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'Y^LE'WMUVIEI^SJIinf''

From the estate of
Mrs. Virginia H. Curtis

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BB BUS SELL. EDBIISHBB.. BOE

LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES

GOV. RUTHERFORD B. HAYES.

RUSSELL I-I CONWELL,
AUTHOR OP "why AND HOW THE CHINESE EMIGRATE," "LESSONS
OF TRAVEL," "HISTORY OP THE BOSTON FIKE,"
"woman and THE LAW," ETC.

BOSTON :
PUBLISHED BY B. B. EUSSELL, 65 COENHILL.
PHILADELPinA: QUAKER CITY PUBLISHING HOUSE. SAN FRANCISCO: A.L.
BANCROFT & CO. DETROIT; R. D. S. TYLER & CO.
PORTLAND: JOHN RUSSELL.

coptbiqht,
Bt B. B. BUSSELL,
1876.

FBANELiir Press :
BTEREOTTFSD AHD PRINTED BT
Band, Avert, & Co.,
Boston.

THE REPUBLICAN VOTERS

STATE OF OHIO,
'WHOSE VIGOROUS AND PERSISTENT -WARFARE FOR FREEDOM AND
FOE THE VINDICATION OF OUE NATIONAL HONOR HAS
-WON THE PLAUDITS OP EVERY LOVER OP
HUMANITY THROUGHOUT OUB
BROAD LAND,
THIS VOLUME IS EESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,
BY THE AUTHOR.

PREFACE.

God bless the man who invented a preface ! He was a
public benefactor, and ought to have a monument on Mount
Olj^mpus. It is such a sweet satisfaction to have some spot
in a book where the author can be at home with his intimate
friends, and out of the reach of intruders, and where a
writer can say any thing he pleases without fear of being
questioned by the pnbiic. It is also a good provision for the
readers, as it famishes a receptacle for all kinds of odds
and ends for which there is no place in the body of the work,
and in which, if there were a place for them, the general
public would have no interest.
A preface is a most convenient thing. Some -writers feel
compelled to stride through their book on intellectual stilts,
giving the impression that they are very tall men ; and
even the members of their own family would not recognize
them without looking back in the preface, and observing
how the writers behave, and how they appear, at home.
Others set about their work with lungs inflated, and cheeks
puffed out, to such an extent as to deceive the very elect
with regard to their lateral proportions. A preface corrects
many of these errors ; for there the author, trusting in
his seclusion, appears in his natural leanness, and in his
6

b PEEPACB.
everj'-day apparel. A preface is a preparatory rest, a social
morning call on old acquaintances, or a sunrise ramble over
the fields ¦with the companions we love. It has nothing,
apparently, to do with the work of the day, j-et there would
be no work without it. It has nothing to do with the public,
and none but near friends are expected to read it ; yet a
book without a preface would be like a church without a
steeple ; neither preface nor steeple being of any practical
use beyond distinguishing one from a congressional report,
and the other from a barn. Nevertheless, we glory in
prefaces, and shall make the most we can out of them.
It has been no small task to collect the materials for this
work, and satisfy the demands of intelligent and critical
readers ; for Gen. Haj-es has not been one who has thrust
himself before the people, nor one who has made any effort
to make or to preserve an interesting biogi-aphy. He natu
rally shuns notoriety, and studiously avoids conspicuous
positions. Hence, whenever he did any thing worthy of
praise, he hid the whole matter as much as he could ; and
his candidacies and elections to the offices he has filled
have been remarkably void of clamor and display. He
seems never to have sought official position ; nor has he,
apparently, cared for honor or distinction. He did his
duty in whatever position he found himself, as though it
was a matter of routine, and never has felt that he had
done any thing worthy of particular mention. Hence the
difficulty of writing a history of his acts.
Gov. Hayes did not desh-e either to write a biography or
to dictate one himself, and was very much disinclined to
have such a book written at all, as he modestly shrank from
that kind of publicity. Neither did we wish to have him

PEEFACB. 7
take apy especial share in the preparation of a biography of
himself, had he been made of less modest stuff, as a book
prepared by himself, or by any person under his direction,
must be open to the objection that it might be made partial,
or be overdrawn for his individual benefit. "We were deter
mined that our work should be clear of that objection ; and,
although we could not have accomplished what we did with
out some of his assistance, yet there was a distinct under
standing that the book should be independent and truthful,
-without regard to any favor from him or the ties of social
obligations. We found him a kind and genial man, willing
to do any thing he- could to assist us in our work, wherever
it did not require egotism or assurance to do it. We are
grateful to him for his kindness, but should not allow our
gratitude or admiration to influence our minds in making up
our judgment of the man and his work, for the instruction
of an anxious and interested people. We mean to be as
Impartial and independent in the following pages as we
would have been, had the subject of these sketches never
known our intention, and never shown us a favor.
But we could not send this volume to press, without
expressing in some manner our appreciation of the uniform
courtesy and kindness of the people among whom we prose
cuted our search. We cannot forget the many obligations
we are under to the relatives and intimate friends of Gen.
Hayes, who served us so faithfuUj', and without whose assist
ance we must have come far short of a complete biography.
Among those to whom we are particularly indebted, we would
record the names of Capt. Alfred E. Lee (private secretary
to Gov. Hayes), Hon. Stanly Mathews of Cincinnati,
Major M. H. White of Cincinnati, Hon. R. H. Stephenson

8 PEEFACB.
of Cincinnati, Mr. A. I. Eedway of Cincinnati, and Ex-Gov.
Noyes also of Cincinnati, Hon. T. C. Jones of Delaware,
O., Sheriff E. C. Vining, Mrs. Ursina Wasson, Mrs. S. M.
Kilbourne, Mrs. Clarissa Hayes Moody, and Messrs. Beach
and Bodurtha, also of Delaware.
In every town and city which we visited in search of his
torical facts, we were received with a kindly hospitality
which has left a fragrant memory. Even the newsboys are
gentlemen in Ohio. In all the multitudinous questions we
asked of strangers who knew not why we inquired, in all the
unceremonious and tedious drafts we made upon the time of
business-men in business-hours, and in all tho guiding and
explaining we received with reference to railroads, towns,
streets, libraries, and hotels, we did not receive a discour
teous or curt repljf, and did not meet a man or boy who did
not show a disposition to accommodate and assist a stranger
in whatever he could reasonably desire. It was a rich expe
rience. It threw a charm about the whole undertaking, and
made it pleasant and invigorating to linger among such
a people. From the governor himself, down to the smallest
and dirtiest bootblack on the corner, there was exhibited a
gentlemanlj' bearing and a spirit of liberality which excelled
even the celebrated hospitality of the ancient Germans.
Noble, industrious, generous people ! Your smile of wel
come, your bj'otherly and sisterly attentions, your sweet good-
bj', will strengthen our love for humanity, and will echo in
our heart long after many nearer to us will have been forgot
ten. We can understand now, as never before, why Ohio has
reared so many statesmen and soldiers, and why her influence
is so potent everywhere in the nation. Chivalrous regard
for the wants and rights of others, genial good- will in their

PBEFACB. 9
intercourse with each other, a high sense of honor, and a
high standard of intellectual culture, receive the admiration
of every cultivated mind, and command the respect of all
men. Such are the people of Ohio as we saw them a few
days ago, and as we have seen them before. All honor to
their great hearts 1

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
GEN. Hayes's native town.
PAGE.
Early Settlement. — Growth of the To-«'n. — Gen. Hayes's Father.
— Characteristics of the People. ^"Wesleyan College. — The
Birthplace of Gen. Hayes. — Description of the House . . 21
CHAPTER II.
gen. Hayes's ancestors.
The Ancestry of the Hayes and Eutherford Families. — The No-
hility. — The Coat-of-Arms. — The Settlement in Connecticut.
— Eemoval to Vermont. — Eutherford Hayes of Brattleboro'. —
His Early Life. — Sophia Birchard  27
CHAPTER IIL
emigration to OHIO.
Eutherford Hayes determines to emigrate. — His Purchase of a
Farm. — The Journey to Ohio. — The Distillery. — The Home.
— The Great Pestilence. — Death of Eutherford Hayes. — Hi3
Burial-Place  34
CHAPTER IV.
birth and early years.
Death of Eutherford Hayes. — Ursina Smith. — Sardis Birchard.
— Birth of his Son Eutherford Birchard Hayes. — Characteris
tics of his Mother. — Sickness in his Early Years. — Illustrative
Anecdotes of his Babyhood. — Drowning of his only Brother.
— Effect upon his Mother  , , . 40
CHAPTER V.
childhood and schooldays.
Childish Sports. — His Playmates. — His Sister's Teaching. —Suc
cess of a "Good Boy." — Punctuality. — Brotherly ]jOve. —
Preparing for College  47
U

12 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VI.
at COLLEGE. PAGE.
Selection of a College. — Uncle Birchard's Opinion. — Young Hayes
enters at Gambia. — His Student Life. —His Sports. —His
Speech to the Eebellious Students. — His Graduation . . 61
CHAPTER vn.
as a LAWYEE.
Office Study. — At Cambridge University. — First Partnership. —
Eemoval to Cincinnati. — Meagre Practice. — Eifect of his Slar-
riage. — Cincluuati Literary Club. — Hon. Stanley Mathews . 67
CHAPTER Vin.
HIS FIRST OFFICE.
Increase of Legal Business. — His Part in Discussions and Eecita-
tious. — The Summons Murder Case. — Hon. Thomas Ewing's
Opinion. — Election by City Council. — Election by the People.
— Lioreasing Desire for Work  66
CHAPTER IX.
the BEGINNING OF THE REBELLION.
Determination to enlLst. — The Burnett Eifles. — Hayes's Opinion
of the War. — Campaign in "West Virginia. — Eesignation of
Lieut. -Col. Mathews. — Promotion of Major Hayes. — Military
Expeditions. — Placed in Command of the Twenty-third Ohio.
— Eaid on Princeton  .69
CHAPTER X.
HAYES IN VIRGINIA.
First Trial in Manoeu-yring Troops under Fire. — Attacked by Supe
rior Numbers. — Fighting aud Retreating. — Long Marches. —
Commissioned as Colonel. — His Attachment to his Old Com
mand. — Arrival at Washington. — March into Maryland . . 77
CHAPTER XI.
battle OF SOUTH MOUNTAIN.
View of Catoctin Valley. — Appearance of the Army. — The Order
to advance. — The Skirmish Line. — The Discharge of Grape
and Canister. — Col. Hayes wounded. — Eegiment under Major
Comley. — Eetum to the Field of Col. Hayes. — Charges by
the Twenty-third Oliio  82

CONTENTS. 13
CHAPTER XII.
WOUNDS AND PKOJIOTION. PAGE.
Effect of his Wound at South Mountain. — Search for him by his
Wife. — Promoted to be Colouel of the Twenty-third. — Placed
iu Command of the Kanawha Division. — Prevents Morgan's
Escape from Ohio. — A Quiet Year of Camp Life ... 92
CHAPTER Xin.
battle of cloyd mountain.
March up the Kanawha. — Approach to Cloyd Mountain, — Hayes's
Charge across the Meadow. — The Contest at the Fortifications.
— Capture of Guns. — Death of the Confederate General. —
Destruction of the Eailroad. — Long and Dangerous March. —
Arrival at Staunton, Va  100
CHAPTER XIV.
the attack ON LYNCHBURG.
The First Day's March. — Approach to Lynchburg. — The Appear
ance of the Enemy. — The Night Eetreat. — The Heroism of
Ha.-^^es's Brigade. — The Hardships of the March. — Haj'es's
Defence of Buford's Gap. — Surrounded by the Eebels. —
Diary of an Officer  103
CHAPTER XV.
SHENANDOAH CAMPAIGN.
Fight with Early. — Col. Hayes covers Another Eetreat. — Sheri
dan's Choice of the Kanawha Division. — Daring Attacks upon
Early's Lines. — Capture of Prisoners. — Battle at Berryville.
— Gen. Grant says, " Go in." — Opening of the Battle of Win
chester. — Charge of Hayes's Brigade. — Heroic Conduct of
Col. Hayes. — Defeat of Early. — Col. Hayes's Charge — The
Enemy's Plank at North Mountain  110
CHAPTER XVr.
SHENANDOAH CAMPAIGN.
Battle of Cedar Creek. — Early's Night March. — Defeat of Thor-
buru's Brigade. — Eetreat of Hayes's Troops. — Col. Hayes's
Soldierly Bearing. — Col. Hayes saves Sheridan's Train. — Sup
posed Death of Col. Hayes. — Approach of Sheridan. — Early's
Defeat. — Hayes's Promotions. — His Military Character . . 120

14

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XVII.
BEGINNING OF POLITICAL LIFE. PAGB.
Hayes's Attachraent to the Whigs. — His Admiration for Daniel
Webster. — The First Freesoil Club in Cincinnati. — Hayes in
the Antislavery Convention. — Eefuses Nominations. — Esti
mation of him iu Cincinnati. — His Eesolutions at the Grand
Union Meeting. — His Support of Lincoln's Administration . 129
CHAPTER XVIII.
NOMINATION FOR CONGRESS.
Gen. Hayes partially consents t/> he a Candidate. — The Forces to
be overcome. — The Campaign of 1864. — The Popular Esteem
for Gen, Hayes. — His Famous Letter. — His Characteristic
Eeply to Judge Johnson. — Eesolutions of the Ohio Soldiers.
— First Mention pf him for Governor  133
CHAPTER XIX.
IN CONGRESS.
The Honor connected with his Election. — Opinions of his Ability.
— His Silence in the House of Eepresentatives. — Placed ou
Unimportant Committees. — His Growing Influence. — Descrip
tion of him as he then appeared. — His Eeception ou his Eetum
Home  138
V CHAPTER XX.
SPEECH ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS.
Gen. Hayes's First Political Canvass. — The Issues of 1866. — His
DifBdence in Public. — Speech on the Constitutional Amend
ments. — The Eebel Plan of Eeconstruction. — The Union Plan.
— Johnson's Plan. — The Safe Method  145
CHAPTER XXI.
GOVERNOR OF OHIO.
Nomination for Governor. — His Leadership of a Forlorn Hope.
— The Word "'White." — Makes Eighty-one Speeches. — His
Election. — The Liberal Movement of 1872. — Hayes defeated.
— His Eetirement from Public Life  181
CHAPTER xxn.
POLITICAL TEXTS.
Expressions by Gen. Hayes. — His Political Creed. —The Motives
of his Life, — The Principles hy which he has been governed. 
The Safeguards of the Nation  X85

CONTENTS. 15
CHAPTER XXIII.
GEN. Hayes's home. page.
Death of Sardis Birchard. — Gen. Hayes becomes his Heir. —
Description of the Estate he left. — Its Occupancy by Gen.
Hayes. — Its Simplicity and Cleanliness. — Gen. Hayes pur
poses to remain upon it, and avoid Political Promotion. — His
Speech at a Eeception in Fremont  190
V CHAPTER xxrv.
state CAMPAIGN OF 1875.
Called again to lead hia Party. — His Support of Judge Taft.
— His Eeluctant Consent to be a Candidate for Governor. —
His Great Speech at Marion. — Hard Money. — The School
Question. — Catholic Voters. — Triumphant Election . . . 202

\

CHAPTER xxv.
EXTRACTS FROM GEN. HAYES'S SPEECHES.
Eeconstruction. — Paying National Debt in Greenbacks. — Issue of
Bonds. — The History of Parties. — Negro Suffrage. — The Word
"White." — Equality before the Law. — Administration of
State AfEairs. — Dedication of Fountain. — Dedication of a
Soldier's Monument, &c.  231
CHAPTER XXVI.
NOMINATION FOR THE PRESIDENCY.
Kominated by the Eepublican Convention. — Unexpected Honor.
— His Previous Conversation on the Subject. — His Eeception
of the News. — His Letter of Acceptance. — Civil Ser-vice. —
Currency. — Public Schools, — Eelations between the North
-" and South. — Closing Eemarka  299

WILLIAM A. WHEELER.
CHAPTER I.
EARLY LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICE.
Place of Birth. — Traits of his Boyhood. —Attendance on the Com
mon School. — Course at the Franklin Academy. — Goes to the
University of Vermont. — Undertakes the Study of Law. —
First Years of Law Practice. — Elected District Attorney. —
Chosen to the State Legislature. — First Term in Congress.—
President of the New York State Constitutional Convention . 311

16 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IL
OFFICIAL LIFE. PAGE.
Elected to Congress. — Influence in tbe House of Eepresentatives.
— Mentioned for tlie Office of President. — His Life in Wash
ington. — Sends liis Back Pay in 1873 to the United States
Treasury. — Nominated for Vice-President. — Letter of Accept
ance  . 319

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Portrait of Governor Hayes  frontispiece.
Birthplace of Gov. E. B. Hayes  page 25
Capitol at Washington  143
Private Eesidence of E. B. Hayes, Fremont, 0  201
State Capitol of Ohio  229
The White House  . . .301
Portrait of Hon. William A. WTieeler  opp, p. 311

INTRODUCTIOK

To record the acts of a man -wHose success attracts
the attention of an entire nation, and to place in a
convenient and permanent form a history of liis acts,
and the acts of others which influenced his life, is both
a pleasure and a duty. It is pleasant to trace from step
to step the rise of a great man, and interesting to note
ho-w strangely, yet systematically, events are made to
combine in producing such a man at a certain time.
There is nothing in life more convincing of an over
ruling Po-w-er, nor more clearly demonstrating the theory
that the good is inspired, and the evil overruled, by some
Personality ha-ving a mighty purpose, than the lives of
America's great men.
The biography of our presidents presents to the
superficial reader nothing but the fact that men have
been selected from various classes of society, from noble
and ignoble stock, as if by accident, to conduct the
affairs of a chief executive. Wealth or poverty, ances
try or locality, as independent facts appear to have had
no influence. Yet there is a clearly defined plan; and to
trace the workings of Providence, and discover the
3 17

18 INTEODUCTION.
system which developed these men in their different
spheres, is an elevating and instructive exercise. It
becomes, therefore, a clear, unmistakable duty to -write
the biography of such men in order that the people
may understand the dealings of God with men, and
profit by the example which is thus set before them.
There have been many popular theories upon this
subject, which time and experience have served to
dispel, not, however, until after each pet idea had been
so far accepted and acted upon as to do the nation a
vast amount of substantial good.
Once it was thought that none but a soldier could
reasonably aspire to be president. But the election of
John Adams, James Madison, John Quincy Adams, and
Martin Van Buren, wholly overthrew that theory.
Then it was thought that only such men as were
wealthy enough in their boyhood to pursue the highest
branches of learning could hope to be chief magistrate.
But the choice of Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk
overthrew that idea. Again : it was said and taught,
that a man should have been born poor, and should
have been compelled to battle hard with poverty and
enemies, before he could be fitted for the presidential
chair. The election of Franklin Pierce and James
Buchanan destroyed that argument. When Andrew
Jackson was chosen for president, every ambitious
politician cursed the fate which permitted the existence
of only one " Old Hickory." When Van Buren came
into the White House, they wondered why it had never

INTEODUCTION. 19
occurred to them to get a polished education, and study
political economy all their youthful days; when Wil
liam Henry Harrison was president, they selected the
medical profession for their children ; when Zachary
Taylor stood at the head of the nation, they desired
nothing so much as to fight Mexicans and Indians ; and,
when Abraham Lincoln held the coveted place, they
regretted that they were not brought up on a flatboat,
and had been given no opportunity to win high honor
by splitting rails, or building log cabins.
But a study of the lives of our presidents, now that
the number is large enough to form a basis from which
to draw conclusions, will clearly demonstrate that no
rank of birth, no station or profession, no creed or
genius, axe certain to receive preference in political
selections. So far beyond human calculation are the
events of each four years, it has become to be an old
saying, that " to be talked about beforehand as a candi
date for the presidency is to be certain of defeat." It
appears to be an office to which it is useless to aspire.
The surest way to obtain that prize is to attend to one's
own business, whatever it may be, faithfully and hon
estly. The occasion seeks the man in a nation where
" the voice of the people is the voice of God," and as
we cannot tell what will be the needs of the nation four
years ahead, nor foretell the emergencies which may
arise, neither can we teU who, or what manner of man,
will be called upon to guide the ship of state. How
ever, some broad principles remain fixed. Certain

20 INTEODUCTION.
qualities a man must not lack, if he would be exalted
in an enlightened republic. He must be honest; he
must be just; he must be patriotic. The more these
qualities are eulogized, and the more these prerequisites
are impressed upon the people, the more stable will be
both our government and our communities. To set
before the public the life of one in whom these qualities
combine is the solemn duty of every writer to whom an
overruling Providence offers the opportunity; and in
J that spirit has this work been undertaken. Men are not
prophets, and cannot foretell the results of such a com
plicated matter as a man's life ; but, after it has been set
before them, they can study the relation of cause and
effect as therein exhibited, and, recognizing the leader
ship of a superhuman mind, they will emulate those
qualities which have won favor from Him who knoweth
all things. In these pages we set before j^ou a life
worthy of imitation. Men and women will be made
•wiser and better by its perusal, and we enter upon it
with joy.

LIFE or RUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.

CHAPTER I.
GEN. HAYES'S NATIVE TO"VVN.
Early Settlement. — Gro-wth of the To-wn. — Gen. Hayes's Father. —
Characteristics of the People. — Wesleyan College. — The Birth
place of Gen. Hayes. — Description of the House.
In the town of Delaware, situated in the cen
tral part of the State of Ohio, was born the subject
of this biographical sketch. The town is located on
the western bank of the Olentangy River, a muddy
tributary of the still more muddy Scioto, the latter
being a small branch of the Ohio River. The location
of the vUlage appears to have been chosen by the earli
est settlers, as it had been before them by the Delaware
Indians, because of the exceeding fertility of several
hundred acres of land in the immediate vicinity. It is
possible that the idea of securing a water-power suffi
cient for manufacturing purposes may also have had
its weight with the New England emigrants who built
their cabins there. But the slight fall in the river was
not brought into extensive use until many years after
21

22 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
the settlement began. The country in the vicinity is
somewhat rolling, and quite thickly wooded, furnishing
excellent farming-lands, and beautiful sites for private
residences. The tovrn, though now boasting wide
streets, long brick blocks, fashionable mansions, sus
pension-bridges, railways, newspapers, and colleges,
was, at the time of wliich we desire to speak, but a
diminutive hamlet of Western log-huts, with here and
there a brick or stone dwelling, which, in the absence
of saw-mills, was more easily constructed than those of
wood. It had in 1817 about four hundred inhabitants,
nearly all of whom were natives of New England. The
first settler was a Mr. Bixby from the Berkshire hills
of Massachusetts, who soon gathered neighbors from
Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, and
Massachusetts. These settlers carried with them mora
or less capital, and, what has more to do with tliis
biography than money, they neglected not to take
also with them their New England enterprise, energy,
and integrity. Their schoolhouse, church, and court
house was one and the same building in the earliest
years, although it was soon found, that, practically as
well as theoretically, a school and a criminal court
could not long exist together. Like many other village.;
of Ohio, Delaware was an Eastern village set down in
the wilderness. All the people attended church on the
sabbath ; every family sent their children to school ; and
there was industry, frugality, and sociability.
The spirit of speculation and land-gambling, which

GEN. HAYES'S NATIVE TOWN. 23
has ruined many^men, and doomed a great number of
Western towns and cities, never found its way into that
quiet retreat. Corner-lots were never held for a pre
mium, and the people obtained all that they did get
of money or wealth, either by inheritance from their
parents in the East, or by continual and vigorous toil.
Once it was said by scientific men, that Delaware had
a bed of silver ore, and many of the oldest inhabitants
believe it still ; yet so regular have the people been in
their habits, and so disinclined to believe in sudden
riches, that they have never investigated the story.
Once, however, the habitual calm of the community
was ruffled by the prospect that Delaware was to be a
fashionable watering-place ; and a noble mansion was
constructed on a beautiful hill out of the side of
which flowed one of the brightest and most musical
of all sulphur-springs. It was an excusable fallacy,
and had the West been less healthy, or the people less
modest, the enterprise could not have failed ; for the
medicinal qualities of the water, and the charming
nature of the surroundings, were established beyond
question. But the invalids did not come, and the watering-place
project was a failure : so the people afterwards pur
chased the whole property, and gave it to the Ohio
Wesleyan Seminary and Female College corporation,
thus characteristically founding and endowing that
which is now one of the most influential collegiate
institutions of the State.

24 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
The growth of the village was somewhat remarkable
in "view of the lack of manufacturing and commercial
interests. The statement of that old settler must be
true, who said, that " they cared more for good neigh
bors than they did about getting rich." The first house
was built 1802 ; and it was without near neighbors for
some years. Yet when Rutherford Hayes, the father of
Rutherford B. Hayes, moved his family there in 1817, it
was a flourishing village, ha"ving nearly all the conven
iences that characterized a country town in his native
Vermont. They had log-huts, bad roads, many Indians,
and the fever and ague ; but they were not without
preaching, sabbath schools, prayer-meetings, day schools^
and debating societies. Even the singing-master was
there ; and some of the old people speak with enthusi
asm of the singing-schools, which Mr. Hayes himself
liberally supported, and where the young people sang
some, and courted more, very much as they do, and hava
done, in New England from time immemorial.
Hence, as much as our readers may desire it, and as
closely as we may scrutinize it, the home of Rutherford
B. Hayes at the time of his birth in 1822, and through
the five years of his parents' residence in Delaware
previous to. his birth, had nothing very strange or
wonderful about it. It was like the man of whom we
write, industrious, quiet, and modest.
The house which Rutherford Hayes built, and in
which Gen. Hayes was born, is still standing on Wil
liams Street, near Sandusky Street ; and though other

GEN. HAYES'S NATIVE TOWN.

25

buildings have somewhat crowded it, and some changes
have been made in the front-walls, it has the same out
line and material with which it was at first constructed.
The front or main part is built of brick, two stories
high, with a pitched roof, aud stands with the side toward
the street. The front-door was in the middle of the
front-wall, with a room upon each side. Tiiere weie

¦i ,

BIRTHPLACE OF GOV. E. B. HAYES.
[From a photograph by Beach & Bodurtha, Delaware, O.]
four ordinary frame-windows in the first story, — t-^vo
each side of the front-door, — and five windows in the
front of the second story. The roof is shingled ; and
the log L, or addition at the back-side, is neatly covered
with clapboards. The brick part of the house is about
twenty feet by thirty feet, and the log L about fifteen
feet by thirty feet ; the latter having had formerly a
porch along the whole side, at the farther end of which

26 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
was the well. Since the Hayes family left it, the house
has been sold, and the brick front has been changed into
a store by tearing out the partitions between the front-
ivoms and the front-hall, and by uniting the two front-
¦windows on either side of the front-door, so as to make
two show-"windows. The store is now occupied by a
dealer in furniture ; and, until recent events called it to-
mind, the people had forgotten that a family by the
name of Hayes ever lived there.

CHAPTER II.
GEN. HAYES'S ANCESTOES.
The Ancestry of the Hayes and Rutherford Families. — The Kohility.
— The Coat-of-Arms. — The Settlement in Connecticut. — Eemoval
to Vermont. — Kutherford Hayes of Brattlehoro'. — His Early Life.
— Sophia Birchard.
The Hayes family could boast a long line of honora
ble ancestry, if it chose to do so ; but it appears to have
taken but little or no interest in the matter. That
branch of the family which includes Gen. Hayes can
be traced, it is said, back as far as 1280, when Hayes
and Rutherford were two Scottish chieftains, fighting
side by side with Baliol, William Wallace, and Robert
Bruce. Both families were numbered among the
nobility, owning extensive estates, and having a large
number of followers. The Hayes family, in its pros
perous days, before any of its descendants ever visited
this country, and before the intermarriage with the
Rutherfords, had for a coat-of-arms a shield, barred
and surmounted by an eagle in the act of flying.
There was a circle of stars about the eagle, and above
the shield ; while on a scroll underneath the shield
was painted the motto, " Recte." Some antiquarians 27

28 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
describe the coat-of-arms as having alternate bars of
silver and red on the shield ; while others claim that the
colors were white and blue. But, whatever may have
been the shape or the color, no one but curious anti
quarians would care to know ; and the least interested
searcher of all would be Gen. Hayes himself. There is
no pride of ancestry to be found in his character : and,
in fact, it is doubtful if he ever took the pains to ascer
tain whether his progenitors had either nobility or a
coat-of-arms ; for he looks upon life very much from
the standard of Robert Burns : —
" A king can mak' a belted knight,
A marqms, duke, and a' that;
But an honest man's aboon his might,
Guid faith, he maunna fa' that I
For a' that, and a' that,
Their dignities, and a' that;
The pith o' sense, and pride o' -worth.
Are higher ranks than a' that."
But whoever were his ancestors, and whatever the
glory of their knighthood and bravery on the Scottish
border, it is certain that misfortune overtook the noble
house of Hayes; for when George Hayes left Scot
land (in 1680) to make his home in Connecticut, he
appears to have had but little property, and no near
relatives. All that is known of him now is the fact
that he settled in Windsor, Conn., and was an indus
trious worker in wood and iron, having a mechanical
genius and a cultivated mind. He had one son, also

GEN. HAYES'S ANCESTOES. 29
named George, who remained in Windsor during his
life. Daniel Hayes, the son of the latter, was mar
ried to Sarah Lee, and lived after his marriage, and
until his death, at Simsbury, Conn. Ezekiel Hayes,
the son of Daniel, was born in 1724, and was engaged
in the manufacture of scythes at Bradford, Conn.
Rutherford Hayes, the son of Ezekiel, and grandfather
of Gen. Hayes, was born at New Haven in August,
1756. He was a tavern-keeper, a blacksmith, and a
farmer. During his lifetime Vermont was the El
dorado of New England ; and a large number of
people from Connecticut emigrated to that State,
including Rutherford Hayes himself, who purchased a
farm, and established a hotel, at Brattleboro'. It
was in Brattleboro' that the father of Gen. Hayes
was born. He was married, in September, 1813, to
Sophia Birchard of Wilmington, Vt., Avhose ancestors
also emigrated from Connecticut, they having been
among the wealthiest and best families of Norwich.
Her ancestry by the male side can be followed, in an
unbroken line, back to 1635, when John Birchard
came to Norwich,- and became one of the original and
principal proprietors of that township. Both of her
grandfathers were valiant soldiers in the Revolution;
one of them, it is said, being an intimate companion
and friend of Gen. Israel Putnam. Her parents were
frugal and industrious persons, whose quiet and unos
tentatious manners attracted no particular attention in
the intelligent and stirring communities of Vermont.

30 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
The Hayes family, and also the Birchard family, has
a numerous progeny. One branch of the Hayes lineage
settled in Maine ; another, in New York ; another, in
Vermont ; while an almost countless number of the
citizens of Connecticut claim a relationship to the
Hayes family, more or less distant. The Birchards
are a well-known family in Vermont, Massachusetts,
Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Maryland ; and all
trace their ancestry back to George Birchard of
Norwich. The father of Gen. Hayes was one of those inter
esting characters, whose life illustrates the persever
ance, enterprise, and varied talents of our early New-
England people. He was the second son in a family
of nine cliildren, — three sons and six daughters. He
is mentioned by the old people who remember him, as
having a kind, open-hearted way of greeting his
acquaintances, and being always ready and prompt to
do any neighborly service that circumstances sug
gested. In his boyhood, he was the " errand-boy " of
the family, and a most devoted companion for his
mother and sisters. He could mend a plough, or knit a
stocking, and could turn his hand to almost any kind
of work without appearing awkward, or injuring the
tools. He attended school during the winter months,
and worked in the blacksmith-shop, or on the neighbor
ing farms, during the summer. He was a leader among
his young companions in all their plays and games, but
was never a leader, and seldom a follower, in practical

GEN. HAYES'S ANCESTOES. 31
jokes or mischief-making. He was somewhat frail ;
and the hard work upon the farm or in the shop often
resulted in protracted illness : consequently, his father
procured for him a situation as clerk in a country store
near by, and soon after assisted him in establishing a
store of his own at Brattleboro'.
In that mercantile occupation he made a large num
ber of acquaintances, and nearly all of them became
true and valued friends. He was engaged in that busi
ness when he became acquainted with Sophia Birchard,
and was at that time the most promising, intelligent,
and influential young man of Brattleboro'. He con
ducted his business on Christian principles. His store
was kept there to assist his fellow-men ; and, whenever
his neighbors or townsmen wished for any thing which
they could not obtain in Brattleboro', they applied
to Rutherford Hayes, who always acted for them, and
never charged a profit beyond reasonable wages ; and
that was distributed equally among his whole stock.
His stock in trade was brought to the town to accom
modate the people, not to extort money. He not only
anticipated their wants, and had on hand those things
his customers needed, and just when they were called
for, but by his skill in purchasing, and his careful man
agement of the transportation, he saved the community
a great deal of expense. He was looked upon as a
benefactor; and no one in that community received
more hearty congratulations, or was ever the subject
of more good wishes, than Rutherford playes at the

32 LIFE OF EUTECEEFOED B. HAYES.
time of his marriage. He was active in all the benevo
lent enterprises of the village. He was a member of
the Presbyterian church, and was an active supporter
of religious and secular schools.
It was in church that he met Sophia Birchard, whose
part in this drama of real life was so important and
interesting, that we dwell upon it with pleasure. She
was a most fit companion for Rutherford Hayes ; and
her- disposition and manner covered the defects of his
nature. He was inclined to be silent; but she was
ready and instructive in her conversation. He was
often disposed to be sad: she was as sparkling as a
mountain-spring. He would from choice have pre
ferred to attend close to his work, evening and day,
and sought recreation more to add to the happiness of
others than from any taste of his own : she was play
ful and witty, light-hearted and cheerful, and uncon
sciously forced him into laughter and jollity. With
him, religious services were a solemn duty ; with her,
they were a happy privilege. He was charitable and
generous, because it was right he should be so: she
performed kind acts because she loved to make others
happy. Their lives ran parallel, and they neither
clashed nor divided. His keen sense of duty, and her
unbounded love, always brought them to the same
conclusion. It is probable that there are wives and mothers in
our land who could be counted in thousands, who
are the equals, in every grace, of Mrs. Hayes; but

GEN. HAYES'S ANCESTOES. 33
that fact does not make those traits of character less
valuable, nor less deserving of mention. Virtuous
wives and Christian mothers are the safeguards of the
nation. Without their potent influence, a republic is
not possible. Such a woman as Sophia Birchard Hayes
is to be honored and revered by a people who depend,
as we must, upon public education and private morality
for the foundations of our system of government. And
she will receive the praise and the thankful remem
brance of all who have had kind mothers, and know
what it is to be the subject of woman's sacrifice.

CHAPTER III.
EMIGEATION TO OHIO.
Eutherford Hayes determines to emigrate. — His Purchase of a Farm.
— The Journey to Ohio. — The Distillery. — The Home. —The
Great Pestilence. — Death of Eutherford Hayes. — His Burial-
Place. The same incentives which impelled his father to
leave Connecticut at the close of the Revolution, and
emigrate to Vermont, moved in the mind and heart of
Rutherford Hayes after the close of the war of 1812,
and led him to entertain the idea of moving his family
to the attractive and romantic wilds of " the Ohio."
It was somewhat characteristic of his father's house
hold to desire a change ; and only three of the nine
children settled permanently in Brattleboro', — one
brother, a farmer, and two sisters, Mrs. Polly Noyes and
Mrs. Beliuda Elliott. The other brother practised law in
New Haven, and died in the Barbadoes, where he was
sent by the government as a United States consul.
One sister, Mrs. Clarissa Hayes Moody, lived many
years in Granby, Mass., and is now residing in Dela
ware, O. Another sister, Mrs. Sarah Hayes Bancroft,
was the wife of a la"vryer, and now lives in Chesterfield,
31

EMIGEATION TO OHIO. 35
Mass. The other two sisters, viz., Mrs. Abby Hayes
Robbius, and Mrs. Fannie Hayes Smith, lived in
Granby, Mass.
The influences which took the brother and the sisters
away from Brattleboro', however, were not the same,
either in time or character, with those which started
Rutherford. He appears to have had no good reason
for his movement; and his sudden resolution and as
sudden departure on his exploring expedition is one of
those unaccountable freaks of human nature, in which
the superhuman assumes control to the exclusion of
the usual reasoning faculties. Call it a " Western
fever," a desire for change, or whatever one may, it
remains as yet an unexplainable phenomenon. By this
overmastering desire, which overrides every thing in its
fury, the West has been peopled with the best and
strongest of our New England families^ and the grand
purposes of God subserved thereby.
What motive could have induced Rutherford Hayes
to sell out his stock in trade, abandon his old home and
many friends, was the wonder then of his whole county,
and is a marvel still. He had secured enough dur
ing his few years in trade to be independent and
comfortable. He was accumulating money. He had a
-wife and two children, whose relatives and acquaint
ances, like his own, were all in that viciuity. Every
thing he loved, every thing he could desire, — a happy
home, thri"ving churches, excellent schools, established
and profitable business, old friends, old associations,

36 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
every thing, — was there ; yet Rutherford Hayes, follow
ing a destiny he could not fathom, and moved by an
impulse none could explain, determined to leave them
all, and set his face toward the savage men and savage
beasts of a terrible wilderness.
Of his first journey into Ohio, on a tour of inspec
tion, we know but little. Those who accompanied him
have passed away ; while he never said much about it,
nor did he leave any record of it. All we know is, that,
after an absence of nearly four months, he returned to
Brattleboro' -with the declaration that he had pur
chased a farm on the Olentangy River, in the "wilds of
Ohio, to which he purposed to move at once.
Of those days of preparation, of the selling, the
packing, the visiting, the settling of every worldly
account, the buying of the horses and the emigrant-
wagon, the storing-away of food, clothing, and keep
sakes, the sad glances towards the setting sun, the
shouts of the crowd, the good-bys of dear ones, the
tears that would not be hid, none can speak so well as
the emigrant who has seen and heard them. It must
have filled the soul with awe. Starting from the
kno"wn to the unknown, stepping out into an eternity,
boldly marching into the unbroken night of countless
ages, and leaving behind every thing which goes to
make up the joys of civilized life, — such was the move
ment made by Rutherford Hayes.
They started from Brattleboro' in a covered wagon
drawn by three horses : some accounts say two. In that

EMIGEATION TO OHIO. 37
vehicle was stored all the goods they had reserved from
all their possessions, and nearly all the food they
expected to need on the journey. They six — Ruth
erford Hayes, Sophia Hayes, little Fannie, and little
Lorenzo (the latter scarcely old enough to walk),
Sardis Birchard (Sophia's young brother), and Ursina
Smith (a young orphan) — were to travel by day, and
sleep by night, in that tented conveyance, regardless of
dense forests, deep streams, storms, and savages, which
they were sure to meet on the way. Ursina Smith,
now Mrs. Ursina Smith Wasson of Delaware, O., is the
only sur"vivor of them all ; and her story of that forty
days and nights of travel and peril would make a
romance by itself. But so many families had a like
experience before the great State of Ohio was redeemed
from the primitive forests, that we will not make this
an exception, and recite it here.
It would seem to be a conclusive argument that
Rutherford Hayes did not himself know why he had so
suddenly and impetuously moved into Ohio, when we
state, that after his arrival in Delaware, in 1817, and
while the farm he had purchased lay idly awaiting his
coming, he did not go there to improve it. He had a
capital of three or four thousand dollars ; a:nd, while
looking about in the little town for an opportunity to
safely and profitably invest it, he abandoned the idea
of farming altogether. His land was situated on the
banks of the river, about a mile and a half above the
village of Delaware ; and it is said that he often rode

38 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
out to see it, but he never could make up his mind to
move his family out into such a wild place, exposed as
it was to -wild beasts and marauding Indians. Soon an
opportunity offered itself to purchase an interest in the
distillery, which had been built there by the firm of
Lamb & Little, and which was at that time considered
both a respectable and profitable business. Mr. Hayes
purchased the share of Mr. Little ; and the business
was continued, up to the time of Mr. Hayes's death (in
1822), in the name of Lamb & Hayes.
Mr. Hayes began the construction of a house soon
after his investment in the distillery ; and, as his capital
and recognized ability gave him the .highest social
position in the community, he deemed it necessary to
construct a dwelling in keeping with his position.
Hence the building he constructed, as awkward and
unfashionable as it now appears, was then the finest
and most convenient residence in town.
About a year after his arrival, a second daughter
was born, who was named after its mother, but who
died before she reached the age of five years. In matters
of public importance, Mr. Hayes was always sought as
a counsellor ; and he was liberal in his donations for
the institution of schools and churches. He was one
of the earliest and largest subscribers toward the fund
for building the first church edifice for the Presbyterian
church of Delaware, of which he and his -wife were
members ; but he did not live to see the building com
pleted.

EMIGEATION TO OHIO. 39
The years 1821 and 1822 were terrible years for the
peojple of Ohio, and are mentioned even now with a
shudder. During those years, a malarious Simoom
swept over the State, smiting with a malignant bilious
fever the young and the old. Scarcely a family but
felt the cursed pestilence ; while there were many in
stances where Avhole households were exterminated at
one swoop. In Delaware the disease was unusually
fatal. Some said it was the effect of decaying vegeta
tion : others said it was caused by the miasma rising
from the stagnant pools and their poisonous green scum.
Whatever the cause, the air was loaded with pestilence ;
while funerals and burials were appallingly frequent.
Swift as the cholera, and as incurable as the plague, it
drove the people into their graves by the hundreds, and
into exile by the thousands. Rutherford Hayes was
one of its victims. It was but a few short hours after
the first feverish flashes ran through his limbs, before
the poison had performed its dreadful mission, and
Rutherford Hayes was no more on earth. In the little
burial-ground on a knoll near the sulphur springs, and
bordering on the park of the female college, they laid
away in universal grief, and with public ceremonies of
respect, all that had been mortal of the faithful friend,
the patriotic citizen, the indulgent father, and affection
ate husband.

CHAPTER IV.
BIETH AND EAELY TEAES.
Death of Eutherford Hayes. — Ursina Sraith. — Sardis Birchard. —
Birth of his Son Eutherford Birchard Hayes. — Characteristics
of his Mother. — Sicloiess in his Early Tears. — Illustrative Anec
dotes of his Babyhood. — Drowning of his only Brother. — Effect
upon his Mother.
RuTHEEFOED Hates died July 22, 1822 ; and the
utter desolation which appeared to surround his "widow,
Sophia Hayes, can be imagined by those only who have
experienced such a bereavement under similar circum
stances. She was in a new and a strange land, far from
all the friends of her youth, "vsdth no one older or
stronger than herself on whom to lean, or with whom
she could share the burden of her grief. Her little
Sophia had died the year before ; and the shadows of
that sorrow still lurked about the doors, windows, and
corners of the yard, where the little one had been so
often seen at play, and they served to make more dark
and appalling this strange dispensation of God's provi
dence. She thought she had then seen the deepest
sorrow. She said there could be no lower depths of
grief. But ah ! she did not know how much more she
40

BIETH AND EAELY YEAES. 41
could and must suffer. Even the deepest pit seems
to lead to some still lower abyss ; and we find no place
so dismal or so low but that it might be worse.
Mrs. Hayes, however, was a woman possessed of au,
unusually cheerful character, which, combined with
her unfaltering faith in the goodness of God, and the
wisdom of all his decrees, gave her a spirit of resigna
tion, that strengthened her body and mind. Surely she
had need of all the consolations of religion, and all the
comforts of friendship, to bear the great trials of her
widowhood. A birth and a death lay in her path to
try her still more.
Little Fannie was a school-girl, who could not be of
much assistance to her mother ; and Lorenzo was, in his
early boyhood, an unceasing object of solicitude and
care. It was then that she saw how much wiser are
they who implicitly obey the sweet teachings of the
gospel than are those who trust to their own worldly
wisdom ; for in that early day of her married life in
Vermont, when the appeal was made to her to take into
her home the little orphan, Ursina Smith, and assume
the care and expense of her growth and education, it
was regarded by many of her acquaintances as a most
foolish undertaking. Her neighbors, it is said, dis
couraged her, and told her that she Avould be certain to
regret such an unwise following of her sympathy and
of her ideas of Christian charity. But now, when he
on whom she placed her Avhole dependence in this life
had been taken away, and she naturally looked about

42 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
for some other support, there, beside her, so near as to
be like a daughter, so affectionate and grateful as to be
a most faithful fiiend, was the poor orphan, now almost
a woman grown. Then she recognized the truth of the
great promise. The bread she had cast upon the
waters returned to her. As these two women walked
on side by side through those dark years, drawn closely
together by the bonds of a common bereavement, how
often did they thank God for the delicious fruits of
charity !
Not alone in the companionship and faithful sei;"vices
of Miss Smith did Mrs. Hayes reap the reward of her
kindness of heart and deeds of Christian charity.
Sardis Birchard, her brother, had entered her household
when but fifteen years of age. He had been thrown
upon the care of her husband and herself by circum
stances he could not control. She had been a mother
to him, more faithful and affectionate than many real
mothers are : she combined a mother's and a sister's
love in all her acts and prayers. For five years he had
been to her as a son, and had received from her much
of that enthusiasm and social education which served
him so well in his subsequent remarkable career.
Now in her desolation she was to receive her reward.
Here was a friend, — a sturdy, open-hearted young
man just entering upon life, who loved her more than
either could realize until the hour of need came upon
her. Sardis Birchard was a noble young man. He
deserved to have friends ; he deserved to gain riches :

BIETH AND EAELY YEAES. 43
and we are devoutly thankful that he had them. He
was as affectionate and tender as a girl with his sister
and her little ones : he was as brave as a hero in the
hour of danger : he was as industrious, frugal with
himself, .and generous toward others, as the chiefest
and best of his Huguenot ancestors. His devotion to
his sister's family knew no cessation during his life.
He made it his especial life-work to care for them ; and,
in the accumulation of wealth, he appears to have been
moved by the single purpose of making some of them
happy. Verily did this noble woman receive her
reward. Oct. 4, 1822, less than three months after the death
of his father, and in the house built four years before
by his father, Rutherford Birchard Hayes was born.
His birth was not signalized or celebrated by any thing
prodigious or promising : on the contrary, his life had
a most inauspicious beginning. His mother was weak,
and almost dying with . grief and care. His Uncle
Sardis -was compelled by the business he had just begun
at Fort Ball to be absent a great deal. His little
sister was sick ; and he was so weak and frail, that no
one believed he would live beyond a month or two.
As the months went by, he grew weaker and weaker,
until the neighbors were in the habit of inquiring if
" Mrs. Hayes's baby died last night."
Yet as each day added to his mother's strength, and
increased her ability to bury her sorrow, every day
that he lived on increased his chances of overcoming

44 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
the disease which seemed to be preying upon him.
The writer has conversed with men and women who
were frequent visitors at the house during his baby
hood ; and they relate many anecdotes illustrating the
state of his health, and the condition of his family at
that time.
One day Mr. Rheen, an intimate friend, and a
Masonic associate of Sardis Birchard, called in to see
Mrs. Hayes, and " to ask after that boy." He was a
jolly man, and had lived in the family for some months
after his arrival in Delaware. He was on very familiar
terms with the family, and began to banter Mrs. Hayes
upon the appearance of " that boy."
"Why! " said he, "in a year or two more, he will
be all head."
Mrs. Hayes made some laughing reply about having
children who " knew something," even if their heads
were out of proportion to the size of 'their body.
Whereupon Mr. Rheen ironically remarked, —
" That's it ! Stick to him. You have got him along
so far ; and I shouldn't wonder if he should really come
to, something yet."
" You need not laugh," said Mrs. Hayes. " You
wait and see. You can't tell but I shall make him
President of the United States yet."
Another neighbor, living near by, very frankly told
Mrs. Hayes, one morning when the baby was about
eight months old, that " it would be a mercy if the
child would die." He was sure it could not live lono- •

BIETH AND EAELY YEAES. 45
and, the sooner it breathed its last, the less suffering
would it see.
Another friend told her plainly that it was no use to
work so ; " for," said he, —
" The child must die ; and it is a waste of strength.
I tell you the child is not worth saving ! "
So the neighbors talked, and so his mother worked,
for three or four years. Even Sardis Birchard declared
that the boy could not grow up, and, if he could, he
would be a useless invalid.
When little Rutherford was three years old, an
accident happened which drew him even closer to his
mother, and made her even more determined and anx
ious that Rutherford should live.
In the winter of 1825, and when_ Lorenzo Hayes, her
eldest son, was nine years old, the Olentangy . River
was frozen over with such thickness and smoothness
as to furnish fine skating for the young people. Among
those who rushed out to enjoy it was Master Lorenzo,
who was an agile, adventurous youth, and a great
favorite with his playfellows. He was proud of their
admiration, and performed many feats for their edifica
tion. It appears that there was an air-hole in the ice,
where the water was deep, and the current strong,
around which the skaters had been flying all day.
Young Hayes conceived the idea of experimenting to
see just how near to the opening it was possible for
him to glide, and escape a fall. Around and around
the dangerous pool he circled, drawing nearer and

46 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
more venturesome with each circuit, until his skates
chipped the glassy edges of the whirlpool. Suddenly
there was a loud report, a crash, and a scream ; and,
Lorenzo went like a shot into the eddy beneath. He
was a good swimmer and a cool-brained youth, and
as he arose to the surface, succeeded in clasping the
ice in such a manner as to support himself, and keep
his head above water. But the ice was too thin and
weak to bear his weight, and would break off at each
attempt to i-aise himself out of the freezing flood. His
mates, frightened out of their reason, ran away to
call the neighbors, leaving him alone. It was but a
few moments before help was procured ; but, when
they reached the spot, he had disappeared in the con
gealing waters. His body was recovered a short time
after by breaking the ice ; but it was cold and stiff in
death. What a shock it was to his mother, what unutterable
woe it brought to a heart already broken with grief,
may possibly be imagined, but it cannot be told.
When they hastily bore home the body of her eldest
boy, and she felt that she had lost that prop, her whole
being went out in prayer to God to preserve the son
and daughter who remained. What wonder, then, that
she gave herself no rest ! What is there surprising in
her ceaseless vigilance, and her unwillingness for many
years that Rutherford should go beyond her sight?
Fannie and Rutherford were her all from that time
forth. She had no care, no wish for herself, beyond
them and- their happ^'""""

CHAPTER V.
CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOLDAYS.
Childish Sports. — His Playmates. — His Sister's Teaching. — Success
of a " Good Boy." — Punctuality. — Brotherly Love. — Preparing
for College.
The childhood of young Rutherford differed from
that of many other boys, inasmuch as he was unable
to engage in vigorous sports, or to attend the public
school, until he was seven years of age. He was a
weak, thin, pale boy, whose large eyes and tender smile
attracted the attention of all with whom he came in
contact. His sports were wholly within doors ; and his
sister Fannie and her associates were his playmates.
He naturally shunned the coarse and rude boys upon
the street, being as timid and nervous as a girl. This
disposition, together with the cautious and unceasing.
oversight of his anxious mother, kept him free from aU
the little vices and mischievous traits which charac
terize nearly every boy at that period of his life.
His sister was a faithful guardian and an apt teacher ;
and it may be that his education progressed more favora
bly in her charge than it would have done in the hands
of older and more experienced teachers. 47

48 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
It is refreshing to record the success of one boy
whose childhood was marked by no disobedience, and
whose boyish activity led him into no wrong. It is so
seldom that such boys arrive at distinction. So uni
versally have valedictorians and model scholars in school
or eollege sunk into oblivion, while the mischief-maldng,
unruly, careless classmates have achieved the greatest,
noblest success, that affectionate parents may well
tremble when they learn that their dear boy graduates
at the head of his class. Either he will rest satisfied
¦with that honor, or he will get such a high opinion of
his own ability, that he will come to the fatal decision
that there is no more for him to learn. Such an opinion
of one's self is an intellectual and moral death. But
the scholar who has been playing tricks and practical
jokes when he should have been preparing his lesson,
who has been disobedient, and evaded his recitations,
goes into the world feeling that he has accomplished
nothing, and all of honor or value for him in education
and work lies yet before him. He enters upon life,
feeling that he is just beginning it ; while the valedicto
rian starts out for himself as though he was already at
the end of it. Expelling young students from college
has often made great men of them ; while a graduation
with the highest honors has as often destroyed them.
It is a sad fact, and ought not so to be. It is, however,
reasonable to suppose that such will continue to be the
case until school prizes and extraordinary honors are
abohshed, and the young men are taught that it is not

CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOLDAYS. 49
the summum bonum of our earthly lives to stand at the
head of a graduating class in Greek or geometry.
Young Hayes was to that rule an exception. During
his attendance at the common school, he was always
waiting at the steps of the old stone schoolhouse when
the door was opened in the morning, and never late in
returning to his seat at recess. He did not splinter
his desk with his penknife, nor throw paper balls or
apple-cores at his next neighbor. He never blew up
the schoolhouse -with powder, nor pinned streamers to
the backs of his teachers. He engaged in no quarrel
with his schoolmates; and he strictly obeyed every
direction and command of Ms instructors. He was a
model boy. To him the teacher pointed with pride,
and set him before the school as a standard of good
behavior. Yet he was so modest and bashful, that
such flattery and distinction did not make him proud,
or turn his mind from his studies.
We write these things with joy ; for there are hun
dreds of discouraged teachers in our land who will be
encouraged thereby. For years they have been looking
and waiting for some such example. They have yearned
for a history such as this, in order to recite it to their
imsteady pupils ; and here it is at last, — a good boy,
and a successful man. Here is a child without fault, a
schoolboy without tricks, a scholar without deceit, a
playmate without selfishness, who has become great in
the eyes of the world. Happy teachers ! This example
is a rich morsel for you ; and indeed the influence of

60 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
such a life will do more for the nation in an educational
and moral way than many statutes.
In all his early schooldays, his sister Fannie was his
faithful companion. Men and women now old and
gray recall those days, and speak with tenderness of
the affection which marked all the relations of that
brother and sister. Seldom were they separated untU.
his college-days, and even then he found his sister to be
a substantial help, and a ceaseless watcher over every
thing which could concern him.
His uncle, Sardis Birchard, began also to take an
extraordinary interest in his education; and as the
young boy's health improved, and his mind grew more
•vigorous, his uncle conceived the idea of sending him
to college. When the gi-eat progress he made con-
"vinced his mother and sister that Rutherford could bear
the strain of college studies, they reluctantly consented
to his uncle's plan, and it was decided that he should
begin a systematic preparation. He attempted it for a
while at home with a tutor ; but, as he did not acquire
knowledge as rapidly as his ambitious uncle desired, he
was sent to a professor in Middletown, Conn., where he
remained a year, and from which place he returned,
amply fitted to enter any university in the land.

CHAPTER VI.
AT COLLEGE.
Selection of a College. — Uncle Birchard's Opinion. — Toung Hayes
enters at Gambia. — His Student Life. — His Sports. — His Speech
to the Eebellious Students. — His Graduation.
In the spring of 1838, the question was to be decided
where young Rutherford should pursue his college
course; and after some discussion, according to the
traditions ainong the neighbors, Kenyon College was
selected because of its proximity to his home. He had
been gone a year while preparing for college, and the
trials of that separation had a weight in the discussion
on the part of his mother and sister. But Uncle Birch
ard, who was regarded as authority in all these matters,
since he had assumed the guardianship and patronage
of his nephew, must be consulted, and he was in
favor of Kenyon ; not that Uncle Birchard pretended
to be a judge of the relative value of colleges, for he
did not claim even to know what branches of learning
were taught there. He knew that his o-wn education
was very meagre; and he was determined that his
nephew should not be as ignorant as he himself had
been. He was a great-hearted, generous man, who

62 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
loved his ward, and who, believing that Rutherford
would some day inherit wealth, was anxious that he
should have a cultivated mind to enjoy his means, and
to use them to advantage.
He did not know why one college was not the same
as another, and, fortunately, Kenyon was pear by, and
where he could see his protegS often. He may have
been influenced by the fact, that, when he lived in Del
aware, he sometimes went to the Episcopalian sabbath
school ; or he may have been moved by the fact that
an Episcopalian missionary among the Indians had
assisted his mercantile business materially at Tiffin by
urging the savages to trade with Birchard, who never
sold them whiskey, and who treated them as fairly as
he did the white men. Whether for these reasons, or
for others unknown to us, not only did Kenyon College,
but several other Episcopalian enterprises, find favor
in his sight, notwithstanding the fact that his sister
was a strict Presbyterian, and had kept young Ruther
ford in regular attendance at the services and sabbath
school of that denomination.
The terms of Rutherford's college-life after he
arrived at Gambia are years of silence. He was such
a quiet lad, that he came and went to his recitations,
day after day, awakening no attention either by failure
in his studies, or by any displays of superior genius.
He was characteristically modest and retiring in his
choice of a room, going into the gable-end of the build
ing, and taking the attic room, with one little round

AT COLLEGE. 53
window peeping out from under the ridge-pole. His
room-mate told the writer, that while other students
grumbled, and often flew into a rage, about the labor
imposed upon them in the care of their rooms, yet
Rutherford carried the water and fuel up all those
stairs, through all those months, doing more than his
share, without giving expression to one word of com
plaint or dissatisfaction.
He never joined in mischief-making, and no one ever
thought of his doing so. His character and disposition
were too well known and too much respected to be a
matter of doubt. Rutherford was never in a college
scrape himself ; but he did sometimes do his best to
extricate his classmates from difficulties into which
their indiscretion had led them.
One day a student who was a prominent member of
his class, and who had exhibited much more than the
usual ability, was caught by the faculty while playing a
practical joke. The trick gave the .professors great
offence, and it seemed probable that the student would
be expelled in disgrace. Yet he was such an able and
brilliant student, that the faculty debated the matter
for some time, and at last came to the conclusion to
give th^ student one chance of restoration. They
decided, that should the student be willing to stand
up before the classes when gathered for prayers,
and, confessing his fault, ask the forgiveness of the
teachers, he should be restored to favor. In some
manner, the deliberations and decisions of the faculty

64 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
were made known to the class of which the delinquent
was a member, and an indignation meeting was held
to discuss the situation. There were speeches and
resolutions, extolling the martyr who would sacrifice
himself "to vindicate his honor;" and all were strenu
ously opposed to the terms offered to the suspended
one. They told him never to yield. They would not
make such a shameful concession. No, no ! Death
before such dishonor ! The tide was aU one way, and
the young delinquent saw that he must choose one of
two evils, — either be disgraced in the eyes of the
faculty, or be considered a coward and a sneak by his
classmates. When the matter was in that condition,
young Hayes entered into the debate. It would be im
possible to report now precisely the words which he
used on that occasion ; but, as near as his classmates
recall them, they were as follows : —
" Fellows, this is all a mistake. It cannot be that
you have stopped to think. Now, I know well what I
should do if I had been caught in such a scrape, and
had received such a proposition from the faculty. I
should not wait a single hour before I went and asked
their fdrgiveness. I tell you, fellows, we have friends
at home who care nothing about our codes of honor, but
to whom our disgrace would bring great sorrow. I
would not put them to shame by refusing to do such a
little thing as confessing publicly to the truth. If he
did wrong, he ought to confess it. If it was not wrong
in itself, but is so held by the faculty, it can do no

AT COLLEGE. 55
harm to tell the truth about it, and say he is sorry that
he did it. I tell you, boys, it would be foolish to accept
a lasting disgrace rather than acknowledge such a little
¦shortcoming as that. If he don't do what the pro
fessors ask of him, he is a very foolish young man, and
will regret it, and his family will regret it, down to his
dying-day." Those bold and sensible words changed the whole
current of opinion ; and, when the time came for the
student to confess, he had the approval and support of
the entire class. That student is now one of the most
honored and distinguished men of Ohio, and has con
tinued from that day to this the faithful friend of his
college champion.
Another classmate of young Hayes was an impetuous
and brilliant young Southerner, who was unceasingly in
trouble of some sort ; and to Hayes he was indebted for
some of his escapes. He admired the " light-haired
lad ; " and after years of separation, — in which the
Southerner went from Congress into the Confederate
Army, — he came forward promptly from his Texan
home, and improved the first opportunity to do honor
to his old schoolmate. Judge David Davis of the
United States Supreme Court was also in college with
Playes. Another of his classmates, and one to whom it appears
young Hayes was much attached, was afterwards presi
dent of the college, and died while in the war, with the
rank of colonel. The number of young Hayes's confi-

56 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
dential friends were, however, few, as he was so reticent
in his manner, and so retiring in his natural disposition.
He loved to kick the football, or to pull the oars with
his companions, more for the satisfaction it seemed to
give them than from any taste of his own for those
sports; and he never intruded himself or his affairs
upon them beyond those matters which were necessary
for the life of the sport. When left to his own free
choice, he preferred to go to the woods with a gun, and
chase the wild game alone.
At his graduation, although he was not quite twenty
years of age (1842), he was the leading favorite among
professors and students, and stood at the head of his
class. Glad day was that for mother, sister, and uncle,
when his college-years were over, and he returned to
them crowned with honor. It is doubtful if they would
have been more pleased and proud, had they lived to see
him the President of the United States.

CHAPTER VII.
AS A LA'WYEE.
Office Study. — At Cambridge University. — First Partnership. —
Eemoval to Cincinnati. — Meagre Practice. — Effect of his Mar
riage. — Cincinnati Literary Club. — Hon. Stanley Mathews.
Immediately after his graduation at Kenyon Col
lege, HayeK" began the study of law in the office of
Thomas Sparrow, Esq., then a prominent and suc
cessful practitioner at Columbus, 0. His health had
greatly improved, and his figure began to assume some
thing of the robust appearance which characterized
him in after-years. His coltege-life had given to study
and literary labor a fascination which he could not
resist ; and he desired to adopt some profession in which
there would be continuous mental work. It does not
appear that he gave promise, at that time, of being a
very fluent or eloquent speaker ; neither does it appear
that he selected the profession of law with any hope
that it would lead to distinction. Certainly, at that
time (1842), he had few of the characteristics which
are usually taken to mark the fitness of a young man
for either the bar or the forum. It is presumed that
Uncle Birchard, with whom Hayes spent his vacations, 57

68 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
and whose interest in the youth was as active and
engrossing as that of a father, had some hope, that, by
means of the law, his Rutherford might achieve great
ness ; for to Sardis Birchard this young man was the
brightest, noblest, wisest, and most eloquent youth
which the world contained. He often foretold a great
future for his ward ; but his prophecies fell upon un
believing ears.
There was one element of the young student's char
acter to which, more than to any thing else, was due his
remarkable success in whatever he undertook. He was
thorough in all his work. He never was satisfied with
a superficial knowledge of any thing. Whatever he
desired to know he studied in all its phases, and did not
leave it until all there was to be learned about that
question had been fully digested. Such was his habit
in matters of law. Blackstone was not so dull, nor
Chitty so diy, as to discourage him ; while every legal
problem which presented itself went not unsolved if
there were authorities, decisions, or reports enough
within reach to settle the question beyond dispute.
The special practice of a single law-office did not
furnish him with the variety of cases, nor the complete
libraries, with which to satisfy his desire for legal
knowledge. He did not wish to limit his learning to a
single branch of jurisprudence, as nothing short of
kno"wing the whole would satisfy him. So he deter
mined to leave the office of Mr. Sparrow, and take a
course in the Harvard Law School at Cambridge, Mass.

AS A LAWYEE. 69
His life at Cambridge was as quiet and retired as it
was at Gambia ; and there are classmates now living
who do not remember him, either in name or appear
ance. He seems to have felt like a stranger in the
Cambridge University, and to have studiously and per
sistently kept aloof from his classmates, who were
either too busy with their own affairs, or in some cases
too aristocratic in their tastes, to seek out the modest
boy, or to cultivate his friendship. Those two years
must have been dull years to him, unless, as is possible,
he was so absorbed in contracts, torts, evidence, plead
ings, crimes, and equity jurisprudence, and in the large
libraries of books bearing upon the practice of law,
that he did not notice the slow flight of time.
In 1845, after his graduation at the Law School, he
was admitted to the bar during a session of the courts,
at Marietta, O., and shortly after went into practice as
an attorney-at-law, with Ralph P. Buckland of Fre
mont, O. It is somewhat remarkable, that whenever
young Hayes selected a companion, a friend, or a part
ner, 'he almost invariably selected men who afterwards,
by their achievements and guccesses, demonstrated the
wisdom of his choice. His partner at Fremont — whether
selected by himself, or accepted on the recommendation
of his uncle, who still retained a great influence over
him — was a strong and. able advocate, and a kind,
obliging friend. In after-years Mr. Buckland became
a leader among the people, and in the war of the
Rebellion he took an earnest part, becoming one of the

60 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
most trustworthy generals of the Union Army. After
the war he was elected to a seat in Congress.
With him Hayes remained three years, having, accord
ing to reports, but a limited practice, and caring but httle
whether he had any at all. His uncle had become the
wealthiest banker in that portion of the State, and, as
Hayes felt sure that his uncle would make him his heir,
he looked upon the acquisition of money as no object
worth the effort. Here, again, was Hayes's life at vari
ance with the usual record. His prospective riches and
present assistance drew him into no extravagance, nor
enticed him into vice. The fawning of flatterers, the
wiles of bad company, had but little effect upon him ;
and their only visible influence upon the upright,
honorable, and vigorous life, was a certain lack of
motive, which showed itself in the conduct of his busi
ness. Men said, that " if Hayes was a poor boy, and
dependent on his own earnings, he would make a great
man." Why should he work while he had within reach
all he desired ? It is a dangerous position for a young
man to occupy, and one which has been the ruin of
thousands among our ablest youths. Its influence upon
Hayes served only to confirm his desire for seclusion and
quiet, — a feeling and a purpose wholly at variance with
those qualities which usually attract the attention of
a litigating pubhc, from whom the lawyer draws his
chents. In 1849 Hayes moved to Cincinnati, O., where he
entered upon the practice of law with more zeal. Yet

AS A LAWYEE. 61
his progress in that city was exceedingly slow, although
in after-years, while in partnership with such men as the
Hon. R. M. Corwin, William Rogers, and Leopold Mark-
breit, the number of cases was so large, that he could not
accept all those which came to him. Yet in the first
years of his practice, it must have been lonesome,
unprofitable business. Many young men would have
abandoned the profession ; and it may be that even he
would have done so, had he been very ambitious, or felt
the need of present funds.
As it was, he persevered with the undertaking, was
always to be found at his post during business-hours,
and was an accurate and trustworthy attorney in such
matters as were then placed in his charge.
Two important events occurred during his stay in
Cincinnati, which gave a new impulse to his ambition,
and opened the way to both prosperity and distinction.
The first and most important of these was his engage
ment and marriage to Miss Lucy Ware Webb, daughter
of Dr. James Webb of ChiUicothe, O. No one can esti
mate, nor could he explain, the refining and ennobling
influence of a love such as that which the educated,
refined, sprightly, and rehgious wffe drew about him.
With her there came a motive. The latent aspirations
revived ; and life appears from that time to have been
to him a wofk and a duty. A holy desire to be a benefit
to his fellow-man, and a determination to leave the
world better and wiser than he found it, crept into his
heart along with that love which in itself was purifying

62 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
and strengthening. We write as it appears to us, look
ing upon his life with nothing but the facts before us
from which to deduce a motive. As we look upon the
events of his career from the standpoint of a historian, we
see that for some cause, from the time when he became
attached to the lovely and pure-minded maiden, and
even from the hour when he first met her at the bright
spring in Delaware, and asked who the dark-eyed school
girl was, his Iffe took in a new inspiration.
At Cincinnati this transition from a listless desire to
do what is right, and take no thought for the future,
to a man of mettle, full of hope and resolution, is strik
ingly apparent. It was there that he began his defence
of the poor. It was there that the fugitive slave found
in him a bold and successful advocate. It was there
that the workingman found a stanch friend to mediate
between him and the capitalist. It was there that the
weak-minded and insane found a careful and affection
ate protector. It was there that he showed the sur
prised people that a lawyer could be a Christian gentle
man and a practical philanthropist. When, as in the
case of Nancy Farrar, the idiotic poisoner, the judges
were called upon to select some person to defend that
ignorant and helpless one, they did not choose the
aristocratic barrister, nor the blundering blusterer, but
turned to this unassuming and almost unknown young
lawyer, and asked him to undertake her defence. All
such cases were gratefully received by him. In them
he could engage his heart, as well as his intellect ; and

AS A LA-WYEE. 63
to the second and even the third trial he pressed his
cause, if success came not with the first verdict. Not
withstanding the fact that he made no claim to reli
gious sanctity, nor pretended to be holier or purer than
his fellows, yet there came into his acts, from some
direction, nearly all the desires and motives which
make up the characteristics of a biblical Christian. It
may be that his mother retained her moral influence
over him, and doubtless she did, in a certain degree, as
his upright single hfe would seem to indicate. But here
was an awakening, and a vigorous activity which seemed
to be coincident with, and an offshoot of, his union with
pure and holy womanhood.
The other event to which we referred was his intro
duction to the Cincinnati Literary Club, an institution
which had been established some years before his
advent in Cincinnati, and which was organized for
purposes of literary, scientific, and social culture. It
was an organization which drew to its membership the
highest and best classes of society. There were many
men there, like himself, who were young and hopeful,
and who afterward became influential members of the
community. There were Chief Justice S. P. Chase,
Gen. John Pope, Gov. Edward F. Noyes, Gen. Man
ning F. Force, Robert W. Burnett, Judge John W.
Herron, Gen. Alfred T. Goshorne, Hon. De Thew
Wright of the Supreme Court of Ohio, Judge M. D.
Oliver, Surgeon-Gen. William H. Muzzey, Hon. Reu
ben H. Stephenson, surveyor of customs at Cincinnati,

64 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
Hon. Charles P. Ames, Murat Halstead of " The Cincin
nati Commercial," Samuel R. Reed of " The Cincinnati
Gazette," and a host of others of like celebrity and
ability. To a young man of Hayes's natural dispo
sition, and, in fact, to any man in any station, such a
circle of intimate acquaintances was of inestimable
value. There he was thrown into close relations with his old
college-mate, the Hon. Stanley MathcsS^, with whom
he has since retained such an intimate and brotherly
relationship, that we cannot forbear inserting here a
brief sketch of him who had such a marked effect
upon the successes of nearly all of Hayes's subsequent
undertakings. Judge Mathews was a Democrat in
his early years, and was one of the most energetic and
conscientious leaders of his party during the decade
preceding the war of the Rebellion. Under Buchan
an's administration, he was appointed United States
District Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.
But the manner in which the president conducted the
administration, and the increasing power of slavery,
did not accord with Matthews's ideas of justice and
right ; and he resigned his office, and was outspoken in
his denunciation of the slaveholders and their rebel-
hous proceedings.
He afterwards entered the war as lieutenant-colonel
in the same regiment with Major Hayes, where he re
mained until October, 1861, when he was commissioned
colonel of the Fifty-first Ohio Regiment. He was in sev-

AS A LAWYEE. 65
eral severe campaigns under Gen. Rosecrans and Gen.
Buel, and was severely wounded at Dobbins Ferry in
October, 1863. He was elected judge of the Court of
Common Pleas, at Cincinnati, which office he held for
eighteen months, and then resigned, preferring the
privacy of his own office and practice to any position
of public honor.

CHAPTER vm.
HIS FIEST OFFICE.
Increase of Legal Business. — His Part in Discussions and Recitations.
— The Summons Murder Case. — Hon. Thomas Ewing's Opinion.
— Election by City Council. — Election by the People. — Increas
ing Desire for Work.
With the extension of Hayes's acquaintance came,
also, an extension of his legal practice. The ability
which he displayed when prevailed upon to take part
in the discussions of the club, his readiness as a con
versationalist, and more especially his rendering of the
speeches of Daniel Webster, when selected to read or
recite them in public exercises, attracted the attention
of his associates, and gave them confidence in his
ability. Thus with an increasing desire to work,
inspired by a Christian home and a growing business
acquaintance, with its consequent increase of business,
Rutherford B. Hayes entered upon an era of profes
sional prosperity seldom excelled even in this land of
anomalies. One of the most noted murder-cases tried in Ohio,
known as the " Summons Case," was carried through by
him in a masterly manner, and drew to him the atten-

HIS FIEST OFFICE. 67
tion of the whole State. The final hearing of the case
was before the Supreme Court at Columbus, of which
Judge Thurman (afterwards senator) was a member.
The court-room was crowded with noted lawyers from
all parts of the State, among whom was the Hon.
Thomas Ewing, who congratulated Hayes after the
trial in most emphatic terms.
In 1856 he was nominated for the office of judge of
the court of Common Pleas ; but he declined to accept
the nomination. In 1858 the office of sohcitor for the
city of Cincinnati was made vacant by the death of
Judge Hart ; and the city council, very unexpectedly to
Hayes, elected him for the unexpired term preceding
the next election. It was only after much urging, that
he was prevailed upon to accept the position ; but, after
he did step into the office, he performed its duties with
most praiseworthy despatch and with unusual ability.
So acceptable were his services, that he was chosen by
the people at the next election, running over five
hundred votes ahead of his ticket. His failure of
election to a second term was in no wise a matter per
sonal to him, as there was a combination against others,
which swept the entire ticket.
He was then (1861) at the zenith of a professional
life. He stood among the leaders of his profession.
He had conquered every obstacle, and had but to attend
to his duties for a few hours in the day to be independ
ent of want, and crowned with professional honors.
His sister Fannie was married to a wealthy dealer in

68 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
silver- ware, named William A. Platt, and died at his
residence in Columbus, O'., in 1856. But his mother
lived ten years longer, and died in 1866. So that with
his mother, uncle, and wffe, and with wealth and
honor, he would seem to be in a fair way to settle down
to permanent comfort, and dismiss all those earthly cares
which so harass and vex the major portion of the
people. Then, if ever, was a time in his life when he
could reasonably rest satisfied, and dwell under his own
vine and fig-tree in peace. But he was less inclined to
rest then than ever before ; and he hastened on, fulfilling
the purpose of the almighty Architect of his fortunes.

CHAPTER IX.
THE BEGINNING OF THE EEBELLION.
DeVermination to enlist. — The Burnett Eifles. — Hayes's Opinion
of the War. — Campaign in West Virginia. — Eesignation of Lieut.-
Col. Mathews. — Promotion of Major Hayes. — Military Expedi
tions. — Placed in Command of the Twenty-thud Ohio. — Eaid on
Princeton. Although a portion of the political record which
we insert in this book was made by Mr. Hayes before
the opening of the War of the Rebellion, yet it will
serve the reader's purpose better to place it with other
accounts of his official and public life which will be
found in subsequent chapters. We enter now upon the
history and discussion of his life as a soldier. It began
just at that time in his life when every thing seemed
to allure him into retirement, and when he could have
left the field of active life without betraying any public
confidence, or sacrificing any thing dear to himself.
But the very first news of the attack on Fort Sumter
found him eager to take up arms in the sacred
cause. The Cincinnati Literary Club, of which he had
become a leading member, organized a military company
from its own members ; and Hayes was an active par-

70 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
ticipant in the organization and subsequent meetings
of the company. The " Burnett Rifles," as it was
called, was in many respects a remarkable company of
men. It numbered among its members a large number
of the wealthiest and most talented men of that great
city. There were thirty-five lawyers in the company,
twenty-three of whom became officers in the Union
army ; and several became generals. The total number
of commissioned officers which were taken from the
club could not have been less than seventy-five.
In all the meetings, — which were then held every
Saturday night, — Mr. Hayes waa active and zealous in
arousing a feeling of loyalty and patriotism. '
On the 4th of January, 1861, Mr. Hayes -wrote a
letter upon the pohtical situation, illustrating his views ;
from which we quote a paragraph : —
" South Carolina has passed a secession ordinance,
and Federal laws are set at nought in the State. Overt
acts enough have been committed, forts and arsenals
having been taken, a revenue-cutter seized, and Major
Anderson besieged in Fort Sumter. Other cotton
States are about to follow. Disunion and civU 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, wiU make a
glorious nation. I do not feel gloomy when I look
forward. The reality is less frightful than the appre
hension which we have all had these many years. Let
us be temperate, calm, and just, but firm and resolute.

THE BEGINNING OF THE EEBELLION. 71
Crittenden's compromise ! 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, no matter
how near his head, but not a dose of poison.' "
As early as the 15th of AprU, 1861, Mr. Hayes
entertained the idea of entering into the contest, and
often declared, that, should there be a war, he should
be in it. Every inducement to remain at home, and
take his ease, was held out to him ; but he resolutely
abandoned all idea of rest or of luxury, until his coun
try was out of danger. When the three-months' troops
were caUed for, he condemned the policy of organizing
men for so short a period, and declared that he would
wait a little while, and not be in too great haste, as he
foresaw a long struggle ; and troops must soon be
called into service for a term of years. To caen about
him, who said that the war would close in sixty days,
he promptly predicted a long and bloody war ; and
declared, that, whatever its length, he should go in to
fight until the end.
About four weeks after the massacre of the Massa
chusetts troops in Baltimore, he "wrote to a friend as
follows : viz., —
" Mathews and I have agreed to go into the service
for the war ; if possible, into the same regiment. I spoke
my feelings to him, which he said were his also ; viz.,
that this was a just and necessary war ; that it demanded
the whole power of the coimtry; and that I would

72 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
prefer to go into it, if I knew I was to die, or be kUled
in the course of it, rather than to live through and
after it, -without taking any part in it."
Mathews and Hayes were fast friends, and in this
matter their ideas and desires were completely in uni
son. They together tendered their services to Gov.
Dennison, and together were accepted. It was the
governor's idea to place each in command of a regi
ment under the first call for three-years' men ; but
neither of them would consent to be separated, or to
be placed at the head of a regiment. With character
istic modesty they reasoned that the colonel should be
an experienced officer, who could teach his subordinates
the art of war ; and they dwelt upon their unfitness,
as civilians, for so important a post. So it was agreed
that the governor should appoint some regular army
officer as oolonel, and they would go out in some subor
dinate position. Very soon after, a sufficient number
of companies came into the volunteer camp from various
parts of the State to organize into a regiment ; and the
governor sent for Hayes and Mathews to take their
commissions as major and lieutenant-colonel. These
were promptly accepted, Hayes preferring the office
of major; and, with W. S. Rosecrans as colonel, th6
Twenty-third Ohio Volunteers was prepared for war.
But, before the regiment was called into the field, Col.
Rosecrans was promoted" to a brigadier-general, and
another graduate of West Point, Col. Scammon, was
commissioned in his place.

THE BEGINNING OF THE EEBELLION. 73
The regiment arrived at Clarksburg, West Va., on
the Baltimore and Ohio RaUroad, July 27, 1861, and
was placed on garrison duty, to defend the raUroad,
and protect the border from raids. Clarksburg was a
strategic point from which the garrison could easUy
and quickly move to the boundary of either Maryland,
Pennsylvania, or Ohio, while it was also a convenient
rendezvous for troops intended to operate in West
Virginia. The fact that he was stationed there was
one of the great events in Major Hayes's life, and led
directly to the distinction he afterward attained. Had
he been sent to the Army of the Potomac, or the Mis
sissippi River, he would have seen more bloody con
tests, and been compelled to endure greater hardships,
than came to his lot in West Virginia ; but he would
hot have been so often mentioned in the newspapers of
Ohio, nor would his townsmen and acquaintances have
taken such an active interest in him and his command.
The people of Ohio, and especiaUy those of Cincinnati,
were in constant fear of an attack by the rebels, and
they often had the best of reasons for believing that
the enemy was bent on their destruction : hence they
had an unceasing interest in the movements and mettle
of the Union troops on the border. The soldiers who
garrisoned the towns in West Virginia, adjacent to the
Ohio State line, were looked upon as defenders of Ohio,
and received the scrutinizing attention of the people
of Ohio ; while other troops, engaged in deadlier strife
and more arduous marches, were naturaUy overlooked

74 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
and forgotten. Had Major Hayes been engaged in the
more active campaigns of the war, he would, doubtless,
have received more speedy promotion, and would have
been regarded as a greater soldier ; but aU that would
have so changed the current of his hfe, that it may be
regarded as providential that he was not so placed.
Gen. W. S. Rosecrans, former colonel of the Twenty-
third, was in command of the post at Clarksburg ; and it
was there that he first drew the attention of the war
department, by his successful and skilful manoeuvres
among the bushwhackers and raiders who infested his
district. The Twenty-third was not aUowed much ease,
and was often sent upon expeditions of more or less
importance, which involved some skirmishing and more
marching, without reaping much glory. Major Hayes
was often connected with those marches ; but in the
more quiet and inactive months of the summer (1861)
he served on Gen. Rosecrans's staff as judge advocate. •
It is surprising that Major Hayes did not make more
enemies during those months ; for, of aU the positions
which the army offered to men, the one most exposed
to censure and revenge was that of judge advocate.
It may be that he saw and felt the embarrassments of
the office, as others have seen and felt them, and for that
reason remained in the office but so short a period ; yet
it does not appear that he met with any opposition, but,
having a kind of charmed existence, he left that posi
tion, as he did every other, with the praise and thanks
of aU with whom he had to deal. He was naturaUy

THE BEGINNING OF THE EEBELLION. 76
kind, honest, and just, — qualities which command
respect everywhere. He rejoined his regiment at
Sutton before the battle of Carnifex Ferry ; and here,
too, Lieut-Col. Mathews, who had been detached from
the regiment on scouting expeditions with several com
panies, came into camp, and prepared for the conflict.
The exigencies of the battle did not, however, call for
the use of the Twenty-third, which was held in reserve,
except a flank movement made by a few companies,
under command of Major Hayes, to threaten the
enemy's rear. This was done promptly and effectively,
without loss, and without coming into close action with
the enemy. Afterwards, in the latter part of Septem
ber, the regiment with Major Hayes went into camp with
the army at Mount Sewall, in front of Lee ; but the bad
weather and worse roads compelled both armies to fall
back ; and the Twenty-third took up their quarters at
Camp Ewing, near Point Lookout, Va.
From this camp, Lieut.-Col. Mathews went to Ohio
on leave of absence, and while at home (October) was
promoted by Gov. Dennison to the command of the
Fiftj^-first Ohio Regiment ; and he immediately resigned
his commission as Ueutenant-colonel of the Twenty-
third, and entered uppn those campaigns in the south
west which did him and his State so much honor.
Major Hayes was at once promoted to the vacancy
made by the resignation of Lieut.-Col. Matthews ; and
by reason of the absence of Col. Scammon, acting
brigadier-general, Lieut.-Col. Hayes was left in com-

76 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
mand of the Twenty-third. The winter of 1861-62 was
passed by Lieut.-Col. Hayes and his command in scout
ing over the mountains, and raiding into the interior
of Virginia, being an occupation attracting but little
attention, and calling for but little display of bravery,
yet more trying, by its long marches and useless
results, than a series of battles would have been. On
several occasions he had narrow escapes from death ;
and at one time he fell into an ambuscade, from
which the bullets hissed aU about him, the bush
whackers having a cross-fire upon him at short range.
But he escaped without injury, exhibiting a coolness
which increased his popularity among his men as a
military leader.
On the 1st of May he took a small detachment of
men, and made a bold attack upon Princeton, which
was garrisoned by a strong force of the enemy, and
considered by them a point of considerable strategic
importance. So unexpected and so impetuous was his
charge, that the rebels fled at the first fire, leaving their
ammunition and arms behind for the Union troops to
destroy or carry away. Several prisoners were taken,
and such works aa served for rebel defences were
destroyed.

CHAPTER X.
HATES IN -VIEGINrA.
First Trial in Manoeuvring Troops under Fire. — Attacked by Supe
rior Numbers. — Fighting and Eetreating. — Long Marches. —
Commissioned as Colonel. — His Attachment to his Old Com
mand. — Arrival at Washington. — March into Maryland.
On the 10th of May, 1862, Lieut.-Col. Hayes had his
first trial in manoeuvring troops under fire ; and his
conduct was such as to gain the commendation of his
commanding officer, and led, as we suppose, to the pro
motion which followed so soon after the news of his
success reached Columbus. He was stationed at a little
hamlet known as GUes Court House, or Parisburg, in
Virginia, and had under his command nine companies
of the Twenty-third, five hundred cavalry, and/ a
single section of light artillery, when a force of the
enemy, afterwards ascertained to number nearly four
thousand, and commanded by Gen. Heath, made an
attack upon the vUlage. It was evident to every one
who saw the approach of the enemy in two columns,
that it would be a foolhardy undertaking for that little
band of Union soldiers to attempt a defence of the un
fortified vUlage, while it seemed to be a matter of grave
77

78 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
doubt whether they would be able to escape -without
capture. If the hasty advice of some of the officers
had been acted upon, the little force would have started
off upon the run, and would, of course, have been aU
captured by the enemy's cavalry. The attack had evi
dently been arranged with a -view to such a result ; as
the pickets were driven in early in the day, and a
email flanking party of the rebels was sent by a long
detour to the rear, for the purpose of picking up the
stragglers. Lieut.-Col. Hayes comprehended the situa
tion at a glance, and, knowing just what work was
before him, if he escaped at all, went about it deliber
ately, yet promptly. There was no sign of danger in
his movements, no show of anxiety, except a somewhat
unusual display of firmness and determination. He
disposed of his cavalry on his right and left, and sent
out his skirniishers so as to detect any flank movement
of the foe, and then, calmly and -without the least
appearance of haste, marched back toward the moun
tain and his base of supplies. Wherever the ground
was such that the cavalry could hold the pursuers in
check, the infantry were sent back, and then the cavalry
withdrawn ; and, where the ground was too broken for
cavalry movements, the infantry confronted the Con
federates untu the cavalry were safely through the
defile. Thus deliberately and compactly retreating, the
little body of troops kept on their way, keeping off
their pursuers, and, by their formidable column, fright
ening the flanking party, who had not come around for

HATES IN VIEGINIA. 79
the purpose of fighting, but simply to pick up one by
one the straggling band of panic-stricken soldiers they
expected to see. Lieut.-Col. Hayes was so calm and un
concerned in his movements, gi-ving his orders one after
the other as each was obeyed, and so completely out
witting his opponent, who was expecting a sure victory
by some break in his lines, that the men partook largely
of his spirit, and executed their orders promptly, and
with a feeling that it was, after all, a matter of form ;
for, with such a man as Hayes showed himself to be,
defeat was an impossibUity. They shouted, and tossed
their hats, whenever he passed by, not-withstanding
their hunger and fatigue, showing him how weU they
appreciated his generalship, and at, the same time gi"ving
the pursuers an idea that the shouts were the greetings
of re-enforcements. For more than five miles, they
thus retreated, keeping the foe at a safe distance, and at
last, toward evening, evading him altogether by disap
pearing, with but little loss, into the fortifications of the
main army, and soon after marching again to the front
"with re-enforcements. Hayes did not, however, escape
without a wound, as he was struck by a piece of shell,
and partiaUy disabled, while under fire ; but this did not
disturb his equanimity at the time, nor unfit him for
active ser-vice afterward.
On the 13th of July, the Twenty-third Regiment,
then encamped at Flat Top Mountain, was ordered to
report at once at a station caUed Green Meadows, not
far from Pack's Ferry, on New River ; from which place

80 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
they were again hurried, Aug. 15, to Camp Piatt, on
the Kanawha River, a distance of a hundred and four
teen miles, -which, it is said, they traversed on foot in
a little less than three days. From this point, they
were taken on transports to the Ohio River, and up
that river to Parkersburg, where they took the cars for
Washington, D.C., arriving there on the 24th.
Early in the month of August,, he was promoted to
be colonel of the Seventy-ninth Ohio Regiment, with
out any pre-vious intimation to him that such an honor
was intended. It appears that the promotion did not
meet with his approval, and his soldiers say that his
acceptance of the position was not certain, had he not
been prevented, as he was, by an exciting campaign.
He had been with the Twenty-third now more than a
year : he was acquainted with them, understood their
wants and character, while they were equally well
acquainted -with his manner and disposition. He loved
them, and they loved him. He had rather be a lieuten
ant-colonel with them than a colonel -with strangers.
While he hesitated. Gen. Lee crossed into Maryland
with his great Confederate army, and, amid the wildest
excitement, troops were caUed in from all points to
oppose him. Exaggerated reports of the mighty hosts
who were marching toward Baltimore, Harrisburg, and
PhUadelphia, awakened the patriotism and heroism of
every true soldier. Hayes's regiment had been incor
porated in Gen. J. D. Cox's division of Burnside's
command, in the Army of the Potomac; and whUe he

HAYES IN -VIEGINIA. 81
was considering the question of accepting the promotion,
and a little uncertain whether the issuing of his new
commission left him in the service or out of it, the
Twenty-third was ordered into Maryland, and he
resolved at all events to staiid by the boys until that
contest was over.
The battle of South Mountain, Sept. 14, 1862, would
have been recorded in the annals of our nation as a
great battle, had it not been followed the very next
day by the more fatal and important contest at An
tietam ; and to that we must devote the next chapter.

CHAPTER XI.
BATTLE OF SOUTH MOUNTADr.
Vie-w of Catoctin "Valley. — Appearance of the Army. — The Order
to advance. — The Skirmish Line. — The Discharge of Grape and
Canister. — Col. Hayes -wounded. — Eegiment under Major Comley.
— Eeturn to the Field of Col. Hayes. — Charges by the Twenty-third
Ohio. The morning of the 14th of September, 1862, dawned
over the rugged cliffs of the Upper Potomac, disclosing
a scene such as the world has seldom witnessed, and
which to this country -was wholly new and strange. A
vast army, countless to the spectator, began, with the
first Ught of day, to crowd into the Catoctin VaUey
from the Potomac River, and to press in between the
converging cliffs of the Catoctin and South Mountain
ranges of mountains in pursuit of another large army.
The rebel Gen. Lee, with an army of sixty thousand
men, had passed up that same valley, and crossed the
South Mountain Range at Turner's Gap, only the day
before, leaving his rear guard of five brigades, under
Gen. D. H. Hill, to defend that pass, and hold the top
of the mountain, untU Gen. McLaws should capture
the traitorous or imbecile Miles and his unfortunate
82

BATTLE OF SOUTH MOUNTAIN. 83
troops at Harper's Ferry, and have time to join Lee at
Hagerstown. The whole Union army was in motion
that morning ; and from the cragged peaks on either
side of the road, cut through the crest of the mountain
at Turner's Gap, the Confederate signal corps looked
down upon the broad green vaUey, and noted the move
ments of their pursuers. At the foot of the mountain
lay the Uttle -viUage of Middletown, with its scattered
dwellings partially hid in the trees. The various wind
ings of its Uttle creek were clearly marked from that
point away to where the valley emerged into a wide
plain, through which the glittering, shimmering Potomac
peacefully pursued its way to the sea. It was a magnifi
cent sight. Roads crossing each other at irregular inter
vals traversed the valley, dividing white fields of grain,
and gi-een patches of grassland, and losing themselves
in the ragged mountains upon either side, or seeming to
descend into the Potomac through the green curtain of
shrubbery which covered its banks. Through all those
roads, over many of those fields, and filing down the
mountain-paths, a great host of armed men was hurry
ing on, with its flags fluttering in the breeze, its bayonets
gleaming in the increasing Ught, and its background of
dark blue uniforms assuming various shades as it wound
into a nearer field, or wheeled into a cross-road. Swfft
horsemen played back and forth from column to column,
Uke shuttles in a loom ; whUe here and there the poUshed
guns of some Ught battery, or the bright trapping of
a squadron of cavalry, would gleam for a moment as

84 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HA-PES.
it passed over some hillock, and disappeared quickly
among the trees, or into some depression in the road
way. Far down the vaUey, the rebel observers could see the
dark winding lines of the left wing of the Union army
as it left the main body, and crept along toward the
mountains by the road which led over the same range
they occupied, but far to the southward of them. Ah I
as they sat and watched the approaching foe hastening
through fields, and gaUoping up by-roads, and as they
glanced back at the blue hills beyond the Potomac,
and felt that soon must come that conflict when hissing
Minie-baUs, and crashing, screaming sheUs, would make
a hell of those sylvan shades around them, they could
not have been human, ff they did not yearn to be back
in the sunny homes beyond the hazy horizon.
To the troops of the national army, who had en
camped the previous day at the base of the moun
tains in the village of Middletown, and among whom
was the enthusiastic Twenty-third Ohio and its com
mander. Col. Hayes, the scene was less extensive, but
not less grand. As the light of dawn appeared beyond
Catoctin cliffs, and began to reveal the outlines of the
vaUey, and as they who had arrived in the gloom of
the.previous night started from their hard and comfort
less beds of grass or wood, the towering mountains,
the dark woodland, and the haff-revealed multitude
mo"ving about them, must have been full of weird and
exciting interest. To the soldier who knows not the

BATTLE OP SOUTH MOUNTAIN. 85
plans of his leaders, and to whom every movement is
full of uncertainty and imbued with a kind of romantic
adventure, the features of the strange landscapes
among which he finds himseff are matters of great
importance, and make an indelible impression. Such
was the effect of that scene upon those who saw it that
day. Those warriors may forget from whose cup or
canteen they drank their morning coffee ; they may not
recall the names of those from whom they borrowed
hard-bread, or with whom they divided their little
store of sugar ; and they may even fail to remember
what companies of artilleiy camped with them on the
previous night, or how many regiments filed off into
the woods on their right or left : but the plains, the
hills, the trees, the rocks, are fixed in their minds, and
wiU never fade away. And to them, who, on that
fatal morning, saw the hasty dismounting of staff offi
cers bearing orders to subordinate commanders, and
heard that quick, sharp roll of the drums, and that
order to " fall in," the mountain before them was a
painful feature in the landscape. They knew not
McClellan's plans ; but they did know that they had
been marching toward this mountain, that they were
following Lee's army, and that the road in front of
them led up and over toward the enemy's camp. They
knew by the flags, and the stories of the pickets
relieved at daylight, that the rebels held the top of the
mountain, and intended to keep it if possible. They
knew, too, by the shaping of past events, and the mass-

86 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
ing of troops at Middletown, that there was to be a
battle up in the trees among those peaks and ledges
which flanked the coveted pass. Some of them felt
that morning, when they packed away their blankets,
and strapped together their canteens and tin cups, that
their hands would never unpack or unstrap them again.
Men looked up to that pile of wooded rocks before
them, and shuddered while they waited for the com
mand to move forward. Yet survivors of that day teU
us that the men under Hayes's command joked one
another upon the prospect ; and one exclaimed, as he
saw his comrade trying to tie his plate to his belt-
strap, —
" Say, BiU, hadn't you better give me that plate ?
You won't need it again." And they say the same
soldier was found that night with his plate still tied to
his belt, but broken and rent by the piece of a shell
which laid him dead on the side of the mountain.
Another soldier from Bellefontaine said to his lieu-
ant, —
" It looks squaUy up yonder, and I shouldn't wonder
if some of us never got to the top. So I've written a
letter home, and it's in my cartridge-box, between the
leather and the tin ; and, should I get knocked over,
just send it along for me."
That evening he was among the missing ; and neither
his Ueutenant nor his bereaved family knew just where
nor how he died, untU a prisoner taken at Fredericks
burg, Va., who had on that cartridge-box, unconsciously

BATTLE OF SOUTH MOUNTAIN. 87
brought the letter therein into our camp, where it was
accidentally discovered. That prisoner saw the writer
of the letter as he feU off the cliff, struck by a musket-
ball, during one of the fiercest charges, and afterwards
took from the dead body the cartridge-box and belt ; and
thus was his name taken from the " missing," and added
to the list of " killed at South Mountain."
The soldiers of the Twenty-third had not seen
such a campaign before, nor had they been often under
fire ; yet the vicissitudes of army Iffe had in various
ways depleted their number, untU the roU-call that
morning showed but three hundred and ten men, — a
smaU company when compared with the confident one
thousand which left Camp Dennison a little more than
a year before. But no paucity of numbers affected
their courage. Their commander remained with them
while he was honorably at liberty to go home. He did
not seem to fear ; and why should they ?
It was seven o'clock that morning, when the order
came to move up the mountain towards Turner's Gap,
keeping well out to the right and left of the Boons-
borough road, which was the only highway leading
to the gap. A detachment of Pleasanton's cavalry
moved up the road, closely followed by a Ught battery
and the Twenty-third Ohio, together with several other
regiments of Cox's command. The Twenty-third struck
to the left of the Boonsborough highway, and ascended
by another, half-abandoned, ragged roadway running
over the range some distance to the south of Turner's
Gfin

88 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HA-YES.
It was not long before the clambering troops began
to see little whiffs of white smoke in the edge of the
woodland above them ; then came the hum of buUets
high over their heads, closely foUowed by the reports of
muskets, indicating that they were approaching the
enemy's skirmish Unes. As they drew stUl nearer and
began to advance in line of battle, over stumps, bowl
ders, fences, trees, through ra"vines and over knolls, the
mountain-side became steeper, the cracking of musketry
more incessant ; while the bursting of shells, and hiss
ing of soUd shot, made the air overhead vocal with
hideous, blood-curdling sounds.
It was expected, by the general commanding, that
Cox's di-vision would be able to turn the flank of HUl's
troops, and then bring to bear the whole body of
the Federal troops arrayed in his front, and defeat him
whUe in the confusion consequent upon such a manoeu-
-vre, when successful. But the abUity and courage of
the enemy had been underrated ; for when the rebel
general. Garland, with his brigade of veterans, ad
vanced down the mountains to meet the Union troops,
he was not left unsupported, nor was every thing staked
on his success. Hence, when that brave Confederate
general was kiUed, and his troops almost annihUated by
the impetuous charges and steady firing of the Union
troops. Gen. Longstreet, who had meantime superseded
Gen. HiU, skilfully confronted the -victors with the
brigades of Anderson, Rodes, and Ripley, three lines
deep, intrenched behind logs, stone walls, trees, and

BATTLE OF SOUTH MOUNTAIN. 89
bowlders. As Col. Scammon's brigade, in which was the
Twenty-third, advanced upon the enemy that morning,
the enemy opened fire from their artiUery posted on the
knoUs in the rear of their line of battle ; and so close
was the range, and so accurate their aim, that the
rebel grape, canister and musket-balls, literally stripped
the trees of every leaf, and turned up the ground
about the advancing soldiers as if it had been system
atically ploughed. Men could not breast such a tor
rent, and Uve. As the Twenty-third clambered over
a rising stretch of ground toward the enemy, a blind
ing discharge of grapeshot met them fuU in the face,
and, in an instant, more than a hundred of them Jay
upon the ground, dead or wounded. Five officers were
struck by the storm of missiles ; and among them Col.
Hayes went down with a broken arm.
Yet the brave regiment did not retreat, save when
directed to seek the cover of rocks near by them ; and
they obeyed the orders of Major J. C. Comley, a brave
officer who succeeded to the command, as briskly and
promptly as though the ground was not strewn with
their dying comrades, or the next movement did not
threaten to sweep them away in the same manner. It
was a fearful ordeal, — more dreadful, because the word
had passed from man to man that the colonel was killed.
WhUe they paused for re-enforcements, and just as a
dangerous flank movement of the enemy was discovered,
there was a momentary suspense whUe the troops hardly
knew which foe to face ; when suddenly Col. Hayes, with

90 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
a handkerchief tied around his arm, appeared to his
surprised command, and, against the protests of friends,
again took the lead. His return awakened great enthu
siasm ; and the little remnant of his regiment was ready
to be in the fight again. They had not long to wait,
before the advance of the flanking party brought them
again into close action, and kept them in battle through
out the entire day.
That was a sad, and a glorious day for the Twenty-
third, — sad, inasmuch as they had seen their comrades
mowed down with the murderous discharge of grape
and canister. They had heard their cries from between
the lines, when it was impossible to help them : they
had seen their friends, aU through the day, dropping
before the missUes of the enemy, or falUng bleeding
in the hand-to-hand encounter. It was glorious in
the recollections of their steady advance, their im
petuous defeat of two divisions, their gaUant charge
with the Forty-fifth New York and One Hundredth
Pennsylvania, saving the battery which was already in
the clutches' of an exultant enemy, and in holding
their ground with subUme heroism when wounds
and death had left but one hundred to face the
foe. Their flag was in rags, having been again and
again riddled by the buUets and shell of the enemy.
Their commander had fought, untU, fainting with loss
of blood, he was carried from the field, for which valor
he was afterwards complimented by Gen. Cox.
They felt then that they were no longer unreliable

BATTLE OF SOUTH MOUNTAIN. 91
troops, but veterans ; and ever after, in the many battles
they fought, the lesson and experience of South Moun
tain, and the conduct of their commander there, kept
them cool under fire, and made them irresistible in a
charge.

CHAPTER xn.
WOUNDS AND PEOMOTION.
Effect of his Wound at South Mountain. — Search for him by his Wife.
— Promoted to be Colonel of the Twenty-third. — Placed in Com
mand of the Kanawha Division. — Prevents Morgan's Escape
from Ohio. — A Quiet Tear of Camp Life.
When Col. Hayes was carried from the battlefield,
he was taken down the mountain to a little old house
already occupied by a score or more of wounded men.
He was so exhausted, that his brother-in law. Dr. Webb,
who was surgeon of his regiment, scarcely hoped to
save his Ufe ; while Col. Hayes himself abandoned aU
hope of saving his arm from amputation. There he lay
through the eventful days of Antietam, whUe his regi
ment were crowning themselves with honor, being in the
thickest of that fight, and having their colors and many
comrades shot down as they charged upon the foe.
Meantime the reports of the battle, with lists of the
kiUed and wounded, appeared in the Cincinnati papers ;
and, the tidings being communicated to Col. Hayes's
wffe, she hastened to find him, having nothing but the
fact of his having been wounded at South Mountain to
guide her. As the wounded had been carried back from
92

WOUNDS AND PEOMOTION. 93
the field, and left in the houses, barns, and sheds for
more than twenty miles to the rear, that devoted woman
made many a useless trip, looked upon many a ghastly
spectacle, before she came at last to the house where
her husband lay.
* A writer in " The Cincinnati Commercial " thus
speaks of Col. Hayes as he was seen the day after the
battle of Antietam : —
" After going the rounds of the hospitals in and adja
cent to the field of Antietam, Capt. Looker was associ
ated with Surgeon-Gen. Weber and other Ohio surgeons
as a detail to escort an ambulance train filled with
wounded soldiers down to Frederick, Md., where aU
the churches, hotels, and public buildings of all kinds,
had been prepared for their reception.
" On the way down, and reaching a little viUage called
Middletown just after dark, the citizens of the town
insisted that the train should stop long enough for them
to supply the wounded men with cups of coffee, tea, &c.
This request was complied with ; and the train lay there
three or four hours.
" During the delay, Surgeon-Gen. Weber and Capt.
Looker walked through the village, making inquiries
for Ohio soldiers, and, much to their surprise, learned
that Lieut.-Col. R. B. Hayes had been brought there
from South Mountain, where he was wounded (and
only a few miles from Middletown), and was then be
lieved to be somewhere in the village. Procuring a
lantern, they began to explore the town in search of

94 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
Col. Hayes. After visiting about a dozen houses, in
which were wounded officers and soldiers, and holding
the light of the lantern in the faces of the poor feUows,
they came across a little, old, dilapidated two-story brick
building, and going up a rickety pair of stairs, and
through a narrow haU, flanked on both sides with
diminutive rooms, were rewarded by the discovery of
Col. Hayes, lying in bed, and attended by his faithful
and loving wffe and his brother-in-law, surgeon of
his regiment. Dr. Joe Webb. Mrs. Hayes had only
just found her husband, after having looked through aU
the hospitals from Washington City to Middletown.
" The colonel and his lady expressed delight at the
-visit from Ohio men, and permitted Surgeon-Gen.
Weber to examine the wound. After a pleasant chat,
and a detailing of news from home, the Ohio gentlemen
took their departure. It seems, that, a few hours before
the visit, the colonel, fearing mortification, had requested
Surgeon Webb to amputate his arm ; but Dr. Webb had
decided not to do so, and to make an attempt to save
the arm. After examining the wound, Surgeon-Gen.
Weber corroborated Dr. Webb's decision, and left both
the colonel and his good wffe in the best of spirits.
" The parting words of the colonel to his Ohio visitors,
as he lay there suffering with his wound, were, ' Tell
Grov. Tod that Vll be on hand again shortly.'' His
future career proved that he was always ' on hand,'
where hard fighting and sound judgment were needed,
during the remainder of the War of the RebeUion."

WOUNDS AND PEOMOTION. 95
Col. Hayes suffered severely, and was unable to enter
upon active duty for several weeks. The regiment, after
many marches and counter-marches, was at last (Oct.
8) ordered back to West Virginia, with the Kanawha
di"vision ; and it arrived at Clarksburg on the 15th of
October. WhUe there, the men learned that Col.
Scammon had been promoted to brigadier-general, and
that Gov. Dennison had revoked the commission to Col.
Hayes to command the Seventy-ninth, and issued a new
commission to him as colonel of the Twenty-third ; and
their demonstrations of gratification were as deeply felt
as they were boisterous. He did not, however, person
aUy command the regiment in any subsequent battles,
as he was detached from it soon after his recovery, to
act as brigadier-general, and (Dec. 25, 1862) placed in
command of the celebrated Kanawha division, to which
the Twenty-third was attached. From that time to the
next March, Col. Hayes had a season of quiet; and the
soldiers found at the Kanawha Falls an opportunity to
recuperate their worn and shattered bodies. But on
the 15th of March, the division was ordered to Charles
ton, Va., from which point it made many raids into the
Confederacy, destroying stores of salt, ammunition,
clothing, and crops, and capturing many prisoners. A
writer who has since been on the most intimate terms
with Col. Hayes, writes of one of these expeditions,
which is especially deserving of record :
" In June, 1863, an expedition comprising three bri
gades (one of them that of Col. Hayes), with cavalry

96 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
and artiUery, was despatched to South-western Virginia,
with the view of capturing Salt"ville, and breaking up
the Virginia and Tennessee Railway. Starting from
the Upper Kanawha, the expedition marched through a
frightfully wUd and rugged country, and, after crossing
several ranges of mountains, struck and tore up the
raUway, raided the neighboring country, and, returning
by a tedious and difficult march, arrived -within fifteen
mUes of Fayetteville, July 23. During all this time, the
command had been entirely separated from maU com
munication, and knew nothing of the stirring events
that had happened in other departments, including the
surrender of Vicksburg, Lee's defeat at Gettysburg,
and John Morgan's raid north of the Ohio. Col.
Hayes, therefore, rode forward to Fayetteville to obtain
information, and, on reaching the town, galloped at once
to the telegraph-office, where, without dismounting, he
called to the operator through the open window,
' What's the news ? ' The man at the instrument
turned, and was about to give him a brief history of
events, when a signal came over the wires; and the
man said, ' Hold, I'm called.' Col. Hayes then went
into the office, and read the foUo-wing despatch as it
came from the instrument : —
" ' John Morgan is crossing the Scioto at Piketon, O.,
and is making for GaUipolis. He "wiU arrive there day
after to-morrow.'
" This was startUng news to Col. Hayes. ' John
Morgan m Ohio,' he exclaimed, 'and making for

WOUNDS AND PEOMOTION. 97
GaUipolis ! ' The operator then explained that the
rebel raider was hardly beset by Union cavalry, and
that he was evidently seeking escape from the State by
crossing the Ohio River at GallipoUs, where there was
no adequate force to dispute his passage, or to protect
large quantities of supplies which had been coUected
there. Col. Hayes comprehended the situation in an
instant, and as quickly sent this despatch flashing over
the wires : —
" ' Are there any steamboats at Charleston ? '
' " Yes, two,' was the almost immediate answer.
" ' Send them up to FayetteviUe at once,' Hayes
responded. " ' All right,' replied the Charleston quartermaster.
" Col. Hayes, without having received another word
of information, jumped into the saddle, and galloped
back to camp fifteen miles. He reached camp at night
fall, and laid the whole matter before Gen. Scammon,
who gave him permission to take two regiments, and a
section of artillery, and hasten to GaUipolis. He then
announced his purpose to the soldiers, who greeted his
orders with wild hurrahs. In haff an hour his little
column was in motion, groping its way along the rough
mountain-road. The night was moonless, and the
darkness sometimes so intense, that the regiments were
compelled to halt until the clouds cleared, before they
could go forward. All night the weary march was
continued; and, just as dawn began to streak the
summits of the mountains, the column, reaching a high

98 ' LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
point overlooking the Kanawha Valley, near Fayette-
-ville, saw the two steamboats rounding a bend, and
coming up the river. The troops and the boats reached
the wharf almost simultaneously ; and, within an hour,
the whole command had embarked, and the steamers
were under fuU headway down the Kanawha, their
decks strewn with tired and sleeping soldiers. By
daylight the next morning, the boats reached GaUipolis,
and the troops disembarked, and took positions to
defend the town. But Morgan had been advised by
spies of their approach when six miles away, and
turned his column northward,toward Pomeroy, another
point on the Ohio. Col. Hayes instantly re-embarked,
and steamed up the river to overtake him. He arrived
in time to go out and meet the enemy while advancing
upon the town ; but Morgan's officers were not long
in discovering that something tougher was in front of
them than militia regiments ; and they suddenly drew
off, remounted, and made for Buffington's Island, a
point still farther up the river. Here Morgan seized
a steamboat, and had ferried over about three hundred
of his men, when Col. Hayes arrived, seized the boat,
and put a stop to any further progress in that line.
Morgan himself had crossed the river ; but, seeing that
his main body was about to be cut off, he recrossed,
and remained with his soldiers to share their fortunes.
After some fighting, he drew off again, and made for
other points up the river. But the last opportunity
for escape had passed ; and the Confederate raiders,

WOUNDS AND PEOMOTION. 99
hardly beset by Gens. Hobson and Shackelford, were
speedily diiven to the wall, and forced to surrender."
Col. Hayes returned to Virginia immediately after
the capture of Morgan, whose escape would have been
certain, but for Col. Hayes's prompt action, and decided
presentation of the matter to Gen. Scammon. And
though no action or campaign of historic interest called
attention to his command for nearly a year afterwards,
yet it was a period of activity and ceaseless vigilance.
That period of silence and comparative activity was
broken, however, April 29, 1864, when the Kanawha
division was ordered to join the forces gathering
near Brownston, on the Upper Kanawha River, from
which point a raid was to be made on the Virginia
and Tennessee Railroad in accordance with Gen.
Grant's order for a general advance of all our armies.
Then began a series of forced marches and hard-fought
battles, in which Col. Hayes appeared in his conspicu
ous position as brigadier-general, and hence deserving
of more particular notice.

CHAPTER XIII.
BATTLE OF CLOYD MOUNTAIN.
March up the Kanawha. — Approach to Cloyd Mountain. — Hayes's
Charge across the Meadow. — The Contest at the Fortifications. —
Capture of Guns. — Death of the Confederate General. — Destruc
tion of the Eailroad. — Long and Dangerous March. — Arrival at
Staunton, Va.
Gen Geant considered that the disturbance of Gen.
Lee's railroad connections with the south was one of
the necessary preliminaries to the great campaign he
proposed to conduct toward Richmond; and Gen.
Crook, who was in command in West Virginia, was
ordered to take all his available force, and cut the line
of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad near the bridge
over the Upper Kanawha, generally called the New
River. His entire command, including Col. Hayes's
brigade, did not exceed sixty-five hundred men ; and
it must have appeared to him like a forlorn hope to
attempt such a march into the enemy's country. Of
course, he did not know that Sigel was moving up
the Shenandoah VaUey, Sherman forcing his way to
Atlanta, Grant moving toward Richmond, and almost
numberless expeditions starting out to attract the atten-
100

BATTLE OF CLOYD MOUNTAIN. 101
tion of the enemy, and prevent a concentration of the
rebels at any one place. Hence when, after those
dreadful hardships in climbing cragged mountains in
snow and ice, wading deep streams, and making forced
marches even into the night, he was told that the last
range of rugged hUls which lay between him and the
railroads was covered with the enemy, and formidable
with fortifications, he had good reason to doubt the
result. But there was no other course to pursue than
that marked out for him ; and, consequently, that rocky
and wooded eminence must be stormed and taken by
some of his troops. Naturally, as if it were a matter
of course, the choice fell upon Playes's brigade, who had
seeii so many battles, it was considered as invincible
as human beings ever get to be in time of war. No
estimate could be made of the number of the rebels, as
they were hid in the dense woods ; but the continuous
volleys of musketry, and the rapid discharge of cannon,
gave notice that they were not a small body.
They had chosen a strong position, and fortified three
crests, or spurs, of the mountain, each behind and
higher than the other ; so that, should they be driven
from one, the works in the rear would cover their
retreat; while in front of them was a smooth, open
meadow, some six hundred yards wide, which the
Federal troops must cross within easy range before
they came to the defences upon which the rebels relied,
consisting of a deep stream of water, and a rugged
ascent made difficult by fallen trees and hidden pits.

102 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
Col. Hayes's brigade formed in line on the side of
this meadow, and, at the word of command, sprang
forward at a double-quick pace ; while the enemy
opened aU its batteries and musketry upon them. Col.
Hayes led the brigade, and moved about from point to
point during the charge with such coolness and alacrity,
that he kept his line steady, and infused into the sol
diers the utmost confidence in his ability to lead them
to victory. When the meadow was passed, a short
halt was made by the stream, to dress the line, and give
such necessary orders as the task before them seemed
to demand ; and then, with a yell, they rushed into the
brush, climbing like squu'rels, and as fearless of the
shot which riddled the trees, as those animals would be
of faUing acorns. Upward they clambered in such hot
haste, and with such an even line, that, before the
enemy could ram home the second charge, they were
swarming about the rude breastwork, and clubbing
their empty muskets to strike down the gunners. As
tonished and dismayed, the rebels made a hasty retreat,
leaving behind them two handsome guns, into the
mouth of one of which a boy in the Twenty-third thrust
his cap, to denote that it was his prize, and then rushed
on with his comrades to charge and capture the second
crest. The movement upon the second position was
but a continuation of the first charge ; and, no time
being allowed the rebels to re-form, they fled Uke sheep
to their last stronghold. Here being re-enforced by a
fresh arrival of troops, and knowing that this offered

BATTLE OF CLO-STD MOUNTAIN. 103
the last means of defence, they re-formed, and met the
Union forces in a most desperate and heroic contest.
It was one of the sharpest conflicts of the war. It
continued but a few minutes ; yet it was so close a
fight, that men seized each other, and went roUing down
among the rocks. The rebels tried to load their guns
when the Union soldiers were but a few paces away,
and then bodily threw themselves in the path to delay
the charge until the guns could be hauled away. But
the death of Gen. Jenkins, commanding the Confeder
ates, and a sudden movement toward their rear, — led
by Col. Hayes, who, with great enthusiasm, yeUed and
fought with his men, — disconcerted the brave defend
ers ; and soon such as could escape fled down the moun
tain toward the railroad which had been intrusted to
their defence.
Dublin Station, on the Virginia and Tennessee RaU
road, is but eight miles beyond Cloyd Mountain ; and
Gen. Crook, fearing that the enemy .might attempt to
erect fortifications, hurried his command, and reached
the railroad that night, which he destroyed for eight
miles toward Lynchburg from DubUn Station, and,
after a short artillery battle, burned the long bridge
over New River, thus completely and specifically obey
ing his instructions.
Without waiting to be attacked in a place where he
could be so easily surrounded, he at once began his
march to the northward, notwithstanding the men were
footsore, bruised, and wounded. The route he took, by

104 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
Meadow Bridge and Salt Pond Mountain, led through
one of the most rugged and dangerous regions of the
AUeghany Mountains, being a rocky and wild succession
of cliffs and chasms, through which meagre roadways
had been cut, only to be washed away by the spring
freshets, which were then at their height. It rained
continually. The mountain torrents raged across their
paths ; men were drowned at the fords ; teams were
carried away in the streams ; the shoes of the soldiers
fell into pieces ; their soaked clothing was rent by the
least strain, their guns were rusty and unserviceable,
and their supply of food exceedingl)- limited, and of a
poor quality. Besides these hardships, they were some
times met by the enemy, and had to fight as well as
climb. Once they were beset by the same troops
which they had defeated at Cloyd Mountain ; and this
exhausted, ragged little army worked their courage up
to the charging-point, and captured the remaining guns,
which the rebels had so heroically defended on the
crests of that battlefield.
At last the tired army reached their old camping-
ground at Meadow Bluff, from which place, after a
short rest, and obtaining fresh supplies, they marched
to Staunton, Va., joining Hunter's army, June 8.

CHAPTER XIV.
THE ATTACK ON LYNCHBUEG.
The First Day's March. — Approach to Lynchburg. — The Appearance
of the Enemy. — The Night Eetreat. — The Heroism of Hayes's
Brigade. — The Hardships of the March. — Hayes's Defence of
Buford's Gap. — Surrounded by the Eebels. — Diary of an Officer.
On the 10th of June the march began from Staunton
to Lynchburg ; and Hayes's brigade led the column,
marching twenty-three miles that day, and skirmishing
nearly all the way. And by forced marches, taking in
Lexington and Buchanan, towns on the James River,
the army reached the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad,
some distance west of Lynchburg, on the 14th, and
moved up the railroad toward that town, arriving
within sight of the buildings on the 18th of June.
Here Gen. Crook's command, with Hayes's brigade,
was sent by a long dStour to reach the rear of the city,
and attack simultaneously with the army in front ; but
the sudden arrival of large rebel re-enforcements caused
Gen. Hunter to recall Crook ; and he returned just in
time to meet the advancing enemy, and assist materiaUy
in compelling the foe to retire. Yet the rebels con
tinued a brisk fire all day, and kept the national forces
105

106 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
under arms, and in perpetual expectation of an attack
from superior numbers.
On the approach of darkness, however. Gen. Hunter
ordered the troops to move to the westward ; and the
now famous fighting brigade of Col. Hayes was ordered
to cover the retreat, which they did successfully,
although they had been two clays without sleep, and
one day without food. The enemy foUowed close upon
them as they retreated down the railroad ; and often
Hayes's brigade would make a determined stand to give
the main body time to get well on its way, and then
suddenly stop firing, and hasten on after the receding
column. All the next day they fought and marched,
and at night (19th) they had a sharp conflict with a
large body of the enemy sent to surprise them ; so that
another night passed without sleep : and, as ff to test
their powers of endurance to the utmost, they had
scarcely reached Buford's Gap, on the morning of the
20th, before the enemy, in great numbers, appeared,
with the evident purpose of securing the heights, and
from them shelling the retreating Federals. Haj^es
drew up his brigade in such a manner as to cover
the approaches to the gap, and held his position all
that day (20th). At night, when he knew the army
was far beyond the reach of rebel cannon, he collected
his men, and hastily retreated. But, as his column
drew near to the town of Salem, a body of the rebels
managed to outmarch his almost fainting troops, and,
by another route, intercepted him, while another body

THE ATTACK ON L"YNCHBUEG. 107
vigorously pressed him in the rear. It was a situation
from which but few leaders could have extricated such
a worn, starving, bleeding company of men. But such
was Hayes's influence over them, that at his vigorous
appearance, and enthusiastic call for one more fight,
they rallied all the strength they had, and, knowing he
had shared equally with them all the hardships of the
march, proudly declared they would fight as long as he
could. So, once more they made a determined charge,
and cleared the way to the camp, where, at ten o'clock
at night, they found their first sleep for nearly four
days. The pursuit was discontinued at North Mountain ;
but as their provisions were nearly exhausted, and the
country desolated by previous campaigns, they were
but half supplied with food untU they arrived at Big
Sewell Mountain, on the 27th of June, having marched
one hundred and eighty-three miles in eight days and a
half. After a short rest at this point and at Meadow
Bluff, the emaciated and worn troops marched to
Charleston, Va., arriving on the first clay of July.
A contributor for " The New- York Times " sent to
that paper an extract from the diary of an officer who
accompanied Col. Hayes in that arduous march ; and it
is of sufficient interest to find a place in this book.
One item is as follows : —
'¦'¦June 19. — Marched all day, dragging along very
slowly. The men had nothing to eat, the trains having
been sent in advance. It is almost incredible that men
should have been able to endure so much ; but they

108 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
never faltered, and not a murmur escaped them. Often
men would drop out silently, exhausted ; but not a
word of complaint was spoken. Shortly after dark, at
Liberty, had a brisk little fight with the enemy's
advance. Reached Buford's Gap about ten, A.M., of the
20th. Gen. Crook remained here with Hayes's brigade,
holding the gap until dark, inviting an attack. The
army was, however, too cautious to do more than skir
mish. After dark we withdrew, and marched all night
to overtake the command in the advance. Reached
Salem about nine, A.M. Hunter had passed through
Salem ; and a body of the enemy's cavalry fell upon his
train, and captured the greater part of his artillery.
About the same time Crook was attacked in front and
rear, and, after a sharp fight, pushed through, losing
nothing. Heavy skirmishing aU day, and nothing to
eat, and no sleep. Continued the march until about
ten, P.M., when we reached the foot of North Mountain,
and slept.
" At four, A.M., next morning (22d), left in the
advance, the first time since the retreat commenced.
By a mistake, a march of eight miles was made for
nothing. Thus we toiled on, suffering intensely with
exhaustion, want of food, clothing, &c. On the 27th,
a supply-train was met on the Big Sewell Mountain.
Men all crazy. Stopped and ate ; marched and ate ;
camped about dark, and ate all night. Marched one
hundred and eighty miles in the last nine days, fighting
nearly all the time, and with very little to eat."

THE ATTACK ON LYNCHBUEG. 109
How like a dream all this appears to us, now that a
decade intervenes to obscure the view ! Of such stuff
are the defenders of a righteous government made ; and
they survive as its safeguard.

CHAPTER XV.
SHENANDOAH CAMPAIGN.'
Fight with Early. — Col. Hayes covers Another Eetreat. — Sheridan's
Choice of the Kanawha Division. — Daring Attaclis upon Early's
Lines. — Capture of Prisoners. — Battle at Berryville. — Gen.
Grant says, " Go in." — Opening of the Battle of Winchester. —
Charge of Hayes's Brigade. — Heroic Conduct of Col. Hayes. —
Defeat of Early. — Col. Hayes's Charge. — The Enemy's Flank at
North Mountain.
Eaely, who commanded the rebel corps sent from
Richmond to the relief of Lynchburg, had by this time
moved into the vaUey, and thence into Maryland.
Gen. Crook's command was therefore ordered east,
and, setting out on the 10th, arrived by rail at Martins
burg, on the 14th. Here Hayes's brigade remained
until the 18th, when it advanced to Cobletown, ten
miles beyond Harper's Ferry, and drove in the enemy's
pickets. Early, after menacing the defences of Wash
ington, withdrew from Maryland, pursued by Wright's
Sixth Corps, which he turned fiercely upon at Snicker's
Gap, dri"ving back Wright's advance with consid
erable loss. The rebel commander then pursued his
1 We are indebted to an able and trustworthy -writer for much of
the material in this and the following chapter.
110

SHENANDOAH CAMPAIGN. Ill
march, and was believed to- be making his way up
the gap toward Gordonville. Accordingly, on the
22d, Col. Hayes was sent out, with his brigade and two
sections of artillery, to reconnoitre, and while entirely
unsupported, and without communication with the
main body on the other side of the Shenandoah, was
completely surrounded by two divisions of the enemy's
cavalry, but fought his way out, and rejoined Gen.
Crook on the 23d, at Winchester.
On the 24th Crook advanced, easily dii"ving the
enemy's cavalry, supposed to be covering the rebel
retreat up the valley, when suddenly, near Kernstown,
Early's whole army developed itself in battle array,
close upon the left flank, and, pouncing upon Crook,
compeUed him to fall back rapidly on Martinsburg.
Col. Hayes covered this retreat on the left with his
brigade, and stubbornly resisting Early's impetuous
advance, saved Crook's forces from material loss, and
enabled him to draw off safely all his trains and artil
lery. A series of marches and counter-marches was
now inaugurated, which, though bringing on no gen
eral engagement, were characterized by many daring
exploits. Gen. Sheridan took command of the new middle
department on the 7th of August, and selected the
Kanawha division, including Col. Hayes's brigade, to
act with his cavalry in repeated assaults on Early's
lines. Sheridan was not quite ready for a general
advance ; and it was, in part, the objects of these assaults

112 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
to keep the enemy occupied, and prevent him from
detaching any portion of his force for the assistance
of Lee at Richmond. Several times Early undertook
to do this, and as often -was prevented by Sheridan's
vigorous demonstrations, which sometimes rose to the
proportions of a serious battle.
Seldom a week passed without two or three of these
attacks being made ; Col. Hayes often forcing his way
with his brigade, not only through Early's formidable
picket-lines, but through his main line, compeUing him
to develop his fuU strength, and even to seek new
positions. So bold and hazardous were these raids,
that it was often a matter of grave surmise with officers
and men, in setting out, whether the brigade would
ever return again to the main body ; and many times
the chances seemed to be decidedly in favor of its cap
ture or annihilation. But it always managed to get back
in good fighting-trim ; and its habitual success greatly
increased the confidence of the men in themselves and
their leader. At length Early was provoked to retah-
ate, and at daylight, on the 23d of August, made a
vigorous attack on Sheridan's outposts at Halltown.
The attack was not followed up, however, and at six,
P.M., Hayes's brigade sallied out, and drove in the
enemy's skirmish line, capturing a lot of prisoners from
Kershaw's division.
This was a bold and briUiant charge ; and the bewil
dered prisoners, as they were captured, exclaimed in
astonishment, " Who the h — , are you 'uns ? " On the

SHENANDOAH CAMPAIGN. 113
24th the sortie was repeated still more successfully,
and resulted in the capture of sixty officers, and one
hundred men, all from Kershaw's division. Things
passed quietly from this time until the evening of
Sept. 3, when Duval's division, including Col. Hayes's
brigade, became involved in a severe engagement at
Berryville. The fighting was desperate ; and, occur
ring mostly after dark, the flashes of musketry,
and exploding of shells, mingling with the fierce roar
of conflict, made a scene that was frightfully grand.
This affair was a severe test to the valor of the troops ;
but their lines, though in imminent jeopardy of being
overwhelmed, never wavered. The battle ceased by
mutual consent, about ten o'clock, and the picket-lines
were re-established.
Sheridan had by this time pretty thoroughly organ
ized the mixed forces placed under his command, and,
on the 16th of September, was visited by Gen. Grant,
who states in his report, that he saw that but two words
of instruction were necessary, " Go in." Accordingly
Grant gave them, and Sheridan went in. The battle of
Opequan, or Winchester as it is usually called, took
place on the 19th of September. Early at this time held
the west bank of Opequan Creek, occupying a series
of strong heights overlooking, like an amphitheatre,
^ an irregular valley, and standing,' with regard to each
other, like a series of detached fortffications. Sheridan
proposed to pass into the valley by means of a narrow
ravine, which entered it by a crooked course between
8

114 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
steep and densely wooded hills, then deploy, amuse the
enemy's right, vigorously fight his centre, and outflank
and overwhelm his left. It was Early's design, on the
other hand, to permit the deployment to proceed to a
certain extent, then overwhelm Sheridan's left, cut his
army in two, and beat it in detail.
The battle opened at ten, A.M., when the Sixth Corps
emerged from the ravine, foUoAved by the Nineteenth,
and, taking ground to the left, pushed impetuously for
ward against Early's right. Crook's command, compris
ing Duval's and Thoburn's divisions, now debouched
into the valley, and, passing behind the other two
corps, passed rapidly to the right, intending to turn the
enemy's left, and charge him in the flank and rear.
Ricketts's division of the Sixth Corps, and Grover's of
the- Nineteenth, leading the attack on the left, charged
furiously over the broken ground, driving the enemy
from his sheltered position from behind rocks and thick
woods, and carrying his first line. Early, in turn,
seeing every thing was at stake, hurled two fresh divis
ions upon Grover and Ricketts, forcing them back in
great disorder.
At this moment the battle seemed lost; but the
broken regiments were finaUy rallied, poured into the ^
triumphant enemy a volley which staggered him, then,
advancing, recovered much of the lost ground, and held
it, pending Crook's expected attack. This attack is thus
described by one who participated in the battle with
the Nineteenth Coips : —

SHENANDOAH CAMPAIGN. 115
" At three o'clock the hour of defeat for Early struck.
To our right, where I could not exactly see, from the
roUing nature of the ground, we heard a mighty battle-
yell, which never ceased for ten minutes, which told
us that Crook and his men were advancing. To meet
this yell, there arose from the farthest sweep of the
isolated wood, where it rounded away toward the rebel
rear, the most terrific continuous roll of musketry that
I ever heard. It was not a volley, or 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 captain
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 to the
rear, the pace being the ordinary quickstep, and the
men firing at will, but coolly and rarely."
Col. Hayes's Brigade belonged to the division making
the movement just described, and therefore bore a lead
ing part in this glorious affair. In the course of Crook's
advance, it occupied the extreme right of the Une, and,
crossing a swampy stream, reached a position covered by
an almost impenetrable growth of cedar. Through this
the command pushed on, with Hayes's brigade in front.
The brigade then advanced rapidly, covered by a light

116 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
line of skirmishers, driving the enemy's cavalry. Cross
ing two or three open fields, exposed to a scattering fire,
the brigade reached a slight elevation, where it came
into full view of the enemy, who opened upon it a
heavy fire of musketry and artillery. Col. Hayes now
started his command forward on the double-quick, and,
dashing through a thick fringe of underbrush, came
upon a deep slough about fifty yards wide, and stretch
ing nearly the whole front of his brigade. The bottom
was treacherous ooze ; and the dark water, now churned
with flying bullets, was, on the nearer side, about ten
feet deep. Just beyond it was a rebel battery, thinly
supported, the slough being itself deemed a sufficient
protection. The moment was a critical one. Should
the brigade undertake to go around the obstruction, it
would be exposed to a terrible enfilading fire, and, losing
the enthusiasm of the charge, would certainly be discom
fited, and the line of the advance broken in its vital
part. Col. Hayes hesitated not an instant. Catching
the situation at a glance, he gave the word, " Forward ! "
to the men, and then the example, as he spurred into the
horrible ditch. Horse and rider sank nearly out of
sight; but the horse swam until he struck the spongy
bottom, then gave a plunge or two, and sank helplessly
in the mire. Dismounting, Col. Hayes waded to the
farther bank, beckoning with his cap to his soldiers,
some of whom succeeded in joining him. Many others,
in attempting to follow, were kiUed or drowned ; but
soon enough had passed to form a nucleus for the

SHENANDOAH CAMPAIGN. 117
brigade ; and then, at Col. Hayes's command, he
leading, they climbed the bank, and made for the
guns. But the enemy, dismayed by so bold a charge, had
withdrawn his battery just in time to save it, and now
confusedly fled. In a few minutes Col. Playes re-formed
his brigade on the farther side of the slough, and
resumed the advance. Then followed a succession of
brilUant charges, as the enemy attempted, at various
points, to rally his broken lines. In one of these
charges Col. Duval was wounded, and carried from
the field, devolving the command upon Col. Hayes,
who, though his adjutant-general was shot by his side,
and men dropped all around him, rode through it all
as though he possessed a charmed life.
The division clashed forward in pursuit with all the
vigor that victory inspires. The passage of the slough
was the crisis of the fight ; and the rebels now broke to
the rear in utter confusion. Then the cavalry, which
had followed the movement of the right, swooped
down upon them like a hurricane let loose, and scooped
them up by regiments. The writer already quoted,
who witnessed this movement from a point farther to
the left, thus describes it : —
" At the distance of half a mile from us, too far away
to distinguish all the grand movements and results, the
last scene of the victorious drama was acted out.
Crook's column (Hayes's division leading) carried the

118 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
heights, and forts which crowned them. We could see
the long, dark lines moving up the stony slopes ; we
could see and hear the smoke and clatter of mus
ketry on the deadly summit ; then we could hear our
comrades' cheer of victory. Early's battle was soon
reduced to a simple struggle to save himself from utter
rout." Early now fell back to Fisher's Hill, eight miles
south of Winchester, and there took up a position
between the North and Mansanutten Mountains, which
was regarded as the strongest in the valley. Sheridan
followed up sharply, and on the 22d impetuously
assailed this new stronghold. The tactics of Opequan
were repeated ; the Sixth and Nineteenth Corps attack
ing the enemy's right and centre, and Crook's being
sent around to the right to envelope his right and rear.
Col. Hayes's division led this latter movement, and, by
making a detour through a series of ravines, arrived at
a point on Early's flank deemed unassailable. Clam
bering up the steep side of North Mountain, which was
covered with an almost impenetrable entanglement of
trees and underbrush, the division, unperceived, gained
a position close to and in the rear of the enemy's line,
and then charged with perfect fury, insomuch that the
rebels scarcely made any resistance at all, but fled in
utter rout and terror, leaving many "guns, and hun
dreds of prisoners, to the victorious soldiers.
Meanwhile, Early's centre had also been broken ; and

SHENANDOAH CAMPAIGN. 119
his army precipitately left the field, a disordered mob.
Col. Hayes was at the head of his column throughout
this brilliant charge, not only directing the movement,
but, by his example of personal daring, greatly adding
to the enthusiasm and impetuosity of his men.

CHAPTER XVL
SHENANDOAH CAMPAIGN.
Battle of Cedar Creek. —Early's Night March.— Defeat of Thor-
bum's Brigade. — Eetreat of Hayes's Troops. — Col. Hayes's Sol
dierly Bearing. — Col. Hayes saves Sheridan's Train. — Supposed
Death of Col. Hayes. —Approach of Sheridan. —Early's Defeat.
— Hayes's Promotions. — His Military Character.
Neaelt a month elapsed after the battle at North
Mountain, during which Early thoroughly re-organized
and largely increased his forces. Sheridan, after raiding
the valley with his cavalry, had withdrawn to a point
near Cedar Creek, six mUes below Fisher's Hill, and
had gone on a flying trip to Washington, devolving the
command upon his senior corps commander. Gen.
Wright. The troops occupied high ground. Crook's
corps being, as usual, in advance, Emory's Nineteenth
on the right and about a mUe in the rear of Crook's
front line, and Wright's Sixth on the right of Emory's,
the extreme right being covered by a division of cav
alry. Crook's forces comprised two divisions (Hayes's
and Thorb urn's), numbering about four thousand men
in all; Hayes's line being continuous of that of the
Nineteenth Corps, ancl Thorburn occupying a position
120

SHENANDOAH CAMPAIGN. 121
about a mile in advance of Hayes, covered by a slight
parapet. The nearest force of national cavalry on the
left was at Fort Royal, eight miles distant. Gen. Crook
had applied for a division of this force to cover his
exposed left and an adjacent ford of the Shenandoah,
and his request had been granted ; but, by some mis
chance, the cavalry did not take its position promptly
as ordered.
Early, aware of the absence of the cavalry, resolved
to steal out of his forest covert at Fisher's PliU, pass
by the Cedar Creek position, then fall upon the Union
flank and rear. He began this movement during the
night of Oct. 18, which, fortunately for him, happened
to be very foggy and dark. Sending one division
to the west by way of a diversion, his main col
umn, leaving the turnpike, advanced to the right by
unfrequented paths along the side of the mountain,
holding on by bushes where the men could scarcely
otherwise have kept their feet, and twice fording the
north fork of the Shenandoah. The cavalry which
Crook fully believed to be in position on his flank
woiUd, had it really been there, have covered the prin
cipal one of these fords, and rendered this movement
impossible. In its absence. Early succeeded in com
pletely passing the flank without gi-ving serious alarm ;
and an hour before dawn his troops stood in the posi
tions assigned them, waiting for the order to attack.
Just as the first gray light of morning began to appear,
this order was given ; and simultaneously the famUiar

122 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
rebel yell and a tremendous volley of musketry, stretch-
in"- all along- the flank from far to near, announced the
presence of the foe. In an instant Early's plunging
lines swept forward, and, striking Thorburn's division,
crushed it in a twinkling. All the guns in the line of
parapet were, of course, captured ; and the broken regi
ments, utterly unable to resist such an overwhelming
onset, were swept hurriedly to the rear.
Hayes's division, meanwhile, flew to arms, and, chan
ging front, advanced in the direction in which the enemy
was evidently coming. Its whole strength at this time
was about fourteen hundred and forty-five effectives,
not enough to make a respectable skirmish line along
the front of attack. In a moment the enemy, inspired
and impelled by his first success, burst from the thick
woods in front, and was greeted with a fuU volley
from Hayes's men.
But successful resistance was impossible ; and even
the attempt to resist seemed like madness. In a
moment more the force which had struck Thorburn
was closing in upon Hayes's flank and rear, and there
was no alternative but retreat or capture. In the face
of imminent peril, the division withdrew with steady
lines, and, from this to the close of the terrible ordeal
of surprise and retreat, maintained its organization un
broken, not losing so much as a tin plate. Col. Hayes
directed its movements with the utmost intrepidity,
leading it backward in good order, and from one hill-top
to another, and making energetic resistance at every

SHENANDOAH CAMPAIGN. 123
possible point. His superb coolness and courage in the
midst of the frightful rout and confusion acted like
magic upon his men ; and the example of his division,
checking each rebel onset with its firm and steady lines,
re-animated the broken regiments, and fired them with
its own determined spirit of resistance.
Overpowered, and driven from its advanced position.
Crook's command now endeavored to form on the left
of the Sixth Corps, which, in turn, was soon obliged
to fall back. While this movement was going on, the
trains were all rajDidly moving off, though imminently
exposed to capture. Sheridan's headquarters' train
was particularly in peril; and a desperate effort to
save it was made, which proved successful. Just as
the enemy's triumphant lines were sweeping down upon
the train. Col. Hayes brought his division to a halt, and
met them with a firm resistance. Some of his regi
ments wavering under the terrible fire. Col. Hayes
galloped forward to rally his men, and, mounting a
slight declivity, was confronted at less than a hundred
yards by the enemy's infantry, which instantly delivered
a volley of bullets and yells. Hayes's horse fell dead
beneath him, pierced by many bullets, and, by the
suddenness of its fall while at full speed, flung its
rider violently out of the saddle. Col. Hayes was ter
ribly bruised, and his foot and ankle badly -wrenched in
being disengaged from the stirrup.
For a moment the soldiers on both sides supposed
him to be killed, as he lay upon the ground, benumbed

124 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
with pain, and scarcely able to move. Recovering
himself, however, he sprang to his feet, and in the midst
of a perfect storm "of bullets from the rebels, who were
now almost upon him, ran back to his division, which
he regained without further injury. Meanwhile the
headquarters' train had escaped ; and the division, being
no longer supported on rear or flank, resumed its
backward movement. The fighting now grew more
and more stubborn on the Union side. The enemy,
wearied with inarching and fighting, and tempted with
camp plunder, more and more relaxed his pursuit ; and
at last, in a position of their own selection, the Federal
troops were brought to a dead halt. The enemy seemed
to content himself with shelling them, and, for the time
being, made no further demonstration. Gen. Comly,
then commanding the Twenty-third Ohio, of Hayes's
division, thus described the scene : —
" Gen. Crook lay a couple of rods away from the
line, in a place which seemed to be more particularly
exposed than any other part of the line. Col. Hayes
lay close by, badly bruised from his fall, and bitterly
complaining because his troops did not charge the
enemy's line, instead of waiting to be charged. Sud
denly there is a dust in the rear, on the Winchester
pike ; and, almost before they are aware, a young man,
in full major-general's uniform, and riding furiously a
magnificent black horse literally flecked with foam,
reins up, and springs off at Gen. Crook's side. There
is a perfect roar as everybody recognizes Sheridan. He

SHENANDOAH CAMPAIGN. 125
talks with Crook a little while, cutting away at the
tops of the weeds with his riding-whip. Gen. Crook
speaks half a dozen sentences that sound a great deal
like the crack of a whip, and by that time some of the
staff are up. They are sent flying in different direc
tions. Sheridan and Crook lie 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, Col. Forsyth comes down in
front, and shouts to the general, ' The Nineteenth Corps
is close 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 his men, ' We are going to have a good thing on
them now, boys ; ' and so he rode off, a long wave of
yells rolling up to the right with him. The men took
their posts ; the line moved forward ; and the balance
of the day is a household word over the whole nation."
The advance here described began at three o'clock,
P.M., the men moving steadily and confidently forward
over the wooded and broken ground, the scream of
shells, and rattle of musketry, at the same time swelling
into a furious chorus along the whole line. Quickly
the enemy's front line was carried by a brUliant charge,
and his left decidedly turned ; Gordon's division, which
led the attack in the morning, having been outflanked
ancl broken.
Then came a pause in the advance, but not in the
fight, as the enemy opened with his full artiUery force,
_-_ 1  1„ -.L..___.i-.__j i,„ 1-:- captures.

126 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED E. HA-OIS.
The different divisions were adjusted to the new
attitude of the enemy, and then followed a second
charge, more determined and more overwhelming than
the first, breaking the rebel lines at all points, and
forcing its flying fragments back upon the turnpike, a
frantic, hopeless mob. Into this howUng mass, — block
ing the narrow roadway with wagons, caissons, and
disordered troops, — the artillery now poured a terrific
fire, creating a wUd panic that speedily spread through
out the entire rebel army. Guns, teams, every thing,
was abandoned by the flying enemy ; and She-..idan's
victorious battalions, gaining momentum each moment,
picked up prisoners by the hundred, and cannon by the
score. The rebel army was completely pulverized ; and
only darkness saved it from total capture or anniliila-
tion. Practically, there was nothing left for Sheridan
to fight ; and, excepting two or three cavalry skir
mishes, the war in the valley was ended.
Col. Hayes was at once promoted to brigadier-general,
" for gallant and meritorious service in the battles of
Winchester, Fisher's Hill, and Cedar Creek," to take
rank from Oct. 19, 1864 ; and was brevetted major-
general, " for gallant and distinguished services during
the campaigns of 1864 in West Virginia, and particu
larly in the battles of Fisher's HiU and Cedar Creek."
Prior to these promotions, he had commanded a brigade,
as colonel, for over two years ; and he was then com
manding a division. In the course of his arduous
services, four horses had been shot under him, and he

SHENANDOAH CAMPAIGN. 127
had been wounded four times. His advancement was
never sought, and did not come until long after it
had been fully earned.
The battle of Cedar Creek was his last contest in the
open field ; ancl, for several months thereafter, his
brigade was either in camp, or engaged in some minor
raid. In the spring of 1865, he was given command
of an expedition against Lynchburg, by way of the
mountains of West Virginia-, and was engaged in prepa
rations for that campaign, when the war closed.
Of his military character, one who served with him
in nearly all his campaign has written as follows : —
" Gen. Hayes was one of the most gaUant soldiers
that ever drew sword. More than four years' service
in the same command gave the writer ample opportumty
to observe that no braver or more dashing and enter
prising commander gave his services to the Republic
than Gen. Hayes. He was the idol of his command.
No soldier ever doubted where he led."
Another, who was associated with him in the army,
speaking of his military traits, says, —
" He proved himself not only a gallant soldier, but
model, officer. We had opportunities of close observa
tion of him in Virginia, and found him cool, self-pos
sessed, and as thorough in the discharge of his duties
as he was gallant in action. There is probably no
position that so thoroughly tries the gentleman as that
of the officer in time of war. The despotic power sud
denly placed in his hands calls for the higher attributes

128 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
of manhood to preserve its possession from abuse. To
his inferiors in rank, Gen. Hajj-es was ever kind, patient,
and considerate. He was, in the first sense of the
term, the soldier's friend. As an officer, he was noted,
not only for his strict loyalty to his superiors, but for
gaUantry in battle, and activity in the discharge of every
duty, however perilous or arduous."

CHAPTER XVIL
BEGINNING OF POLITICAL LIFE.
Hayes's Attachment to the Wliigs. — His Admiration for Daniel
Webster. — The First Freesoil Club in Cincinnati. — Hayes in the
Antislavery Convention. — Eefuses Nominations. — Estimation of
him in Cincinnati. — His Eesolutions at the Grand Union Meeting.
— His Support of Lincoln's Administration.
The political life of Gen. Hayes began long before
he accepted an office ; and, although he was never an
ultra partisan, yet his opinions and preferences threw
him into the Whig party at once upon his entry into
active business-life. His associates at the bar in Cin
cinnati, including Groesbeck, Spofford, Hoadley, Force,
Noyes, Smith, Pope, Mathews, and their companions,
were active politicians, and naturally drew him more or
less into the discussion of political questions, and into
the various political movements preceding the elections.
On all questions he had an opinion of his o-wn, and
acted upon it, independent of all combinations and
parties, whenever his convictions led him to differ fr-om
them. He was a great admirer of Daniel Webster, and
read that statesman's speeches so often, that he could
repeat many of them verbatim.
In 1853 the first FreesoU club of Cincinnati was
129

130 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
formed ; and many of the antislavery Whigs joined the
organization, including Mr. Hayes, who became one of
the strong and permanent members. It was character
istic of him to say but few words, and only on extraor
dinary occasions to venture a public remark ; yet a
cause which had his support always found him punctual
at its meetings, generous with his money, and a careful,
cautious superintendent of all the minor details. To
the new Freesoil party he gave his whole heart, and
worked, when his companions slept, to get before the
people the great questions which the encroachments of
slavery made vital. Yet he was neither abusive nor
bigoted. No one thought of calling Hayes a fanatic.
In all his actions and all his words, there was a spn-it of
consecration to a righteous cause, and an unmistakable
amount of broad common-sense.
When Halstead, Eggleston, and other leaders of the
American party, called upon the Freesoil clubs to act
with them in joint county convention to elect delegates
for the nomination of Salmon P. Chase for governor of
Ohio, Hayes went into the convention with others,
declaring that while he did not approve of the " Know-
nothing " movement, yet the cause of human freedom
demanded that all should combine for the overthrow
of slavery. Every one knew that the things which
Hayes said or did had under them no motive for self-
aggrandizement. Repeatedly urged to accept a nomina
tion for some of the various offices within his reach, he
as firmly declined to be a candidate ; and the only office

BEGINNING OF POLITICAL LIFE. 131
he did accept was one directly in the line of his profes
sion. The temper and desires of the man are seen in
his reluctant acceptance of the office of city solicitor
after refusing a seat upon the judicial bench.
In the campaign of 1860, he was especially active,
regarding the success of the Republican party as abso
lutely necessary to the preservation of the Union ; and,
when the exciting events which immediately followed
the election were agitating the country, Hayes was
identified with every movement which favored the
overthrow of the slave power. He had defended too
many fugitive slaves, and heard too much of the bar-
baroas institution, to remain neutral when any act of
his could contribute towaid its overthrow. His influ
ence in the community, though so silent, was potent
and agreeable. " The Cincinnati Gazette," speaking of
him in its issue of IMarch 21, 1861, said, " He is a sound
lawyer, a man of marked abihty, undisputed integrity,
and e»emplai'y business-habits. He has made one of
the best city solicitors we have ever had, and has earned,
as he has received, the approbation of good citizens of
all parties."
Something can be gathered concerning his opinions
and sympathies, from the resolutions which he presented
to a grand Union demonstration in Cincinnati, April 16,
1861. They were as follows ; viz., —
Resolved, That the people of Cincinnati, assembled
without distinction of party, are unanimously of the

132 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
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 accom
plish that object, the patriotic people of the loyal States
wiU promptly and cheerfully produce.
Resolved, That the citizens of Cincinnati will, to the
utmost of their ability, sustain the General Government
in maintaining its authority, in enforcing its laws, and
in upholding the flag of the Union.
These resolutions were adopted without a dissenting
voice, and most gloriously did that city keep the pledge
they then gave. President Lincoln read the resolutions
with many expressions of joy, and preserved them among
his private papers.
From that time until the day of his enlistment in
the army, Hayes was unceasingly at work in securing
volunteers, and in providing for those who went out for
three months. Toward all the expenses of meetings,
processions, flag-raisings, and other demonstrations to
secure and confirm the support of all classes for the
national cause, Hayes was a. most generous contributor,
although holding himself as much as was consistent
with duty in the background. Yet his devotion was
known and appreciated, sufficiently to give the people
an interest in his welfare when he left them to go
to the front; and they kept a close watch upon all
his movements.

CHAPTER XVIIL
NOMINATION FOE CONGEESS.
Gen. Hayes partially consents to be a Candidate. — The Forces to be
overcome. — The Campaign of 1864. — The Popular Esteem for
Gen. Hayes. — His Famous Letter. — His Characteristic Eeply to
Judge Johnson. — Eesolutions of the Ohio Soldiers. — First Men
tion of him for Governor.
When the Republicans of the Second Congressional
District of Ohio were looking for a candidate for the
election of 1864, they instinctively turned, as they had
done before, to Gen. Haj^es, and asked him to con
sent to become a candidate. The case is said to have
been presented to him in the light of a duty, as it was
believed that he was the only man who could carry the
district ; and a solid Ohio delegation was deemed im
portant for the interests of the national cause. He did
not seek the place, nor favor the project of his friends,
but in conversation, when the matter was mentioned,
indicated, that, should the war be closed before the
Congress met to which he was to be chosen, he might
take the seat. So his friends presumed, upon his
conditional consent, to place his name on the ticket;
and the enthusiasm which followed among the people
133

134 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
confirmed the wisdom of their choice. With a Demo
cratic majority to overcome, with a popular opponent
in the person of Joseph C. Butler, with the discontent
created by the draft, and the appalling death-records
of the army, to quell, it was no small undertaking on
the part of the Republicans, and one which demanded,
as it received, the most careful management, and the
very best man for a candidate that could be found.
Gen. Hayes himself took no part in the canvass, and
could not be persuaded to do so. One of the active
politicians of the district -wrote to him, urging him in
strong terms to come home, and personally canvass the
district in his own behalf. To this he sent a charac
teristic reply, as follows : —
" Yours of — is received. -Thanks : I have other
business just now. Any man who would leave the
army at this time to electioneer for Congress ought to
be scalped. Truly yours, R. B. Hayes."
But his refusal to appear before the people in his own
behalf did not seem to affect the determination of the
Republicans, and With processions, mass-meetings, and
fireworks, they aroused the people, and drew attention
to their cause and their candidate. The transparencies
of the torchlight processions and parades expressed the
sentiments of the hour, as they usually do, with great
significance and precision. Here are some of them as
they appeared on banners and decorations during that

NOMINATION FOE CONGEESS. 135
exciting canvass : " Hayes is stumping the Shenandoah
Valley ;"" Our Candidate is a Hero;" "Hayes is no
Coward;" "The Defender of Ohio;" "Antietam;"
" Hayes loves his Country, and Fights for it ; " " Tell
Gov. Tod I'll be on Hand ; " " No Humbug nor Bun
combe about our Candidate ; " " Hayes and the
Union." As the day of election drew near, it was apparent
that his personal popularity was destroying all opposi
tion. He was invulnerable, and it was useless for the
Democrats to say aught against him or his life ; while
any personal attack was sure to be followed by a loss
of Democratic votes among that large class of people
who knew Hayes, and respected his uprightness of
character, and who would not listen to any insinua
tion against him without angry retaliation. Had there
been any weak spot in his record or private life, had
he not been a kind, upright, patriotic, able, moral, and
temperate man, the world would have been apprised of
it in that contest. But not a single word of accusa
tion or slander found lodgement in the breasts of that
people. His ablest and his bitterest opponents had
nothing but praises for the man, while they assailed
the party which nominated him with untold fury.
After Ms election, he was often importuned to resign
his commission in the army; but he declared that he
could not, as a citizen of this nation, abandon the army
while in the heat of such a struggle for life.
Judge WiUiam Johnson, who was in Washington

136 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
during the winter of 1864-05, having larger accommo
dations for himself and family than he needed, wrote to
Gen. Hayes, asking him when he intended to come to
Washington, and offering him a suite of spare rooms.
To which Gen. Hayes replied in substance as follows, —
" I shall never come to Washington until I can come
by the way of Richmond."
His regard for the soldiers of his command, and his
disinclination to leave them, were well reciprocated by
them. It was by them that he was first mentioned for
governor of Ohio, as early as the 20th of April, 1865.
At that time the Ohio men in the Shenandoah Valley
had been ordered to Winchester to prepare for the
expected campaign ; and, while there, they held a mass-
meeting without his knowledge, and unanimously
passed the following resolution : —
" Resolved, That Gen. Hayes, in addition to possess
ing the abUity and statesmanship necessary to qualify
him in an eminent degree for chief magistrate of the
great State of Ohio, is a soldier unsurpassed for patri
otism and bravery ; he having served four years in the
army, earning his promotion from major in one of the
Ohio regiments to his present position."
Gen. Hayes expressed his decided disapproval of the
movement at the time, and treated the matter as if
such a thought was absurd, and his election impossible ;
while he would not be tempted to accept the office, had

NOMINATION FOE CONGEESS. 137
it been tendered to him by those having the power to
secure it for him. He had no ambition but to do his
duty ; and it was no part of his duty at that time to be
governor of Ohio.

CHAPTER XIX.

IN CONGEESS.

The Honor connected -with his Election. — Opinions of his Ability.
— His Silence in the House of Eepresentatives. — Placed on Un
important Committees. — His Growing Iniluence. — Description of
him as he then appeared. — His Eeception on his Eeturn Home.
The election of Gen. Hayes to Congress by a major
ity of three thousand and ninety-eight was no small
honor in 1864, when the people felt the great impor
tance of electing their best men; nor is it any mean
compliment to represent such a State as Ohio at any
time. To have one's name in the archives of such a
commonwealth, associated with such distinguished men
as McClellan, Grant, Sherman, Rosecrans, Mitchell,
Sheridan, McPherson, Gilmore, Weitzel, Gordon, Gran
ger, McCook, Garfield, Schenck, Crook, Hazen, Stanley,
Sill, Steadman, Kirby Smith, Lytle, Tod, Stanton,
Chase, Cox, Thurman, Wade, Pendleton, Groesbeck,
Garfield, Waitt, and hundreds more Avhom Ohio has
raised to distinction, is worthy of the highest ambition,
and a reward worth a life of devoted service.
In one of the daily papers issued about the time of
Gen. Hayes's election, appeared a paragraph which was
138

IN CONGEESS. 139
in accord with the entire public press ; and we give it
in passing, to show the estimation in which he was held
at that day.
" The electioneering that Col. Hayes has done during
this political campaign has been at the head of his
brigade in the Shenandoah Valley. He performed a
gallant and conspicuous part in the splendid victories
on the Opequan, and at Fisher's Hill. In the brilliant
charges that have distinguished Crook's glorious divis
ion. Col. Hayes has been one of the leaders. He has
been more than three years in the army, and at South
Mountain was severely wounded. Months have to pass
before he will be called to take his seat in Congress,
and before that time we may hope to see the war end
in an honorable peace. He is not only brave and judi
cious on the battle-field, but a ca|jable and earnest
civilian. He is one of the right sort of men to be
sent to Congress."
In Congress, during the session of 1865-66, Gen.
Hayes displayed the same characteristics which had
marked his whole previous course. He was ready for
any kind of work, but very much disinclined to push
himself into those positions which merely serve to
attract public attention. The committees which he
served upon were unimportant, because he was so little
known to the speaker and to the leading spirits of
the House of Representatives. Yet those things which

140 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
were intrusted to him were cared for with a conscien
tious vigUance, and gradually his merits began to be
recognized by the members ; and members of commit
tees with which he was in no wise connected began
to consult his opinions, and act upon his advice. He
earnestly supported the Republican measures for recon
struction ; he was very active in aU those measures in
which his State was interested ; he attended to every
call made upon him from his constituents ; and he was
one of the busiest, most business-like members to be
found in Congress. Yet he made no speeches, and
rarely ventured a remark. His vote was seldom, per
haps never, wanting, while he held a seat in the House
of Representatives.
Gen. Hayes was appointed chairman of the House
Committee on the Library, having as his colleagues
Judge Kelly of Pennsylvania, and Calvin T. Hulburd
of New York. This is a joint committee ; and the
members on the part of the senate were Messrs. Howe
of Wisconsin, Fessenden of Maine, and Howard of
Michigan. During Gen. Hayes's term of service, the
large extensions to the library were finished ; and he
gave the work his personal supervision, securing desir
able improvements on the original plan. He also had
carried through the House an appropriation of one hun
dred thousand dollars for the purchase of the curious
collection of books on America made by Col. Peter
Force, the value of which to future historians will be
inestimable. Some attempts to palm off worthless

IN CONGEESS. 141
works of art on this Library Committee, on the part of
the House, was defeated by Gen. Hayes, who sought
and received the advice of Charles Sumner before he
acted on these art matters.
Gen. Hayes was also a member of the Committee on
Private Land Claims, with George S. Boutwell, Speaker
Kerr, F. E. Woodbridge of Vermont, and others.
Gen. Hayes took an active part in securing the pas
sage of George S. Boutwell's bUl, prohibiting persons /
who had been guilty of treason, bribery, murder, or re
bellion, from practising in any United States Court.
It is interesting to look back to that time, and notice
how he was regarded by his acquaintances ; and it
serves, also, as a lesson for such as would deserve honor
and renown. One writer who wielded considerable
influence at that time, and who drew his conclusions
more from Gen. Hayes's official life than from a per
sonal acquaintance, used this remarkable language
concerning him : —
" Mr. Hayes is a good-sized, weU-formed man. He
is in every way well made ; has a handsome head on a
rather handsome body, and a face which would intro
duce him favorably anywhere. His complexion is light,
skin florid, temperament composed of the vital, motive,
and mental in almost equal proportions. He is neither
too fast nor too slow, excitable nor sluggish, but he is
at once energetic, original, comprehensive, dignified, and
resolute. Pie is more profound than showy, and has

142 LLFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
more application than versatility. He will finish what
he begins, and make thorough work. He has a hopeful,
happy nature ; is eminently social, fond of home and all
that belongs thereto, and as hospitable to aU as he is
thoughtful and considerate. But to be more specific :
this gentleman is comparatively young in years, and
younger in spirit. Though he has already accomplished
much, he has by no means reached the climax of his
fame. He is a rising young man, and, if spared, will in
the course of a few years be found in the front ranks of
the best minds in the nation. We base our predictions
on the following points : first, he has a capital constitu
tion, both inherited and acquired, with temperate habits ;
secondly, a large, well-formed brain, with a cultivated
mind, with strong integrity, honor-, generosity, hopeful
ness, sociability, and ambition, and all well guided by
practical good sense. At present he may be thought
to lack fire and enthusiasm; but age and experience
will give him point and emphasis. Mark us, this
gentleman will not disappoint the expectations of the
most hopeful."
It is a very unusual occurrence for a congressman to
sit sUent through the session, and go back to his consti
tuents to find himself one of the most popular office
holders of his State. Yet such was the case with Gen.
Hayes. His return to Cincinnati was the occasion for
many demonstrations of approval and confidence, which
testified no less to the good sense of a people who were

IN CONGEESS. 143
willing thus to be represented than it did to the sterling
worth of the congressman. He had made no brilliant
display, aroused no enemies, excited no partisan jeal
ousies ; and yet he was appreciated and honored by
those who elected him, strange as that fact will appear
to many a disappointed aspirant for public honors.
It was while sitting as a member of Congress, that he
secured the friendship of many men of national repu
tation, and who have since been important and faithful
allies. In this, no less than in other characteristics.

,,.<i

if]

CAPITOL AI WASHINGTON.
his life is at variance with the usual experience among
public men. A man like Gen. B. F. Butler of Mas
sachusetts secures many fast friends by being the
vigorous opponent of men they dislike. The more
numerous and combative his enemies seem to be, the
larger is the number, and the more determined the
spirit, of his followers. Another member of Congress
who sat near him during two entire sessions, and who
prided himself on making no enemies, had no influence

144 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
in Congress, no real friends in Washington, and was
ridiculed out of the next election at home. As a
general rule, the man in politics who makes no ene
mies fails to secure any friends ; while any man having
enemies is sure of having some sympathizers and
supporters. But it is safe to say that Gen. Hayes
made no enemies in Congress ; and it appears equaUy
true that some of the most valuable friends of his life
were found there. To enjoy the friendship and confi
dence of Charles Sumner was no small honor; nor
was it any small matter to be numbered with that
social circle of statesmen, which included Senator
Fessenden of Maine, Senator Wilson of Massachusetts,
and Gov. Morton of Indiana. Hon. George S. Bout
well, afterwards secretary of the treasury, was a firm
friend of Gen. Hayes ; while the secretary is often
mentioned in Gen. Hayes's speeches in terms of friend
ship and commendation. It is a Uttle surprising to us,
that in our search, and in the search of others for us,
there has not been found an instance in his Ufe where
he made an enemy, or where he ever lost a friend.

CHAPTER XX.
SPEECH ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS.
Gen. Hayes's First Political Canvass. — The Issues of 1866. — His
Diffidence in PubUc. — Speech on the Constitutional Amendments.
— The Eebel Plan of Eeconstruction. — The Union Plan. — John
son's Plan. — The Safe Method.
In the political campaign of 1866, Gen. Hayes was
renominated for Congress, and, for the first time in his
life, entered into a canvass, and discussed publicly the
questions to be affected by the results of the following
election. Here, in his own declarations, as they came
from his lips, is furnished an opportunity for the study
of the man, uninfluenced by the bias or prejudice of
the commentator. In his speeches, barruig occasional
errors in reporting them, is seen the man as he is ;
and we shaU insert two of them in full, and give
extracts from others, in order that each reader may study
them for himseff, and from them form his own estimate
of the man and his work. No changes will be found
in them to hide any error of judgment ; nor will the
reader find any paragraphs extracted or inserted, either
by Gen. Hayes or any confidential associate, for the
purpose of showing him to have been a prophet or an
infallible statesman. 145

146 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HA-TES.
The reader will, however, find, that, as the man
became more and more accustomed to the rostrum,
his language improved, and his methods of discussion
became more distinct : in fact, his development in the
use of words to convey his meaning, and to awaken
the interest or enthusiasm of the people, is seen in a
strong light when we compare his earliest speeches
with those of latter j^ears. The same rugged common-
sense, and the same honesty of purpose, permeate
them all ; but he was not an orator until years of
practice gave him the assurance to face an audience,
and forget that they were criticising him. Pie was a
novice at public oratory in 1866, and a polished plat
form speaker in 1875.
One of his first political speeches was upon the
importance of the proposed constitutional amendments,
and was delivered Sept. 7, 1866, at the town-hall, in
the seventeenth ward of Cincinnati, and was reported
as foUows. It wiU be observed how studiously he
keeps himseff out of all his speeches.
" Without preface, I proceed at once to the discussion
of the great question to be determined in the momen
tous political struggle which now engages tJ-ie attention
of the American people.
. " How ought the nation to deal with the people of
the States lately in rebeUion? No scheme of recon
struction will be found in its practical working to be
humane and just and wise, unless it is planned with

SPEECH ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. 147
particular reference to the different elements of which
the population of those States is composed. That
population consists of disloyal white people, loyal
white people, and loyal colored people. In the South,
there is a class, or caste, which by its wealth, intelli
gence, and social consideration, forms the opinions,
and controls the political action, of the masses of the
people, to an extent greater than is seen in any other
part of the United States. We therefore naturally
divide disloyal white people into the leaders and their
foUowers, the masses of the people. The masses con
sist of ignorant and unthinking, but weU-meaning
people, and also of a class which is very large in all
the slave States : I mean the ruffian class, the men
who, in slaveholding communities, have been brutal
ized by the occupations which slavery made necessary,
— the slave-traders, the keepers of slave-pens, the slave-
drivers, and slave-catchers, the men who have been
educated in violence and cruelty to human beings of
both sexes and of all ages. From the hostility of this
class, which has lost its occupation by the freedom of
the slave, the loyal people of the South need special
and powerful protection.
" There are now only two plans of Teconstruction
before the country, — the plan of those who supported
the war-measures of Mr. Lincoln's administration,
which may be called the Union plan ; and the plan
which originated with those who opposed the war-
measures of Mr. Lincoln, and which may be caUed the

148 LD?E OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
Rebel plan. There was another plan before the coun
try, which in some of its features was like the Union
plan, in others it resembled the Rebel plan, and it had
some provisions peculiar to itself.
" This plan, which may propei'ly be called the Admin
istration plan, never had many supporters outside of
the influence of executive patronage, and has now
been, as I shall hereafter show, for all practical pur
poses, abandoned.
" Before discussing the detaUs of either of the pro
posed plans, I ask your attention to a brief inquiry as
to the leading ideas which must be embodied in any
just plan. Among Union men, prior to the cessation
of actual hostilities there was no substantial difference
of opinion as to the general principles on which the
treatment of the people of the rebellious States ought
to be based. They were announced at a very early
period of the Rebellion.
" Soon after the conspiracy to take the Southern
States out of the Union had been fully developed;
after our flag, floating over an unarmed vessel carry
ing provisions to the garrison at Fort Sumter had been
fired on at Charleston ; and after the dock-yards, arse--
nals, and forts -of the United States, had been seized, but
before a single blow had been struck in defence of the
rights of the nation, — a Southern senator, Andrew
Johnson of Tennessee, made a speech in the Senate of
the United States, in which he said, ' Show me who has
been engaged in these conspiracies, who has fired on our

SPEECH ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. 149
flag, who has given instructions to take our forts, cus
tom-houses, arsenals, and dock-yards, and I will show
you a traitor. Were I president, I would do as Thomas
Jefferson did in 1806 with Aaron Burr : I would have
them arrested, and, if convicted -within the meaning and
scope of the Constitution, by the eternal God I would
execute them.'
" I quote the former opinions of Pres. Johnson, not
for any purpose so unimportant as to show an incon
sistency between his present course and his former
declarations, but because what he said during the war
derives significance from the fact that a vice-president,
able, faithful, and every way worthy, was set aside
to give place to Mr. Johnson, because he, in a way so
conspicuous and pronounced, had given utterance to
the settled convictions of the Union men of the
country. " This was his definition of treason : ' Treason is a
crime, not a mere political difference, not a mere
contest between two parties, in which one succeeded,
and the other simply failed. Surely the Constitution
sufficiently defines treason. It consists in levying war
against the United States, and in giving their enemies
aid ancl comfort. With this definition it requires no
great acumen to ascertain who are traitors. When the
Government of the United States does ascertain Avho
are the intelligent and conscientious traitors, the penalty
should be paid.' In another speech he said, 'Is he —
the traitor — to participate in the work of re-organi-

150 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
zation? Shall he who brought this misery upon the
State be permitted to control its destiny? ... I say
that traitors should take a back-seat in the work of
restoration. ... I say that the traitor has ceased to be
a citizen, and, in joining the Rebellion^ has become a
public enemy. . . . He forfeited his right to vote with
loyal men . . . when he sought to destroy our govern
ment. " ' These rebel leaders have a strong personal reason
for holding out, — to save their necks from the halter ;
and these leaders must feel the power of the govern
ment. Treason must be made odious, and traitors
must be punished and impoverished.'
" After the war ended, and -within a week after the
oath of office as president had been administered to
him by Chief Justice Chase, Pres. Johnson was called
on by a delegation of Indianians. The address to
the President was made by a gentleman, who as the
governor of his State during the whole war, under
circumstances of difficulty and danger not equaUed in
any other loyal State, discharged his high trust -with
such a patriotic devotion to duty, with abUity so great,
and a success so signal, that, in a single term of office,
he acquired a national reputation as one of our ablest
living statesmen.
"In his reply to Gov. Morton, Pres. Johnson said,
' In reference to what my administration -wiU be while
I occupy my present position, I must refer you to the
past. And, in reference to this diabolical and fiendish

SPEECH ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. 15]
RebeUion, all I have to do is to ask you to go back,
and take my course in the past, and from that deter
mine what my future wUl be. Mine has been but one
straightforward and unswerving course ; and I see no
reason now why I should depart from it. ... I have
heretofore seen that traitors must be made odious, that
treason must be made odious, that traitors must be
punished and impoverished. . . . They must not only
be punished, but their social power must be destroyed :
ff not, they will still maintain an ascendency, and may
again become numerous and powerful ; for, when traitors
become numerous enough, traitors become respectable.
" ' While I say that the penalties of the law, in a
stern and inflexible manner, should be executed upon
conscious, intelligent, and influential traitors — the
leaders who have deceived thousands, . . . while I
say as to the leaders' punishment, I also say leniency,
conciliation, and amnesty, as to the thousands whom
they have misled and deceived.'
" These extracts from speeches of Pres. Johnson,
made before he was a candidate, while he was a candi
date, and after he was elected, may be taken as contain
ing the sentiments of the Union party. They show,
that, at the end of the war, the Union men of the
country believed that sound policy in dealing with the
people of the rebellious States required, as to leading
rebels, punishment, exclusion from political office, and, in V
particular, a denial of all participation in the work of
restoring civil government; as to the weU-meaning

152 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
rebel people, conciliation, forgiveness, and pardon; as
to the loyal white people, honors, political jyotver, and
especiaUy the exclusive right to participate in restoring
civil government ; as to loyal colored people, freedom,
and protection in the full enjoyment of the i^ialienaile
rights of man. There were, probably, some good
Republican men who wanted more than this ; I fear that
fliere are a few who would have been satisfied with less
than this ; but that I am not mistaken in my judgment
as to the convictions of the great body of the Union
people of all classes, North and South, in the army and
at home, I ask no higher evidence than the action of
our martyred President.
" We know that his goodness of heart seemed, some
times, in the language of my friend Judge Johnston,
' to swallow up almost every other virtue.' But kind
and forgiving as he was, in the work of reconstruction
which he undertook, we do not find him far behind the
popular will. I shaU not delay to give the detaUs of
his work. I shall give only results. Mr. Lincoln
re-organized, as far as circumstances allowed, five
States. West Virginia, formed out of part of the rebel
State of Virginia, was organized upon such principles,
and by such measures, that, by the votes of loyal men
alone, a State government, loyal in all its branches,
was established. Leading rebels were driven from the
State, their property confiscated, and the proceeds
placed in the treasury of the nation. Slavery was
abolished ; and, from that day to this. West Virginia

SPEECH ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. 153
has had loyal governors, loyal legislators, loyal senators,
and an unbroken delegation of loyal representatives.
She now remains as loyal as Vermont, and, true to her
motto, Montana liberi, her mountains are the homes
of freemen. This was Mr.. Lincoln's first State : the
remaining part of Virginia, which was within our lines,
was also organized by Mr. Lincoln. With too small a
population taking part in civil government to be entitled
to representation, a State government was, nevertheless,
organized, loyal in all its branches ; and loyal senators
and representatives to Congress were elected. This is
Mr. Lincoln's second State. The most powerful State
that went into rebellion was, probably, Tennessee. Mr.
Lincoln, by the aid of the loyal people only, re-organized
the State on such principles, that slavery was abolished,
rebels disfranchised, a loyal governor and a loyal legis
lature elected, and an unbroken delegation of loyal
senators and representatives sent to Congress. Better
still, she has shown her determination to continue loj^al,
by adopting the Union amendment to the Constitution ;
and is, therefore, the first of the States that went into
the RebelUon to be restored to her proper practical
relations with the Union, represented in both houses
of Congress. This was Mr. Lincoln's third State.
Arkansas was re-organized by loyal men. A loyal
governor and a loyal legislature were elected ; and
although by a constituency, perhaps, not sufficient in
number, she elected, also, an unbroken loyal delegation
to Congress. This is a fourth State organized by Mr.

154 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
Lincoln. Louisiana was, in like manner, organized by
Mr. Lincoln on a loyal basis. Slavery was abolished,
a free State organized, loyal in all branches of its gov
ernment, and which remained loyal until after the close
of Mr. Lincoln's administration. This is a fifth State
organized by Mr. Lincoln. In the re-organization of
rebel States during Mr. Lincoln's administration, these
facts appear: the "new governments were placed in
the hands of loyal men ; rebels were excluded from
participation in the work of restoration ; leading rebels
were banished ; slavery was abolished voluntarily ; and
the natural rights of the freedmen secured by appro
priate legislation.
" After the assassination of Mr. Lincoln, the task of
continuing the work of restoring civil government in
the rebellious States devolved upon Pres. Johnson.
He undertook the work of re-organizing in seven States.
Without now stopping to inquire as to the principles
on which he acted, or as to the particular measures
which he adopted, let us examine the result of his
labors. The first was North Carolina, an old Whig
State. Its population and politicians — extremely con
servative, opposed strongly to nullification in the days
of Calhoun — were carried away by what Gen. Grant
calls 'the foolish notion of State rights.' A decided
majority of the people hostile to rebellion at the begin
ning, and having a considerable number of intelligent
and able men, remained steadfast in their fidelity
to the Union throughout the whole war. With all

SPEECH ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. 155
these advantages for the re-establishment of a State
government on a loyal basis, the result is, that North
Carolina has a rebel governor, a rebel legislature, a rebel
judiciary, and has chosen an unbroken delegation of
rebel senators and rebel representatives to the Congress
of the United States. I need not name the other six
States. It is enough to say, that, with two or three
unimportant exceptions, the history, in all its details,
of North Carolina in this matter, may be read as the
history of each of the other States which Pres. John
son undertook to re-organize. All of them have chosen
for governors men who were leading rebels ; and rebels
fill their legislative and judicial offices. Twelve of
the fourteen United-States senators chosen by these
States were leading rebels ; and the men chosen to
represent them in the house of representatives stand,
— rebels, twenty-two; men of supposed loyalty, two;
and four yet to be chosen from Texas, all of whom are
likely to be rebels. The restoration of two States
begun by Mr. Lincoln was continued by Pres. John
son, — Louisiana and Virginia. Under Mr. Lincoln,
they had loyal legislatures, and loj^al men elected to
Congress. Under the plan of Pres. Johnson, both
States now have rebel legislatures and rebel congres
sional delegations. At the late election in Arkansas,
the loyal men elected under Mr. Lincoln have been
defeated under Mr. Johnson's policy ; and the rebels
now hold that State. From this, it appears that the
result of what is usually called the Presidept's policy

156 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
in dealing with the people of the rebellious States, is,
that in all of those States, except West Virginia and
Tennessee, which repudiated his policy, loyal men have
been compelled to take back-seats, while the places of
honor and of political power have been filled by the
rebels. " Having seen the result, let us now look at the plan
by which it was accomplished. In the first place, how
were the rebels, leaders and followers, to be treated?
By the amnesty proclamation, the rebel people generally
were to be pardoned on taking an oath to support the
Constitution, and the laws ancl proclamations of the
government in regard to slavery; ancl the excepted
classes, which may be taken to mean the leading rebels,
were to take the same oath, and thereupon were to
receive pardons also, if the President, on special appli
cation, chose to grant them. In practice, the President
has granted these pardons, so far as the public is in
formed, in all cases where the applicant was suspected
of no other crime, except merely the crime of treason.
This part of the plan, therefore, was practically consid
ered a full pardon to aU rebels, leaders and followers,
who would take an oath to support the present Consti
tution of the United States, and the proclamations
abolishing slavery. The next feature of the plan was,
that all pardoned rebels should participate in restoring
civil government on the same terms with loyal citizens.
This part of the administration plan differed from both
the Union plan and the Rebel plan. By the Union

SPEECH ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. 157
plan, leading rebels, whether pardoned or not, can hold
no office, state, or national. Tins is a substantial differ
ence. By the Rebel plan, all rebels can participate in
.the government on the same terms with loyal men,
without any pardon at all. This is merely a formal
difference. The next and most important feature of
the plan we are considering is the terms on which the
rebellious States were to be fully restored to representa
tion and to all their other practical relations with the
General Government.
" The President required that four principal condi
tions should be complied with : first, the amendment to
the National Constitution, abolishing slavery, should
be ratified; second, the ordinance of secession should
be declared unlawful arid void ; third, the rebel debt
should be repudiated ; fourth, the laws of the nation
should be obeyed, especially the Act approved July 2,
1862, wliich excludes from Congress any man who took
part in the Rebellion. These provisions of the Adminis
tration plan differed widely and radically from the
Rebel plan. The friends of the Rebel plan denounce all
conditions as despotism and usurpation, and are partic
ularly hostile to amendments to the Constitution, and to
the oath of loyalty. On the other hand, the Union
plan agrees perfectlj^ in principle with this part of the
Administration plan. The supporters of the Union plan
find here the precedent for requiring constitutional
amendments as conditions, and for their fixed determi
nation sacredly to maintain the loyal oath. To the

158 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
first three of these conditions, the Rebel leaders in the
South did not seriously object. Slavery had been, in
fact, destroyed ; and most of them were easily induced
to ratify the constitutional amendment recognizing the
fact. South Carolina, as might have been expected,
was, however, in the language of Mr. Seward, ' queru
lous and unreasonable,' and, -with two or three other
States, annexed to her ratification her own interpreta
tion of the meaning of the amendment. As to the
second condition, the scheme of secession having failed,
the ordinances passed to accomplish it were, without
much opposition, in some form got rid of, although it is
to be observed some of the States did not do it in the
form dictated by the President. As to repudiating the
rebel debt, that was in harmony with what many of
these people have done with obligations of a more
sacred character. But South Carolina, with her accus
tomed ' waywardness,' — although the President, in his
letter to Gov. Perry, begged, as it were, upon his knees,
that she should not throw away and defeat so much
that had been well done, — has thus far failed to comply
with this condition, giving, as her reason for not doing
it, that her rebel debt is 'so very small.' Thus we
see that the rebels generally complied with those con
ditions precedent of the administration plan which
merely recognized existing facts.
" We now come to the fourth condition, that which
required the election, as members of Congress, of men
who were qualified according to law. In order to

SPEECH ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. 159
understand the value and importance of this condition,
let us see precisely what the law is. More than four
years ago, a law was passed, with the approval of Pres.
Lincoln, ' excluding from Congress, and from every
Federal office, all persons who voluntarily gave aid to
the Rebellion ; ' and, before a man can take his seat as
a member of Congress, he must take the following
oath : —
" ' I,  , do solemnly swear, or affirm, that I have
never voluntarily borne arms against the United States
since I have been a citizen thereof ; and I have volun
tarUy given no aid, countenance, counsel, or encourage
ment, to persons engaged in armed hostility thereto ;
that I have neither sought nor accepted, nor attempted
to exercise, the functions of any office whatever, under
any authority, or pretended authority, in hostility to
the United States ; that I have not yielded a voluntary
support to any pretended government, authority, power,
or constitution, within the United States, hostile or
inimical thereto. And I do further swear, that, to the
best of my knowledge and ability, I will support and
defend the Constitution of the United States against
aU enemies, foreign and domestic ; that I will bear true
faith and allegiance to the same ; that I take this
obligation freely, without any mental reservation or
purpose of evasion ; and that I will well and faithfully
discharge the duties of the office on which I am about
to enter, so help me God ! '
" Obedience to this law was a condition of restoration,

160 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HA-YES.
having a higher sanction than any other the rebels
were required to comply with, except obedience to the
Constitution itself. It was approved, as we have seen,
by Pres. Lincoln. It was approved by Pres. Johnson
in I know not how many speeches, addresses, letters,
and messages, both before and after he became presi
dent. It was approved by two different Congresses
during the RebeUion, and by every member of the
Congress assembled since the Rebellion, who even pro
fessed to belong to the Union party. It was distinctly
approved by the loyal people of the country at two
successive congressional elections, and at one presiden
tial election. Moreover, the attention of the people of
the rebellious States was specially and repeatedly called
to the law ; and they were urged to give heed to it.
Pres. Johnson sent a despatch (Aug. 22, 1865) to all of
his provisional governors, in which he said, ' I feel it
clue to you to impress upon you the importance of
encouraging and strengthening to the fullest extent the
men of your State who have never faltered in their
allegiance to the government.'
" As late as last February, Pres. Johnson, addressing
a delegation of rebel Virginians, said, ' After having
passed through the great struggle in which we have
been engaged, we should be placed upon much more
acceptable ground in resuming aU our relations to the
General Government, if we presented unmistakably
and unquestionably loyal men to fill the places of
power.'

SPEECH ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. 161
" We all remember that these rebel leaders at the end
of the war were profuse of professions of returning
loyalty ; that they were prepared ' to accept the situa
tion in perfect good faith,' and to yield sincere and
hearty obedience to the Constitution and the laws.
And now, how did they behave in regard to this plain
requirement of the law ? All the advice, expostula
tions, and entreaties of the President and his secretary
of state, were in vain. In reply to it all, these people
proclaimed by their election of representatives, and by
their choice of senators, that rather than obey the law,
rather than elect Union men who could take the lawful
oath, rather than be represented by men unmistakably
and unquestionably loyal, they would go unrepresented
altogether. In one or two of the ten States which are
now unrepresented, it is probable that they did not cast
votes enough at the election to entitle anybody to take
a seat in Congress. In the other States, as we have
already seen, with a few exceptions, they elected for
their representatives and senators leading rebels, the
leader and chief-spokesman of whom is a pardoned
prisoner, and an unpardoned traitor, who held a higher
civil office in the late Confederate States Government
than any other man except Jefferson Davis.
" We often hear from unthinking or uncandid people,
that Congress prevents ten States from having their
due representation in Congress. Even Gen. Dix said
something of this sort at Philadelphia. Senator Hen
dricks of Indiana, strongly partisan as he is, is com-

162 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
polled to admit, in the elaborate speech he lately de
livered 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 admitted 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 refus
ing 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 become
arrogant ; they say by their conduct, to the govern
ment and to the loyal people of the country, ' We are
the conquerors ; we make conditions ; it is for us to
dictate terms. If you wish the proper relations between
us and the United States to be fuUy restored, you must
change your law. We will not consent to be repre
sented in your Congress, except by men whom you call
traitors. If you want your Union restored, we demand
that you repeal the law which prescribes the loyal oath.
You must allow rebels to take part in the work of
restoration.'

SPEECH ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. 163
" South Carolina, making this arrogant demand, goes
to Philadelphia, and, strangely enough, finds Massachu
setts men ready to do her bidding. To celebrate their
victory, the delegates of South Carolina lock arms with
their captives from Massachusetts, and parade them in
triumph, amid storms of applause, in the hall filled
with rebels and rebel sympathizers. It is possible that
South Carolina was truly represented on that occasion ;
but the world well knows that ' Old Massachusetts,'
the Massachusetts of Lexington, of Concord, and of
Bunker Hill, was not there. It may be that hereafter,
when repentance and forgiveness have restored peace
and harmony to our country, in some distant day,
some man who represented South CaroUna in that
scene may represent her again in some place of honor
and trust in the government of the Union ; but it is
pleasant to know that the men who there disgraced
Massachusetts will never be called by her people to
fill any office or power while the sun shines, or water
runs. " The rebellious people of the South having with such
great unanimity refused to elect senators and repre
sentatives to Congress who were qualified according to
law, as the Administration plan required, the question
at once arose, Who shall yield, — the nation, or the
rebels ; the victor, or the vanquished ? The peace party
of the North, under the same influences which con
trolled it during the war, promptly took side with the
rebels; By their votes and speeches in Congress, they

164 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
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, ancl in favor of the law. Upon the first oppor
tunity, after the meeting of Congress in December
last, Mr. HiU, 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, Gen. Rousseau, and all the other members
who subsequently became known as the special friends
of the President. What course the President himself
would pursue was not for a long time clearly apparent.
There were passages in his speeches, and veto messages,
during the winter and spring, which, taken by them
selves, indicated a purpose on his part to stand by the
loyal oath. The same speeches and messages, however,
contained repeated and violent attacks upon Congress

SPEECH ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. 165
for refusing representation to eleven Southern States,
when it was perfectly well known by him and 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 dis
regarded. 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. In his Annual
Message, the President, speaking of his policy of resto
ration, had said, ' I know very well that this policy is
attended with some risk; that, for its success, it re
quires at least the acquiescence of the States which it
concerns ; that it implies an invitation to those States,
by renewing their allegiance to the United States, to
resume their functions as States of the Union. But it
is a risk that must be taken ; and, in the choice of diffi
culties, it is the smallest risk ; and to diminish, and, if
jfbssible, to remove, all danger, I have felt it incumbent
upon me to assert one other power of the General
Government, — the power of pardon. As no State can
throw a defence over the crime of treason, the po-wer
of pardon is exclusively vested in the Executive Gov
ernment of the United States. In exercising that
power, I have taken every precaution to connect it
with the clearest recognition of the binding force of
the laws of the United States.'
" The President here avows his intention to exercise

166 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
the pardoning power in such a way as to obtain from
the rebel States their acquiescence in his policy, and
their clear recognition of the binding force of the laws
of the United States. And yet the prominent actors,
disregarding the law which prescribes the royal oath,
including the disloyal men who sought and procured
their own election as senators and representatives,
have, so far as the public knows, found no difficulty
on that account in obtaining pardons from the Presi
dent. Other indications were not wanting that the
tendency of the President was to yield to the demand
of the rebels and their Northern allies.
" During Mr. Lincoln's administration, there had
grown up, partly under the Freedmen's Bureau Act,
and partly under military orders sanctioned by the
usages of war, a system of dealing with loyal white
refugees and freedmen, which seemed necessary for their
protection and safety in the existing unsettled condi
tion of the Southern country. This system Pres. John
son had continued until long after actual hostilities had
ceased. It was deemed advisable, by those charged
with the administration of this system, that it should
have the express authority of law. In this opinion, it
was understood the President concurred. A bill was
accordingly prepared, having for its model the system,
which, up to that time, had been carried into effect
chiefly by means of miUtary orders. Its main pro
visions were not compulsory. It conferred extensive
powers upon the President, which -he might use or not.

SPEECH ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. 167
according to his discretion. It was not expressly
limited as to the time of its continuance; but it was
understood on all sides to be a temporary measure to
bridge over the period of confusion and disorder which
always follows a civil war, and until the relation be
tween capital and free labor has been established in
place of the relation of master and slave. This bill
was met by the President's veto.
" In many of the Southern States, laws were enacted
in regard to the punishment of freedmen, and as to their
rights to make contracts to hold real estate, to sue and
testify in the courts, which were of such a character,
that, if they were enforced, the colored people would
be free only in name. In several instances, military
commanders, with the approval of the President, have
prevented the execution of these laws. In order to
put an end to this sort of treatment of the freedmen,
the Civil Rights BiU was proposed. It secured to
colored people in the South the same rights which
they enjoyed in Ohio under a policy adopted almost
thirty years ago by a Democratic legislature, and which
Mr. Pendleton, in his letter on the subject, says, ' Has
been found so consistent with justice to the negroes
and the interests of the white, that no one, certainly
no party in Ohio, would be wUling to abandon it.'
This bill was also vetoed.
" The speeches and messages of the President on these
bUls indicated his conversion to the Rebel plan of pro
tecting Southern Unionists and freedmen; that is to

168 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
say, they were to have such protection only as might
be granted by the laws of the rebel States, adminis
tered by rebel officials. This left but one important
step to take to completely commit his administration
to the Rebel plan of restoration ; viz., to abandon the
condition that representatives and senators from the
Southern States must be, in the President's word,
' Unmistakably and unquestionably loyal.' This step
he has never ventured clearly and pubUcly to take ;
but the Philadelphia 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 of men determined to enforce and
maintain Mr. Lincoln's loyal oath. The Philadelphia
Convention on this subject passed the foUowing reso
lution : ' Fourth, We call upon the people of the
United States to elect to Congress none but men who
admit the fundamental right of representation, 'and
who will receive to seats loyal representatives from
every State in allegiance to the United States, and sub
mit to the consideration of each house to judge of the
election returns and quaUfications 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

SPEECH ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. 169
should be made as to his loyalty during the Rebellion.
They say that the word ' loyal ' refers to the present
or the future, not to the past. In this sense, it was
adopted by the convention, and accepted by the Presi
dent and his friends. If votes can be gained by claim
ing that it refers to past loyalty, to loyalty during the
RebelUon, 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 Con
gress of the United States.
" The last remaining feature of the Administration
plan of dealing with the people of the rebeUious 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 North, were, during the whole strug
gle, 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 hostUe to
the loyal colored people, both North and South. Their
plan is in harmony with aU this. According to it, the
rebels are hereafter to be treated in the same manner
as if they had remained loyal. AU laws, state and
national, aU orders and regulations of the military,
naval, and other departments of the government, ere-

170 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
ating disabUities on account of participation in the
RebeUion, are to be repealed, revoked, or abolished.
The rebellious States are to be represented in Congress
by the rebels they have chosen, without hinderance from
any test oath. AU appointments in the army, in the
navy, and in the civil service, are 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
Uous States are to be subjected to no other interference
or control, from the miUtary or other departments of
the General Government, than exists in the States which
remained loyal. Loyal white men and loyal colored
men are to be protected alone in those States by State
laws, executed by State authorities, as if they were iu
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 poUtical 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 aban
dons the four mUlions of loyal colored people who lost

SPEECH ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. 171
the protection which owners give their property when
they were made free to save a nation's life, to such
treatment as the ruffian class of the South, educated in
the barbarism of slavery, and the atrocities of the Re
bellion, may choose to give them. It leaves the obliga
tions 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 a condition, which they deem of priceless
value. "Instead of this plan of dealing with the people of
the rebelUous 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 or desire -with the Union party have been.
First, —
"1. The removal of every relic of slavery from the
Federal Constitution and from the constitutions and
laws of all the States.
" 2. That loyalty should be respected, and treason
made odious.
" 3. That the national obligations to the patriotic
people who furnished men and means to crush the

172 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
" The Union party undertakes to accomplish these
objects by an amendment of the National Constitution.
No other form of guaranty has any title to be called
irreversible. The constitution and laws of the States,
and the resolutions of conventions, afford no security to
the nation. They are 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
-wUl place them in the National Constitution, where
they will remain untU removed by the nation's consent.
I do not stop to prove the right of the nation to re
quire conditions clinched by constitutional amendment :
among Union men, this is not an open question. Gov.
Cox, in his admirable speech at Columbus, said truly,
that every person, from the President to the humblest
citizen who has claimed to belong to the Union party,
has agreed that 'terms involving some change in the
organic law of the land must be accepted by the lately
rebellious States as the condition of complete restora
tion.' The terms embodied in the constitutional
amendment proposed by the Union party are few in
number, easily understood, and manffestly just.
" The first two sections of the amendment to get rid
of the last vestige of slavery, which, under the color
of law, still lingers in any part of the United States
are as follows : —

SPEECH ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. 173
" ' Section 1. — AU persons bom or naturalized in the United
States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the
United States, and of the State in -which they reside. No State
shall make or enforce any la-w -which shall abridge the privileges
and immunities of citizens of the United States. Nor shaU any
State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property -without due
process of la-w, nor deny to any person withia its jurisdiction the
equal protection of the la-ws.'
" This secures to any person born or naturalized in the
United States the equal protection of the laws in the
enjoyment of Iffe, liberty, and property. In Ohio, for
twenty years this protection has been extended to every
citizen, under State laws; and notwithstanding the
efforts often made, by thoughtless or wicked persons,'
to create prejudice against colored people, no political
party in the State ventures to commit itseff in favor of
a change. No argument is, therefore, needed here to
prove, that, in return for the allegiance required of
every citizen of the nation wherever oppression and
unjust State legislation deprives such citizen of protec
tion in the enjoyment of his natural rights, it is the
duty of the United States to hold up before him the
broad shield of the Constitution. No Union man can
object to that section of the amendment.
" ' Sect. 2. — Representatives shall be apportioned among the
several States, according to their respective numbers, coimting the
-whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed.
But -when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors
for president and vice-president of the United States, representa
tives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of the State,

174 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the
male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and
citizens of the United States, or in any -way abridged, except for
participation in rebelhon or other crime, the basis of representation
therein shall be reduced in the proportion -which the number of
such male citizens shall bear to the -whole number of male citizens
twenty-one years of age in such State.'
" This removes the unjust and unequal distribution of
the poUtical power between the North and the South
originally caused by the constitutional provision in
regard to slave representation. By that provision, three-
fifths of the slaves were added to the number of the
other people in the slave States, in ascertaining their
representative population. This gave those States, by
the census of 1860, eighteen more representatives in
Congress, and eighteen more votes in electing a presi
dent and -vice-president, than a free population would
entitle them to. As those slaves are now free, they will
be counted the same as other people : thus the effect of
the RebeUion will be to reward the rebelUous commu
nities by an addition of twelve representatives to the
Southern States. Those States will then have thirty
representatives — as many as Ohio and Indiana com
bined — for their colored people, whom they pronounce
totaUy and permanently unfit to be intrusted with the
most paltry part of political power in their own States,
counties, or towns. By this system, a white man in
many of the Southern States wiU have as much political
power as two or three white men in a Northern State.

SPEECH ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. 175
It was said at the beginning of the war by the rebel
press, that one white man could whip five Yankees ; but
the result proved that one Southern man is equal only
to one Yankee ; and representation ought hereafter to be
established on that basis. Simple justice requires that
the vast colored population of the South, who exercise
no poUtical power whatever, shall not be counted against
the white population of the North for the purpose of
increasing the political power of the late rebels. Let
this section be adopted, and every voter in the land wUl
have the same political power with any other voter ;
and this is equal and exact justice to all.
" The third section read as follows : —
" ' Sect. 3. — No person shall be a senator or a representative in
Congress, or elector of president and vice-president, or hold any
office, ci-vU or military, under the United States, or under any
State, -who, having previously taken an oath as a member of Con
gress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any
State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any
State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have
engaged in insurrection or rebeUion against the same, or given aid
or comfort to the enemies thereof. The Congress may, by a vote
of two-thirds of each house, remove such disability.'
" This makes loyalty respected, and treason odious,
by disqualifying leading rebels from holding any office,
civil or mUitary, under the United States, or under any
State ; thus leaving the places of honor and power
within the reach of the loyal men of the South. The
form of this provision is such, that it appUes only to

176 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HA-YES.
men who have taken the oath to support the Constitu
tion, and afterward broken it. These are, for the most
part, the old poUtical leaders, the men chiefly respon
sible for the RebeUion. The younger men, the men
under thirty or thirty-five years of age, have very few
of them been guilty of this perjury. Since the winter
of 1860 and 1861 (a period of six years), no man in
the Rebel States has been sworn to support the Consti
tution of the United States on taking office. Lapse of
time, therefore, wUl soon relieve from the operation of
this section the active part of the Southem people.
Men who, to the guUt of treason, have added also the
gmlt of perjury, are to be punished by being forever
excluded from office. This is the only punishment
which the legislature of the last Congress seeks to
inflict upon the perjured traitors who plotted the de
struction of the republic. Yet the President — who
for the last five years has been breathing threatenings
and slaughter against the rebels, declaring to audi
ences in every State from NashvUle to Washington,
that leading rebels must be executed, and their estates
confiscated — now says, in his reply to the Phila
delphia committee, that the legislation of Congress has
partaken of the character of penalties, retaliation, and
revenge. Strange language fr-om the Ups of the Presi
dent toward a co-ordinate branch of the govemment,
even ff it were warranted by the facts. But when we
remember the punishments which have always foUowed
the overthrow of rebeUions in other countries; when

SPEECH ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. 177
we remember the punishments and confiscations in
flicted on the Tories of the Revolution in Georgia,
Virginia, and South Carolina ; and especially when we
remember the atrocious cruelties visited upon the loyal
men at the South, and the punishment which was
threatened them if the RebeUion was successful, — we
cannot but be amazed at such an assertion in the face
of the nation's unparalleled, and, I had almost said,
inexcusable clemency.
" The fourth section is as foUows : —
" ' Sect. 4. — The vaUdity of the pubhc debt of the United
States, authorized by la-w, including debts incurred for payment
of pensions, and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection
or rebeUion, shaU not be questioned. Bnt neither the United
States, nor any State, shaU assume to -pay any debt or obligation
incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United
States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave.
That all such debts, obligations, and claims shaU be held iUegal
and void.'
" This section, whUe it makes sacred the loyal obU
gations, puts into the most solemn and enduring form
the nation's condemnation of the RebeUion, by making
void every obligation incurred in its behaff. The
chief objection made against this section is that it is
not necessary. But the intentions of the rebeUious
people are only too manifest. They mean to demand
compensation for their emancipated slaves ; and, if that
is refused, they wiU make that refusal their apology
for the repudiation of every national obUgation to

178 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
creditors and the nation's defenders, and their famUies.
It is said that the PhUadelphia convention framed a
just and proper resolution on this subject, -and that
the rebel delegates made no objections. I appeal from
the base-locked lips of the rebel delegates to the out
spoken and authoritative declarations of the rebel
press. I appeal to the official action in their own
States of those delegates themselves. Gov. Orr of
South Carolina, a moderate rebel, — so moderate, that
Wade Hampton, who was not a candidate, came within
a few votes of defeating him for governor, — was in
that convention. In his message to the legislature of
the State, he said, ' I therefore cherish the hope, that
Congress will, as soon as the public debt is provided
for, make some just and equitable arrangement to
make the citizens of the South some compensation for
the slaves manumitted by the United States authori
ties.' He cites the fact, that ' an appropriation was
made by Congress to indemnify slave-owners in the
District of Columbia, when slavery was abolished
there in 1862,' as the precedent for the claim which
he encourages the people of the South to make. The
State of Georgia, through her act abolishing slavery,
annexed this significant proviso : ' Provided, that
acquiescence in the action of the government of the
United States is not intended to operate as a relin
quishment, or waver, or estoppel of such claim for
compensation of his slaves as any citizen of Georgia
may hereafter make upon the justice and magnanimity

SPEECH ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. 179
of that government.' These quotations are enough
to put the people of the nation upon their guard.
This claim for emancipated slaves, amounting to from
fifteen hundred to three thousand miUions of doUars, —
equal, perhaps, to the whole of the present national
debt, — wUl surely be made, unless security shaU be
taken against it, and that security placed in a constitu
tional provision, of which the nation wUl hold the key.
" This is a short and imperfect presentation of the
Union plan of restoration. The chief objection to it
remains to be considered. It is said that the South
wUl never accept of these terms, but, on the contrary,
wUl require the nation to retain its laws, so that her
seventy rebel senators and representatives, soon to be
increased by her full negro representation, to eighty or
ninety, wUl be admitted -without question, to the United
States. Tins 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 whole famiUar
story. For many years the people of the North beUeved
it. For the sake of harmony and union, they yielded
to every arrogant demand, untU, at last, they learned
that every concession was the parent of increased arro
gance, and new threats of discord and disumon. Thefr
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

180 LLFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
against their o-wn government a war of unparaUeled
atrocities. Overthrown and beaten in that war, pros
trate and utterly helpless at its close, they now assume
the air and bearing of conquerors, and propose to dic
tate terms. The Seward-Johnson party ad"vises the
people, for the sake of peace and imion, to submit to
this 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 wUl 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."

CHAPTER XXI.
GO-VEENOE OP OHIO.
Nomination for Govemor. — His Leadership of a Forlorn Hope. —
The Word " -White."— Makes Eighty-one Speeches.— His Election.
The Liberal Movement of 1872. — Hayes defeated. — His Eetire
ment from Public Life.
Gen. Hayes's majority in the congressional election
of 1866 was twenty-five hundred and fifty-six ; and he
had made his preparations for a stay of two years more
in Washington, when, to his surprise, the State Repub
lican Convention, held at Columbus, June 10, 1867,
selected him with great unanimity as its candidate for
governor. Again he came to the front as the leader of
a forlorn hope. His party were compeUed to meet in
the succeeding canvass the question of negro equality
as expressed in the proposed constitutional amend
ment striking out the word " white." There was a
deep prejudice throughout the State against the negro,
and it appeared as ff it would be defeated. Nothing
but a most vigorous canvass, with a candidate wholly
untrammeUed by previous mistakes or objectionable
affiUations, could carry the election for the Republicans.
Such a candidate they would have in the person of
181

182 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
Gen. Hayes ; and they determined that he should be
their leader.
To their caU he reluctantly responded ; and having
consulted with his ad-visers, among whom was Gen.
Garfield, he entered into the canvass with great zeal,
and resigned his seat in Congress. It was a most
remarkable and exciting contest, and caUed out all the
available forces of both parties. Hon. AUen G. Thur
man was the candidate of the Democracy, a strong
and able statesman of unquestioned integrity, and
possessed of great personal influence among the people ;
while Messrs. VaUandigham, S. S. Cox, Pendleton,
Groesbeck, Voorhees, Morgan, Ranny, and aU the
local celebrities of that party, added their force to the
battle. It is said that Judge Thurman made seventy-one
speeches during the campaign, and that Gen. Hayes
deUvered eighty-one ; each discussing the other's
speeches in a way that was very inciting to the masses,
and often exceedingly entertaining. Yet, in his ad
dresses. Gen. Hayes always treated Judge Thurman
-with courtesy and respect, never descending to the
least slur or innuendo concerning the personal charac
ter of his opponent, conducting himseff, in that respect,
in accordance -with his invariable practice elsewhere.
The dangerously plausible theory of paying off the
national debt by issuing national currency was also
introduced into the campaign by Mr. Pendleton, and
attracted many voters by its novelty and plausibUity.

GO-VEENOE OP OHIO. 183
So close was the vote, that, whUe Gen. Hayes was
elected by about three thousand votes, the Democratic
party secured a majority of both houses in the State
legislature, thus defeating, for the time, the constitu
tional amendment. Gen. Hayes's personal popularity,
and his wonderful resources when called out by such
an emergency, carried him far ahead of the vote of his
party. In 1869 he was again nominated ; and, having now
obtained a strong weapon in the shape of the extraor
dinary long sessions of the Democratic legislature and
their inconsiderate appropriations of public funds, he
entered the canvass, confident that his party would be
victorious. His speeches at that time upon the internal
affairs of Ohio were regarded as masterpieces among
political speeches, and were crowded with valuable
information for the citizens of that State. His oppo
nent at that election was Hon. George H. Pendleton,
whose glittering fallacies about creating a paper cur
rency as valuable as gold drew a large number of the
middle and lower classes to his support. Gen. Hayes
was, however, elected, having a majority of 7,518 votes,
and sa-ving his party from a renewed defeat. It would
seem to be an impossibility for any man to pass through
such a heated and closely contested poUtical battle, and
have no enemies at the close of it. Yet such is the
testimony of both parties ; and his opponents, the
Democrats chosen at that election, even went so far as
to propose a combination -with some of the Republicans

184 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
for the purpose of electing him United States senator ;
and, had he not persistently and absolutely refused to
accept the office, he would certainly have been elected,
instead of Senator Sherman, whom he faithfully sup
ported. As Chief Executive of the State, he won the praises
of every party, and the respect of every class.
In 1872 Gen. Hayes was again a candidate for
Congress; but the momentum of the new Liberal Re
pubUcan and Democratic combination was too great to
be overcome by personal popularity or individual
abUity. Hon. WUliam Allen was elected governor,
and Gen. Hayes defeated in his o-wn district. It
appears from his speeches, and the reports of the can
vass, that he did not enter into the campaign with much
zest ; and it is not probable that he cared much for the
lesser office, having repeatedly held, and so recently
refused, a greater.
When the result of that election was kno-wn. Gen.
Hayes resolved to seek in a retired life that quiet and
rest which both he and his -wife so much desired. His
purpose to enter no more into the turmoU of political
strife, and to return no more to the less weighty battles
of the courts, appears to have been fixed beyond the
slightest reservation. He had done his duty, and now
could spend the remainder of his days in the sweet
peace of a rural home.

CHAPTER XXIL
POLITICAL TEXTS.
Expressions by Gen. Hayes. — His Political Creed. — The Motives of
his Life. — The Principles by -which he has been governed. — The
Safeguards of the Nation.
DuEiNG Gen. Hayes's pubUc Iffe, before the impor
tant events which find a place in the succeeding chap
ters, he made many speeches, and from them had often
been taken some expression as a text for the campaigns.
In them can be found much of his political creed ; and
we insert them for such as may desire to study more
carefuUy his character in a poUtical Ught.
The foUo-wing are some of his sayings, -viz. : —
" The government ought not to interfere -with religi
ous sects ; and reUgious sects ought not to interfere -with
government or political parties."
" Our motto is. Honest money for all, and free schools
for aU. There should be no inflation which -vnU destroy
the one, and no sectarian influence which -wiU destroy
the other."
" I hope to be able, without forgetting my RepubU-
185

186 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
canism, to so act on a large majority of subjects as to
secure the approval of my constituents of all parties."
" There is no halfway house between honest payments
and repudiation."
" It is the past record of a statesman for patriotism
for -wisdom, for statesmanship, that is the best pledge
of his future."
" UntU every question arising out of the RebeUion,
relating to the integrity of the nation, relating to the
rights of man, relating to the payment of the debt, has
been settled, and -wisely settled, tins people should
trust -with power no man, who, during the great strug
gle for the nation's life, was unfaithful to the cause of
Union and of liberty."
" Irredeemable currency is the parent of panics."
" The credit of the nation depends on its ability and
disposition to keep its promises."
" We attack no sect and no man, Protestant or Jew,
CathoUc or unbeliever, on account of his honest con
victions in regard to religion."
" If you want a law faithfully and fairly administered,
intrust power only to its friends."
" The congressman who maintains good relations -with
the Executive usuaUy receives a larger share of patron
age than one who is independent. The system is a
bad one. It degrades the civU service. It ought to be
abolished. We ought to have a reform of the system
of appointments of the civU service, thorough, radical,
and complete."

POLITICAL TEXTS. 187
" Laws ought to be as few and simple and brief as
possible." "All schemes to influence legislation by what is
termed ' log-rolling,' and by ' rings,' are to be unquali
fiedly condemned."
" It is for our interest that the condition of the South
should be one of universal prosperity and universal
peace." " Every dollar of our bonded debt should be dis
charged honestly, and no stain left on the good name
of the nation."
" Inquire who Jeff Davis wants elected, and the
patriot can tell whom he does not want elected."
" I must tell the truth, and be honest -with the people,
or I do not deserve their votes."
" Make no mistakes which shaU make glad the heart
of a traitor."
" Long sessions, excessive legislation, reckless expen
ditures — let there be a reform as to aU of them."
"Trust no man with power until reconstruction is
complete, who was unfaithful to the country during
the war."
" We maintain that there ought to be a thorough and
sweeping reform."
" Color ought to have no more to do -with voting than
size." " Justice and equality are the sure foundations of
prosperity and peace."
" The reason I am in favor qi impartial suffrage, is

188 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
" In poUtics, in morals, in public and in private Ufe,
the right is always expedient."
" In every republican State the mUitary power must
be in subordination to the ci-vil."
" Whoever seeks to di-vide this nation into two sec
tions — into a North and a South — is opposed to the
nation." " Great political movements always have some ade
quate cause."
" Ours is not the government of the native bom or of
the foreign born, or 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."
"The authority of the United States ought to be
asserted and maintained."
" Any man who would leave the army at this time to
electioneer for Congress ought to be scalped."
" TeU Gov. Tod I'll be on hand."
" If I leave my post before the enemy, I shall deserve
defeat." " The loyal people of the South need special and power
ful protection."
" South Carolina was truly represented there ; but the
world knows that old Massachusetts, the Massachusetts
of Lexington, of Concord, of Bunker HUl, was not
there." "Loyalty should be respected, and treason made
odious." " The national obUgations to the people who furnished

POLITICAL TEXTS. 189
men and means to crush the RebeUion should be faith
fully fulfiUed."
" The resolutions of conventions afford no security
to the nation."
" Submission to what is -wrong can never be the foun
dation of a real peace or a lasting union."
" We ask nothing but what is right : we will submit
to nothing that is wrong."
" I would prefer to go into the war, ff I knew I was
to die or be kiUed in the course of it, rather than to
live through and after it, without taking part in it."
" It is every man's duty to do what he can to make
others happy."

CHAPTER XXIII.
GEN. HAYES'S HOME.
Death of Sardis Birchard. — Gen. Hayes becomes his Heir. — De
scription of the Estate he left. — Its Occupancy by Gen. Hayes. —
Its Simplicity and Cleanliness. — Gen. Hayes purposes to remain
upon it, and avoid Political Promotion. — His Speech at a Eecep
tion in Fremont.
In January, 1874, Sardis Birchard died, leaving all
his large estates and banking investments to Gen.
Hayes. His remarkable career, from the time he pur
chased the first little drove of hogs which fed upon the
refuse grain in the yard of Lamb & Hayes's distUlery
at Delaware, to his becoming the wealthiest banker in
Central Ohio, is full of interest, and often as exciting
as a romance. But through it all, as ff furnishing a
motive for his otherwise lonely life, his love for his
nephew glows with sweetness and constancy, casting a
halo of brightness about the most ordinary transactions.
His home was ever a haven of rest to his weary
nephew ; and no person ever called on Uncle Birchard,
in the name of Rutherford, without being welcomed,
assisted, and honored. He was a public benefactor,
often bestowing Uberally toward pubUc charities, and
at one time presenting a large and beautiful park, and
190

GEN. HAYES'S HOME. 191
fifty thousand dollars in money, to the town of Fre
mont, the home of his later years. Yet in all these he
consulted his nephew to see ff the gift was approved
by him. When old age, and premonitions of his likeli
hood to soon see the end of his days, pressed close upon
him, he was anxious that Gen. Hayes and his family
should make their home in Fremont ; and, in accord
ance with his desire, they took up their residence there
one or two years before his death, and have not been
absent since, except when at their temporary residence
in Columbus, since he has been elected governor the
third time.
The house which Gen. Hayes and his family now
inhabit as their home is the same estate at Fremont
which Mr. Birchard adorned ; and they occupy the same
brick house built by him in 1862. It is a plain two-
story building, with a gable-roof, and an L of the same
material and outline. Since the governor's occupancy,
he has built a frame addition to the L, of spacious pro
portions, for the working and living convenience of his
servants. A piazza of generous shelter, but unpainted
floor, extends across the front-end and the two sides of
the main building. As a writer for " The Toledo
Blade " remarks, " there is not a tower, nor balcony, nor
finial, nor filagree of any kind. The bricks know neither
drab nor red paint, but are of the good red color, of
well sanded mortar and from a well-burnt kiln."
The house fronts squarely to the east, and stands
upon the margin of a grove of grand old oaks and

192 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
hickories, from whose branches the native fox, squirrel,
and red-tufted woodcock have never been frightened.
At the right, within the hall, is a decidedly narrow
staircase ; at the left, is the door opening into the parlor ;
and in front is another, opening into the sitting-room.
Upon the wall by the closet-door, under the staircase,
is a smaU, cheap hanging hat-rack.
The parlor is a room about fifteen by twenty feet,
with a Brussels carpet of red and green figure ; chairs
and divans upholstered in haircloth, and some in green
rep ; two marble-topped tables ; a piano ; a stand and
stereoscope with views ; and well-curtained -windows,
but no lambrequins. Upon the walls are chromes and
paintings, the chief of which is a fine portrait of the
governor's benefactor, Mr. Birchard. The ceilings and
waUs are unpapered, and untouched with fresco, or
gUding, or plaster omament. They are finished in
spotless white ; and so are all the waUs throughout the
house, except the dining-room.
The sitting-room is a comfortable, well-used apart
ment, in which the poorest or the richest could feel
equaUy at home.
Upon the wall are various pictures, and one very
fine group of the governor and Mrs. Hayes with their
children, Richard A., twenty-two years of age, now
at Harvard Law-school ; Webb C, nineteen, now at
Columbus; Rutherford P., seventeen, also at Colum
bus; and the next youngest, Fannie, the only daugh
ter; and Scott, ar Uttle five-year-old boy. Upon the

GEN. HA-TBS'S HOME. 193
mantle are large kerosene lamps, trimmed and ready.
In this room are held famUy prayers ; Mrs. Hayes being
a member of the Methodist Church, and her husband
an attendant with her.
From the sitting-room, a door opens into the gov
ernor's sleeping-room, with a pleasant outlook to the
south. The dining-room is entered from the sitting-room,
and is now a spacious apartment, having been made
so by the governor soon after the death of his uncle, by
opening into one fine room that which the old gentle
man had partitioned off into two or three. Around the
long extension-table, standing in the centre, the gov
ernor has generously regaled his professional, miUtary,
political, and private friends. Upon the wall facing
the chair from which the governor serves the viands
is a fine engraving of the martyr Lincoln ; and on the
right wall is a picture of Washington. Here, as in
the parlor, is simplicity. The table is of ash ; and the
chairs are cane-seated, like those in a good hotel.
Wine and other Uquors are not a beverage at that
table, nor are cigars or tobacco used her6 by any of
the family.
The second story is divided into chambers occupied
by his family, and for library purposes ; two rooms
being crowded with shelving and books. Here is one
of the tables upon which the governor writes many of
his letters, and transacts much of his business, when at
home, and upon which, it is said, were blocked out many

194 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
of his briUiant and triumphant campaigns. It is simply
an unpainted pine board resting on two stools made in
the shape of carpenter's "saw-horses." The library is
very extensive and very choice, including all the stand
ard English and American authors.
About the house are forty acres of grove or wood
land ; and to the north of that are the open acres of
the general's large farm. Convenient walks covered
with tan bark, and spacious macadamized carriage-ways,
open the grounds to the strolls of the inmate or visitor ;
while a great number of squirrels and birds inhabit
every sly nook.
Every thing about the estate, within and without,
is indicative of comfort and thrfft. The small-pattern
carpet in the hall-way, the bright Uttle figures in the
parlor carpet, the plain white muslin curtains at the
windows, the substantial haircloth furniture, the neat
but cheap pictures on the walls, the cleanliness of
every thing, and the " stylishness " of nothing, speaks
touchingly of the true housewife, the noble consort,
the faithful Christian mother, of whom we would love
to speak further, were our respect for the sacredness
and security of that holy precinct — the family-circle
everywhere — less binding upon our conscience.
The cragged trees, the wide veranda, the convenient
arrangement of the buildings, all indicate the control
and supervising care of one who loves reaUties less
than sham, convenience rather than vain display.
The house is located a little more than half a mUe

GEN. HAYEs'S HOME. 195
from the business centre of Fremont, near enough for
obtaining the privUeges of the city, and yet sufficiently
remote to gain all the beauty, simplicity, and rural
retirement of a home in the country.
In that place Gen. Hayes had taken up his abode
with the pleasing prospect of a happy and undisturbed
life for himseff and his loved ones, when the events
of 1875 broke in upon his repose, and forcibly drew
him from his chosen retreat.
The people of Fremont were no less pleased to have
him among them than he was to reside there ; and on
the evening of June 24, 1876, after his nomination for
the presidency of the United States, they all came out,
irrespective of party, to congratulate him, and welcome
him home from Columbus. At that reception he
made the following references to his residence among
them : —
"I need not attempt to express the emotions I feel
at the reception which the people of Fremont, and of
this county, have given me to-night. Under any cir
cumstances, an assemblage of this sort, at my home, to
welcome me, would touch me, and would excite the
warmest emotions of gratitude ; but what gives to this
its distinctive character is tte fact that those that are
prominent in welcoming me home, I know very Avell,
in the past, have not voted with me or for mo, and they
do not intend, in the future, to vote with me or for me.
It is siraply that, coming to my home, they rejoice that
Ohio, that Sandusky County, that the town of Fremont,

196 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
has received at that convention that honor; and I
thank you. Democrats, feUow-citizens, Independents,
and Rapublicans, for this spontaneous and warm and
enthusiastic 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
responsibility that has been placed upon me, to be a
representative of twenty millions of people, — a respon
sibility which I know very well I am not equal to per
form. I understand very well that it was not by reason
of abiUty or talents that I was chosen. There were
accidents and contingencies That caused this result ;
but that wliich does rejoice me is, that here, where I
have been born, and where I spent my childhood, these
are those that come and rejoice at the result.
"Let me, if I may do it without too much egotism,
recur to the history of my connection with Fremont.
Forty-two years ago my uncle, Sardis Birchard, came
to this place ; and I rejoice, my friends, mt the good
taste ancl feeling which has placed his portrait here
to-night. He, having adopted me as his child, brought
me to Fremont. I recoUect well the appearance of the
then Lower Sahdusky, consisting of a few wooden
buildings scattered along the river, with very little
paint on tl^em, and these trees, none of them grown ;
the old fort still having some of its earth-works remain
ing, so that it could be easily traced. A pleasant vil
lage this was for a boy to enjoy himseff in. There
was the fishing on the river, shooting water-fowls over

GEN. HATES'S HOME. 197
the clam, on the island, and the lake ; and perhaps no
boy ever enjoyed his departure from home better than
I did when I came to Fremont. But now see what
Fremont is, how4t has grown. It has not increased to
a first-class city ; but it has become a pleasant home, so
pleasant and so thriving, that I rejoice to think, that,
whatever may be the result next fall, it will be pleas-
-ant to return to it when all is over. If defeated, I
shall return to you oftener than if I go to the White
House ; and, if I go there, I shall rejoice at the time
when i shaii be permitted to return to you, to be a
neighbor with you again ; and really we have no cause
not to be satisfied with our home and the large inter
ests which will be for us here in the future. Larger
cities always have some strife and rivalry, from which
we are free; and j^et we are situated between two com
mercial centres. East and West, between which is the
great highway of the world, and we cannot but par
take of their prosperity. Those of our friends who
travel to Europe return sometimes dissatisfied, because
there is a roughness in this country not seen in Eng
land and the older countries of Europe ; but then the
greatest happiness, as all of us know, in preparing a
garden or a house, is to see the improvements growing
up in our hands. This is what we enjoy; and the
change in Fremont from the time I first knew it, tiU
to-day, gives me pleasure.
" There is another change which makes me feel
sadder, and gives rise to mournful reflections. When

198 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HA-TES.
I came here in 1864, I learned the names of many
citizens who knew me in my boyhood. There was, Mr.
Mayor, your father, Rudolphus Dickinson, Thomas
Hawkins, and, among others, that marvel of business
energy, George Grant. And so I might go on giving
name after name ; but it is true, that, of all that I
remember seeing on that first visit, not one is with us
to-night. All those who came with me — my mother,
my sister — are gone. I have been touched scarcely
by any thing that has occurred since the nomination, as
much as by a letter from a friend at Norwalk, who wrote,
' If Sardis Birchard could only have lived to know this.'
But this is the order of Providence. 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. That is the prayer, and that is the duty, of
life. Let us, my friends, in every position, undertake
to perform this. For me, I have no reliance except
that which Abraham Lincoln had when he went from
his friends at Springfield, when he said to Ins friends,
' I go to Washington to assume a responsibility greater
than that which has been devolved upon any one since
the first president ; and I beg you, my friends and
neighbors, to pray that I may have that divine assist
ance, without which I cannot succeed, and with which
I cannot faU.' [Cheers.] In that spirit I ask you to
deal -with me. [Cheers.] If it shall be the will of the
people that this nomination shall be ratified, all will be
well. If, on the other hand, it shall be the will of the

GEN. HA-TES'S HOME. 199
people that another shall assume these great responsi
bilities, let us see to it that we who oppose him give
him a fair trial, and also our prayers.
" My friends, I thank you for the interest you have
taken in this reception, and that you have laid aside
partisan feeling. There has been too much bitterness,
on such occasions, in tins country. Let us see to it,
that the abuse or vituperation of the candidate that
shall be named at St. Louis does not proceed from our
lips ; let us, on tliis centennial occasion, this second
century of our existence, set an example of what a free
and intelligent nation can do.
" There is assembled at PMladelphia an assemblage
representing nearly all 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. We rejoice to
know that Ohio stands well in that comparison. 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 of people ; let us show all those who visit
us how the American people can conduct themselves
through a canvass of this sort. If it shall be in the
spirit in which we have met here 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.
[Cheers.]

200 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
" About the middle of the war. Gen. Sherman lost a
boy named after himseff, aged about ten or thirteen
years. He supposed that he belonged to the Thirteenth
Infantry ; and when they went out to drill, or 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 as dear as a child is loved by men who are
torn away from the associations of home. Gen. Sher
man, the great soldier, was touched by it. He said
that it would be idle for him to try to express the
gratitude which he felt ; but he said they held the
affections of himself and family ; and, if any of them
should ever be in need, if they would just mention
that they belonged to the Thirteenth Infantry the time
his boy died, they would divide with him to the last
blanket and the last morsel of food. It is in this
spirit that I wish to express my feeUngs to the people
of Fremont for the welcome given me to-night."

GEN. HAYES'S HOME.

•201

CHAPTER XXIV.
STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1875.
Called again to lead his Party. — His Support of Judge Taft. — His
Eeluctant Consent to be a Candidate for Governor. — His Great
Speech at Marion. — Hard Money. — The School Question. —
Catholic Voters. — Triumphant Election.
One who was connected with the events of 1875,
and knew all the circumstances which drew Gen. Hayes
from his quiet home into the arena of political warfare,
has written, concerning these events, that " the Demo
crats had the governor, the- legislature, the secretary of
Btate,the school commissioner, and clerk ofthe Supreme.
Cojirt, all elected on the popular vote ; and had carried
the State the year before by a majority of nearly
seventeen thousand. That majority had to be overcome
to achieve-RepubUcan success ; and all over the State
there was a popular acclaim that Gen. Hayes was the
man to overcome it. There were grave doubts, how
ever, as to whether he would accept the nomination,
and not without reason. To all who had approached
him on this subject, he had expressed an extreme dis
inclination to do so, and had discouraged, to the full
extent that he could, the use of his name. Neverthe-
202

STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1875. 203
less, public sentiment in his favor rapidly grew in force
and volume, and, by the time the State convention met
in June, was simply overwhelming. There was no
longer any doubt as to whether he would be nominated ;
but it was still by no means certain that he would
accept the nomination. The only other candidate pro
posed for governor was Judge Taft of Cincinnati, whose
high standing and abilities were universally acknowl
edged, and were warmly pressed upon the convention
by earnest fiiends. Gen. Hayes himseff favored the
nomination of Judge Taft, and, in reply to telegrams,
strongly recommended it, at the same time speaking in
the highest terms of Mr. Taft, and positively refusing
to be a candidate against him. With this despatch
before it, the convention assembled, and, on the first
ballot, cast four-fifths of its votes for Gen. Hayes. That
there might be no obstacle in the. way of his accept
ance. Judge Taft gracefully authorized the withdrawal
of his name ; and the nomination was made unanimous,
amid great enthusiasm. Gen. Hayes was promptly
notified of this action, and, in reply, telegraphed, —
"'In obedience to the wishes of -the convention, I
yield my preference, and accept the nomination.' "
Like Cincinnatus the Roman statesman, Hayes pre
ferred his fields of wheat, his droves of cattle and swine,
to the loftiest and easiest position which the nation could
bestow, and left them only when there was an unmis
takable need of him in the councils of state. Again
was he the leader of an arduous, and, but for his per
sonal power, a hopeless campaign.

204 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
He did not desire either office or emolument. The
President had tempted him with a shining bait a short
time before, when he requested Hayes to accept the
nommation for assistant United States treasurer at
Cincinnati ; but he could not be moved. Now, how
ever, when he considers that the people need instruc
tion, and the nation a defender in Ohio, he takes the
field, and bravely faces the supporters of sectarian
schools, and of a spurious currency, who have had con
trol of his State so long.
In this campaign it is said that he made the most
effective and eloquent speeches»of his life ; and, as we
promised to do in a previous chapter, we now give one
of them in full. It was deUvered at Marion, Lawrence
County, O., July 31, 1875.
" Fellow-citizens of Lawrence County, it is a gratifi
cation, for which I wish to make my acknowledgments
to the RepubUcan committee oTthis county, to have the
privilege of beginning, in behalf of the RepubUcans
of Ohio, the oral discussions of this important polit-»
ical canvass before-=the people of Lawfence County.
Although my residence is separated from yours by the
whole breadth of the State, we are not strangers. We
have met before on similar occasions ; and some of you
were my comrades in the Union army during a consid
erable part of the late civil conflict, which ended ten
years ago. Those who had the honor and the happi
ness to serve together during that memorable struggle

STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1875. ' 205
are not likely to forget each other. We sliaU forever
regard those four years as the most interesting period
of our Uves.
" The great majority— of the people of Lawrence
County, citizens as well as soldiers, harve also good
reason to recaU the events and scenes of that contest
with satisfaction and pride.
*~ " The officiai-re«ords of the State show how well Law
rence Coijnty performed her part in the war for the.
Union. From the beginning to the end, = — with the ballot
at home, and with file musket in the field, — this county
stood among the foremost of all the communities in the
United States in de-w)tion to the good cause ; and, since
the nation's triumph, Lawrence County, sooner or later
(but never too -late to rejoice in the final and decisive
victory), has supported every measure required tcysecure
the legitimate results in that triumph. You have done
your part forever tp set at rest the great q««stions of
the past. It is settled thaoWfoe-United States constitute
a nation, and that their government-possesses ample
power to maintain its authority., over every part of its
territory, against all opposers. It is settled that no
man under the American flag' can be a slave. It is
settled-ttai-ali men born or naturalized in the United
States, and within its jurisdiction,*fe«il be citizens there
of, and have equal civU and political rights. It is settled
that the debt contractedTo save the nation is sacred,
and shall be honestly paid. You may well be congrat
ulated, that, on all of these qi»©»bk)ns, you fought and
voted on the -right side.

206 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
" Fortunately there is still further cause for congratu
lation. Our adversaries — who were on the wrong side
of all these questions, and who opposed us on all of
them to the very last — are now compelled to be silent
in their platform on every one of them. Not a single
one of their fourteen resolutions raises any question
on any of these long-contested subjects. It is not
strange that they are silent. I do not choose, on this
occasion, to recall the predictions of evil which they so
confidently made when discussing the measures to
which I have referred. It is enough for my present,
purpose to point to the grand results. When the
Republican party, with Abraham Lincoln as president,
received the government from the hands of the Demo
cratic party, fifteen years ago, the Union of the fathers
was destroyed. A hostile nation, dedicated to perpetual
slavery, had been established south of the Potomac, and
claimed jurisdiction over one-third of the people and
territory of the republic. These States were ' dis
severed, discordant, belligerent : ' our land was rent
with civil feud, and ready to be drenched in fraternal
blood. Now, behold the change ! The Union is re
established on firmer foundations than ever before.
Brave men in the South, who were then in battle-array
against us, now stand side by side with the Union
soldiers, no shadow of discord between them. Slavery,
which was then an impassable gulf between the hostile
sections, is now gone ; and good men of the South unite
with good men of the North in thanking God that it

STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1875; 207
is forever a thing of the past. Then there was no
freedom of sj)eech or of press, no friendly mingUng-
together of the people of the two sections of the coun
try: now the people of the South receive, and greet
as a fellow-citizen and a friend, the vice-president, a
citizen of Massachusetts, and an antislavery man from
his youth ; and Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina
send their distinguished sons to celebrate with New
England the centennial anniversaries of the early
battles of the Revolution. The men of the North and
the men of the South are now everywhere coming
together in a spirit of harmony and friendship, which
this generation has not witnessed before, and which has
not existed now since Jeffeison was startled by that
'fire-bell in the night,' the Missouri question, more
than fifty years ago.
" In this era of good feeling and reconciliation, a few
men of morbid temperament, blind to what is passing
before them, still talk of 'bayonets,' and 'tyranny
and cruelty to the South,' and seek in vain to revive
the prejudices and passions of the, past. But there is
barely enough of this angry dissent to remind us of the
terrible scenes through which we have passed, and to
fill us with gratitude that the house which was divided
against itself is divided no longer, and that all of its
inhabitants now have a fair start, and an equal chance,
in the race of life.
" Let us now proceed to the consideration of some of
the questions which engage the attention of the people

208 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
of Ohio. The war which the Democratic party and its
doctrines brought upon the country left a large debt,.
heavy taxation, depreciated currency, and an unhealthy
condition 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 isg: deal. — .
" The most important part, in fact the onlyjpart, of
their platform In Ohio this year, which receives or
deserves riiuch attention, is that in which is proclaiijjed
a radical departure on the subject of money from the
teachings' of aU of the Democratic fathers. Tbis-Ohio
Democratic B^octrine inculcates^ the abandonment, of
gold and sU-ve'r a? a standaTdTjf value. Hereafter -gold
and sUver are fo^e used^ money only ' where respect
for the obligation of contracts requires payment in
coin.' The only c!RTgiic.v Jox the people is to be paper
money, issued directly by the General Government, ' its
volume to be made and kegifc-equal to the wants of the
.trade,' and with no .provision whatever for -iterrett^p-
tion in coin. The Democratic candidate foijieutenant-
governor, who opened the canvass for his party, staEes"
_the money issue subs'tftntially as I have."" Gen.* Cary,
in his BarnesvUle speech, says, —
" ' Gold and silver, when used as money, are redeem
able in any property there is for sale in the nation,. wUl
pay taxes for any debt, public or private. This alone
gives them their money value. If you had a hundred

STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1875. 209
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 greenbacks, or any thing
else that you could use to purchase what you require.
With an absolute paper money stamped hy the government,
and made a legal tender for all purposes, and its func
tions as money are as perfect as gold or silver can ie.'
" This is the financial scheme which the Democratic
party asks the people of Ohio to approve at the elec
tion in October. The Republicans accept the issue.
Whether considered as a permanent policy, or as an
expedient to mitigate present e-vUs, we are opposed to
it. It is without warrant in the Constitution ; and it
¦violates all sound financial principles.
"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
incontrovertible paper money may be expected from
this plan ; and, in addition, it has very dangerous ten
dencies which are pecuUarly its own. An irredeemable
and inflated paper currency promotes speculation and
extravagance, and, at the same time, discourages legiti
mate business, honest labor, and economy. It dries up
the true sources of individual and public prosperity;
overtrading and fast living always go -with it ; it stimu
lates the desire to incur debt ; it causes high rates of
interest ; it increases importations from abroad ; it has

210 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
no fixed value ; it is liable to frequent and great fluc
tuations, thereby rendering every pecuniary engage
ment 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 dis
tress ; the heaviest part of the calamity falls on those
least able to bear it. The wholesale dealer, the middle
man, and the retailer, always endeavor to cover the
risks of the fickle standard of value by raising their
prices ; but the men of smaU means, and the laborer,
are thro-wn out of employment ; and want and suffering
are liable soon to follow.
"When government enters upon the experiment of
issuing irredeemable paper money, there can be no
fixed limit to its volume. The amomit -will depend on
the interest of the leading politicians, on their whims,
and on the excitement of the hour. It affords such
facility for contracting debt, that extravagant and cor
rupt government expenditures are the sure result.
Under the name of public improvements, the wUdest
enterprises, contrived for private gain, are undertaken.
Indefinite expansion becomes the rule, and, in the end,
bankruptcy, ruin, and repudiation.
During the last few years, a great deal has been said
about the centralizing tendency of recent events in
our history. The increasing power of the government
at Washington has been a favorable theme for Demo-

STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1875. 211
cratic declamation. But where, since the formation of
the government, has a proposition been seriously enter
tained which would confer such monstrous and danger
ous powers on the General Government as this inflation
scheme of the Ohio Democracy? During the war for
the Union, solely on the ground of necessity, the Gov
ernment issued the legal tender or greenback currency ;
but they accompanied it -with a solemn pledge in the
following words, of the Act of June 20, 1864 : —
" ' Nor shall the total amount of United States notes
issued, or to be issued, ever exceed four hundred mU
lions, and such additional sum, not exceeding fifty
millions, as may be temporarily required for redemp
tion 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 the trade. The' most distinguished
gentleman whose name is associated with the subject
once said, ' The process must be conducted with skUl
and caution, ... by men whose position will enable
them to guard against any evU.' 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 fundamen-

212 LLFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
tal error of this dangerous policy. The trouble is, the
pulse of the patient wiU not so often decide the
question as the interest of the doctor. No man, no
government, no Congress, is wise enough and pure
enough to be trusted with the 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 politics, the
interests of party, or the ambition of public men. It
wUl not do for property, for business, or for labor, to
be at the mercy of a few political leaders at Washing
ton, 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
wUl be, as nearly as possible, sound, safe, and stable.
" The Republicans of Ohio are in favor of no sudden
or harsh measures. They do not propose to force
resumption by a contraction of the currency. 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 confi
dence in the stabUity and soundness of the financial

STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1875. 213
policy of the government. That confidence has, for
many months past, been slowly but steadUy increasing.
The Columbus Democratic platform comes in as a dis
turbing element, and gives a severe shock to reviving
confidence. The country believed, and rejoiced to
believe, that Senator Thurman expressed the sober
judgm&nt of Ohio, when he spoke last year in the
Senate on this subject. The senator said, March 24,
1874, —
" ' Never have I spoken of that inflation of the cur
rency which, I think I see full well, means that there
shall never be any resumption at all. That is the dif
ference. It is one thing to contract the currency with
"a view to the resumption of specie payments : 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 aU; and that is precisely what this inflation
means. It means demonitizing gold and silver in per
petuity, and substituting a currency of irredeemable
paper, based wholly and entirely upon government
credit, and depending upon the opinion and the inter
ests 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 any thing in favor of that : I am too old-
fashioned a Democrat for that. I cannot give up the

214 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
convictions of a Ufetime, 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 defrauds no man. It means, that so long
as I live and possibly, long after I shall be laid in the
grave, this people shaU have nothing but an irredeema
ble currency with which to transact their business, —
that currency 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 plat
form 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 confi
dence, shaking credit, and threatening repudiation. A
large part of the Democratic press of other States is
hardly less emphatic. It would be strange indeed, if

STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1875. 215
this were otherwise. In Ohio, less than two years ago,
the convention which nominated Gov. Allen resolved,
speaking of the Democratic party, that, ' it recognizes
the evils of an irredeemable paper currency, but insists,
that, in the retum to specie payment, care should be
taken not to seriously disturb the business of the coun
try, or injure the debtor class.' There was no inflation
then. Now come the soft money leaders of the Demo
cratic party, and try to persuade the people that the
promises of the United States should only be redeemed
by other promises, and that it is sound policy to in
crease 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 seven hundred mUlions 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
redeeming them, the worse becomes his credit. It is
the same with nations. The legal-tender note of five
dollars is the promise of the United States to pay th9,t
sum in the money of the world, — in coin. No time is
fixed for its payment. It is, therefore, payable on

216 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
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, untU the productive
business of the country enables 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 dimin
ished the value of the present paper currency from fifty
to one hundred mUlions of dollars. Its effect on busi
ness would be disastrous in the extreme. The present
legal tenders have a certain steadiness, because there
is a limit fixed to their amount. Public opinion con
fides in that limit ; but let that limit be broken do-wn,
and all is uncertainty. The authors of this scheme
believe that inflation is a good thing. When this
subject was under discussion a few years ago, ' The
Cincinnati Enquirer ' said, ' The issue of two thou
sand millions dollars of currency would only put it in
the power of each voter to secure four hundred doUars
for himself and family to spend in the course of a life
time. Is there any voter thinks that is too much, —
more than he will want ? ' This shows what the platform
means : it 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.

STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1875. 217
Our promises are worthless as currency the moment
you pass the boundary-line. Even in this country, very
extensive 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, use the same. Look at their
condition. Texas and California are not the least pros
perous part of the United 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 are against it; the best minds of the
Democratic party are against it ; the last three Demo
cratic candidates for the presidency were against it;
the German citizens of the United States, so distin
guished for mdustry, for thrift, and for soundness of
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 Co
lumbus, a great change has taken place in the feelings
and views of its fiiends. Then they were confidentj
perhaps it is not too much to say that they were dic
tatorial and overbearing towards their hard-monc}'
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 g^t it was to issue government legal-
tender notes liberally. But the storm of criticism and

218 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
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 are hard-money men, and always have
been ; that they look forward to a return of specie pay
ment, and that it must always be kept in view. Why,
what did they mean by that platform ? Did they, ex
pect 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 was 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 ff
Gen. 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-

STATE CAMPAIGN OP 1875. 219
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 currency will have a
clear field for at least the present generation.
" Two years ago the Democratic party came fully into
power in Ohio in the State legislature, and, for the first
time in twenty years, elected the executive of the State.
They were also intrusted with the affairs of the leading
cities, and a majority of the wealthiest and most popu
lous counties, in the State. It would be profitable to
inquire how this came about, and what are the results.
In the course of the canvass, it is my purpose to show,
in detail, how unfortunate their management of State
affairs has been. It will appear, on investigation, that
the interests of the State in the benevolent, penal, and
reformatory institutions, have been sacrificed to the spoils
doctrine'; how the cities, and especially the chief city,
of the State, has suffered by the corruption of its rulers ;
how public expenditures have been increased, until the
aggregate of taxation in Ohio, in this time of money
depression, is vastly larger than ever before ; how the
number of salaried officers was increased ; how the
members of the legislature were corrupted by bribery,
notorious and shameless ; and how the dominant party
utterly failed to deal with this corruption as duty and
the good name of the State demanded. Fallacious and
deceptive statements have been made as to the reduc
tion of the levy for State taxes, and as to the appropria
tions. It is enough now to say, that the aggregate

220 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
taxation in Ohio, in 1874, was over twenty-seven million
dollars, a larger sum than was ever before collected by
tax-gatherers in Ohio.
" Altogether the most interesting questions in our
State affairs are those which relate to the passage by the
last legislature of the Geghan BUl, and to the war which
tlie sectarian wing of the Democratic party is now waging
against the public schools. In the admirable speech
made by Judge Taft at the Republican State Conven
tion, 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.' Before we discuss these questions, it may
be well, in order that there may be no excuse for
further misrepresentation, to show by whom this sub
ject was introduced into politics, and to state expUcitly
that we attack no sect, and no man, — either Protestant
or Jew, CathoUc or unbeliever, — on account of his
conscientious convictions in regard to religion. Who
began the agitation of this subject? Why is it agi
tated ? All parties have taken hold of it. The Demo
cratic party in their State convention made it the topic
of their longest resolution. In their platform, they
gave it more space than any other subject, except
the currency. Many of the Democratic county con
ventions also took action upon it.
" The Republican State Convention passed resolutions
on the question. It is stated that it was considered in
about forty Republican county conventions. The State

STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1875. 221
Teachers' Association at their last meeting passed
unanimously the following resolution. Mr. "Tappan, on
the Committee of Resolutions, reported the follow
ing:— " ' Resolved, That we are in favor of free, impartial,
and unsectarian education to every child in the State,
and that any division of the school fund, or appropria
tion of any part thereof to any religious or private
schools, would be injurious to education and the best
interests of the Church.'
"An able address by Rev. Dr. Jeffers of Cleveland,
showing ' the perils which threaten our public schools,'
was emphatically applauded by that intelligent body
of citizens.
" The assemblies of the different religious denomina
tions in the State, which have recently been held, have
generally, and, I think, without exception, passed similar
resolutions. If blame is to attach to all who consider
and discuss this question before the pubUc, we have had
a very large body of offenders. But I have not named
all who are engaged in it. I have not named those who
began it, those who for years have kept it up, those
who in the press, on the platform, in the pulpit, in
legislative bodies, in city councils, and in school boards,
now unceasingly agitate the question. Everybody
knows who they are. Everybody knows that the
sectarian wing of the Democratic party begun this
agitation, and that it is bent on the destruction of our
free schools. If Republicans, acting on the defensive,

222 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
discuss the subject, and express the opinion that the
Democratic party cannot safely be trusted, they are
denounced in unmeasured terms. Gen. Carr calls them
' political knaves ' and ' fools ' and ' bigots.' But it
is very significant that no Democratic speaker de
nounces those who began the agitation. All 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
desfroy the school system constitute a formidable part
of the Democratic party, without whose support that
23arty, as the legislature was told last spring, cannot
carry the county, the city, or the state.
" The sectarian agitation , against the public schools
was begun many years ago. During the last few years,
it has steadily and rapidly increased, and has been en
couraged by various indications of possible success. It
extends to all of the States where schools at the com
mon expense have been long established. Its triumphs
are mainly in the large towns and cities. It has already
divided the schools, and, in a considerable 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
any thing better. This gave the system its most con-

STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1876. 223
spicuous 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 ten
dency of this is to assimilate and to fuse together the
various elements of our population, to promote unity,
harmony, and general good-wiU in our American society.
But the enemies of the Republican system have begun
the work of destroying it. They have forced away
from the pubUc schools, in many towns and many
cities, one-third to 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 education in prac
tical Republicanism and American sentiments, which
they pecuUarly need. Nobody questions their con
stitutional and legal rights to do this, and to do it
by denouncing the public 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,
dividing the school fund, or otherwise destroying the
system, it is time that its friends should rise up in
its defence.
" We aU agree that neither the government nor po
litical parties ought to interfere with reUgious sects. It
is equally true that reUgious sects ought not to interfere
with the government or political parties. We believe

224 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
that the cause of good government and the cause of
religion both suffer by all such interference. But if
sectarians make demands for the legislation of political
parties, and threaten a party with opposition at the
elections, in case the required enactments are not
passed, and if the political party yields to such threats,
then those threats, those demands, and that action of
the legitimate 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 conclu
sion, that, in itself, it is not of great importance. I
would not undervalue the conscientious scruples, on the
subject of religion, of the convict in the penitentiary,
or of any unfortunate person in any State institution.
But the provision of the Constitution of the State
covers the whole ground. It needs no awkwardly
framed statement of doubtful meaning, like the Geghan
BiU, to accompUsh the purpose of the organic law.
The old Constitution of 1802, and the Constitution
now in force of 1851, are substantially alike. Both de
clare (I quote Sect. 7, Art. 1, Constitution of 1851), —
" 'AU men have a natural and indefeasible right to
worship Almighty God according to the dictates of
their own conscience. No person shall be compelled to
attend, erect, or support any place of worship, or

STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1876. 225
maintain any form of worship, against his consent ;
and no preference shall be given by law to any reli
gious society ; nor shall any interference with the
right of conscience be permitted.'
" If the Geghan Bill is merely a re-enactment of this
part of the Bill of Rights, it is a work of supereroga
tion, and it is not strange that the legislature 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 de
feated by a vote of three to one. But the sectarians
of Ohio were resolved on the passage of the bill. Mr.
Geghan, its author, wrote to Mr. Murphy of Cincin
nati : —
" ' 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 obli
gations 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, both by 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 bUl published this
letter, and, among other things, said, —
" ' The political party with which nine-tenths of the

226 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
Catholic voters affiliate, on account of past services
that they wiU never forget, now controls the State.
Withdraw the support which Catholics have given to
it, and it wUl fail in this city, county, and state, as
speedUy as it has risen to its long-lost position and
power. That party is now in power. 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 soUd 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 ff 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 under
stand.' No defence of this conduct of the last legisla
ture has yet been attempted. The facts are beyond
dispute. This is the first example of open and 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 public 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

STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1876. 227
that no political party ' desires the destruction of the
schools.' In reply, no political party ' desired ' the
passage of the Geghan Bill ; but the power which hates
the schools passed the biU. 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 Gen. 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. Who
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 Demo
cratic ticket, the friends of the schools will make no
mistake, if they vote the Republican ticket.
" The Republicans enter upon this important canvass
with many advantages. Their adversaries are loaded
down with the record of the last legislature. Demo
cratic legislatures have not been fortunate in Ohio.
Since the present di-vision of parties, twenty years ago,
no Democratic legislature has ever failed to bring
defeat to its party. The people of Ohio have never
been willing to venture upon the experiment of two

228 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HA-YES.
Democratic legislatures in succession. The Democratic
inflation platform offends German Democrats, has
driven off Liberal Republicans, and is accepted by very
few old-fashioned Democrats in its true intent and
meaning. The Republicans are out of power in the
cities and in the State, and are everywhere taking the
offensive. If Democrats assail them on account of
some affair of years ago, or in a distant Southern State,
or in Washington, Republicans reply by pointing to
what Democrats are now doing in thefr own cities, or
have just done in .the last legislature. The materials
for such report are abundant, and ready at hand. The
RepubUcans are embarrassed by no entangUng alliance
with the sectarian enemies of the public schools, and
they have yielded to no sectarian demands or dictation
in public affairs. We rejoice to see indications of an
active canvass, and a large vote at the election. Such
a canvass and such a vote in Ohio never yet resulted
in a Democratic victory. Our motto is, ' Honest money
for all, and free schools for all.' There should be no
inflation which will destroy the one, and no sectarian
influence which will destroy the other."
Thus did this modest and patriotic man reason with
his fellow-citizens, and open the way for the return
of Republican sway. Often his speeches assumed a
sarcastic and mirthful temper ; and there are passages
in other speeches which were more eloquent than any
in the speech we have quoted ; yet his usual manner

STATE CAMPAIGN OF 1875.

229

and practical methods of presenting his thoughts are
therein fairly displayed.
Whatever may be the decision of rhetorical critics,
and whatever may be the opinion of the admirers of
flowery declamation, there is one merit his speeches
contained, and that was all that he intended they should
contain; viz. ^ a power to make Republicans of Demo
crats, and secure the success of the principles he advo-

STATB OAPIIOI. OF OHIO.
cated. Such was the effect of his speeches in the
canvass of 1875. He was elected governor for two
years, and the Republican party thereby emboldened
to adopt as a national platform the principles he so
successfully advocated in Ohio.
It is profitable, in this connection, to note how the
" Cincinnati Club " — through such members as Hayes,
Mathews,^ Force, White, Herron, Stephenson, and Gos-
1 Judse Mathews's name is very often, we find, spelled with two
"t'n." as follows: viz.. Matthews.

230 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
home — gave utterance to sentiments and prophetic dec
larations which afterwards became the corner-stones of
national parties. Conversation with various members
of that organization has recalled speeches, discussions,
and essays upon national questions, and problems in
political economy, which then were regarded by many
hearers as ephemeral or absurd, but which have been
copied and rehearsed unconsciously by many a states
man since that day. We see in the foregoing speech,
and may see still more clearly in the extracts of speech
es in the following chapter, how closely Gen. Hayes
adhered to the principles which he expressed or
approved in the exercises of that club. He was then
opposed to slavery ; he was then in favor of equal
suffrage ; he was then opposed to the states-rights doc
trine ; and he was then, as now, the opponent of every
thing which encouraged office-holders to steal, or weak
ened the patriot's faith in the honor and integrity of his
nation. He is no convert to his party, no meek
follower of events ; but long before the struggles he
felt, and to which he so often refers in his speeches,
had become realities, he foretold their advent, and,
earnestly warning his friends, bravely prepared himself
to meet them.

CHAPTER XXV.
EXTEACTS PEOM GEN. HA^YES'S SPEECHES.
Eeconstruction. — Paying National Debt in Greenbacks. — Issue of
Bonds. — The History of Parties. — Negro Suffrage. — The Word
"White." — Equality before the Law. — Administration of State
Affairs. — Dedication of Fountain. — Dedication of a Soldier's
Monument, &c.
In fulfilment of our purpose to give to the reader an
impartial and comprehensive study of Gen. Hayes's
character as a statesman, we now give a number of
extracts from his speeches, having selected them not
so much with a view to the excellence of each as to
exhibit the different phases of his thought, and the
influence of circumstances upon the style and material
of his addresses. There may be an occasional error in
a word or phrase as reported by the shorthand writers
of the time ; but it will be more just to the speaker and
the public, and more in accord with Gen. Hayes's whole
life, to take them with these slight errors, ff such there
should be, than to ask him to rewrite them, and incur
the danger of being charged with having changed them
to escape just and fair criticism. As these are, to many
of us, the most important part of his liistory, we would
231

232 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
have them in their original phraseology, that we may
not only see him as he is, but also as he was.
The first speech from wbich we quote in this con
nection was delivered Aug. 5, 1867, at Lebanon, O.,
and in which he said, —
" Gen. Jackson was, no doubt, right as to the exist
ence 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 ? and on what
ground did it stand?
" Great political parties, whether sectional or other
wise, do not come by accident, nor are they the inven
tion 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 move
ment. 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 first place, they
taught a false construction of the National Constitution,
which was miscalled state-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

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HATES'S SPEECHES. 233
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 proposition that
over four millions of our countrymen, capable of civili
zation 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 Inde
pendence, protected by law and sanctioned by usage,
was our great national transgression, and was the cause
of our great national calamity. . . .
" On the 23d of January, 1861, the Democratic party
held a state convention at Columbus. Remember
at that date the air was thick with threats of war
from the South. The rebels were organizing and drUl-
ing ; arms robbed from the national arsenals were in
their hands ; and the question upon aU minds was,
whether the RepubUc* should perish without having a
single blow struck in her defence, 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
do-wn together. On this question that convention was
bound to speak. Silence was impossible. There were
present war Democrats and peace Democrats, followers
of Jackson, and followers of Calhoun. There was a
determined and gallant struggle on the part of the war
Democrats ; but the superior numbers, or, more proba
bly, the superior tactics and strategy, of the peace men,
triumphed.

234 .LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
" 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 Demo
crats 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
Constitution 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 Thur
man 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 administration.
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

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HATES'S SPEECHES. 235
what they were doing when this resolution was passed,
it seems incredible that some 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 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 aid and comfort,' more im
portant than powder and ball — to the enemies of the
nation. . . .
" Now came the work of reconstruction. The
leaders of the peace Democracy, who had failed in
every measure, in every plan, in every opinion, and
in every prediction relating to the war, were promptly
on hand, with unblushing cheek were prepared to take
exclusive charge of the whole business of re-organizar
tion and reconstruction. They had a plan all prepared,
— a plan easUy understood, easUy executed, and which,

236 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
they averred, would be satisfactory to all parties. Their
plan was in perfect 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 colored people both
North and South. Thefr plan was consistent with all
this. " According to it, the rebels were to be treated in
the same manner as if they 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 RebeUion, were to be repealed, revoked, or
abolished. The rebellious States were to be repre
sented in Congress by the rebels, without hinderance
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
rebellious 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 remain 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 CnnBti'tn-

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HATES'S SPEECHES. 237
tion, not even an amendment abolishing slavery : in
short, the Great Rebellion was to be ignored or for
gotten, or, in the words of one of their orators, ' to be
generously forgiven.' The war, whose burdens, cost,
and carnage they have been so fond of exaggerating,
suddenly sank into what the Rev. Petroleum V. Nasby
calls, ' The late unpleasantness,' for which nobody Lut
the abolitionists were to blame. Under this plan, the
States could soon re-establish slavery where it had been
disturbed by the war. Jefferson Davis, Toombs, Slidell,
and Mason could be re-elected to their old places in
the senate of the United States ; Lee could be re-ap
pointed 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
example for the future. It treats treason as no crime,
and loyalty as no virtue. It contains no guaranties,
irrevisable 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

238 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
have lost aU 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 faithfuUy labored to save. It abandons the four
millions of colored people to such treatment 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 obligations of the
Nation to her creditors, and to the maimed soldiers,
and to the widows and orphans of the war, to be ful
filled by men who hate the cause in which these obliga
tions 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. . . .
Enough has 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. Hass-
aurek, in his admirable speech at Columbus, did not
estimate too highly the fruits of these labors. Said
he, —
"'And, sir, this remedy at once effected the desired
cure. The poor contraband is no longer the persecuted
outlaw, whom incensed rebels might kick and kill with
impunity ; but he at once becomes our colored fellow-
citizen, in whose well-being his former master takes the
Uveliest interest. Thus, by bringing the negro under

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HATES'S SPEECHES. 239
the American system, we have completed his emancipa
tion. He has ceased to be property. From an outcast, he
has been transformed into a human being, invested with
the great national attribute of self-protection ; and the
re-establishment 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, wUl be the happy results of this aston
ishing metamorphosis, provided the party which had
inaugurated this policy remains in power to carry it
out.' " The peace Democracy generally throughout the
North opposed this measure. In Ohio they opposed it
especially, because it commits the people of the nation
in favor of manhood suffrage. They tell us, that if it
is wise and just to intrust 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 un
requited, have cleared and redeemed one-third of the
inhabited territory of the Union. Their toil has added

240 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
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 men 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 burdens, and are required to clischarge the
highest duty, 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 of
Independence and in the recent war for the Union.
In the Revolutionary contest, the 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 Gen. Jackson issued
an order complimenting the colored men of his army
engaged in the defence 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 defenders, to the number of about two
hundred thousand ; and in the new regular Army Act,
passed at the close of the Rebellion by the votes of
Democrats and Union men alike, in the Senate and in
the House, and bj^the assent of the president, regiments
of colored men, cavalry and infantry, formed part of
the standing army of ^l'-^ ^>-=- -'-¦'¦ =

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HATES'S SPEECHES. 241
" In the na-vy, colored American soldiers 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. The free colored
men were always voters in many of the colonies, and in
several of the States, North and South, after independ
ence was achieved. They voted for members of the
Congress which declared independence, and for mem
bers of every Congress prior to the adoption of the
Federal Constitution, for the members of the conven
tion which framed the Constitution, for the members
of many of the State conventions which ratified it,
and for every president from Washington to Lincoln.
" Our government has been called the wlUte man's
government. Not so. It is not the government of any
class, or sect, or nationality, or race. It is a govern
ment founded on the consent of the governed ; and Mr.

242 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HA-gPlS.
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. . . .
" The plain and monstrous inconsistency and injus
tice of excluding one-seventh of our popiUation from
all participation in a government founded on the con
sent of the governed, in this land of free discussion, is
simply impossible. No such absurdity and wrong can
be permanent. Impartial suffrage wUl carry the day.
No low prejudice will long be able to induce American
citizens to deny to a weak people thefr best means of
self-protection, for the unmanly reason that they are
weak. Chief Justice Chase expressed the true senti
ment when he said, ' The American nation cannot afford
to do the smaUest 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 nationality, difference of language,
and difference of rank and privileges, are quite as fruit
ful causes of antagonism and war as difference of race.
The bitter strifes between Christians and Jews, between
Catholics and Protestants, between Englishmen and

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HATES'S SPEECHES. 243
Irishmen, between aristocracy and the masses, are only
too familiar. Under the partial and unjust laws of the
nations of the whole 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 per
petual ; 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 antagonism of conduct ; 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 'high
est privUeges of freemen. The ballot gives them the
power to secure that privilege. AU parties and all
pubUc men in the South agree, that, if the colored men
vote, ample provisions must be made in the re-organiza
tion of every State for free schools. The ignorance of
the masses, whites as well as blacks, is one of the most
discouraging features of Southern society. If congres-

244 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
sional reconstruction succeeds, there will be free schools
for aU. The colored people will see that their chUdren
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 South, and between the whites and the colored
people. . . .
" 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 dis
honorable. 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 prefer
ment. 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 a national union, are the objects of
the congressional plan of reconstruction. 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 Rebellion. The statesmen most
trusted by Mr. Lincoln, and by the loyal people of the
country during the war, also support it. The Supreme
Court bf the United States, upon formal application, and
after solemn argument, refused to interfere with its exe
cution. The loyal presses of the country, which did so
much in the time of need to uphold the patriot cause,
without except'""., --,- -'- ^  '' '¦" "

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HATES'S SPEECHES. 245
" In the South, as we have seen, the lessons of the
war, and the events occurring since the war, have made
convertg of thousands of the bravest and of the ablest of
those who opposed the national cause. Gen. 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. Unrepent
ant rebels and unconverted peace Democrats opposed it,
just as they opposed the measures which destroyed
slavery, and saved the nation.
" Opposition to whatever the nation approves seems
to be the policy of the representative men of the peace
Democracy. Defeat and failure comprise their whole
political history. In laboring to overthrow reconstruc
tion, they are probably destined to further defeat and
farther failure. 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 nation's life, proved unfaithful to the cause of Uberty
and union. They will continue to exclude from the
administration of the government those who promi
nently opposed the war, until every question arising out
of the RebeUion, 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 leading object is to elevate the con
dition of men, to Ifft artificial weights from aU shoul-

246 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
ders, to afford all an unfettered start and a fair chance
in the race of life ' — shall tread no step backward.
" Permeated 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 make up for the weakness of its
advocacy." The foUowing reference to the financial question is
found in a speech delivered by Gen. Haj'^es at Batavia,
O., Aug. 20, 1867 : —
" Mr. Pendleton seems desfrous to occupy a position
about midway between the boundless expansion of
Vallandigham and the anti-rag doctrine of Judge
Thurman. He says, ' The five-twenties should be paid
in greenbacks as they mature, or as fast as can be done,
without too great derangement of the currency.'
" It is enough for my present purpose to say, that
when Judge Thurman and the peace Democracy, in
State convention or otherwise, can agree upon the best
mode of paying the national debt, the Union party will
be glad of their assistance in the support of any plan by
which it can be honestly done ' without,' in the words
of Mr. Pendleton, ' too great derangement of the
currency.' "Judge Ranney and Judge Jewett both complain
that the Johnson administration is now engao-ed in

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HATES'S SPEECHES. 247
taking up greenbacks by issuing in their stead interest-
bearing bonds. I heartily concur with them in oppos
ing that policy. As a member of the house, I voted
against it a great many times in the Thirty-ninth Con
gress ; and I regret that their party friends in that
Congress did not entertain the same opinion, and vote
as I did. ' The Cincinnati Enquirer ' of a recent date
contained this paragraph, —
" ' While the bonded debt has only been diminished
a little over four millions of doUars from the 1st of
June to the 1st of August, the secretary of the treas
ury has reduced the circulating medium twenty mil
lions of dollars within that time. The aim of the
secretary is to call in the greenbacks, and every other
government issue upon which the people are not
charged interest, while he allows all the interest-bear
ing debt to remain. It would not do, he thinks, to
save the people the immense sums of money they are
now paying as interest upon the debt.'
" Now, under what law is Secretary McCullough
doing this ? Judges Jewett and Ranney talk as if it
was the work of the Union party. Not at all. If
those gentlemen had examined the proceedings of Con
gress, as given in the ' Congressional Globe,' they
would have learned that the law which authorizes this
to be done is one of the pet measures of the Johnson
administration ; that it was voted for by every Demo
cratic member of Congress in both houses who voted
on the question; that a majority of the Union members

248 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
of the House voted against it ; and that the bill would
have failed, if a majority of the Democratic members
had opposed it. The votes will be found in the Pro
ceedings of the sixteenth and twenty-third days of
March, 1866. The Democratic representatives from
Ohio, Messrs. J^'inck and Le Blond, voted for the bill ;
and aU the Union members of the House from Ohio,
except three, voted against it. Senators Sherman and
Wade both voted for it. The President approved the
bill. The policy which these gentlemen condemn is
therefore proved by the record not to be the policy of
the Union party. If any party is responsible for it as
a party measure, it is the Johnson party, to which the
Democracy belonged in 1866."
In his address at Sidney, O., Sept. 4, 1867, in reply
to Judge Thurman, Gen. Hayes said, —
" Judge Ranney and Judge Jewett are telling the
people that it is the policy of Sec. McCuUough to take
up the greenback currency, and issue in its stead interest-
bearing bonds not taxable, principal and interest both
payable in coin at the option of the secretary. It is
true. That was and is the policy of Sec. McCullough.
But they go further, and say they are authorized to say
that this is the policy of the Union party. I take issue
with them on that statement. They offer no proof that
it is true, except the fact that it is the policy of the
Johnson administration ; and I submit to an intelU
gent audience, that the fact that Johnson and his
administration are in favor of a measure is no evidence

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HATES's SPEECHES. 249
whatever that the Union party supports it. It is
not for me to prove the negative; but I am pre
pared, nevertheless, to prove it. The very ineasure
which was intended to carry out this policy of Sec.
McCullough, to enable him to take up the green
back currency with interest-bearing bonds, was intro
duced in Congress in March, 1866. I have here the
votes upon that question ; and I say to you that the
Democratic party in both Houses, all the members of
the Democratic party in both Houses, voted for Sec. Mc-
CuUough's plan ; and that Mr. Julian, Judge Schofield,
Mr. Lawrence (all of whom I see here), and myself, a
majority of the Republican members of Congress, voted
against the scheme ; and it became a law, because a
minority of the Union party, with the unanimous vote
of the Democratic party, supported it, and because,
when it was submitted to Andrew Johnson, instead
of vetoing it, as he did all Union party measures, he
-wrote his name, on the 12th of April, at the bottom of
it, ' Approved : Andrew Johnson.' Now, it is under
that measure, and by virtue of that law, voted for by
Mr. Fick and Mr. Le Blond of the Democratic party
of Ohio, in the House of Representatives, — it is by
virtue of that law that to-day Sec. McCullough is issu
ing interest-bearing bonds, not taxable, to take up the
greenback currency of this country. I think, then, I
am authorized in saying that these gentlemen are mis
taken, when they accuse the Union party of being in
favor of taking up the greenback currency, and putting

250 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
in the place of it interest-bearing and untaxable
bonds." Upon the question of reconstruction. Gen. Hayes
said, —
" Gen. Grant, in one paragraph of his letter to the
president, said to him, —
" ' Gen. Sheridan has performed the ci'vil duties faith
fully and intelligently. His removal wUl 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 government by arms, and now wish to be the only
element consiUted as to the method of restoring order
— as a triumph. It will embolden them to renewed
opposition to the wUl of the loyal masses, beUeving
that they have the Executive approbation.'
" This presents exactly the question before the peo
ple. 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 state-rights, which teaches that the state is
superior to the nation, that there is a state sovereignty
which commands the aUegiance of every citizen, higher
than the sovereignty of the nation, — we want that
notion left out of the reconstructed Union. We want
it imderstood, that whatever doubts may have existed

EXTEACTS -FEOM GEN. HATES'S SPEECHES. 251
prior to the war, as to the relation of the State to the
National Government, that now the National Govern
ment is supreme, any thing 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 ih fact, forever. We
want the last vestige, the last of that institution, rooted
out of the laws and institutions of every State. We
want that in the South there shall be no more suppres
sion 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 inter
fered 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 deliv
ered, without endangering 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 a reconstructed Union upon such principles, that
the men of the South, who, during the war, were loyal,
and true to the President, shall be protected in life,
liberty, and property, and in the exercise of thefr
political rights. It becomes the solemn duty of the
loyal victors to see that the men, who, in the midst of

252 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
difficulties, discouragements, and dangers in the South,
were true, are protected in these rights ; and in order
that our reconstruction shaU be carried out faithfully,
and accomplish 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 reconstr^iction 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. Pres. Lincoln administered the- same laws sub
stantially, was sworn to support the same Constitution,
with Andrew Johnson ; yet how different the recon
struction as carried out by these two men ! Lincoln's
reconstruction in all tbe States which he undertook to
re-organize gave to those States loyal governors, loyal
legislators, 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."
In the same speech Gen. Hayes said, —

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HAYES'S SPEECHES. 253
"Judge Thurman says that Gen. Hayes, in his speech,
has a great many slips cut from the newspapers, and
that he must have had some sewing-society of old ladies
to cut out the slips for him. I don't know how he
found that out. I never told him ; and you know the
ladies never tell secrets that are confided to them. I
hold in my hand a speech of Judge Thurman, from
which I have read extracts ; and I find that he has in
it slips cut from more than twenty different prints,
sermons, newspapers, old speeches, and pamphlets, to
show how, in the war of 1812, certain Federalists
uttered unpatriotic sentiments. I presume he must
have acquired liis slips on that day in the way he says
I acquired mine now.
" Now, my friends, I propose to hold Judge Thurman
to no severe rule of accountability for his conduct dur
ing the war. I merely ask that it be judged by his
own rule : ' Your country is engaged in war ; ancl it is
the duty of every citizen to say nothing, and do nothing,
which shall depress the spirits of his own countrymen :
nothing 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 propose to begin at the beginning of
the war, or even just before the war, to cite the record
of Judge Thurman. I am -wUling to say, that perhaps
men might have been 'mistaken at that time. They
might have supposed, in the beginning, a concUiatory
poUcy, or non-coercive policy, would, in some way, avoid

254 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
the threatened struggle ; but I ask you to approach the
period when the war was going on, when armies to the
number of hundreds of thousands of men were ready on
one side and the other, and when the whole world Icnew
what was the nature of the great struggle going on in
America. Taking the beginning of 1863, how stands
the conflict? We had pressed the Rebellion out of
Kentucky, and through Tennessee. Grant stands before
Vicksburg, held at bay by the army of Pemberton.
Rosecrans, after the capture of Nash-ville, has pressed
forward to Murfreesborough, 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 can
not last long without deciding in favor of one side or
the other. That the year 1863 is big with the fate of
union and of liberty every intelligent man in the world
knows ; that on one side it is a struggle for nationality
and human rights. There is not in all Europe a petty
despot who lives by grinding the masses of the people,
who does not know that Lincoln ancl the Union army
are his enemies. There is not a friend of freedom in all
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

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HAYES'S SPEECHES. 255
the field. Their success depends upon your conduct
at home. The men who are to advise you what to do
have upon them a dreadful responsibUity to give you
-wise and patriotic advice. Judge Thurman, in the
speech I am quoting from, says, —
" ' But now, my friends, I shall not deal with obscure
newspapers or obscure men. What a private citizen
like Allan G. Thurman may have said in 1861 is a
matter of indifference.'
" Ah, no. Judge Thurman ! the Union party does not
propose to allow your record to go without investiga
tion, because you are a private citizen. I know you
held no official position under the government at the
time I speak of; but, sir, you had for years been a
leading, able, and influential man in the great party
which had often carried your State. You were acting
under grave responsibilities. More than that, during
that year 1863, you were more than a private citizen.
You were one of the delegates to the state convention
of that year. You were one of the committee that
formed your party platform in that convention. You
were one of the central committee that carried on the
canvass in the absence of your standard-bearers; and
you were one of the orators of the party. No, sir, you
were not a private citizen in 1863. You were one of
the leading, and one of the ablest, men in your party
in that year, speaking through the months of July,
August, September, and October in behalf of the
candidate of the peace party.

256 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HA-TES.
" WeU, sir, in the beginning of that eventful year,
there arises in Congress 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
-wUl. It is not in the nature of things possible, espe
cially under your auspices. Money j^ou 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-sides and in
the swamp, — dying in the prison-pens of the Confed
eracy, 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 conventions
on the llth of June of that year, in all the capacities
in which I have named him, — as a delegate, as com
mittee-man, and as an orator ; and he spends that whole

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HATES'S SPEECHES. 257
summer in advocating the election of the man who
taunted us with the words, 'Defeat, death, taxation,
sepulchres : these are your trophies.'
" But wisdom was not learned, even at the close of
1863, by this peace party. Things were greatly
changed in the estimation of every loyal man. We
had now not me/ely got possession of the Mississippi
River, we had not merely driven the army of Lee out
of Pennsylvania, never again to return ; but the battle
of Mission Ridge and the battle of Knoxville had
been fought. That important strategic region, East
Tennessee, was now within our lines. From that abode
of loyalty, the mountain region of East Tennessee, we
could pierce to the very heart of the Southern Con
federacy. We were now in possession of the interior
lines, giving us an immense advantage, and we were
in a condition to march south-east to Atlanta, and
north-east to Richmond ; yet, with this changed state
of affairs, where is my fiiend Judge Thurman ? Advis
ing the people ? What is he advising them to do ? He
says Allan G. Thurman was a private citizen. Not so.
He held no official position, I know, under the govern
ment. Fortunately for the people of this country, they
were not giving official positions in Ohio to men of his
opinions and sentiments at that time.
" But he was made delegate at large from the State
of Ohio to the convention to meet at Chicago, to nomi
nate a president, and form a platform on which that
nominee should stand. Mr. Vallandigham wa^ a dis-

258 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
trict delegate, and one of the committee to form a plat
form; and he drew the most important resolution. The
principal plank of that platform is of his construction.
You are perfectly familiar with it. It merely told the
people that the war had been for four years a failure,
and advised them to prepare to negotiate with this
confederate nation on our southern borders. Well,
when this advice was given to the nation, we were still
in the midst of the war, and were prosecuting it with
every prospect of success. What had been accom
plished in 1863 enabled us with great advantage to
press upon the Rebellion. I remember well when I
first read that resolution, declaring the war a four-
years' failure. It came to the army in which I was
serving, on the same day that the news came to us that
Sherman had captured Atlanta. We heard of both
together. ' The war a four-years' failure,' said the
Chicago Convention. I remember how, that evening,
our pickets shouted the good news to the pickets of the
enemy. What good news? — news that a convention,
representing nearly one-half of the people of the
North, had concluded that the war was a failure ? No
such news was shouted from our picket-line. The
good news that was shouted was, that Sherman had
captured Atlanta. . . .
" It is not worth while to consider, or undertake to
predict, when we shall cease to talk of the records of
those men. It does seem to me that it will, for many
years to come, be the voice of the Union people of the

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HATES'S SPEECHES. 259
State, that for a man whom as a leader, as a man having
control in political affairs, — that for such a man, who
has opposed the interests of his country during the
war, ' the post of honor is the private station.' When
shall we stop talking about it ? When ought we to
stop talking about that record, when leading men come
before the people ? 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 questions 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 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 hap
pened that the war was so prolonged, that it was so
extensive, and that the debt grew to such large pro
portions. " There are other things, too, to be remembered. I
recollect, that, at the close of the last session of Con
gress, I went over to Arlington, the estate formerly of
Robert E. Lee, and I saw there the great national ceme-

260 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
tery into which that beautiful place had 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 defence of their country, I
came upon that which v/as 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 thou
sand one hundred and eleven unkno-wn soldiers, gathered
after the war from the field of Bull Run and the route
to the Rappahanock. 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 the noble army of martyrs. May
they rest in peace ! September, 1866.'
"I say to these men who were instrumental and
prominent in prolonging 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 wiU not do so until some such miracle is accom
plished." In regard to negro suffrage he said, —
" It gives the right of suffrage to all the negroes of
Ohio. Mark the phrase. I have not said impartial

EXTEACTS PEOM GEN. HATES'S SPEECHES. 261
suffrage or manhood suffrage. I wish to be understood.
It gives the suffrage to the negroes of Ohio upon the
same terms that it is given to white men. The reason
I am in favor of that is, because it is right.
" Let me have the ears of my Democratic friends on
that question a moment. If democracy has any mean
ing now that is good, any favorable meaning, it is that
democracy is a government of the people, by the people,
and for the people. It is a government in which every
man who has to obey the laws has a part in making the
laws, unless disqualified by crime. Then the proposi
tion I am for is a democratic proposition. Again : it is
according to the principle upon which good men have
always desired to see our institutions placed ; viz., that
all men are entitled to equal rights before the law.
They are not equal in any other respect. Nobody
claims that they are. But we propose to give to each
man the same rights which you want for yourselves.
It is, in short, obeying the rule of the great Teacher,
'Do unto others as ye would that others should do
unto you.' Abraham Lincoln said, ' No man is good
enough to govern another -without that other man's
consent.' Is not that true ? Good as you think you
are, are you good enough absolutely to govern another
man without that other man's consent ? If you really
think so, just change shoes with that other man, and see
if you are willing to be governed yourself, without your
consent, by somebody else. The Declaration of Inde
pendence says governments derive their just powers

262 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HA-YES.
from the consent of the governed. Now, don't you see
there is no way by which one man can give his consent
to be governed by another man in a republican govern
ment, except by the ballot ? There is no way provided
by which you can consent to give powers to a govern
ment, except by the ballot. Therefore every man
governed under our system is entitled to the ballot. . . .
" I commend to you Union men, who are a little
weak on this question, or perhaps I should say a little
strong, the example of the Union men of the country
during the war. Abraham Lincoln thought, in 1862, it
was wise to proclaim freedom to the slaves. Many
good Union men thought it was unwise, thought Mr.
Lincoln was going too far or too fast ; but the sequel
justified the wisdom of Abraham Lincoln. Again : he
thought it was wise that colored men should be placed
in our armies. There were good soldiers, and good
Union men, who thought it was un-*ise ; they feared
that Mr. Lincoln was going too fast or too far : but
events justified it. Now everybody agrees, that, in both
cases, Abraham Lincoln was right. Now, the example
I commend to our Union friends who are doubting
on this great question is the example of those Union
men during the war who doubted the wisdom of these
other measures. Greatly as they were opposed to the
proclamation of Abraham Lincoln, strongly as they
were opposed to the enlistment of colored soldiers, I
say to you I never heard of one good Union man,
in the army or out of it, who left his party because

EXTEACTS PEOM GEN. HATES'S SPEECHES. 263
of that difference with Mr. Lincoln. I commend that
example to the Union men who now doubt about
colored suffrage. The truth is, that every step made
in advance toward the standard of the right has, in the
event, always proved a safe and wise step. Every step
toward the right has proved a step toward the expe
dient : in short, that in politics, in morals, in public
and private life, the right is always expedient."
In his speech deUvered in Cincinnati, Oct. 5, 1867,
he gave some attention to the local division in the
RepubUcan party in the Second Congressional District.
He said, —
" I do not want to be misunderstood in regard to this
subject. I want to deal with entire fairness and candor
with my Union friends, and to give them my opinions
fully and fairly. As to this contest between Mr. C  ¦
and Mr. S  ¦ for Congress, I have not the slightest
personal feeling in regard to it. I propose to say
nothing that can be regarded as of a personal nature.
I merely wish to call your attention to the state of
the case as it will appear to the voters on the morn
ing of pext Tuesday. I say nothing of the primary
meetings ; I say nothing of the convention ; I say noth
ing of the personal grievances ; I say nothing of the
wrongs to be redressed, admit that to be this way or
that way : I appeal to perfectly well known facts
which nobody disputes. What are they ? Mr. S.

264 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
is the candidate of the Union organization, sustained
by the great body of the Union people, and I think
generally by the Union press. Mr. C, his adversary,
derives his main support from the organization of the
Democratic party of the district. He is mainly sup
ported by the leading hostile press, ' The Cincinnati
Enquirer.' The main body of voters who will vote
for him are of that party. Now, my friends, consider
this. I don't know what facts have been presented to
the leaders of the Democratic party ; I don't know
what argument has been made to them ; I do not
know that any pledge, or any argument, has been pre
sented: but I see the fact that these shrewd leaders
have concluded it is for the benefit of thefr party, and
the injury of ours, to vote for Mr. C. That is one fact,
nay, more : they see it is more to their advantage to
elect Mr. C. than it is to vote for a straight-out Demo
crat. Now, Mr. C. is trying to get the votes of his
Union friends in this district. I am saying not one
word against him ; but this is true, that either the
great body of his supporters, the Democrats, or the
Union men who vote for him, one or the other, are to
be deceived : that is plain. Now, my friends, I wish
to suggest this to you. One of the ablest men of this
city said in 1864, ' I always learn from my adversa
ries. Lincoln is for the war ; and McCleUan says he is
for the war. Now, which shall we go for? I say to
you, fellow-citizens, inquire who Jeff. Davis wants
elected, and the patriot can then tell whom he does
not want elected.'

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HATES'S SPEECHES. 265
" Now, when you see the ' Cincinnati Enquirer,' and
Mr. Vallandigham, and Andrew Johnson, all in favor
of a man, be sure it is not for the interest of the Union
party to support that man.
" Fellow-citizens, I do not wish to offend anybody, —
I want all their votes, — but I must tell the truth, and
be honest with these people, or I do not deserve their
votes. Now, on the night of next Tuesdaj^ there is to
be a victory. Somebody is to have a victory. I ask of
my Union friends. Do you want to see the office of ' The
Cincinnati Enquirer ' illuminated for a victory ? If you
do, you know whom you can vote for.
" If you want Mr. Vallandigham, when he hears the
news from the Second District, to clap his hands, and
throw up his hat, you know how to vote to give him
that occasion for rejoicing. If you want, that when the
news of the election in this district reaches the White
House, and Andrew Johnson hears it, there shall be a
revel and a jubilee, — not exactly a cold-water jubilee
either, — you know how to vote to bring that result
about. " My friends, whatever grievances there are, see to
it that you do not give a victory to the men, who,
during this great struggle, were against us ; who during
the war, like VaUandigham and ' The Enquirer.' were
fighting us at every step.
" Make no such mistakes as that. Make no mistakes
which shall make glad the heart of the traitor who fills
the White House. The truth is, that, in the presence

266 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
of the great issue that is now before the country, every
man is under a solemn duty to see, if possible, that he
makes no mistake. Andrew Johnson is prepared, ff he
believes the country sustains him, to make war upon
the loyal Congress. On the other hand, if he thinks
the country will not sustain him, we have confidence
that he lacks those qualities which will enable him to
make war where there is no prospect of success. It
becomes the duty, then, of every Union man to see that
he introduces no new issue into the Union party ; that
he does nothing to distract it ; that he does nothing to
create discord, but every thing to strengthen and unite
the party upon which depends the safety, the interest,
and the glory of the country. With our duty performed
in this regard, no consequence can harm us."
In his speech before the Ohio State Republican Con
vention (June 23, 1869), accepting the nomination for
governor, Hayes mentioned the Democratic State
legislature of the previous year, and went on to say,
that " the last legislature afforded examples of many
of the worst evils to which legislative bodies are liable,
— long sessions, excessive legislation, unnecessary ex
penditures, and recklessness in authorizing local debts
and local taxes. These evils 'have increased, are
increasing, and ought to be diminished.' Let there be
reform as to all of them. Especially let the people of
aU parties insist that the parent evil — long legislative
sessions — shall be reformed altogether. Let the bad

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HATES's SPEECHES. 267
precedent of long sessions set by the last legislature be
condemned, and the practice of short sessions estab
lished. With the average rate of taxation in the cities
and large towns of the State nearly three per cent,
legitimate business and industry cannot continue to
thrive, if the rate of taxation continues to increase.
With the rates of interest for public debts ranging from
seven to seven and three-tenths per cent, the reckless
increase of such debts must stop, or it will seriously affect
the prosperity of the State. These are subjects which
deserve, and which I trust will receive, the profound
attention of the people in the pending canvass.
" It is said that one of the ablest Democratic members
of the last legislature declared, at its close, that
' enough had been done to keep the Democratic party
out of power in Ohio for twenty years.' Let the
Republican press and RepubUcan speakers see to it that
the history of the acts of that body be spread fuUy
before the people, and I entertain no doubt but that the
declaration will be substantially made good.
"It is probable that the discussions of the present
canvass will turn more upon State legislation, and less
upon national affairs, than those of any year since 1861.
Neither senators nor representatives in Congress are to
be chosen. But it is an important State election, and
will be regarded as having a bearing upon national
politics. The Republicans of Ohio heartily approve of
the principles of Gen. Grant's Inaugural Message, and
are gratified by the manner in which he is dealing with

268 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. SATES.
the leading questions of the first three months of his
administration. . . .
" Again thanking you for the honor you have done
me, I repeat, in conclusion, what I said two years ago :
The people represented in this convention mean that
the State of Ohio — in the great progress ' whose leading
object is to elevate the condition of men, to lift artifi
cial 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 Ufe ' — 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 com
mand in the result that triumphant success which it
deserves." Another speech made by Gen. Hayes (Oct. 10,
1869), at Mozart Hall, Cincinnati, contained the follow
ing:— " Now, my friends, let us look at this matter of re
construction, not to argue it, but to see what has been
accomplished, and what will be the meaning of an
election in Ohio, that wUl result in victory for Mr.
Pendleton. I am not here to say to this audience that
the people of the South are just as we would wish
them in aU respects. A people whose education com-

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HATES'S SPEECHES. 269
menced in the barbarism of slavery, and was completed
in the atrocities of the Rebellion, cannot be expected,
in a few years, to be like the people of Ohio, or Penn
sylvania, or Indiana, or that they will regard the rights
of citizens in all respects. Yet taking the essential
rights of citizens, and examining what is going on in
the South, we shall discover that "there is a freedom of
speech, a free press, and the enjoyment of the right to
assemble, and discuss public questions, a free ballot,
and free labor, to an extent never known nor enjoyed
in the South before. Never before were there so many
children in the public schools as to-day. Take the
matter of labor : the crops of the South, the cotton, the
sugar, the tobacco, and the corn, raised this year, are
more valuable than any crops ever raised before in
these States. Do not misunderstand me. I do not say
more bales of cotton, or bushels of corn, but that, at
present prices, the crops at the South are more valua
ble than ever before. Never before were the times in
the South so prosperous, in many respects, as to-day.
" Now, let the result of this election say to the worst
elements of those States, to the ultra men, that there
is a re-action in Ohio against reconstruction, that we
are prepared to change the course we have taken, to
open it all up anew, and return to the unsettled condi
tion of things that prevailed under the administration
of Andrew Johnson ; and what are we then to have ?
Years more of the lawlessness, discord, and strife that
we had under Andrew Johnson. What interest of ours

270 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HA-YES.
is to be promoted by that ? We wish the condition of
the Southern people to be one of prosperity, that they
may bear, their share of the taxes in order to carry on
the government, and pay the national debt.
" The position of Mr. Pendleton is in favor of unset
tling all that has been settled ; against reconstruction,
and opening it all up again as unconstitutional and
void. Last year, as you know, we carried the election
largely on the watchword furnished us by Grant ; and
we stand on the same ground to-day, and say, as to aU
these troubles, ' Let us have peace.'
" The significance of an adverse result in Ohio is
disorder, discord, a renewal of strife in the South. It
is our interest that the condition of the South should
be one of universal prosperity and universal peace.
" Another right of national importance arises in con
sidering the peculiar position of Mr. Pendleton in ref
erence to the repudiation of the debt. My friends,
there is not a repudiator, from Pomeroy's ' Democrat ' to
the Columbus ' Crisis ' and the Cincinnati ' Commoner,'
that is not the earnest supporter of Pendleton's election.
Everywhere the success of Pendleton -will be held by
the repudiators of the country as their victory. What
does the threat of repudiation cost this country ? Dur
ing the war, when it was doubtful whether we were
able to be a nation or not, we borrowed of all the
world money at six per cent.
" Now, when the abUity of the nation to pay its debt
is beyond all doubt, and the only question that can be

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HATES'S SPEECHES. 271
raised is as to its disposition to pay it, what ought to be
the rate of interest. When England and France and
the better nations of the world, including our own
State, obtain loans at three and a half to four per
cent, nothing is more certain than that the United
States could negotiate loans for renewing the whole
amount of our debt at four per cent, but for the appre
hension that the debt may not be honestly paid. The
fear of repudiation costs the difference in interest
between four and six per cent; and that is forty
mUUons a year on our whole debt."
In his Zanesville speech (Aug. 24, 1869), Gen. Hayes
made use of these words : —
" Now, the important question presented is, whether
it is safe and wise to trust these amendments, for in
terpretation, construction and execution, to the party
which, from first to last, has fiercely opposed them. The
safe rule is, ff you want a law faithfully and fairly
administered, 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 citi
zens 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

272 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
repealed by constitutional amendments, abrogated by
judicial construction, nullified by unfriendly legislation
(state or national), or left a dead letter by non-action
on the part of law-makers, or executive officers. Has
the time come when the country can afford to trust the
Democratic party on these questions ? "
In a political speech made at Glendale, O., Sept. 4,
1872, Gen. Hayes made the following strong points : —
" Fellow-citizens, my purpose in addressing you this
evening is to spread before the people of the Second
District my views on the questions of national policy
which now engage the pubUc attention.
" In the present condition of the country, two things
are of vital importance, — peace and a sound financial
pohcy. We want peace, honorable peace, with all
nations, — peace with the Indians, and peace between
all the citizens of all the States. We want a financial
policy so honest, that there can be no stain on the
national honor, and no taint on the national credit ; so
stable, that labor and capital, and legitimate business
of every sort, can confidently count upon what it wiU
be next week, the next month, and the next year.
We want the burdens of taxation so justly distributed,
that they wiU bear equally upon all classes of citizens
in proportion to their ability to sustain them.
"We want our currency gradually to appreciate,
until, without financial shock, or any sudden shrinkage

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HATES's SPEECHES. 273
of values, but in the natural course of trade, it shall
reach the uniform and permanent value of gold. With
lasting peace assured, and a sound financial condition
established, the United States and all her citizens may
reasonably expect to enjoy a measure of prosperity
without a parallel in the world's history.
" When the debates of the last presidential election
were in progress, four years ago, there were troubles
-with other nations threatening the public peace ; and,
in particular, there was a most difficult, irritating, and
dangerous controversy with Great Britain, which it
seemed almost impossible peaceably to settle. Now
we are at peace with all the nations ; the American
Government is everywhere abroad held in the highest
honor ; and the example of submitting national disputes
to the decision of a court of arbitration has been set,
which is of incalculable value to the world.
" Four years ago, frequent outbreaks of savage
hostUities along a frontier of more than two thousand
miles disturbed the country with the apprehension of
another long, expensive, and fruitless war against the
Indians. During the last three years and a half, eighty
thousand Indians have been gathered upon reserva
tions, where, by their own labor, they are self-support
ing. About one hundred and thirteen thousand others
have been collected at the agencies, where, — under
instruction by, perhaps, fifty agents, selected by the
religious denominations of the country, aided by black
smiths, carpenters, and farmers hired by government,

274 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HA-TES.
— they are prepared to live peaceably on reservations.
Only about fifty thousand wild and hostile Indians
remain. The policy of the government is to gather them
also, as rapidly as possible, upon reservations, and to
compel them, by force ff necessary, to abandon savage
life. This policy has met with such a success, that judi
cious men are confident that a solution of the Indian
question has been reached which is consistent with the
safety of the frontiersman, and with humanity toward
the_ Indian. Even if this hope shall not be realized,
it is, nevertheless, certain that a general Indian war
of three months' duration would cost more than the
total expenditure on account of Indians for the last
three years and a half. . . .
" 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 appoint
ments 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 constitute
the highest claim to office, gave place to the idea that
partisan services were to be chiefly considered. All
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 departments, made aU appointments. Gradu
ally, by usage, the appointing power, in many cases,

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HATES'S SPEECHES. 275
was transferred to members of Congress, to senators
and representatives. The offices, in these cases,
have become not so much rewards for party services
as rewards for personal services in nominating 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 defi
nitely settled. A congressman who maintains good
relations with the Executive usually receives a larger
share of patronage than one who is independent. The
system is a bad one. It destroys the independence
of the separate departments of the government ; and it
degrades the civil service. It ought to be abolished.
. . . 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. Jenks's bill, if nothing
better were proposed. The admirable speeches, on this
subject, of the representative of the First District,
the Hon. 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 meas
ures of legislation. We ought to have a reform of the
system of appointments of the civil service, thorough,
radical, and complete.
" The duties levied under our present tariff-laws
were largely adopted during the war, when all home
productions were burdened with heavy taxation under

276 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
the internal revenue laws. All tax-laws, whether inter
nal revenue or tariff, were then regarded as war-meas
ures. Now that war-expenditures are happily ended,
and the internal taxes are abolished, our tariff-laws need
extensive revision. In all changes of laws affecting the
business of the country, a prudent legislator will move
cautiouslj^ When capital has been invested, and labor
employed, in the faith of existing la-n^s, the importance
of stabiUty is not to be overlooked. Reductions should
be gradual and moderate. Violent and sweeping laws
affecting the business of the country should be avoided.
But where inequality has crept into the laws, it is never
too early to begin to head the ship in the right direction.
The tariff-laws now contain many inconsistencies and
inequalities. Duties are levied which cost more to
collect them than the revenue they produce. All such
ought to be abolished. Some duties, now that the inter
nal revenue taxes are repealed, amount to jobs in favor
of special interests, and increase to the consumer the
cost of the dutiable articles far beyond the revenue
realized by the government. In some cases the duties
upon the articles deemed necessaries are greater than
upon luxuries. On all these heads, revision and correc
tion are demanded. Upon this subject, each representa
tive is accustomed, more, perhaps, than any other, to
regard the particular interests of his own constituents.
In the needed revision of the tariff-laws it will be the
special duty of the representative to see that the wishes
and interests of his own constituents are fuUy and fafrly

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HATES'S SPEECHES. 277
represented. The question is not a party question, and
cannot be made one.
" The Democrats have ignored it in their national,
state, and congressional platforms, and all sides they
are supporting candidates for Congress without regard
to their opinions on this subject.
" In the congressional debates of a very few months
ago, the subject of amnesty was a great deal discussed.
But the recent sweeping act of amnesty, which relieved
the great mass of those who were disqualified by the
Fifteeenth Amendment, has deprived this question of
its interest and importance. The policy of amnesty
having been thus fully adopted, it should be extended
to all whose only offence is participation in the Rebel
lion. Certain leading rebels, it is well known, are impli
cated in the attempts to burn hotels, steamboats, and
cities, ancl in sending garments infected with contagious
diseases into Union hospitals. They ought not to
be allowed to sit again in the Senate of the United
States, or to hold .any office of honor or profit under
the government.
" It is one of the encouraging facts of the present
condition of politics that public men now enjoy and
exercise great independence of opinion ancl action, with
out losing the confidence of their supporters. Indeed,
the number of questions of a political and party char
acter upon which a member of Congress is required to
act is very small. The greater part of his duties relates
to general or local affairs, on which parties are not

278 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
divided. A vast majority of the votes given in Con
gress are no longer partj'- votes. A man may differ on
important questions with the president of his choice, or
support measures recommended by the president of the
party he opposes, without losing influence or position.
If the people of the Second District shaU see fit to honor
me with their support, I hope to be able, without forget
ting my Republicanism, to so act on a large majority of
subjects as to secure the approval of my constituents
of all parties. If I should fail, it wiU not be from a
lack of a disposition to do what is becoming in the
independent representative of an inteUigent consti
tuency. . . .
" If elected a member of Congress, I shaU deem it my
duty to support every constitutional and proper measure
calculated to give prosperity, impartial justice, and equal
right to all classes of the Southern people, and to aid
every just measure which will increase the means of
communication between the South and the North."
In his celebrated speech at Zanesville, O., Gen. Hayes
took the ground that the new amendments to the
National Constitution were not safe in the hands of the
Democratic party ; and in that speech he said, —
" In Indiana, the last authoritative Democratic utter
ance on this subject was the passage, in January last,
by the Senate of that State, of the foUo-wing resolution,
offered by Mr. Hughes, every Democrat supporting it."

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HA-OIS'S SPEECHES. 279
" ' Resolved, That Congress has no lawful power de
rived from the Constitution of the United States, nor
from any other source whatever, to require any State
of the Union to ratifj^ an amendment proposed to the
Constitution of the United States as a condition prece
dent to 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-
caUed Fifteenth Amendment is not, and never has been
in law, a part of the Constitution of the United States.'
" It is not necessary to go to neighboring States for
Democratic authorities to show how far the new depart
ure is from modern Democracy.
" When this question was last debated before the
people of Ohio, the Democratic positiuu on the principle
of the Fifteenth Amendment, and on its constitutional
validity, was declared adopted, and was thus stated.
" Speaking of the principle of the amendment. Judge
Thurman said, ' I tell you it is only the entering wedge,
that wUl destroy all intelUgent suffrage in this country,
and turn our country from an intelligent white man's
government into one of the most corrupt mongrel
governments in the world.'
" Of its validity, ff declared adopted. Gen. Ward
said, —
" ' FeUow-citizens of Ohio, I boldly assert that the
States of this Union have always had, both before and

280 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
since the adoption of the Constitution of the United
States, entire sovereignty over the whole subject of
suffrage in all its relations and bearings. Ohio has that
sovereignty now ; and it cannot be taken from her with
out 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
govemment, 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 exercise the right of suffrage
is not an amendment of the Constitution, but a revo
lutionary usurpation by the other States, in no wise
constitutionally binding on her sovereignty as a State.'
" These opinions are still largely prevalent in the
Democratic party. When a new departure was
announced at Dayton, the leading organ of the party
in this State said, —
" ' There are matters in the Montgomery County
resolutions, which, it is very safe to say, will not receive
the approval of the State convention, and which should
not receive its indorsement. They have faults of omis
sion and commission. They evince a desire to sail with
the wind, and as near the water as possible, without
getting wet. The Democracy everywhere beUeve 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

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HATES'S SPEECHES. 281
how the amendments should be treated in the future,
for the sake of saving, if possible, what is left of con
stitutional liberty.'
"After the scheme was adopted in convention, the
common sentiment was well expressed by the edtior,
who said that ' the platform was made for present use,
and is marked with the taint of insincerity.'
" The speeches of Col. McCook and other Democratic
gentlemen exhibit, when, carefully read, clearly enough,
the character of the new departure.
" In accepting the nomination. Col. McCook said, —
" ' Let me speak now upon the Fifteenth Amendment,
which confers the right of suffrage upon the blacks.
It was no legitimate consequence of the war ; it was no
legitimate consequence of secession : but it was passed
in the exigency of a political party, that they might
have control, as much in Ohio as in those States in the
South. I opposed it as I did the Fourteenth, from the
beginning, and I have no regrets from the opposition.
But now a word more upon it. If it contained nothing
but this provision for suffrage, there would be but little
objection to it ; but it contains a provision intended to
confer power upon Congress, which is dangerous to the
liberties of the country ; and the dangers can only be
avoided by having Democratic congresses in the future,
who -wUl trust no power to the Executive, which bears
the purse and sword, to interfere with our elections.'
" When interrogated on this subject at Chardon, he
said, ' When he received the nomination, he had said

282 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
that no black man who had received the right to vote
under the Fifteenth Amendment ever could have it
taken away. Repealing the Fifteenth Amendment
would not take it away. That amendment is no more
sacred, but just as sacred as any other part of the Con
stitution ; but repealing it could not take away a right.'
He was asked, as to the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and
Fifteenth Amendments, ' Do you regard them as in the
same sense, and to the same extent, parts of the Consti
tution as other portions ? ' He answered, ' Yes, cer
tainly. Cannot men see the difference between oppos
ing the adoption of a measure, and yielding when it had
been adopted, and opposition had become useless ? ' He
was asked, ' Are these amendments never again to
become poUtical questions ? ' — 'I have no authority or
power to answer such a question. How can I answer
as to all the future ? How can I teU what the Demo
cracy of New York, or any other State, may do ? And
how can they become political questions, now that they
are acquiesced in by almost the entire people of the
country ? '
" Mr. Hubbard, the chairman of Col. McCook's first
meeting, said, ' The Democrats did not dispute that
this amendment, which was adopted by constitutional
forms, was vaUd, but, whUe accepting it, call it " a new
departure," if you please. We do not surrender our
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.'

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HAYES'S SPEECHES. 283
" The gentleman who had the second place on the
Democratic ticket, Mr Hunt, says, ' There is no reason
ing, and certainly no circumstances, which can give the
Thirteenth Amendment more binding force than either
of the two other amendments. If the Thirteenth
Amendment abolished slavery, then the title to vote
under the Fifteenth Amendment is as perfect as the
title to liberty. The fact that they have been declared a
part of the Constitution does not preclude a legitimate
discussion as to their expediency. Proper action will
never be barred ; for the statute of limitation will run
with the Constitution itself. Experience may teach the
necessity of a change in any provision of the organic
law ; and any legislation, to be, permanent, must con
form to the living sentiment of the people.'
" These paragraphs furnish no adequate reply to the
questions which an intelligent and earnest Republican
who believes in the wisdom and value of the amend
ments would put to these gentlemen, when they ask
him for his vote. He would ask, ' If the Democratic
party should obtain the controlling power in the Gen
eral 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 fail
ure or refusal to legislate ? ' Before the ' new depart
ure ' can gain Republican votes, its friends must answer

284 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
satisfactorily these questions. The speeches I have
quoted fail to furnish such answers. Col. Cook objects
to the Fifteenth Amendment, because it ' contains a
provision intended to confer power upon Congress
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 contain 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 whicli refer to the repeal of the amend
ments. Mr. Hubbard said, ' We do not surrender the
right to make such returns to the whole Constitution as
we may deem expedient. It is a future question, that
we are not bound to discuss.' Col. 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 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
whUe it is out of power. Whether or not it will try to

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HAYES'S SPEECHES. 285
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 discussion.' In reply
to this gentleman, the well-informed Republican citizen,
when asked to vote for the ' new departure,' is very like
to adopt their own phraseology, and to say, ' AVhether I
shall 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 Col. McCook, ' How can I tell what the Democracy
of New York may do ? '
" Notwithstanding the decision of the late conven
tion, it is probable that the real sentiments of the
democracy of Ohio are truly stated by ' The Butler
County Democrat : ' —
" ' Our position, then, is, that while we regard the so-
called amendments as gross usurpations and base frauds,
— de facto and de jure, — and therefore acts which
are 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 of no
effect. We adhere strictly, on this point, to the second
resolution of Hon. L. D. Campbell, adopted at the
Democratic convention held in this county last May ;
and, to refresh the minds of our readers, we reproduce
it here." ' 2. That now, as heretofore, we are opposed to aU

286 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HAYE3.
lawlessness and disorder, and for maintaining the
supremacy of the Constitution and laws as the only
certain means of public safety; and we will abide by all
their provisions untU the same shall be amended, abro
gated, or repealed by the lawfully constituted authori
ties.' " The ' new departure ' has certainly very Uttle claim
to the support of Republican citizens. What are its
claims to the support of honest Democrats ?
" Col. McCook, to make the ' new departure ' palata
ble to his Democratic 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 could 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 consistent
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 principle, this is a white man's gov-

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HAYES'S SPEECHES. 287
ernment, and that to confer suffrage on the colored
races — on the African or Chinaman — would change
the nature of the government, 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 right to aU persons, without distinc
tion of race, color, or condition.' Sincere Democrats
wiU find it very difficult to take that pledge, unless
they are now convinced that their whole poUtical 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 elec
tion wiU, upon that principle, by a large majority
condemn the Democratic party for its bold attempt to
catch RepubUcan votes."
In one of his speeches in a campaign where Gen.
Rosecrans had been nominated and declined. Gen.
Hayes thus referred to him and the party : —
" There were mutterings of aversion all around the
camp. In Holmes and Butler they did not enthusias
tically cheer for ' Old Rosey.' Well, in due time came
along Rosecrans' letter. ' No, I thank you, I must
look after my family and my debts.' It is not a good
tiling for a man who cares for his family or creditors to
be running on the Democratic ticket."

288 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HAYES.
In another address, and speaking of Mr. Pendleton,
Gen. Hayes said, —
" It was not strange that he should wish to have such
a record obliterated or forgotten, — to make a dead
issue of this record of a statesman whose friends seek
for him the stepping-stone to the presidency. Wash
ington was made president because of his past ;
Grant was made president because of his past. It is
the past record of a statesman for patriotism, for
wisdom, for statesmanship, that is the best pledge of
his future. The day never was seen by Clay or
Webster, by Lincoln or Douglass, when they did not
stand ready to defend their course in the past. Web
ster, a quarter of a century after the war with England,
was questioned for the patriotism of his acts during
the war ; and the most eloquent speech of his life was
made in defending the wisdom and patriotism of that
record." In a speech at GaUipolis, Gen. Hayes thus point
edly mentioned the capture of the Democratic Con
vention by the Greenback Party : —
"•Congress pledged the country that the issue of
greenbacks should never exceed four hundred millions
of dollars. And now our Democratic friends, after the
close of the war, meet in Columbus ; and against the
protest of Democrats of standing (Thurman and Payne

EXTRACTS FEOM GEN. HA-YES'S SPEECHES. 289
and Ranney), — against their protests, those more
recent Democrats, — Cary and Ewing and Lew Camp
beU and Baker, — with the shell of the Republican
egg from which they were hatched still sticking to
their backs, resolved in favor of more greenbacks."
Oct. 7, 1871, Gen. Hayes gave a short address at the
dedication of the Davidson Fountain in Cincinnati, in
which he said, —
" This work lends a new charm to the whole city.
"Longfellow's lines in praise of the catawba that
grows on the banks of the beautiful river gives to the
catawba a finer flavor, and renders the beautiful river
still more beautiful. When art and genius give to us
in marble or on canvas the features of those we admire
or love, ever afterward we discover in their faces and
in thefr characters more to admire, and more to love.
" This work makes Cincinnati a pleasanter city, her
homes more happy, her aims worthier, and her future
brighter. " But this fountain does not pour forth her blessings
for Cincinnati, or for her visitors and guests alone. . . .
This monument is an instructor of aU who come.
Whoever beholds it will carry away some part of the
lesson it teaches. The duty which the citizen owes to
the community in which and by which he has pros
pered — that duty this work will forever teach. No
rich man who is wise will, in the presence of this exam-

290 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
pie, wiUingly go to the grave with his debt to the
public unpaid and unprovided for. Many a last wiU
and testament will have a beneficent codicU, suggested
by the work we inaugurate to-day. Parks, fountains,
schools, galleries of art, libraries, hospitals, churches,
whatever benefits and elevates mankind, wiU here
receive much needed encouragement and support.
" This work says to him who with anxious toil and
care has successfully gathered and hoarded. Do not
neglect your great opportunity. Divide wisely and
equitably between the few who are most nearly of
your own blood, and the many who are in kinship only
a little farther removed. If you regard only those
reared under your own roof, your cherished estate wiU
soon be scattered, perhaps wasted by profligate hefrs
in riotous living, to their own ruin, and you and your
fortune will quickly be forgotten. Give a share,
pay a tithe, to your more distant and more numerous
kindred, — to the general public, — and you wUl be
gratefully remembered, and mankind will be blessed by
your having lived."
One of the most interesting addresses delivered by
Gen. Hayes, apart from his political speeches, was that
delivered at the dedication of the Findlay soldiers' mon
ument, Wednesday, July 7, 1875 ; and we venture to
give a very liberal extract : —
"We are glad to see that the people of Hancock

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HATES'S SPEECHES. 291
County have done this wise and patriotic work. A
monument in honor of the brave men of Hancock
County who in that four-years' conflict for union and
liberty fell, is erected in this town, — a monument of
which all the people of the county will be proud, and
wish to have remain here, we trust, forever. And why
not erect a monument to those brave men ? In every
age it has been the general judgment of mankind, that
all men who freely and bravely gave their lives on the
light side of a great and good cause should be forever
remembered with gratitude. Is not this the fact with
the men who went out from your county to gladden
their homes no more by their safe return ? Did they
not give their lives in a great and good cause ? We
cannot indicate, even by words, all the facts that entitle
us to claim for them what I have stated as a great and
a good cause.
" I hear that my friend Gov. AUen, and those with
him traveUing from Dayton, perhaps a hundred mUes
distant from here, passing through such towns as Troy,
Wapakoneta, and Lima, and the smaller towns, were
everywhere met by the American people celebrating
the Fourth of July, that most iUustrious date in the
secular annals of our race. Now think, my friends.
Suppose that the men who went from this country
in 1861 to 1865, — the men- who fought at Stone' River,
Chickamauga, Vicksburg, and all the other twelve
hundred battles and skirmishes of that war, — suppose
that in the result they had faded, where would have

292 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HA-YES.
been the Fourth of July ? What would have been our
feelings ? Instead of our gratitude and happiness, and
this outpouring of the people to celebrate it, it would
have been a day of sorrow and shame and mortifica
tion. I am behind no man in doing honor to the
fathers who founded the Republic ; but I must not
forget, I do not forget, the comrades who perished in
the war to save the Republic. What a task they had !
Do you remember when Abraham Lincoln bade fare
well to his neighbors and friends at Springfield, — that
last farewell to his old friends, — he said to them, ' The
task which devolves upon me is greater than that
which has devolved upon any man since Washington ;
and I ask that you will pray that I may have that
divine assistance, without which I cannot succeed, and
with which I cannot fail.' It was to perform that
task that Mr. Lincoln felt devolved so greatly upon
him, that the brave men of Hancock County flocked
to thefr country's standard in 1861 and in 1862 ; and
along a line of frontier operations two thousand miles
in length, extending from the Potomac to the Rio
Grande, and stretching over every square mUe of all
those Southern States, these men marched and fought,
and suffered and feU.
"I know not how many of them have been gath
ered into the cemeteries near their home ; I know
not how many others have been gathered into the
beautiful national cemeteries near the great battle
fields ; I know not how many are lying in swamps,

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HAYES'S SPEECHES. 293
along the mountain-sides, in nameless graves, the
unknown heroes of the Union : but wherever they are,
and however many there may be, you people of Han
cock County have erected your monument to all who
feU, who left your county. All soldiers, I am sure,
feel like thanking you for~ this. I remember well that
one of the saddest days of my life was after one of
our great battles in the early period of the war. Recov
ering from wounds, with other comrades who had been
wounded there, we passed near the battle-field, as soon
as we felt able to do so ; and, when we came there, what
did we learn ? Passing up the mountain, charging the
line of the enemy, they fell ; and everywhere were the
shaUow graves in which were deposited the remains of
our seven hundred companions who had faUen. And
how were they buried ? and how was their last resting-
place marked ? Hastily, tenderly, no doubt, the parties
detailed to bury them had gathered up their remains.
You soldiers know how it was done. They placed
upon the face of each man who died, wherever they
could ascertain his name, a piece of an envelope, or
a scrap of a letter, or something of the kind, contain- •
ing his name, his company, his regiment, fastening it
there, hoping, that some day his friends might come
and find him, and learn who it was there buried. And
then, you remember, there were no coffins, nothing of
the sort ; but they took tbe blue overcoat, and placed
it around the man, and took the cape, and, bringing it
over the face, fastened it down. This was his shroud ;

294 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
this was his coffin: and he was placed away to rest
until the resurrection monn. That was the manner of
his burial. And strange I may say was the result of that
woollen material over the face : saturated 'with water,
and covered with the earth, it did so protect them from
decay, that months afterwards many were recognized
by thefr friends, preserved as they were by the over
coat cape. And how was the grave marked ? With a
pencil they scratched upon a piece of pine board — a
thin piece of cracker-box — the name and company,
which was placed at the grave. This was all then ;
and we did not know what the result would be. We
did not know what friends would do, what monuments
would be reared.
" As we left that field, talldng to each other, we
said there must be a soldiers' monument for the soldiers
of our regiment. I would not claim that this was the
first regiment that built a monument ; that the Twenty-
third Ohio, to which I had the honor to belong, buUt
the first monument: but I will say it was the first I
heard of. After the famous Antietam campaign was
fought, we called the men together, — four hundred and
fifty or five hundred men, — and from the scanty pay
which was to support the men, and to some extent
their families, the majority of the remainder subscribed
at least one dollar, and others more, according to their
ability, and raised in the regiment two thousand dollars
to build a monument, on which, it was agreed, should
be inscribed the name of every man in the regiment

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HATES'S SPEECHES. 295
who had fallen, and every man who should fall during
the continuance of the war. We had it placed in the
cemetery at Cleveland, where more of our number
came from than from any other place. Many a mon
ument has been built since, far grander than that,
taller, and finer, and more expensive ; but that, so far
as I know, was the first soldiers' monument.
" We are glad to know that you of Hancock County
have not neglected your duty in that regard. You
mean that those men shall have their monument, and be
remembered forever. It will be a monument that will
have its value to you and your children : it will be an
instructor, a teacher of lessons to all who look on it.
What is it ? Why did these men perish ? Why was
this monument built ? Here is a great nation : here is
a country stretching from ocean to ocean, over the fin
est part of the best continent on the globe. On the
day that they volunteered, the only enemy that the
American nation could know, could fear, could dread,
was in war against us. We cared nothing for foreign
nations : they were too far, too distant ; and anyway, with
the North and South united, as I believe they now are,
in feeling, we can meet the world in arms against us.
A house divided against itself — there was the danger;
and that was the danger that these men went out to
meet. And now, how is it to-day? How stands the
matter now? We know every acre of that beautiful
land belongs only to the stars and stripes, and belongs
to the flag forever.

296 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
" And not only that lesson does it teach ; but it
teaches, also, that this Union is dedicated to the prin
ciples of the Declaration of Independence. I hardly
know what others may think about that; but I
believe, that, in fifty years past, there never was a
time when there was that prospect of complete and
enduring harmony among all classes of people, in aU
sections of this country, that there is to-day. Why,
think of it! On the 17th of June, the hundredth
anniversary of the battle of Bunker HiU, we had
Maryland Confederate regiments and soldiers saluting
— in the streets of Boston, and on Boston Common
and Bunker Hill — the men of Massachusetts : we
had South Carolina and Massachusetts shoulder to
shoulder, as in the days when their fathers beat the
British a hundred years ago. All this, I think, is
due, in a great measure, to the success of our men to
whom this monument is erected, and thefr comrades
in other States and other organizations, living and
dead. Think of the men themselves who were there,
• — citizen soldiers, not one, perhaps, of whom, was
ever acquainted with war, or ever bred to war. Here
and there one had been in the Mexican war ; here and
there one had been in some Indian war; but, as a
rule, they all came from ci-vil life : they all came from
where they were sovereigns, to be, for three years,
obedient to men who were not better than them
selves. " Why, they teU us our bayonets could think. Yes,

EXTEACTS FEOM GEN. HATES'S SPEECHES. 297
and often and often it was the glory, in my judgment,
of the private soldier, that the bayonet thought more
truly, more wisely, more accurately, than the sword.
A celebrated English statesman said, ' I can understand
why these Americans, to the number of milUons, rushed
to arms to defend the government they had made.
There is no mystery in that. Now, I do not understand
how it was, that, at the end of that war, a million of
men quietly disbanded, and returned to the walks of
peaceful life, and went back about thefr old occupa
tions, and became again good citizens.' There was one
great advantage we had, — a people so educated, and so
intelligent in all classes, that we could raise an army of
that sort.
" Our monument, then, stands and teaches us of the
importance of the Union, the importance of the prin
ciples of the Declaration of Independence, and the
importance of universal education. My friends, what
is a monument, however costly and beautiful, if it does
not teach us some of the duties of practical life, how
the living shall deal with the living ? When you shaU
see the widows of the soldiers, the parents and orphans
of the soldiers, every man whose heart is in the right
place feels his sympathies warmed towards them.
There is no doubt as to that, I am sure, in any Christian
community. But there is another lesson. The men
who fell, the men who lost an arm or leg, the widows
and orphans who are left, are not the only victims of
the war. There must always be another class. We

298 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
rejoice to know that the great body of young men who
went out to the war returned to thefr homes, more
manly, braver, and better than when they left them ;
but they were gone, many of them, at the critical
period of Ufe, from sixteen to twenty years of age, just
the period when they must learn habits of thrift, and
the knowledge of occupations or trades that shall
enable them to get that independence which every man
in America ought to have, or try to have. They were
during that period in the army ; and some came back
with habits to which we regret to allude. But, my
friends, when we look at that monument, we should be
reminded that that man who may have thus formed
any pernicious habits in the army is always one of the
victims of the war. He has lost that which is better
than Ufe in trying to save the Republic. Avert not
your gaze, patriotic men, from that man. Lfft him up,
help him, never give him up. Give him occupation,
give him good words, save him, if you can. At any
rate, treat him as one of the victims of the war."

CHAPTER XXVI.
NOMINATION FOE THE PEESIDENCY.
Nominated by the Eepublican Convention. — Unexpected Honor. —
His Previous Conversation on the Subject. — His Eeception of the
News. — His Letter of Acceptance. — Civil Service. — Currency. —
Public Schools. — Eelations between the North and South. — Clos
ing Eemarks.
June 14, 1876, Gen. Hayes was nominated by the
National Republican Convention held at Cincinnati, as
the candidate of the Republican Party for President of
the United States. It was a great honor. Great men
had sought the position ; and it was considered honora
ble for any man to seek it. Yet to Gen. Hayes it came
as unsought as aU his other public honors. To him it
was almost wholly unexpected; and few men in the
nation were more surprised that day than was he, when,
sitting quietly in his office at the Capitol in Columbus,
the telegraph announced to him his nomination.
The matter had sometimes been referred to in his
presence by enthusiastic friends ; but, up to the mo
ment of his apprisal of the nomination, he never aUowed
himseff to expect or desire it. One of his intimate
friends wrote a letter soon after the nomination, in
299

300 LIFE OP EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
which the writer made a reference to his modesty, and,
among other things, said, —
" We had been to Jefferson, where the governor, on
the 16th of September, made his campaign speech.
Hon. B. F. Wade had introduced him in a glowing
eulogy, which was published at the time, and in which
he presented him as ' a suitable man for the highest
office in the gift of the American people.'
" A resolution had been drawn by Hon. Abner Kel
logg, former representative, and afterwards senator
from the Ashtabula District, nominating Gen. Hayes
for Republican candidate for 1876. This Mr. Kellogg,
by the way, was one of the leaders of the Liberals in
Ashtabula County in 1872. Because the day was rainy,
and the crowd small, the resolution was not offered, the
mover preferring to take a more auspicious day to give
the candidate a good send-off.
" The next day, in the cars, I took pleasure in telling
Gov. Hayes of this, and adding the assurance of a very
warm interest in the subject. His reply was character
istic. Handing me the morning paper, which contained
Mr. Adams's (so-called) letter declining to be a can
didate, he said, ' That letter shows how embarrassing it
is to a man to be talked about in connection with that
office, who does not regard himself as a candidate, and
who, as in my case at least, does not expect to be a
candidate. He can neither decline that which is not
offered, nor withdraw a name which has not in any
responsible way been presented. AU he can do is to

nomination foe THE PEESIDENCT.

301

say nothing about it; and even that may be miscon
strued.' He added, ' When I was a young man, I was
deUghted with Macaulay's Essays ; and one of them
which left a lasting impression, was that wherein he
says every man should take a just measure of himself.
I know the country knows there are men so much
greater than I — Charles Francis Adams himself, for

THE WHITE HOOSE.

instance, the ripe scholar, the successful diplomatist,
and aU that — that are fitted for the presidency, that I
have come to regard these pleasant expressions for
what I think they are worth.' "
Such was the estimate which the man put upon
himself, showing how all his intoxicating success,
and aU the flattery and popularity of so many years in
office, had left him all his youthful modesty ; and the

302 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
Rutherford B. Hayes of 1840 was the same unassum
ing person in 1876.
He treated the nomination -with due respect ; but it
did not fill him with excitement, nor so pre-occupy his
mind, that he could not continue the private business
he had in hand when the news came to him. He pre
ferred to go home to Fremont, and live a retfred Iffe ;
but if the path of duty led to the White House, or
into a contest where the national honor was to be
defended, he would follow that path, and do his whole
duty. Soon after the letter notifying him of the action of
the convention was received, he wrote the foUowing
reply, accepting the nomination : —
Columbus, O., July 8, 1876.
Hon. Edward McPherson, Hon. William A. Howard, Hon.
Joseph H. Rainet, and others of the Committee of the
Republican National Convention.
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 Cincinnati, I accept
the nomination with gratitude, hoping that, under
Providence, I shaU be able, ff 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 princi
ples made by the convention. The resolutions are in

NOMINATION FOE THE PEESIDENCT. 303
accord with my views, and I heartily concur in the
principles which 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 interest. More than forty years ago, a sys
tem 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 qualifications for office,
and that there is no other claim, gave place to the idea
that party services were to be chiefly considered. AU
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 de
partments, made all the appointments; but gradually
the appointing power, in many cases, passed into the
control of the members of Congress.
The offices in these cases have become not merely
rewards for party services, but rewards for services to
party leaders. The system 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 accountabUity by
which alone faithful and efficient public service can
be secured : it obstructs the prompt removal and sure

304 LIPE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
punishment of the unworthy. In every way it de
grades the civU service and the character of the gov
ernment. It is felt, I am confident, by a large major
ity of the members of Congress, to be an intolerable
burden, and an unwarrantable hinderance to the proper
discharge of thefr 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 legislation, when needed, that which was the for
merly established custom. They neither expected nor
desired from the public officers any partisan ser-vice.
They meant that public officers should owe their whole
ser-vice to the government and to the people : they
meant that the officer should be secure in his 'tenure
as long as his personal character remained untarnished,
and the performance of his duties satisfactory. If
elected, I shall conduct the administration of the gov
ernment upon these principles, and all the constitu
tional powers vested in the Executive -will be employed
to establish this reform.
The declaration of principles by the Cincinnati Con
vention makes no announcement in favor of a single
presidential -term. I do not assume to add that declara
tion ; but believing that the restoration of the civil
service to the system established by Washington, and
followed by the early presidents, can best be accom
plished by an Executive who is under no temptation
to use the patronage of his office to promote his own

NOMINATION FOE THE PEESIDENCT. 805
re-election, I desire to perform what I regard as a duty,
in stating now my inflexible purpose, 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 feel
ing of uncertainty and insecurity from an irredeemable
paper currency, with its fluctations of value, is one of
the great obstacles to a revival of confidence and busi
ness, and to a return to prosperity. That uncertainty
can be ended in but one way, — the resumption of specie
payment ; but, the longer the instability connected with
our present money system is permitted to continue, the
greater will be the injury infficted upon our economical
interests, and all classes of society. If elected, I shall
approve every appropriate measure to accomplish the
desired end, and shall oppose any step backward.
The resolution with respect to the public school sys
tem is one which should receive i;he hearty support of
the American people. Agitation upon this subject is to
be apprehended, until, by constitutional amendment, the
schools are placed at bay, and all danger of sectional
control and interference is passed. The Republican
party is pledged to secure such an amendment. The
resolution of the convention on the subject of the per-

306 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
manent pacification of the country, and the complete
protection of all its citizens 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 in
telligent and honest administration of the government,
which wUl protect all classes of citizens in all their
political and private rights. What the South most
needs is " peace," and peace depends upon the suprem
acy of law. There can be no enduring peace, if the
constitutional rights of any portion of the people are
habitual.y disregarded. A division of poUtical parties,
resting merely upon distinctions of race, or upon sec
tional lines, is always unfortunate, and may be dis
astrous. The welfare of the South, alike with that of
every part of the country, depends upon the attractions
it can offer to labor, to 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 distraction, apprehension, and alarm take the place
of peace-loving and law-abiding social life. AU 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 recognition of the rights of

NOMINATION FOE THE PEESIDENCT. 307
all by all, — a recognition -without reserve or exception.
With such a recognition fully accorded, it will be
practicable to promote, by the influence of all legitimate
agencies of the General 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
wUl be my ardent desfre, to labor for the attainment of
this end. Let me assure my countrymen of the South
ern States, that, if I shall be charged with the duty of
organizing an administration, it wiU 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 forever the
distinction between the North and South in our common
country. With a civU ser-vice organized upon a system which
will secure purity, experience, efficiency, and economy,
a strict regard for the public welfare solely in appoint
ments, and the speedy, thorough, and unsparing prose
cution and punishment of all public officers who betray
official trust ; -with a sound currency ; with education
unsectarian, and free to all ; -\vith simplicity and frugal
ity in public and private affairs ; and with a fraternal
spirit bf harmony pervading the people of aU sections
and classes, — we may reasonably hope that the second
century of our existence as a nation, wiU, by the bless-

308 LIFE OF EUTHEEFOED B. HATES.
ing of God, be pre-eminent as an era of good feeling,
and a period of progress, prosperity, and happiness.
Very respectfully your fellow-citizen,
R. B. Hates.
Thus ends our story of a life which is full of instruc
tion for every reader. It may be that we have failed
to bestow upon him all the praise he deserves, and it is
possible that we have omitted much that would have
been of interest ; but we lay down the pen with a con
sciousness of ha-ving written this biography under the
inspiration of an earnest desire to extend a knowledge
of a good and great man, and we feel that perhaps our
work is as complete, and as free from errors, as any
book would be, written, as this has been, in less than
ninety hours.

WILLIAM A. WHEELER
OF NEW YORK.

SKETCH OF HIS LIFE AND CHARACTER.

WILLIAM A. WHEELER.

CHAPTER L
EAELT LIFE AND PUBLIC SEE-VICE.
Place of Birth. — Traits of his Boyhood. — Attendance on the Com
mon School. — Course at the Franklin Academy. — Goes to the
University of Vermont. — Undertakes the Study of La-w. — First
Tears of Law Practice. — Elected District Attorney. — Chosen to
the State Legislature. — First Term in Congress. — President of
the New Tork State Constitutional Convention.
It is doubtful if there can be found a man in public
life anywhere whose biography would be more difficult
to write than that of William A. Wheeler. He is one
of those few men who seem to be known and appreci
ated, and yet about whom the world knows but Uttle.
Nothing but a long and patient research in municipal,
legislative, and congressional archives, could place him
before the people in completeness and accuracy. In
whatever he has undertaken, in whatever position he
has been placed, he has conducted himself in such a
manner, that his personal identity has been lost in the
history of the measures he supported, or the crowd of
3U

812 WILLIAM A. WHEELEE.
men whom he assisted. In a certain sense of the word,
he is a very modest man ; and yet he is not bashful in
society, nor diffident in public debate.
There are some men whose personality is so promi
nent in whatever they do, that, while the listener
forgets very quickly their words or their acts, he can
not fail to remember their appearance and their name.
The opposite is the case with Mr. Wheeler. There are
many thousand people now living who do not recall
that they ever saw Mr. Wheeler, but who never can
forget the speeches made by him in their presence,
when the subjects were presented in such a style, that
they wholly overlooked the speaker, and did not think
to ask his name. He has a power to attract close atten
tion to what he is saying or doing, and keep himself
in the background ; and, having availed himself of that
power in nearly all his acts and words, it would be
difficult for any person to give more than a sketch of
his pubUc life.
He was born June 3, 1819, at the town of Malone
in Northern New York, the capital town of Franklin
County. Although, at the time of his birth, it was a very
small village, and the region was regarded by Eastern
people as being a wilderness in the " Far West," yet it
has grown since that time to be an important commer
cial centre for a large and prosperous farming commu
nity, as well as a flourishing manufaoturing town, doing
extensive business in machinery and flour. The Salmon
River furnishes ample water-power for its manufactories.

EAELT LIPE AND PUBLIC SEE VICE. 313
There, among the working-people of that obscure town,
and in a family neither wealthy nor poverty-stricken,
WUliam A. Wheeler drew the first breath of life ; and
at no time in his life did he appear to forget his position.
He was never afraid of work himself, and never relished
the society of those, who, from laziness or aristocratic
claims, refused to do an honest day's work.
About his boyhood there was nothing to distinguish
him from a score of his playmates who romped on the
green, fished in the river, or played pranks among the
workmen at the mills. He was never the ostensible
leader in any game or froUc ; yet, without him, neither
the game nor the frolic was successful. If the boys
played soldier, he was in the ranks, and from that
position gave orders to the captain. One of his old
playmates says that he remembers young Wheeler
when but ten years old, and that then the Uttle fellow
was regarded as one of the most trustworthy boys in
town ; and that he was often intrusted with business
which was seldom given to any person under twenty-
five years of age. He was always punctual, truthful,
and careful, and attempted nothing he did not under
stand. Yet he was lively, jolly, and happy, being a
genial companion and a valuable friend.
He appears, however, to have been but an ordinary
scholar in the schools, having a natural aptitude and
Uking for mathematics. He attended the common
school in Malone untU sufficiently advanced to begin
the regular course in the Franklin Academy, an insti-

314 WILLIAM A. WHEELEE.
tution of good standing among our American acade
mies, and located in Malone. From the academy, he
began a course of study in the University of Vermont.
But having determined to adopt the profession of law,
and finding that, by the terms of the statutes then in
existence, he would be obliged to devote seven years to
the study of jurisprudence before he could be admitted
to the bar, he left the university after a year's stay,
and entered upon his studies as a student of law.
In 1845 he began the practice of law in Malone,
and soon acquired quite an extensive practice in such
matters as usually come to the hands of a country law
yer. His business was, however, of a limited extent,
and not very lucrative in the way of retainers and fees.
He was regarded by his neighbors during those years as
a young man of the average ability, hearty, generous,
and trustworthy. In some branches of the law, how
ever, he was found to be the equal of some of the
judges; and several cases are mentioned by his ac
quaintances as having been conducted with masterly
eloquence, and exhibiting surprising legal acumen.
His political Ufe began before the organization of the
Freesoil party, and' while he regarded himself as a
member of no political party. He had often taken an
interest in local matters affecting the weffare of his
community, and taken the leadership in some move
ments which were successful ; but he never walked
within the party traces, if any question of right or of
reason interfered. His first office was that of district

EAELT LIFE AND PUBLIC SEE-VTCE. 315
attorney for his native county, to which he was elected
by the Democratic party. The nomination and election
came to him alike unsought, but, being in the line of
his profession, was, doubtless, acceptable to him.
His services as district attorney were so acceptable
to the people, and his fitness for official duties so clearly
displayed, that the voters of Malone began to wonder
how it was that they had not thought of him before.
At once, on his leaving the office of district attorney,
the Whigs took him up as thefr candidate for the State
assembly, and elected him by a handsome majority.
His services in the legislature did not attract especial
attention, as no matter of vital importance called out
his talents, or led him to overcome his natural diffi
dence. On his return home from the assembly, there -was
offered him a position in a bank at Malone as cashier,
which was an office far more lucrative than his pro
fession had been, and more congenial to his retiring
disposition. As a cashier he was thoroughly successful ; and, by his
unquestioned integrity and quickness of apprehension,
he became very popular with stockholders and deposit
ors, and won his way into monetary circles as adviser
by the prestige of his name. In the construction
of the Ogdensburg and Rouse Point Railroad, which
passes through Malone, Mr. Wheeler was much inter
ested, in common with a large portion of the people, who
felt how much their local prosperity depended upon

316 WILLIAM A. WHEELEE.
their raUroad facUities.. He was elected president of
the corporation ; and his administration of its affairs,
in matters of economy and financial arrangements, was
so successful, that he was continued in the office eleven
successive years.
In the formation and success of the Republican
party, Mr. Wheeler took a hearty interest, entering into
the local organization with the pioneers of the move
ment. He had a hatred of slavery, and was open in
his denunciation of the inhuman traffic in our fellow
men as early as 1855. By the Republicans he was
sent to the New York legislature, and for them, in the
Senate of 1858, he did good ser-vice, and was recognized
as a strong and upright defender of liberty in every
civUized form.
Following his ser-vice in the State Senate came an
election to Congress (1859), when the great questions
preceding the Rebellion, and which at last brought it
upon us, were being discussed -with angry fervor. In
that Congress the friends of human freedom had thefr
bitterest fight. It was there that the slaveholders
found the member from Northem New York as immov
able as a rock, and as courteous as a cavalier. Being a
new member of the House of Representatives, he labored
under many disadvantages, as the new-comers were
regarded in Congress very much as freshmen are
regarded in coUege ; and they do not usuaUy obtain
much influence untU they enter for a second or thfrd
term. But Rfr. Wheeler's actions and words are

EAELT LIFE AND PUBLIC SEEVIOE. 317
recalled now by his fellow-members, and are spoken
of by his opponents, -with great respect.
At the end of that term (1861), he retired to private
life ; and declaring it to be his belief that as good men
as himself could be found to fill the seats of Congress,
and saying that all he cared about the matter was to
have the office filled by some one who would do his
whole duty, he indicated his desfre henceforth to enjoy
his home undisturbed by the cares of state.
But in 1867, when his patriotism and speeches
during the war had endeared him to the people with
whom he had been associated, he was elected a member
of the New York State Constitutional Convention;
and upon its assembling he was promptly elected chair
man. His election to the office of presiding officer by
that convention was regarded at the time as an honor
nearly ff not quite equal to that of being elected
governor. It was an assemblage of the best and ablest
men of that State, and was intrusted with the changes
to be made in the organic law of that great common
wealth. It had need of great wisdom and great
caution ; and Mr. Wheeler was to conduct its deliberar
tions. It is said, that, while presiding over that body,
he displayed a dignity and an executive abUity which
surprised even his intimate friends. There had been
no occasion before in his Iffe, which caUed out
such features of his latent power ; and his opening *
address as he took the chair has been preserved and
repeated by thousands, and will be preserved and

318 -WILLIAM: A. WHEELEE.
repeated so long as the history of human freedom in
our land remains of interest. He advocated negro suf
frage, and secured an article of amendment to the Con
stitution to be submitted to the people, which, while it
failed to be ratified for the time being, only had to wait
until the people were educated up to the high moral
and poUtical ground occupied by Mr. Wheeler.

CHAPTER IL
OFFICIAL LIFE.
Elected to Congress. — Influence in the House of Representatives. —
Mentioned for the Office of President. — His Life in Washington. —
Sends his Back Pay in 1873 to the United States Treasury. —
Nominated for Vice-President. — Letter of Acceptance.
In the autumn of 1867, Mr. Wheeler was nominated
and elected by the Republicans of his district to a seat
in the United States House of Representatives, and they
have re-elected him in every congressional election since
that time ; the last vote for him iu his district beino-
12,323 votes, while his opponent received only 5,553
votes. His industry and sound judgment as chairman of the
Committee of the House of Representatives upon the
Pacific Railroad, and as a member of the Committee
upon Southern Affairs, won for him the respect of every
member of Congress, and gained for him a strong influ
ence in all matters of legislation.
Among the members of Congress, he has long been
mentioned as a man eminently fitted for the office of
president ; and one member of the House, of opposing
political faith, pointed hini out to the writer in the
winter of 1876, and said, " There is the man the Repub- 319

320 WILLIAM A. WHEELEE.
licans should take, if they want another Abraham
Lincoln." But he added with a sigh, that " politicians
are too corrupt nowadays to hope for the nomination
of such a man by any party."
One of his acquaiotances, who resided in the same
house with Mr. Wheeler, in Washington, before the
death of his amiable wife, thus spoke of him in June,
1876: —
-"Mr. Wheeler is a cousin of Rev. Alfred Wheeler,
of the Methodist church in Ohio. He is a devout
communicant of the Presbyterian church, a man of
fifty-seven years, and of quiet, rugged strength of char
acter. He represents more of the ideal traits of George
Washington than any other man of the century. In the
midst of heated congressional debate, he always sits calm
and self-poised. In the familiar relations of home-life,
in a crowded boarding-house, where I have known him
month after month (he presiding at the table next our
own), I doubt if any one has ever seen a flaw in his
character. You will, perhaps, remember that I told you,
in connection with Mrs. Wheeler's obsequies, that Ran-
daU stood by with tears in his eyes, and that Senators
Conkling and Kernan, by thefr special request, were
placed upon the list of pall-bearers. I never knew a
man more thoroughly unambitious of office than he, or
more adverse to ordinary newspaper mention. It is by
the solicitation of prominent Republican friends that
he has consented at all to the national use of his name.
He will accept the trust as a duty, to be gravely and

OFFICIAL LIPE. 321
conscientiously undertaken ; and those who know him
best know best ho-w unsought and uncoveted it was,
yet how high is his deference for the voice and man
date of the people. If I were to recall, in detail, the
most vivid memories of the past season in connection
with himself and dear Mrs. Wheeler, it would be an
occasional after-dinner hour in Mrs. Logan's parlor,
Ustening to her kindly chat, or now and then pausing
to hear the sweet melody of those household hymns
we all love so weU, floating down from their parlor
above us, where Mrs. Wheeler would be, sitting at
some Ught, dainty feminine work, and her rich voice
would half unconsciously begin, —
' ShaU we gather at the river? '
or other kindred strain ; and Mr. Wheeler, pausing at
his busy writing-desk, would always join in -with his
deep, clear bass, giving an unconscious impression of
domestic harmony and worship that were a part of our
household riches in this great, busy caravansery, my
Washington home."
In 1873 some of the political opponents raised a
question about Mr. Wheeler's action in connection with
the increase of pay voted to themselves by members of
Congress, and afterwards known as the " Salary Grab ; "
and one of the newspapers in his district published an
article in regard to it, in which were the foUowing par
agraphs : —
" The statement is almost daily made in the newspa-

322 WILLIAM A. WHEELEE.
pers, that not a single member has placed his pay beyond
his reach and ultimate reclamation. The people of this
congressional district are concemed dfrectly only
with the action of their own representative. In order
to a full understanding of that, we have taken steps to
obtain from the treasury department information as to
the particular manner and legal effect of Mr. Wheeler's
disposition of his portion of the back-pay ; and we write
with copies of the treasury record before us. Con
gress adjourned on the fourth day of March last. After
the Appropriation BiU which gave the back-pay was
signed, and certified to the secretary of the treasury, the
question was raised by the comptroller of that depart
ment, that the appropriation was not a-vailable until the
commencement of the fiscal year, July 1, 1873. This
question was held under advisement several days, when
it was decided that the fund was immediately available.
Pending the decision of this question, Mr. Wheeler
went to Virginia, where he remained several days, and
then returned immediately home. On his way, and in
the city of New York, he wrote the following letter,
which fully explains itseff : — New Toek, March 19, 1873.
Sir, — The law passed by the late Congress for increased
compensation to members of the House of Representatives, and
other officials, gives me, for the last two years, after specified
deduction, $4,482.40. As this measure was opposed by my vote in
all its stages, it does not comport with my -views of consistency or
propriety to take the above sum to my personal use. I desire,
therefore, without giving publicity to the act, to return it to the

OFFICIAL LIFE. 323
treasury, which I do by enclosing herewith five-twenty bonds of
the United States, purchased with said funds, and assigned by me
to you for the sole purpose of cancellation, as foUows ; viz. ,
Bonds and brokers' commission on purchase. $4,412 75
Express charges  2 28
Balance  67 37
Total  $4,482 40
The balance is remitted by my check herewith. Please
acknowledge receipt, and oblige. KespectfuUy yours,
W. A. Wheelee.
Hon. William A. Eichabdson, Sec. of the Treasury,
'Wastiingion, D.G.
" To this the secretary replied as follows : —
Tkeasuet Dbpaktment, Washington, D.C,
March 22, 1873.
SiK, — Tour letter of the 19th inst., enclosing coupon bonds
of the Act of June 30, 1864, amounting to $3,800, and currency
draft for $67.37, has been received. The proceeds of bond and
draft have been covered into the general treasury of the United
States in accordance -with your -wishes. Very respectfuUy,
"W. A. KiCHAKDSON, Secretary.
Hon. W. A. Whbbleb, Malone, Franldin Co., N.Y.
" It wUl be seen from the above that there can be no
question as to the extinguishment of the legal title to
the ' back-pay ' in Mr. Wheeler's case. He drew the
money, and expended it for United States bonds, which
he assigned to the secretary of the treasury for the
' sole purpose of canceUation ; ' and the secretary says
that he has compUed with Mr. Wheeler's wishes. Un
less, therefore, the bonds can be resurrected from
ashes, and Mr. Wheeler's assignment revoked, it would

324 WILLIAM A. WHEELEE.
seem that his back-pay is pretty effectually disposed of.
We conclude with the statement, of the truth of which
we have official evidence before us, that Mr. Wheeler
was the first man to adopt this means of refunding to
the treasury what ought never to have been, under
color of law, taken from it."
At the Republican National Convention which nomi
nated Gen. Hayes of Ohio for President, the Hon.
WiUiam A. Wheeler was unanimously nominated as a
candidate for the office of Vice-President of the Umted
States. To him it came, as to Gen. Hayes, unsought
and unexpected. In accepting the nomination, he
-wrote the foUo-wing characteristic reply: —
Malone, July 15, 1876.
Hon. Edward McPherson and Others op the Committee
OP the Kepublican National Convention.
Gentlemen, — I received on the Gth inst. your com
munication, advising me that I had been unanimously
nominated by the National Convention of the RepubU
can party, held at Cincinnati on the 14th ult., for the
office of Vice-President of the United States, and re
questing my acceptance of the same, and asking my
attention to the summary of Republican doctrines con
tained in the platform adopted by the convention.
A nomination made with such unanimity implies a
confidence on the part of the convention which inspires
my profound gratittide. It is accepted with a sense
of the responsibility which may follow. If elected, I

OFFICIAL LIFE. 325
shaU endeavor to perform the duties of the office in
the fear of the Supreme Ruler, and in the interest of
the whole country.
To the summary of doctrines enumerated by the
convention I give my cordial assent. The Republican
party has intrenched in the organic law of our land the
doctrine that Uberty is the supreme unchangeable law
for every foot of American soU. It is the mission of
that painty to give fuU effect to this principle by " se
curing to every American citizen complete liberty and
exact equality in the exercise of aU civil, political,
and public rights." This -wiU be accomplished only
when the American citizen, without regard to color,
shall wear this panoply of citizenship as fully and ~as
securely in the canebrakes of Louisiana as on the
banks of the St. La-wrence.
Upon the question of our Southern relations, my
¦views were recently expressed as a member of the
Committee of the United States House of Representa
tives upon Southem Affafrs. These -views remain un
changed, and were thus expressed : —
"We of the North delude ourselves in expecting
that the masses of the South, so far behind in many
of the attributes of enUghtened improvement and civU
ization, are, in the brief period of ten or fifteen years,
to be transformed into our model Northem communi
ties. That can only come through a long coiirse of
patient waiting, to which no one now can set certain
bounds. There wUl be a good deal of unavoidable

326 WILLIAM A. WHEELEE.
friction, which -wUl caU for forbearance, and which wUl
have to be relieved by the temperate, fostering care of
the govemment. One of the most potent, if not in
dispensable, agencies in this dfreetion, will be the
debasing of some system to aid in the education of the
masses. The fact that there are whole counties in
Louisiana in which there is not a solitary schoolhouse
is fuU of suggestions. We compeUed these people to
remain in the Union ; and now duty and interest de
mand that we leave no just means untried to make
them good, loyal citizens. How to diminish the fric
tion, how to stimulate the elevation, of this portion of
our country, are problems addressing themselves to our
best and wisest statesmanship. The foundation for
these efforts must be laid so as to satisfy the South
em people that they are to have equal, exact justice
accorded to them. Give them, to the fullest extent,
every blessing which the government confers upon the
most favored. Give them no just cause for complaint,
and then hold them, by every necessary means, to an
exact, rigid observance of all their duties and obliga
tions under the Constitution and its amendments, to
secure to aU -within these borders manhood and citizen
ship, with every right thereto belonging."
The just obligations to public creditors, created
when the govemment was in the throes of threatened
dissolution, and as an indispensable condition of its sal
vation, guaranteed by the lives and blood of thousands
of its brave defenders, are to be kept with religious

OFFICIAL LIFE. 327
faith, as are all the pledges subsidiary thereto and con
firmatory thereof. In my judgment, the pledge of
Congress of Jan. 14, 1875, for the redemption of the
notes of the United States in coin, is the pUghted faith
of the nation and national honor. Simple honesty and
justice to the people, whose permanent welfare and
prosperity are dependent upon true money as the basis
of thefr pecuniary transactions, all demand the scrupu
lous observance of this pledge ; and it is the duty of
Congress to supplement it with such legislation as shaU
be necessary for its strict fulfilment.
In our system of government, intelligence must give
safety and value to the ballot. Hence the common
schools of the land should be preserved in all their
¦vigor whUe in accordance with the spfrit of the Consti
tution. They and aU their endowments should be
secured by every possible and proper guaranty against
every form of sectarian influence or control.
There should be the strictest economy in the expen
ditures of govemment, consistent with its effective
administration, and all unnecessary offices should be
abolished. Offices should be conferred only upon the
basis of high character and particular fitness, and
should be administered only as pubUc trusts, and not
for private advantage.
The foregoing are chief among the cardUial princi
ples of the RepubUcan party ; and to carry them into
full practical effect is the work it now has on hand.
To the completion of its great mission we address our-

328 WILLIAM A. WHEELEE.
selves in hope and confidence, cheered and stimulated
by the recollection of its past achievements, remember
ing that, under God, it is to that party that we are
indebted, in this centennial year of our existence, for a
preserved, unbroken Union, for the fact that there is
no master or slave throughout our broad domains, and
that emancipated millions look upon the ensign of the
Republic as the symbol of the fulfilled declaration that
aU "men are created free and equal," and the guaranty
of their own equality, under the law, with the most
highly favored citizen of the land.
To the inteUigence and conscience of aU who desfre
good government, good will, good money, and univer
sal prosperity, the Republican party, not unmindful of
the imperfections and shortcomings of human organi
zations, yet with the honest purpose of its masses
promptly to retrieve all errors, and to summarily pun
ish all offenders against the laws of the country,
confidently submits its claims for the continued support
of the American people. Respectfully,
William A. Wheelee.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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