraw might be injurious to the cause. I shall

NOMLNATED FOR CONGRESS 369
probably stand. But I wish to be uncommitted until I come down
and see how it is. Many reasons, mostly of a private nature, make the
thing distasteful. But I feel pleased by what you and others say, and
I shall not worry about it any more. It annoyed me for a time. I will
come down and stop at the Gibson House Wednesday afternoon. Hope
to see you that evening.
Mr. Hayes made a vigorous canvass of his district, speaking
constantly during the five weeks immediately preceding the
election, though most of the time he was suffering from an inter
mittent fever. He found from the start that he was engaged in
a losing battle. After a week of effort he wrote (September 8)
to his uncle: —
I have stood the first and worst week's work well. The result here is
more doubtful than I supposed. The Greeley strength is in mv district.
I feel it the truth that Greeley ought to be beaten, and I strike him in
every speech. This drives the Greeley men from me. I shall not be sur-
PlksisLlMs?1'- But we gain steadilyTl think Grant's election almost
sure. Four weeks and I am free. I enjoy this.
The kind and quality of the speeches made by Mr. Hayes in
this campaign are sufficiently indicated by excerpts from the
carefully prepared address which he made at Glendale, in the
first week of his canvass, namely, on September 4. He said: —
In the present condition of the country, two things are of vital im
portance — peace and a sound financial pohcy. We want peace —
honorable peace, with alI_nations; peace with the Indians: and .peace
between all the citizens of ajl the States ¦ We want a financial policy so
honest that there can be no stain on the national honor and no taint.
on thenational credit; so stable that labor and capital and legitimate
business of every sort can confidently count upon what it will be next
week, the next month, and the next year. We want the burdens of tax
ation so justly distributed that they will bear equally upon all classes of
citizens in proportion to their ability to sustain them.
We want our currency gradually to appreciate until, without finan
cial shock, or any sudden shrinkage of values, but in the natural course
of trade, it shall reach the uniform and p.e.rnranJe.aljaIuL£.oijSpld. With
lasting peace assured, and a sound_fina.ndaLciMclitica^§kJ^sbsdj..the
United States and all her citizens may .reas^ably~£WecJ~t»«£njoy a
measure'oi'pTOsperity without a parallel in the world's history. . . .
Notwithstanding the predictions of our adversaries, that to confer
political rights upon colored people would lead to a war of races, white
people and colored people are now voting side by side in all of the old
slave States, and their elections are^quite as free from violence and

370 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
disorder as they were when the whites alone were the voters. In a word,
peace prevails in the South to an extent which, under the circumstances,
the ablest statesmen among our adversaries three years ago pronounced
impossible. The watchword of the Republican party four years ago
was, "Let us have peace." A survey of every field where the public
peace was then imperilled, of our affairs with foreign nations, with the
Indians, and in the South, shows that the pledge implied in that famous
watchword has been substantially made good, and that if the people
continue to stand by the Government the peace we now enjoy will be
continued and enduring.
Our financial affairs, four years ago, were of a condition that filled the
minds of our ablest public men with anxiety and alarm. . . . The finan
cial situation in 1868, according to these gentlemen [Mr. Thurman and
other eminent Democratic statesmen], was a great debt steadily in
creasing, excessive taxation, enormous expenditure, and an impoverished
people. Their remedy was to elevate the Democratic party to power,
and to pay off the bonded debt with greenbacks. The majority of the
people did not like the remedy. General Grant was elected, a Republi
can Congress was elected, and Governor Boutwell became Secretary of
the Treasury. Instantly the country felt the change. . . .
Since General Grant became President taxes have been abolished
which produced annually $130,460,580. If no taxes had been repealed,
the reduction of the debt under Grant would have exceeded $650,000,-
000 in three years and a half.
Our currency, which is of" uniform value throughout the United
States, has steadily appreciated until the total increase in its value is
about $140,000,000, and the fluctuations in the premium on gold are
comparatively slight.
The credit of the National Government has improved, and it can bor
row funds to carry the debt at lower rates of interest than ever before.
Four years ago, and three years ago, the ablest debaters among our
adversaries were accustomed to speak of the country as on the brink of
ruin. They said that " the people were in distress, in want, and impov
erished; that the national burdens amounted to virtual confiscation, and
that the people were daily growing poorer and poorer." They declared
that to continueptepublican rule would complete the destruction of the
country. The Republican rule has been continued, and what do we see?
A prosperity the likejrf-T&hich_is._no.t found anywhere else, on earth.
More miles of railroad are building, more dwellings^ , shops, and houses
of every "kind are in course of erection than ever before. Population is
mc'reasmgTwealth is increasingJ_and.in eyery_ foreign Jand the man who
would improve his condition is hopefully looking to America.
I do not wish to be understood as holding tiiaj^alljhej^esjim^which
a country enjoys are due togood government. I would not so exaggerate
the functions of government. Our great prosperity is the result of the
inherent and reliable resources of the country, and depends largely on

NOMINATED FOR CONGRESS 371
the natural wealth of the nation, which if d^jly mor« and more, devel
oped by the enterprise and industry of the people. But the sound finan
cial policy of the Government has contributed important elements to
that prosperity. TJiejgea^Cincinnati ^ExpositionoTwhich we are all so
proud, and which will do so much for this city and for this partjjf the
United States, could not have been successfully injuguxa,t.ed,ifttejBnan-
cial schemes of our adversaries had been adopted by.the^Gpygrjjiment.
There are several questions relating to the present and the future
which merit the attention of the people. Among the most interesting of
these is the question of civil service reform.
About forty years ago a system of making appointments to office
grew up, based on the maxim, "To the victors belong the spoils." The
old rule, — the true rule, — that honesty, capacity, and fidelity consti
tute the highest claim to office, gave place to the idea that partisan serv
ices were to be chiefly considered. AH parties in practice have adopted
this system. Since its first introduction it has been materially modified.
At first, the President, either directly or through the heads of depart
ments, made all appointments. Gradually, by usage, the appointing
power in many cases was transferred to members of Congress — to Sena
tors and Representatives. The offices in these cases have become not so
much rewards for party services as rewards for personal services in nom
inating and electing Senators and Representatives. What patronage
the President and his Cabinet retain, and what offices Congressmen are
by usage entitled to fill is not definitely settled. A Congressmanwho
maintains good relations with the Executive usually receives a dajger
share of patronage than one who is independent. The system is a bad
orie.~It destroys "t^ln^^enclence of the separate departments of the
Government, and it degrades the civil service. It ought to be abolished.
General Grant has again and again explicitly recommended reform. A
majority oft Congress has been unable to agree upon any important
measure. Doubtless the bills which have been introduced contain objec
tionable features. But the work should be begun. Let the best obtain
able bill be passed, and experience will show what amendments are
required. I would support either Senator Trumbull's bill or Mr. Jenckes's
bill, if nothing better were proposed. The admirable speeches onthis
subject by the Representative of the Fjrst .Dis^igt^heBfcorable Aaron
F. Perry, contain the best exposition I have seen of sound doctrine on
this question, and I trust the day is not distant when the principles
which he advocates will be embodied in practical measures of legislation.
We ougTiFtoTiaye^ civil
The duties levied under our present tariff laws were largely adopted
during lSe"war when all home productions were burdened with heavy
taxation under the internal revenue laws. All tax laws, whether internal
revenue or tariff, were then regarded as war measures. Now that war
expenditures are happily ended and the internal taxes abolished, our
tariff laws need extensive revision. In all changes of laws affecting the

372 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
business of the country a prudent legislator will move cautiously. When
capital has been invested and labor employed in the faith of existing
laws, the importance of stability is not to be overlooked. Reductions
should be gradual and moderate. Violent and sweeping changes of laws
affcctim* thej^sjne^^ ine
quality Jias jcrepHntoJieJaws itiisjieyer,tQQ_earix±o Jj£gin,iQ.head the
ship in the_rightjdjiecti,on. The .teriff laws .npw^cpatain.njanyinconsist-
encies and inequalities. Duties are levied whif;h cost, mnre t.n collect
than the revenue they produce. All such ought to be ahnlishpH. .Some
duties, now that thejnternai revenue taxes are repealed, amount to jobs
in favor of special interests, and increase to the consumer ,thq cps,t of the
dutiable articles ,far_beyqnd the revenue Jg.alizei.bxlhg-fiaXPrnment.
In some cases the duties upon articles deemed necessaries are greater
than upon luxuries. On all these heads revision and correction are de
manded. Upon this subject each Representative is accustomed, more,
perhaps, than on any other, to regard the particular interests of his own
constituents. In_the needed revision of the tariff laws it will bP the
sppri^rhj^nfJjieJR:Pr^rp^ see that, the wishes and interests of
his own constituents are_fully_ and fairly represented. The question is
not^a party question^and„can,npt be made-one. The Democrats have
ignoredjt jnthejr mtimaLsiate. amlian^r^sjoaaLplatforrns, and on
all sides they ar^snjjpnrfin^pandjrlates for Copgress with""t regard to
their opinionsonthis^sjibject.
The salient features of the pending Presidential canvass are the aban
donment by the Democratic party of its old principles, the adoption of a
Republican platform, the laying upon the shelf of its tried and hereto
fore trusted leaders, and the nomination of Mr. Greeley, who has yet to
cast his first vote for a Democratic ticket. It is now certain that this
movement does not mean the dissolution of the old Democratic party
or the formation of any new party. The Democratic party has its na
tional, state, district, and county conventions and organizations, and
proposes to go forward to a Democratic victory or defeat, as in former
years. It admits by its action that a Democratic victory can't be gained
either on Democratic principles or with Democratic candidates. The
Republican administration of General Grant has been so successful that
the present Democratic leadership admits that a Democratic victory,
pure and simple, is impossible. But it hopes that, screened by a Repub
lican platform and the name of Mr. Greeley, it can win a victory for the
Democratic organization. What would such a victory signify? Whom
will such a victory bring into power? Who surround Mr. Greeley? Who
nominated him? These questions are important when we consider the
peculiarities of Mr. Greeley's character. One of his ablest supporters in
the East, Mr. Samuel Bowles, of the Springfield Republican, over his
own signature used this language about him, since his nomination: —
" But, with his usual perversity of temper and openness to flattery, Mr.
Greeley will probably continue to give his faith and attribute his success

NOMINATED FOR CONGRESS 373
to those who fawn upon him that they may use him, and to slander and
abuse those braver and truer friends who dare to expose these creatures
to him and the world, and tell him the truth that he needs to hear, even
if he does not like it. Samuel Bowles."
Mr. Greeley's nomination was not the work of such Democrats as
John Quincy Adams, Judge Thurman, Mr^Pendletonj^Senator Bucka-
lew, or Senator Hendricks. It was plainly the work of the New York
City politicians and the Confederates of the South. It was not the best
elements of the Democratic party which led in this movement. I^e
Cincinnati Commercial s_aid_truly^in reply, to the Mobile editor, that the
nomination of Mr. Greeley was due to the Confederates. Mr. Samuel
Bowles "saiSTi^e'Southt^^ City and the South
head the column. The Tammany politician is apt to have his eyepn the
Treasury, and the Southern Democrat has not forgotten the lost cause.
There is nothing in Mr.Greeley^character or opinions to relieve the
well-founded apprehensions which his doubtful surroundings excite.
His notions of finance are familiar to all. He would resume specie pav-
mentsimmediately by posting over the door of the TreasujxAflotice
thatspecie paymentsare resumed." "The way to resume," he says
"is to resume." If he could have his way he says he would put a duty of
one hundreddollars per ton on pig iron/He was the_special champion of
the law to put a stop to gold gambling in 1864, which was repealed after
twoweeks of signal failure. In 1867, he said, "we believe in taxing so as
to pay the debt in ten years."
He would extend the sphere of government farther than any other
public man in America. He holds that the hand of power may bene-
ficially meddle with the business, the interestsTand thehabits of every
citizen. Power is never safe inthe hands of such a,man.
General Grant, by the admission of his most formidable adversary
in Ohio, "has made a safe sort of President." Under him we have had,
and we shall have, a sound financial policy — sound because it is based
on common sense, on the laws of trade; and, above all, because it is
honest. Under him we have had, and we shall have, peace — peace
that will last, because it stands on the sure foundation of liberty for all,
equality for all, and justice for all.
In other speeches Mr. Hayes urged that Mr. Greeley had
never been regarded as possessing the qualities of an able states
man. Lacking firmness, soundness of judgment, and knowledge
of men (Mr. Hayes argued), he had never received high office or
important nominations from his own party. During forty years'
activity in politics, his highest recognition had been a fragment of
one term in Congress. He owed his adoption by the Democrats
to a bargain in the Cincinnati Liberal Republican Convention;

374 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
Brown and Blair struck hands with Fenton and Tammany. The
men of character, of reputation for integrity and ability, all
opposed him. The Ohio delegation — the best in the convention
— were solid against him. He was a candidate of the Demo
cratic party because the leaders of the Tammany Ring believed
they could use him as a mere cat's-paw. The absurdity of his
candidacy was made manifest when it was recalled that he had
stood for every measure that the Democrats had most stoutly
opposed and condemned; not merely before the war but since.
He had been a fanatical supporter of prohibitory liquor legisla
tion; he was an extreme protectionist; and he had defended with
all his power the Republican reconstruction measures and all
the associated legislation. And even now, according to the high
authority of one of his most distinguished supporters, Senator
Sumner, he had not in the least changed his most radical views
on the race question. The Greeley^ movement bore a strong
resemblance to the Johnson movement-C^SfififC* The Democrats
sustained Johnson, not because they admired or loyed..him, but
because they hop.ed he. jmuldJae.J3i.gaP.d_ ciubJtQ-Ji£a.tJji£.Repub-
lieans with. The Republicans that adl^ereji^tcjhjm g^dsg_mainly
for selfish reasons. So now the Democrats could not at heart
tnist^ede^^wa^gjhejr. bitter enemy.jnor, could the. Repub
licans that werejurpp^tjn^Jiim. j^nowing his impractical quali-
ties^hayej»nfidence mjiis^taj^siminship.
While throughout the canvass Mr. Hayes felt that the Repub
licans were constantly gaining, even in the face of the opposition
of most of the papers of Cincinnati, as Greeley's weakness was
pointed out and especially as it was made manifest by Greeley's
own speeches,1 yet he had faint hope that sufficient headway
would be made in his district to overcome the formidable
Liberal Republican defection and give him success in October.
On the eve of the election (October 6) he wrote his uncle: —
I still expect defeat. Of course, I would prefer it to be otherwise, but
it is of small consequence. I look for victory in the State and in other
States. Mr. Hayes's prediction was verified by the event in both
1 " Greeley's speeches must surely weaken him and destroy what chances he
had. He left yesterday for Louisville and must continue to make mistakes."
(From Letter to Sardis Birchard, September ii.)

NOMINATED FOR CONGRESS 375
respects. The day after the election (October 9) he wrote his
uncle: —
You will know of our Waterioq_defeat in Cincinnati long before this
reaches you. It is complete and ovejwheb3nng.~£k> complete that it
leaves Tin pprsnna.1 gt.ingr In fact my share in it is rather pleasant. I am
largely ahead of my ticket. At the close of the polls my election was con
ceded at the Enquirer office. I met no one who doubted it. I seemed to
be the only one who appreciated the load, and I was surprised at its
size. The slips I enclose show how well it leaves my record. I have no
regrets. The result of the Presidential business is most happy. We can re
joice over that.
He had run much ahead of his ticket, however, thus justifying
the assertions of his friends that hisjipinination would strengthen
the Republican cause. While MKEggleston rathe First District
suffered an adverse majority of 3569 yptes. Mr., Hayes, was
defeated by onl^I50^>otes. The strain of the canvass in his
fevered condition left Mr. Hayes so weakened thflt he rnnlH take
little further part in the^Pjresniential^camriajgii, going to Fre
mont to recuperate and not returning to Cincinnati until the eve
of the election. The morning after the balloting (November 6)
he wrote his uncle: —
I hope the rainy, raw weather has left you well enough to enjoy the
great victory of yesterday. It is indeed a happy and glorious result. It
was amazing to see how the immense crowd at the Gazette office stood
in the mud enjoying the news as it poured in from eight to eleven
o'clock. And that evening at a great meeting called to celebrate the
overwhelming victory of Grant at the polls, Mr. Hayes made
the following felicitous little speech: —
Fellow Citizens, — I am very grateful for this hearty greeting. I am
glad to have an opportunity to say a few words to this vast multitude of
happy and enthusiastic Republicans. You will perhaps better appreciate
my feelings if I remind you that about four weeks ago in the Second
Congressional District I was badly snowed under, and that by reason of
that circumstance — a circumstance which I assure you was entirely
beyond my control — I was compelled to explore the head waters of
that doleful stream, so much dreaded by aspirants for political office —
the head waters of Salt River; and you perhaps know that by the rules
established for governing the emigrants to that region, all who arrive
there are compelled to remain until they are redeemed by a political

376 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
victory of their friends in the county whence they came. Bearing this
fact in mind you can imagine the feelings of the Republicans who in
October were sent up Salt River as they read the bulletins in the Gazette
office windows last evening. Those bulletins relieved us of our disability
and entitled us to rejoice with you to-night.
And in all soberness there is great cause for rejoicing. We rejoice that
the land of William Penn, by 100,000 majority, has proved worthy of
her great founder. We rejoice that our own State of Ohio stands firmly
by the most eminent man who was ever born upon her soil. We rejoice
that the American people have sustained a man of great deeds and great
services rather than a man whose greatness is chiefly in words and
promises. We rejoice that the people have sustained the party which for
twelve years has done so much to preserve the prosperity, the good
name, the liberty, and the union of the nation. We rejoice that they have
condemned the coalition between fragments of the old parties formed in
May last — a coalition having few principles and no history which any
rational man would wish to have remembered.
But I must not make a speech. This is not an occasion for speech-
making. It is an occasion for rejoicing, for songs, and for music, and
above all for gratitude to the Giver of all good that our Government for
four years longer has been entrusted to safe hands.
President Grant, desirous of recognizing Mr. Hayes's efficient
services in the campaign and at the same time of strengthen
ing the public service, urged Mr. Hayes to accept the office of
Assistant United States Treasurer at Cincinnati. But Mr.
Hayes could not be induced to abandon his purpose to return to
private life. Early in 1873 he bade permanent farewell to Cincin
nati and removed his family to Fremont,1 taking possession of
the substantial brick house in Spiegel Grove which his uncle had
built for him some years before, and which with the grove was
now deeded to him. Here was his home for the remainder of his
life. He at once set about beautifying the great place by opening
vistas where the growth of forest trees was dense and with fresh
plantations of trees and shrubs. At the same time he was
encouraging his uncle to present a park and a library to the town.
He soon became interested in real estate development at Toledo,
1 "Our return, or rather my return and our settlement at Fremont will date
from May 3, 1873. I left Fremont for Cincinnati in 1849 and now come back,
having achieved as much as I expected, or even hoped by my life in Cincinnati,
with kindly feelings towards all the world, to spend the closing years in the home
of my youth, and the favorite resort of my childhood. Let me resolve to lead a
good and useful life — characterized by kindness, friendliness, and liberality."
(Diary, May 2, 1873.)

RETURN TO FREMONT 377
as the following letter of April 25, 1873, to General Force
indicates: —
I am getting into my new way of life and find myself rather too busy,
if I am to find any fault with it. The business is to buy, improve, and
sell real estate in Toledo and thereabouts. The gentlemen for and with
whom I act, have mvested about one hundred thousand dollars at
Toledo since I came up, and our talk is of drainage, dock lines, streets,
alleys, roads, fillings, and excavating. Pleasant enough it is, and I hope
remunerative. Another thing is more interesting. Uncle has decided to give in land
about thirty-five or forty thousand dollars to establish a free library
here. Buckland and others with myself will be trustees. We block it out
this way: (1) Seven to ten thousand dollars for a building — the
ground will come from the town; (2) ten thousand dollars' worth of
books to start; (3) the rest, fifteen to twenty thousand dollars, for a fund.
The building also to be a place for pictures, relics, pioneer doings, etc.,
etc. I want your thoughts on all of these things. We will have plenty
of time. The land is not sold and some will not sell readily at our fig
ures at present. Our hobby will be one of the hobbies I will run in the
library. The two questions are, What sort of a house? — What shall it
be? And the other, What list of books to begin with? We are just in the
first of it, and shall do nothing for some time.
Mr. Hayes felt that he was now completely and finally out of
public life, so far as participation in official affairs was con
cerned. Henceforth he was to devote himself to his family and
his private interests; to his home, his friends, and his books.1
The new mode of life was altogether agreeable to him. But in
January, 1874, it was clouded for a time by a great sorrow. His
uncle Sardis Birchard,2 who had been, his whole life long, father,
counsellor, and most loyal friend to him, after years of declining
health came peacefully to the end of his long and useful life.
He came of sturdy, God-fearing New England stock. Left an
orphan at the age of twelve, he went to live with his sister
Sophia, just married to Rutherford Hayes. With the Hayes
family he came to Ohio in 1817, and on the death of his brother-
in-law in 1822 he at once assumed the character of protector and
guardian of his sister and her children. In early manhood he
1 "One of my pet schemes for the future will be to form, to collect a com
plete library of Ohio books — books relating to the State. I may hope at least for
twenty years of life. In that time I may gather what in the State Library, or
other fit place, will be of much mterest." (Diary, January 11, 1872.)
2 Born July 15, 1801; died January 21, 1874.

378 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
fixed his home at Lower Sandusky (Fremont), where thencefor
ward he always lived. He never married, but found ample out
let for his affectionate nature in fraternal oversight of his sister
and in guiding and protecting her son and daughter and their
children. His nephew Rutherford was his particular care and
the source of his greatest pride; from him he received unvarymg
filial respect and love. Always between the two the closest rela
tions of affection and sympathy were maintained and in periods
of separation letters were constantly exchanged. Mr. Birchard
was active, enterprising, and successful in business, accumulat
ing a considerable estate, mostly in lands, the greater part of
which he left to his nephew. He was universally respected by his
friends and neighbors for his integrity and business acumen; a
thoroughly good citizen in his public spirit, in his fulfilment of
public duties, and in his church relations, giving liberally to
Christian causes. The city of Fremont was enriched by him by
the gift of a public park and a public library, both of which bear
his name, as does also one of the principal avenues of the city,
heavily shaded with great trees such as he loved. Mr. Hayes,
writing to General Force of his uncle's closing hours, adds these
words of eloquent simplicity: —
He was gifted with many unusual and beautiful traits and had almost
nothing but good in his character. We yet feel lonely and sad without
him. At the same time it is a happiness to think of his release in so pleas
ant a way. He could joke and be serious by turns to the close. He felt
confident of meeting his friends again beyond.1
The death of his uncle placed many and large responsibilities
upon the shoulders of Mr. Hayes. Upon him devolved the execu
tion of his uncle's will. That instrument had been drawn some
time before the final summons came to its maker. It did not con
tain the provision for the proposed library,2 steps toward the
1 Mr. Hayes's old friend and classmate, Guy M. Bryan, of Texas, who had
known Mr. Birchard well, wrote Mr. Hayes: "I have your letter announcing the
death of your uncle. My old friend and a man I loved. A pure man and a good
friend. He lived a long life, was useful and blessed. I am glad you and your
family were with him months before he died and that his last days were passed
in the bosom of your family. I am sad at his death, but I feel that an upright
man has passed away and will receive his reward hereafter, as it is allotted to the
good and just in this life."
2 Mr. Hayes at once made a will, making provision for the library in case of
his demise before his uncle's plans could be carried out. This was one of the

RETURN TO FREMONT 379
creation of which had already been taken. Moreover, on his
deathbed Mr. Birchard had thought of many other minor gifts,
— making an appreciable sum in the aggregate, not included in
his will, — which he desired to make. All these Mr. Hayes care
fully noted down and religiously carried into effect. But Mr.
Birchard's estate consisted almost wholly of lands in and about
Fremont and Toledo. While these lands had large prospective
value, they could at the time be sold, if at all, only at a serious
sacrifice. Business and industry were in a state of severe depres
sion as a result of the disastrous financial panic of the preceding
year. Moreover, Mr. Hayes had himself, in association with
friends, made considerable investment in land and lots at
Duluth, which was most seriously affected by the collapse of Jay
Cooke and Company who had been its chief financial sponsors.
He had, as already noted, been making similar investments at
Toledo. On these investments he still owed much money and
felt himself constrained to assume still further obligations to
relieve one of his associates, who had become financially embar
rassed by reason of losses through the great Chicago conflagra
tion. It was necessary, therefore, for Mr. Hayes, in order to pay
the bequests and to make the gifts directed by his uncle, to
encumber the estate at a high rate of interest and to assume a
depressing burden of indebtedness.1 He preferred, for the sake
of the good name of his uncle, to fulfil as promptly as possible all
the benefactions he had been charged with, even though some
of them had been made contingent on the sale of certain lands at
a specified valuation. The result was that Mr. Hayes found him
self for many months absorbed in business cares, not unattended
with more or less anxiety. But he lost no buoyancy of spirit; he
gave much time and thought to the purchase of books for the
new library, installed in temporary quarters until a building
could be erected on the site of old Fort Stephenson which the
city had bought; 2 he went on with his improvements at Spiegel
documents photographed by Democratic agents who visited Fremont in 1876 to
search for materials to be used against Mr. Hayes in the Presidential campaign.
1 "I am largely in debt, and so, busy is no word for it." (Letter to General
M. F. Force, April 27, 1874.)
s "The work I have been engaged in for several weeks seems now complete or
near completion. When Uncle Birchard decided to adopt my suggestion to
establish a free library in Fremont, it seemed to me that it should occupy the

,380 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Grove; and he found time to keep up his investigations of local
history and to continue his general reading.1
While so much absorbed in his business affairs and his domes
tic concerns, Mr. Hayes did not cease to take an interest in
current political topics. He was keenly observant of the activi
ties of the state administration and of what was going on at
Washington; and he was reaching conclusions in regard to the
solution of the still perplexing Southern problem which showed
his independence of thought and his statesmanlike wisdom and
foresight. In the state campaign of 1873 and the congressional
canvass of 1874, he made some speeches, but did not play a
conspicuous part.
site of old Fort Stephenson and that by appropriating part of the library fund
towards the purchase money the town would be willing to furnish enough to buy
the whole for a park. The owner, Mr. Leppelman, asked eighteen thousand dol
lars for the property. This was a great price. The people generally approved of
the purchase. But in a quiet way there was strong opposition. Some opposed it
because they did n't want Leppelman to make a speculation. The exorbitant
price was the ostensible reason for opposition. . . . One [man] secretly opposed
because it would be an honor to uncle. Finally the Council refused to pay eighteen
thousand dollars and offered fifteen thousand dollars. Leppelman refused the
offer. The proposition was likely to fail. The majority of Council wanted it to
fail. I consulted all of the trustees — told them I did not mean to fail and pro
posed to offer Leppelman three thousand dollars if he would accept the fifteen
thousand dollars offered by the City Council. It was agreed I might do so on
my individual responsibility, with the understanding that the trustees would
hold me harmless, out of the library fund. I made the offer to Leppelman. He
agreed to it. The Council were taken by surprise by his acceptance, and after
some trouble the bonds of the town were authorized and I now think the fort
is safe in the hands of the public. Mayor Dickinson told me it had to be done
promptly or it would have failed. ..." (Diary, September 13, 1873.)
1 "lam reading hetween-times Noctes Ambrosiance. Years ago I worried over
it. But now it is delightful." (Letter to General Force, April 27, 1874.)

CHAPTER XXH
THE CAMPAIGN FOR SOUND MONEY — THIRD TIME GOVERNOR
IN 1871, as already recorded, General Edward F. Noyes had
been elected Governor on the Republican ticket by a substan
tial majority. Governor Hayes had contributed all within his
power to bring about that result — his own efficient administra
tion during two terms being a strong argument for a continuance
of his party's control of the State. General Noyes's adminis
tration was praiseworthy and in 1873 he was renominated. The
Democrats nominated the aged William Allen, an uncle of
Senator Thurman, who for more than a quarter of a century had
been out of politics.1 Candidates were nominated also by the
Prohibitionists _and by a convention of disaffected Democrats
andjyberalJRepublicans; these fusionists declaring that both
the old parties had " outlived the issues in which they had their
origin and had outlived their usefulness."
After a spirited contest, the election resulted in the choice of
Allen for Governor by a plurality of 817 votes, wbjle all the
Republicancamiidates jgrjthe other state offices . WQG.tJ)y_small
pluralities. The minor parties cast between them something
over twenty thousand votes and there was a falling off, as com
pared with the previous year, of fifty-two thousand Republican
and thirty-seven thousand Democratic votes. The Democrats
gained a majority in both branches of the Legislature, thus in
suring the reelection of Senator Thurman. The Republicans
naturally were much chagrined at the loss of the governorship
by so small a margin.
In 1874, as so widely throughout the country, the Democrats
carried Ohio; electing the Secretary of State and certain other
officers by a plurality of more than seventeen thousand votes.
1 Allen was elected to Congress by a majority of one vote at the age of twenty-
five in 1832. He entered the Senate in 1837 and served two terms, when he
retired from politics. One paper spoke of him in 1875 as "that marvellous relic
of a bygone era of statesmanship."

382 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
At the same time they elected thirteen out of twenty Congress
men, just reversing the proportion of two years before.
Meanwhile Governor Allen was conducting the affairs of the
State acceptably and was winning popularity by his insistence,
in his messages and public utterances, on reduction of taxes
and greater economy of public expenditures. The outlook for a
Republican victory in 1875 was, therefore, most gloomy, and the
Republican leaders began early to canvass the situation in the
hope of nominating a candidate for Governor that could "re
deem" the State. The two successful campaigns of General
Hayes against the two ablest and most popular Democratic
leaders, Thurman and Pendleton, could not fail to be recalled.
No man in Ohio had ever been chosen Governor for the third
time. The precedents were all against a third nomination. But
the situation from a party standpoint was desperate, and the
more all its elements were considered the clearer it seemed to the
wiser party leaders that, if there was any hope of success for them,
it lay in placing at the head of their ticket the name of the man
who had proved his skill as a campaigner against the strongest
and most adroit champions of Democracy, and who as Governor
had stood for all that was progressive, businesslike, and economi
cal in administration. How general and spontaneous this senti
ment was, became manifest when on March 25, on the invitation
of the State Central Committee, a large number of Republican
politicians from various parts of the State met at Columbus for
consultation in regard to the approaching campaign. While no
formal expression was recorded, the day's conference showed that
all the men present were of one mind in the belief that Mr.
Hayes was the man to nominate, and in the desire that he should
be the candidate. The publication of a report of this meeting,
expressive of the feeling that pervaded it, was received with
acclaim by Republicans of the State and induced many to write
Mr. Hayes urging him to come to the rescue of the party. All
this came as a surprise to Mr. Hayes in his retirement at
Fremont. March 28 he writes in his diary : —
The independence of all political and other bother is a happiness. The
Republican caucus at Columbus last Thursday, according to report, was
unanimously for me for Governor. A third term would be a distinction
— a feather I would like to wear. No man ever had it in Ohio. Letters

THE CAMPAIGN FOR SOUND MONEY 383
tell me I am really wanted. But the present condition of my money
matters requires attention. The chance of an election is not good. More
important still, I do not sympathize with a large share of the party
leaders. I hate the corruptionists of whom Butler is leader. I doubt
the ultra measures relating to the South, and I am opposed to the course
of General Grant on the third term, the civil service, and the appoint
ment of unfit men on partisan or personal grounds. I would n't hesitate
to fight a losing battle, if the cause was wholly and clearly good, and
important. lam not sure that it is in all respects what it should be;
and as to its importance I am more than in doubt. Hence I have said
decidedly no to all who have approached me.
In spite of his "decided no" the agitation in his favor con
tinued with slight abatement. To Major Bickham, of the
Dayton Journal, he wrote April 14 : —
I am in receipt of your favor of the 12th as to the governorship. What
you say is very gratifying. It is too flattering, of course, but I like it. . . .
I wish I could. I like the place — would take it again if it was open to
me. I don't care for the chances of defeat. I have tried that two or three
times, and it don't hurt me. I have written a good many letters on this
subject and have invariably said "No" decisively, on account of my
affairs. Private reasons alone. If I were with you, face to face, I could
give you what would, I know, be regarded by you as controlling as it
is by me. The mere business, pecuniary part, I have named to many.
There is another thing I do not write about. I am on the way fairly to
freedom. A year or two will, I am confident, do it. Therefore, Major, I
can't consent. This is final; and you may in the briefest way, without
flourish, let it be known that on account of private affairs, I am not in
the list.
On the same day he wrote in his diary : —
I am still importuned in all quarters to consent to run as Republican
candidate for Governor. Several suggest that if elected Governor now,
I will stand well for the Presidency next year. How wild ! What a
queer lot we are becoming ! Nobody is out of the reach of that mania.
And a few days later, April 18 : —
The talk about my candidacy for Governor rather grows in spite of
my repeated refusals. I regret this, flattering as it is to my self-esteem.
I don't wish to say, against a general and urgent request, "No," with
due emphasis. It looks like a lack of appreciation of the good opinion
of the party and a want of gratitude for past favors. The prospect of
an election seems to me to be not good. The third term talk, the Civil
Rights Bill, the partisan appointments of the baser sort, in other words,
the Butlerism of the Administration, are all bad and weights on us.

384 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Meanwhile many Republicans, reluctantly accepting Mr.
Hayes's declination as final, suggested the nomination of Judge
Alphonso Taft, of Cincinnati, and began an active canvass in his
behalf. Ex-Senator Wade was urged by many, and other names
of less importance were also proposed. But everywhere the
feeling that Mr. Hayes was the one man for the. occasion pre
vailed and continued to find expression. As one paper said, there
was "a widespread and persistent popular disposition to refuse
to give him up as a candidate"; and the Toledo Commercial,
endorsing these words, declared "that few public men have been
permitted to respond to a more general or more earnest call for
personal sacrifice"; and added: "We are sure that we speak the
unanimous sentiment of the Republicans of Ohio when we ask
that gentleman to reconsider his decision." But Mr. Hayes
remained unshaken in his determination, especially after Judge
Taft became an aspirant for the nomination. On the eve of the
convention, May 31, he made this entry in his diary: —
I am still importuned to allow my name to be used for Governor. I
am no less averse to-day than at the beginning. If Judge Taft and
others should withdraw, and the convention generally should insist on
my candidacy, I shall not refuse. This is not likely to happen. A general
demand by the party that has honored me so often, I regard as a
command which I must obey. If, notwithstanding my declination and
known preference, the members of the convention with substantial
unanimity insist on the use of my name, I shall regard their wish as a
command and obey it. If the friends of Judge Taft or of other candidates
still present their names, I will under no circumstances be a candidate
against them. In that event my name must unqualifiedly be withdrawn.
But Mr. Hayes's preference, his positive and repeated refusal
to be considered as a candidate, were disregarded by the conven
tion. The party insistently demanded his leadership and would
not be denied. The story of the nomination is best told in Mr.
Hayes's own words: : —
I was nominated for Governor yesterday at Columbus. I persisted in
declining to the last. The leading other candidate before the convention ,
Judge Taft, of Cincinnati, is an able and good man. But he had such a
record on the Bible question in the schools that his nomination was im
possible. I did all I could to remove the prejudice against him and to aid
in his nomination. I sent to Richard Smith, a leader in the struggle for
Judge Taft, the following dispatch: "I cannot allow my name" to be
1 Diary, June 3.

THIRD TIME GOVERNOR 385
used in opposition to Judge Taft. He became a candidate after I de
clined. He is an able and pure man and a sound Republican. I would
not accept a nomination obtained by a contest with him"; and another
as follows to Charles Foster: " I have stated to everybody that I would
not consent to go into a contest. I do not want it and would not accept
if nominated in opposition to Judge Taft."
I was nominated notwithstanding — 396 for me, 151 for Taft. The
nomination on motion of a friend of Taft, Major Bickham, was made
unanimous. At first, I wrote a dispatch declining. Then came a dis
patch from the secretary of the convention, stating that on behalf of his
father, Charles P. Taft had moved my noimnationby_acclamat.ion_and
that it was splendidly carried. I then sent the following: "In deference
to tEe^wTsTTof the convention, I yield my preference and accept the
nominationT"" The sliDstance cTfuTthis is that"T"did aUTrcouTdto pre-

. to pre
vent my own nomination and to aid Taft. Taft being even then so far
short of a nomination, and in view of the decided wish of the convention
and the injury my declination would do the party, I gave up my own
preference and declared purpose, and accepted.
Some facts should be added which Mr. Hayes's modesty for
bade him to record. Both his dispatches given above were
known to all the delegates. Moreover, the delegates were per
fectly cognizant that for months Mr. Hayes, by private letters
and public announcements, had repeatedly given unequivocal
expression of his desire to remain in retirement. But the temper
of the convention was shown unmistakably, when, in defiance of
his wishes, his name was presented by Mr. Eggleston. The dele
gates broke out into such tumultuous and long-continued cheer
ing that Mr. Eggleston could not proceed with the speech he had
intended to make. It was evident that no speech was necessary.
Again Mr. Foster asked the delegates to hear the dispatch that
Mr. Hayes had sent him; and Major Bickham warned them that
Mr. Hayes would not accept the nomination. But Mr. Eggleston
declared that when the people of Ohio should command, Mr.
Hayes would obey the call. Then the balloting proceeded with
the result recorded above. The announcement of the vote
was signalized by " a tremendous demonstration of approval."
Again, when Mr. Charles P. Taft, on behalf of his father, moved
that the nomination be made unanimous, "the delegates rose to
their feet en masse and waving their hats uttered three lusty
cheers"; and when at last Mr. Hayes's dispatch of acceptance
was received it was welcomed with "a deluge of approbation."

386 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
The Cincinnati Times declared: "Never since the nomination
of Abraham Lincoln, at Chicago, in 1860, has any convention,
we venture to say, been a scene of such intense and prolonged
enthusiasm as that which followed the nomination of Governor
Hayes." The nomination was received by the Republican press and
people of the State with enthusiastic approval and elation.
"You were nominated by the people," wrote Major McKinley,
"and it could not be helped. Never did I witness such enthusi
asm for a leader as burst forth for you. It was spontaneous and
uncontrollable." The nomination attracted attention and com
mendation throughout the country. Here was an encouraging
instance of a return to the older and better political custom of
the country. Manipulation and wire-pulling had been flouted;
self-seeking politicians had been sent to the rear; the voice of the
people themselves had been heeded, and the office had sought
the man. "For a party thus to crowd honors," said the Cin
cinnati Gazette (whose editor had stanchly favored the nomina
tion of Judge Taft) the day after the convention, "upon a man
against his private wish — thus to insist that he, of all others,
is the one to lead them to victory — is not only a magnificent
tribute to his worth, but it carries us back to the golden days of
the Republic, when the office sought the best man, instead of the
man seeking the best office." Expressions of a similar character
from the newspaper comment of the day could be indefinitely
multiplied. Opposition papers in Ohio sought to arouse disaffec
tion in the Republican ranks by trying to make it appear that
Mr. Hayes had been untrue to Judge Taft.1 But a plain state
ment of the facts, the action of Judge Taft himself in the conven
tion, and his instant and cordial approval of the nomination, as
shown in a speech made by him on the very evening of conven
tion day, completely frustrated this attempt. June 5 Mr. Hayes
writes in his diary: —
1 This attempt gave Mr. Hayes some annoyance. June 14 he wrote a friend
regretting that the Ironton Journal had misrepresented his course; denying that
he was in any way responsible for the candidacy of Judge Taft and reiterating
that he had steadfastly refused to allow his name to be used against Taft. But he
declared: "I do not want to go into print about it. The sooner we drop all dis
cussion as to matters prior to the convention and go into the fight as it stands,
the better."

THIRD TIME GOVERNOR 387
I am overwhelmed with correspondence by mail, telegraph, etc., etc.,
congratulating me on my nomination,1 and the manner of it. The
newspapers show that it was done in a way never before seen in Ohio,
and rarely if ever anywhere. It is reading that would turn a head not
firm and level. I have just written my competitor — if it is proper to call
a man my competitor with whom I in no way competed and to whom I
gave a hearty support from the beginning: —
Private Fremont, 0., 5 June, 1875.
My dear Sib, — I write to thank you in the sincerest and heartiest
way for your action on my nomination. It gave me very great and much
needed relief. On getting the secretary's first dispatch I was sorely per
plexed. To refuse would offend and disappoint friends to whom I was
under many obligations. I wrote a dispatch declining, and was con
sidering it with a friend, when the second dispatch from the secretary
announcing the motion of Mr. Charles P. Taft came and decided the
question. I am confident you would regard my course as fully justifying
your friendly act and speech, if all I have said and done since this affair
arose were fully before you. — Sincerely your friend, R. B. Hayes.
Hon. A. Taft, Cincinnati.
The platform adopted by the convention was briefer and more
concise than usual. As to national questions its most important
pronouncements, for that time, were an emphatic declaration
against the third term, about which the country was genuinely
apprehensive, and this resolution in relation to public finances : —
That policy of finance should be steadily pursued which, without
unnecessary shock to business or trade, will ultimately equalize the pur
chasing capacity of the coin and paper dollar.
On state issues the two salient resolutions were: —
We stand by free education, our public-school system, the taxation
of all for its support, and no division of the school fund.
That the power of municipal corporations to create debts should be
restricted, and local and other expenditures should be so reduced as to
diminish taxation.
Of these two state resolutions the former was to play the more
important part in the campaign. It owed its adoption to the
1 These congratulatory messages were not confined to Ohio and Ohio men, but
came from all parts of the country. For example, Mr. Blaine wrote (June 11):
"I congratulate you very cordially and I congratulate the Republicans of Ohio
still more, for I have no doubt that you can poll a larger vote than any other man
that could have been named. And as to winning, that is a necessity. 'Success is
a duty,' and I believe you always do your duty."

388 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
passage by the Democratic Legislature at the recent session of
what was known as the Geghan Law, opening the penal and
benevolent institutions to the ministrations of Catholic priests
for such of the inmates as were of Catholic antecedents. Besides
this there was widespread and growing agitation in the country
on the part of the Catholic clergy against the common schools as
godless; the mere reading of the Bible at the opening of schools
was being forbidden in many cities; and the Catholic clergy and
press in various parts of the country were beginning to demand
a division of the public-school money for the support of their
parochial schools. The Democrats, with whom the Catholics
were at that time predominantly affiliated, deprecatejd public
discussion of the problem presented and were inclined to listen to
the Catholic demands. But discussion could not be checked, and
the public prints of the day show that it was conducted with
much heat and acrimony on both sides; and that the Protestant
masses were alarmed lest a fatal blow should be struck at
the great system of free public schools which they believed —
and justly — to be not only a distinctive feature of American
civilization, but also the most powerful influence in assimilating
the children of immigrants to American ideals of life and in
preserving the foundations of American liberty and democracy.
The Ohio^Dejnoj^fo^jCjmvra 17,
renominated Governor Allen by acclamation. For J^igutenant-
Governor it nominated Samuel F. Cary, of Cincinnati, a notori-
"the contraction of the currency, . . . with a view to the forced
resumption of specie payment," as fraught with disaster, and
demanded "that this policy be abandoned, and that the vol
ume of currency be made and kept equal to the wants of trade."
It demanded also that "all the national bank circulation be
promptly and permanently retired, and legal tenders issued in
its place"; and that "the Government should make its legal ten
ders receivable fgr_aUjues " except where forbidden by contract
obligations. And it upbraided the Republican Convention for
seeking to make an issue of the school question, as "a base
appeal to sectarian prejudices," declaring for a "purely secular
education at the expense of the taxpayer," without any possible
division of the school fund among religious sects.

THIRD TIME GOVERNOR 389
The Republican pronouncement on the school question had
thus forced the Democrats to take an equally decided stand; but
the Republicans maintained that the action of the Democrats in
passing the Geghan Bill, together with the tone of the Catholic
organ of Cincinnati, spoke louder than the words of their con
vention; and that it was high time, at the very beginning of the
attack of the Catholic hierarchy on the school system, to face the
question and to declare unequivocally for the maintenance of
free schools in unimpaired strength and usefulness.
The_Jtwojjreat_ ???SeJL^~^§J£&IG5E^8^^S^orejJ52Se-. *ne
integrity of^the national credit_an^jthe^nte^i^^fjthe_free
schools; and both were of national interest. Naturally the
greater interest attached to the former issue. In the East the
Democrats had for the most part stood for a sound financial
policy. But this year the Democrats of Pennsylvania had fol
lowed their brethren in Ohio in glorifying the greenback as a
panacea of hard times and industrial depression and in denounc
ing the national banks. In both States the contest was clean-cut
between the advocates of honest money and the misguided and
mistaken — though, doubtless, in most cases, honestly deluded
— devotees of the "rag baby"; which was the happy contempo
rary personification of the fiat-money heresy. The country at
large watched this contest with intense interest, regarding it as
the preliminary skirmish to the Presidential campaign to be
fought the following year. It was hoped that Republican success
would stamp out forever the agitation in favor of partial repudia
tion by cheapening the currency. How vain that hope was, years
of subsequent agitation proved. It was feared that Democratic
success would portend control of the next National Democratic
Convention by the friends and champions of a debased and de
preciated circulating medium, as well as reenforced efforts in
Congress to retard the resumption of specie payments.
Mr. Hayes was prompt to recognize the nature and vast
importance of the combat l in which he was to engage, and he
1 Three weeks after his nomination, being serenaded at the home of General
Mitchell in Columbus, Mr. Hayes made this brief speech: —
"If it shall turn out that the party in power are opposed to a sound, safe, stable
currency, I have no doubt that in October the people will make a change. If it
shall turn out that the party in power were guilty of gross corruption in the
legislative department, and that when that corruption was exposed the majority

390 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
did not underestimate the strength of his opponents, nor the
plausibility of their arguments when skilfully presented to the
unthinking masses, who felt the pressure of hard times and were
eager to accept any remedy that promised relief. He began at
once to make preparation for his campaign work, proposing to
throw himself into it with all the ardor and energy that its great
significance demanded. June 8 he wrote Major Bickham: —
Thanks for your paper of yesterday, and still more for your efforts to
get me out of this scrape before I was in, and now to carry me through
successfully. It is well and gratifying to have the convention facts fully
and authentically set forth. I read the article r with much interest. Here
after we can afford to let bygones go, and seek discussion only with the
common adversary. I am, perhaps, under a delusion, but I still hope to
be supported by Halstead. At any rate, being on the track, I now want
to win, and am willing to do my share of the solid work required to do it.
It is of the first importance to nominate in the counties, and organize
early. For the topics of the canvass, and bringing them before the peo
ple, the press is the means. Meetings and speeches are less important,
relatively, than ever before. They come in too late ; and in a day of
enterprising newspaper men they are merely stale repetitions of the
press. Meetings and speeches, like the election itself, are the results of
what the press has already done.
I judge from several paragraphs that you regard the subserviency of
the Democratic party to Catholic designs as the salient feature of the
canvass. It is certainly so in popular estimation in this quarter. If you
have leisure to give me a brief note on this head, it will be useful. What I
have said about meetings and speeches is not with a view to shirk labor.
I am ready to do all that may be reasonably expected. But early and
earnest discussion by the press is, I am sure, far more effective.
To General Garfield, June 28, Mr. Hayes wrote: —
Our contest will be a hard one. We must have a great deal of work
done to redeem the State. Our organization must be reconstructed and
shielded those who were implicated, I have no doubt the people will make a
change. If it shall turn out that the party in power yielded to the dictation of
an ecclesiastical sect, and through fear of a threatened loss of votes and power
has suffered itself to be domineered over in its exercise of the lawmaking power,
there ought to be, as I doubt not there will be, a great change. If it shall turn
out that the party in power is dangerously allied to any body of men who are
opposed to our free schools, and have proclaimed undying hostility to our
educational system, then I doubt not the people will make a change in the
administration." 1 An editorial in the Dayton Journal plainly setting forth the facts of the nom
ination and Mr. Hayes's attitude thereto, and conclusively refuting the charge
of disloyalty to Judge Taft.

THIRD TIME GOVERNOR 391
meetings held everywhere. Your ideas as to our true policy are precisely
mine. We must attack. Their scheme for inflating our irredeemable cur
rency is bad enough; but there are debtors and speculators in large
numbers in Ohio who want it. They are not all Democrats. We shall
lose some votes on this question. The Catholic question is also inter
esting the people very much. This seems to be thus far almost wholly
favorable.1 July 10 he wrote again to Major Bickham: —
We must not let the Catholic question drop out of sight. If they do
not speak of it, we must attack them for their silence. If they discuss it
or refer to it, they can't help getting into trouble. We can't, I think,
do better than to stick to the texts — honest money, and no sectarian
interference with the schools.
The active speaking of the campaign began the last of July and
was continued without intermission up to the day of election.
Mr. Hayes spoke in all parts of the State. The two "texts " were
throughout the principal topics discussed, but more and more
the stress was laid upon the first, and a battle royal was waged in
behalf of sound finance.
Senator Thurman, himself a sound-money man, disappointed
his better friends and evoked wide criticism by his demagogic
championship of the Ohio platform. "Minor differences," he
urged in a speech at Mansfield, must be conceded to secure the
success of the party. The platform, he declared, "nowhere says
that the greenback should be irredeemable." "And then as to
inflation the platform does not expressly demand more currency.
It says 'that the volume of currency should be made and kept
equal to the wants of trade.' To him who believes that the
present volume is sufficient, it means no inflation, for in his mind
it is already quite equal to the wants of trade. To another man
who thinks that more currency is needed, it does mean infla
tion." But the real Democratic prophets were Governor Allen
and General Cary. They confidently expected to sweep every
thing before them and make Ohio Democratic by a majority of
1 Mr. Garfield had written: "Let me suggest that we will gain far more than
we can lose, even on the score of public policy, by pressing our views of finance
boldly and aggressively, as against the wretched and dishonest scheme of the
Democracy. We have a few soft-money men who will be hurt by it, but we shall
gain far more than our loss on that score. I think now is our time to cripple the
Democracy for next year. Even if they should win this campaign, it will hope
lessly divide them in the next year's Presidential campaign."

392 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
sixty thousand. The friends of sane government everywhere
were apprehensive because an unlimited issue of paper money
was such "a taking idea." "If Allen be elected," the Chicago
Times declared, "the immediate effect is very sure to be a
prodigious rise in the threatening and dangerous tidal wave of
inflation and repudiation."
Feeling ran high in the State as the canvass proceeded. The
people were roused to a pitch of interest and enthusiasm seldom
experienced except in a Presidential year. l The eyes of the nation
were upon the contest and the papers throughout the country
watched its varying phases with constant attention. The Ohio
leaders of both parties were enlisted in the canvass and their
efforts were supplemented by prominent political orators from
other States. Nothing was left undone by either party to attain
success. Both parties recognized that the issue was doubtful;
but the Democrats, in view of their victory of the year before
and because of the hard times and the apparent popularity of
their appeal for more money, felt the greater confidence in then-
chance of success.
Mr. Hayes and Senator Sherman opened the campaign at
Marion, Lawrence County, on the 31st of July. The issues were
squarely met by Mr. Hayes in a carefully prepared speech
which presented in succinct form the line of argument which,
with many variations and constant change of illustration and
manner, he pursued in his many subsequent speeches. After a
brief reference to the records of the parties, Mr. Hayes said: —
Let us now proceed to the consideration of some of the questions which
engage the attention of the people of Ohio. The war which the Demo
cratic party and its doctrines brought upon the country left a large
debt, heavy taxation, a depreciated currency, and an unhealthy condi
tion of business, which resulted two years ago in a financial panic and
depression, from which the country is now slowly recovering. With this
condition of things the Democratic party in its recent state convention
at Columbus undertook to deal.
The most important part — in fact, the only part — of their platform
in Ohio this year which receives or deserves much attention, is that in
which is proclaimed a radical departure, on the subject of money, from
the teachings of all of the Democratic fathers. This Ohio Democratic
1 "Portsmouth, 3 Aug. — Had a fine meeting. Numbers, enthusiasm, and other
cheering indications. Nothing better since 1866. It is like a Presidential year."
(Diary.)

THIRD TIME GOVERNOR 393
doctrine inculcates the abandonment of gold and silver as a standard of
value. Hereafter gold and silver are to be used as money only "where
respect for the obligation of contracts requires payment in coin." The
only currency for the people is to be paper money, issued directly by
the general Government, "its volume to be made and kept equal to the
wants of trade," and with no provision whatever for its redemption in
coin. The Democratic candidate for Lieutenant-Governor, who opened
the canvass for his party, states the money issue substantially as I have.
General Cary in his Barnesville speech, says: —
"Gold and silver when used as money, are redeemable in any property
there is for sale in the nation; will pay taxes or any debt, public or pri
vate. This alone gives them their money value. If you had a hundred
gold eagles, and you could not exchange them for the necessaries of life,
they would be trash, and you would be glad to exchange them for green
backs or anything else that you could use to purchase what you require.
With an absolute paper money, stamped by the Government and made
a legal tender for all purposes, its functions as money are as perfect as
gold or silver can be. "
This is the financial scheme which the Democratic party asks the
people of Ohio to approve at the election in October. The Republicans
accept the issue. Whether considered as a permanent policy or as an
expedient to mitigate present evils, we are opposed to it. It is without
warrant in the Constitution, and it violates all sound financial princi
ples. The objections to an inflated and irredeemable paper currency are so
many that I do not attempt to state them all. They are so obvious and
so familiar that I need not elaborately present or argue them. All of
the mischief which commonly follows inflated and inconvertible paper
money may be expected from this plan, and in addition it has very dan
gerous tendencies, which are peculiarly its own. An irredeemable and
inflated paper currency promotes speculation and extravagance, and at
the same time discourages legitimate business, honest labor, and econ
omy. It dries up the true sources of individual and public prosperity.
Overtrading and fast living always go with it. It stimulates the desire to
incur debt; it causes high rates of interest; it increases importations from
abroad; it has no fixed value; it is liable to frequent and great fluctua
tions, thereby rendering every pecuniary engagement precarious and
disturbing all existing contracts and expectations; it is the parent of
panics. Every period of inflation is followed by a loss of confidence, a
shrinkage of values, depression of business, panics, lack of employment,
and widespread disaster and distress.
The heaviest part of the calamity falls on those least able to bear it.
The wholesale dealer, the middleman, and the retailer always endeavor
to cover the risks of the fickle standard of value by raising their prices.
But the men of small means and the laborer are thrown out of employ
ment, and want and suffering are liable soon to follow.
When Government enters upon the experiment of issuing irredeemable

394 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
paper money there can be no fixed limit to its volume. The amount
will depend on the interest of leading politicians, on their whims, and on
the excitement of the hour. It affords such facility for contracting debt
that extravagant and corrupt government expenditure are the sure re
sult. Under the name of public improvements, the wildest enterprises,
contrived for private gain, are undertaken. Indefinite expansion be
comes the rule, and in the end bankruptcy, ruin, and repudiation.
During the last few years a great deal has been said about the central
izing tendency of recent events in our history. The increasing power of
the Government at Washington has been a favorite theme for Demo
cratic declamation. But when, since the foundation of the Government,
has a proposition been seriously entertained which could confer such
monstrous and dangerous powers on the general Government as this in
flation scheme of the Ohio Democracy? During the war for the Union,
solely on the ground of necessity, the Government issued the legal ten
der, or greenback currency. But they accompanied it with the solemn
pledge in the following words of the Act of June 30, 1864: —
"Nor shall the total amount of United States notes issued or to be
issued ever exceed four hundred millions, and such additional sum, not
exceeding fifty millions, as may be temporarily required for redemption
of temporary loans."
But the Ohio inflationists, in a time of peace, on grounds of mere
expediency, propose an inconvertible paper currency, with its volume
limited only by the discretion or caprice of its issuers, or their judgment
as to the wants of trade. The most distinguished gentleman whose name
is associated with the subject once said : "The process must be conducted
with skill and caution, . . . and by men whose position will enable them
to guard against any evil"; and using a favorite illustration he said:
"The Secretary of the Treasury ought to be able to judge. His hand is
upon the pulse of the country. He can feel all the throbbings of the
blood in the arteries. He can tell when the blood flows too fast and
strong, and when the expansion should cease." This brings us face to
face with the fundamental error of this dangerous policy. The trouble is
the pulse of the patient will not so often decide the question as the inter
est of the doctor. No man, no Government, no Congress, is wise enough
and pure enough to be trusted with this tremendous power over the
business and property and labor of the country. That which concerns
so intimately all business should be decided, if possible, on business
principles, and not be left to depend on the exigencies of pohtics, the
interests of party, or the ambition of public men. It will not do for
property, for business, or for labor to be at the mercy of a few political
leaders at Washington, either in or out of Congress. The best way to
prevent it is to apply to paper money the old test sanctioned by the
experience of all nations — let it be convertible into coin. If it can
respond to this test, it will, as nearly as possible, be sound, safe, and
stable. The Republicans of Ohio are in favor of no sudden or harsh measures.

THIRD TIME GOVERNOR 395
They do not propose to force resumption by a contraction of the cur
rency. They see that the ship is headed in the right direction, and they
do not wish to lose what has already been gained. They are satisfied to
leave to the influences of time and the inherent energy and resources of
the country, the work that yet remains to be done to place our currency
at par. We believe that what our country now needs to revive business
and to give employment to labor, is a restoration of confidence. We
need confidence in the stability and soundness of the financial pohcy of
the Government. That confidence has for many months past been
slowly but steadily increasing. The Columbus Democratic platform
comes in as a disturbing element, and gives a severe shock to reviving
confidence. The country believed, and rejoiced to believe, that Senator
Thurman expressed the sober judgment of Ohio, when he spoke last
year in the Senate on this subject. The Senator said March 24, 1874 : —
"Never have I spoken in favor of that inflation of the currency, which,
I think I see full well, means that there shall never be any resumption at
all. That is the difference. It is one thing to contract the currency,
with a view to the resumption of specie payment; it is another thing
neither to contract nor enlarge it, but let resumption come naturally
and as soon as the business and production of the country will bring it
about. But it is a very different thing, indeed, to inflate the currency
with a view never in all time to redeem it at all. And that is precisely
what this inflation means. It means demonetizing gold and silver in
perpetuity, and substituting a currency of irredeemable paper, based
wholly and entirely upon government credit, and depending upon the
opinion and the interests of the members of Congress and their hopes of
popularity, whether the volume of it shall be large or small. That is
what this inflation means. Sir, I have never said anything in favor of
that. I am too old-fashioned a Democrat for that. I cannot give up the
convictions of a lifetime, whether they be popular or unpopular."
April 6, when the Senate inflation bill was debated, he said: —
"It simply means that no man of my age shall ever again see in this
country that kind of currency which the framers of the Constitution
intended should be the currency of the Union; which every sound writer
on political economy the world over says is the only currency that de
frauds no man. It means that so long as I live, and possibly long after I
shall be laid in the grave, this people shall have nothing but an irre
deemable currency with which to transact their business — that cur
rency which has been well described as the most effective invention that
ever the wit of man devised to fertilize the rich man's field by the sweat
of the poor man's brow. I will have nothing to do with it."
How great the shock which was given to returning confidence by the
Democratic action at Columbus abundantly appears by the manner in
which the platform is received by the Liberal and the English and the
German Democratic press throughout the United States. The Liberal
press and the German press, so far as I have observed, in the strongest
terms condemn the platform. They speak of it as disturbing confidence,

396 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
shaking credit, and threatening repudiation. A large part of the Demo
cratic press of other States is hardly less emphatic. It would be strange,
indeed, if this were otherwise. In Ohio, less than two years ago the
convention which nominated Governor Allen resolved, speaking of the
Democratic party, that "it recognizes the evils of an irredeemable
paper currency, but insists that in the return to specie payment care
should be taken not to seriously disturb the business of the country or
unjustly injure the debtor class." There was no inflation then. Now
come the soft-money leaders of the Democratic party, and try to per
suade the people that the promises of the United States should only
be redeemed by other promises, and that it is sound policy to increase
them. The credit of the nation depends on its ability and disposition to keep
its promises. If it fails to keep them, and suffers them to depreciate, its
credit is tainted, and it must pay high rates of interest on all of its loans.
For many years we must be a borrower in the markets of the world. The
interest-bearing debt is over seventeen hundred millions of dollars. If we
could borrow money at the same rate with some of the great nations of
Europe, we could save perhaps two per cent per annum on this sum.
Thirty or forty millions a year we are paying on account of tainted
credit. The more promises to pay an individual issues, without redeem
ing them, the worse becomes his credit. It is the same with nations.
The legal-tender note for five dollars is the promise of the United States
to pay that sum in the money of the world, in coin. No time is fixed for
its payment. It is therefore payable on presentation — on demand. It is
not paid; it is past due; and it is depreciated to the extent of twelve per
cent. The country recognizes the necessities of the situation, and waits,
and is willing to wait, until the productive business of the country en
ables the Government to redeem. But the Columbus financiers are not
satisfied. They demand the issue of more promises. This is inflation.
No man can doubt the result. The credit of the nation will inevitably
suffer. There will be further depreciation. A depreciation of ten per
cent diminishes the value of the present paper currency from fifty
to one hundred millions of dollars. Its effect on business would be
disastrous in the extreme. The present legal tenders have a certain
steadiness, because there is a limit fixed to their amount. Public opin
ion confides in that limit. But let that limit be broken down and all
is uncertainty. The authors of this scheme believe inflation is a good
thing. . . . The platform means inflation without limit; and inflation
is the downward path to repudiation. It means ruin to the nation's
credit, and to all individual credit. All the rest of the world have the
same standard of value. Our promises are worthless as currency the
moment you pass our boundary line. Even in this country very exten
sive sections still use the money of the world. Texas, the most promising
and flourishing State of the South, uses coin. California and the other
Pacific States and Territories do the same. Look at their condition.
Texas and California are not the least prosperous part of the United

THIRD TIME GOVERNOR 397
States. This scheme cannot be adopted. The opinion of the civilized
world is against it. The vast majority of the ablest newspapers of the
country is against it. The best minds of the Democratic party are
against it. The last three Democratic candidates for the Presidency
were against it. The German citizens of the United States, so distin
guished for industry, for thrift, and for soundness in judgment in all
practical money affairs, are a unit against it. The Republican party is
against it. The people of Ohio will, I am confident, decide in October to
have nothing to do with it.
Since the adoption of the inflation platform at Columbus, a great
change has taken place in the feelings and views of its friends. Then
they were confident — perhaps it is not too much to say that they were
dictatorial and overbearing toward their hard-money party associates.
There was no doubt as to the intent and meaning of the platform. Its
friends asserted that the country needed more money, and more money
now. That the way to get it was to issue government legal-tender notes
liberally. But the storm of criticism and condemnation which burst
upon the platform from the soundest Democrats in all quarters has
alarmed its supporters. Many of them have been seized with a panic,
and are now utterly stampeded and in full retreat. They say that they
are not for inflation, not for inconvertible paper money, and that they
never have been. That they look forward to a return of specie payment,
and that it must always be kept in view. Why, what did they mean by
their platform? Did they expect to make money plenty by an issue of
more coin? Certainly not. By an issue of more paper redeemable in
coin? Certainly not. They expected to issue more legal-tender notes —
notes irredeemable and depreciated. But public opinion, as shown by
the press, is so decidedly against them, that Ohio inflationists now begin
to desert their own platform. Even Mr. Pendleton is solicitous not to
be held responsible for the Columbus scheme. He says: "I speak for
myself alone. I do not assume to speak for the Democratic party. Its
convention has spoken for it," and proceeds to interpret the platform
as if it were for hard money.
Senator Thurman did not so understand it. He thought the hard-
money men were beaten and felt disappointed. It now looks as if Gen
eral Cary might be left almost alone before the canvass ends. If Judge
Thurman could get that convention together again, it is evident that he
could now in the same body rout the inflationists, horse, foot, and artil
lery. Nothing but a victory in Ohio can put inflation again on its legs.
Let it be defeated in October, and the friends of a sound and honest cur
rency will have a clear field for at least the life of the present generation.
Passing then to questions of state mterest, Mr. Hayes said: —
Altogether the most interesting questions in our state affairs are those
which relate to the passage, by the last Legislature, of the Geghan Bill
and the war which the sectarian wing of the Democratic party is now
waging against the pubhc schools. In the admirable speech made by

398 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Judge Taft at the RepubUcan State Convention, he sounded the keynote
to the canvass on this subject. He said, "Our motto must be universal
liberty and universal suffrage, secured by universal education." . . .
If Republicans acting on the defensive discuss the subject, and express
the opinion that the Democratic party can't safely be trusted, they are
denounced in unmeasured terms. General Cary calls them "political
knaves" and "fools" and "bigots." But it is very significant that no
Democratic speaker denounces those who began the agitation. AH their
epithets are levelled at the men who are on the right side of the question.
Agitation on the wrong side — agitation against the schools may go on.
It meets no condemnation from leading Democratic candidates and
speakers. The reason is plain. Those who mean to destroy the school
system constitute a formidable part of the Democratic party, without
whose support that party, as the Legislature was told last spring, cannot
carry the county, the city, nor the State.
The sectarian agitation against the pubhc schools was begun many
years ago. During the last few years, it has steadily and rapidly in
creased, and has been encouraged by various indications of possible
success. It extends to all of the States where schools at the common
expense have been long established. Its triumphs are mainly in the large
towns and cities. It has already divided the schools, and in a consider
able degree impaired and limited their usefulness. The glory of the
American system of education has been that it was so cheap that the
humblest citizen could afford to give his children its advantages, and so
good that the man of wealth could nowhere provide for his children
anything better. This gave the system its most conspicuous merit. It
made it a republican system. The young of all conditions of life are
brought together and educated on terms of perfect equality. The tend
ency of this is to assimilate and to fuse together the various elements
of our population, to promote unity, harmony, and general good will in
our American society. But the enemies of the American system have
begun the work of destroying it. They have forced away from the public
schools, in many towns and cities, one third or one fourth of their pupils
and sent them to schools which, it is safe to say, are no whit superior to
those they have left. These youth are thus deprived of the associations
and the education in practical republicanism and American sentiments
which they peculiarly need. Nobody questions their constitutional and
legal right to do this, and to do it by denouncing the pubhc schools.
Sectarians have a lawful right to say that these schools are "a relic of
paganism — that they are godless," and that "the secular school system
is a social cancer." But when having thus succeeded in dividing the
schools, they make that a ground for abolishing school taxation, divid
ing the school fund, or otherwise destroying the system, it is time that
its friends should rise up in its defense.
We all agree that neither the Government nor political parties ought
to interfere with religious sects. It is equally true that religious sects
ought not to interfere with the Government or with political parties. We

THIRD TIME GOVERNOR 399
believe that the cause of good government and the cause of religion both
suffer by all such interference. But if sectarians make demands for legis
lation of political parties, and threaten that party with opposition at the
elections in case the required enactments are not passed, and if the polit
ical party yields to such threats, then those threats, those demands, and
that action of the political party become a legitimate subject of political
discussion, and the sectarians who thus interfere with the legislation of
the State are alone responsible for the agitation which follows.
And now a few words as to the action of the last Legislature on this
subject. After an examination of the Geghan Bill, we shall perhaps come
to the conclusion that in itself it is not of great importance. I would not
undervalue the conscientious scruples on the subject of religion of a con
vict in the penitentiary, or of any unfortunate person in any state insti
tution. But the provision of the constitution of the state covers the
whole ground. It needs no awkwardly framed statute of doubtful mean
ing, like the Geghan Bill, to accomplish the object of the organic law. . . .
If the Geghan Bill is merely a reenactment of this part of the bill of
rights, it is a work of supererogation, and it is not strange that the Legis
lature did not, when it was introduced, favor its passage. The author of
the bill wrote, "The members claim that such a bill is not needed." The
same opinion prevails in New Jersey, where a similar bill is said to have
been defeated by a vote of three to one. But the sectarians of Ohio were
resolved on the passage of this bill. Mr. Geghan, its author, wrote to Mr.
Murphy, of Cincinnati: "We have a prior claim upon the Democratic
party. The elements composing the Democratic party in Ohio to-day
are made up of Irish and German Catholics, and they have always been
loyal and faithful to the interests of the party. Hence the party is under
obligations to us, and we have a perfect right to demand of them, as a
party, inasmuch as they are in control of the State Legislature and
State Government, and were by both our means and votes placed where
they are to-day, that they should, as a party, redress our grievances."
The organ of the friends of the bill published this letter, and among
other things said: "The political party with which nine tenths of the
Catholic voters affiliate on account of past services that they will never
forget, now controls the State. Withdraw the support which Catholics
have given to it and it will fall in this city, county, and State, as speedily
as it has risen to its long-lost position and power. That party is now on
trial. Mr. Geghan's bill will test the sincerity of its professions."
That threat was effectual. The bill was passed, and the sectarian
organ therefore said: "The unbroken solid vote of the Catholic citizens
of the State will be given to the Democracy at the fall election."
In regard to those who voted against the bill, it said: "They have dug
their political grave; it will not be our fault if they do not fill it. When
any of them appear again in the political arena, we will put upon them a
brand that every Catholic citizen will understand." No defense of this
conduct of the last Legislature has yet been attempted. The facts
are beyond dispute. This is the first example of open and successful

400 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
sectarian interference with legislation in Ohio. If the people are wise,
they will give it such a rebuke in October that for many years, at least,
it will be the last.
But it is claimed that the schools are in no danger. Now that pubhc
attention is aroused to the importance of the subject, it is probable that
in Ohio they are safe. But their safety depends on the rebuke which
the people shall give to the party which yielded last spring at Columbus
to the threats of their enemies. It is said that no political party " desires
the destruction of the schools." I reply, no political party "desired"
the passage of the Geghan Bill; but the power which hates the schools
passed the bill. The sectarian wing of the Democratic party rules that
party to-day in the great commercial metropolis of the nation. It holds
the balance of power in many of the large cities of the country. Without
its votes, the Democratic party would lose every large city and county
in Ohio and every Northern State. In the Presidential canvass of 1864,
it was claimed that General McClellan was as good a Union man as
Abraham Lincoln, and that he was as much opposed to the Rebellion.
An eminent citizen of this State replied: "I learn from my adversaries.
Whom do the enemies of the Union want elected? The man they are
for, I am against." So I would say to the friends of the public schools:
"How do the enemies of universal education vote?" If the enemies of
the free schools give their "unbroken, solid vote" to the Democratic
ticket, the friends of the schools will make no mistake if they vote the
Republican ticket.
In other speeches Mr. Hayes emphasized the fact of sectarian
interference with politics, elections, and legislation, as well as
sectarian attacks on the public schools. There was a sectarian
newspaper press and there were sectarian military organiza
tions, equipped at the expense of the State. "And all these dan
gerous influences," he declared, "derive increased power from
the fact that they belong to the sectarian wing of the Democratic
party." "The initial steps towards a union of Church and State
have already been taken. The history of all modern nations is
full of warning against such attempts. Look at Germany, at
Italy, at Belgium, and heed the warning they give." But, he
said: "We mean to maintain the present American system of
education by means of free schools, established and supported at
the public expense. We mean to oppose the establishment of a
system for the education of the youth of the State in the peculiar
doctrines of any religious sect, in whole or in part, at the public
expense. We believe that the separation of Church and State is
best for the Church and best for the State, and that this separation

THIRD TIME GOVERNOR 401
requires also the separation of the public schools from all sec
tarian control. Popular education is the brightest star in our
civil firmament, and we do not want it blotted out or its lustre
dimmed by sectarian interference." "Democrats oppose discus
sion, agitation of this topic. So they did of the slavery question.
But the enemies of the free schools discuss it. They in a solid
body vote with reference to it. Republicans say, the demand is
made now, the debate has begun. All is not safe unless the
people act — • unless they vote. When great questions are at
stake, are agitated, are debated, the party which says, 'Don't
reply, don't debate, don't agitate; there is no danger; all is well;
don't reply ! We are sound, but we deprecate discussion ' ; — the
party that takes that position is already at the halfway house;
they are en route for the camp of your adversary. They can't be
trusted. They must be voted down." In this insistence on the
duty of the people to rebuke any and every assault, open or
covert, on the integrity of the public-school system, "we make
no complaint, no attack on the faith or mode of worship of any
body." " We say simply to all sects, hold what faith you will,
worship as you please; but when it comes to the public schools,
intended for all, supported by the taxes of all, we say to them,
hands off."
In discussing the financial question Mr. Hayes laid repeated
stress on the inconsistency of the Democratic platform and plea
for inflation and an irredeemable currency with previous declara
tions of the party in Ohio. Senator Thurman was in principle
and profession utterly at variance with his party friends in their
present declaration despite his advocacy of the party ticket.
The New York Democracy was for sound money and an honest
payment of the national debt, as were the Democrats generally
in the commercial and industrial East. "The Democratic finan
cial scheme," Mr. Hayes conceded, "may seem plausible, to
have advantages, even to Republicans." But he further said: —
To such I want to present its objectionable character as a disturber, as
a destroyer of confidence — as a present and as a future cause of per
plexity if Ohio sustains it. It can't be carried out. The Democracy
themselves will stamp it out. It is an impossible scheme. Its success
in Ohio will not establish it. The healthful business reaction may be
checked by it, but as a practical measure, it is dead from the start. . . .

402 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
They say they will "demonetize" gold and silver. That is, under their
system, in the United States at least, coin shall no longer be money.
This as a permanent policy. Why, they might as well tell us that coal
shall no longer be fuel; that flour and beef and pork shall no longer be
food. We must march towards specie payments or away from specie pay
ments. Our permanent pohcy must look towards the return or away
from it. The path that leads away from specie resumption is a path that
leads to ruin, to extravagance, to speculation, to crisis after crisis, to
bankruptcy, to repudiation.
A greenback is a promise to pay money. Let me ask, to pay what
money? Why, the money of the world, coin — gold and silver. Now,
either it is intended to keep that promise, at some day in the future, or
it is the intention not to keep it. The day is coming when you must
gather in the gold and silver to redeem, and when that day comes, the
pinch comes, the crisis comes, and the more greenbacks you have out,
the closer the pinch, the greater the crisis, the sorer will be the troubles
of business and the distresses of labor.
Then we will not redeem. We will repudiate. No; we now have an
other device. We will say that is money which the Government makes
money. We will no longer issue promises, we will drop greenbacks, we
will print paper, saying that the United States declares this is a dollar,
and everybody shall take it as such except the bondholders. If that is
money which Government makes money, why tax the people for the
expenses of the Government? Why not abolish all taxes? Why not
make money when it is wanted and all the Government wants? Oh, yes,
but then we would soon have too much. Too much? Can you have too
much of so good a thing as money? Did you ever have too much? or you,
or you, sir? No, we all see that Government cannot make that money
which is merely paper. Gold and silver are worth as much before it is
stamped as it is after. But paper to have a permanent value must be a
promise to pay money, and a promise that is redeemed.
This brings us to the test, and the only true test of the amount of
money which — the volume of promises which — Government can
issue: How many can you redeem? To make your promise of uniform
and permanent value, you must redeem it, or at least must be able and
willing to redeem it. Like the promise of a State, of a county, of a city,
of an individual, it must be redeemable in coin at the will of the holder.
If you have more than this, it is no longer a safe, a stable, a sound cur
rency. The value [of the greenbacks] depends on the credit of the United
States — the ability to pay, and the willingness to pay. But it is a
broken promise. Therefore it is depreciated. Now the effect of issuing
more broken promises would be to depreciate them more.
A favorite illustration of Mr. Pendleton's is: "The wise financier at
the head of the Treasury will have his hand on the pulse of trade; he will
issue the currency as the condition of bis patient requires — no more, no

THIRD TIME GOVERNOR 403
less." But the truth is that the pulse of the doctor, not of the patient,
will at last decide it. His condition and interests will be more important
to him than the condition and interests of the country.
What a concentration of power, what a centralization of power, when
the purse and the credit of the nation, when the business of all ¦ — of
sections, of States, of individuals — are in the hands of the power at
Washington ! The welfare of every section, its business and prosperity,
of every State, of every individual, will be at the mercy of the power
at Washington. The honesty or corruption, the wisdom or folly to be
found there, will control everything. The business of the country must
not be dealt with as a sick patient whose doctors at Washington are to
control and dose and diet. The number and character of those doctors,
liable to change, do not give warrant of stability and health. The busi
ness of the country would then depend on political considerations, polit
ical interests and ambitions. This is precisely what honest business
wishes to avoid. It prefers to be conducted and controlled exclusively
by business interests and business considerations. What it asks of Gov
ernment and politics is to be let alone.
The present greenback currency has had these great advantages. It
was a war measure, justified by the war alone, to end with the necessity
of the war. The faith of the nation is pledged to a limited issue, and the
redemption is sure to take place at an early day.
Government paper, stamped paper, has no real value. It depends on
Congress, on the elections. Repeal the Legal Tender Act and it is trash.
But gold does not represent value; it is value.
While Mr. Hayes laid the principal stress upon the two great
questions, sound money and the integrity of the free public
schools, he did not neglect the discussion of other topics of inter
est to the voters of the State. For the first time, he would say,
since the present division of parties the public affairs of Ohio,
state and local, had now for about two years been administered
by the Democratic party. And what was the result? Coming
into power after great professions of reform intentions, yet "by
the judgment of Democrats themselves the Democratic party
had signally failed as a party of reform." Instead of adhering to
the principles of civil service reform to which it had committed
itself in 1872, "it turned its back on the Republican reformers
who had joined it, repealed the old laws, and entered upon the
work of reorganizing the state institutions," which were con
fessedly well managed. Every place possible was seized as spoils
— even and notoriously the Soldiers' Orphans' Home. And
what scandal followed! No Republican or independent who
would examine this subject could doubt how to vote.

404 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
The voters should note, too, the condition of affairs in the
leading cities of Ohio under Democratic control.
How best to govern cities and towns, [Mr. Hayes proceeded] without
a departure from the methods and principles of free government, is
one of the most difficult and important problems before the American
people. Neither of the political parties can justly claim to have ap
proached its solution. In the cities and towns we see debts increasing,
taxes increasing, and corruption increasing. Without doubt public im
provements are also going on, but it may well be doubted whether they
keep pace with the increase of debts and taxes. Indeed, what are called
improvements are too often the opportunities of rogues. . . .
When the great frauds in the city of New York were discovered, the
party which had ruled the State and city were driven from power. The
example is a good one. In Ohio the laws which govern cities and define
and limit the powers of their various departments depend on the Legis
lature. The action of the city governments under those laws depends on
the city rulers. If one party controls the city government and the other
party the State Government, there may be doubt as to where the chief
responsibility rests. It may be a question whether the fault is in the laws
of the State, or in the action of the city authorities under the laws. But
where both the city and State Governments are in the hands of the same
political party, there can be no doubt'of the justice of holding that party
responsible for city misgovernment. With this safe rule as a guide, go to
the leading cities and towns of the State. .Take, for example, the chief
city of the State. It is fully in possession of Democratic officials and
under the laws of a Democratic Legislature. ... It is quite safe to say
that well-informed persons in that city, not implicated in its govern
ment, with great unanimity assert that it is now worse governed than
ever before. . . . The truth is, Democratic reform, as our Liberal Re
publicans have found out, is not a success.
But as the campaign became more and more animated and the
minds of the people seemed to be given up to the all-engrossing
topic, General Hayes paid less attention to other subjects and
elaborated on the disastrous effects of an unlimited issue of irre
deemable currency. His speeches were usually concise, but on
occasion, as at Dayton August 25, he devoted two hours to a dis
cussion of the financial issue. The proposition of the Democrats
"was the violation of the national faith and the destruction of
national credit." "More money is the cry of the speculators in
distress." "The Government has no warrant of law to issue
money that is not convertible into the coin which is the money
of the world." These and other striking sentences were accom
panied by apt illustrations and plain arguments founded upon

THIRD TIME GOVERNOR 405
law and experience. But at no time did he fail to realize that the
contest was a close and desperate one. The talk of the opposition
was plausible and was addressed to those who were in debt and
who wanted better times. "With a stamped paper currency,"
said Cary, "made a legal tender in all cases, we have a cur
rency as nearly perfect as possible." This was supported by
William D. Kelley, of Pennsylvania, who, as the champion pro
tectionist, was sent into the mining and iron districts to arouse
the laboring and artisan classes against the banking system and
the proposed resumption of specie payments — to which the
industrial evils were attributed. Mr. Kelley spoke to men who
wanted work, and to whom the whole subject of finance was
a mystery. The capitalists, he declared at Youngstown, "had
better pause before reducing the working people to the last
measure of despair." The question recurs in every such con
test, Who is the true friend of the poor man, he who would pay
him a dollar good the world over, or he who would pay him in an
irredeemable currency of uncertain value?
The importance of the issue brought into the State in support
of the Republicans such able political orators as Carl Schurz,
Senator Morton, and Stewart L. Woodford. Whether one con
siders the issues involved, the character and ability of the
speakers engaged, or the brilliant part taken by the press, this
campaign was doubtless one of the most important, from an
educational standpoint, in American political history. But no
one could feel assured as to its result. How doubtful Mr. Hayes
was a few days before the election is manifested by a letter to
Mrs. Hayes, written September 19 at Youngstown: —
This is Sunday morning before breakfast. I had a fine meeting in a
beautiful opera house last night. Here I am received by 23ders [mem
bers of his old regiment] and all, Democrats, bolters, etc., etc., with
a friendship apparently most hearty. The "Hard Times and Plenty
of Money to cure it" is here hurting us badly. Since the Maine election
I have felt that we might be beaten in Ohio, perhaps badly. But it has
good compensation for me. That awful bug of the Presidency is in many
minds wherever I go. Ben Wade and H. B. Payne, Democratic M.C.
from Cleveland, both told me seriously that my election would surely
put me ahead of all competitors. So, defeat will be a relief from a terrible
trouble and worriment. You will be a philosopher over this result, as I
am. It looks to me a great deal that way. If people ask you what I say
as to prospects, say to them that I am enjoying fine meetings, but say

406 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
nothing about chances; that is important. ... I see that the part I have
taken in this famous contest will leave me, even if defeated, in a more
conspicuous and influential position than I have ever had before. Our
friends are warm and zealous.
Mr. Hayes spoke practically every day except Sundays, from
the date of his opening speech at Marion on July 31, until the
Saturday before election, October 9, when he closed his canvass
at Oberlin. He made in all more than fifty speeches.1 His letters
and brief entries in his diary show that he maintained his vigor
throughout the strenuous days of travel by all sorts' of convey
ance, the frequent receptions, the varied accommodations of his
night sojourns, and all the other incidents that mark a trying
political campaign. He was home at Fremont on election day
(October 12) when he wrote in his diary these words: —
Election day! The weather is perfect. Spiegel Grove, my home,
never looked so beautiful before. I am as nearly indifferent, on personal
grounds, to the result of this day, as it is possible to be. I prefer success.
But I anticipate defeat with very great equanimity. If victorious I am
likely to be pushed for the nomination for President. This would make
my life a disturbed and troubled one until the nomination, six or eight
months hence. If nominated, the stir would last until November, a year
hence. Defeat in the next Presidential election is almost a certainty.
In any event, defeat now returns me to the quiet life I sought in coming
here. The large considerations of country, patriotism, and principle find
little place in a deliberation of this question. The march of events will
carry us safely beyond the dangers of the present questions.
The next entry in the diary is under date of October 17: —
Elected; a pleasant serenade from my neighbors; a day of doubt and
anxiety as to the result. It looked on Thursday as if the Democrats
were bent on counting me out. All right, however. Now come papers
from all the country counties urging me for the Presidential nomination.
Mr. Hayes was elected by a plurality of 5544 votes. All the
other Republican state candidates were successful and the Re
publicans gained a majority in both houses of the Legislature.
The significance of the victory was recognized by the press of the
1 The impression made by his campaigning was well summed up by the
Mansfield Liberal a few days after the election: "He never lost his balance, never
slopped over, never made a false move. From the beginning to the end, although
he was speaking every day, he never said a single word which any one cared to
have him recall. ... A better tactician never headed a party ticket."

THIRD TIME GOVERNOR 407
country and evoked much comment, coupled with commenda
tion of Mr. Hayes's character and the fearless quality of his
campaign oratory. Harper's Weekly, which had followed the
Ohio canvass with unremitting attention, in its leading editorial
article of October 30 declared: —
The result in Ohio is very much more than a Republican partisan vic
tory. It has a significance which is obvious. The RepubUcan defeats of
last year were, as we insisted at the time, not an indication of the dehb-
erate preference of the country for the Democratic party, but a stern
call to Republicans to mend their ways. . . . Comprehension, confi
dence, and courage — the courage that enabled the Ohio Republicans
to take the most uncompromising position for hard money and against
inflation; the courage to dare and bear the taunt of inconsistency; the
courage to trust the intelligence and common sense of the people, and
not to treat them as children and puppets; the courage to appeal to the
loyalty of 1861 and the war, and to the love of order, of honesty, of
Uberty, and of human and constitutional rights in the popular heart —
these are what we need.
In Pennsylvania the same issue of sound money or inflation
was the paramount topic of the campaign. After Mr. Hayes's
successful canvass and election the urgent call came to him from
Governor Hartranft, who was a candidate for reelection, to come
to Pennsylvania and lend his assistance there to the cause he
had so ably presented and defended in Ohio. With characteristic
modesty he at first declined the invitation, but so insistent was
the solicitation that he reluctantly yielded. He was in Penn
sylvania some ten days, speaking at Philadelphia, Bethlehem,
Easton, Allentown, Oil City, and other places. Everywhere he
was warmly welcomed. In Philadelphia he participated in a
great procession in celebration of the Ohio victory. The leading
men of the State and prominent citizens in the towns he visited
vied with one another in doing him honor and paying him atten
tion. More than once he was introduced to his audiences with
some reference to the probability of his nomination and election
the next year to the Chief Magistracy of the nation. Papers and
politicians were satisfied that his clear and straightforward
speeches against the "rag baby" contributed materially to the
success of the Republican cause.1 The State, which had gone
1 "The speech of Governor Hayes last night has had an excellent effect. If he
could multiply himself by fifty and make two or three such addresses in every
county in the State before election, the inflation candidate would be buried under

408 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Democratic the year before, returned to its old allegiance, and
Governor Hartranft was reelected, though by a majority much
smaller than he had commanded three years before.
Mr. Hayes spent the months of November and December
quietly at Fremont busied with his large correspondence, relating
largely to his prospective candidacy for the Presidency, and with
the preparation of his inaugural address. Early in January he
went to Columbus, where on the 10th he for the third time with
becoming ceremony took the oath as Governor of the Common
wealth. His record in the diary of this event reads : —
The weather cold and windy but bright. A handsome display of mili
tary. Governor Allen and I rode together. He is aged, but full of spirits
and vim; talked cheerfuUy and well. It all passed off pleasantly.
Mr. Hayes's address on this occasion was like all his state
papers in his former incumbency of the Governor's office,
marked by brevity and simplicity of expression. "Questions of
national concern" he refused to discuss, as inappropriate to the
occasion; neither did he propose to give any extended survey of
the State's condition and needs; Governor Allen had presented
this in his annual message a few days before. But one or two
topics he did wish to emphasize. While under the operation of the
sinking fund the debt of the State was being steadily diminished,
municipal indebtedness, expenditures, and taxation were rapidly
increasing. This, he insisted, was "certainly a great evil. " "How
to govern cities well," he continued, "consistently with the prin
ciples and methods of popular government, is one of the most
important and difficult problems of our time. Profligate expendi
ture is the fruitful cause of municipal misgovernment. If a
means can be found which will keep municipal expenses from
largely exceeding the public necessities, its adoption will go far
toward securing honesty and efficiency in city affairs. In cities
large debts and bad government go together. Cities which have
the lightest taxes and smallest debts are apt, also, to have the
purest and most satisfactory governments."
a majority of forty thousand. . . . His vigorous, honest, common-sense way of
handling the currency question is exceedingly effective. . . . Governor Hayes
rarely speaks over half an hour, but in that short time he covers the whole
financial ground. His delivery is deliberate, though never halting; his manner
dignified, though familiar, and his presence magnetic." (Reading, Pennsylvania,
dispatch of staff correspondent of New York Tribune, October 27.)

THIRD TIME GOVERNOR 409
This was not a mere local question. All the people of the
State were deeply interested. They must share the burden in
part at least. Experience had shown that, while necessarily large
discretion must be left to the local authorities, this should be
carefully restricted. In his opinion, "if the rule of the state
constitution, which forbids all debts except in certain specified
emergencies, is deemed too stringent to be applied to local
affairs, the Legislature should at least accompany every author
ity to contract debt with an imperative requirement that a tax
sufficient to pay off the indebtedness within a brief period shall
be immediately levied, and thus compel every citizen who votes
to increase debts to vote at the same time for an immediate in
crease of taxes sufficient to discharge them." "Let a require
ment analogous to this [the sinking fund provision of the state
constitution] be enacted in regard to existing local indebtedness;
let a judicious limitation of the rate of taxation which local
authorities may levy be strictly adhered to, and allow no further
indebtedness to be authorized except in conformity with these
principles; and we may, I believe, confidently expect that within
a few years the burdens of debt now resting upon the cities and
towns of the State will disappear, and that other wholesome and
much-needed reforms in the whole administration of our mu
nicipal government will of necessity follow the adoption of what
may be called the cash system in local affairs."
Among the most interesting duties of the Legislature were
those relating to the care of dependent and criminal classes of
the State. In 1867 the Legislature had created a Board of State
Charities with authority to supervise the State's penal and
benevolent institutions and to submit recommendations of im
provement. The board had done efficient and valuable service.
But in 1872 the law creating the board had been repealed, with
out, as it was believed, due consideration. Now he urged that
the board be reestablished. He also emphasized Governor Allen's
recommendation that proper provision be made for an adequate
exhibition of the State's resources and accomplishments at the
approaching centennial celebration at Philadelphia; urged the
Legislature to make its session short, and to "avoid all schemes
requiring excessive expenditure whether State or local"; and
ended with a graceful compliment to the retiring Governor.

410 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
The sound, practical sense of the address, expressing princi
ples which it may be said, in passing, wise statesmanship now
generally recognizes and seeks to enforce, received wide com
mendation 1 and added fresh impetus to the growing repute of
its author.
The Legislature heeded the Governor's recommendation and
promptly revived the Board of State Charities, with the Governor
as an ex-officio member. It repealed the Geghan Law which had
evoked so much criticism during the campaign of the previous
year, made many changes in the manner of controlling the state
institutions, and passed several laws limiting the taxing and
debt-creating powers of municipalities.
Meanwhile the Governor was busied with an enormous corre
spondence relating to the possibility of his candidacy for the
Presidency — about which he refused to become excited or
anxious — and with the exacting routine duties of his office.
These involved the appointment of men to fill many offices and
places on boards and commissions. His aim was, while not
ignoring political considerations, to select men known to be
fitted for the duties they were expected to perform. There is no
evidence that any appointments were made for the purpose of
"building up a machine," or with a view to affecting men's atti
tude in the approaching Presidential contest. Writing of this
feature of the Governor's duties in his diary, April 11, 1876, Mr.
Hayes says : —
I have made the last appointments for this session of the Legislature.
Some mistakes have been made, but on the whole I have been fortunate.
One or two things I must bear in mind. No man should be finally deter
mined on until the people where he resides have been heard from, after
he is seriously talked of, or nominated for the place. The saying, that "no
man knows what can be said against him until he is a candidate for
office," has a wise side to it. I named a Democrat of excellent character
for trustee of [the] Dayton Hospital for the Insane. Straightway it
appeared he had been a bitter Copperhead during the war. Another, a
gallant soldier and fine gentleman, was no sooner named than it was
notorious that he was a shameless libertine.
As in his previous service as Chief Executive of the State, Mr.
1 One enthusiastic correspondent, George W. Jones, of Cincinnati, wrote the
Governor: "Plain and simple — that's the talk for the people. Grand old Saxon
words, more full of sound, singing emphasis than all the modernized construc
tion."

THIRD TIME GOVERNOR 411
Hayes was extremely careful and conscientious in the exercise of
the pardoning power. He laid down for himself these salutary
rules for his guidance and control: —
1. Grant no pardon and make no promises on the first presentation of
a case. Take time before deciding, or even encouraging the party.
2. If two or more are concerned in the crime, consider the cases of all
together. One is often called the dupe until he is pardoned; then the
other becomes dupe and the pardoned man the leader.
3. Pardon no man who is not provided with employment, or means of
subsistence. 4. Pardon no man unless some friend is ready to receive him as he
comes from the prison.
5. Of course, the judge, the prosecuting attorney, and some intelhgent
citizen of sound sense should be heard from in all cases.
These rules may be departed from in cases requiring it, but let them
always be considered before the pardon is granted, or any committal
had. To these rules he adhered with substantial steadfastness, but
giving always the benefit of the doubt to the side of mercy.
Regularly in the cases of men that he pardoned who had com
mitted crime under the influence of intoxicating liquor, the
pardon was made conditional on their future total abstinence
from the use of intoxicants. If this condition was broken, the
man was returned to the penitentiary to serve out the remaining
portion of the term of imprisonment to which he had been
sentenced. In spite of the exciting Presidential canvass of 1876, and his
own enthralling interest in the outcome, Mr. Hayes remained
steadily at his post in the executive chamber of the Ohio capitol
and neglected no duty appertaining to his office. When the
Legislature reassembled on January 2, 1877, the entire country
was in a fever of doubt and controversy over the disputed elec
tion. Governor Hayes must have labored under prodigious
temptation in preparing his annual message to the Legislature,
to make at least some passing allusion to the topic of universal
mterest and anxious discussion; the topic, too, which must have
been uppermost in his thought. The people had rather expected
that he would take advantage of this public and official occasion
to give some expression to his views on questions of national
concern. But with singular self-restraint and wisdom, Mr. Hayes

412 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
confined his message absolutely to matters of state interest.
Indeed, the message contains not the slightest intimation of the
momentous controversy, whose decision would mean so much to
its author, which was engrossing the public mind.1
A brief summary of this message must suffice. In spite of
the laws passed at the last session, the aggregate debt of Ohio
municipalities had increased fifty per cent in the last year. The
Governor therefore repeated and amplified the views on this sub
ject that he had expressed a year before in his inaugural address.
One reason he believed for the extravagance and inefficiency
of city governments lay in the application to them of national
pohtics. There is no more reason [he declared — and what thinking man shall
dispute his declaration?] for the antagonisms of political parties in
municipal government than in a bank or a railroad company. Municipal
governments are organizations designed chiefly for the better protection
of property and person, and the better management of schools and chari
ties. In the administration of such governments all honest, industrious
citizens have an identical interest. The cooperation of a moderate pro
portion of the best citizens in any city in Ohio, with the determination
expressed by them that good men from all political parties, or no politi
cal party, shall administer its affairs, and that unfit men, of any party,
shall not hold its offices, would soon secure a good municipal government.
Such a government calls for the best work of the best men, and neither
party alone can furnish it. The improvement of our municipal govern
ment, generally, would constitute one of the best possible guaranties of
an efficient civil service upon a large scale.
The Governor took pride in the admirable character of the
state exhibit and in the large success of Ohio exhibitors at the
Centennial Exposition; he spoke in praise of the activity of
the reconstituted Board of State Charities; he recommended
a further appropriation to insure a completion of the enlarged
report of the geological survey of the State, inaugurated during
his first term as Governor; he urged upon the Legislature the
passage of a registry law, to the end that fraudulent voting should
be reduced; and, in the interest of economy, he recommended the
submission to the people of an amendment to the constitution
1 "Upon the whole, this modest message is businesslike, free from flourish and
flurry, and reveals an utter unconsciousness in the author of being to-day the
most conspicuous and interesting character on the continent." (New York
Times, January, 1877.)

THIRD TIME GOVERNOR 413
making the date of the state election the same as that of the
national election.
This was the final official utterance of Mr. Hayes as Governor
to the Legislature and people of Ohio. On the 1st of March he
resigned his office to become Chief Magistrate of the nation.

CHAPTER XXIII
THE MONTHS BEFORE THE CONVENTION OF 1876
FOR the first time since 1860 the Republican nomination for
the Presidency was in 1876 not a foregone conclusion. Mr.
Lincoln's second nomination was inevitable, as were also the two
nominations of General Grant. The logic of the situation made
any other result inconceivable, and there was practically no con
test, though Mr. Chase and his friends flattered themselves that
there might be. But in 1876 no Republican leader towered so
high above his fellows as to rouse in the popular consciousness of
the party an overwhelming demand for his selection. The senti
ment of the party and the condition of the country had opened
the way for a real contest, and the rivalry of ambitious leaders
for the supreme party honor began early to develop and con
stantly increased in scope and intensity.
Moreover, the party approached the contest with many mis
givings and with much apprehension.1 Long continuance in
undisputed possession of power had weakened the coherence of
the party. The great moral impulse to which it owed its origin
had abated in fervor with the practical righting of the wrongs
and the solution of the problems to which it was directed; with
rising doubts in the popular mind of the entire wisdom of pre
vailing policies, and question of the perfect integrity and unsel
fish devotion to the public welfare of many of the leaders that
held high if not commanding positions in the party counsels.
The loosening of political morals which seems inevitably to
attend prolonged exercise of unchecked power, especially in a
1 " If we look for the causes which have reduced the RepubUcan party to its
present doubtful condition, we can easily find them. One, of limited scope, is the
hard times; the other, and the efficient cause, is impatience with what may best
be described as a low, personal, selfish, intensely partisan character of adminis
tration, which fosters such iniquities as the Credit Mobilier, the moiety system,
the salary grab, the enormous whiskey and Indian frauds, questionable transac
tions of all kinds involving high officers and an apparent disregard of them, a
despotic party control by the officeholding interest, and a contemptuous viola
tion of solemn party pledges." (Harper's Weekly, December 25, 1875.)

MONTHS BEFORE THE CONVENTION OF 1876 415
period of civil convulsion and war, — the supreme energies being
directed toward the one great end, to the subordination or
neglect of minor considerations however intrinsically important,
— had continued and culminated under General Grant's head
ship of the nation. Many and substantial as were the achieve
ments of his Administration, yet its lustre was sadly dimmed by
the revelation of scandal after scandal in the pubhc service,
involving men of party prominence, some even in the Cabinet,
in sordid corruption and shameless betrayal of trust. General
Grant, as a military commander, seemed to possess unerring
insight and judgment in selecting his lieutenants for important
posts, and in directing and controlling their movements. He
came to the White House with absolutely no experience or knowl
edge of the methods and demands of civil rule.1 Conscientious
and patriotic, as undoubtedly he was in the full implication of
these epithets, his judgment was frequently at fault in the selec
tion of men for high office; his reliance on the advice of self-
seeking politicians who courted his favor was too unqualified,
and his personal loyalty to men he counted his friends, even after
their public dereliction became known, provoked serious censure
and uncharitable condemnation. Moreover, he was quick to take
offense at pubhc men who criticized a policy on which his heart
was set; as witness his determined hostility to Senator Sumner
after the latter's opposition to his unfortunate Santo Domingo
annexation scheme. So the Administration came widely to be
thought of as too much enveloped in the atmosphere of personal
government;2 while the abuses of patronage and the vast in
crease of the civil service, wholly dominated by favoritism and
1 "It was my fortune, or misfortune, to be called to the office of Chief Execu
tive without any previous political training. From the age of seventeen I had
never even witnessed the excitement attending a Presidential campaign but
twice antecedent to my own candidacy, and at but one of them was I eligible as
a voter." (From Grant's last annual Message.)
a "The truth is undeniable that ten years ago the Republican party had the
fairest opportunity that was ever offered to a political organization. Is it any
less true that this year its only chance of success lies in its power to persuade the
country that it is not hopelessly corrupt? The President must bear his share of
the responsibility for this lamentable result. The very fact that his administra
tion has been peculiarly a personal government — that he has regarded his office
as a reward given to him for his great services, and not as a trust to be admin
istered for the common welfare — exposes him to stronger condemnation."
(George William Curtis, in Harper's Weekly, March 25, 1876.)

416 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
partisan pohtics, had begun to awaken popular indignation and
to quicken the demand for radical reform in administrative
methods. Besides all this, the condition of the South was a constant
source of irritation and discussion. The wild orgies of negro
Legislatures, under the guidance of unscrupulous whites, largely
adventurers from the North, appalled and disgusted the sober
sense of the country. The cruel and murderous barbarities of
the Kuklux Klans, with which local authority was unwilling or
unable to cope, evoked mingled feelings of amazement and right
eous wrath, and led to passionate demands for national interfer
ence. Partisan feeling, on the one side, doubtless exaggerated, on
the other side, doubtless belittled, the extent and enormity of the
atrocities that were committed. But making all allowance for the
passion and misrepresentation of the time, one cannot to this day
read the remaining record of carpetbag corruption and Kuklux
savagery without tingling shame and hot resentment. But grad
ually thinking men of the North were more and more becoming
weary of the eternal Southern question. More and more they
were coming to realize that it was principally, if not essentially, a
domestic problem; that sooner or later the Southern people must
work out their own salvation or go their own course to degrada
tion and disorder. State Governments sustained or bolstered up
by federal bayonets could not go on forever. And so the demand
was increasing in volume, not only from the entire Democratic
party, but likewise from far-seeing and patriotic Republicans,
for the withdrawal of the federal troops from the Southern
States and for a complete cessation of federal interference in
the domestic affairs of the South. Only so, such Republicans
thought, could fuller reconciliation now be hastened, and the
party be strengthened to deal with the new questions that de
manded consideration. The rights of the negroes had been estab
lished by the nation, as far as it was practicable, by the three
great amendments. Adjustment of the practical relations of the
races within the States must be left largely to the States them
selves and to the beneficent influence of time, of public opinion,
of social and moral forces. However, a large proportion, perhaps
the dominant proportion, of the Republican party still favored
the pohcy toward the South that had so long been pursued.

MONTHS BEFORE THE CONVENTION OF 1876 417
Another thing that contributed to the anxiety felt by thought
ful Republicans at the prospect of the party was the financial and
industrial condition of the country. Years of rapid expansion
in industry and railway construction, coupled with feverish
speculation and extravagance of fife, had suddenly been checked
by the financial crisis of 1873. The "hard times " and depression
which resulted from this had not yet ceased to be felt. For the
first time since the Republicans had come into power, the Demo
crats in the election of 1874 had gained control of the House of
Representatives and had reduced considerably the Republican
majority in the Senate. Monetary heresies, attractive in their
appeal to the unthinking masses who felt the pressure of the
financial stringency, had been espoused by the principal leaders
of the Democratic party, especially in the West and South, and
were shrewdly presented as an easy way to alleviate the burden
of debt, national and private, and to quicken the sluggish current
of industry. Some Republicans of commanding influence, like
Senator Morton, wavered in their allegiance to sound finance
and scrupulous maintenance of the public faith. Apprehensive
of the kind of financial legislation likely to be attempted by the
newCongress, the Republicans of the Forty -third Congress, early
in January, 1875, performed a duty long neglected and, until
that time, apparently impossible because of wide diversity of
opinion, by passing a law providing definitely for the resumption
of specie payments January 1, 1879, and giving the Secretary
of the Treasury abundant authority to make the law effective.
But this law only added fuel to the flames of Democratic cheap-
money advocacy, as soon appeared in the state campaigns of
Ohio and Pennsylvania of that year. The part played by Mr.
Hayes in combating the error and winning a victory for sound
money has already been recounted. But the error was so insinu
ating in its appeal, and the margin of victory was so slight,^ that
Republicans could not help feeling nervous regarding the influ
ence on the course of political events which this heresy, in con
nection with all the causes of dissatisfaction with the party in
power, might still exert.
On the other hand, the Democrats were better organized, were
more harmonious among themselves, despite wide differences of
opinion on finance, were more ably led, and were more confident

418 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
of success than at any time since the obscuration of the party in
1860. Conditions pointed indubitably to their nomination of the
adroit and resourceful New York statesman who had won high
popular regard by his masterly skill in helping to smash the in
famous "Tweed Ring," though he had long affiliated with Tweed
in party politics,1 and by his course as Governor against the
almost equally rapacious and odious "Canal Ring."
In the preliminary canvass for the Republican nomination four
men early became conspicuous and active. Of these by far the
most popular was the brilliant, versatile, and magnetic James
G. Blaine, of Maine. Devoted to his fortunes with ardent
loyalty were hosts of able party leaders in nearly all parts of the
country, while among the masses of his party he commanded a
fervor of popularity such as no other man since Henry Clay's
demise had been able to inspire. Some shadow rested on his
reputation for scrupulous exclusion of personal interests from his
activity as a legislator which caused many thinking people to
doubt his absolute probity of character, and led vastly more to
question the advisability of his nomination at such a crisis in the
party's history. Moreover, by his overweening ambition, and by
his merciless power of caustic characterization and denunciation
in the heat of debate, he had made bitter and aggressive enemies
within the party ranks.
One of these enemies, implacable in his hostility, was now a
competitor for the party's favor. This was the imperious and
arrogant Roscoe Conkling, of New York, famous for the bril
liancy of his political oratory; famous for his stalwart devotion
to General Grant and the defense of the Administration;2 fa
mous for his sole and absolute mastery of the party machinery in
his own State; and famous, above all else, for his dominating and
supercilious personality. Outside his own State he had many
admirers but few friends. Whatever influence President Grant
1 "During all Tweed's ascendancy and control in the'Democratic party of the
State, Mr. Tilden, as Democratic chairman, gave the weight of his name and
official action to Tweed's nominations." (Harper's Weekly, July 15, 1876.)
2 " No Republican has been so signally identified with the Executive at every
point and in every detail as Senator Conkling." (Harper's Weekly, March 11,
1876.) Again two weeks later the same paper speaks of Mr. Conkling as "the
cleverest and most unshrinking courtier of an Administration under which the
Republican party has been well-nigh ruined."

MONTHS BEFORE THE CONVENTION OF 1876 419
could exert in the contest, however, it was well understood would
be used in his behalf. He would, moreover, go to the convention
with the largest single delegation; and one which, if he could not
himself be nominated, would with few exceptions yield unques
tioning deference to his will.
Worthier than either of these two, so far as force of character
and achievement go, was Oliver P. Morton, the great war Gov
ernor of Indiana, and for many years one of the commanding
figures in the Senate.1 His fame rested on a more solid basis thap
theirs; on the actual accomplishment of arduous tasks; on proved
executive ability of the highest order; on recognized capacity for
constructive statesmanship. He was wise in counsel, skilful in
political strategy, bold and daring in attack. He was dowered
with superb moral courage, was animated by pure and unselfish
patriotism, was scornful of all that savored of self-seeking. The
freedmen had no more untiring friend and champion; the Repub
Ucan party no more devoted adherent to its principles and pur
poses; the Democratic party no more persistent critic or deter
mined antagonist. But there were grave intimations regarding
his private character, and already for years his physical powers
had been undermined; so that while his intellectual vigor
showed no impairment, even his most devoted friends and fol
lowers, when judgment for the moment could control their zeal,
must have doubted the advisability of pressing his candidacy.
Last of the four was Benjamin H. Bristow, of Kentucky, a
comparatively new man in the arena of national politics. He had
risen suddenly into conspicuous public favor and fame by his
course as Secretary of the Treasury in pursuing and prosecuting
with righteous and relentless vigor, in defiance of all clamor that
he was "hurting the party," the members, however prominent,
of the malodorous and widely ramified whiskey conspiracy. His
zeal in this procedure had made the impression that he was some
way superior to the Administration of which he was a part; that
he more than any one else was imbued with reform purposes. It
1 After a visit at Washington in June, 1870, Mr. Hayes wrote in his diary,
July 1: "The great statesman at Washington now is Governor Morton. He is a
strong, logical debater, who has the faculty of putting an argument in a way that
is satisfactory to the best minds, and at the same [time] is understood and
appreciated by the most ignorant."

420 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
was known that entire harmony between him and the President
no longer existed and his early retirement from the Cabinet was
predicted, much to the chagrin of the better friends of the
Administration.1 The Republican critics of Grant and "Grant-
ism," the men in the party that saw most clearly the imperative
need of reform in the civil service and in administrative methods,
thought they discovered in Bristow the man best fitted to lead
the forces of reform and eagerly attached themselves to his
standard. With them were most of the Republicans that had
been prominent in the futile Liberal Republican movement of
1872. That all these men greatly overestimated the ability of
Mr. Bristow, his subsequent inconspicuous career seems clearly
to demonstrate.
Behind each of these men was an energetic organization of
friends and supporters, actively engaged in a propaganda in his
behalf. Through the press and by means of personal representa
tives, efforts were put forth to urge his claims and to win the
allegiance of state organizations and individual delegates. The
longer this rivalry continued the more partisan the followers of
each aspirant became and the stronger their hostility to all the
others. More and more it became apparent that the adherents of
each candidate would turn to any one of the other three with
emotions of extreme repugnance, and that then they would give
him only halting and half-hearted support.
Thus naturally a condition was developing, such as has ap
peared not infrequently in American politics, favorable to the
exaltation of some strong man, from a doubtful and important
State, unencumbered by entangling alliances with any one of the
fighting factions, but sustaining kindly relations with all. Mr.
Hayes was not blind to the situation, but serenely watched the
course of events, not overanxious as to its outcome; content,
indeed, as he had ever shown himself with whatever fate should
have in store for him.
Senator Sherman, who had himself been suggested as a pos
sible candidate, was among the first of the leading statesmen of
1 "Every honest man in the country must hope that the rumors of the retire
ment of Secretary Bristow, at the request of the President, are untrue." (Har
per's Weekly, March 11, 1876.) Mr. Bristow resigned from the Cabinet immedi
ately after the Cincinnati Convention, being virtually forced out.

MONTHS BEFORE THE CONVENTION OF 1876 421
the party to divine the probable course of the various move
ments within the party and to express the opinion that the nom
ination of Mr. Hayes would be wisest for the party and best for
the country. This opinion was set out in a letter from Mr.
Sherman, bearing date of January 21, 1876, to a member of the
Ohio Senate. Mr. Sherman described the strong qualities in
Mr. Hayes's character, reaching this climax: "He is fortunately
free from the personal enmities and antagonisms that would
weaken some of his competitors, and he is unblemished in name,
character, or conduct." Mr. Sherman urged that Ohio should
"give Governor Hayes a united delegation instructed to sup
port him in the National Convention, not that we have any
special claim to have the candidate taken from Ohio, but that in
General Hayes we honestly believe the Republican party of the
United States will have a candidate for President who can com
bine greater popular strength and greater assurance of success
than other candidates, and with equal ability to discharge the
duties of President of the United States in case of election. Let this
nomination be thus presented, without any wire-pulling or depre
ciation of others, and as a conviction upon established facts, and
I believe Governor Hayes can be and ought to be nominated."
The advice of the last sentence was altogether in accord with
the predilections of Mr. Hayes and with the counsel and course
of his closest friends. It correctly describes in brief the ante-
convention conviction and activities of the advocates of Mr.
Hayes's nomination.
There is no evidence that Mr. Hayes of himself had ever
nursed the hope or entertained the ambition of some day becom
ing President. The self-revelatory confidences entrusted on occa
sion to his diary betray no intimation that such an aspiration
had ever tinged his day-dreams or haunted his sleeping hours.
The earliest suggestions of the thought by friends or admirers
made no impression on his mind except as evidence of flattering
regard, pleasing to his self-esteem, to be sure, but not to be
allowed in any way to disturb his serenity or to affect his con
duct. The very first mention of him as a man on whom the
nation might well at some time bestow the highest honor, was
made at Cincinnati, on the eve of his second election as Gov
ernor, in October, 1869. Governor Hayes spoke that night in the

422 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
Seventeenth Ward Wigwam. Mr. S. F. Covington presided at
the meeting and in introducing Mr. Hayes, proposed his nomina
tion for the Presidency. The incident passed without comment
or report, being taken as the exuberance of an admiring neigh
bor; it was only recalled later when the prediction it embodied
was in process of verification.1
In November, 1871, to some correspondent whose name is not
preserved that had written him in regard to the Presidency, Mr.
Hayes replied: —
If I thought there was the slightest danger of so obscure a personage
as I being attacked with that wretched mania, an itching for the White
House, I would beg for the prayers of your church for my deUverance.
And yet in the following month some correspondent of the
New York Tribune wrote that paper advocating his nomination
in place of General Grant; and in January, 1872, the Republican
members of the Ohio Legislature, as we have already seen, that
were opposed to the reelection of Senator Sherman, insistently
urged Mr. Hayes to accept election to the United States Senate
through a coalition of the anti-Sherman Republicans and the
Democrats, by assuring him that such an election — a triumph
of independence over machine methods — would so impress the
country as to insure his nomination for the Presidency. To all
such appeals, as it will be remembered, Mr. Hayes resolutely
turned a deaf ear.8
1 August 21, 1876, Mr. Covington wrote a friend who was at the meeting and
recalled the incident: "It seemed to be almost a farce to introduce Governor
Hayes to that audience. He knew many of them quite as well as I did, and they
all knew him and honored him. If you will remember, I referred briefly to his
residence in this city, to the fact of his having been City Solicitor, having served
in Congress, his brilliant military career, and his record as Governor; stated that
in every position he had occupied, whether civil or military, he had met the most
sanguine expectations and hopes of his friends; that on the following day he
would be reelected Governor, and by the time he had given to the people of
Ohio all the service they would have a right to ask of him, the people of the
nation would demand his service as President and make him the successor of
General Grant. That latter thought came to me as I was speaking. Was it not
prophecy?" * A local poetaster, in the Columbus Gazette, on Mr. Hayes's retirement from
the Governor's office, ended a sonnet with these verses : —
"Oh, may it be thy set is brief; and lite the Sun
Rise thou again — thy light to fill the sky —
A brighter course of glory still to run, —
Till millions now unborn shall hail thy name,
la ages yet to come with glad acclaim!"

MONTHS BEFORE THE CONVENTION OF 1876 423
When Mr. Hayes retired to Fremont in the spring of 1873,
there can be no doubt that in all sincerity he had abandoned
every thought of further political or official preferment. Leaders
of public opinion and friends that had followed his career, with
intelligent appreciation of the qualities of his character, depre
cated his decision and could not be convinced to accept it as final;
and political influences were steadily at work, which, with the
definiteness of fate, forced him, in 1875, against his will and pref
erences, to return to the hazards of the political arena; to accept
once more the leadership of his party in Ohio and to fight to
a' successful conclusion the doubtful battle in behalf of sound
money and unimpaired maintenance of the national faith. He
foresaw at once, as has already been recorded, but evidently with
more of misgiving than elation, that his success in the Ohio
canvass — certain under the circumstances to attract the atten
tion of the nation — would lead inevitably to serious considera
tion of him for the Republican nomination to the Presidency in
the following year. But he records his meditations on the subject
as impersonally as though he were writing of the chances and
prospects of a friend or even an utter stranger. Long practical
experience and acute observation of American political influences
and the currents of popular opinion had taught him so well to
estimate accurately their force and direction that he could fore
see as clearly the probable effect of their operation in his own
behalf, as though he were an altogether disinterested looker-on.
But he made no conscious effort to stimulate these influences or
to control these currents toward himself. He was content, abso
lutely, to leave the event to the future — doing simply with all
his might the duty that lay next. In his campaign for the
governorship one can detect not the least evidence of any sub
consciousness even that perhaps the supreme honor of the nation
might be dependent on his efforts; that therefore he should be
cautious in the opinions he expressed and should be careful not
to give offense to any large class of voters. Far from that, he dis
cussed the topics of the day with the utmost vigor, evading no
pertinent question, was unsparing in his denunciation of the
greenback heresy, with which many Republicans also were in
fected, and steadfastly combated the Catholic attacks on the
common-school system.

424 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Mr. Hayes was not alone in apprehending the implication of
his nomination and prospective election as Governor. Political
leaders and personal friends, not only in Ohio, but in other
States, wrote him predicting that if Ohio returned him to
Columbus, the White House would be within his grasp the fol
lowing year. And so shrewd a political observer as the inde
pendent but erratic editor of the New York Sun declared, in an
editorial article of June 26, long before the active canvass had
begun, "If General Hayes should be elected Governor of Ohio
by a rousing majority, he would take a place in the Republican
list " of candidates. As soon as the result of the Ohio election was
known, numerous papers in the State placed his name at the
head of their columns as their candidate; and innumerable letters
and dispatches of congratulation poured in upon the newly
elected Governor hailing him as the President that should be.
In his ten days of campaigning in Pennsylvania, immediately
following his election, his probable candidacy for Presidential
honors was more than once proclaimed by speakers in his
presence. The metropolitan press was also prompt to recognize the sig
nificance of Mr. Hayes's election as affecting his future prospects.
For example, the New York World, two days after the Ohio
election, declared that it "prognosticates no good to any of the
Republican Presidential candidates, who have been heretofore
prominent in the field. It brings forward at once into the front
rank a new candidate with portentous claims. Governor Hayes
has suddenly assumed the leading position in his party. ... It
will not be easy even for Governor Hayes to make headway
against the general drift of Grant and his Administration. But
he will certainly be urged to undertake the task." A few days
later the Boston Herald said: " He is a man whom ' it will do to
tie to,' and ... we are not sure but the Republicans and hon
est men of the country could go farther and fare worse than if
they looked to him as a leader, capable, willing, and courageous
enough to lead them in their onset upon the incompetents and
corruptionists of the present Administration." The Springfield
Republican promptly proposed Hayes and Woodford for the
ticket, and this suggestion was widely discussed and com
mended by Republican papers throughout the country.

MONTHS BEFORE THE CONVENTION OF 1876 425
On Mr. Hayes's return from Pennsylvania he found an accu
mulation of letters bearing upon this subject. One that is fairly
representative in tone and character may well be quoted in part.
It was from Mr. Hayes's old friend, General M. F. Force, of
Cincinnati, and was written October 18. It contained these
paragraphs: —
When I wrote last I said Judge Taft would not be nominated, that
you would be nominated, and that Mr. Delano would leave the Cabinet.
These are all accomplished and I now write to congratulate you upon
your election. I do not congratulate you upon obtaining an office you
did not covet, but on being leader in a struggle that the whole country
watched with breathless interest and a victory which is of importance
to the nation.
And now for the after-fruits. It is natural that you should now
be spoken of for the Presidency. When you finished your speech at
Marietta, General T. C. H. Smith said you were his candidate for the
Presidency. Mr. Hook in the first speech he made nominated you. I
discouraged talking about it in Ohio, lest somebody's susceptibilities
might be touched in advance. But to friends at the East I wrote you
would be the next Governor of Ohio, and the next President of the
United States.
In this matter you, of course, must be passive. The rule is almost
without exception that a man who seeks the Presidency never gets it,
and Morton, Conkling, and Blaine, who might as a means of defeating
each other in the end unite on you, would fight against you, if you
should become too prominent before the convention meets.
To this letter Mr. Hayes replied November 2: —
... I can't realize the "after-point."1 There is enough of it brought
to my notice in a multitude of ways to make me think of it. I heard but
little of it in Pennsylvania. It will perhaps die out with the subsidence
of the interest in the recent election. In any event, I mean not to mix in
it, or heed it — to go right along as if no such talk existed. I . . . feel as
you do that the future success of the Kepublicans in Ohio and the
nation is exceedingly doubtful, with the prospect of a national victory
rather against us. . . .
To other correspondents letters of a similar tenor were written.2
He was determined to go forward in the execution of the duties
1 So Mr. Hayes wrote it, evidently misreading General Force's word.
* To one man he wrote: "Content with the past, I am not in a state of mind
about the future. It is for us to act well in the present. George E. Pugh used to
say, 'There is no political hereafter.'" This letter found its way into print and
went the round of the press — affording a striking contrast to the solicitous
activity of the acknowledged aspirants for the nomination.

426 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
to which the voters of Ohio had chosen him, undisturbed in mind
or purpose by the promptings of his friends or by aspirations for
higher place. In his inaugural address as Governor he refrained
pointedly from any discussion of national issues, making abso
lutely no play calculated to attract the attention of the nation
in his direction, and he entered upon the duties of his office as
though these were his sole care, albeit letters relating to the
Presidency kept pouring in upon him and frequent callers inter
rupted his official tasks, intent on discussing the prospects of his
nomination. In his diary, February 15, Mr. Hayes records: —
Since I came to Columbus, six weeks ago, there has been no day in
which I have not had letters and visits on the subject of my nomination
for the Presidency. Many days' there is a succession of callers at my
office on this topic. I say very little. I have in no instance encouraged
any one to work to that end. I have discountenanced all efforts at
organization or management in my interest. I have said the whole talk
about me is on the score of availability. Let availability do the work,
then. This was written a few days subsequent to the publication of
Senator Sherman's letter, which has already been spoken of
above. The day after this letter was known in Chicago (Janu
ary 26), William Henry Smith, at that time general agent of the
Western Associated Press, wrote Mr. Hayes, informing him that
General Sheridan was heartily in his favor, and analyzing the
currents of party opinion in the Northwestern States, and con
cluding with this remarkable forecast : —
As to the situation in general : The ticket and platform should be of
such character as to give the Republicans New York, Pennsylvania, and
Indiana, or the first two certainly. This ticket would do it: Hayes and
Wheeler. Senator Sherman's letter was published everywhere and at
tracted general attention and comment.1 Its sentiments were
1 George William Curtis, in Harper's Weekly, spoke of this letter as "very
significant." While Mr. Curtis deprecated the nomination of a candidate on the
score of availability alone, he went on to say: "We are speaking in general and
impersonally, for all we know of Governor Hayes is most creditable. He has
beaten before the people, in turn, the leader of every faction of the Democratic
party in Ohio, and his hold upon the confidence of his fellow citizens is plainly
very strong. Three facts show that he is already among the most prominent of
the probable candidates. First, the date of the Ohio state election and the
immense advantage of a Republican victory at that time; then the meeting of the

MONTHS BEFORE THE CONVENTION OF 1876 427
seconded a few days later in a brief letter by General Sherman;
and more and more the wisdom of Mr. Hayes's nomination, and
the political advantages likely to flow therefrom, found lodgment
in the public mind and elicited discussion in the public prints.
Correspondents of metropolitan newspapers began to appear at
Columbus, seeking interviews with the Governor and writing to
their papers elaborate accounts of Mr. Hayes's personal char
acteristics, and of his manner of meeting men and dealing with
the affairs of his office. Try as they might, however, they were
unable to draw from him any acknowledgment that he was an
active candidate for the nomination, or to betray him into any
indiscretion of commitment as among the contesting leaders in
the race. The special correspondent of the New York Times (at
that time one of the most ably conducted Republican papers of
the country), who notes incidentally that he "had known Mr.
Hayes for twenty years or more," wrote, February 24 : —
Governor Hayes did not in the long interview depart in the slightest
degree from his fixed policy of saying little and doing less in reference
to his chance for the Presidency. . . . Concerning his candidacy for the
Presidency, he said it was a matter with which he had not had, and did
not intend to have, anything to do. It was an office, he thought, which
no citizen should seek.
The accuracy of this quotation is confirmed by Mr. Hayes's
letters written at this period. To General Garfield he wrote
under date of March 4 : —
Private.My hear General, — I have your note of the 2d. I am kept busy
with callers, correspondence, and the routine details of the office, and
have not, therefore, tried to keep abreast of the currents of opinion on
any of the issues. My notion is that the true contest is to be between
inflation and a sound currency. That the Democrats are again drifting
all to the wrong side. We need not divide on details, on methods, or
time when. The previous question will again be irredeemable paper as a
convention at Cincinnati, which will give him, what has been shown to be very
advantageous, the pressure of local public opinion and of personal influence in his
favor; and then the frank declaration of a leader like Senator Sherman, who is
usually overcautious. His prompt and positive expression of preference must be
considered not as his own only, but as that of a powerful opinion in the Western
States — an opinion of which we have already had private intimation from other
States than Ohio. The Senator's letter will be of great service if it should encour
age other leaders to speak as frankly and forcibly."

428 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
permanent policy, or a policy which seeks a return to coin. My opinion
is decidedly against yielding a hair's breadth.
We can't be on the inflation side of the question. We must keep our
face firmly in the other direction. "No steps backward " must be some
thing more than unmeaning platform words.
"The drift of sentiment among our friends in Ohio," which you inquire
about, will depend on the conduct of our leading men. It is for them to
see that the right sentiment is steadily upheld. We are in a condition
such that firmness and adherence to principle are of peculiar value just
now. I would "consent" to no backward steps. To yield or compromise
is weakness, and will destroy us. If a better resumption measure can be
substituted for the present one, that may do. But keep cool. We can
better afford to be beaten in Congress than to back out.
I do not write letters to be shown, or used in any way, on political
questions, but this much I may say to you. Do not quote me.
I note what you say on the personal aspect of our poUtics, and assure
you that I feel the compliment implied very sensibly.1
1 General Garfield's letter to which Mr. Hayes replied was: —
Personal. Washington, D.C., March 2, 1876.
My dear Governor, — It is becoming evident that we shall soon be called
upon to confront the question of what shall be done with the Specie Resumption
Act. The Democracy started out with strong declarations in favor of a sound cur
rency, saying that they would show that they were hard-money men and sounder
than the Republicans on that question. The election of Kerr was a triumph of the
hard-money wing of that party ; the appointment of his committees was in the
same line of pohcy. But it is evident that the soft-money element of that party
has been making progress steadily since the first day of the session and I shall not
be surprised if they succeed in bringing the House to a vote on the naked question
of a repeal of the Resumption Act. In the meantime the soft-money men of our
own party have not been idle. They have said but little in the House and we
have been able to hold our minority in very good shape thus far. Still, men
throughout the country who are in debt or engaged in speculation, have been
aggressively clamorous in their efforts to make a diversion in our ranks, and I see
there are many grounds for the fear that a considerable RepubUcan vote will be
thrown with the soft-money Democrats whenever the issue is fairly made in the
House. Will you please tell me what appears to be the drift of sentiment among our
friends in Ohio on this question? How far, if at all, would it be wise for us to
consent to a modification of the Resumption Act? If, by repealing the date we
could obtain a certain method which would bring us to specie payments, would
such a policy be safe? Some of our friends here are taking that view of the case
and urging it as a wise policy in view of our safety at the coming election.
Of course I will quote nothing you write unless you are willing I should do so;
but I ask your opinion mainly for my own guidance in considering the question.
It seems to me we have been gaming on the Democracy ever since the session
began, and I apprehend no serious obstacle in the way of our success unless it be
the financial question. My own opinion is that an appeal to what is true and
honest is always safest; still we want to put the issue in the best shape.
I am greatly gratified at the way you are bearing yourself during these

MONTHS BEFORE THE CONVENTION OF 1876 429
This letter brings out in the clearest light the sturdiness of
Mr. Hayes's convictions on the question of the public finances.
With party friends wavering in their adherence to the estab
lished policy and with the possibility of the Presidential nomina
tion gleaming before his vision, he was unwilling to consider any
compromise of the party's position. It must not yield a hair's
breadth; it must not take a single backward step.1
A few days later (March 9) to a former comrade in the
Twenty-third Regiment, Captain D. K. Smith, of Mantzville,
Missouri, he wrote: —
Your note of the 6th is received. We are no doubt entering on a doubt
ful political contest. Whoever may be the candidate, his election can
only be secured by "solid work." Both parties are injured by what is
going on at Washington. Both are, therefore, more and more disposed
to look for candidates outside of that atmosphere. It is very gratifying,
whatever may be the event, to be so heartily supported by the men with
whom I served.
I do not wish my friends to do any pushing. I shall continue to avoid
everything of the sort.
preliminary months of platform and President making. I have believed from the
beginning that your friends ought not for some time yet to make an aggressive
fight, nor involve you in any antagonism. But we should give you the solid vote
of the Ohio delegation and await the break up which must come as the weaker
candidates drop out.
I shall try to attend the state convention if possible. Our people desire me to
be a delegate from our county and I think I shall go.
So far as I know, the Republican delegation here in Congress are unanimously
your friends.
Mrs. Garfield joins me in kindest regard to Mrs. Hayes and yourself. — Very
truly yours, J. A. Garfield.
Governor R. B. Hates,
Columbus, Ohio.
1 His inflexible attitude in this respect is shown by the following letter, two
weeks later, to Senator Sherman: — Executive Department, State of Ohio.
Columbus, 20 Mch., 1876.
My dear Sir, — There cannot be the least danger that our Committee will
be so weak as to lean towards unsoundness on the money question. I have heard
no one suggest that we should be less explicit than we were last year, and my
preference decidedly is, that if we change, it be in the direction of resumption.
My views are so exactly expressed in your note that I do not enlarge. If con
sulted, I shall advise accordingly. But do come out if practicable. I am confident
we shall be sound as coin. — Sincerely,
R. B. Hates.
Hon. John Sherman.

430 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
The deep-seated dissatisfaction among the more thoughtful
Republicans with existing political conditions and the urgency of
the demand for reform were reflected early in April by the ap
pearance of a call for a free conference to be held in New York,
"to consider what may be done to prevent the national election
of the centennial year from being a mere choice of evils." This
call bore the signatures of William Cullen Bryant, Theodore D.
Woolsey, Alexander H. Bullock, Horace White, and Carl Schurz;
men whose distinction for civic virtue and disinterested patriot
ism could not fail to impress the country with the seriousness of
their purpose. When men like these were moved by the "wide
spread corruption in our public service which threatened to
poison the vitality of our institutions"; by "the uncertainty of
the public mind and of party counsels as to grave economical
questions involving the honor of the Government"; and by "the
danger that an inordinate party spirit " by machine methods
might "monopolize political power for selfish ends"; to seek by
counsel with men of similar conviction to make effective protest
against the ruling influences of the party, the significance of their
action could not be obscured by the sneers of the politicians that
they were impracticable visionaries. The conference met at the
Fifth Avenue Hotel on May 15, with men of the highest charac
ter in attendance from every important Northern State. Presi
dent Woolsey was made the presiding officer, and a committee
on business, with Carl Schurz as chairman, was appointed. This
committee submitted an "address to the American people,"
written substantially by Mr. Schurz, which the conference
accepted and approved. The address denounced in the most
vigorous language the spoils system and the corruption in the
public service, declaring it to be "the first duty of the American
people to reestablish the moral character of the Government by
a thorough reform." Finally it proclaimed: —
The abolition of class legislation and of special privileges in the
Government, and the adoption of equal suffrage and eligibility to office,
without distinction of race, religious creed, property, or sex.
These declarations, which, even the blindest of party workers
could not fail to see, gave correct voice to the sentiments of a
very considerable portion of the rank and file of the Repub
lican party, were a plain warning that the nomination of either

MONTHS BEFORE THE CONVENTION OF 1876 431
Blaine, Conkling, or Morton would greatly weaken the party's
hope of success. And so, undoubtedly, this conference had its
influence in preparing the way for Mr. Hayes's success at Cin
cinnati. The following entries in the diary fully reveal alike the course
of political activity in Ohio and the trend of Mr. Hayes's inmost
thoughts during the weeks preceding the convention: —
March 21. — The last week a large number of the counties have
elected delegates to the state convention. Several counties have not
expressed a preference on the Presidential [nomination], but the most of
them have passed resolutions in favor of me. It is likely that all of the
counties have sent delegates who are favorable. Certainly none are
avowedly opposed. There is a sentiment for Bristow as a second choice.
His war on the whiskey thieves gives him prestige as the representative
of reform. I am not sure but he would be the best candidate we could
nominate. I am sure I prefer him to any other man.
It will be a small disappointment for me to give up my chances. With
so general an expression in my favor in Ohio, and a fair degree of assent
elsewhere, especially in States largely settled by Ohio people, I have sup
posed it was possible that I might be nominated. But with no oppor
tunity, and no desire, to make combinations or to lay wires, I have not
thought my chance worth much consideration. I feel less diffidence in
thinking of this subject than perhaps I ought. It seems to me that good
purposes, and the judgment, experience, and firmness I possess, would
enable me to execute the duties of the office well. I do not feel the least
fear that I should fail.
This all looks egotistical, but it is sincere. On the other hand, I do not
desire the place with any strong or uneasy feeling. I shall accept the
result which now seems probable without any bitterness. If Bristow is
nominated, I shall give him hearty support in speeches and otherwise.
April 2. — On the 29th ult. the Republican State Convention of 750
delegates was held. It declared by a unanimous vote that I was the
choice of the Republicans of Ohio for President. They instructed the
senatorial delegates and requested the district delegates "to use then-
earnest efforts to secure his nomination." This is certainly very flatter
ing. It was done with enthusiasm and in earnest.
From the beginning I have done nothing directly or indirectly to bring
about this result. I have discouraged rather than encouraged "the
Hayes movement."
And now for the future. I would be glad if now I could in some satis
factory way drop out of the candidacy. I do not at present see what I
can do to relieve myself from the embarrassment of the position I am
in. It does not greatly disturb me. My usual serenity carries me along.
But I would like to be out of it. I will think about it.

432 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
April 11. — ... In politics I am growing more indifferent. I would
like it, if I could now return to my planting and books at home. I wrote
the following letter to one of the delegates,1 supposed to lean toward
Blaine, in reply to his note on the subject: — Columbus, 6 April, 1876.
My hear Snt, — I am exceedingly obliged for your very satisfactory
letter. A press of business has prevented an earlier reply. Having done
absolutely nothing to make myself the candidate of Ohio, I feel very
httle responsibility for future results. When the state convention was
called it seemed probable, that if I encouraged my friends to organize
for the purpose, every district would elect my decided supporters. But
to make such an effort in my own behalf, to use Payne's phrase on
repudiation, " I abhorred."
Being now in the field without any act of my own, I have no uneasy
ambition to remain a candidate. I think I have a right, however, to con
siderate treatment at the hands of the Ohio delegation. If I am to be
voted for at all, and as long as I am to be voted for at all, may I not
reasonably expect the solid vote of Ohio? Whenever any considerable
number of the delegation thinks the time has come to withdraw my
name, it ought to be promptly done. I can speak of this, I think, with a
judgment as impartial as if it were the case of another man. I am not
solicitous to be a candidate for nomination, nor for the nomination itself.
I agree with you that Mr. B.'s [Blaine] course with you was very hand
some. You may show this note to Mr. Garretson, but it is, of course, not for
publication. — Sincerely,
R. B. Hayes.
May 7. — The Ohio friends think our prospect at Cincinnati grows
daily better. General Garfield writes me the following which I prize
more than the prospect of success, if I can continue to deserve it: —
" I repeat with more emphasis than before what I said in my last letter
to you that we are all delighted with the sensible and masterful way in
which you are bearing yourself during the chaotic period of President-
making. You are gaining strength every day with our most thoughtful
people." To which I reply: "I value the compliment in your closing paragraph.
It has been my desire to deserve it. Not to lose my head, and to get
through without doing or saying anything unjust, or even uncharitable,
toward competitors or their supporters, has been my ambition in this
business. If I am successful in this, the adverse result which I anticipate,
will not give me a moment's uneasiness."
May 19. — Nothing new in the political way of special personal in
terest. I still think Blaine is so far ahead in the number of delegates he
1 This was Edwin Cowles, editor of the Cleveland Leader.

MONTHS BEFORE THE CONVENTION OF 1876 433
has secured and is securing that his nomination is not improbable. He
has not been greatly damaged by the investigations. As a candidate
before the people his newly acquired wealth, his schemes for getting the
nomination, and his connection with money interests depending for
success on legislation, will damage him. But with two or three hundred
delegates in his favor, will not all of the loose odds and ends gravitate
to him? It so seems. If he fails, the next is a combination for selfish
ends to make a candidate among the friends of the leading candidate.
This would not be in my favor. My independent position, aloof from
bargaining, puts me outside of the list from whom the managers will
select. It is only in the contingency of a union between those who look
for availability in the candidate, and those who are for purity and re
form in administration, that I am a probable nominee.
I write to Sherman to-day as follows: — Columbus, O., 19 May, 1876.
My heab Sir, — It would specially gratify me if you would attend
the Cincinnati Convention. I do not mean to depart from the position
I have taken to remain perfectly passive on the nomination. But it is
fair to assume that the time may come when I ought to be withdrawn.
To be able to act on this, and other possible questions, it is important
for me that I have friends of experience and sound judgment on the
ground by whom I can be advised of the exact condition of things, and
of the proper course to be taken. I have consulted with the delegate
from my own district and town, General Buckland, more freely than
with any other member of the delegation and regard him as a friend
in whom I can confide unreservedly. — Sincerely,
R. B. Hayes.1
Hon. John Sherman.
May 21. — I have a friendly note of the 18th from Secretary of War,
Judge Taft, in which he says: "I am no prophet in such confused ele
ments of calculation, but it really seems to me that your chances are
1 To this letter Mr. Sherman replied from Washington (May 22) : —
"I do not see how I could attend the Cincinnati Convention with any influence
or power to aid you or I would go. The critical moments will be in the conven
tion, and delegates will naturally be restive under any interference with them
by outsiders. My appearance there at all, when rejected as a delegate, would
naturally be commented on, and destroy any influence I could exert out of the
State. As to your nomination, I feel that it ought to be made and that there is a
fair chance that it will be made. Your strength is in being in reserve when the
strong antagonisms among other candidates will make your nomination not
only natural and proper,, but the strongest that can be made. So it has always
appeared to me.
"The course you have pursued has been the proper one. Your friends ought
quietly and firmly to ask for you, and abide the inevitable second choice of the
delegates. ... I now regret that I had not been formally a candidate for delegate
and elected, but it is too late now. I can only do what I can for you here and by
conversation with and correspondence with people from different States."

434 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
stronger than those of any other man. I mean that, taking into view
such elements of calculation as exist and are appreciable, the probabil
ities are in your favor. ... I should feel that it was another strong
point gained for Ohio if it should come to you."
Judge Dickson (W. M.), of Cincinnati, asked me a question or two,
put him by an Eastern correspondent. I replied. It turns out the
correspondent was George William Curtis. Judge Dickson now sends
me the following reply of Curtis to his (the judge's) note sending my
letter. — West New Brighton,
Staten Island, New York,
17 May, 1876.
My nEAB Sir, — I am exceedingly obliged for your note and the
letter of Governor Hayes which you have kindly sent me. I have read
it, you will easily believe, with very great interest, and with equal satis
faction that I obeyed the impulse to ask you the questions. That it is
the reply to a letter so frank as you state yours to have been is only the
more agreeable, for it places him in a most manly and simple position.
His chances seem to me daily to improve, for the feeling among the
friends of other candidates is becoming so positive that I feel as if some
compromise were probable. Yet the real compromise candidate is
Blaine. The extremes are Bristow and Conkling. The friends of the
latter, however, would very much prefer Hayes to Blaine. But might
accept B. if they could do no better. I have never doubted that Conk-
Ung would be the final machine candidate, and very strong for that
reason. But he would be so distasteful to all but the regulation Re
publicans that I cannot but hope even his supporters will see it as you
see. They are making great efforts to unite the New York press upon
him. But New England is strong against him. . . .
May 25. — I to-day received from Judge Dickson my letter to him,
which he sent to Curtis and which was as follows : —
Columbus, 3 May, 1876.
My hear Juhge, — Returning after a few days' absence at Fremont
I find your letters of the 27th and 29th. You evidently understand the
situation as well as any one who is writing or talking on the subject. You
are unquestionably correct in assuming that your Eastern correspond
ent is not personally acquainted with me. Having thus far avoided
all complications, committals direct or indirect, — having in short been
a mere looker-on as you are, — I do not now expect to change my
course, or to give assurances of any sort. Your conjectures or views,
as given in the copy, show plainly enough that you understand me so
well that for your satisfaction nothing from me is required. You speak
of management by my friends securing results. I think I can see that
part of it impartially. If anything depends on management I suspect
my chances may be set down at zero. The best I can look for is that

MONTHS BEFORE THE CONVENTION OF 1876 435
the march of events may be allowed to go along undisturbed by friendly
management, either wise or otherwise.
In any event, your letters interest me and oblige me. I class you, as
a political writer, with our best men. With good health, you would, if
you had chosen that path, [have] ranked with George William Curtis
and our other great political writers — (if there are others abreast of
Mr. C), but God disposes. — Sincerely,
R. B. Hayes.1
Hon. W. M. Dickson.
1 The letters of Judge Dickson, bearing upon this correspondence, are so
interesting and throw such vivid light on the current of contemporary political
opinion, as well as on Mr. Hayes's character, that they are worthy of preserva
tion in full : — Cincinnati, Ohio,
April 27th, 1876.
My dear Sir, — I have for many years past had a friendly correspondence
with a man of eminence of the East, a member-elect to the Cincinnati Conven
tion, and one who will have as large an influence as any other member. You
know, and I doubt not admire him. In writing to him recently I had occasion to
speak of you and seem to have used the words "good and true."
To-day I received a letter from him in which he inquires: "You say that Hayes
is good and true. But if Conkling and Cameron should throw their force for him
would he have force enough not to be their man if elected ? "
I enclose herein a copy of my answer to the question. [Tie enclosure was:
"I answer yes. If I understand him, he would not consciously nor unconsciously
be any man's man. This is not his character. He is self-poised and self-reliant,
unobtrusive, and repelling intrusion. His aim would be to deal fairly with each of
the divisions of his party, giving due weight and patronage to each, and always
in the disposition of patronage selecting the best men in each division. He would
not fully meet the wishes of advanced reformers, but he would in this respect
perhaps do as much as the country would bear. I think his chief excellence is in
his intuitive perception of what at the moment is practicably attainable. He
would immensely raise the standard of official qualification. All this I say from
my knowledge of his general character and without any communication with him
directly or indirectly."] The author did not expect his words would be seen by
you — and in giving them to you (even anonymously) I do not know that I do
right. But my motive is my excuse. I want you to see where your danger is and,
for the good of my country, what you must avoid if you become President. This
I have no doubt you would do anyhow, but no harm can come of my calling your
attention to the matter.
But let this be for yourself alone. I explain my position. Of the candidates
now before the public I prefer personally you. But I desire the success of the
party above all else. There is force in the point that Bristow can carry the
independent vote and thus the election. This has great weight with me; for it
looks as if he would be forced aside by opposing elements. Then would come
your opportunity. The danger then is that Morton or Conkling may win. You
perhaps alone can prevent this, which, I think, would be fatal to the party. I
wish you, therefore, to be strong with the Bristow and Blaine men. I think you
will pardon my candor, and this intrusion.
I leave to your judgment whether you should answer me and shall not

436 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
That Mr. Hayes refused to become excited or anxious as the
date of the convention drew near is shown by a letter to William
Henry Smith, dated May 31. In this he wrote: —
I am growing more indifferent to the result as the time of the issue
approaches. This makes it easy for me to keep myself clear of compli
cations. You have noticed the Boston Herald talk of my preference for
misinterpret your silence. But I think you know me well enough to know that
your answer would be used only as you wished. I go further: if you should deem
it proper that it should reach my correspondent, it would be as safe with him as
with you. He has not at all the power to dictate the nominee of the convention;
but it is a question whether that nominee could be elected without his support.
He is above all office-seeking. A political like a military campaign is a complex
web. I expose to you one thread. — Truly yours, W. M. Dickson.
General R. B. Hates. Cincinnati, Ohio,
April 29th, 1876.
My dear Sir, — I write to make an explanation of one sentence in my letter
of yesterday. I believe I wrote that you knew my correspondent. I do not know
that you know him personally but you know him by reputation as you know
Tilden or other public men. I say this because you may think if he knows you he
ought not to have made that inquiry about you. I take it from his letter that his
mind is turning towards you, regretfully it may be, from another; still, turning.
The situation seems to me to be thus. If the Republican party makes a
nomination that will secure the cooperation of the independents, its success is
assured and the country is safe for another four years. If they do not make this
nomination and the Democracy improve the opportunity by the nomination of
Tilden or even Davis, they will win. To be more concrete, if the Republican
party nominates Morton or Conkling it will fail. If it nominates Bristow it will
succeed. Now I think the independents will turn favorably towards you, and if there is
judicious management on the part of your friends they can be brought to you —
Bristow failing. My mite I am contributing to that end.
Cut off forever by broken health from personal aspirations, I yet take an
interest in public affairs. The. situation has one advantage, I see things in a light
uncolored by personal hope or fear. — Most truly yours, W. M. Dickson.
General R. B. Hates. Cincinnati, Ohio,
May 19th, 1876.
Mt dear Sir, — R is now proper for me to disclose to you my correspondent.
I do it by sending to you his letter in reply to one from me inclosing to him your
letter. Please return me his letter; he has returned to me your letter. Of course I
advised him that you wrote me in ignorance of my correspondent.
The frankness on my part to which he refers, is that I advised him that I had
written you that I inclined to Bristow as the man who would get most votes. I
did it because I wished to be perfectly honest with you. My dear sir, I did this
once before. Mr. Lincoln and I married cousins; he and his had spent weeks at

MONTHS BEFORE THE CONVENTION OF 1876 437
Blaine. The whole paragraph is a sheer fabrication. John Q. Smith,
the supposed authority for the statement, writes me that he said noth
ing of the sort.
My correspondents all give the same flattering report — sinister
news does n't reach me.
I am pleased to think that I am so untouched by this whole business.
I say to the Ohio delegates that my name ought not to be thought of
my father-in-law's house; he had spent a week with me; we often corresponded.
Yet when^I wrote him that my obligations and situation made it my duty to
support Chase first, Mr. Lincoln never forgave me, and soon after our relations
ceased forever. I never saw him after he went to Washington except at a distance
— never spoke to him again. I thought you were more magnanimous, and it has
done no harm.
I think the Schurz meeting was Bristow's chance. That meeting makes it a
point of honor with all regular "machine" Republicans, not to stultify them
selves by acquiescing in the virtual charge that they are all rascals. The nomina
tion of Bristow would seem to mean that. But it is useless to prophesy. Conkling
does not seem as dangerous to us as to Curtis, but he may be. No doubt many
of Morton's men would go to him.
But if you are to become President I shall have accomplished my purpose, as I
wrote Curtis, if I shall have been the means of putting you and him thoroughly
en rapport. I think him a great and good man. And now, if you become Presi
dent, let me add, be President, in the sense of doing what you think is right, in
appointing the best men to office — without a thought as to whom it hurts or as
to its effects on the next election.
Without reference to yourself — is there danger of the nomination of Conk
ling? I do not think him a bad man; do think him a much better man than some
of the Schurz meeting, but he is fatally unpopular and his nomination would be
defeat. We must conciliate the independents, meaning thereby men within and
without the party who seek reform. As things now stand Bristow does this best,
you next best. The capacity of the Democrats to help us is simply prodigious.
Witness the Ewing demonstration. What a great name Tom Sr. and Jr. have;
yet on the great questions, the great crises, both have been uniformly wrong.
Old Tom, alone of men, asked Lincoln to withdraw his Emancipation Proclama
tion. But the son will hardly rule at St. Louis. Tilden, I think, will be the man. New
York will say to the South, give us the man and we will furnish the money. But
enough and more. — Most truly yours, W. M. Dickson.
Avondale, May 23rd, 1876.
My dear Sir, — At your request I return you herewith your letter of 3rd inst.
It is a good letter and has done you no harm, whatever the future may have in
store for you. It would be pleasant for me to keep it, but if you desire otherwise
you need not return it.
I quite agree with you that the moral tone of our public life will not suffer in a
comparison with the past, if you will make two exceptions. I think you must
exclude the carpetbag representation of the South and Grant's pet appointees.
These are indeed exceptional and, as I hope, soon to pass away. Excluding these

438 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
unless it will promote harmony and the prospect of success; that it
should be withdrawn the moment the condition of things makes it, in
their judgment, desirable.
And during all these weeks preceding the date fixed for the
convention the increasing bitterness of rivalry among the leading
candidates was more and more creating a situation in which the
sober second thought of the party was coming to acknowledge
the inadvisability of nominating any one of them, and bringing
more men of discernment to see in Mr. Hayes the man most
likely to profit by the factional differences. This situation was
clearly perceived and admirably set forth in an editorial of May
9 in the independent New York Sun (Charles A. Dana) which
declared : —
All the signs continue to point to the nomination of Governor Hayes
of Ohio as the Republican candidate for President. Mr. Hayes be
came known throughout the country by his brilliant success in defeating
elements there has been great improvement in the moral character of our public
men, even in our own time. Thirty years or less ago, public men were notoriously
unchaste and almost professional gamblers, without loss of caste.
The public offices were filled with the relatives and retainers of public men
as a matter of course. What Grant has done in this respect was then done with
common approbation. In Kentucky the offices were filled with the relatives of
Crittenden, and in Indiana by the relatives of the Brights. You know more about
Ohio than I do. There were then no investigating committees, or, I doubt, not
even Belknap's offense would have been exposed.
I remember as a little boy, the Government bought a site for a public building
in New York for $160,000, — bought it of a brother of Jesse Bright, who had made
a timely contract for its purchase for $80,000, [and] sold it to the Government
for twice that and brought to Madison $80,000 in gold, a goodly sum in those
days. I was a little boy when this occurred, and may be mistaken in the facts,
but am not mistaken in this fact, that I heard the matter then greatly talked
about and never heard one word of reproach to the Brights. It was thought to
have been a smart thing and good for Madison.
I readily believe both Pendleton and Schenck when they express surprise that
any one should think they had done wrong. Old Tom Corwin would have done
what Schenck did in a moment. Nor did it ever occur to Pendleton that there
was anything wrong in him turning his aristocratic social position to account.
That has been his stock in trade for many years, and while toadies throng about
him why not use it?
There is an evident determined office-holding movement to put in Conkling.
Surely it can't win. Between that and the people's movement for Bristow is the
tug of war. Can either win? And if not, who? You. But it is a lottery. Can you
be composed? I could not. — Most truly yours,
W. M. Dickson.
Hon. R. B. Hates.

MONTHS BEFORE THE CONVENTION OF 1876 439
Governor Allen in the state election in Ohio last year. Previous to that
time, but little had been heard of him outside of the State; but that
event at once made him conspicuous and marked his name upon the list
of candidates for President.
Greatly to his advantage, however, it did not render him so promi
nent as to excite those antagonisms and animosities which necessarily
rise up against the foremost men on the stage of public life. . . . Each
of the more celebrated aspirants, and their friends with them, would
rather have him than either of their immediate rivals. He will be nom
inated, if such be his fate, as Lincoln was nominated in 1860, or Pierce
in 1852, or Polk in 1844. He is that kind of a neutral man who is
always taken when the powerful chiefs can only succeed in foiling each
other. Though he stands in this neutral and secondary position, Governor
Hayes is far from being an inferior or unworthy character. He is a man
of talent; he is a gentleman; he is rich and independent; he served with
credit as a soldier in the war, and his record as Governor of Ohio is with
out flaw or spot; he would make a very fair President for ordinary times.
Those who intend to vote the Republican ticket under any circum
stances may about as well make up their minds that Rutherford B.
Hayes is the man who will receive their suffrages.
In his policy as Governor, Mr. Hayes did not allow the Presi
dential possibilities to interfere in any particular with the
prompt performance of what he believed to be his duty. About
the middle of April serious disorder occurred, as the result of a
strike of coal miners, in Stark and Wayne Counties. Without
a' moment's hesitation, when it was apparent to the Governor
that the local authorities were unable to cope with the situation,
he issued a proclamation warning the rioters that he would, "to
the extent of the powers vested in him, aid the civil authorities
to protect laborers in their right to work and property-owners in
the use and possession of their property, and would employ all
lawful means to bring to justice whoever violates these sacred
rights of citizens." No fear of the effect of his action, as the
Chicago Tribune at the time remarked, on the labor-union votes
could deter him, affording, as the same paper said, a "refreshing
contrast to the gingerly course of the Pennsylvania authorities
in dealing with their strikes." As the disorder continued after
the issuance of the proclamation, Governor Hayes promptly
ordered militia to the centres of disturbance, under command
of Adjutant-General Wikoff, and retained them there until the
leading rioters had been indicted and placed under arrest and

440 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
normal conditions were restored. The Governor kept in close
touch with General Wikoff, writing him at Masillon on May 8 : —
Dear General, — I still feel that there is doubt as to the sufficiency
of your force. Be sure to have it ample. If you call out too many men,
I will be responsible, but if you fail for want of enough, it will be your
fault. It now looks as if this trouble would last a long time. I wish
you to make preparations to hold your men in camp at and near Masil
lon until all danger of lawless violence is at an end; therefore let your
arrangements be of a more permanent character; let it be understood
that you mean to stay until lawlessness ceases, or is plainly controllable
by the civil authorities. — Sincerely yours, R. B. Hayes.
Further, he directed the attorney-general to assist the prose
cuting attorney of Stark County in procuring the indictments
against the rioters and likewise to appear at the trial and aid
in prosecuting the cases with all severity. The result was that
defiance and riotous violation of the law were soon brought to
an end.

CHAPTER XXIV
NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT
EARLY in the year the Republican National Committee
decided on Cincinnati for the convention city. It was
understood that this choice was due to the influence of the
friends of Mr. Morton and of Mr. Bristow, as Cincinnati would
be easy of access for enthusiastic supporters of each man from
his home State, and the friends of neither at the time apparently
regarded the candidacy of Mr. Hayes as a serious factor in the
situation. But it was soon seen and admitted that whatever
advantage there might be in the location of the convention
would be most likely to accrue to Mr. Hayes.
During all the months preceding the date fixed for the con
vention, Mr. Hayes, as we have seen, remained practically aloof l
from the preliminary contest. Without effort or influence on his
part the Ohio state convention had unanimously declared for
him; had instructed the delegates at large and requested the dis
trict delegates to work in his behalf. After this action he felt, as
he wrote one of the delegates, that he should "reasonably expect
the solid vote of Ohio " as long as there appeared to be any like
lihood that the nomination might come to him. At the same
time, as it was now settled that his name should be presented to
the convention, he became interested in the organization of the
delegates and in the choice of the man who should propose his
name; but without the slightest desire to dictate to his friends
or too insistently to express his preferences.
The date of the convention was fixed for June 14. Up to
the very day of its assembling there was, as Harper's Weekly
1 May 22, three weeks before the convention, the special correspondent of the
New York Herald wrote :" I found Governor Hayes busy signing papers in his pri
vate office, and when I subsequently left him, it was with the conviction that for
a Presidential candidate he was the most unconcerned one I ever met. . . . There
was none of that nervous evasiveness about him in the presence of an interviewer
peculiar to most candidates. He talked of the situation as unreservedly as if he
had no more concern in it than the questioner, and this was very refreshing."

442 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
correctly stated, "universal agreement that the result was incal
culable." By Saturday, June 10, most of the Ohio delegates and
many other stanch friends of Mr. Hayes were on the ground.
Mr. Hayes himself remained quietly at his post in Columbus.
That evening he wrote in his diary: —
The members and others interested are assembling at Cincinnati
preparatory for the convention. Up to this time, the course of the can
vass, so far as I am concerned, has been agreeable. My friends have
been quiet. Those of other candidates have generally treated me well.
The Vice-Presidency seems to be conceded to me on all sides, or nearly
so. I have seen evidences of a desire to give me the second place on
the ticket from Conkling, Blaine, and Bristow men. Morton is so near
to us that it would hardly do for his friends to suggest an Ohio candi
date for Vice, and yet even they occasionally suggest. The balloting
among the readers of the New York Witness, a Presbyterian paper of
large circulation, puts me at the head of the poll for Vice-President.
This is all flattering and gratifying. However, the thoughts of my
friends are on the first place. My chances there are merely probabilities.
Yet there are some encouraging facts. I seem to be the second choice of
many of the leading supporters of other candidates — ex- Vice-Presi
dent Hamlin of Maine, President White (A. D.) of New York, and
others. Members of the Ohio delegation to the number of twenty-
five assembled Saturday afternoon for an informal conference.
Governor Noyes, who acted as chairman, opened the meeting by
declaring that the people of Ohio were for Hayes and that it was
the duty of the delegation to stand by him until he was nomi
nated. He then called on the delegates one after another for an
expression of opinion. Without exception they declared their
concurrence in Mr. Noyes's views. One or two men who were
known to favor Blaine or Morton for second choice asserted that
they would vote with the rest of the delegation "as long as there
was a ghost of a chance." At the same time the delegates and
friends of Mr. Hayes began in an earnest and discreet way to
move about among the delegations from other States. Wherever
they went they made friends and were careful to provoke no
hostility. On Monday the delegation held two meetings. On motion of
Senator Wade, Governor Noyes was made permanent chairman.1
1 As showing the spirit that animated Mr. Hayes's friends in their devotion to
his interests, the following portion of a letter written to Mr. Hayes by Governor

NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT 443
With one exception the delegates all renewed their purpose of
fealty to Mr. Hayes. The one recalcitrant read a speech express
ing preference for Mr. Bristow, though ready to vote for Mr.
Hayes on the first ballot. Subsequently in the day he regretted
the haste with which he had spoken. Cheering reports were
coming to the delegation from representative men of other
States. While it was manifest that Mr. Blaine commanded the
greatest single following, and his friends were boasting that he
would be nominated on the first ballot, the Hayes men were
confident that his strength was exaggerated, and that the bitter
rivalry of the other leading candidates would prevent a sufficient
accession of votes to crown his ambition. From New York
leaders came the encouraging advice to the Ohio men by all
means to keep their candidate in the field to the last. Moreover,
it developed that Mr. Hayes was pretty generally the second
choice of all factions, and that, in case of the nomination of
any other man for first place, he would receive the second place
without contest.
It is unnecessary here to recite the story of the convention in
great detail. The convention was opened by Governor E. D.
Morgan, long the Chairman of the Republican National Com
mittee, with a speech emphasizing the importance of the duties
to be performed. The three last conventions had been little else
Noyes on June 1 is significant: " Now, as to who shall present your name. I have
been written to by various parties, and spoken to by two or three delegates, and
have always said that your name should be presented by the person you might
select. I shall neither feel slighted nor hurt if that person is Senator Wade or any
other. Possibly it would be better for Mr. Wade to do it, as he is broadly known,
has a national reputation, and, I am informed, is heartily for you. There are two
men in the delegation, and very likely more, but two, at least, Eggleston and
Bickham, who will not want me to do it. It is not worth the while to have any
divisions, and my friends (who I think constitute a majority of the delegation) I
will take care shall not feel offended. I have some reason to think that an effort
has been made to create the impression that you preferred Mr. Wade for chair
man. I do not think so, as I presume you care but little about it, and it is a
matter really of little consequence. Of course the chairman, whoever he is, will
present your name, and it would be seconded from some other State. I cannot
and will not enter into any controversy about so small a matter, and unless the
delegation should be nearly unanimous, I should not desire the position. If your
wishes were known, that would probably determine the matter, but I appreciate
the embarrassment such expression would occasion you. I shall be satisfied with
anything, but am inclined to think it would be better, all things considered, to
settle on Mr. Wade, who has age, experience, and reputation; and I have so said
to several of the delegates and your friends."

444 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
than ratification meetings to confirm decrees already made by
the people. But this year it was different. There was no man to
whom the unerring finger pointed as the only candidate. But the
man selected, whoever he should be, should be a man committed
to the cause of economical administration and civil service
reform, "not only by his expressed opinions, but also by his pub
lic life and conduct." Theodore M Pomeroy, of New York, was
made temporary chairman. He reviewed briefly the achieve
ments of the Republican party, declaring its immediate duty to
be "to establish on sure foundations and make secure for the
coming ages the fruits of the war, debt, and taxation through
which the present had been achieved." Thereupon the various
committees were selected, and, while the committee on perma
nent organization was deliberating, the convention listened to
the reading by George William Curtis of an address from the
Republican Reform Club of New York, declaring emphatically
for the resumption of specie payment and urging the necessity of
civil service reform; and to speeches from various party leaders,
including General Logan, Governor Hawley, Governor Noyes,
and Frederick Douglass. On the report of the committee,
Edward McPherson, of Pennsylvania, took the platform as
permanent chairman, and the convention adjourned till the
following morning.
The next day was devoted to the reception of and debate on
the reports of the committees on credentials and platform, and
to the speeches of nomination. The platform, reported by
Governor Hawley, of Connecticut, contained seventeen planks.
Of these the most important were those relating to the South, to
the financial situation, and to the reform of the civil service. The
first of these declared " it to be the solemn obligation of the legis
lative and executive departments of the Government to put into
immediate and vigorous exercise all their constitutional powers
I for removing any just causes of discontent on the part of any
class, and for securing to every American citizen complete liberty
and exact equality in the exercise of all civic, political, and public
rights." The second asserted: "Commercial prosperity, public
morals, and national credit demand that the [promise for the
redemption of the United States notes in coin] be fulfilled by a
continuous and steady progress to specie payments." The third

NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT 445
declared: "The invariable rule in appointments should have
reference to the honesty, fidelity, and capacity of the appointees,
giving to the party in power those places where harmony and
vigor of administration require its policy to be represented, but
permitting all others to be filled by persons selected with sole
reference to the efficiency of the public service, and the right of
all citizens to share in the honor of rendering faithful service to
the country."
The minor planks promised prosecution of those who be
trayed public trust; condemned the grant of public money to
sectarian schools; approved of the tariff, "adjusted to promote
the mterests of American labor and advance the prosperity of the
whole country"; opposed further land grants to corporations;
urged the modification of treaties so as better to protect the
rights of foreign-born citizens; recommended an investigation
by Congress of the effect of Chinese immigration on the moral
and material interests of the country; paid a meaningless com
pliment to the woman suffragists; demanded the suppression
of polygamy in the Territories; insisted that the pledges to
the soldiers be fulfilled; deprecated "all sectional feelings and
tendencies"; denounced the Democratic party and Congress
roundly for their recent performances; and spoke a good word
for General Grant's Administration. The platform as a whole,
neither in form nor in vigor of expression, could be considered a
very impressive document.1
The platform having been adopted the way was open for the
nomination of candidates on the call of the roll of the States.
The candidates were named in the following order: Marshall
Jewell, of Connecticut; Oliver P. Morton, of Indiana; Benjamin
H. Bristow, of Kentucky; James G. Blaine, of Maine; Roscoe
Conkling, of New York; Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio; and
John F. Hartranft, of Pennsylvania. Mr. Jewell and Governor
Hartranft were believed to be nominated principally for the
1 An indication of contemporary Republican opinion of the platform is af
forded in a letter to Mr. Hayes from Washington, June 22, by Charles Nordhoff,
the well-known journalist: "Our platform is certainly thin and weak; and is so
thought here by our own people. I wish it might happen that you would delay
your letter of acceptance until after the St. Louis Convention, and then speak
your mind freely on resumption, etc. But on such matters, which have neces
sarily a political side, I am not fit to advise."

446 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
purpose of holding the delegations of their States together in the
early stages of the balloting and without any serious expectation
or hope of their 'success. Mr. Morton's name was presented
by Colonel R. W. Thompson, famous in the Middle West for
his political oratory, in a brief but effective summary of Mr.
Morton's achievements and qualifications. "He had been equal
to every crisis during the darkest hours of our Rebellion; equal
to every crisis since that darkness had been dispelled." The
nomination was seconded by Governor P. B. S. Pinchback, a
colored delegate from Louisiana. John M. Harlan, later and for
many years a distinguished Justice of the Supreme Court, pro
posed the name of Mr. Bristow, as a man who, from his whole
career and especially from his conduct of the Treasury Depart
ment, was best fitted to "combine with enthusiasm all elements
of opposition to the Democratic party." General Harlan was
followed in seconding speeches by Luke P. Poland, of Vermont,
George William Curtis, of New York, and Richard H. Dana, of
Massachusetts. Mr. Curtis spoke most eloquently and forcibly
of all, commending General Bristow as the man of all others to
lead in the work of reform essential to the perpetuation of the
party and to the security of the country. Robert G. Ingersoll, of
Illinois, named Mr. Blaine in a speech, which, for sheer eloquence
and electrical effect on the audience, has probably never been
surpassed in any national convention. Every sentence was cal
culated to rouse interest or to excite enthusiasm. In the speech
occurred the phrase which ever afterward was associated with
Mr. Blaine's name. "Like an armed warrior," he said, "like a
plumed knight, James G. Blaine marched down the halls of the
American Congress and threw his shining lance full and fair
against the brazen foreheads of the defamers of his country
and the maligners of his honor." Mr. Blaine's nomination was
seconded by Henry M. Turner, of Georgia, a flowery colored
orator. Stewart L. Woodford, of New York, alone spoke for Mr.
Conkling, as the special champion of General Grant. New York,
he declared, honored all the candidates already before the con
vention, "but," with evident allusion to Mr. Blaine, he said,
" let us not nominate with our hearts but with our heads. This is
not a time for the Republican party to endanger all the interests
committed to its care in a moment of emotional insanity."

NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT 447
When the roll-call of the States proceeded and Ohio was
reached, Edward F. Noyes took the platform and spoke as
follows: —
Gentlemen, — On behalf of the forty-four delegates from Ohio, rep
resenting the entire RepubUcan party of Ohio, I have the honor to
present to this convention the name of a gentleman well known, and
favorably known, throughout the country; one held in high respect, and
much beloved, by the people of Ohio; a man who, during the dark and
stormy days of the RebeUion, when those who are invincible in peace
and invisible in battle were uttering brave words to cheer their neigh
bors on, himself, in the forefront of battle, followed his leaders and his
flag until the authority of our Government was established from the
Lakes to the Gulf, and from the river round to the sea. A man who has
had the rare good fortune since the war was over to be twice elected to
Congress from the district where he resided, and subsequently the rarer
fortune of beating successively for the highest office in the gift of the
people of Ohio, Allen G. Thurman, George H. Pendleton, and William
Allen. He is a gentleman who has somehow fallen into the habit of
defeating Democratic aspirants for the Presidency, and we in Ohio all
have a notion that from long experience he will be able to do it again.
In presenting the name of Governor Hayes, permit me to say we wage
no war upon the distinguished gentlemen whose names have been men
tioned here to-day. They have rendered great service to their country,
which entitles them to our respect and to our gratitude. I have no
word to utter against them. I only wish to say that General Hayes is
the peer of these gentlemen in integrity, in character, in ability. They
appear as equals in all the great qualities which fit men for the highest
positions which the American people can give them. Governor Hayes
is honest; he is brave; he is unpretending; he is wise, sagacious, a
scholar, and a gentleman. Enjoying an independent fortune, the sim
plicity of his private life, his modesty of bearing, is a standing rebuke
to the extravagance — the reckless extravagance — which leads to cor
ruption in public and in private places.
Remember now, delegates to the convention, that a responsible
duty rests upon you. You can be governed by no wild impulse. You
can run no fearful risks in this campaign. You must, if you would suc
ceed, nominate a candidate here who will not only carry the old, strong
Republican States, but who will carry Indiana, Ohio, and New York,
as well as other doubtful States. We care not who the man shall be,
other than our own candidate. Whoever you nominate, men of the
convention, shall receive our heartiest and most earnest efforts for their
success. But we beg to submit that in Governor Hayes you have those
qualities which are calculated best to compromise all difficulties, and
to soften all antagonisms. He has no personal enemies. His private
life is so pure that no man has ever dared to assail it. His public acts
throughout all these years have been above suspicion, even. I ask you

448 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
then if, in the lack of these antagonisms and with all of these good qual
ities, living in a State which holds its election in October, — the result
of which will be decisive, it may be, of the Presidential campaign, — it
is not worth while to see to it that a candidate is nominated against
whom nothing can be said, and who is sure to succeed in the campaign.
In conclusion, permit me to say that, if the wisdom of this convention
shall decide at last that Governor Hayes's nomination is safest and is
best, that decision will meet with such responsive enthusiasm here in
Ohio as will insure Republican success at home, and which will be so far-
reaching and wide-spreading as to make success almost certain from the
Atlantic to the Pacific.
Mr. Hayes's nomination was seconded by Senator Wade in a
short and incisive speech. He declared him to be "well known
by all the Republicans of Ohio and respected by all the Demo
cracy of Ohio"; "a gentleman about whom nothing can be said
to his discredit." A delegate from Missouri and a delegate from
West Virginia also spoke in his favor. The nomination of Mr.
Hayes was received by the convention with much applause;
not so much, to be sure, as had been given to Mr. Morton, Mr.
Bristow, and Mr. Blaine. It was evident to all observers that the
galleries were filled most numerously with Bristow and Blaine
men. But the friends of Mr. Hayes were enough in number and
enthusiasm to make an impression of his popularity.
It was already nearly dark when the nominating speeches
were brought to a conclusion by Mr. Bartholomew, of Pennsyl
vania, presenting the name of Governor Hartranft. An adjourn
ment was therefore made until the following morning, much to
the chagrin of Mr. Blaine's supporters, but to the satisfaction of
the followers of all the other candidates, who felt somewhat ap
prehensive lest, under the immediate spell of Colonel Ingersoll's
fervid periods, the convention might be "stampeded" for Mr.
Blaine. A night of reflection, they thought, would clear the
atmosphere of that danger.
At a little before eleven o'clock the next morning the balloting
began. The first ballot showed Mr. Blaine far in the lead, though
not so far as his more sanguine friends had confidently predicted
he would be. Out of the 756 votes of the convention, he received
285, from 36 different States and Territories; Mr. Morton was
second, with 125 votes from 13 States and Territories; Mr.
Bristow third, with 113 votes from-19 States and Territories; Mr.

£.>.<&**.

RUTHERFORD B. HAYES, 1876
When Candidate for President

NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT 449
Conkling fourth, with 99 votes from 10 States — 69 of them
from New York; Mr. Hayes fifth, with 61 votes from 9 States.
Mr. Hartranft received only the 58 votes of his own State; Mr.
Jewell 10 of the 12 votes of Connecticut and 1 from Alabama;
and Mr. Wheeler, whose name had not been placed in nomina
tion, 3 votes from Massachusetts. Mr. Jewell's name was now
withdrawn and the votes of Connecticut were distributed among
the other candidates, most of them going to Bristow.
As soon as the result of the ballot was declared, a second ballot
was ordered. While it was proceeding, on the announcement by
the chairman of the Pennsylvania delegation of 58 votes for
Hartranft, 4 delegates from Pennsylvania appealed to the chair,
protesting that the announcement was not correct; that they
desired to be counted as voting for Mr. Blaine, but that under
the unit rule adopted by the delegation their votes were being
cast for them against their will. The chair ruled that every dele
gate, regardless of any caucus action of his delegation, had the
right to vote as he wished and to have his vote so recorded; and
he directed that the vote from Pennsylvania be set down as 54
for Hartranft and 4 for Blaine. An appeal was taken from this
decision of the chair and an acrimonious dispute arose over the
question of a state convention's right or the right of a caucus to
bind the individual members of a delegation. At last the chair
man declared that the entire controversy was out of order while
the roll-call of the States was in progress, and the roll-call was
resumed. On its conclusion the debate on the question was
renewed and continued with much vigor and heat for some time.
Finally the question, "Shall the ruling of the chair," as above
stated, be sustained, was put. The chair was sustained by a vote
of 395 to 353. The convention at Chicago, four years later, fol
lowed this precedent and took similar action. And thus was set
tled for all time, so far as Republican conventions go, that every
delegate is an absolutely free man, at liberty to vote his own
individual convictions and preferences, unbound by instructions,
uncontrolled by caucus dictation, except in so far as he chooses
to acquiesce therein. He comes into a convention to do what in
his judgment the needs of the occasion demand; and no party
authority or discipline can be invoked to determine his action
against his will.

450 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
The second ballot showed many small changes of votes, but
resulted in a net gain to Mr. Blaine of 11 votes, making his total
296; Morton had 120; Bristow, 114; Conkling, 93; Hayes, 64 (a
gain of 3); and Hartranft, 63. On the third ballot Blaine's vote
fell to 293; Bristow and Morton changed places, the former
receiving 121 votes, the latter, 113; Conkling dropped to 90;
Hartranft advanced to fifth place with 68 votes; and Hayes again
gained 3 votes. On the fourth ballot Blaine lost 1 vote, Conkling
lost 6, Hartranft gained 3, and Hayes gained 1, his total now
being 68. On the fifth ballot Blaine lost 6 votes, making his total
282; Bristow fell back to 114; Morton to 95; Conkling to 82; and
Hartranft to 69. The others' losses went to Hayes, who now
appeared as third in the contest with a total of 104 votes. The
sixth ballot placed Hayes in second position. The figures were:
Blaine, 308; Hayes, 113; Bristow, 111; Morton, 85; Conkling, 81;
Hartranft, 50. 1
The seventh ballot was decisive. The pronounced increase of
Mr. Hayes's vote on the fifth ballot marked the beginning of the
drift to his standard. Michigan cast its solid vote (22) for him,2
having given him only 5 votes before, and North Carolina gave
him 12 of her 20. On the sixth ballot North Carolina gave 12
votes to Blaine and only 1 to Hayes; and Blaine's decided gain of
36 votes — the first gain he had made since the second ballot —
and the effort of Mr. Blaine's partisans to give this gain factitious
1 William A. Wheeler, of New York, was voted for on each of the ballots except
the last, receiving three votes on the first and two on every other. Elihu B.
Washburne, of Illinois, was voted for on every ballot except the first and the last,
receiving three votes on the second; one on the third; three on the fourth and
fifth; and five on the sixth ballot.
2 William A. Howard, chairman of the Michigan delegation, in announcing
the vote rose on his crutches and said: "There is a man in this section of the
country who has beaten in succession three Democratic candidates for President
in his own State, and we want to give him a chance to beat another Democratic
candidate for the Presidency in the broader field of the United States. Michigan,
therefore, casts her twenty-two votes for Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio." This
was the signal for a wild uproar. "Anything like the scene that followed," wrote
the correspondent of the London Times, "I had never, I think, witnessed. . . .
The Michigan vote being at once recognized as the first anti-Blaine blow, set
more than half the delegates themselves into a state of the most frantic commo
tion, and the claqueurs (most of them Bristow partisans) being more ready to
yell for the 'coming man' than for their falling favorite, the uproar was some
thing 'terrific' Three long salvos of applause were given before order could be
restored."

NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT 451
importance by cheering, which failed, however, to be taken up
very strongly by the galleries, brought the leaders of the oppo
nents of Mr. Blaine to hurried consultations. It was evident,
when the seventh ballot began, that the crisis was at hand. The
first States called showed less scattering of their votes. Alabama,
which on the previous ballot had given Blaine 15, Bristow 4, and
Hayes 1, now gave Blaine 17 and Bristow 3; Arkansas, which had
given Blaine 1 and Morton 11, now just reversed its vote; Cali
fornia, which had given Blaine 6, Conkling 2, and Hayes 4, now
divided its vote equally between Blaine and Hayes; Colorado,
Connecticut, and Delaware voted as before; Florida was now
solid for Blaine, instead of dividing equally between him and
Morton; Georgia now gave Blaine 17 and Hayes 7, whereas be
fore Blaine had 9 and Hayes none, the other votes going to Conk
ling, Morton, and Bristow; Illinois gave Blaine 2 more votes and
Hayes 1 less, making its vote, Blaine 35, Bristow 5, and Hayes 2.
Then, when Indiana was called, the clear purpose of the forces
allied against Blaine was made apparent to the dullest apprehen
sion. The chairman of the Indiana delegation, Will M. Cumback,
announced the withdrawal of Mr. Morton's name from further
consideration and declared the vote of Indiana, which up to that
time had been given solidly for Morton, as 25 for Hayes and 5 for
Bristow.1 Iowa and Kansas followed, voting solidly for Blaine.
Then, speaking for Kentucky, Mr. Harlan withdrew the name
of Mr. Bristow and gave the State's 24 votes to Hayes. Indiana
then sought to give the 5 votes it had cast for Mr. Bristow to
Hayes, but under the rules of the convention this was declared
out of order. Louisiana divided now, 14 for Blaine and 2 for
Hayes, whereas before it had given the former only 6, the latter
none. Maine and Maryland were solid for Blaine as before;
Massachusetts, 5 for Blaine and 21 for Hayes, an increase for the
latter of 2 votes; Michigan again solid for Hayes; Minnesota
again gave Blaine 9, but cast its other vote for the first time for
Hayes; Mississippi was now solid for Hayes, though before it had
1 The London Times correspondent wrote: "I must leave to the imagination
of your readers here and hereafter — to the end of the chapter — the scene which
followed, lest time and my vocabulary should both fail me. They have only to
picture from four to five thousand persons, one moment seated in solemn silence
to hear a vote given, the next jumping, yelling, stamping, waving arms and hats
as if suddenly stricken with raving madness, and the thing is done."

452 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
given him only 4 of its 16 votes; Missouri now gave Blaine 20 and
Hayes 10, a gain for the former of 2, for the latter of 8; Nebraska
was again solid for Blaine, but Nevada was solid for Hayes, hav
ing before given him only 1 vote; New Hampshire again gave
Blaine 7, but transferred its other 3 votes from Bristow to Hayes;
New Jersey voted as before, Blaine 12, Hayes 6.
And now came New York. What would the Empire State do?
No one could believe that many of Mr. Conkling's friends would
turn to his bitter enemy — not even if his success was certain.
And the vote justified this belief. Of the 70 votes of the great
Commonwealth Mr. Hayes received 61, Mr. Blaine only 9.
North Carolina followed, now casting its full vote for Hayes as,
of course, did Ohio. Then came Oregon true, as from the start,
to Blaine. And the Blaine men still were pinning large hopes on
Pennsylvania. If its 58 votes went in a body to Blaine, he might
still win the prize that seemed to be slipping from his grasp. But
hope fled when Don Cameron, speaking for the great State,
withdrew Governor Hartranft's name and declared the vote.
The delegates divided almost equally, giving Blaine 30 and Hayes
28. The roll was quickly completed, Blaine receiving a total from
the remaining States and Territories of 66 votes, as compared
with 70 votes on the sixth ballot, and Hayes obtaining 76 votes,
as against 21 before. On the announcement of the result of the
ballot, — Hayes, 384; Blaine, 351; Bristow, 21, — Mr. Frye, of
Maine, seconded a motion to make Mr. Hayes's nomination
unanimous and the vote was given with loud acclaim.
The ticket was thereupon promptly completed by the nomi
nation for Vice-President of William A. Wheeler, of New York.
Mr. Wheeler had long been one of the trusted and influential
leaders of his party, not only in his own State, but in its national
councils. In his service in Congress he had gained an enviable
reputation for sturdiness of character and for conservative views
of public questions.1 Like Mr. Hayes he was of Vermont family
and antecedents.
Thus the disciplined and highly organized cohorts of "the
1 Mr. Wheeler had attracted nation-wide attention and commendation in 1875
by the practical good sense and wise statesmanship displayed by him in formu
lating the plan, which became known as the "Wheeler Compromise," for settling
the distressing pohtical disputes, tantamount almost to civil war, existing in
Louisiana.

NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT 453
Plumed Knight" had been routed by the combined forces ' of
the allies, who had accepted as their leader a tried and tested
man, to be sure, but a man who had relied not at all on organiza
tion to win position; a man who had displayed no eager desire for
exaltation; a man who had remained, apparently unconcerned, at
his post of duty, serenely awaiting the decree of Fate; a man,
however, whose career and character, coupled with the chance of
his location, were such as to justify wise party leaders in their
confidence that his selection would most easily and most surely
allay factional feeling, and bring all elements of the party
strength into harmonious relation and stir them to aggressive
activity. The stars in their courses were fighting for him!
Already sufficient time has elapsed to render calm judgment
possible. Whoever will consider the condition of national politics
1 William Henry Smith, who was present and active at the convention, wrote
Mr. Hayes, June 21, in praise of the high skill and zeal displayed by the leader of
the Ohio delegation and other Ohio men. He adds: "But it was of first impor
tance to have such a leader as Edward F. Noyes. Better management I never
saw. It was able, judicious, untiring, unselfish, inspiring, adroit. If there was a
mistake made I did not discover it. The disloyalty attempted on the part of one
or two well-known Ohioans in the interest of Blaine was anticipated and cleverly
disarmed. The general seemingly never slept. His eyes were everywhere and dis
cipline was preserved with as much vigor as on the field of battle. He compre
hended fully the situation and inspired the confidence of the men of New Eng
land, New York, Kentucky, and Indiana. His personal friendship for Generals
Bristow and Harlan did not, as some mischief-makers asserted would be the case,
lessen his loyalty to you, but served an important purpose at a critical moment.
If I had more time I could give you a perfect history of General^Noyes's manage
ment, and I must let these few words suffice at present — and after all what
more could I say? — his conduct was that of a noble, chivalrous, honorable
gentleman." Edwin Cowles, editor of the Cleveland Leader, wrote Mr. Hayes after the con
vention (June 27) : "The Ohio delegation did nobly. We all formed ourselves into
a mutual admiration society as soon as you were nominated. But to be candid, I
felt almost conscience-smitten at my having apparently gone back on Blaine,
after having announced to him three years ago in his library that I was going to
trot him out for the Presidency and fight for him to the bitter end. But then I am
reassured wheal bear in mind that he agreed with me that I should vote for you
as long as there was a chance for you, and then after that chance disappeared, to
vote for him. He is a noble fellow and the best abused man in America. I know
you would not blame me for feeling as I do toward that man when it is considered
what my personal relations were with him, that I was among the first to propose
that he should run for the Presidency long before I had the pleasure of making
your acquaintance; consequently my heart was for him, but my head was for
you. My duty to the great cause, to the Republican party, and my belief in your
popularity and fitness for the office of President was what governed me at the
convention."

454 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
at that period, in a judicial spirit, disabusing his mind of personal
predilections or antipathies; whoever will justly appraise the
characters and qualities of the chief aspirants for the nomination,
not forgetting the affiliations by which they were known, or the
antagonisms they had roused, or the doubts about their integ
rity or political wisdom that had penetrated the public mind,
can hardly fail to reach the conviction that in the choice of Mr.
Hayes the convention came to the wisest conclusion possible —
wisest on the score of party expediency and wisest for the future
welfare and harmony of the country.1 Especially will this be the
case if one will regard the facts in the light of subsequent history.
The morning of that eventful day at Cincinnati Mr. Hayes at
Columbus wrote in his diary : —
This is the third day of the convention at Cincinnati. My friends
were there a week ago to-night. One whole week of convention work.
At the adjournment last night all was ready to begin the balloting. At
ten this morning the decisive balloting begins. Early in the struggle
my friends were very hopeful. But on the 13th, Blaine became de
cidedly the prominent man — his prospects deemed almost a certainty.
There has been a gradual change on the 14th and 15th, and now it seems
something more than a possibility that he will fail. If he fails my
chance as a compromise candidate seems to be better than that of any
other candidate. So we are now in suspense. I have kept cool and un
concerned to a degree that surprises me. The same may be said of Lucy.
I feel that defeat will be a great relief — a setting free from bondage.
The great responsibility overpowers me. That is too strong. It sobers
me. It is a weight, but not overpowering. I shall try to do in all things,
more than ever before, if nominated, precisely the thing that is right —
to be natural, discreet, wise, moderate, and as firm in the right as it is
possible for me to be. And in this spirit I await the event.
In that spirit he did await the event. While the balloting was
proceeding at Cincinnati he remained in his office at Columbus
all day, quietly viewing the situation and receiving callers, appar
ently as unconcerned as any man in the room. Not till the result
1 Senator Sherman, writing to Mr. Hayes, June 19, to congratulate him, said:
" With me the process seemed like demonstration — your nomination being the
inevitable sequence of facts that forbade the nomination of certain prominent
candidates and pointed to your nomination. The gallant fight made by Blaine
excited the greatest enthusiasm and for a few days seemed to make his nomina
tion certain. But the prudent hesitation of a majority of the delegates secured
what long ago seemed to me to be the logic of events, and now there is a general
and hearty acquiescence in the simple truth that the nominations made are the
wisest and best that could be made."

NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT 455
of the sixth ballot was announced did he betray marked interest.
That, he thought, was a clear indication that Mr. Blaine would
be nominated on the next ballot. When a bulletin of the final bal
lot was received, he exhibited no signs of nervousness. He was,
indeed, as a man present at the time afterward said, "the only
perfectly cool and composed person present." His first thought
was that there might be an error in the report and he asked to see
the figures. But presently a dispatch came which settled all
doubt; and then people, irrespective of party affiliations, began
to throng the room with enthusiastic congratulations. He could
only express his thanks for the good will that was manifested.1
The next day after the nomination the committee designated
by the convention, headed by Mr. McPherson, visited Columbus
and gave Mr. Hayes formal notification of the convention's ac
tion. Mr. McPherson, speaking for the committee, said: —
Governor Hayes, — We have been deputed by the national conven
tion of the Republican party, holden at Cincinnati on the 14th of the
present month, to inform you officially that you have been unanimously
nominated by that convention for the office of President of the United
States. The manner in which that action was taken, and the response
to it from every portion of the country, attest the strength of the
popular confidence in you and the belief that your administration will
be wise, courageous, and just. We say, sir, your administration, for we
believe that the people will confirm the action of the convention, and
thus save the country from the control of the men and the operation
of the principles and policy of the Democratic party. We have also
been directed to ask your attention to the summary of Republican
doctrine contained in the platform adopted by the convention. In dis
charging this agreeable duty we find cause of congratulation in the
harmonious action of the convention ; and in the hearty response given
by the people we see the promise of assured success. Ohio, we know,
trusts and honors you. Henceforth you belong to the whole country.
1 Writing in his diary April 28, 1878, on the return of himself and Mrs. Hayes
from a four days' visit to Philadelphia, when they were the recipients of marked
attentions, Mr. Hayes said: "Perhaps most notable was the reception given to
Lucy at the Academy of Fine Arts, Friday evening. ... I this morning asked
Lucy how she felt as the central figure of such a fairy scene. ' Oh,' said she, ' hum
ble. I always feel humble on such occasions. I enjoy them very much, but am
humbled by them.' This reminds me of my feeling at the great moment of my
life, when I heard I was nominated at Cincinnati. I felt a sense of responsibility
— a sobered feeling. It was my feeling that with soundness of judgment, with
a cheerful and elastic temper, with firmness, with an honest purpose to do right,
and with some experience in affairs, I could do well in the place."

456 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
Under circumstances so auspicious, we trust you will indicate your
acceptance of the nomination.
To these words Mr. Hayes replied: —
Gentlemen, — I have only to say in response to your information
that I accept the nomination. Perhaps at the present time it would be
improper for me to say more than this, although even now I should be
glad to give some expression to the profound sense of gratitude I feel
for the confidence reposed in me by yourselves and those for whom you
act. At a future time I shall take occasion to present my acceptance
in writing, with my views upon the platform.
Mr. Hayes's comment in his diary on his nomination is char
acteristically brief and modest. Sunday, June 18, he writes: —
I have had no time to write since my nomination on the seventh
baUot about 4 p.m. on the 16th, Friday. Friday has been a lucky day
for me before! My deepest emotions were on receiving Blaine's dis
patch of congratulation. It for a few moments quite unmanned me.
And then Shoemaker's dispatch, wishing that Uncle Birchard was
alive. And five days later this: —
The nomination has been well received. The best people, many of
them heretofore dissatisfied with the Republican party, are especially
hearty in my support. I must make it my constant effort to deserve
this confidence.
Mr. Hayes's brief statement correctly summarized the tone of
pubhc expression, at any rate, of Republican papers and of the
more intelligent members of the Republican party, as well as
of a decided majority of the independent leaders, regarding the
nomination. This is clearly shown by reference to the files of
newspapers of the day and by examination of the innumerable
letters and dispatches of congratulation and friendly advice that
thronged in upon the candidate. At the same time the Demo
cratic papers of greatest perspicacity and sobriety of judgment
were prompt to recognize the political strength of the Cincinnati
ticket. Mr. Hayes during this period, despite the adulation and defer
ence now shown him, bore himself with the same modesty and
poise that had characterized him throughout the months preced
ing the convention.1 He had been summoned by his party to the
1 The impression made by Mr. Hayes's demeanor on visitors in the days suc
ceeding the nomination is indicated by the dispatches sent to various papers by

NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT 457
greatest position it could give; he would devote all the strength
he possessed, without pose or pretense, to the conscientious fulfil
ment of the new duties placed upon him; neither overwhelmed by
their magnitude nor elevated in conceit by any new sense of his
own greatness.
A week after his nomination Mr. Hayes visited his home at
Fremont, when the citizens of the place, without regard to party
affiliations, gave him a welcoming reception which deeply touched
his heart. The city was decorated and illuminated and large
delegations of citizens came from the neighboring cities and
towns to share in doing honor to the candidate. In reply to
the address of congratulation Mr. Hayes said: —
Mr. Mayor, Fellow Citizens, Friends, and Neighbors, — I need not
attempt to express the emotions I feel at the reception which the people
of Fremont and this county have given me to-night. Under any circum
stances, an assemblage of this sort at my home to welcome me would
touch me, would excite the warmest emotions of gratitude; but what
gives to this its distinctive character is the fact that those who are prom
inent in welcoming me home, I know, in the past, have not voted with
me or for me, and they do not intend in the future to vote with me or
for me. It is simply that, coming to my home, they rejoice that Ohio,
that Sandusky County, that the town of Fremont, has received at that
national convention high honor; and I thank you, Democrats, fellow
citizens, independents, and RepubUcans, for this spontaneous and en
thusiastic reception.
I trust that in the course of events the time will never come that you
will have cause to regret what you do to-night. It is a very great respon
sibility that has been placed upon me — to be a representative of a
party embracing twenty millions of people — a responsibility which I
know I am not equal to. I understand very well that it was not by rea
son of ability or talents that I was chosen. But that which does rejoice
me is that here, where I have been known from my childhood, there are
those that come and rejoice at the result. . . .
Forty-two years ago my uncle, Sardis Birchard, brought me to this
place, and I rejoice, my friends, in the good taste and good feeling
which have placed his portrait here to-night. He, having adopted me,
brought me to Fremont. I recollect well the appearance of the then
special correspondents who flocked to Columbus. Among many statements of
similar purport, the following from the correspondent of the New York Herald
may be cited: "He makes a good impression upon visitors of every class, taking
quite easily the very prevalent assumption that he is for the moment public
property, yet not especially making any virtue of his freedom in this respect;
indeed, it is not perceptible that the fact of his nomination has even rippled the
surface of his public life, or changed in any respect the even tenor of his way."

458 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Lower Sandusky, consisting of a few wooden buildings scattered along
the river, with little paint on them, and these trees none of them grown,
the old fort still having some of its earthworks remaining, so that it
could be easily traced. A pleasant village this was for a boy to enjoy
himself in. There was the fishing on the river, shooting water-fowls
above the dam, at the islands, and the lake. Perhaps no boy ever en
joyed his departure from home better than I did when I first came to
Fremont. But now see what this town is — how it has grown. It has not in
creased to a first-class city, but it has become a pleasant home; so pleas
ant, so thriving, that I rejoice to think that whatever may be the result
next fall it will be pleasant to return to it when the contest is over. If
defeated, I shall return to you oftener than if I go to the White House.
If I go there I shall look forward with pleasure to the time when I shall
be permitted to return to you, to be a neighbor with you again. And
really we have cause to be satisfied with our home and the interests
which the future has in store for us here. Larger cities always have
strife and rivalry, from which we are free; and yet we are well situated
between two commercial centres, the Eastern and Western, between
which is the great highway of the world, and we cannot but partake of
their prosperity. Over the railroad passing through this place, or near
it, will pass for aU time to come the travel and trade of New York and
San Francisco, of London and Pekin. . . . Those of our friends who
travel in Europe return sometimes dissatisfied, because there is a raw
ness in this country not seen in England and the older countries of
Europe. But then the greatest happiness, as all of us know, in prepar
ing a garden or a home is to see the improvements growing up under
our hands. This is what we enjoy; and the change in Fremont from the
time I first knew it till to-day gives me very great pleasure.
There is another change which gives rise to mournful reflections.
When I came here in the year 1834, 1 became acquainted with honored
citizens who are no longer living. ... Of all those I remember seeing on
that first visit, not one is with us to-night. All who came with me, my
uncle, my mother, and my sister, are gone. But this is the order of Prov
idence. Events follow upon one another as wave follows wave upon
the ocean. It is for each man to do what he can to make others happy.
This is the prayer and this is the duty of life. Let us, my friends, in
every position, undertake to perform this duty.
For one, I have no reliance except that which Abraham Lincoln had
when, on leaving Springfield, he said to his friends: "I go to Washing
ton to assume a responsibility greater that that which has been de
volved upon any one since the first President, and I beg you, my friends
and neighbors, to pray that I may have that Divine assistance, without
which I cannot succeed, and with which I cannot fail." In that spirit
I ask you to deal with me. If it shall be the will of the people that this
nomination shall be ratified, I know I shall have your good wishes and
your prayers. If, on the other hand, it shall be the will of the people

NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT 459
that another shall assume these great responsibilities, let us see to it
that we who shall oppose him give him a fair trial.
My friends, I thank you for the interest you have taken in this re
ception, and that you have laid aside partisan feeling. There has been
too much bitterness on such occasions in our land. Let us see to it that
abuse and vituperation of the candidate that shall be named at St. Louis
do not proceed from our lips. Let us, in this centennial year, as we
enter upon this second century of our existence, set an example of what
a free and intelligent people can do. There is gathered at Philadelphia
an assemblage representing nearly all the nations of the world, with
their arts and manufactures. We have invited competition, and they
have come to compete with us, and with each other. We find that
America stands well with the works of the world, as there exhibited.
Let us show, in electing a Chief Magistrate of the nation — the officer
that is to be the first of forty or forty-five millions — let us show all
those who visit us, how the American people can conduct themselves
through a canvass of this kind. If it shall be in the spirit in which we
have met to-night, if it shall be that justness and fairness shall be in
all the discussions, it will commend free institutions to the world in a
way which they have never been commended before. . . .
About the middle of the war, General Sherman lost a boy, named
after himself, aged about thirteen years. He supposed that he belonged
to the Thirteenth Infantry, and when they went out to drill and dress
parade, he dressed in the dress of a sergeant and marched with them.
But he sickened and died. The regiment gathered about him, for he
was to them a comrade — dear as the child is loved by men who are
torn away from the associations of home. General Sherman, the great
soldier, was touched by it. He said it would be idle for him to try to
express the gratitude which he felt; but he said they held the key to the
affections of himself and family, and if any of them should ever be in
need, if they would mention that they belonged to the Thirteenth In
fantry at the time his boy died, they would divide with him the last
blanket and last morsel of food. It is in this spirit that I wish to ex
press my thanks to the people of Fremont for the welcome they have
given me. I bid you, my friends, good-night.
The first subject to engross Mr. Hayes's attention after his
nomination was the preparation of his formal letter of accept
ance, and to this in the next three weeks he gave profound
thought and deliberation. The amount of advice showered upon
him in personal letters and by the public prints in this connection
can hardly be overestimated. The mails were so burdened that
had he undertaken carefully to read, much less to ponder, all the
suggestions that were given him, he would have had neither time
nor strength for any other consideration. But valuable as much

460 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
of the advice was, Mr. Hayes was not greatly in need of it, and it
is doubtful whether either his views or his manner of expressing
them was much, if at all, affected thereby.1 He had strong and
clear convictions on the issues of the day that he believed to be of
paramount importance, and he knew how to set these views forth
in a simple and cogent manner which had the unmistakable ring
of settled judgment and complete sincerity. The letter of accept
ance was as follows: — Columbus, Ohio, July 8, 1876.
Gentlemen, — In reply to your official communication of June 17,
by which I am informed of my nomination for the office of President of
the United States by the Republican National Convention at Cincin
nati, I accept the nomination with gratitude, hoping that, under Provi
dence, I shall be able, if elected, to execute the duties of the high office
as a trust for the benefit of all the people.
I do not deem it necessary to enter upon any extended examination
of the declaration of principles made by the convention. The resolu
tions are in accord with my views, and I heartily concur in the princi
ples they announce. In several of the resolutions, however, questions
are considered which are of such importance that I deem it proper to
briefly express my convictions in regard to them.
The fifth resolution adopted by the convention is of paramount in
terest. More than forty years ago a system of making appointments
to office grew up, based upon the maxim, "To the victors belong the
spoils." The old rule, the true rule, that honesty, capacity, and fidelity
constitute the only real qualification for office, and that there is no other
claim, gave place to the idea that party services were to be chiefly con
sidered. All parties in practice have adopted this system. It has been
essentially modified ' since its first introduction. It has not, however,
been improved. At first the President, either directly or through the
heads of departments, made all the appointments, but gradually the
appointing power, in many cases, passed into the control of members
of Congress. The offices in these cases have become not merely rewards
for party services, but rewards for services to party leaders. This sys
tem destroys the independence of the separate departments of the
Government. It tends directly to extravagance and official incapacity.
It is a temptation to dishonesty; it hinders and impairs that careful
supervision and strict accountability by which alone faithful and efficient
1 Writing to Carl Schurz, June 27, about his letter he had said: "One other
suggestion let me now submit to you. I really think that a President could do
more good in one term if untrammelled by the belief that he was fixing things
for his election to a second term, than with the best intentions could be done in
two terms with his power embarrassed by that suspicion, or temptation during his
first four years. Our platform says nothing on the subject. I am averse to adding
topics; but could I not properly avow my own view and purpose on this head?"

NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT 461
public service can be secured; it obstructs the prompt removal and
sure punishment of the unworthy ; in every way it degrades the civil serv
ice and the character of the Government. It is felt, I am confident, by
a large majority of the members of Congress to be an intolerable bur
den and an unwarrantable hindrance to the proper discharge of their
legitimate duties. It ought to be abolished. The reform should be
thorough, radical, and complete. We should return to the principles
and practice of the founders of the Government — supplying by legis
lation, when needed, that which was formerly the established custom.
They neither expected nor desired from the public officers any partisan
service. They meant that pubhc officers should give their whole service
to the Government and to the people. They meant that the officer
should be secure in his tenure as long as his personal character re
mained untarnished and the performance of his duties satisfactory.
If elected, I shall conduct the administration of the Government upon
these principles, and all constitutional powers vested in the Executive
will be employed to establish this reform. The declaration of principles
by the Cincinnati convention makes no announcement in favor of a
single Presidential term. I do not assume to add to that declaration;
but believing that the restoration of the civil service to the system
established by Washington and followed by the early Presidents can
be best accomplished by an Executive who is under no temptation to
use the patronage of his office to promote his own reelection, I desire
to perform what I regard as a duty in now stating my inflexible pur
pose, if elected, not to be a candidate for election to a second term.
On the currency question I have frequently expressed my views in
public, and I stand by my record on this subject. I regard all the laws
of the United States relating to the payment of the public indebtedness,
the legal-tender notes included, as constituting a pledge and moral
obligation of the Government, which must in good faith be kept. It
is my conviction that the feeling of uncertainty inseparable from an
irredeemable paper currency, with its fluctuations of value, is one of
the great obstacles to a revival of confidence and business, and to a
return of prosperity. That uncertainty can be ended in but one way —
the resumption of specie payments.- But the longer the instability of
our money system is permitted to continue, the greater will be the in
jury inflicted upon our economical interests and all classes of society.
If elected, I shall approve every appropriate measure to accompUsh
the desired end; and shall oppose any step backward.
The resolution with respect to the public-school system is one which
should receive the hearty support of the American people. Agitation
upon this subject is to be apprehended, until, by constitutional amend
ment, the schools are placed beyond all danger of sectarian control
or interference. The RepubUcan party is pledged to secure such an
amendment. The resolution of the convention on the subject of the permanent
pacification of the country, and the complete protection of all its citizens

462 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
in the free enjoyment of all their constitutional rights, is timely and of
great importance. The condition of the Southern States attracts the
attention and commands the sympathy of the people of the whole
Union. In their progressive recovery from the effects of the war, their
first necessity is an intelligent and honest administration of govern
ment which will protect all classes of citizens in their political and
private rights. What the South most needs is peace, and peace de
pends upon the supremacy of the law. There can be no enduring
peace if the constitutional rights of any portion of the people are habitu
ally disregarded. A division of political parties resting merely upon
sectional lines is always unfortunate and may be disastrous. The wel
fare of the South, aUke with that of every other part of this country,
depends upon the attractions it can offer to labor and immigration, and
to capital. But laborers will not go and capital will not be ventured
where the Constitution and the laws are set at defiance, and distrac
tion, apprehension, and alarm take the place of peace-loving and law-
abiding social life. All parts of the Constitution are sacred and must
be sacredly observed — the parts that are new no less than the parts
that are old. The moral and material prosperity of the Southern
States can be most effectually advanced by a hearty and generous rec
ognition of the rights of all, by all — a recognition without reserve or
exception. With such a recognition fully accorded it will be practica
ble to promote, by the influence of all legitimate agencies of the gen
eral Government, the efforts of the people of those States to obtain for
themselves the blessings of honest and capable local government. If
elected, I shall consider it not only my duty, but it will be my ardent
desire, to labor for the attainment of this end.
Let me assure my countrymen of the Southern States that if I shall
be charged with the duty of organizing an administration, it will be one
which will regard and cherish their truest interests — the interests of
the white and of the colored people both, and equally; and which will put
forth its best efforts in behalf of a civil policy which will wipe out for
ever the distinction between North and South in our common country.
With a civil service organized upon a system which will secure purity,
experience, efficiency, and economy, a strict regard for the public wel
fare solely in appointments, and the speedy, thorough, and unsparing
prosecution and punishment of all public officers who betray official
trusts; with a sound currency; with education unsectarian and free to
all; with simplicity and frugality in public and private affairs; and with
a fraternal spirit of harmony pervading the people of all sections and
classes, we may reasonably hope that the second century of our exist
ence as a nation will, by the blessing of God, be preeminent as an era
of good feeling and a period of progress, prosperity, and happiness.
Very respectfully, your fellow citizen,
R. B, Hayes.
To the Hons. Edward McPherson, Wm. A. Howard, Jos. H. Rainet, and
others. Committee of the National Republican Convention.

NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT 463
In form, in temper, in appropriateness of phrasing, and in
perspicacity and directness, this letter might well be taken as a
model for documents of its sort. With unerring insight Mr. Hayes
placed the stress on the three subjects which more than all others
were uppermost in men's minds and which more than all others
were of immediate and pressing importance. First in his estima
tion — at least he gave it the prominence of first consideration —
was the subject of civil service reform, the need of which had
been brought home to men's thoughts with increasing force by
reason of the manifold abuses and betrayals of faith of the last
few months. It would be difficult for the most skilful writer or
reformer to set forth the evils of the spoils system in so few words
as Mr. Hayes used with equal comprehensiveness and force. And
those who knew or chose to inform themselves of Mr. Hayes's
conduct as Governor were aware that the ideas and purposes
which Mr. Hayes so admirably set forth in words were reen
forced and emphasized by the practice of his official life. As a
corollary to his pronouncement of his views on the subject of the
pressing need of reform in the civil service was Mr. Hayes's an
nouncement of his "inflexible purpose" not to seek or to accept
a second nomination in case he should be elected. The platform,
to be sure, had nothing to say in favor of a single Presidential
term, and he would not venture to add to what it said. To one
who read between the lines, however, it was apparent from his
form of expression that he himself believed that a single Presi
dential term would give added strength and independence to the
executive authority, and that its establishment in our system of
government was something to be desired. It is a subject on which
we shall hear more from him in the years to come. For the pres
ent it was enough for him to give as a sufficient reason for his
personal determination his belief that the civil service could most
easily be restored to its ancient sensible status by an Executive
who was under no temptation to use the patronage to promote
his own reelection. This declaration was crowning proof of the
sincerity of his purpose in the furtherance of reform.1
1 The civil service reformers were more than pleased with Mr. Hayes's words.
Richard H. Dana, Jr., wrote from Boston August 10: "On the point of civil
service reform you have done the best service that has been done yet. You
have done what our platform failed to do, and our politicians here failed to say in

464 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Secondly, he gave added force and vigor to the not entirely
satisfactory platform declaration in regard to the resumption of
specie payments. The platform failed to declare in set terms
in favor of the Resumption Act already on the statute-books,
making only the vague declaration above set out. Debate arose
in the convention over this plank, an amendment to the platform
committee's report having been proposed. But the convention
was too timid, it would appear, to declare itself except in general
terms of righteous purpose, and so refused to change or to add
to the committee's resolution. Mr. Hayes in his letter left no
doubt that he would adhere to the views he had already expressed
on this subject. His campaign for the governorship the previous
year had been fought on the hard-money basis. He had declared
already: "Certainly I am not in favor of the repeal of the Re
sumption Act, unless something is substituted that will more
effectually bring about specie payments as soon as the time pre
scribed in that act."1 That declaration was virtually implied in
his letter by his assertion : " I stand by my record on this subject,"
and by his unqualified pledge: "If elected, I shall approve every
appropriate measure to accomplish the desired end, and shall
oppose any step backward." The country was left in no ambi
guity as to his position and purposes. The letter could not be
interpreted in one way in a hard-money constituency and in an
other way in a community where heretical monetary doctrines
were popular. In Mr. Hayes's opinion, as he had written to Gen
eral Garfield in March, the Republican party could better afford
to be beaten in the fight for sound money than to back out.
In regard to the Southern problem Mr. Hayes wrote without
passion or acrimony; pointing out the need of complete peace,
complete supremacy of the law, and the protection of the rights
of all citizens as prerequisites to the moral and material prosper
ity of the South as well as to the general welfare of the country.
And he assured the South if he came to the headship of the
country that his best efforts would be directed to the end of wiping
terms, — either from not having thought deep enough or from lack of civic
courage, — you have said what you mean by civil service reform. You have put
your finger on the spot where the disease lies, and stated what is to be done. I
regard all generalities about good men in office, faithful performance of their
official duties, etc., as cant which any one may sing."
1 Columbus correspondence of Cincinnati Commercial, May 8, 1876.

NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT 465
out all distinction between North and South. To appreciate the
full force of this part of Mr. Hayes's letter, one needs to revive
one's memory of the rancor of feeling and expression in relation
to all Southern topics which was at that time the prevailing
characteristic of most Republican newspaper discussion in the
North. This had been deepened by the foolish violence and
virulence which in the late session of Congress had marked many
of the speeches of the "Rebel brigadiers" who were asserting
their dominance of the House of Representatives. It required
large political foresight and moral courage of a high order for the
Republican candidate for the Presidency in 1876 to approach the
Southern question calmly and discuss it in a judicial and opti
mistic spirit.
The letter made a most favorable impression upon the coun
try. It gave the people of other States than Ohio, which knew
him well, material for measuring the quality of the man who had
been preferred by the Republican Convention to the more promi
nent leaders of the party. The better papers of the country,
whatever their political preferences, recognized its force and its
sincerity, acknowledging that the candidate had added strength
and definiteness to the unsatisfactory platform declaration re
garding the resumption of specie payments; that he had spoken
boldly and to the point on the reform of the civil service; and
that his treatment of the Southern question transcended partisan
expression and revealed the patriot and statesman. The inde
pendent press was particularly pleased with the letter and was
prepared now to accept the Republican candidate, not only
without misgiving, but with large satisfaction. The only discord
ant notes were from men who were themselves wavering in their
monetary views or who were apprehensive that the manly out
spokenness of Mr. Hayes on resumption would deter Republican
voters weak in the faith; and from the "practical politicians,"
who were inclined to regard the possibility of civil service re
form, in the famous phrase of Governor Allen, as a "d  d
barren ideality." 1 The prevailing opinion of the letter of
1 The immediate impression of the letter in Washington is reflected in a letter
from that city to Mr. Hayes, July 10, from Charles Nordhoff, who wrote : " 1 . The
letter is an eminent success. The best men in Congress speak the most highly
of it, as honest, frank, square, and in every way strong and satisfactory. 2. As

466 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
sober-thinking Republicans, was that expressed by the New
York Times, at that time the ablest exponent, of the daily press,
of Republican doctrines. It said: —
It is the manly, frank, and explicit declaration of a sincere and able
man. It is not the letter of a partisan, a trimmer, an aspirant for office
who wishes to avoid criticism by evading an expression of his views and
purposes, or, in any sense, the letter of a negative man. General Hayes
professes nothing, conceals nothing, shuns nothing for the purpose of
winning support or propitiating possible opponents. Such as he is he
paints himself, and without any pretensions to sincerity, stamps every
word with the cogent emphasis of simple and unreserved honesty.
There is no more trace of double-dealing than of timidity in what he
says. He would not deny that he desires an election with the earnest
ness which an honorable ambition kindles in every man conscious of
capacity for public service; but the election must come to him from a
constituency which is neither uninformed nor misinformed concerning
the principles he holds and the general objects he would, if elected, pur
sue. Modestly but fully he lays these before his fellow citizens, and
leaves with them the duty of choice, which cannot, so far as he is con
cerned, be a blind one.1
Meanwhile the Democratic National Convention had met at
St. Louis, June 28, and nominated Samuel J. Tilden, of New
York, and Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana, for President
and Vice-President. It adopted a prolix and highly rhetorical
you probably supposed, there is an undercurrent of dissatisfaction among the
'machine' men about the civil service paragraphs. Logan says it's d  d stuff;
Morton, words to the same effect; Allison thought it a little impracticable; and
so on. Per contra, Charles Foster, Pierce (Mass.), and a great lot of others —
the bone and sinew of the party in the House — are in the greatest delight about
that part. 3. The Democrats generally thought the whole letter very shrewd and
adroitly calculated to capture everybody. That is the sum [of] opinions as I
gathered them for you to-day. It is a success. Eminently so."
1 George William Curtis in Harper's Weekly (July 29, 1876) said : " [The letter]
is thoroughly satisfactory. Clear, sagacious, and courageous, no one can read it
without the conviction that it is the word of a man who fully comprehends the
political situation, and whose sympathies and purposes are those of all patriotic
citizens. It is not the utterance of a dextrous politician, intended to mean all
things to all men. It is the declaration of an honest and experienced public man
with no embarrassing record. It appeals to the general intelligence and patriot
ism of the country. ... If any voter has felt that he did not know the Republican
candidate, he will feel so no longer. His character and career are the earnest that
his letter says only what he thinks and means."
W. D. Howells wrote, July 13: "I can't forbear telling you how much I like
your letter of acceptance. It's the manliest thing done in politics since the
Declaration, on which it's an improvement in some respects."

NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT 467
platform, written, as it was understood, by Mr. Manton Marble, a
brilliant journalist of New York, in consultation with Mr. Tilden.
The platform1 in its "vast wash of words," as George William
Curtis characterized it, arraigned the Republican party and the
Grant Administration in perf ervid phrase for all the crimes in the
political category, and in strident periods demanded reform in
all the ways of government, " measures and men." It devoted
several paragraphs to the financial problem, full of glittering gen
eralities and nebulous promises, embedded in which, however,
was the single specific demand for the repeal of the Resumption
Act — the one measure which fixed a definite time in the near
future for resumption and provided ample authority for its exe
cution. It spoke in eloquent sentences in favor of a thorough
reform of the civil service system; but the neglect of any Demo
crats in any State where they were in power to show any practi
cal mterest in this reform and the recent performance of the
Democratic majority in the House of Representatives in dismiss
ing all Republican employees of the House, however efficient or
however humble their station, and replacing them with Demo
crats, could not fail to make men doubt the sincerity of the
platform's eloquence.
Mr. Tilden's letter of acceptance was dated July 31. It fol
lowed the manner of the platform in length, in fervor of rhetoric,
1 Mr. Blaine's analysis of the platform is fairly accurate: " It was marked by
the language of an indictment, and contained the extended argument of a stump
speech. Its one pervading thought, emphasized in resonant phrase, iterating and
reiterating, 'that reform was necessary,' was an additional proof of its origin.
But with all its effusiveness of expression, it lacked definiteness in the enuncia
tion of principles. Only two or three propositions upon pending issues were ex
plicitly set forth. It accepted the constitutional amendments; denounced 'the
present tariff levied upon nearly four thousand articles as a masterpiece of injus
tice, inequality, and false pretense'; demanded that 'all custom-house taxation
should be only for revenue'; and then addressed itself to a somewhat vitupera
tive arraignment of the Republican party." (Twenty Years in Congress, chap.
xxv.) But writing to Mr. Hayes soon after the St. Louis convention (July 6), Joseph
Medill, the able editor of the Republican Chicago Tribune, said: "Tilden, in writ
ing his platform, — for I assume it is his composition in the main, — has seized
upon the omission in the Republican platform in respect to reform, retrenchment,
official purification, etc., to produce a striking contrast between the platforms;
and he has immensely strengthened his party and his chances thereby, and gen
erally reconciled the 'soft shells' to his hard-money notions because of his loud
reform proclamation. He has also furnished them texts on which to preach
innumerable sermons during the campaign."

468 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
and, on the financial situation, in vagueness of utterance. He
was quite as sure, however, as the platform that the Resumption
Act was a "hindrance" "to the speedy resumption of specie
payments" and should be repealed, to give way to "a judicious
system of preparation" for resumption without naming a precise
day for its consummation. It was manifest that, hard-money
man as he was, he was striving with all the resources of his adroit
political skill so to express himself and so to defend the financial
plank of the platform as not to offend the financial heretics of the
West and the South whose prejudices had been deferred to in
draughting the platform and in placing Mr. Hendricks on the
ticket. July 8 Mr. Hayes wrote in his diary: —
The nomination of Tilden makes doubtful the States of New York,
New Jersey, and Connecticut.
I have prepared a bold and honest letter of acceptance. It will offend
some and cool the ardor of others; but it is sound, and I believe will be
strong with the people. At any rate, it is the true course.
Our adversaries reckon on a united South. This is their hope. We
must meet them on this.
They are under the same leadership which for fifteen years has been
on the wrong side of every question.

CHAPTER XXV
THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1876
IT is not necessary to describe the campaign that followed with
great particularity. The Democratic party managers were
bold and aggressive, ably counselled throughout the campaign
by the shrewdness and political acumen of their sagacious can
didate.1 The recent administration of public affairs, the whole
mass of phenomena succinctly characterized as "Butlerism"
and "Grantism," offered abundant opportunities for criticism
and attack. The slogan of the Democrats was "Tilden and Re
form," and the drift toward the Democrats on the part of inde
pendent voters, disgusted with the scandals brought to light in
the government service and dissatisfied with the tameness of the
Cincinnati platform, was too evident to be ignored. This drift
was measurably checked by the vigor and straightforwardness
of Mr. Hayes's letter on the essential issues pressing for settle
ment, reenforced as his utterance was by widening public knowl
edge of his sincerity and strength of character. The Democrats
were more hopeful, more confident of success than in any Presi
dential contest since that of 1856. The RepubKcans were much
demoralized and less buoyant in spirit; for the first time in a
national campaign they found themselves rather on the defensive
than steadily leading the attack. Try as they might, they could
not escape the consciousness that the issue of the present conflict
was clouded with grave uncertainty.
1 Mr. Wheeler wrote Mr. Hayes, July 1 : " I am afraid some of our friends are
underrating the strength of Tilden. He is a wonderful organizer and manipu
lator, has large wealth and is utterly unscrupulous in its use." — During the
campaign, Mr. Tilden spent much of his time at his home in New York City,
so as to be in close touch with the Democratic managers, giving them the benefit
of his large knowledge and experience of political organization and campaign
methods. His course, which at that time was thought not to be in keeping with
proper aspiration for the highest office in the land, subjected him to much criti
cism. Ex-President Woolsey, of Yale University, in a public address at New
Haven, gave voice to the widely felt judgment when he said: "I feel that Mr.
Tilden has sought the office with uncommon anxiety. I don't remember of any
President who seems to me to have pursued his object, so far as I can understand,
with greater assiduity, greater ability, and determination than he has shown."

470 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Mr. Hayes himself took no active part in the campaign.though
he was kept informed of its progress by frequent communications
from the secretary of the National Committee and from other
leaders closely connected with the Republican organization or
active in the campaign.1 There was, of course, a constant stream
of visitors at his office, newspaper editors and correspondents,
prominent politicians from all parts of the country, and men
from various walks of life, who called to pay their respects or to
volunteer advice. All these brought information or indulged
in speculation and surmise. Furthermore, Mr. Hayes was the
recipient of innumerable letters 2 from far and near, not only from
acquaintances and men that stood for something in the party
councils, but also from strangers of high and low degree, eager to
express approval or criticism, to give intelligence, or to make
suggestion. To many of these letters he replied, but usually with
utmost brevity. It was still thought not quite dignified for a can
didate for the Presidency to appear upon the campaign hustings.
What he had to say was understood to be expressed in his letter
of acceptance and in the record of his past achievements. Neither
had it become the custom, which was established a few years
later, for frequent delegations of citizens from places near or
remote to visit the home of the candidate to do him honor and to
draw from him some expression on the topics of the campaign.
With the exception of two brief visits to the Centennial Exposi
tion at Philadelphia, one shortly after his nomination, the other
in October, on "OhioDay,"and then in his capacity as Governor,
not as candidate, Mr. Hayes remained in Ohio, and for the most
part in his office at Columbus, throughout the period from the
date of his nomination until after the election.3
1 Between him and the chairman of the National Committee no letters at all
passed. 2 Among his correspondents were George William Curtis, Carl Schurz, E. D.
Morgan, William Henry Smith, J. A. Garfield, John Sherman, Oliver P. Morton,
Murat Halstead, and hosts of other prominent Republicans.
• "During all the campaign his conduct has been that of a quiet, self-respect
ing gentleman. He is Governor of the State of Ohio, and his official residence is
at Columbus. There he has remained, with the exception of the time given to
two official visits to Philadelphia, tranquilly engaged in the discharge of his
duties. His 'canvass' and the management of its details have been in the hands
of his friends. As he did not intrigue and plan for the nomination, so he was con
tent to await the event of the election with the same dignity and self-respect. In

THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1876 471
Zachariah Chandler, long a Senator from Michigan, but at
that time Secretary of the Interior, was selected as chairman by
the Republican National Committee. Doubtless a much wiser
selection could have been made. Mr. Hayes would have preferred
his friend General Noyes ; J but his wishes were not consulted.
The majority of the committee belonged to the old regime. There
was no question of Mr. Chandler's ability and sagacity as a poli
tical manager; but he had long been identified with the little
group of " Grant Senators " of whom the country was weary; and
now being a member of President Grant's Cabinet, he laid him
self and the party organization open to the criticism of being too
much under the control or influence of the Administration, whose
faults were largely responsible for the critical plight of the party.2
all this the contrast between the two candidates has been extraordinary. . . . He
[Mr. Hayes] has been a true representative of the good old cause; pure, honorable,
sagacious, self-respecting, and self-restrained; a true type of the best American
citizen — an American gentleman without fear and without reproach." (George
William Curtis, in Harper's Weekly, November, 1876.)
1 "When I found that both Cornell and Chandler (Zach) wanted the chair
manship of the National Committee, I did not deem it best for Hayes that I
should be a candidate, though Hayes wanted me to have it. I did not make
known Hayes's wish to the committee, but told all who approached me that it
was not best in any way I should have it." (From letter of Edward F. Noyes,
July 13, to William Henry Smith.)
Wilson J. Vance, Washington correspondent of the Cincinnati Commercial,
writing from Washington, July 11, to Mr. Halstead, said: "The selection of a
man who was not identified so entirely and completely with Grant and Grantism
as Chandler is, would have been a reassuring circumstance to a great many
liberal voters, who were puzzled to know precisely how much of a party man
Governor Hayes is. But the administration influence was all cast for Chandler,
as was also the entire Blaine strength. The Hayes men, in the restricted sense of
the term, were completely overslaughed and had no sort of a show for their white
alley. The question whether they are to be kept under, during all of the ap
proaching campaign, or not, is one of considerable importance. 'The Hayes
men, in lie restricted sense of the term,' comprise the original Hayes men, the
Bristow men, a few of the Morton men, and fewer of the Conkling men — in
brief, the real reform element of the party."
2 Carl Schurz, in a letter to Mr. Hayes, July 15, voiced the reform sentiment
regarding Mr. Chandler's headship of the committee: "But one of the worst
things done yet is the election of Secretary Chandler to the chairmanship of the
National Committee. It is in the highest degree improper on principle that a man
who wields the patronage and influence of one of the departments of the Govern
ment, should also be the manager of a party in a campaign, and it seems utterly
impossible that a member of General Grant's Administration, who is universally
known as a strenuous advocate of the same vicious civil service system which
your letter condemns and proposes to abolish, should be the manager of a
campaign in which the reform of the civil service is one of the principal issues.

472 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Moreover, Mr. Chandler's official duties made such demands on
his time and strength that he could not give to the direction of
the campaign the undivided attention which a survey of the
political conditions of the country should have convinced all the
members of the committee was more than ever desirable that
year. The country would assuredly have been more favorably
impressed with the genuineness or efficiency of the reform spirit,
which brought about the nomination of Mr. Hayes and which
permeated his letter of acceptance, if a man not conspicuously
associated with the prevailing order of things had been placed
at the head of the campaign work. While certain men recognized
and admitted the purity of Mr. Hayes's intentions and the whole
some quality of his purposes, they found the firmest ground for
opposition in doubt whether he would be able to resist the influ
ences that had controlled the Grant Administration and brought
it into popular disrepute.1 But the mass of progressive Repub
lican leaders, the majority of those who had been influential in
the Liberal Republican movement of four years before, — men
like George William Curtis and Carl Schurz, — abating no whit
of their condemnation of the abuses and corruptions which had
scandalized Republican rule in recent years, still believed and
urged that there was vastly greater hope for genuine administra
tive reform with a sincere man like Mr. Hayes in the White
House, backed by the powerful forces of reform within the Re
publican party with which he was affiliated and to which he
owed his elevation, than with a trimmer and politician, how
ever able, like Mr. Tilden, supported and sustained by a party
Several Republican papers, seeing the absolute incongruity of this arrangement,
have already taken up the matter and are urging Chandler to decline the ap
pointment. This, I suppose, he will not heed, unless some extraordinary influ
ence be brought to bear upon him. What that influence should be, I confess I do
not know. I feel that it would be a delicate matter for you to interfere directly;
but something should be done or the management of the campaign will be the
most glaring satire on civil service reform imaginable."
1 Charles Nordhoff, the distinguished journalist, wrote Mr. Hayes, October
15, from his home near New York: "What is most often, and very frequently
expressed to me, who am known to be friendly to you, is a fear that, granting
your good intentions, you may in fact, if elected, be a mere prisoner in the hands
of the men who are now carrying things with so high a hand; that the Chandlers,
Mortons, Logans, and Butlers will justly say that they showed their hand clearly,
and you were elected on a coercion and revolutionary policy, to which the coun
try committed itself."

THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1876 473
eager for the spoils of office and unsympathetic with reform — a
party which for long years had been in the wrong on the great
fundamental questions of nationality. Moreover, what prospect
of sound financial legislation, of an early return to specie pay
ments, could there be from a party which demanded the repeal
of the Resumption Act and which was overwhelmingly affected
by the cheap-money fallacy? It was on the basis of these con
siderations principally, the peril of entrusting the National
Government to the men that had sought to destroy it and to
their Northern sympathizers — the men that had questioned
and criticized and condemned all the measures made necessary
by the Rebellion for the preservation and rehabilitation of the
nation, the fear that Democratic success would further postpone
efforts for administrative reform, and dread of reckless cheap-
money agitation and legislation, that the appeal was made to
the more intelligent and conservative voters to continue the
Republican party in power.
Of course, as is invariably the case in American politics, the
personal qualities, characteristics, and careers of the rival candi
dates, as well as the record of their public achievements, were
exploited and discussed by the press and the campaign speakers,
with much partisan exaggeration, hasty inference, uncharitable
conclusions, and at times reckless disregard of truth. Lieutenant-
Governor Dorsheimer, an intimate friend and adviser of Mr.
Tilden, was authority for the statement that the Democratic
National Committee employed men to search the life and record
of Mr. Hayes — in the hope, no doubt, of discovering some act or
expression or course of conduct which might be turned to his dis
credit. But Mr. Dorsheimer acknowledged that the search was
fruitless. Numerous tales, to be sure, derogatory to his personal
integrity found their way into print; numerous distortions or per
versions of his public acts were set forth under screaming head
lines by the Democratic newspapers; but in all cases these pub
lications proved less than a nine days' wonder when the absurd
falsity of the one sort was demonstrated, or a plain and straight
forward statement of the facts in the other sort was presented.
As one paper at the time happily said, all the efforts of partisan
and press to find something in Mr. Hayes's career to smirch his
character had resulted in showing that the only mud that had

474 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
ever clung to Hayes's garments was that which he had gained in
plunging under fire through the morass at Winchester, leading
his command to glorious victory.
After the publication of newspaper articles charging Mr. Tilden
with persistent evasion of the full payment of the national income
tax, men were sent to Fremont to scrutinize the tax records of
Sandusky County.1 As a result of this scrutiny a sensational
article appeared in Democratic papers, with plentiful use of
headlines and italics, which sought to show that Mr. Hayes in
bis tax return had omitted taxable credits, aggregating several
thousand dollars, and that he had grossly undervalued horses
and carriages and other possessions, and even failed altogether
to include a piano! Here at last was a complete answer to the
Republican criticism of Mr. Tilden for his income-tax derelic
tion. But a rigid examination and analysis of the facts, with
knowledge of the Ohio tax law, quickly revealed, first, that no
taxable credits had been omitted; second, that at the time the tax
return was made Mr. Hayes did not own a piano; and third, on
the testimony of his friends and neighbors (some of whom were
Democrats, indignant at unfair campaign methods) who were
competent from personal knowledge to express a judgment,
that far from undervaluing horses and vehicles, etc., Mr. Hayes
had actually given them a value in excess of what they could be
sold for.2 So this wonderful "answer" to the allegations touch
ing the income-tax record of Mr. Tilden fell to the ground.
1 Search was also made of Mr. Hayes's income-tax returns, his income in the
period of the tax being only his official salary. Mr. Hayes comments in his diary,
September 14, as follows: "As an offset to what is said of Governor Tilden's
income returns, mine have been examined. It appears that in 1868 and 1869 I
made none at all. No doubt all I made are substantially accurate. If none were
made in the two years named, it was because my attention was not called to the
matter — a mere oversight. My taxable income in those years did not exceed
$1500 or $2500. If no return can be found and no payments [were] made, there is
due from me the tax on that amount, and it will be paid. If no returns were
made in the two years 1868 and 1869, it was because no returns were called for.
I had left Cincinnati December, 1867, and had my domicile at Columbus — my
permanent residence still remaining at Cincinnati."
2 " The truth is my property returns were full, honest, and if in error at all as to
values, they were placed above the actual cash values. My extravagancies, if I
have any, run to books, and to trees, flowers, and other improvements of my
place. I had nothing in the way of furniture, horses, or equipages that were more
than barely decent. But it is easy to talk of expensive horses, carriages, etc., etc.

THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1876 475
Two or three baseless stories were revived or started charg
ing Mr. Hayes with having retained for his own use money that
fell into his hands while in the military service. One story was
to the effect that a private of the Twenty-third Regiment, named
Leroy, just before the battle of Winchester had given General
Hayes eight hundred or one thousand dollars for safe keeping, to
be sent to his mother in case he fell. Leroy was killed in the
battle. In 1869 Mr. Hayes, while making his second canvass for
Governor, received letters from Leroy's father, living then in
Wisconsin, making the charge above stated, and demanding the
money. Mr. Hayes wrote the man at once that there was abso
lutely no basis in fact for his claim; that he was either himself
deceived or was seeking blackmail. At the same time Mr. Hayes
had the official records examined and obtained information from
comrades of young Leroy. All this showed that the soldier could
not possibly have had any such sum of money at the time, — -
indeed, that he owed money, — and that whatever was due him
at the time of his death in bounty and back pay had been duly
paid to his mother. Again in the campaign of 1875, Leroy, the
father, sought to blackmail Mr. Hayes. His efforts having failed,
he now peddled his vile story to the Chicago Times, which gave it
large space and prominence. But the Chicago Tribune at once
published the real facts and added much information about the
blackmailer himself. He was a characterless pettifogger, who
many years before the war had abandoned his wife and family in
Ohio and had left a trail of lies and debt and dishonor wherever
he had lived in Illinois and Wisconsin.
A somewhat similar story was started in West Virginia — that
the money in the possession of a deserter and spy who was tried
As to wealth, my property is almost entirely real estate. The rest, bank and
other stocks, taxed in the name of the corporation. You may feel safe that in all
this there is no damaging fact. And whenever the truth can be known, as it is at my
home, there will be nothing in it to relieve the case against Tilden, whatever that
may be. ... I do not wish to weary you with this. But it concerns my character
for common honesty in ordinary life, and I confess that I am interested more in
that than in that which touches my prospects of political advancement. . . . Let
me assure you that my stakes as set in the letter will stand. If elected you can
trust me to adhere to the text. No political, no partisan duty (if such things can
be called duties) — at any rate, no partisan or personal service shall be required,
or allowed to be required, of public officers." (From letter of Mr. Hayes to Carl
Schurz, September 6, 1876.)

476 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
by drumhead court-martial and shot x was turned over to Gen
eral Hayes and never accounted for. The fact was that the
money which had come to the scamp as bounty was never in
General Hayes's hands, but was used to obtain another recruit
for the Twenty-third Regiment.
These campaign slanders gave Mr. Hayes little concern,
though he was somewhat annoyed by the last, as it impugned his
integrity as an officer and a gentleman. He refreshed his memory
of the court-martial and attendant circumstances by corre
spondence with other officers who were present and knew the
facts and prepared a statement of the case in the form of an
interview, which, however, was never given to the press. He
preferred personally to avoid making any public statement or
explanation, whatever the papers might print.2
Persistent effort was made, late in the campaign, to inflame
the foreign vote against Mr. Hayes by charging that he was
1 "The case was a remarkable one on account of the coincidences which led
him to his fate. In the fall of 1863 he came in Rebel uniform into the Union lines
in the Kanawha Valley, claiming to be a Union man who had been forced into the
Rebel army. Subsequently he enlisted in Company D, Twenty-third Ohio. Soon
after he became sick and was in hospital a month or two. Next he deserted,
taking with him arms and equipment with watches and pistols that he stole from
his comrades. Afterward, May 9, 1864, he was taken prisoner, with arms in his
hands, fighting in the Rebel ranks at Cloyd Mountain, was recognized by Twenty-
third men who were detailed to guard prisoners, and finding he was discovered
managed to escape in the night. In August afterwards a squad of recruits and
drafted men and substitutes was brought to the Twenty-third Regiment from
Ohio while the regiment was camped at Monocacy Junction, August 5, 1864.
Among them this Rebel deserter, Union deserter, and spy and bounty-jumper
was discovered. The facts were reported to General Crook's headquarters. His
adjutant-general, Captain J. L. Bottsford, ordered a drumhead court-martial to
meet immediately. . . . The man was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to be
shot. He confessed that after his escape in June, 1864, he went down the Kana
wha to Ohio and became a bounty-jumper; that he had received a number of
times bounties from localities and perhaps individuals and had deserted; was
prevented from doing it on this occasion by the recent order which required that
recruits should be receipted for at their regiments before payment of bounties;
that he had money, about four hundred dollars, received for bounties he had
jumped, and two watches. . . . After the trial, members of the court-martial, on
talking it over, concluded, as the bounty money of the Rebel spy and deserter
was received ... to furnish a soldier for the Twenty-third Regiment, that it
ought to be used to get another recruit for the same regiment. ... I have always
supposed that this was accordingly done with the money." (Diary, August 19,
1876.) 1 "I have not wished to make any denials of any falsehood over my own signa
ture — to leave my friends to deal with all such affairs." (Diary, August 19.)

THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1876 477
committed to the principles of the American Alliance, an organ
ization, as it appeared, which favored the restriction of the right
of suffrage to native-born citizens. This charge had a colorable
basis, sufficient for the partisan press on which to erect a vast
fabric of accusation and demagogic appeal, but one that quickly
crumbled when subjected to the acid test of plain common sense.
It seemed that at a meeting of the Grand Council of the Alliance,
held at Philadelphia July 4, resolutions were adopted, opposing
Roman Catholic influence in politics, commending the public-
school system, urging friendlier relations between North and
South, favoring a sound currency and a speedy return to specie
payments, and endorsing the nomination of Messrs. Hayes and
Wheeler. The resolutions contained not one syllable reflecting on
foreign-born citizens or implying opposition to their possession
of the franchise. A copy of these resolutions reached Governor
Hayes's office in the mass of mail that was daily received. It
came under the eye of Mr. Hayes's private secretary and was
acknowledged by him in a letter which was hardly more than per
functorily polite — precisely as innumerable other communica
tions were acknowledged. Doubtless if the secretary, Mr. Alfred
E. Lee, had known exactly what the foundation principles of the
American Alliance were, or had been more astute, he would have
referred this particular set of resolutions to Mr. Hayes before
writing his letter. But the resolutions contained nothing to which
any sound-money RepubUcan could object, and Mr. Lee made
the usual polite but noncommittal acknowledgment.
The Republican managers were somewhat apprehensive of
what effect the Democratic use of this episode might have. But
Mr. Hayes was not disturbed. To William Henry Smith, under
date of October 5, he wrote: —
Touching Lee's letter to the secretary of the American Alliance I
write these observations: —
1. It was written without my knowledge before or after. I never
heard of it until now. Lee had a general authority to reply to letters
of congratulation and tenders of support — "suitable acknowledg
ments" merely.
2. I see nothing damaging, specially, in the letter if we don't write
it into importance. It approves and endorses nothing.
8. The resolutions it replies to in acknowledging are eight in
number, adopted at Philadelphia July 4 and 5, and are all such as

478 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Republican foreigners, not Catholics, approve. You have seen the
resolutions. 4. The whole affair is to put us on the defensive and will fail if we
are not led off by it. Three of our most intelligent Germans speaking
of it (Cincinnati Germans) say it will not hurt a particle; that Repub
lican Germans do not mind such roorbacks, etc., etc.
5. The drift of the canvass is plain. The people do dread a victory
for the united South. They see in it continued trouble — nullification
of the Amendments, Rebel claims and schemes, etc., etc., etc., — and
I think anything which withdraws attention from this issue to merely
personal matters is a mistake. The school issue, the civil service issue,
the currency issue, etc., are all in point and good, but merely personal
issues may well be dropped with a few words of denunciation.
We see encouragement here and it increases daily.
While Mr. Hayes at the time this letter was written saw signs
of encouragement and was hopeful of the result, yet during the
canvass he had many hours of misgiving and doubt. At no time
was he oversanguine. Long before the nomination, as it will be
recalled, he had thought that the chances of Republican success
were precarious; and he was too keen and dispassionate an ob
server of the course of pohtical events, too susceptible to the
currents of public opinion, to be carried away by the unreasoning
confidence of enthusiastic partisans or the undoubting hopeful
ness of stalwart supporters. He was too experienced in feeling
the force and direction of public opinion, of estimating the
strength and quality of appeals to the popular sentiment and
prejudice, to fail to realize the weaknesses of the Republican
situation or to underestimate the attractiveness of the large but
vague promises of bettered conditions which the Democrats so
insistently and stridently proclaimed. He was not surprised,
therefore, to hear from Senator Morton in the middle of August
that things political in Indiana boded ill for the Republican
party. In his diary, August 13, he records: —
Last night with Attorney-General John Little I met Senator Morton
at Bradford Junction, on his request, to talk over the political situation.
We rode together to this place [Columbus] . . . and reached here at
12.45 a.m. after an interview of three hours. Governor Morton regards
the situation as grave; that if Indiana is Democratic in October our
chance is not one in ten of success in the country in November; that if
we carry Indiana in October, our chances of carrying the country in
November are forty-nine in fifty; in short, that we lose the Presidency
in November if we lose Indiana in October. He thought it his duty to

THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1876 479
state to me the condition and prospects — that we ought to face it.
He detailed the figures of elections in Indiana since 1860. He showed
the closeness of the State. Also referred to the Greenback party — its
organization, growing strength, and the fact that it drew four fifths
of its voters from our side. I said: "And now the remedy." He, after
some further talk, said: "Money and speakers. Money to pay men to
travel and organize — to print and circulate documents," etc., etc.
To my question, how much is needed to do the work required to carry
the State, he replied one thousand dollars to a county will do it, or
ninety-four [two] counties, one hundred thousand dollars. I asked how
much is generally used. He replied: "Four years ago we had from out
side of the State fifty-five thousand dollars." As to speakers he named
Judge Kelley, Robert G. Ingersoll, Carl Schurz, Gibson, Sheridan, and
perhaps others. Others to be seen or written to on the money question
are Governor Morgan, Mr. [blank], of Boston, and perhaps others.
On the whole his talk was not encouraging. The use of money I have
httle faith in,1 and I am confident no such large sum can be raised.
I mean to go through cheerfully and firmly and with clean hands. If
defeated, there will be no bitterness in the disappointment and I shall
have my self-respect and an approving conscience.2
4 p.m. I just wrote General Buckland, who is enjoying the Centen
nial, the following honest words: "You are to be envied. Now that the
flush of gratification upon the nomination is about at an end, I begin to
prefer the independence of a private citizen. If the result leaves me so
I will be the most contented defeated Presidential candidate, having
any prospects, that was ever voted for." 3
1 How scrupulous Mr. Hayes was in avoiding any use of money in campaign
times is shown by a letter to W. J. Troy, of Columbus, Ohio, written at Fremont
June 14, 1875, shortly after his third-term nomination for Governor. The letter
follows: —
"Dear Sir: — Your note and the newspaper slip came duly. Both show you
to possess education and talents. The sketch of your history is interesting and is
well calculated to enlist sympathy in your behalf. If I were not a candidate, it is
altogether possible that your appeal for pecuniary aid would be favorably con
sidered. But a little reflection will, I am confident, lead you to see that, under
the circumstances, it is altogether out of the question. Sound men of all parties
are coming to the conclusion that the use of money by candidates, except in the
recognized public way for legitimate expenses, is a great evil that ought to be
abated. Believing this myself, I must say no, hoping your cool judgment will
approve the decision."
' "We should cultivate a hopeful tone. Men in the right can afford to be
cheerful even if the outlook is gloomy." (From letter of Mr. Hayes to Carl
Schurz, August 30, 1876.)
* The same day he wrote Mrs. Hayes: "Last evening I went with Attorney-
General Little to near the west line of the State to ride back with Governor
Morton. We left about 6 p.m. and were at home about midnight. Morton is
vigorous but has aged, and looks more like Nast's unfavorable cartoons than I
had supposed. Mrs. Morton is a good woman. She is at his side looking outfor all

480 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
It was notorious that money was used in Indiana that year, as
in former and subsequent campaigns, in liberal sums by both
parties for more or less legitimate purposes. The impression of
the time was that the Democratic "war chest" was rather more
abundantly supplied from the East than was the Republican;
but it seems not unlikely that whatever money could accomplish
on the one side was practically offset by similar accomplishment
on the other, and that the final result would not have been appre
ciably different if both parties in the State had been left by
the national organizations to depend wholly upon their own re
sources.1 The fact was that Indiana, while a close State, was at
that time Democratic, being especially carried away by the in
flation doctrine which Mr. Hendricks steadfastly championed.
Indeed, so popular was this doctrine in the State that Mr. Morton
himself had not been entirely proof against its insinuating appeal.
Moreover, the presence of Mr. Hendricks's name on the national
ticket roused the Democrats to even more than their usual efforts;
— and Indiana had long been famous for the unremitting energy,
the persistent fierceness, with which political contests were habit
ually conducted. But much as Mr. Hayes was impressed by
Senator Morton's analysis of the Indiana situation, he could not
agree with Mr. Morton in thinking that Indiana's adverse vote
in October would be a sure presage of national defeat in Novem
ber. It would, to be sure, have a depressing effect, probably, in
deed, out of proportion to its true significance, especially in the
dangers, cheerful and intelligent. He is not overconfident of Indiana, but will
work well. When I am alone I always wish I was a quiet private citizen again.
But it will soon be if we are beaten. I almost hope we shall be. Independence is
such a comfort and blessing."
1 But Senator Morton wrote Mr. Hayes after the October election: "I attri
bute our defeatchiefly to the disbursement of large sums of money at different
points on the day of the election and employed generally in this way: They
would pick out men who are Democrats, generally working men from the shops
or loafers, and agree to give them five or ten dollars for their services on the day
of the election to work for the Democratic ticket, generally with conditional con
tracts to give them a certain sum, say two or five dollars, for every additional
vote they will get from the Republican party. This converts the men who are
employed into bribers and tricksters, and they are turned loose to work upon
such men as they can influence in any way, exerting every effort to bring out the
vote and to make votes. The men thus employed also, in many cases, become
repeaters, being paid for every time they vote, as if they had secured a convert
from the Republican party. The process is simple but powerful, and will he
employed in every State in the North which they hope to carry in November."

THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1876 481
East. It was, therefore, wise to endeavor to prepare the public
mind agamst the inconsiderate acceptance of the notion that
Indiana's vote in October would be a decisive indication of what
the nation would do in November. In this spirit Mr. Hayes on
September 9 wrote this letter to William Henry Smith: —
Your letter of the 6th is very encouraging, and most interesting. I
wish to make a suggestion which I deem important. If you agree with
me, you may see a way to do what is requisite. It is common to say,
"If Indiana and Ohio go right in October," "If Indiana is for us," etc.,
etc., thus hinging all on Indiana. Now, Indiana is a Democratic State.
Emigration of Republicans West and the Greenback heresy have made
it so. Until within a fortnight, I have seen small chance of carrying it.
The chances are still greatly against us. The true pivot is New York.
Let us therefore prepare our friends and the public not to be disheart
ened if Indiana is wrong — especially our friends in the East. October
will not decide the election unless both Ohio and Indiana go the same way.
This is the truth. We ought to see that it is so understood everywhere.
A few days later (September 16) Mr. Hayes wrote to Mr.
Edwards Pierrepont, American Minister at the Court of St.
James, the letter which follows: —
I have yours of the 31st. At this time the tide is with us — at least,
this is the opinion of our friends generally. I think it is so. In Ohio the
contest in October will be close. The Greenback Democracy made the
state ticket of the party and will support it heartily. The Tilden
Democracy will support it for the effect on November. In November
Greenback Democrats in considerable numbers will vote for Cooper,
and others for Hayes. They hate Tilden because he tried to beat Allen
last year.
Indiana leans to the Democracy. It is owing to emigration West
that Ohio and Indiana are not Republican. Catholics are taking the
places of Republican farmers and soldiers. But if the tide is as our
friends think, we shall pull through.
The point you make as the controlling idea of the canvass is rapidly
becoming the one topic of the press and of speakers. It does tell.1
' Mr. Pierrepont had written: "The election of Tilden secures the power to the
South. Tilden could not resist it even if he desired. As you know, it is all idle to
expect that any man elected by Southern votes will not be ruled by Southern
influences. The nomination of Seymour raises the old war issue in New York,
and the war issue cannot be and ought not to be kept out of this contest. The
success of the Democratic party now is the success of those who opposed the war
and who believe that the South ought to be paid for their slaves. I cannot doubt
that the people will awake to the real danger and when the time comes rise in
their might as they did four years ago."

482 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Meanwhile Mr. Hayes had taken occasion to let the members
of the National Committee know that he meant precisely what
he had written in his letter of acceptance in regard to civil service
reform, as the following communication clearly indicates: —
Private Columbus, O., 8 Sept., 1876.
My deab Sib, — I send you a slip,1 cut from an Eastern newspaper,
on the subject of assessments upon official salaries for political pur
poses. It is charged that this is done by authority of the National
Committee. My views as to what ought to be required of officeholders
are set forth in my letter of acceptance and are no doubt sufficiently
well known. But I think it is proper to say to the committee that if
assessments are made as charged, it is a plain departure from correct
principles, and ought not to be allowed. I trust the committee will
have nothing to do with it. — Sincerely,
R. B. Hates.
Hon. R. C. McCormick,
Secretary Republican National Committee.
Here was a plain and unequivocal expression of what the re
formers of that time declared, and what all thinking men now
1 Carl Schurz in more than one letter had directed Mr. Hayes's attention to
this subject, giving him specific information which corroborated the substantial
accuracy of newspaper assertions. In a letter, dated New York, September 5,
Mr. Schurz quoted from a letter he had received from a friend of his in the
Treasury Department, giving details of the methods employed in collecting two
per cent of officials' annual salaries, and added: "It is the old story, only a little
worse, if possible. Certainly this will not do in a campaign which is run on your
letter of acceptance. It is a mockery of civil service reform. General McCormick,
the secretary of the National Republican Committee, with whom I spoke about
assessments in a general way, — not having received the letter from Washington
when I saw him, — tells me that if assessments are levied, it is done without his
knowledge; that probably Mr. Chandler, who scarce ever shows his face here and
does not otherwise trouble himself about the management of the campaign, makes
these operations at Washington his special business. . . . You will admit that
such practices cannot go on without scandal and disgrace, but I apprehend
nobody can stop them but yourself." — Already, some weeks before this (July
24), Mr. Hayes had written Mr. Schurz: "I think the assessment business will
not be pushed by our committee; beyond that, I do not see how I can act effi
ciently. We can (and are doing it) commit the party to the right doctrines by
resolutions of clubs, meetings, and the like, until there will be left no basis for the
objectors. But I suspect the main thing is to be like flint when action is had. A
good degree of stubbornness at the start, I have great faith in. I read the articles
in the Nation. The trouble is not, it seems to me, the real intrinsic difficulty of
doing the right thing, but it has been that those whose duty it was to act did n't
believe in, or care for, the work. On a small scale I have tried it. It was curious
to see the horror of friends when I announced quietly that I meant to appoint at
least one Democrat on every state board. But the thing once done soon became
easy and a matter of course."

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THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1876 483
recognize, to be the only correct attitude of mind toward this sub
ject. But it was an unusual and advanced position for any man
in active public life to assume in that year of grace.1 The great
majority of men in high office, or desirous of high office, of both
parties practically approved, even if they did not openly defend,
the law-defying practice of levying, for campaign purposes,
assessments, proportioned somewhat to salaries, upon all public
officeholders of their party faith. Long after an aroused public
opinion had forced the adoption of most stringent laws to protect
the employees of the Government from this party imposition,
the practice was continued by one evasion of law or another; and
even to this day, despite the agitation and condemnation of all
these years, there can be no doubt that the pressure of campaign
managers for "voluntary contributions" is oftentimes tanta
mount, in the minds of the victims, to a forced levy; and so we
have still virtually, though of course not so extensively nor fla
grantly as in the earlier times, the "plain departure from cor
rect principles " which Mr. Hayes was among the first of active
statesmen to recognize and emphatically to condemn.
While Mr. Hayes took so little part in the conduct of the
canvass, it is evident from his diary and letters that, however
successful he was in maintaining his serenity and equipoise of
demeanor, he still at times keenly felt the strain of the campaign.
September 24 he wrote in his diary: —
I am looking anxiously forward to the end of the contest. It is now
almost one hundred days since the nomination, and only about forty-
five to the election. The general drift of the campaign has been rather
favorable to our side for some weeks past. The Greenback heresy in
Indiana and Ohio is likely to cause those States to do badly in October.
If there was no election before the final vote in November I should feel
very confident of a favorable result. But our friends East and else
where count on more favorable results in Ohio and Indiana than are
likely to occur. We shall be much stronger at the Presidential elec
tions in both States. But the discouraging effect of defeats in October
is sure to hurt us. Our adversaries are to be correspondingly encour
aged. The truth is, time and money would be saved if all elections
1 A month before this (August 10) Mr. Hayes had expressed himself on this
subject quite as emphatically in a letter to William Henry Smith: "I hate assess
ments. They are all wrong, and are sure to do more harm than good. Office
holders, like other people, should be left free to contribute or not as they
choose."

484 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
in Presidential years were fixed for the same day. It should be
done.1 "I am prepared for either event," I can again repeat. To go into the
great office will be a sore trial. Health, comfort, happiness, all imper
illed if not sacrificed. I shall find reasons enough for satisfaction with
the result if I am defeated. If elected, the firmest adherence to princi
ple, agamst all opposition and temptations, is my purpose. I shall show
a grit that will astonish those who predict weakness.
October 4, he wrote: —
Birthday; fifty-four years of age. The good omen of the day is that
Colorado, the first State to elect electors (or rather a Legislature that
will elect electors), has been carried by the Republicans. "First gun
for Hayes" is the headline in the Journal.
I called on Blaine at Ewing Miller's. He looks well — is clear
headed, prompt, and quick-witted, with no trace that I detect of his
great calamity. He is hopeful and friendly. I called with him on Mrs.
Ben Smith, on Lucy, and at my office. We met Wayne McVeagh. He
has almost precisely my views and hopes as to the South. By conciliat
ing Southern whites on the basis of obedience to law and equal rights,
he hopes we may divide the Southern whites and so protect the colored
people. The October elections in Indiana and Ohio went precisely as
Mr. Hayes had expected. For three months he had been pre
dicting that Ohio would go Republican and Indiana Democratic.
Ohio gave a Republican plurality of 8839, in the case of the man
that attracted the largest vote; Indiana, a Democratic plurality
of 5084. Mr. Hayes was therefore not in the least disappointed
or cast down by the result. He was convinced that Ohio would
do still better for the Republicans in the national election; and
the plurality in Indiana was so small that he had hopes for a
reversal of judgment in November. His feeling was fully ex
pressed in the following letter to the secretary of the National
Committee : —
Personal. Columbus, O., 14 Oct., 1876.
My oeah Sib, — The elections have gone just about as I anticipated
in these two States. Our majority in Ohio on the true test is about 9000.
It is made up by handsome gains in the rural districts which overcome
losses in the cities. The reliable Republican counties have given their full
1 Mr. Hayes, in his annual message to the Legislature a few months later,
recommended that this change be made. Ohio finally, in 1885, by a constitu
tional amendment adopted the national election date for all state elections.

THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1876 485
high-tide majorities. The cities like Springfield, where business and
manufacturing are prosperous, have done well. Our losses are in cities
and towns where the hard times pinch. AU of the non-Catholic for
eigners, Germans, Welsh, etc., etc., have stood by us except the trading
classes in Cincinnati, who feared a loss of Southern trade; and even
there I doubt if we lost in the foreign Republican vote. I infer from this
that a fuU vote makes Wisconsin ours beyond all question. We shall
double our majority here in November without effort.
Indiana is surely now a doubtful State. We have a fair fighting
chance to carry it, a much better chance than we had to carry it in
October. I do not write of the East. You understand about the situa
tion there. In the South, if we have a prospect to carry any States, we
must look after North and South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and
Louisiana. Another matter I would like to hear from you about. Ohio Repub
licans, interested in the Centennial, want an Ohio day, and wish me to
be present — next week or the week after. Should it be encouraged?
Know-Nothing charges made by the Democrats, the people here care
nothing about. It is perfectly well known that I do not favor the exclu
sion of foreigners from the ballot or from office, and that I do oppose
Catholic interference and all sectarian interference with political af
fairs — and especially with the schools. This last point is influential —
particularly with non-Catholic foreigners. It has not, I suspect, been
sufficiently urged in the canvass. But I need not take up your time
with these rambling speculations. The contest is now with the East.
The inflation States have done better for the hard-money candidates
than you had a right to expect. Now let the hard-money States do as
well, and we are safe. — Sincerely, R. B. Hates.
Gov. R. C. McCormick, etc.
The vote in Ohio was peculiarly gratifying to Mr. Hayes, as
justifying the confident predictions of his supporters at the
Cincinnati Convention. October 15 he wrote in his diary : - —
The October elections leave the result of the Presidential contest still
in doubt and to be decided by New York in November. That Ohio
has done so well is a great satisfaction. My friends urged as one of their
strongest arguments for my nomination that Ohio was a doubtful
State; that its loss in October would be fatal; that no man named
except myself could surely carry it in October; that with me as the
candidate success in Ohio in October was assured ; that I always had
carried it, and would do so again. After all this, the loss of Ohio in Oc
tober would have been a sore mortification. We had at the head of our
ticket a good soldier and citizen, but one who was mixed up with the
temperance crusade, which was so hateful to all Germans and to many
others. He was a load — a heavy load to carry. But our prominent

486 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
Germans, brewers and others, behaved admirably, nobly, and we are
safe! I can bear defeat in November far more philosophically than I
could have borne the loss of Ohio in October. My own ward, town,
county, and congressional district did well — indeed, very handsomely.
This is gratifying. Endorsed by my State and home, I feel gratified
by the result.
Mr. Hayes's temper of mind and thought in the last few days
of the campaign is distinctly manifested by the following entries
in his diary : —
Oct. 22, 1876, Sunday. — Only two Sundays more before the Presi
dential election. I am surprised whenever I think of it to find myself
so cool — so, almost, indifferent about it. It would be a calamity, I am
sure, to give the Democrats the Government. But public opinion, the
press, the march of events, will compel them to do better than their
character and principles indicate. Here is our safety. Public opinion,
the fear of losing the public confidence, apprehension of censure by
the press, make all men in power conservative and safe. On personal
grounds I find many reasons for thinking defeat a blessing. I should
stand by my letter; I should hew to the line; but what conflicts and an
noyances would follow ! I do not fear my pluck or constancy a particle.
But to be deceived by the rogues — to find many a trusted reformer
no better than he should be, here would be humiliations and troubles
without end.
The huge registration in New York City looks sinister. It seems to
look to our defeat in that State. Another danger is imminent — a con
tested result. And we have no such means for its decision as ought to be
provided by law. This must be attended to hereafter. We should not
allow another Presidential election to occur before a means for settling
a contest is provided.
If a contest comes now it may lead to a conflict of arms. I can only
try to do my duty to my countrymen in that case. I shall let no per
sonal ambition turn me from the path of duty. Bloodshed and civil war
must be averted if possible. If forced to fight, I have no fear of failure
from lack of courage or firmness.
Oct. 29, Sunday. — Returned last night from Ohio Day at the Cen
tennial. It was an enthusiastic and prodigious crowd which greeted me.
I managed to shake some four thousand people by the hand and to
make half a dozen speeches from steps, windows, and roof of the Ohio
building, without saying anything that I regret — without "slopping
over." . . .
I return feeling that with the probabilities of fraud and violence —
fraud North, violence South — the chances are that we shall lose the
election. My luck is the other way. But I have made a good fight —
sound letter to stand on — judicious course of conduct throughout — my

THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1876 487
head steady and level up to this time. Let me keep it so ten days
longer. Mr. Hayes had been doubtful of the propriety of visiting Phil
adelphia, lest it should be thought by the censorious that he was
seeking to gain some political advantage thereby. He only con
sented to go, and then accompanied by Mrs. Hayes and a party
of personal friends, after he had consulted more than one of his
confidential advisers.
The contemporary record of Ohio Day, as preserved in the
daily papers, shows that Mr. Hayes was as usual most modest in
his report of his reception, and proves likewise that he, indeed,
did not "slop over" in his speeches. A dense throng surrounded
the Ohio Building before the appearance of Mr. Hayes's party.
"Everybody seemed determined to see the next President if he
perished in the attempt, and the crushing, pushing, cheering, and
the general enthusiasm, was quite alarming." When Governor
Hayes "appeared at the east portico such a roar of greeting
swelled up as could be heard half a mile off." r Having been
briefly introduced by General Hawley, speaking in behalf of the
managers of the exhibition, Governor Hayes made a short speech
in which he dwelt principally on the qualities of Ohio and the
share of its people in the great Centennial Exposition. There
was no reference in the speech to politics, but it ended with these
patriotic words: —
This Centennial Exhibition is now near its close. It will not be for
gotten. It will pass into history. It will live in the minds of our coun
trymen, linked with recollections of the fathers whose work it has so
fitly commemorated. We hope, nay, we confidently believe, that the
influence of this celebration will be to extend and perpetuate the prin
ciples of our Revolutionary ancestors and to give increased assurance
to all mankind that the new nation, brought forth on this continent a
hundred years ago, is destined under Providence long to remain the
home of freedom and the refuge of the oppressed.
After the speech people flocked through the building for hours
to shake hands with Governor Hayes. From time to time, in re
sponse to the insistent clamor of the cheering crowds outside, Mr.
Hayes would show himself at window or balcony, more than once
uttering a few pleasant words in response to the enthusiastic
1 Special dispatch, October 26, New York Times.

488 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
demand for a speech. At intervals, when he was resting for a brief
period from the handshaking, he had opportunity to converse
with party leaders, like Governor Hartranft, of Pennsylvania,
and Mr. E. D. Morgan, RepubUcan candidate for Governor of
New York. In the evening the Union League Club honored him
with a brilliant reception attended by hundreds of the promi
nent citizens of Philadelphia and by distinguished public men
and politicians from other parts of the country. The impression
made by Mr. Hayes on all who met him — most of them for
the first time — was altogether favorable. The comment of the
Philadelphia Press was: —
Affability and straightforwardness mark every movement. His face
betrays a reserve of modest power. . . . No average reader of human
character who felt the earnest grasp of Rutherford B. Hayes's strong
hand, or noted his voice, expression, and manner, could fail to perceive
that there is something in the man that accounts for the threefold honors
conferred upon him by his own great State, and that inspires the con
fidence of the people.
The latter part of Mr. Hayes's entry in his diary is evidence
that the party leaders, with whom he had confidential discussions
of the political outlook, must have been far from sanguine of suc
cess. Mr. Hayes continued despondent in mind, but altogether
serene and composed in demeanor up to the day of election. He
wrote in his diary: —
November 1, 1876. — The contest is close and yet doubtful, with the
chances, as I see them, rather against us. So small a loss as the defeat
in Hamilton County [Cincinnati] in October may have made the differ
ence between victory and defeat. A few hundred votes improvement
there would have given our friends the prestige of victory in Ohio and
throughout the country. Our loss was due to bribery and repeating.
The hard times, if we are beaten, may be assigned as the great and suf
ficient cause. AU crimes are increased by hard times. It is especially
so with crimes against the ballot-box. It is easy to hire men desperate
with want to vote contrary to their convictions, and even to become
repeaters. Hard times — there is the ultimate cause of our danger.
We shaU be beaten if at aU by crime — by bribery and repeating North,
and violence and intimidation in the South.1
1 September 12, Judge Taft, the Attorney-General, had written Mr. Hayes
from Washington: "The consultation with Republicans from the Southern
States has very much absorbed my attention of late. The wrongs the Republicans
of the South are suffering are incredible. It is a fixed and desperate purpose of

THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1876 489
November 5, Sunday, 1876. — The election is only a day or two off, and
I find myseU strangely calm and indifferent about it. I shall read Mr.
Andrews's address, and other matter, as much interested in what I am
doing as usual. It now looks as if the chance of my election was im
proving, and as if Republican success was not improbable.
I make a list of States to be counted certain for us as foUows (neces
sary to a choice 185) : —
Maine  7
New Hampshire  5
Vermont . . . ,  5
Massachusetts  13
Rhode Island  4
Pennsylvania  29
Ohio  22
Michigan  11
Illinois  21
Minnesota  5
Iowa  11
Nebraska  3
Kansas  5
Colorado  3
144
Probably Republican —
Wisconsin  10
California  6
South Carolina  7-23
167
This leaves 18 required to elect out of the following doubtful States : —
New Jersey  9
Nevada  3
Florida  4
New York  35
Indiana  15
North Carolina  10
Louisiana  8
Connecticut  6
Oregon   3
93
the Democratic party in the South that the negroes shall not vote, and murder is
a common means of intimidation to prevent them. The tyranny is so terrible,
of the whites, that Republicans dare not publish the murders which are com
mitted nor testify to the facts in court. I suppose that nothing can be effected in
Mississippi to prevent fraud. All the machinery of the State Government is in
the hands of the Democrats, and the intimidation is exercised to keep the negroes
from registering, and then they would count them out however great the Repub
lican majority should be. In South Carolina, in Florida, and in Louisiana, and in
North Carolina we shall try to protect the negroes. What success we shall have I
cannot tell."

490 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
November 7. — Dies ires 1 A cold but dry day; — good enough here
for election work. I still think Democratic chances the best. But it is
not possible to form a confident opinion. If we lose, the South will be
the greatest sufferer. Their misfortune will be far greater than ours.
I do not think a revival of business wiU be greatly postponed by Til-
den's election. Business prosperity does not, in my judgment, depend
on government so much as men commonly think. But we shall have
no improvement in civil service — deterioration rather, and the South
will drift toward chaos again.
Mr. Hayes did not go home to vote. He felt a delicacy about
casting his ballot even indirectly for himself. He had never done
that in all his political experience. But, on the other hand, he
could not vote for his opponent, because to do that would have
been to vote against his principles.

CHAPTER XXVI
THE DISPUTED ELECTION
THE long controversy over the disputed election of 1876, with
its nation-wide discussion, its angry disputation, and its
rancorous recrimination, forms an important and most interest
ing chapter in the history of American institutions. Its peaceful
solution, by resort to extraordinary and unprecedented means,1
and the ready if not satisfied acquiescence of all parties in the
settlement, are a lasting tribute alike to the Anglo-Saxon genius
for self-government, to the vitality of the American constitu
tional system, and to the practical good sense and patriotism of
the American people in meeting a grave emergency and abiding
faithfully by the duly attained decision. It is still too soon prob
ably for any sincere student of that period to divest himself
entirely of partisan prepossessions in approaching the facts or
appraising their significance. Without elaboration or argument,
the writer desires to say that, as a result of his prolonged study
of the conditions and contentions of the time, he is thoroughly
convinced that in the final arbitrament essential justice and right
prevailed, and that the best interests of the country in all its
parts were served. He ventures the prediction that more and
more this will come to be the judgment of impartial historians.
It is not appropriate in the biography of Mr. Hayes to follow
the controversy in its infinitude of details. That belongs to the
general history of American politics.2 Little more is required
here than to set forth Mr. Hayes's personal relations to the great
dispute, and to describe his personal conduct and public bearing
in those trying and tumultuous times.
When Mr. Hayes retired late on election night, it was with the
impression that the vote had gone against the Republican party
1 "There are no analogies for it in our Constitution or in our laws or in our
history." (From speech of Senator Morton on Commission Bill during debate
in the Senate, January, 1877.)
1 The subject has been carefully and judiciously treated by Paul Leland
Haworth in his volume, The Hayes-Tilden Disputed Election of 1876.

492 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
and that a majority of the Tilden electors had been chosen. He
had spent the evening, which was raw and disagreeable, at his
home in company with Mrs. Hayes and a small group of inter
ested friends, among them the correspondent of the Chicago Tri
bune. Dispatches reporting the progress of the count throughout
the country were delivered at the house as fast as they were re
ceived by the telegraph company. Particular interest centred
naturally on the reports from the doubtful Northern States,
especially those from New York, as Mr. Hayes had felt that New
York's vote would be decisive of the contest. When it became
evident that the Democratic vote in New York City and Brook
lyn was too great to be overcome by the Republican majority in
the rest of the State; that New Jersey and Connecticut had, as so
often, followed New York's lead; and that Indiana had failed to
reverse its October verdict, Mr. Hayes was forced to share the
opinion of Republican disaster, reached by most newspapers
and pubhc men of the country that night; leaving out of account
for the moment the fact that from large parts of the country,
especially in the South and the Far West, the returns were too
meagre to warrant confident prognostication of the result.1
During the evening Mr. Hayes maintained his habitual seren
ity and cheerfulness, discussing and appraising the varying
phases of the returns with sagacious understanding and imper
turbable impartiality. He retired soon after midnight, dis
appointed, naturally, but not unduly dejected by his supposed
defeat. He was at his office in the State House at the customary
hour on the following morning, ready to attend to the routine
of his duties. But the stream of callers, friends, politicians, and
newspaper correspondents, and the suspense and excitement of
the day, as later election dispatches alternately raised fresh hopes
1 "The facts are that on the morning after the election, when the returns from
many States were not known, and could not possibly be known, the vote of cer
tain States was put down for Mr. Tilden. For a few hours it was assumed that he
was elected. But a few hours later showed, what might have been easily enough
foreseen, that as the returns could not have been known when the result was
announced, the true result might turn out to be different from the announce
ment. . . . There was not a day within the month after the election on which it
was possible to form a proximately fair judgment of the actual situation in the
disputed States." (George William Curtis in Harper's Weekly, December 23,
1876.) — The New York Herald and the New York Times of November 8, how
ever, declared the result in doubt.

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 493
or caused renewed depression, completely occupied his time and
thought. His manner during the day, however, was such that
"the ordinary habitue of the Capitol could not tell from his ap
pearance whether he was a candidate for any office or not. He
received those who called in his usual cordial manner, and was
very unconcerned, while the greatest office on the American con
tinent was trembling in the balance." x Late in the afternoon a
dispatch reached Columbus from New York reporting that that
State had, after all, gone Republican by 29,000. As this false
rumor spread abroad a wildly excited throng quickly filled the
streets, and presently, as by a common impulse, started with
tumultuous shouts for Mr. Hayes's house. In response to pro
longed and insistent demands, Mr. Hayes appeared at the door
and spoke substantially as follows : —
Friends, — If you will keep order for one half minute I wiU say all
that it is proper to say at this time. In the very close political contest,
which is just drawing to a close, it is impossible, at so early a time, to
obtain the result, owing to the incomplete telegraph communications
through some of the Southern and Western States.
I accept your call as a desire on your part for the success of the Re
pubUcan party. If it should not be successful, I will surely have the
pleasure of living for the next year and a half among some of my most
ardent and enthusiastic friends, as you have demonstrated to-night.
Earlier in the day he had talked freely with political friends
and with the correspondent of the Cincinnati Times. He could
see little hope of success, despite some encouraging dispatches,
and he deprecated holding out false hopes. Then, after rallying
his companions on their despondent looks,2 he added: —
By the way, I do not think it is right to joke over this matter. I don't
'care for myself; and the party, yes, and the country, too, can stand it;
but I do care for the poor colored men of the South. I do not fear that
1 Ohio State Journal, November 9.
2 The feeling of Mr. Hayes's personal friends is well expressed in a letter of
Mr. Stanley Matthews of November 9: "I seemed all day to walk through the
valley of the shadow of death. I felt as if a great conspiracy of ignorance, super
stition, and brutality had succeeded in overthrowing the hopes of a Christian
civilization as represented and embodied in the Republican party. You once
said in a speech that the cause of the Republican party was the cause of right
eousness. I never believed it so thoroughly as I have done since it appeared that
that cause may have been lost. I sincerely hope that the later and more encour
aging news may be verified and that our fears may be removed. I shall rejoice
with joy unspeakable and full of gladness."

y:

494 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
business will be greatly disturbed by Mr. Tilden's election. Trade
governs itself. Capitalists may just at present say we won't lend money,
but it wiU be only a nine days' wonder, which wiU wear away as soon
as they recover from the chagrin of defeat. Business wiU, I think, go
on as usual. I do not think parties responsible for financial depression.
We see the troubles they have had in Germany and Austria. If any
part of the country suffers or remains at a standstill, it wiU be the South
under the new regime. Northern men can't live there and wiU leave,
and immigration into the States will cease. But, as I said before, I do
pity the poor black men of the South. The result will be that the
Southern people wiU practicaUy treat the constitutional amendments
as nuUities, and then the colored man's fate wiU be worse than when he
was in slavery, with a humane master to look after his interests. That
is the only reason I regret that the news is as it is.1
These remarks were widely discussed by the press. Papers
of all shades of political opinion commended the spirit that
1 November 15, Samuel McKee, who had served in Congress with Mr. Hayes,
a native Kentuckian, and at that time a prominent lawyer in Louisville, wrote
Mr. Hayes: —
" I am firmly convinced that a Democratic success would result in the removal
of thousands of Republicans from the Southern States and an abandonment by
them of all they have rather than remain in peril of their lives; and to starve.
They are now ostracized in business, socially, and to a very large extent reli
giously, and professional men are only employed by these people because of their
superior merit, as is the case sometimes; or because it is believed they could
secure a more advantageous hearing in our federal courts, when these courts are
controlled by Republicans. They are so constituted themselves that they think
a Republican official won't do a Democrat justice unless the Democrats are
represented by a friend of the court politically. It is a sad commentary on their
intelligence, but it is true, and comes of their training. For myself I would be a
freeman in speech, in thought, and act, and starve, rather than shut my mouth
at their bidding and grow fat off of their gains; and if this calamity befalls us, I
can sell what little I have here at a sacrifice and in another part of the Republic
where all men are not 'knaves,' because they express their thoughts differently
from the dominant class, with the talent God has given me, and with his blessing
of health continued, I can and will live by my own honest toil. But all can't do
this. Thousands can do nothing but submit. They can't go away, and they
submit rather than die."
Letters of similar purport came from leading Republicans in other Southern
States. On the other hand, Mr. Hayes's old friend Guy M. Bryan, writing from
Galveston, December 10, said : " So far as the negro is concerned, it is a great mis
fortune to the country, to the interests of society at the South, and to the negro
himself that he is not left to the management of the Southern people, instead of
to designing and selfish people who teach him that they [the Southerners] are his
enemies. As to Northern men living in the South, they are and would be as safe
there as they could be in the North if they deported themselves properly. If I
were to go North and so act as to make myself offensive to the people I was
among, I doubt not I should receive the treatment I merited."

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 495
prompted them, though Democratic editors took exception to his
apprehension regarding the South. The next few days duplicated
practically the experiences of Wednesday; only that more and
more correspondents appeared at Columbus, trying by all means
to obtain expressions of opinion or comments on the progress of
events, as the "visiting statesmen" x were hurrying to the con
tested Southern States to witness the official count by the Re
turning Boards. It was some days before Mr. Hayes began to
admit to himself that the confidence in his election, which his
stanchest partisans had entertained from the start, might have
substantial basis. On the Saturday following the election he
wrote in his diary: —
The election has resulted in the defeat of the Republicans after a
very close contest. Tuesday evening a smaU party assembled in our
parlor to hear the news. . . . The first dispatch was from Rutherford
[his son, at CorneU] showing a majority of [blank] in Ithaca, New York,
a gain of [blank] over Grant in 1872. We all felt that the State of New
York would decide the contest. Our last dispatches from our commit
tee in New York were very encouraging — full of confidence. Mr. A.
B. Cornell, chairman of the New York State Committee, said in an
experience of ten years he had not seen prospects brighter on the eve
of an election. But we all knew — warned by the enormous registra
tion in the cities of New York and Brooklyn and other facts — that we
must not count confidently on carrying the State. The good omen from
Ithaca was accepted with a quiet cheerfulness.
Almost at the same instant came a gain of 36 in Ballville, the town
ship nearest my own home. This was good. Then came, one at a time,
towns and precincts in Ohio. The comparison was made with the vote
in 1875 instead of with the vote of October last. This was confusing.
But soon we began to feel that Ohio was not doing as well as we had
hoped. The effect was depressing. I commanded without much effort
my usual composure and cheerfulness. Lucy felt it more keenly. With
out showing it, she busied herself about refreshments for our guests,
and soon disappeared. I found her soon after abed with a headache.
I comforted her by consoling talk. She was cheerful and resigned, but
she did not return to the parlor.
Without difficulty or much effort I became the most composed and
1 Among those asked by the President to go to Louisiana was Senator Sherman
who records (Recollections, vol. I, p. 554): "I at once started for New Orleans,
stopping on the way at Columbus to confer with Governor Hayes, who said he
wished I would go to New Orleans and witness the count, but expressed, in the
strongest language, his opposition to any movement on the part of any one to
influence the action of the Returning Board in his favor. He said if Mr. Tilden
was elected he desired him by aU means to have the office."

496 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
cheerful of the party. At [blank] p.m., or thereabouts, we heard that in
some 200 precincts of New York City Tilden had about 20,000 majority,
which indicated 50,000 in the city. The returns received from the rural
districts did not warrant the belief that they would overcome such a
large city majority. From that time I never supposed there was a
chance for Republican success.
I went to bed at 12 to 1 o'clock. Talked with Lucy, consoling her
with such topics as readily occurred of a nature to make us feel satis
fied on merely personal grounds with the result. We soon fell into a re
freshing sleep and the affair seemed over. Both of us felt more anxiety
about the South — about the colored people especially — than about
anything else sinister in the result. My hope of a sound currency will
somehow be realized; civil service reform will be delayed; but the great
injury is in the South. There the amendments will be nullified, dis
order will continue, prosperity to both whites and colored people will
be pushed off for years.
But I took my way to my office as usual Wednesday morning, and
was master of myself and contented and cheerful. During the day the
news indicated that we carried California — some of the other Pacific
States; all New England, except Connecticut; all of the free States West,
except Indiana; and it dawned on us that with a few Republican States
in the South, to which we were fairly entitled, we would yet be the
victors. From Wednesday afternoon the city and the whole country has been
full of excitement and anxiety. People have been up and down several
times a day with the varying rumors. Wednesday evening, on a false
rumor about New York, a shouting multitude rushed to my house and
called me out with rousing cheers. I made a short talk. From that
time the news has fluctuated just enough to prolong the suspense and
to enhance the mterest. At this time the Republicans are claiming the
election by one electoral vote. With Louisiana, South Carolina, and
Florida we have carried 185. This creates great uneasiness. Both sides
are sending to Louisiana prominent men to watch the canvassing of the
votes. AU thoughtful people are brought to consider the imperfect ma
chinery provided for electing the President. No doubt we shall, warned
by this danger, provide, by amendments of the Constitution, or by
proper legislation, against a recurrence of the danger.
The next day Mr. Hayes wrote: —
The news this morning is not conclusive. The headlines of the morn
ing papers are as foUows: The News, "Nip and Tuck"; "Tuck has it";
"The Mammoth National Doubt"; — and the Herald heads its news
column, "Which?" But to my mind the figures indicate that Florida
has been carried by the Democrats. No doubt both fraud and violence
intervened to produce the result. But the same is true in many Souths
em States.
We shaU, the fair-minded men of the country will, history will hold

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 497
that the Republicans were by fraud, violence, and intimidation, by a
nullification of the Fifteenth Amendment, deprived of the victory
which they fairly won. But we must, I now think, prepare ourselves to
accept the inevitable. I do it with composure and cheerfulness. To me
the result is no personal calamity.
I would like the opportunity to improve the civil service. It seems
to me I could do more than any Democrat to put Southern affairs on a
sound basis. I do not apprehend any great or permanent injury to
the financial affairs of the country by the victory of the Democrats.
The hard-money wing of the party is at the helm. Supported, as they
should be and will be, in all wise measures, by the great body of the Re
publican party, nothing can be done to impair the national credit or de
base the national currency. On this, as on all important subjects, the
Republicans will still hold a commanding position. We are in a minor
ity in the Electoral Colleges; we lose the Administration. But in the
former free States — ¦ the States that were always loyal — we are still
in a majority. We carry eighteen of the twenty-two and have 200,000
majority of the popular vote. In the old slave States, if the recent
amendments were cheerfully obeyed, if there had been neither violence
nor intimidation nor other improper interference with the rights of the
colored people, we should have carried enough Southern States to have
held the country and to have secured a decided popular majority in
the nation. Our adversaries are in power, but they are supported by a
minority only of the lawful voters of the country. A fair election in the
South would undoubtedly have given us a large majority of the elec
toral votes, and a decided preponderance of the popular vote.
I went to church and heard a good, strong, sensible sermon by
Critchfield's son-in-law. After church and dinner I rode with General
Mitchell and his children over to Alum Creek and around past the place
of my old friend Albert Buttles. We talked of the Presidential ques
tion as settled, and found it in all respects well for me personally that
I was not elected. On reaching home at Mitchell's, we found my son
Webb with the following dispatch from Governor Dennison, a prudent
and cautious gentleman, which seems to open it all up again: —
Washington, D.C., Nov. 12, 1876. Rec'd at Columbus 2.05 p.m.
To Governor R. B. Hates: —
You are undoubtedly elected next President of the United States.
Desperate attempts are being made to defeat you in Louisiana, South
Carolina, and Florida, but they wiU not succeed.
W. Dennison.
(In the evening I asked if there were objections to pubUshing this
dispatch. About 10 p.m. reply came, "No objections.")
As Mr. Hayes had made no effort to obtain the nomination,
as he had taken no active leadership in the conduct of the

498 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
campaign, so now he refrained from suggestion or advice to the
party authorities or political leaders that were convinced of his
election and were sparmg no proper effort to prove to the country
that their contention was right.1 He went on quietly doing his
duty as Governor, content as ever to await without undue anxiety
the destiny of larger responsibility or of shattered hopes that the
future must soon declare for him.2 The impression he created on
1 "While I believe that with a fair election in the South, our electoral vote
would reach 200, and that we should have a large popular majority, I am yet
anxious, as you are, that in the canvassing of results there should be no taint of
dishonesty. I have had no part in sending leading men South. If you at any
stage of the proceedings feel like going to Louisiana, it would gratify me if you
go. Hewitt's men are many of them ex-Republicans, and of course bitterly preju
diced agamst their late associates." (From letter of Mr. Hayes to Carl Schurz,
November 13, 1876.) «
2 That this demeanor accorded with what those who knew him best expected
of him is evident from a letter of November 14 written him by a warm personal
friend and admirer, Mr. R. C. Anderson, of Dayton: "Day and night the streets
have been in a regular turmoil. Nothing has been talked or thought about but
news from the South. Business came to a standstill and the ruin or the salvation
of the country seemed to depend upon the returns of four or five States. I have
never seen anything like it since the war, and it recalled the incidents of that
excited period more vividly than I deemed possible to a pohtical struggle. I
firmly believe that you are fairly and honestly President of the United States.
Whether you are or not, I know that you ought to be and that this opinion is
shared by the best and purest men in the country. Another thing I know, and
it fills me with pride to reflect, that your conduct through the whole canvass,
with all its temptations, has been such as to challenge the respect and admiration
of your opponents, and that malignity and mendacity have failed to find or
fasten a flaw in your character or put the slightest stain on your good name.
Whatever the issue of the business may be (and I trust to God it will be favorable
to you), hereafter your name will from one end of the country to the other be
remembered with veneration and love — become in the mouths of all good men
'familiar as household words.' As for myself I could not feel more pride in or
affection for you were you not only President of the United States, but ruler of
the rest of the world. Your worth depends neither upon success nor defeat, and
I am sure that you have the magnanimity neither to be unduly elated by the one
nor unreasonably depressed by the other, and that the qualities which so emi
nently fitted you for a position of such high trust wiU enable you to accept either
issue with philosophical resignation."
A letter from General J. D. Cox of the same date said: "I maintain strong
hopes that aU will come out well and am coolly but determinedly ready to do
whatever is necessary to support the right. As we will not knowingly impose a
wrong on others, so we will not bear it ourselves. But we need to have the justice
of whatever may be done in Louisiana or other States so clear that we may appeal
to any candid arbiter for the approval of our course."
Mr. Hayes maintained his dignified course through all the exciting months
that followed, winning thereby the growing respect and approval of the country.
For example, apropos of the Bar Association banquet which he attended at

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 499
visitors at the Capitol in these days of intense excitement and
uncertainty is made vividly manifest by a special dispatch from
Columbus of November 15 to the Cincinnati Gazette. The cor
respondent describes the frantic but futile efforts of the metro
politan papers to draw Mr. Hayes into the controversy, and even
to get expressions of opinion from Mrs. Hayes and the sons, and
then adds : —
Meanwhile, could the anxious inquirers see the subject of their in
quisitive zeal they would certainly laugh at themselves. His days are
passed in his usual routine of executive business and home life, and if
indications are anything, he is the calmest man in the country. His
regular habits appear the same, and he evidently enjoys a calm domestic
life like any other good husband and father. . . . Let us say, once for
aU, that Governor Hayes believes in the American people, and their
capacity for self-government; and accordingly he is not prophesying
evil concerning the present imbroglio. Whatever is done in Louisiana
will be done according to law, and he has no doubt the people will ac
quiesce whether it elect him or Governor Tilden.
The same issue of the Gazette that records the paragraph just
quoted gives also an account of an official visit of Mr. Hayes with
the Board of State Charities to the State University at Athens.
While at Athens several gentlemen called on the Governor, when
he frankly discussed the political situation. He had no doubt
that if a fair vote and a fair count were had he was elected. It
was suggested, on the basis of newspaper talk, that perhaps some
elector might solve the perplexing situation by voting regardless
Cincinnati, February 10, the Enquirer said: "His modest manner and unosten
tatious address always make him friends. . . . Throughout all the trying hours
since and before the election Governor Hayes has done nothing to forfeit the
respect of his fellow citizens." And George William Curtis, in Harper's Weekly,
March 17, 1877, writes: "The attitude of Mr. Hayes during the long uncertainty
since the election has been as dignified and self-respectful as it was during the
campaign. He has never shown an 'uncommon anxiety' for the Presidency. . . .
He has undoubtedly greatly won upon the confidence and respect of the country
since the election. Before that time he was a party candidate, and was viewed
only as a partisan. But his moderation and good sense, his total freedom from
anxiety, and unaffected and simple devotion to his duty under unprecedentedly
trying circumstances, leave him in a most favorable light. It would be unkind to
Mr. Tilden to compare his attitude throughout with that of Mr. Hayes. It has
been that of an old politician dextrously pulling wires to secure a great office;
and the full light that has been turned upon his canvass shows at the very last his
nephew and confidential secretary telegraphing from his house an agreement to
buy an electoral vote."

500 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
of his obligation to the party which had elected him.1 To this
one of the callers said: "No man in this country has courage
enough to accept the office of President if elected by such a vote;
and by courage I mean hardihood, bravado, wickedness, and all
the qualities requisite to such an act." Whereupon, as the dis
patch continues : —
Governor Hayes very promptly, but quietly said: "I know one man,
certainly, who has not." Enlarging upon this idea, he said: "Any man
fit to be President, or even a candidate of a great party for the office,
would prefer to be ^counted out by fraud, rather than counted in by
fraud, of which there is a reasonable suspicion." The self-possession,
coolness, modesty, and freedom from excitement or agitation of Gov
ernor Hayes are most remarkable. He talks of the situation as though
he had no interest in the result, beyond that of any other citizen.
This remark of Mr. Hayes found wide currency and was used
as a text by papers friendly to Mr. Tilden on which to base
homilies addressed to Mr. Hayes, urging him at once to assert
his manhood, declare his belief in the election of his rival, and
announce that he could not and would not abide by the decision
1 Some way it got noised about that James Russell Lowell was the elector that
was to be guilty of this act of perfidy — a thing quite inconceivable to a man of
his probity of character. In a letter to Mr. Hayes of May 26, 1877, the great poet
and scholar referred to the calumny in these words: —
"I may fairly plead for a few minutes of your attention as an Elector who
voted for you with both his eyes and ears open and who was the innocent nucleus
of a comet with a tremendous tail to it that made a day's sensation in the news
papers. At the time I thought silence imposed on me by my own self-respect, but
I may be allowed to say to you that, if I had ever had any doubt between the
candidates, I should have resigned my place at once. In accepting it I took pains
to say that I had satisfied myself that the Republican candidates (I used the
plural out of courtesy, but of course meant you) represented honestly certain
principles. I never saw any reason to change my mind, and your course as Presi
dent has justified me. In common with all right-minded men, to be sure, I was
shocked at the unwise and inhuman turn given to the canvass by the selfish
parasites of our political system, but as my opinions are from long habit apt to
be opinions and not forms of words, I did not lose my faith in you because men in
whom I never had any faith disgusted me. I expected nothing else of them, but I
did expect something else of you and I was right. I received letters of counsel,
warning, encouragement, deprecation, and even menace from all parts of the
country, but I am happy to say that from my own district there never came a word
either orally or in writing. Where I was best known I was least doubted. The
only thing that for a moment ruffled my composure was when I read in the news
papers that Mr. H. W. Beecher had been pleased to say that 'one of the Massa
chusetts electors was suspected.' I am not used to associate myself with such an
epithet, and he, of all men, might have been chary of it."

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 501
of the authorities legally charged with the duty of canvassing the
vote in the disputed Southern States, in case that decision were in
his favor. Of course, such an abdication, under all the circum
stances as they appeared at the time, was wholly inconceivable
on the part of a strong and conscientious man like Mr. Hayes.
It was with him not at all a question of personal triumph or of
the gratification of personal ambition. He had not sought the
nomination; he had not striven with feverish assiduity to win the
election; when it seemed that Mr. Tilden was elected he was, so
far as he was personally concerned, completely reconciled to his
lot. But he had no right to consult his own preferences; he had,
without personal solicitation, been selected by his party, to whose
fundamental principles he was attached with fervent ardor, to be
its leader; the continuance of that party in the control of the
National Government he unreservedly believed was highly im
portant, if not, indeed, essential, to the best welfare of the coun
try; the men of largest wisdom and experience in the management
and direction of the party — men of unquestioned patriotism
and probity of character — were convinced that the election
rightfully had gone in his favor; the lawfully constituted authori
ties were engaged in the performance of the duties for which they
were created — in determining on the evidence presented what,
under the law, the true vote of the States in controversy was; for
him, a thousand miles away and with only the flying and discord
ant voices of the press to give him information, to prejudge the
case and abandon his post, would have been an act, not of mag
nanimity and high courage, but rather of cowardice and pusil
lanimity; of disloyalty to his party and discredit to his country.
The only proper course for him, as it was for Mr. Tilden, — leav
ing aside all thought of personal preference, — for the sake of his
party and for the sake of the peace, the welfare, and the satisfac
tion of the nation, was to wait for the orderly processes of the
constituted authorities to determine the facts of the election and
then to accept the result. He was not and could not be the judge
in his own case; no, not his own case, the case of the American
people. His personal fortunes were a mere incident in the great
controversy, and so he steadfastly regarded them. What, under
the law, was the voice of the American people on November 7,
1876? That was what was to be determined; to be determined,

502 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
not by him, not by newspaper clamor, not by partisan assump
tion or prejudice, not by sentimental appeal, but by the orderly
methods and instrumentalities which the legislative power of the
States, whose votes were in dispute, had created for that purpose.
Either he was elected or he was not elected. If he was duly de
clared elected by the powers which alone had the authority to
make that declaration, what possible right could he have to refuse
to abide by the decision? What could have resulted except con
fusion and disaster to the country? If he was duly declared not
elected, why, the matter was ended and there should be no rail
ing at fortune, no personal lamentation because of defeat.
Gradually, as more definite information came to Mr. Hayes
from the South, especially in private letters from competent and
trustworthy observers,1 he began to reach the conviction that
the true voice of the disputed States had declared for the Repub
lican party. For example, November 23 John Sherman wrote
him from New Orleans : —
My hear Sir, — I have not written you sooner, for the progress of
our visitation will be known to you through the papers sooner than
from my letters, and the telegraph office here is more pubhc than a
1 General Garfield wrote him from New Orleans: "Of the justice of our claim,
I have no doubt; though I fear it will be impossible for our Northern people to
understand how difficult a thing it is for anything like regularity and order to be
brought out of such chaos as this in a few days. They must be patient and let the
mill of the law grind out its grist. Nearly all of us [the visiting statesmen] have
abstained from writing you partly because we did not want you annoyed by the
details of the contest, and partly because we were not always sure that our letters
would pass to you undisturbed."
•On December 1, Aaron F. Perry, of Cincinnati, wrote from Washington: "I
write now to say that I find here more deliberate attention to pending election
difficulties than I expected. There is great activity of telegrams, legal opinions,
and Cabinet consultations. More is known here of details than I have seen in the
papers. Circumstances are known which show some of the rulings not arbitrary
as they would appear by the papers. I think more deliberate consideration to
questions of law is given than our friends generally suppose. The spirit also
appears to be temperate and reasonable. Errors may be made, but I think not
purposely. At the present moment everything looks well for your election, and
it is looked for with confidence and yet with a proviso for unforeseen contingen
cies. I have no time for details. I thought you would be glad to know how much
careful consideration the subject receives; and that the strong hand is not in
tended to be shown except in support of law and preservation of order; nor is it
intended to encourage any arbitrary or unlawful counts. But if it shall be found
that you are lawfully elected, it is intended that you shall be inaugurated and the
law enforced."

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 503
sheriff's sale. We sometimes hear of private telegrams before they are
delivered. The action of the Returning Board has thus far been open
and fair and only confirms the general result known before. . . .
We are now collecting the testimony as to the bulldozed parishes.
It seems more like the history of hell than of civilized and Christian
communities. The means adopted are almost incredible, but were fear
fully effective upon an ignorant and superstitious people. That you
would have received at a fair election a large majority in Louisiana,
no honest man can question; that you did not receive a majority is
equally clear. But that intimidation, of the very kind and nature pro
vided against by the Louisiana law, did enter into and control the elec
tion, in more election polls than would change the result and give you
the vote, I believe as firmly as that I write this. The difficulty of gath
ering this testimony and putting it in the legal form has been very
great, but I believe has been fully met.
The whole case rests upon the action of the Returning Board. I have
carefully observed them, and have formed a high opinion of Governor
Wells and Colonel Anderson. They are firm, judicious, and, as far as I
can judge, thoroughly honest and conscientious. They are personaUy
familiar with the nature and degree of intimidation in Louisiana. They
can see that the intimidation, as organized, was with a view of throw
ing out Republican parishes rather than endangering Democratic par
ishes. Our little party is now dividing out the disputed parishes, with
the view of a careful examination of every paper and detail. Many are
impatient of the delay, and some have gone home. We will probably
be able to keep about ten here. . . . We are in good hope and spirit.
Not wishing the return in your favor, unless it is clear that it ought to
be so, and not willing to be cheated out of it, or to be "buUdozed"
or intimidated, the truth is palpable that you ought to have the
vote of Louisiana, and we believe that you wiU have it, by an hon
est and fair return, according to the letter and spirit of the law of
Louisiana. To this Mr. Hayes replied: — Columbus, O., November 27, 1876.
My dear Sir, — I am greatly obliged for your letter of the 23d.
You feel, I am sure, as I do about this whole business. A fair election
would have given us about forty electoral votes at the South — at least
that many. But we are not to allow our friends to defeat one outrage
and fraud by another. There must be nothing crooked on our part.
Let Mr. Tilden have the place by violence, intimidation, and fraud,
rather than undertake to prevent it by means that will not bear the
severest scrutiny.
I appreciate the work doing by the Republicans who have gone South,
and am especially proud of the acknowledged honorable conduct of
those from Ohio. The Democrats made a mistake in sending so many

504 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
ex-Republicans. New converts are proverbially bitter and unfair to
wards those they have recently left.
I trust you will soon reach the end of the work, and be able to return
in health and safety. — Sincerely, R. B. Hates.
And yet, so far as Mr. Hayes was personally concerned, he
felt, as he wrote Mr. Schurz, that "to be counted out would be
a relief." On Thursday, November 30, Thanksgiving Day, he
wrote in his diary: —
The Presidential question is stiU unsettled. For more than two weeks
it has seemed almost certain that the three doubtful States would be
carried by the Republicans. South Carolina is surely RepubUcan.
Florida is in nearly the same condition, both States being for the Re
publicans on the face of the returns, with the probability of increased
majorities by corrections. Louisiana is the State which will decide.
There is no doubt that a very large majority of the lawful voters are
Republicans. But the Democrats have endeavored to defeat the wiU
of the lawful voters by the perpetration of crimes whose magnitude and
atrocity has no parallel in our history. By murder and hellish cruelties
they at many polls drove the colored people away, or forced them to
vote the Democratic ticket. It now seems probable that the Returning
Board wiU have before them evidence which will justify the throwing
out of enough to secure the State to those who are lawfully entitled
to it.1
On the following day the diary records : —
Colonel Roberts, of the New Orleans Times, wanted an interview
with me. Had lunch at Comly's. After lunch he said he called on me
1 A letter from George A. Sheridan, dated New Orleans, November 21, to
Mr. Hayes had said: "Counting the ballots as cast would be in my judgment as
great an infamy as was ever perpetrated. Our election law is a very stringent one,
its stringency necessitated by the lawless character of a large portion of our popu
lation. Applying the provisions of our law to the recent election in this State will
give you the electoral vote. You are, of course, posted by the papers as to the
extent and character of the intimidation practised in this State in the recent elec
tion. The press has not overstated the matter. The Returning Board will do its
duty and throw out parishes and polls where intimidation prevented a fair elec
tion. Under the law they are compelled to do this. In my judgment an honest,
fair interpretation of the law leaves them no alternative. In equity and law you
are entitled to Louisiana, and your conscience will assure you, upon a full exam
ination of the case, that its electoral vote is as lawfully and legitimately yours as
the electoral vote of Ohio. Matters are quiet here. The Democrats are settling
down to the conviction that you will get the vote of Louisiana. I do not appre
hend trouble. There will be no outbreak here because these people know in their
hearts that the election was one of violence upon the part of the Democrats, and
it will be very hard, I think impossible, to make them put their lives in peril for
what they know to be a wrong."

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 505
to give me the views of Lamar, of Mississippi, General Walthall, ditto,
Wade Hampton, of South Carolina, and probably Gordon, of Georgia.
" You wiU be President. We wiU not make trouble. We want peace.
We want the color line abolished. We will not oppose an Administra
tion which will favor an honest administration and honest officers in
the South. We will favor measures to secure the colored people all of
their rights. We may not, and probably wiU not, leave the party of op
position, but such an Administration as you will have we can support
as men of the opposite party can. We want nothing of you in the way
of promise or pledge."
This was the substance. I replied by saying I was gratified to know
it; that my letter of acceptance covered the whole ground; that it
meant aU it said and all that it implied. This was the substance. In
case of my election there wiU be further conference, and I hope for good
results. A newspaper correspondent sent a highly imaginative report
of this interview to the Cincinnati Enquirer, asserting that Mr.
Hayes had spoken disparagingly of certain Republican leaders of
the South, and had criticized severely certain features of President
Grant's Southern policy and certain of his Southern appointees,
and declaring that he had given Colonel Roberts assurances of
his desire to cooperate with the conservative Democratic leaders
of the South and to divide the government patronage with
them, impliedly in return for their support. This report was
Widely copied by other papers and provoked much discussion,
though its absurdity and falsity were promptly declared by the
State Journal, at the house of whose editor the conversation
had taken place, and it was completely disproved by Colonel
Roberts's version of the interview. The mischievous purpose of
the report was manifestly to seek to excite disaffection or indif
ference in President Grant's mind toward the interests of his pro
spective successor. But this effort completely failed. Even with
out contradiction from an authoritative source, all who knew
Mr. Hayes's temper of mind, his habitual reticence of judgment
or commitment until all pertinent facts were in his possession,
must have recognized the weird inconsonance of the report with
the whole course of conduct that Mr. Hayes had consistently
pursued throughout the campaign.1
1 The New York Times, Sunday, December 10, advised its readers to reject
any reports purporting to give the words or opinions of Mr. Hayes unless such
reports were in harmony with his known characteristics; "otherwise they are

A

506 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Sunday, December 3, three days before the Electoral Colleges
were to meet and cast their votes, Mr. Hayes, despite what Colo
nel Roberts, a Democrat, had said to him, was inclined to be
lieve that Louisiana might have to be yielded to the Democrats.
That day he wrote in his diary: —
Various indications lead me to think that in Louisiana the report of
the Returning Board will probably be unfavorable. No doubt a fair
election would have carried the State for the Republicans. But it is
possible that the wrong cannot lawfully be corrected by the Return
ing Board. But suppose they do correct without sufficient warrant of
law. The returns will be made to the President of the Senate, and on
their face the Republicans wiU have a majority. Suppose a way is
found to go behind those returns by the Senate. Should not in that
event the whole case be gone into? Should not the equitable result be
reached? Not only throw out the Democratic majorities where violence
procured them, but count in fairly the honest Republican majorities
which were prevented by lawlessness?
But assurances were given him the next day which left no
doubt in his mind of the justice of the Republican cause. Tues
day, December 5, he writes: —
Yesterday Elwood E. Thome and Francis A. Stout, of the Republican
Reform Club of New York, came here and had an interview with me.
The purport of their communication, written and oral, was that New
York was lost by coldness and neglect (perhaps treachery) on the part of
the New York managers of the canvass — • meaning CorneU [and] some
of the Federal officers, generally, I suppose, friends of Conkling.1 Their
likely to be as the wild vagaries of a dream." Readers should remember that
"Governor Hayes is a reticent, self-restraining, self-contained man. He listens
well, weighs and often refutes what is said, and mentally takes the measure of all
who approach him. He is a singularly well-poised man, free absolutely from
hobbies, vanities, or affectations; and hence never loses his balance. His tongue,
unlike his mind, is not active, and is under the most perfect government." The
Times further specifies, with amplification on each particular, that "he is an
exceedingly cautious man," "an extremely judicious man," "a remarkably well-
informed man," and, finally, "a public man of firm, resolute will."
1 Apropos of this visit General Garfield wrote Mr. Hayes from Washington,
December 9: "I think you ought to know that a persistent attempt has been
made to lead the President to believe that you were going to ignore his friends in
such a way as to imply a censure upon his Administration. I suspect that a part
of this impression has come from the two New York gentlemen (Messrs. Stout
and Thome) who visited you the day we saw you. They came on to this city with
us. I am informed that one of them has reported that they said to you: 'You are
probably aware that Senator Conkling did nothing to aid your election ' ; and that
you answered: 'I received no help either from him or his friends'; and that they
express their satisfaction with the prospect that the Senator and such as he will

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 507
facts were not very conclusive, but tended to show a lack of hearty
support. In the afternoon a number of Republicans who had been in New Or
leans to witness the proceedings of the Returning Board, on the invita
tion of the President or of the National Republican Committee, stopped
here on their return East. Senator Sherman, General Garfield, Eugene
Hale, of Maine, Mr. Stoughton and General Van Alen, of New York,
and General White, of Indiana County, Pennsylvania, constituted the
party. Cortlandt Parker did not stop, but returned with this party.1
They called on me at my office about 3 p.m., General Comly and Webb
being present. They spread before me very fully the condition of things
in Louisiana, and the action of the Returning Board. They emphati
cally endorsed the general fairness and honesty of the Board's conduct.
They said it was the opinion of all of the Republicans who went down
to New Orleans that the Republican ticket was lawfully and honestly
entitled to be declared elected. That largely more parishes and poUs
ought to be thrown out for violence and intimidation than were neces
sary to elect the whole Republican ticket, state and national ; that a fair
election would have given the Republicans not less than thirteen to fif
teen thousand majority; that the intimidation was deliberately planned
and systematically executed by means of rifle clubs organized in the
parishes selected for the process of intimidation known as "bulldozing."
I asked each of the gentlemen for his individual views. All concurred
in saying in the strongest terms that the evidence and law entitled the
Republican ticket to the certificate of election, and that the result would
in their opinion be accordingly. They spoke highly of WeUs and Ander
son, and frankly of the two colored men.2
be ignored during your term. Now, I have no idea that anybody has any au
thority to speak for you on these topics. But I will say that Senator Sherman
and I were not favorably impressed with the discretion of these gentlemen from
their talk on the journey."
1 In a letter to Mr. Hayes, dated Newark, December 5, Mr. Parker explained
that a professional engagement compelled him to forego stopping at Columbus.
He added: "I beg leave to add that if the count finally reported by the Returning
Board in Louisiana shall entitle the Republican electors to their certificate, you
need have no scruples against their vote. I attended almost all the sessions of the
Board. They were especially fair and open. Technicalities received no favor. I
acquainted myself likewise, so far as the nature of things permitted, with the
evidence Upon the subject of intimidation. No one except returning officers can
speak as to the extent to which this evidence is applicable. I can only say that if
the testimony I have not seen is like that which I have been made acquainted
with, the exclusion of any votes affected will be justifiable, and that the conduct
of the Board shows them to be men in whose judgment and desire to do right full
confidence may be placed. The law of Louisiana as to this matter is the law of the
Union. The Board is vested by that law with full jurisdiction in the premises.
And from what I have seen of them, I shall be ready to acquiesce as readily in
their decision; while all must allow, I suppose, that it is legally final."
* The members of the Returning Board.

508 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
After this conversation, Mr. Hayes was not surprised the next
evening, while he and Mrs. Hayes were entertaining the mem
bers of the Ohio Electoral College and other friends, to receive
dispatches from New Orleans advising him that the Republican
electors of Louisiana had been declared elected. As the Return
ing Boards of South Carolina and Florida had reached a similar
result, and as the Democratic effort to seize one electoral vote in
Oregon could not in reason succeed, the Electoral Colleges on De
cember 6 gave Mr. Hayes a total of 185 votes; Mr. Tilden, 184.
During that day and evening Mr. Hayes heard directly from
every Republican State except four, among the latter Oregon,
about which he felt some solicitude.1 December 7 he writes: —
. . . This morning Isaiah, our colored man, when he came in to build
the fire, laid the State Journal on our bed. He lighted the gas and I read
the telegraphic accounts showing how Governor Grover of Oregon had
refused to commission Watts, the Republican elector, an ex-postmaster,
and had given the certificate of election to Cronin, the highest Demo
cratic elector; and how he, Cronin, had met as the college, and elected
two Republicans to fill the two vacancies. created by the refusal of the
Republicans, two of whom were commissioned, to act or meet with him;
and how this college met and cast two votes for Hayes and Wheeler and
one for Tilden and Hendricks; — thus giving in the nation to Hayes and
Wheeler 184 electoral votes and to Tilden and Hendricks 185 votes, and
in this way electing the latter President and Vice-President. The two
regularly commissioned Republican electors met. Watts the postmaster
resigned, was reelected, and this college gave Hayes and Wheeler the
three votes of Oregon, making their aggregate 185, and thus electing
them, if this vote is treated as the true one.
Here is the danger: A contest ruinous to the country — dangerous,
perhaps fatal, to free government — may grow out of it. I would gladly
give up all claim to the place if this would avert the evil, without bring
ing on a greater calamity. I am determined that no selfish ambition or
interest shall influence my conduct in the face of these tremendous
events. Whatever, on the whole, is best for the country, that I will do,
if I can know it, regardless of consequences to myself. I shall keep cool
— master all tendencies that may lead me astray, and endeavor to act
as Washington would have acted under similar circumstances.
My wife feels some disappointment; is unhappy on account of the
consequences of our defeat to the poor colored people of the South; but
1 "I am overwhelmed with callers congratulating me on the results declared in
Florida and Louisiana. I have no doubt that we are justly and legally entitled
to the Presidency. My conversation with , Sherman, Garfield, Stoughton, and
others settled the question in my mind as to Louisiana." (From letter of Mr.
Hayes to Carl Schurz, December 6, 1876.)

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 509
on personal grounds is contented, and will without effort show her usual
cheerfulness. We shaU both bear this new responsibility with compo
sure. Our friends wiU suffer more than we shaU, whatever the suspense
or the final result.1
Further consideration evidently convinced Mr. Hayes that he
had taken the Oregon intrigue much too seriously, for the very
next day he writes: —
The Oregon fraud appears to have been carried out in so bungling a
way that it is not likely to do more than complicate matters. Indeed, it
now looks as if it would damage our adversaries in the public judgment
without in any manner injuring us. The fraud is so transparent, palpa
ble, and disgraceful that it is not impossible that it wiU be thrown aside
without dissent from any quarter.
But the voting of the Electoral Colleges did not settle this his
toric controversy. It flamed more fiercely if possible than ever.
In each of the disputed States contesting electors were commis
sioned by one authority or another. These went through the
form of voting, and their votes, bearing some kind of official
attestation, were forwarded, with circumspect conformity to
legal requirements, to the President of the Senate at Washington.
The clamor of indignant Democratic newspapers and orators
filled the air, and threats of a resort to arms to enforce their
asserted rights began to be heard. As soon as Congress assembled
committees were appointed by both houses to proceed to the dis
puted Southern States and investigate the facts and conditions
of the election and the actions of the Returning Boards. The
results of these investigations cover endless pages of official re
ports. Question at once arose, too, in public discussion and in
Congress, as to how the electoral vote was to be canvassed and
counted and the result declared. In what way were the contest
ing returns to be dealt with? How was it to be determined which
returns from each disputed State were the true returns? Here
was matter for limitless controversy, for the widest variety of
opinion and suggestion. The supreme interest of the nation was
1 "One thing you can count on, I mean to do my duty, uninfluenced by selfish
ambition or interest. I feel very strongly that in the presence of the tremendous
dangers now threatening us we should all try to be deliberate and calm — not
hasty to condemn or to act — remembering always what an unmixed evil civil
war is." (From letter to Carl Schurz, December 7, 1876.)

510 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
involved; the very fate of free institutions seemed to be at stake.
It is no wonder that public sentiment fluctuated from day to day
as the great debate went on in every coterie of men and at every
fireside in the land; no wonder that the country was in a state
of suspense, of agitation, of alarm. It was a situation to tax
the wisdom, the patience, and the patriotism of all able and
conscientious statesmen.
The appeal to the Constitution and the precedents of all former
Presidential elections was neither conclusive nor convincing.
The Constitution merely orders that "The President of the Sen
ate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Repre
sentatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be
counted." Were the two houses to be present simply as specta
tors or witnesses of the count, or were they entitled to some voice
in the proceeding? Did the President of the Senate have sole
right and power to determine which of two or more certificates
from any State was to be accepted and counted, without possi
bility of challenge or appeal? There were many men that held
steadfastly to that position. But the practice of Congress at pre
vious epochs militated against this narrow interpretation of the
ambiguous constitutional mandate. It had been customary for
Congress, at the approach of each quadrennial count of the elec
toral votes, to adopt a joint rule of procedure governing the
manner of that august function of state. Such rules had recog
nized the right of the houses of Congress to determine questions
in dispute. But in no case had any action taken under such rules
of procedure had the least effect on the result. In all previous
cases, under any rules or no rules, the choice and voice of the vot
ers was so clearly expressed that the count of the electoral votes
by the President of the Senate, in the presence of the two houses
of Congress, had been little more than a formal and ceremonial
proceeding. But now conditions were altogether different. The
Presidency hung upon a single electoral vote. The Senate was
Republican; the House, Democratic — both in actual numerical
majority and by States. Under the joint rule which had been in
force at the three last counts, it was obvious, human nature and
partisan spirit being what they are, that the Republicans would
inevitably lose the Presidency. Naturally, therefore, the Repub
lican Senate would not consent to a renewal of the joint rule of

FREDERICK T. FRELINGHUYSEN OLIVER P. MORTON
GEORGE F. EDMUNDS
THOMAS F. BAVARD ALLEN G. THURMAN
THE SENATORS

NATHAN CLIFFORD

STEPHEN J. FIELD

SAMUEL F. MILLER
WILLIAM STRONG JOSEPH P. BRADLEY
THE SUPREME COURT JUSTICES

THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION

EPPA HUNTOX J. G. ABBOTT
HENRY" B. PAYNE
GEORGE F. HOAR JAMES a. GARFIELD
THE REPRESENTATIVES

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 511
recent canvasses.1 If the President of the Senate had exclusive
and final authority to accept or to reject certificates according to
his own single judgment, then it was thought indubitable that
the votes for Mr. Hayes from every disputed State would be
counted. It is apparent that there were here the elements of a
situation that afforded ample opportunity for earnest and sincere
argument on all sides, as well as abundant scope for the play of
selfish purposes and personal ambitions. But it was the very-
kind of situation that demanded wise compromise and patriotic
accommodation — even to the extent of straining, if need were,
the limits of constitutional authority. Otherwise civil strife and
anarchy, and the possibility of the wreck of the ship of state,
whose peaceful progress the Constitution was intended to insure,
loomed ominous on the country's horizon.
While this momentous debate was going on throughout the
land, and the leaders in Congress of both parties were seeking a
solution of the tremendous problem which confronted the coun
try, Mr. Hayes continued to maintain his equanimity and to pur
sue the even tenor of his way; in outward bearing no more inter
ested, apparently, in the outcome than any other high-minded
and patriotic citizen. About the middle of December he made a
visit to his friend, R. C. Anderson, in Dayton.2 In the evening a
salute of one hundred and eighty-five guns was fired in his honor
and a large number of people serenaded him. When he appeared,
the people pressed forward to grasp his hand, while the band
played and fireworks illuminated the sky. Then, when the per
sonal greetings were over, Mr. Hayes mounted a chair and spoke
to the throng in these words : —
My Friends, — I will not detain you longer than four or five minutes.
I am here on a short visit to your beautiful city of Dayton, not on any
political mission, or to talk on any of the political questions of the mem
orable canvass that has just closed. I understand that these greetings
1 This was the famous Twenty-second Joint Rule. The Senate in January,
1876, long before the beginning of the Presidential campaign, had refused,
after long debate, to readopt this rule.
* "Columbus, December 16, 1876. — We returned last night from Dayton. . . .
At Dayton I made an offhand talk which seemed to be successful. Several hun
dred people shook hands with a gushing sort of enthusiasm and I was visited by
many of the best people. ... At Springfield the people, especially the working-
men, turned out in great force. I spoke from the rear of the car until the train
moved on." (Diary.)

512 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
here to-night are not so much in honor of myself as on account of the
peculiar interest that is felt in the present condition of the country. In
the excitement that has pervaded the country before and since the elec
tion, people of ardent temperament have said and done things that are
indiscreet. But as the excitement subsides, we begin to return to our
better wisdom and judgment. I have too much faith in the saving com
mon sense of the American people to think they desire to see in their
country a Mexicanized government.
Whatever may be the result at which the lawful authorities shaU ar
rive, you and I wiU quietly submit; and I have sufficient respect and
confidence in the great majority of the opposite party to believe that
they will do the same. I was glad to see in a paper this evening an article
from the London Times respecting the condition of this country. "Such
a state of affairs," it said, "could not occur anywhere else in the world.
The entire area of the country agitated by the uncertain issue of the
political struggle, yet not one shot fired, not one man kuled, no breaches
of the peace."
We have seen this centennial year the wonders of our growth dis
played in the exhibition of agricultural and mechanical arts, and we are
now afforded an opportunity of giving to the world an example of the
value of a republican government. In speaking to you this evening, I
have referred without previous thought to what must have occurred to
every one of us standing here, and I take my leave of you with most
sincere acknowledgment of this expression of your friendship and good
will.1 During all these excited weeks Mr. Hayes was the recipient of
innumerable letters from personal friends and party leaders of all
parts of the country giving him assurances of continuing loyalty,
expressing unvarying confidence in the righteousness of the offi
cial decisions in his behalf in the disputed States, and imparting
information regarding public opinion and the efforts that were
making to insure the establishment of his right to the Presidency.
To many of these letters Mr. Hayes replied briefly, constantly
disavowing any purpose or intention of seeking himself by sugges
tion or committal to control or influence the evolution by Con
gress of special legislation or instrumentalities for dealing with
the crisis. He himself was convinced, as were many of his intimate
1 The Dayton Democrat, criticizing the taste of the demonstration, especially
the salute of one hundred and eighty-five guns, still was constrained to say:
"And it is not out of courtesy, but simply out of a regard to truth, that we here
say that we know of no Republican statesman in the land whom we think so
worthy to be President (if he were elected) as Governor Hayes; and no man, in any
party, upon whose personal integrity and patriotic intentions the people could
rely with more profound confidence."

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 513
friends and advisers, and, indeed, a large proportion of the
Republican party, that the simple injunction of the Constitution
was sufficient; that it gave the President of the Senate plenary
authority to open the certificates, decide, in case of duplicate or
triplicate certificates, which were the authentic returns, count the
vote, and declare who was elected. He could not believe that seri
ous resistance would be made to such exercise of authority or
that trouble would ensue.1 But a calm review of all the facts of
the( situation — of the vast divergencies of opinion among states
men and publicists as well as the people at large, of the heated
condition of the public mind — leaves little doubt that a decided
majority of the people of the country would have regarded such a
disposition of the case as highly arbitrary; as the exercise by the
President of the Senate of a questionable authority, whose exist
ence was utterly denied by the powerful Democratic majority
of the House of Representatives; and that consequently resent
ment at defeat by means or methods which they believed in defi
ance alike of the Constitution and of fair dealing would have been
likely to stir the Democrats, leaders and masses, to resistance
and civil strife.2 It was altogether better that extreme partisan
counsels gave way to a larger and more liberal view; and that the
joint committee of the two houses of Congress, composed of some
of the ablest leaders of both parties, which was entrusted with the
task, was able to devise a plan of adjustment which was accepted
by Congress and which appealed to the conservative sense of the
country — eager for relief from the suspense of uncertainty and
for assurance of a peaceful settlement — as fair and reasonable.
During this time, too, many men of distinction journeyed to
Columbus to consult with Mr. Hayes on the political situation,
1 December 29, Mr. Hayes wrote Mr. S. Shellabarger, a former member of
Congress from Ohio and an eminent lawyer: "I wish in strict confidence to say
that in case our adversaries go to law with us, I shall want you to assist the
Attorney-General. Let your thoughts dwell on the points that may be raised
either to question our rights or simply to perplex and annoy us.
"One other matter. My judgment is that neither House of Congress, nor both
combined, have any right to interfere in the count. It is for the Vice-President to
do it all. His action is final. There should be no compromise of our constitutional
rights. We should firmly insist upon them.
" Again allow me to assure you that I am in no way committed as to persons or
policies. No one is authorized to commit me. I shall remain free to the end."
2 Consult James Ford Rhodes's History of the United States, vol. to, chap.
XLTV.

514 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
to volunteer advice, or to seek to elicit from him some intimation
of his purposes and policy, or some encouragement for themselves
in their political activity or aspirations. Mr. Hayes, in his diary,
December 17, preserves a record of such a visit in the following
entry: —
Yesterday Colonel Albert D. Shaw, Consul at Toronto, came from
Washington to talk with me about affairs there, and my purposes as to
persons and policies.1 He is a friend of Senator Conkling, and seemed
1 Mr. Hayes had been prepared for this interview by the following letter: —
U.S. Senate Chamber, Washington,
December 12, 1876.
My dear Sir, — I this evening gave to Colonel Albert D. Shaw, of New York,
now Consul-General at Toronto, a letter of introduction to you, and now write
you in advance of its presentation my reasons for giving it, and the probable
nature of the interview Colonel Shaw will seek with you. The letter was written
at the request of Mr. Cameron, Secretary of War, and of Mr. Piatt, member of
Congress from New York, and after interviews with them. A studied effort has
been made by influential men, mainly of the Democratic party, to poison the
mind of Senator Conkling against you and your Administration, partly by asser
tions that you will be under the influence of Carl Schurz and Mr. Curtis whom he
regards as his enemies, and partly by representations that you will be personally
unfriendly to him because he was not active in your support and for other rea
sons. I have felt safe in saying that, while you have a friendly feeling for Schurz
and Curtis and appreciate their support, that this will not in the least induce you
to ignore the merits, ability, and just influence of Conkling as a leading promi
nent Republican Senator, nor make you a party to personal antagonism or
enmity to him; and that you know, as I do, that his physical condition last fall
would not justify his taking a more active part in the canvass. This is perfectly
manifest now, for his physical strength is much broken, and by reason of this he
is more easily moved by such suggestions.
Colonel Shaw is his intimate personal friend, and so is Mr. Piatt, and yours
also. Cameron is very active and influential in calming these incipient jealousies
with a view of a united, hearty cooperation of all Republicans here in your inau
guration and installation in office. With this brief statement you will see the
importance of assuring Colonel Shaw that you will come into the Presidential
office with a determination to do exact justice to all without fear, favor, or preju
dice, and the alleged hostility to Conkling has no foundation whatever. He is
undoubtedly a man of great ability and influence and we do not want either his
opposition or cold reserve.
I write you this, not to commit you in any way by pledge or promise, but to
explain why I regard my introduction of Colonel Shaw, not as a matter of form,
but of great importance in removing doubts and discontents which otherwise
might develop into serious opposition. — Very truly yours, John Sherman.
To this letter Mr. Hayes replied, December 16: "Thanks for your favors.
Touching the business of Mr. Shaw, I am free absolutely from committals as to
persons or policies. People who talk to me are listened to respectfully, and I talk

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 515
to be on intimate terms with the Secretary of War [Don Cameron] and
others in high places. He talked forcibly and with much feeling. He
fears that the apprehension that I am in the hands of the reform element
of the Republican party will lose me in the Senate the friendship and
support of enough Senators in the approaching struggle in the Senate to
change the result of the Presidential election, and bring in Mr. Tilden.
Mr. Conkling has been committed against our present views on some of
the legal questions now before the country — notably, as I infer, on the
right of the Senate and House to pass on the returns of the Electoral
Colleges. The Southern Republican Senators are afraid they will be
ignored as "carpetbaggers" or otherwise objectionable under the Hayes
policy of conciliation. Names were not mentioned, but Spencer, of
Alabama, Dorsey, of Arkansas, Clayton, and Conover seemed to be the
Senators Colonel Shaw was thinking of.
I told Colonel Shaw I had concluded that I ought to take no part in
the pending contest in Washington, that I should probably make no
declaration of policy and no committal as to members of my Cabinet
until the result was announced in February. That I stood on my letter.
That as to Southern affairs it plainly indicated what I thought desirable.
That the Southern people must obey the new amendments, and give the
colored men all of their rights; that peace in that country could only be
had in this way ; that prosperity would come to the South with immigra
tion from the North and from Europe; that to get this, people must feel
as free to go to the South as they now do to go to Kansas or Nebraska;
that I had no private views or pledges to give; that what I said to him I
said publicly, and to all who called on me and desired to know my views.
He showed the reasons why Mr. Conkling took no active part'in the
canvass, that his health was broken, and his eyes required that he should
remain in a dark room. He explained the bad faith of Curtis * towards
Conkling; of Bristow towards Conkling and Grant; of Morgan towards
Conkling, etc., etc. He urged the appointment of Conkling (or rather of
his being offered the appointment) as Secretary of State. Spoke weU of
Piatt, of Morrill, of Maine, of [the] Secretary of War, and in disparage
ment of Chandler, Blaine, and Jewell.
Although I gave him no pledges, and merely said as to appointments I
would try to give first consideration to the claims of all sections of the
Republican party, he seemed to be pleased with what I told him. He
quite freely up to the point of my letter and other public utterances, but I have
no private utterances for any of my visitors. I have no prejudices which will pre
vent me from listening to suggestions impartially. I mean to keep myself free as
long as practicable, and to hear in a friendly spirit all that may be offered. I do
not like to mention names, but this disposition extends to all. My desire is to
do all I can to have a strong, wise, and successful Administration. All personal
considerations must yield to this. I want to hear from you fully, freely, and
confidentially." 1 George William Curtis was the only delegate from New York at the Cincin
nati Convention who refused to vote for the nomination of Mr. Conkling.

516 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
evidently came with a desire to be pleased, and left professing to think
he could remove difficulties at Washington.1
Certain of Mr. Hayes's closest political advisers were of the
opinion that either Mr. Hayes should go to Washington himself,
or that he should have there some intimate or confidential friend
who should be able, without committing him in any way, to
speak authoritatively for him, or in his behaK, when any question
of immediate concern should arise in the constantly shifting dis
cussions and conferences relating to the Presidential succession.2
To one of these advisers, Governor Dennison, at that time one
of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, Mr. Hayes
wrote December 17: — 3
I am exceedingly obliged for your valuable letters. It seems to me
desirable that I should remain quietly in Ohio, committing myself to no
person or policy beyond that which the public may fairly infer from my
1 Another visit is described in the diary, December 30, as follows: "The
political event of the week is the visit made me by Judge T. J. Mackey, of
Chester, South Carolina, with a letter from General Wade Hampton. Mackey is
a>fiuent and florid talker. His representations are such as lead one to hope for
good results by a wise policy in the South. The letter is not of much importance,
except as it indicates General Hampton's views of duty in case of armed resist
ance by the Democrats. I have a dispatch from C. P. Leslie as follows: 'I warn
you to beware of Tom Mackey. ... He is a first-class fraud .... etc., etc' This
is a specimen of the Southern complications."
2 Senator Sherman, in a letter dated Washington, December 9, wrote Mr.
Hayes: "There is a strong feeling in certain quarters here that you should come
to Washington in an informal way with a view to conferences as to some im
portant points. My judgment has not inclined me as yet to the necessity or pro
priety of it, but it may be that events will occur to render it expedient for you to
come, of which you will be advised in time. Please turn it over in your mind, so
as to be prepared if the request should be sent you. In case you come it would be
better for you to stay with me, rather than at the President's or at a public house,
but of this I will advise you further."
2 Governor Dennison had written, December 9. A portion of his letter read:
"I have no fear of the President; at the same time, I think he made a mistake
in giving Hewitt a wholly private audience. But it has occurred to me that no
injury could result from an early visit here of General Comly or some other Ohio
friend, whom the country regards as having your confidence, to talk as he might
think prudent, to the President and all others, on any matter; to remove any
misapprehensions, if any he might find here, affecting your purposes. Of course,
he would not speak under any special authority, only from his general knowledge
of your feelings and methods of doing things. If he come it may be well for his
mission to be known only to himself and you. General Comly or any other Ohio
friend's visiting here will surprise nobody. I have not mentioned to any one my
purpose to write you. And shall not do so. It will be as well for you to throw
this letter in the fire after reading it."

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 517
letter and other published and authorized utterances. Believing firmly
that I have been honestly and legally elected, I propose to wait content
edly for the issue. If the result is changed by violence, fraud, or treach
ery, I shall suffer less than my friends — less than the country, and I
may truly say I shall suffer chiefly on their account.1
Two weeks later, December 31, Mr. Hayes wrote to Mr. J. A.
Kasson, member of Congress from Iowa: —
I still think I ought to leave Washington well alone. I have many
friends in that city who can of their own motion speak confidently of
my ways of thinking and acting. An authorized representative could
remove some troubles that you now see; but only think of yet greater
troubles he might create.
I like to get your suggestions, and am interested in the facts you give.
Do not misconstrue my silence if in the hurry of the time I fail to reply.2
1 How Mr. Hayes's course of conduct impressed the country at this period is
indicated by a letter to him from J. W. Forney, the famous Philadelphia journal
ist. He wrote: "I cannot refrain the expression of my frank opinion in regard to
the good example you are setting the country in this painful interval. A political
experience of more than a generation of time justifies me in the observation that
nothing is doing more to relieve the country from its trying suspense than your
moderation. . . . We are fortunate in the blunders of our antagonists; and I read
in the signs of the times the rapid cessation of all those doubts and fears which
have troubled our timid friends. Oregon has been a rare magician. Colorado
also. These two States, in which the Democrats have made two cardinal mis
takes, are doing more for us than anything except the Democratic division on the
Twenty-second Rule. Such papers as the Nation are coming around to reason
under these influences, and even the London papers are affected by the same
argument and impressed by the gentleness and modesty of your example."
2 Mr. Kasson had written first: — Washington, D.C.,
Confidential. December 17, 1876.
Dear Governor Hates, — I take the liberty of expressing the wish that
some confidential friend of yours could be here during the remainder of this
winter. Some gentleman who can keep counsel, and who can also, if the emer
gency arises, have some intercourse with the Southern elements of the Demo
cracy. General Bristow, if he could be persuaded to come, might be of great serv
ice. I cannot, in a letter, explain to you the situation as I comprehend it. I
think, however, that these two premises may be assumed: 1. That 185 votes will
be ascertained and counted by the Senate for you, followed by the declaration
of your election as President. 2. That our security against the subsequent elec
tion of Tilden by the House is to be found in a division of sentiment in the
Democracy, led by Southern Representatives.
The basis of this division exists in the indisposition of a large part of the South
to become again embroiled in national disorder, and in their wish to recover
intelligent white rule in the South. To give them this need not involve the Sacri
fice of the constitutional rights of the negro, nor should it. Nor will they demand
it. They also perceive an opportunity to reestablish a cordial union with the
North, which is Republican, and end forever the old strife.

518 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
On the same day he wrote to General Noyes : —
Something like your views as to a friend or friends at Washington has
been mentioned by a good many. There are two sides to it. It seems
It is necessary to make an effort to organize this element to make it effective;
nor do we yet know its present or possible extent. It is wise, at least, to foster it,
and to give an orderly and peaceful alternative to their thought.
Some friend of yours, disconnected from congressional life, and not provoking
Democratic prejudices, could ascertain whether any reliance can be placed on the
sentiment I have mentioned, and whether that, added to the more conservative
Democracy of the Senate, is likely to be able to save the country from the shame
of a Mexican contest over the Presidency. He would be able, also, to indicate the
probable spirit of your Administration, if not its pohcy, touching questions which
most concern the South.
I have advised our side of the House to abstain from provoking debate on the
Presidential question, so as to leave time for partisan fires to die out, and for the
intervention of peaceful sentiments. I believe in a peaceful solution, but am not
free from anxiety about the issue.
Very truly, your friend and obedient servant,
John A. Kasson, M.C.
To that letter Mr. Hayes replied expressing his disinclination to interfere,
whereupon Mr. Kasson wrote the following letter, to which Mr. Hayes's letter
given in the text was in reply: — Clarendon Hotel, New York City,
December 27, 1876.
Dear Governor, — Yours of the 21st was forwarded to me here, and just
received. Undoubtedly freedom from committals, ante-official, both to persons
and policies, is not only expedient but right in itself. My suggestion did not
intend any variation from that rule. My desire was for the presence of a trusty
friend, whose ears would be more open than his mouth, and whose candor would
induce frankness of expression in response to questioning suggestions. I do not
think any one contemplates agreements for mutual considerations. I have seen
no disposition for what is called bargaining. It is rather inquiry into probable
future action, not involving pledges.
Each day appears to diminish the spirit of disorder. Frelinghuysen's notion is
that under the constitutional power to give effect to the provisions of the Consti
tution by legislation, we may enact a mode of counting votes; and in case of con
flicting, or alleged invalid, certificates of Electoral Colleges, we may create a final
tribunal, ad hoc; as, for example, a Board composed of President of Senate,
Speaker of House, and Chief Justice of Supreme Court. Some such solution will
be offered to the new conference committee.
By the way, Randall outraged us in the minority appointments on that com
mittee, not a Republican lawyer among them. The logical position of our
Democratic House in monstrous; thus the Constitution gives the right to the
House to elect when no one has majority of votes cast. The House says it, by
itself, has the right to reject the votes of States which give that majority. That
is, the body which, in a certain contingency, has the right to make a President
has also the right to make the contingency!
Such a doctrine would forever rob the people and the Electoral Colleges of their
constitutional functions at the will of the House. — Very sincerely yours,
John A. Kasson.

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 519
to me that Comly and Shellabarger and Dennison can give such facts
about my general ways of thinking and action as wiU accomplish all that
is right and practicable.1 I am in the habit of saying that we can better
afford defeat by the knavery of the adversary or the crotchets or treach
ery of friends than success by intrigues. Of course, I understand you to
mean that we must have men at Washington prepared to defeat the cor
rupt practices of our adversaries. For this purpose the gentlemen I name
can be useful, and other of our friends who may be in Washington can
lend a helping hand. This must be left to volunteers. For me to select
and send to Washington a representative would in my judgment be a
mistake. Think of it. I wiU hear and heed, but you have my decided

Influences of every sort were busy at Washington working
upon the sentiment and opinions of members of Congress. Per
sonal ambitions and antipathies were affecting the views and
attitudes of some Imen. This is made evident by the tone of
Colonel Shaw's conversation, related above, and by numerous ex
pressions in letters to Mr. Hayes from his correspondents at the
Capital. Mr. Tilden and his able lieutenants were active, day
and night, with argument, promises, and intrigues, to incite dis
affection and distrust in the Republican ranks and to rouse their
own followers to aggressive assertion of their claims; to a deter
mination to enforce them at all hazards. The conservative
business interests of the country were becoming restless at the
long-continued uncertainty of affairs; and apprehensive of the
threatened confusion and disorder which the 4th of March might
precipitate upon the country, and were urging Congress to adopt
1 Already a few days before (December 25), Mr. Hayes had written John
Sherman: "You know my general course of conduct. It has always seemed to
me wise, in case of decided antagonisms among friends, not to take sides — to
heal by compromise, not to aggravate, etc. I wish you to feel authorized to speak
in pretty decided terms for me whenever it seems advisable — to do this not by
reason of specific authority to do it, but from your knowledge of my general
methods of action." — About this time General Comly visited Washington
at President Grant's request. He had a long and confidential talk with the
President setting forth Mr. Hayes's attitude as he understood it. He had also
many conferences with Republican leaders with a view to reassuring South
ern Republican Senators and others. On his return to Columbus he made a
long written report to Mr. Hayes of his efforts and of his impressions of the
condition of affairs at Washington.
1 A letter of precisely similar purport was written the same day also to Wil
liam E. Chandler, which had this postscript : " You now see the troubles which an
authorized friend could remove. If you had such a friend in Washington, what
other and greater troubles might you not see?"

520 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
some method or measure which would insure a peaceful solution
of the national controversy.1 Discreet friends of Mr. Hayes held
frequent conferences with the more conservative Democratic
Senators from the South, especially those of Whig antecedents,
emphasizing Mr. Hayes's good intentions toward the South, as
set forth in his letter of acceptance and as could clearly be in
ferred from his pacific character, and encouragmg them to resist
any radical or revolutionary action in connection with the count.
In this endeavor Colonel A. J. Kellar, editor of the Memphis Ava
lanche, who had long labored for purer and more liberal political
methods in Tennessee, took the most active and effective part.2
Efforts also were successfully made by some of Mr. Hayes's more
enthusiastic but less prudent friends to enlist the services of
Thomas A. Scott, the most powerful railway manager of the
day,3 to exert his persuasive powers with Southern members
of Congress and Southern business men to reconcile them to
the Republican succession; and it was sought to have Mr.
Hayes commit himself as favoring government aid in building
the Texas-Pacific Railway which was at that time seeking a
subsidy. But Mr. Hayes had no faith in such methods and re
fused to make any commitments. Writing to William Henry
Smith, December 24, he said: —
Enclosed I return you the letters. I do not wish to be committed to
details. It is so desirable to restore peace and prosperity to the South
that I have given a good deal of thought to it. The two things I would
be exceptionally liberal about are education and internal improvements
of a national character. Nothing I can think of would do [so] well to
1 General Garfield wrote from Washington, December 12: "In the meantime
two forces are at work. The Democratic business men of the country are more
anxious for quiet than for Tilden, and the leading Southern Democrats in Con
gress, especially those who were old Whigs, are saying that they have seen war
enough, and don't care to follow the lead of their Northern associates who, as
Ben Hill says, were 'invincible in peace and invisible in war.' After my speech
to-day on the point of order as to the validity of the Joint Rule, Hill came to me
and said: 'You are clearly right, and I don't intend to follow our people in this
sort of reckless warfare.' "
2 " You never did a more important act than when with your friend you sent
Colonel Kellar here. He was just the man needed to reach the Southern men,
and he came at the very time he was most wanted. He merits great praise."
(General H. V. Boynton, in letter from Washington, February 18, 1877, to
William Henry Smith.)
* President of the Pennsylvania Railway system.

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 521
promote business prosperity, immigration, and a change in the senti
ments of the Southern people on the unfortunate topic. Too much
poUtics, too little attention to business, is the bane of that part of
our country.
There is no doubt that most Republicans thought that any
proposed compromise, which should limit or qualify the full
authority which they believed the Constitution conferred on the
President of the Senate to count the electoral votes, would work
to their disadvantage. On the other hand, it is certain that the
Democrats believed that such a compromise would make possi
ble the establishment of their claims. It is not surprising, there
fore, that practically all the opposition to a compromise measure
came from the Republican press and from Republicans in Con
gress. It is not surprising that while most of the Republican
leaders that favored compromise did so from purely patriotic
motives, — from the conviction that otherwise the peace and
prosperity of the country would be imperilled, — others were
believed to act from motives that were not wholly disinterested.
At this juncture, in reply to a letter from Senator Sherman,1
Mr. Hayes clearly set forth his view: —
1 The letter is as follows: — U.S. Senate Chamber,
Washington, Jan. 3, 1877.
To Governor Hates: —
My hear Sir, — Some matters have transpired here that I think you ought
to know. The formation of the Senate committee on counting the electoral vote
gave us great solicitude, but the Vice-President, after consulting many Senators,
thought it best to put Mr. Conkling in the place of Logan. My judgment was
against it, but when pretty generally concurred in I did not feel justified in
objecting further. The committee is now sitting daily. I have heard from the
most reliable sources some indications of an unfavorable character, which I am
only at liberty to communicate to you in like confidence. Mr. Conkling has
openly stated in the committee his position that the President of the Senate has
no right to count the votes, and that, as the case stands, he will not vote that you
have either Florida or Louisiana. He may vote to allow the Supreme Court to
pass upon these questions. This develops a danger that I anticipated, but per
haps it is no greater with him on the committee than in the Senate. This brings
up directly the question whether we ought not promptly to agree to refer, by
proper legislation, in the nature of an appeal, to the Supreme Court or to a tri
bunal composed of the President of the Senate, Speaker, and Chief Justice, all the
legal questions that may arise in the progress of the count. I would like very
much your opinions or impressions on this matter, not only for my own but for
the information of others. Comly is here. — Very truly yours,
John Sherman.

522 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Confidential. Columbus, O., Jan. 5, 1877.
My heae Sm, — I have your note of the 3d. I do not wish to influence
the action of our friends, and do not volunteer opinions. But you have a
right to my opinion. I believe the Vice-President alone has the constitu
tional power to count the votes and declare the result. Everything in
the nature of a contest as to electoral votes is an affair of the States.
The rest is a merely ministerial duty. Therefore it is not right in my
judgment for Congress to interfere. — Sincerely,
R. B. Hates.
Hon. John Sherman,
U.S. Senate.
P.S. I would like your opinion and Senator Morton's on resigning as
Governor before the count in February. It would be a decided announce
ment of my own opinions as to the result of the election. I can do it with
great satisfaction whatever the probable action of the two houses, if it
is thought advisable. — H.1
Undoubtedly the view here expressed is correct. The States
have sole power and right to appoint the electors and to deter
mine all contests relating to their appointment. That is the view
which in the end prevailed; that is the view now universally
accepted. But in case of two or more certificates of returns,
forwarded in proper form from a State to the President of the
Senate, who was to determine which certificate was the authentic
one and was to be counted? That was the crux of the dispute;
and those who contended that Congress should have some voice
in the determination seemed to have much the best of the argu
ment. On the same day of the letter to Mr. Sherman, Mr. Hayes
Wrote in his diary : —
My advices are that the result of the action of the Senate will depend
on the report the committee of the Senate makes on the election in
Louisiana. This seems not to be in much doubt; but there is enough to
leave me in a state of suspense. I must therefore prepare for either event.
The Cabinet is the chief work, next the inaugural. As to the address,
I wish to repeat my letter of acceptance on, 1, currency and national
faith; 2, on civil service reform; 3, on the South. I must urge a liberal
policy towards the South, especially in affording facilities for education,
and encouraging business and immigration by internal improvements
of a national character.
How little disposed Mr. Hayes was, however, to insist on his
1 Mr. Sherman replied at once advising against the resignation.

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 523
opinion or to impose it on others, appears from a letter of
January 17 to Carl Schurz. He wrote: —
My heak General, — I returned late last night and find your letter.
I have no time to reply suitably this morning, but hasten to assure you
that nobody is authorized to represent me on the subject of the count.
I have thought it fitting that I should let that matter well alone. Of
course I have opinions. But I shall abide the result. No one ought to go
to war or even to law about it. I am free to say to you that I concur with
Kent.1 But others, abler to judge, think otherwise, and I recognize then-
right as good Republicans so to think. Many good Republicans think
that the interests of the party will be promoted by Tilden's success. I
can see many reasons for this opinion.
In the absence of congressional action the Vice-President should count
and declare. I am not favorably impressed with having it decided by
lot. But I beg you to believe me sincere when I say that I take no part
in this and shall quietly await the event.2
1 "The Constitution does not expressly declare by whom the votes are to be
counted and the result declared. In the case of questionable votes and a closely
contested election, this power may be all-important; and I presume, in the ab
sence of all legislative provision on the subject, that the President of the Senate
counts the votes and determines the result, and that the two houses are present
only as spectators, to witness the fairness and accuracy of the transaction, and to
act only if no choice be made by the election." (Kent's Commentaries, vol. I.)
2 Mr. Schurz replied at length, January 21. In the course of his letter he said:
" I think there is no man in the country who would be more heartily congratulated
upon its passage [the Electoral Commission Bill], if it does pass, — which I can
scarcely doubt, — than yourself. My reasons are these : If the Board of Arbitra
tion established by the bill decides in your favor, no man will be able to say that
you were put into the Presidency by mere partisan action. The result of the great
contest will not only be submitted to by the whole people, but all the good citi
zens will unite in defending it, as brought about by the fair and impartial judg
ment of the highest tribunal in the land, against what clamor may still be raised
against it by extreme partisans. The latter will then appear as wanton disturbers
of the public repose. And even if the Board should decide against you, you would
be saved from the mortifications and disappointments which would inevitably
follow a decision in your favor brought about by a proceeding which would be
looked upon, not only by Democrats, but by a very large number of Republicans,
as an unscrupulous stretch of party power for selfish party interest; and so the
counting and declaring of the vote by the Senate would undoubtedly be regarded.
Your name would not be associated in our history with one of the most dangerous
precedents of party action. The Conference Bill may not be perfect; it may pro
vide for a proceeding of an extra-constitutional character, although I think its
constitutionality can be defended on solid ground; but it has the great virtue of
removing a question, the manner of whose decision may furnish a precedent
fraught with the most precarious consequences for the future of the Republic,
from the theatre of excited and apparently selfish partisan strife; of insuring the
country a Government whose legitimacy will stand above serious dispute and of
restoring confidence and repose to the public mind. It is no wonder that, some

524 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
There is a contingency which I must be prepared for. I must consider,
if not write, an inaugural, and consider, if not appoint, a Cabinet. On
these points I am glad to hear from aU my friends. I had a good talk
with General Cox at Toledo Saturday.
Write often and fuUy. — Sincerely,
R. B. Hayes.
The same day the diary records: —
Wheeler, Chandler (William E.), and others write that Conkling is
decidedly hostile, and that he has enough foUowers to pass through the
Senate a compromise measure. The effect of this is to change the result
in all probability. Well, I am personaUy content. I must go on to the
end, and in the meanwhile prepare for either event.
In the Senate, on January 18, Senator Edmunds, on behalf of
the Joint Committee of fourteen, submitted the bill for the crea
tion of the Electoral Commission, together with the report of the
committee. This report, which set forth admirably but concisely
both the difficulties which the committee had faced in its task and
the merits, as it believed, of the conclusion it had reached, after
long and conscientious consideration, in the bill now presented,
was signed by every member of the committee,1 except Senator
Morton who remained irreconcilably opposed to any compro
mise.2 The practical unanimity of the committee as well as the
political circles excepted, the people should have welcomed it with such a pre
ponderance of sentiment as a measure of relief."
1 The Senate members of the committee were Messrs. Edmunds, Morton,
Frelinghuysen, and Conkling, Republicans; and Messrs. Thurman, Bayard,
and Ransom, Democrats. The House members were Messrs. Payne, Hunton,
Hewitt, and Springer, Democrats; and Messrs. McCrary, Hoar, and Willard,
Republicans. 2 Two days after the Commission Bill was introduced. Mr. Hayes wrote John
Sherman, who was opposed to the measure : " Your views of the compromise are
also mine. I prefer not to be quoted. I do not desire to influence the decision by
Congress. But the bill seems to me to be a very dangerous violation of the Con
stitution. I agree with you also that the true appeal is to the Supreme Court,
according to the accustomed rules and principles of law, by quo warranto, or other
wise. ... I write this for your eye alone, believing that you are entitled to my
opinions. I do not wish them to be used to influence anybody."
January 25 he wrote Garfield: " I have not replied before to your esteemed favor
of the 19th because I did not want to even seem to wish to influence the action of
Congress on the subject of the count. Good Republicans differ as to the bill of
the Conference Committee. I see, or think I see, constitutional objections to it.
Certainly I prefer any plan which leaves the decision to the Supreme Court. But
now that it is before the country, with many Republicans committed to it, the
question is a different one from what it was when it was before the committee as
an original proposition. There ought to be full argument before the Commission.

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 525
sobriety of its report could not fail to exercise potent influence
alike on Congress and on public opinion generally. In a word
the committee declared: —
^ This bill, then, is only directed to ascertaining, for the purpose and in
aid of the counting, what are the constitutional votes of the respective
States; and whatever jurisdiction exists for such purpose, the bfll only
regulates the method of exercising it.
The debate which followed laid special emphasis upon this
point — that the proposed Commission would have and could
exercise no greater power in determining the questions that
should be submitted to it than that already possessed under the
Constitution by the two houses of Congress. Whatever jurisdic
tion over the electoral count Congress possessed, the Commission
would possess and only that.1
The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 47 to 17, 10 members
being absent. The majority was made up of 21 Republicans and
Argument on all questions — their powers, the true principles of the Constitu
tion, and the substantial equities. If this is not sufficiently provided for, it is
worthy of consideration whether amendments should not be made to secure it.
Do not understand me as wishing to influence you for or against the bill. I under
stand you are fully decided on your course."
He wrote Carl Schurz, January 23 : " No doubt the compromise will pass and
I hope it will turn out weU. I shall do nothing to influence the result. The meas
ure is, as you say, 'extra-constitutional.' I am not disposed to look anxiously
for constitutional objections when an important good is to be accomplished. With
me the chief objection is the usurpation of the Presidential power of appointment
which it involves. Congress, as my 'letter' intimates, has done this too much in
the past."
1 " In framing this act the two committees carefully and intentionally refrained
from changing in any way any law then existing that might affect either way the
fundamental merits of the existing controversy; and so, when the bill was under
debate in the Senate, and Mr. Morton, a member of the committee, who did not
concur in its report or in the passage of the bill, moved to amend the same by pro
viding ' That nothing herein contained shall authorize the said Commission to go
behind the finding and determination of the canvassing or returning officers of a
State authorized by the laws of the State to find and determine the result of an
election for electors,' I moved to amend the amendment so as to make it declare
that the Commission should have authority to go behind the returns. The pur
pose of my motion was to make it impossible that any inference should exist from
Mr. Morton's proposition being rejected that the Commission should be granted
by the act any authority either way that did not already exist. I, of course, voted
against my own amendment and only one Senator voted for it. The amendment
of Mr. Morton was defeated by a majority of more than two to one. Thus the bill
passed without any amendment at aU." (Ex-Senator George F. Edmunds, in
Century Magazine, June, 1913.)

526 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
26 Democrats. Of those voting agamst the bill all but one (Eaton,
of Connecticut,) were Republicans.1
In the House, which took up the bill on January 25, the
strongest argument in favor of passing the measure was made by
Mr. Abram S. Hewitt, of New York, a member of the Joint Com
mittee, and a close friend of Mr. Tilden. He pointed out the
consequences which he believed inevitable — and his position in
the party councils (chairman of the Democratic National Com
mittee) gave his words additional weight — in the absence of the
proposed legislation. "The President of the Senate would count
the votes for Hayes, and he would be inaugurated by the use
of the army. But the House would not be silent and passive
spectators. They would insist on their right to participate in
the count. They would count the votes of Florida and Louisi
ana for Tilden and Hendricks and declare them elected. Thus
there would be two Presidents claiming each to be lawfully
chosen. The logical result would be civil war with all its hor
rors. The end no man could foresee, save refuge sooner or later
under an imperial ruler. But the committee had formed a plan
absolutely fair between the two political parties, which meant
the supremacy of the civil over the military power."
In conclusion Mr. Hewitt said: —
No man can predict who will become President by virtue of its opera
tion, but all men can predict that it will be the man who is lawfully en
titled to be President. If the law should violate the equity of the case, it
is ground for the amendment of the law, but not of rebellion against its
decrees. ... It means the preservation of the autonomy of the States,
and the right of the people therein to regulate and administer their local
affairs, without any interference from any quarter. Lastly, it means
oblivion of aU the bitterness of the past, security for the present, hope for
the future.
The House passed the bill by a vote of 191 to 86, 14 not voting.
Of the majority, 159 were Democrats and 32 Republicans; of the
minority, all but 18 were Republicans. '
Thus, while both parties shared equally in the draughting of
1 After the passage of the hill by the Senate Mr. Sherman, who had opposed
the bill, wrote Mr. Hayes, January 26 : " Still, it is the surrender of a certainty for
an uncertainty, with the advantage that the decision of the tribunal, whatever
it should be, will be peacefully acquiesced in. . . . Your quiet, reserved course
is universally commended, and I close with the hope that even the bill, which I
feared so much, may make your 'calling and election sure.'"-

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 527
the bill, and the bill could not have been passed by the Senate
without the cooperation of the Republicans, the measure after
all owed its existence and support much rather to the Democrats
than to the Republicans. In the entire Congress only 19 Demo
cratic votes were recorded agamst it and few Democratic voices
were raised in opposition to its passage. But Republican after
Republican argued against its adoption, and 84 Republicans
expressed their disapprobation of it by their votes. With such
practical unanimity of Democratic sanction of this plan of set
tling the electoral dispute, the Democrats of the nation, leaders
and masses, were under compelling moral obligation to accept in
good faith any decision, though adverse to their contentions, that
the Electoral Commission should render.
The President promptly signed the bill, notifying the Senate
of his action in a message to that body on January 29. After re
viewing the conditions, which to his mind made action by Con
gress imperative, he concluded his message with these wise and
reassuring words: —
The country is agitated. It needs and it desires peace, and quiet, and
harmony, between all parties and all sections. Its industries are arrested,
labor unemployed, capital idle, and enterprise paralyzed, by reason of
the doubt and anxiety attending the uncertainty of a double claim to the
Chief Magistracy of the nation. It wants to be assured that the result
of the election will be accepted without resistance from the supporters of
the disappointed candidates, and that its highest officer shall not hold
his place with a questioned title of right. Believing that the biU will
secure these ends, I give it my signature.
Mr. Hayes followed the progress of the debate in Congress on
the Commission Bill with intense interest. As already set forth,
his opinion was adverse to the propriety or the need of any legis
lation; least of all of an extraordinary character. The measure
when proposed seemed to him exposed to constitutional objec
tions. Sunday, January 21, he writes in his diary: —
The compromise reported by the Joint Committee seems to be a sur
render, at least in part, of our case. The leading constitutional objection
to it, perhaps, is that the appointment of the Commission by Act of Con
gress violates that part of the Constitution which gives the appointment
of all other officers to the President. To this it will possibly be repUed
that the members of the Commission are not officers — that they are
analogous to referees and master commissioners, to advisory boards, or

528 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
committees. But is this true? Their decisions stand unless both houses
of Congress concur in overruling them. If the Commission decides to
throw out the vote of Mississippi, the vote of that State wiU be lost if
one House concurs. If the Commission decides that Cronin's vote for
Tilden shall be counted, it will be counted if the House alone concurs.
The Commission is analogous to inferior tribunals. Its decisions are
binding unless the superior tribunal overrules them by a concurrent vote
of both houses. The President of the Senate and the Senate may be
overruled by the Commission and the House. Surely the members of
such a commission are officers. Their appointment by Congress is a
usurpation of the Presidential authority. If the bill has not a two-
thirds vote in both houses, the President's veto ought to prevent it from
becoming a law.
The next most important objection to the bill is that if passed it may
turn out to be an act to prevent the counting of the electoral vote. There
can be no count if the Commission refuses or fails to act. This power to
prevent a decision is a power far above any power belonging to Congress,
master commissioners, advisory boards, or committees.
January 26 Mr. Hayes wrote: —
The compromise bill for counting the Presidential vote passed the
Senate by 47 to 17. More Republicans supported it than voted against
it. The Democrats all voted aye except Eaton, of Connecticut. Its pas
sage by a like majority in the House is probable. What Congress and
the popular sentiment approve is rarely defeated by reason of constitu
tional objections.
I trust the measure will turn out weU. It is a great relief to me. De
feat in this way, after a full and public hearing before this Commission,
is not mortifying in any degree, and success wiU be in aU respects more
satisfactory. I have not tried to influence the opinions or actions of
anybody on the bill.
Before another Presidential election this whole subject of the Presi
dential election ought to be thoroughly considered, and a radical change
made. It is probable that no wise measure can be devised which does not
require an amendment of the Constitution. Let proposed amendments
be maturely considered. Something ought to be done immediately.
On the same day Mr. Hayes wrote to Judge Alphonso Taft, the
Attorney-General, as follows: —
I am obliged for your valued letter. The bill in relation to the election
wiU become a law. Of course, with so strong a vote in its favor, the Presi
dent will promptly sign it. I have not attempted to influence the result
and shall not. If the principles of Mr. Frelinghuysen's speech are
adopted by the Commission, our success is almost certain. I take it our
friends will see that we are ably and wisely represented both on and be
fore the Commission. This is the next point of mterest.

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 529
The law provided for a Commission of fifteen members, five to
be elected by each House of Congress by viva voce vote and five
to be justices of the Supreme Court. Of the last, four were desig
nated by the Act itself, two being Democrats and two Republi
cans. These four were to select the fifth. It had been the general
supposition or tacit understanding that the fifth justice was
likely to be Judge David Davis, who was regarded as an inde
pendent in politics.1 But just at this juncture, a coalition of inde
pendents and Democrats in the Rlinois Legislature, which had
been in a deadlock over the choice of a United States Senator
(certain Republicans refusing to vote for the reelection of Senator
Logan), elected Judge Davis to the Senate, and so he was consid
ered ineligible for service on the Commission. There was much
speculation and solicitude on all sides as to which one of the other
four justices should be chosen. When the announcement was
made, January 31, that the choice had fallen upon Mr. Justice
1 The public prints of the day and private letters voiced this understand
ing. It is expressed, for example, in the following letter: —
Washington, D.C.,
January 20, 1877.
Dear Governor, — I write briefly. You have read the "compromise" which
amounts to the giving a certainty for an uncertainty. What will be its fate the
future can only determine. The impression yesterday, after the reading of the
report, seemed to be that it will pass the two houses. But it will be opposed by
some of our leading friends and, rumor says, by some of the opposition. What the
President will do no one knows. I send the leader in this morning's National
Republican. Whether it had any inspiration from the White House I don't know.
My instincts are all opposed to the measure. I have not, however, examined it
carefully. Waite, Sherman, Taft, and I talked it over last night at the Chief Jus
tice's house. Sherman is opposed to it; so Taft; and the Chief Justice listened
attentively to all that was said. I have had several conversations with him on
the general subject and am sorry he is not to be on the Commission, if the com
promise be adopted. I don't mean that the two Republican judges selected are
not reliable, but I have not talked with either of them. It looks as if Davis may
be the fifth judge, and as to him I will say, that I have more confidence in him
than our friends here generally have. I can't well explain on paper; still, I would
feel easier as to him, if he had had less to do with the Democracy than he has had.
I have no authority to say what he will probably do, if on the Commission. My
opinion is formed on what I have heard he has said generally on the Presidential
question. Suppose the President would veto the bill? What then?
There are many matters connected with this whole affair I would like to talk
over with you, but can't well write about. — Truly yours,
W. Dennison.
Governor Hayes.

530 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
Bradley, the Republican leaders believed that the chances of a
decision in consonance with their interpretation of the powers of
the Commission were decidedly favorable.
Mr. Hayes, writing in his diary, January 31, says: —
The Commission seems to be a good one. At 2 p.m. Webb [his son]
announced, "The judge, it is Bradley. In Washington the bets are five
to one that the next [President] will be Hayes! "
But I am in no way elated. I prefer success. But I am clear that for
our happiness failure is to be preferred. I shall await the event with the
utmost composure. If the result is adverse, I shall be cheerful, quiet,
and serene. If successful, may God give me grace to be firm and wise
and just — clear in the great office — for the true interest of all the
people of the United States!
On Thursday, February 1, the count of the electoral votes
began, the States being called in alphabetical order. When Flor
ida was reached, contesting certificates were presented and all
the papers in the case were referred to the Electoral Commis
sion.1 Elaborate arguments were presented for and against the
power of the Commission to "go behind the returns" which con
sumed several days. The Commission decided by a strict party
vote that it had no such power; that the action of the duly con
stituted state authorities, within the time specified by law, was
final in determining who were the properly chosen electors; and
that it had no authority to inquire into the methods pursued in
such determination or to take cognizance of any subsequent ac
tion or reversal of its decision by a State.2
1 The members of the Commission were Justices Clifford (President), Field,
Miller, Strong, and Bradley; Senators Edmunds, Morton, Frelinghuysen, Bay
ard, and Thurman; Representatives Abbot, Hunton, Payne, Garfield, and Hoar.
2 The general principle was best laid down later by the Commission in the
South Carolina decision: "There exists no power in this Commission, and there
exists none in the two houses of Congress, in counting the electoral vote, to in
quire into the circumstances under which the primary vote for electors was given.
The power of the Congress of the United States in its legislative capacity to in
quire into the matters alleged, and to act upon the information so obtained, is a
very different one from its power in the matter of counting the electoral vote.
The votes to be counted are those presented by the State, and, when ascertained
and presented by the proper authorities of the State, they must be counted."
The New York Nation (February 22, 1877), which was inclined to the view that
the equities favored the Democrats, declared: "If the Commission had decided
to ' go behind the returns,' to the extent asked for by the Democrats, ... it would
have prepared the way for endless complications at future elections, and perhaps
for the conversion of the Presidential election into a farce. We should have had
to prepare ourselves for ' double returns ' from two thirds^of the States and a fight

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 531
Probably no one to-day who has a proper conception of the
just powers or rights of the States, who understandingly consid
ers the limits of their autonomy under the Federal Constitution,
doubts that the judgment of the majority of the Electoral Com
mission was absolutely sound and correct; that any other judg
ment would have been in serious derogation of the dignity and
integrity of state authority. Even if he should believe that this
judgment involved a violation of the equity of the case (which,
of course, the author does not believe), he must still acknowledge
that it was faultless in principle. The wonder must always be
that the Democrats, who have ever professed themselves the
truest and sturdiest defenders of the rights of the States, should,
in their eagerness to attain their immediate end, have been will
ing to desert their historic position and sanction the invasion of
state authority by the federal power.
As the result of its decision the Commission, February 9, re
ported to the President of the Senate that the electoral votes of
Florida should be counted for Hayes and Wheeler. As the Senate
concurred in this decision the votes were so counted.1 The count
proceeded, the papers from each disputed State being referred in
order to the Commission and the decision in every instance fol
lowing the precedent set in the Florida case.2 It was not till the
in Congress over the vote in each State, which would have caused the count to
last for a year, and would, every fourth year, have inflicted a season of complete
paralysis on business."
1 Mr. Hayes's comment on the Florida decision in his diary, February 8, fol
lows: "Yesterday the Electoral Commission decided not to go behind the papers
filed with the Vice-President in the case of Florida. The question was well argued
on our side. Judge Matthews was notably able and successful. Mr. Evarts's argu
ment was worthy of his fame. I read the arguments in the Congressional Record
and can't see how lawyers can differ on the question. But the decision is by a
strictly party vote — eight Republicans against the seven Democrats. It shows
the strength of party ties. The general situation is now regarded as much more
favorable to us, and now our friends are very confident of success." — The next
day Mr. Hayes records: "I hear from [blank] of Steubenville, that Eli T. Shep-
pard, being unwell, kept his bed in a hotel at Washington, while Jere Black dis
cussed with his callers in a room separated from that of S. by a door, [thus hearing]
the loud talk in Black's room on the situation. Black said: 'God damn them, they
will beat us and elect Hayes; but we shall give them all the trouble we can!
1 The following letter to Mr. Hayes gives a vivid contemporary impression
of the tense feeling at Washington during the count: —
1333 G St., Washington, D.C.,
February 18, 1877.
Dear General, — Since I wrote you we have passed through the "Louisiana

532 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
early morning of March 2 that the count was completed and the
result declared. While the Democrats, after the Florida decision,
could hardly have entertained much expectation of success, they
contested every case with the utmost vigor, and as they saw
every hope gradually vanishing, the more impulsive of them were
disposed to resort to dilatory tactics and even attempted a fili
buster,1 — which was steadfastly opposed by Speaker Randall 2
and the leading Democratic members from the South,3 — so
as to delay the completion of the count beyond the 4th of March.
experience." The trial — the awaiting the "verdict" — the attendance upon
the announcement of the decision of the Commission and the resulting scenes of
excitement and indignation were affairs of strange and most transcendent inter
est. But they are already, apparently, about past; and the quickness with which
they all subsided, and were lost in this great ocean of ours, furnishes a remarkable
indication as to what an ocean it is; and as to how prodigious those currents are
which sweep on and on forever, unchecked, and almost undisturbed by the most
momentous events transpiring on its vast surface.
Of course, you are kept incessantly informed about what is occurring, and is
likely to occur; and it is because I know you are overwhelmed with "informa
tion," that I have deemed it best to trouble you but Httle with statements about
our trial. We all think the case virtually decided, and that the Democracy will
make little further fight. Your inauguration will be peaceful and I trust auspi
cious. And now, my dear friend, may Heaven attend you in the most momentous
duties about to come to you; and if you can only contribute to the restoration of
our Government, and its methods and administrative processes, to the condi
tions pointed out in your letter of acceptance, — especially in regard to the civil
service, — then will your Administration pass into our history as an epoch — a.
rescue of the Republic from impending disaster.
But when I began I had not the slightest idea of what I was about to write —
so, good-bye, and God bless and uphold you. — Yours faithfully and ever,
S. Shellababqeb.
1 W. D. Bickham, editor of the Dayton Journal, writing to Mr. Hayes from
Washington, February 14, 1877, said: "Iknow, by authority not to be committed
to writing, that Tilden intends that his friends shall filibuster to prevent a com
pletion of the count. That was his intention Sunday. I know also by testimony
that the New York Sun articles generally, for some time past, have been sub
mitted to him in proof."
2 "Read last evening the speeches on Randall. His greatest act was in 1877 —
holding the scales even in carrying out the Electoral Commission's decision."
(Diary, May 16, 1891.)
8 "In all the debates in the House over the Presidential dispute, ever since the
election, the Southern members have been foremost in supporting a policy of
peace and moderation; they held the violent Northern Democrats in check in the
earlier days of the controversy; they threw their influence in favor of the plan of
arbitration; they helped to pass it; and since the decision has gone against them
they have counselled a cheerful submission and have discountenanced all schemes
for 'filibustering' or delay or resistance." (The Nation, February 22, 1877.).,

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 533
But just what they expected to gain by that procedure it is diffi
cult to surmise.
These Southern leaders were doubtless fortified in their oppo
sition to the attempted filibuster by assurances received from
close friends of Mr. Hayes that he would abide by the full impli
cation of his letter of acceptance in dealing with the South.
Senator Gordon and Congressman John Young Brown, of Ken
tucky, called on Congressman Charles Foster, of Ohio, on Febru
ary 26. Mr. Young reminded Mr. Foster that he " had been voting
agamst all dilatory motions and had in a speech advocated the
inflexible execution of the Electoral Bill"; and that he intended
to continue doing so whatever other Southern members might do;
that his course had evoked much criticism from his friends in
Kentucky; and that he "desired a written assurance from him
that the policy of Mr. Hayes would be as indicated" in the
speech Mr. Foster had made in Congress a few days before. Mr.
Foster replied that he had a letter from Mr. Hayes approving his
speech and that he would give him the written assurance he re
quested. He consulted with Stanley Matthews and the next day
gave Mr. Brown the following joint letter: —
Washington, February 27, 1877.
Gentlemen, — Referring to the conversation had with you yester
day in which Governor Hayes's policy as to the status of certain South
ern States was discussed, we desire to say that we can assure you in the
strongest possible manner of our great desire to have him adopt such a
policy as will give to the people of the States of South Carolina and
Louisiana the right to control their own affairs in their own way, sub
ject only to the Constitution of the United States and the laws made in
pursuance thereof, and to say further that from an acquaintance with
and knowledge of Governor Hayes and his views, we have the most com
plete confidence that such will be the policy of his Administration. —
Respectfully, Stanley Matthews,
Charles Foster.
To the Hon. John B. Gordon
and the Hon. John Young Bhown.
Mr. Brown gave copies of the letter to several Southern men
with authority to use them as they thought best. Moreover,
acting on the suggestion of the call of Senator Gordon and Mr.
Brown, Mr. Foster arranged for a conference with other Southern

534 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
members of Congress that same evening. Mr. Foster's account
of this conference at Wormley's Hotel follows : —
During the final hours of the count under the Electoral BiU, several
Southern gentlemen who opposed a filibustering movement were solici
tous that they should have definite assurances from Mr. Hayes as to his
Southern policy. An informaljmeeting was'arranged, at which were pres
ent as friends of Mr. Hayes Messrs. Sherman, Garfield, Dennison,
Matthews, and myself. The object of the meeting was simply to arrive
at a better understanding in regard to the policy of the incoming
Administration. They, on their part, did not claim that the assurances
they asked for were to determine their action as to carrying out the
provisions of the Electoral Bill. They desired them as a guaranty to
their people that they acted in good faith. To this end they desired that
Governor Hayes give them only such guaranties as he had already
given to his own friends.
In reply it was stated by us that it would be improper and indelicate
at this time for Governor Hayes to give any assurances foreshadowing
his policy. We felt, however, fully justified in stating, from our knowl
edge of the views and intentions of Governor Hayes, that his policy
would be to favor local self-government and home rule in the South. We
gave no assurances as coming directly from Mr. Hayes. We simply
stated our belief as to his course, based upon communications from and
conversations with him. Whatever may have been said with regard to
the withdrawal of troops was simply in the nature of a belief that such
would be the result of the policy which we believed the President would
adopt.1 The country gave a sigh of relief when the result was declared.
Even the bitterly disappointed Democrats were glad the agony
was over. Only here and there were heard faint murmurs of a
disposition to resent and resist the decision by force. The Com
mission had accomplished the purpose for which it had been cre
ated; it had secured a peaceful settlement of a dispute which
threatened the stability of the Government.2 It had determined,
1 Interview in Fostoria (Ohio) Review, March 23.
That the friends of Mr. Hayes were abundantly justified in their assurances to
the Southern gentlemen is proved by the following extract from a letter of Mr.
Hayes to Senator Sherman, of February 15: "Boynton writes to Smith that an
assurance that my views on the Southern question are truly set forth in my letter,
with such additions as I could properly make, would be useful. I prefer to make
no new declarations. But you may say, if you deem it advisable, that you know
that I will stand by the friendly and encouraging words of that letter and by all
that they imply. You cannot express that too strongly."
* " Harper's Weekly held then and holds now that there had been so much in
timidation, bribery, fraud, and suppressions that it was absolutely impossible to

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 535
as Mr. Hewitt predicted that it would, who was "lawfully en
titled to be President." The Democrats, who had had the largest
share in its creation, could not with any respect for consistency
"rebel against its decree." And be it said for the great body of
them, that, even if they still felt that the victory fairly belonged
to them, they accepted the arbitrament as final, in the spirit of
loyal and patriotic Americans.1
It is always confidently assumed by Democratic critics of the
decision of the Electoral Commission that had the Commission
decided that it was authorized "to go behind the returns,"
Mr. Tilden would have become President.2 But that is pure
know what the vote really was, and that under the circumstances the only way to
avoid civil convulsion was to agree upon such scheme of settlement as was
adopted. Its adoption and the peaceful carrying out of the decision, was one of
the greatest triumphs of patriotism in our annals." (George William Curtis, in
Harper's Weekly, June 23, 1888.)
1 As Secretary Evarts said, in a speech at Cooper Union, New York, October
24, 1878: "By an exhibition of wisdom and courage, by a comprehensive and
circumspect estimate of the gravity of the situation, the people of the country
exhibited a control over themselves in an emergency of this kind — certainly
unforeseen and wholly unprovided for — that bespoke the greatness of the nation
in a civil capacity, as the record of the civil war had proclaimed its greatness as a
military nation. . . . When both sections, both parties, resorted to a method of
final settlement that should be of debate and of reason, of judgment and of deci
sion, the unanimous applause alike of the nations that had admired our scheme
of free government, and nations that dissented from it, went up that the final
trial of the American people had carried them safely through; and henceforth, in
peace or war, there was no problem too great for them to solve."
2 In the Century Magazine for May, 1913, Mr. Henry Watterson, the brilliant
editor of the Louisville Courier-Journal, who was a member of Congress during
the electoral dispute and a leader in Democratic counsels, has a discursive article
on "The Hayes-Tilden Contest for the Presidency" which starts off by asserting:
"The time is coming, if it has not already arrived, when among fair-minded and
intelligent Americans there will not be two opinions touching the Hayes-Tilden
contest for the Presidency in 1876-77, — that both by the popular vote and a
fair count of the electoral vote Tilden was elected and Hayes was defeated, —
but the whole truth underlying the determinate incidents which led to the rejec
tion of Tilden and the seating of Hayes will never be known." But Mr. Watter
son presents no facts to sustain his assertion. In the next following number of
the same magazine, ex-Senator George F. Edmunds, the last surviving member
of the Electoral Commission, replies to what he calls Mr. Watterson's "rather
astonishing article." He declares: "I believe that the time has come when among
fair-minded and intelligent Americans who will investigate the public and printed
documents and papers in existence on the subject, there will be few divergent
opinions touching the justice and lawfulness of the election of Mr. Hayes. They
will find that he was lawfully elected and instituted to the office by fair and law
ful means." Further he says: "He [Mr. Watterson] imputes to the members of the

536 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
assumption. What would have followed would have been a pro
longed contest before the Commission, involving the presentation
of an infinite amount of detailed information, affidavits, and testi
mony regarding the elections in the disputed States, and extended
arguments by the opposing counsel, and then a finding in each
case by the Commission as to which one of the various sets of
certificates was the proper one and was to be counted. No one can
possibly be assured that after such hearings the majority of the
Commission would in any single case have decided in favor of the
Tilden certificate. It is conceivable, of course, that it might have
done so, but the author believes that this is altogether improb
able. To him it seems beyond doubt that if the Commission
had proceeded in that manner the final result would have been
precisely the same. But meanwhile the country would have con
tinued in depressing uncertainty, with increasing bitterness of
partisan recrimination and disputation. There is no reasonable
probability that the labors of the Commission could have been
completed before the 4th of March; and the nation would thus
have been confronted with an interregnum, the consequences of
which the mind shudders to contemplate.
There is absolutely no more ground for charging the Republi
can members of the Commission with having been dominated
solely by partisan considerations than for making the same
charge against the Democratic members. All the members of the
Commission were men of the highest character, men of unblem
ished reputation, and of eminent ability. It is impossible to be
lieve that any one of them consciously acted in the matter except
in accordance with what he conscientiously believed to be right
and just. The Republicans adopted one theory of the power of
the Commission (the right theory, the author believes, the true
Republican party at that time officially or otherwise connected with public affairs
the crime of bribing the state canvassing boards of the disputed States 'at least in
patronage, to make false returns in favor of the Republican electors.' As one of
the few survivors of that stormy time, as the last survivor of the members of the
select committees of the two houses who conducted the passage of the Electoral
Bill, and as the last survivor of the members of the Electoral Commission, I feel
bound to repel the imputation as wholly groundless. In all our frequent consulta
tions during the whole time there never was a proposal, suggestion, or hint of
ours, or on the part of any one of us, resorting to bribery in any form, or of
promise of office or other benefit, or influencing or trying to influence any of the
canvassing boards or other state officials to depart from their lawful duty."

K

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 537
historic Democratic theory of constitutional interpretation), the
Democrats, another theory. The difference was fundamental.
It is not singular in view of all the circumstances of the case that
party lines were thus sharply drawn. Every member, whether
Republican or Democrat, must have felt a subconscious com
pulsion to support the theory which his party believed to be the
right and true one. Had any single commissioner of either party
given his voice to the opposing theory, the imagination falters in
contemplating the odium and obloquy that would have been his
portion from his fellow partisans for the remainder of his days.
What the Republican Senators who refused to vote for the im
peachment of Andrew Johnson suffered in cruel despite would
not have been a circumstance to what such a man might reason
ably have expected.
For some reason the Democratic critics of the Commission's
decision conceived that special and particular responsibility
rested on Mr. Justice Bradley, because he was the last man se
lected. But he had no other or greater responsibility than each
and every other member of the Commission. If it be assumed
that the decision was made without regard to right or reason,
but solely on partisan grounds, it was no more the duty of Judge
Bradley to rise above partisanship than it was the duty of every
other member. Nor is there, so far as the author knows, any
sound basis for the Democratic assumption that if Judge Davis
had been the fifteenth man the decision would have been differ
ent. Certain it is that while the Commission was sitting Judge
Davis in conversation with friends approved its action. William
Henry Smith, who knew Judge Davis well, writing to Mr. Hayes,
from Chicago, February 17, 1877, had this to say : "Judge Davis
has been spending three days in this city. You will be pleased to
hear that he most heartily approves the action of Judge Bradley.
He says no good lawyer, not a strict partisan, could decide other
wise." 1
Mr. Hayes himself never had any doubt, after he was informed
1 "The day after the inauguration of Hayes my kinsman, Stanley Matthews,
said to me, 'You people wanted Judge Davis. So did we. I tell you what I know,
that Judge Davis was as safe for us as Judge Bradley. We preferred him because
he carried more weight.' The subsequent career of Judge Davis in the Senate
gives conclusive proof that this was true." (Henry Watterson, in Century
Magazine, May, 1913.)

538 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
concerning the elections and the election laws in the disputed
States, that he was not only legally but equitably entitled to the
Presidency. Writing, February 16, 1885, to the Honorable Hugh
Campbell, at that time the United States District Attorney of
Dakota, Mr. Hayes said: —
I have never had any doubt as to the legality or the fairness of the
final result in 1876. Garfield, Sherman, and other gentlemen of high
character who visited Louisiana to observe the count, personally assured
me in the strongest terms that my equitable as well as legal right to the
vote of that State was beyond all question.
More than this, one of the ablest and most influential Democrats in
the country, who was perfectly familiar with the inner history of the
whole affair on the Democratic side, told me that no intelligent or can
did man of his party could claim the election for the Democratic party
if he conceded the validity of the Fifteenth Amendment. Said he : " If the
negro vote is entitled to be considered, you should have had more States
than were counted for you." No doubt this is true.1
Again in his diary, December 10, 1886, Mr. Hayes wrote: —
Evarts, Sherman, McCormick, and others recently talked on the
"Fraud issue," which a faction of the Democratic party still harp upon.
My notions of it are clear and decided.
1. In 1876 the Republicans were equitably entitled to the advantages
of the Fifteenth Amendment under which, if it had been obeyed and en
forced, they would have had a majority of the popular vote of the country,
and at least 203 electoral votes to Tilden's 166. This includes Louisiana,
Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, and South Carolina among the Repub
lican States.
2. If the States which equitably belonged to the Republicans, but
which were claimed by the Democrats, are excluded from the count,
namely, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Florida, — that is, if only
1 "To continue with a word the disputed election of 1876. Washington Mc
Lean, proprietor of the Cincinnati Enquirer, a firm Democrat, of large ability and
influence, a Warwick in his party, never taking office, said to me often, 'Oh! we
all agree that if the Fifteenth Amendment is to be regarded, you were clearly en
titled to the place.' ' No man of sense can deny that we nullified that in the elec
tion.' ' The negroes were kept from the polls by our people deliberately — and we
in the North looked on with approval.'
" The truth [is], the Republicans were clearly entitled to Mississippi, Alabama,
and other States that were counted for Tilden.
"If all the States in which fraud and force controlled were thrown out and not
counted at all, the Republicans would have had a clear and decided majority, and
if all the States whose legal and constitutional votes were Republican had been
so returned, Tilden would have [been] beaten [by] about forty votes in the elec
toral colleges." (Diary, February 4, 1892.)

THE DISPUTED ELECTION 539
the States are counted about which no ground of dispute existed, — the
vote would have stood, Republican 173, Democratic 166.
3. When the disputed election came before Congress the Democratic
party decided to leave the question to the Electoral Commission. Mr.
Tilden advised his friends to support the measure. This is clearly stated
by Governor R. C. McCormick. He says that Senator Thurman was so
advised by Mr. Tilden. After the result unfavorable to the Democrats
was announced, doubts of Mr. Tilden's position were first heard of.
Governor McCormick is the son-in-law of Judge Thurman and likely
to know the facts.
4. In 1880 the question was practically settled, in all fairness, by the
action of the Democratic party and the people. The Republicans nom
inated General Garfield. He was identified in many ways with the result
of 1876, as declared in favor of the Republicans. He was one of the vis
iting statesmen who supervised the count in Louisiana. He reported to
General Hayes, and officially to President Grant, that the Republicans
were legally and equitably entitled to the Presidency.
He was by a unanimous vote of the House of Representatives made
one of the Electoral Commission, and as such judge, under oath, found
in favor of the Republicans, when his vote if cast for the Democrats
would have given them the victory. In the canvass of 1880 this was
made a point against him, but the people elected him in spite of the fraud
cry. But still more cogent was the action of the Democratic party. They
declined to take issue with the Republicans in their nomination. They
declined to nominate Mr. Tilden against General Garfield. This, it may
be said, was because, after the Potter Committee and the cipher dis
patches, Mr. Tilden was no longer an available candidate. But there
was Mr. Hendricks who as Vice-Presidential candidate might well be
nominated for the first place if Mr. Tilden was unavailable. Or Judge
Thurman, one of the Electoral Commission, or Mr. Bayard, ditto, if
nominated, might have "saved the fraud issue."
That the whole question was given up is shown by the editor of the
Courier-Journal, Mr. Watterson, in his article on Mr. Tilden. He says :
(quote). [Mr. Hayes faUed to insert quotation.] The nomination of
Hancock was a most significant yielding of the question. Pending
the count he wrote to General Sherman: (quote). [Quotation again
lacking.] When the result was declared, he was perhaps the first army officer in
full uniform, having come on his own motion from New York to Wash
ington to attend the inauguration, immediately after the ceremony, to
call on President Hayes and to congratulate him. He belonged to that
wing of the party who agreed with Vice-President Hendricks, Alex. H.
Stephens, and the great body of the party that General Hayes's title
was perfect. The Democratic party, by nominating Hancock and re
fusing to nominate Tilden, or any one identified with the maintenance
of the fraud issue, against Garfield, who was fully identified with every

540 RUTHERFORD BLRCHARD HAYES
essential step in the series of events which gave the Repubhcans the vic
tory in 1876-77 [abandoned the fraud issue].
Those who were closely connected with the declaration of the result
in 1876-77 retain the confidence of the people.
Mr. Evarts, the leading counsel for the Republicans, after serving as
Secretary of State in the Hayes Administration, has been chosen Senator
for six years by New York. Mr. Sherman, who was a visiting statesman
to supervise the count in Louisiana, after serving as Secretary of the
Treasury in the Cabinet of President Hayes, is the Senator of Ohio,
and by the vote of the Senate of the United States is presiding officer
of that body.
Numerous other entries in the diary are of similar purport;
but Mr. Hayes never throughout his life entered into any public
discussion of the matter.

END OF VOLUME I