Kr LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, 31 PT OF Class AN - BSflOVHAS SM3MVW SOUS QU01AVQ ABRAHAM LINCOLN -AND-V- EDWIN M. STANTON. A D D R E S S ^Delivered before Ijumside Jjost, JHo. 8, \ DEPARTMENT OF THE POTOMAC, G. A. R., 25, 1889, COMRADE THOMAS M. VINCENT, ASSISTANT ADJUTANT GENERAL, AND BRIGADIER GENERAL BY BREVET, u. S. A. Published by Burns ide Post, No. 8, Department of the Potomac, G. A. R., Washington, Uf. C. Copyright 1890. Commander, Comrades, and Guests of Burnside Post : Men are known by their works, and, therefore, in giving some attention this evening to events connected with Abraham Lincoln and Edwin M. Stanton, it will not be out of place to refer to some of their great labors from 1861 to 1865. George Bancroft, on a most memorable occasion, after refer ring to the prediction of a West Jersey Quaker, 120 years before, that the consequence of importing slaves would "be grievous to posterity." and the language of Patrick Henry, in 1773, that a serious view of the subject "gives a gloomy pros pect to future times," continued by quoting, in connection with efforts for emancipation and abolition, words of despair from Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and others, and rocit^d how the enslavement of the African resulted in a storm, adding: "The storm rose to a whirlwind ; who should allay its wrath ? The most experienced statesman of the country had failed ; there was no hope from those who were great in the flesh ; could relief come from one whose wisdom was like the wisdom of little children ? "The choice of America fell on a man born west of the Alle- ghenies, in the cabin of poor people of Hardin County, Kentucky Abraham Lincoln." As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy he was soon confronted with civil war, and recognized the aphorism : "The sole object of a just war is to make the enemy feel the evils of his injustice, and, by his sufferings, amend his ways ; he must, therefore, be attacked in the most accessible quarter." But in April, 1861, the Government of the United States was, for the purpose of war, paralyzed. It had not, practically, an army to maintain its authority, and was far from being able to attack the "accessible quarter" of an internal enemy, in con spiracy over an area of 733,144 square miles, connected with a shore line of 25,144 miles ; a coast line of 3,523 miles, and an interior boundary of 7,031 miles. 227182 Had the people of the United States, through Congress, been more thoughtful concerning the object of, and necessity for, the military arm, paralysis would have been avoided through the; availability of a suitable force to crush the initial of the rebel lion, and the State, in combat with its own children, would have been spared a great sacrifice of human life including that of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army arid .Navy aside from a debt of 2,718,656,173.13 incident to and arising from the war. All this independently of a pension debt, from 1861 to 1875, of 279, 79 1, 465. 36, and since then largely increased. For the coming fiscal year, alone, there will be an addition of $80,473,000. Early in the struggle the question was not : What will it cost? but, can the Government be saved, at any cost? The patient was very ill ! Commendable and essential economy was forced to disappear from the grasp of the people! The life of the patient was saved, but the doctor s bill has not yet been paid ! Nor can that bill be paid in dollars to the armies of the United States, represented now throughout the broad expanse of the land by the Grand Army of the Kepublic. Pensions have been and will be granted members of our char itable, fraternal and loyal organization, and to others, inclusive of the widow, outside of it; but however large the generosity of the people may make the amounts, the compensation will not be adequate to meet the services and attendant sufferings of the soldiers who have made it possible, in the government of 65,000,000 of people, for a President to hold his office and a Congress to enact the necessary laws, Powerless, however, as the Government then was to over come the gigantic attack on its life, there was, fortunately, a grand latent power, awaiting for its development only the demand of the national heart, ond the regular army to educate it and prepare it for service. After about seven months of preparation that power was manifested under an organization numbering 640,637 officers and enlisted men the volunteer army of the United States, with its elements of patriotism, wisdom, courage and moderation. During its organization Simon Cameron was at the head ot the Department of War, and it cannot be denied that he achieved grand and valuable results at a time when his depart ment had to encounter great embarrassments. He has said : "How difficult it was to fill the position of Secretary of War none but myself can ever know. * * It was a terrible time." The difficulty was to restrain the volunteers from exceeding the actual force required ; and while men were tendered so generously, we were unprepared for the brewing conflict and absolutely without the essentials to engage in war without guns, powder, saltpetre, bullets and other needed stores. In the recruitment of that powerful force, and its subsequent great increase, the people made great sacrifices. The Presi dent was led along by the greatness of their self- sacrificing example, and as a child, in a dark night on a rugged way, catches hold of the hand of its father for guidance and support, he clung fast to the hand of the people and moved calmly through the gloom." MOBILIZATION. In connection with the mobilization, it must be remembered that January 1st, 1861, the authorized army of the United States consisted of two regiments of dragoons, two regiments of cavalry, one regiment of mounted riflemen, four regiments of artillery, and ten regiments of infantry aggregating, present and absent, 16,402 commissioned officers and enlisted men, inclusive of the general officers and general staff. April 15th of that year it was officially promulgated by the President that revolutionary combinations existed in certain States, and 75,000 militia, for three months service, were called to suppress said combinations, and to cause the laws to be duly executed. In addition, all loyal citizens were appealed to, that they might favor, facilitate, and aid the effort to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our National Union, and the perpetuity of our popular government, and to redress wrongs already long enough endured. The President deemed it proper to add that the first service of the forces would, probably, be to repossess the forts, places and property which had been seized from the Union, and directed that in every event; consistently with the objects he had referred to, care should be taken to avoid any devastation, any destruction of, or interference with, property, or any disturbance of peaceful cit izens in any part of the country. When the President took this first decided action agaiustthe rebellion, the danger threatening the seat of government will be indicated by the following : HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, WASHINGTON, April 26, 1861. GENERAL ORDERS, ) No. 4. j I. From the known assemblage near this city of numerous hostile bodies of trooDS, it is evident that an attack upon it may soon be expected. In such an event, to meet and repel the enemy, it is necessary that some plan of harmonious co-operation should be adopted on the part of all the forces, regular or vol unteer, present for the defense of the Capital that is, for the defense of the Government, the peaceful inhabitants of the city, their property, the public buildings and public archives II. At the first moment of an attack every regiment, bat talion, squadron and independent company will promptly assem ble at its established rendezvous, (in or out of the public build ings,) ready for battle, and wait for orders. III. The piquets (or advanced guards) will stand fast till driven in by overwhelming forces ; but it is expected that those stationed to defend bridges having every advantage of position will not give way till actually pushed by the bayonet. Such obstinacy on the part of piquets so stationed is absolutely necessary to give time for the troops in the rear {o assemble at their places of rendezvous. IV. All advance guards and piquets driven in will fall back slowly to delay the advance of the enemy as much as possible, before repairing to their proper rendezvous. V. On the happening of an attack, the troops lodged in the public buildings and in the Navy Yard will remain for their defense, respectively, unless specially ordered elsewhere, with the exceptions that the 7th New York regiment and the Mas- Sactmsetts regiment will march rapidly towards the President s Square for its defense ; and the Ehode Island regiment (in the Department of the Interior) when full, will make a diversion, by detachment, to assist in the defense of the General Post Office building, if necessary. WINFIELD SCOTT. May 3d the President deemed it indispensably necessary to further augment the forces by 42,034 three-year volunteers) (39 regiments of infantry, and 1 of cavalry,) and 22,714 officers and enlisted men, regulars, (8 regiments of infantry, 1 of cav alry, and 1 of artillery,) thus making the forces, exclusive of the Navy, authorized for the protection of the National Consti tution and the preservation of the .National Union by the sup pression of the insurrectionary combinations then existing, as follows : Eegular army, (January 1, 1861,) 16,402 Militia, (April 15, 1861.,) .... 75,000 Regulars and volunteers, (May 3, 1861,) . 64,748 Total, . 156,150 The call ior militia was more than met ; 91,816 men were furnished, and the call for 40 regiments of volunteers was exceeded 71 regiments of infantry, 1 of heavy artillery, and 10 batteries of light artillery, were accepted and mustered into service before July 1st. In July the magnitude of the unlawful violence had fully dawned, and it was clearly apparent that the measures author ized for the impartial enforcement of constitutional laws, and for the speedy restoration of peace and order, had failed. Con gress assembled and authorized the President to accept 500,000 volunteers, for three years or the war. Subsequently extended latitude, as to the acceptance, was conferred in that "previous proclamation" was done away with, and the volunteers were authorized to be accepted in such numbers, from any State or States, as in his (the President s) discretion the public service might require. 6 January 15, 1862, Edwin M. Stan ton became Secretary of War, and through his stimulus the recruitment was so energet ically pressed by the people that, April 3d, 1862, the forces were deemed sufficient to overcome the rebellion. At this time, had any one said it would require 2,678,697 enlistments, from first to last, and an increase of the volunteer forces, in service at one time, to 1,034,064, in order that armed resistance to the Government might be overthrown, the assertion would have been considered as marking insanity. It will be recalled that early in 1861, an officer, with fame now world-wide, urged the calling out of 300,000 men, and more than one person alleged him to be under a visitation ot insanity a subject fit for the institution having for its object "the most humane care and enlightened curative treatment of the insane of the army." And when Simon Cameron advised that 500,000 men should be raised, the people laughed and thought he was mad. June 28th the Governors of Maine, New Hampshire, Ver mont, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Michigan, Tennessee, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin also the President of the Military Board of Kentucky requested the President to call upon the several States for such number of men as might be required to fill up all organizations in the field, and to add to the armies then organized. The request was based on a desire that the recent successes of the Federal Armies might be followed by measures which would secure the speedy restoration of the Union, and the belief, in view of the important military movements then in progress, that the time had arrived for prompt and vigorous measures, thus to speedily crush the rebellion. The decisive moment seemed near at hand, and the people were desirous to aid, promptly, in furnishing all needful reinforcements to sustain the Government. The President concurred in the wisdom of the views expressed in the request, and, July 2d, called for 300,000 men for three years. This call for volunteers was, August 4th, supplemented by one through a draft for 300,000 militia, for nine months service. January 1, 1863, the volunteer forces numbered 892,728 ; January 1, 1864, that number had been reduced to 836,101 ; but on January 1, 1865, it had been increased to 937,441, and on May 1 to 1,034,064. February 24, 1864, by act of Congress approved that date, the President was authorized, whenever he deemed it necessary during the war, to call for such number of men for the military service of the United States as the public exigencies might require. It established the will of the President as the authority for raising troops, and conferred a delicate and. mighty power. That expressed confidence in the President was a sound rebuke to those who, not much more than one year before, had in contemplation to impeach and remove him from office. From first to last 2,678,967 men were furnished, and organ ized into 1,668 regiments, 21 battalions and 504 independent companies of infantry ; 232 regiments, 9 battalions and 122 independent companies of cavalry ; and 52 regiments, 6 battal ions and 274 companies of artillery. The constant addition to the forces, of new regiments, proved a great element of weakness to the armies. As a great evil, it may here be referred to. Under every call, the first act of Governors of States was to ask for authority to raise new regiments. The desire of the War Department was to secure recruits for old regiments, and thus maintain their organizations. The Secretary of War, in order to a determined stand, secured in December, 1864, the views of the General-in-Chief and army commanders. All were in support of the opinion of the Secretary relative to the necessity of recruits for old regiments, but the pressure of the States caused all, as on former occasions, to yield, and 56 new regi ments and 129 new independent companies, under the call of December 18, 1864, were added to the list of organizations in service, in addition to 77 new regiments and 98 companies under the call of July 18, 1864. All this at a time when the Army of the Potomac, alone, required 80,000 recruits to fill its organ izations to the maximum some 400,000 would have been necessary for all the armies and when experienced and gallant Lieutenant-Colonels and other regimental officers, bearing the wounds of many battles, could not receive promotion owing to the depleted state of their commands. The subject was point edly referred to by the commander of one of the armies as follows : The raising of new regiments is a means desired to fill the quota and avoid the draft. "There is no intention, I suppose, that these new regiments should serve the United States, and their Colonels will hardly come into contact with the army. Still, if it be the intention to put these new regiments into the field, where their Colonels would have command of older and better regimental com manders, it is a question for the War Department to determine, and not mine. I must take troops as they come to me, and respect the commissions they hold." There is a record of the increase, on one occasion, of the Army of France from 200,000 to 400,000 in two months time, and had it been thought proper to inaugurate a vast system of defense, the number, it has been said, could have been raised to 700,000 in four months this under the influence of extra- ordinany expedients ; and the exertion was considered an evidence of the great energy and genius of Napoleon, as well as the military spirit of the French Nation. Marvellous results have been achived by the United States, as exemplified by what has been recorded in the foregoing, in connection with the following summary : In 2J montns in 1861 we find an average of almost 100,000 men per month placed in service; and during 5 months the average was 94,061 this without the aid of extraordinary expedients and in the face of great difficulties in army clothing and equipping. At this early period of the war the difficulties, in arming, clothing and equipping, were so great that the services of thou- sands were declined. Could arms, clothing, and equipage have been secured, it is safe to say that 1,000,000 of men could havo been placed in service within 5 months. Lincoln s adopted State, Illinois, under the calls of July 2d and August 4th, 1862, placed in service 58,689 men. Of that number over 50,000 from the farmers and .mechanics of the State were furnished within eleven days. "Animated by a common purpose, and firmly resolved on rescuing the Government (they) left their harvests uugathered, their tools on their benches, the plows m the furrows;" thus making a proud record, without a parallel in the history of the war. * Under the calls of July 2d and August 4th, 18625, there were, prior to November 21st of that year, sent into the field : 289 regiments of infantry, for 3 years ; 58 regiments of infantry, for 9 months ; 34 batteries of artillery, for 3 years ; 42 companies of cavalry, for 3 years ; and 36 companies of cavalry for 9 months. Also 50,000 recruits for old three years regiments a grand aggregate of 370 ; 349 men; an average of about 82,211 per month. Under the proposition (accepted by the President April 23d, 1864,) of the Governors of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin, to furnish 85,000 one-hundred-day troops, the Gov ernor of Stan ton s native State, Ohio, in response to the War Department call of May 1st, ordered the contribution of the State to rendezvous in the various counties, at the most eligible places, on the 2d day of May. Seven and one-half o clock p. M., the same date, reports recited 38,000 men in camp. In twelve days 36,254 men were organized into 41 regiments and 1 bat talion, mustered, clothed, armed, equipped, and ready for transportation to the field. On the 24th of May, 22 dayh from the date of rendezvous, the 42 regiments embracing the force were in active service. Here it will be of interest to remember that from April 15, 10 1861, to April 28, 1865, a period of about 48 consecutive months, there was supplied a monthly average, for the Union and Confederate armies, of 75,000 men, a large army in itself. Considering the increase in the population ol the United States since the rebellion, a sound and instructive deduction can be made relative to ihe pit-sent military power of our now united country. DISBANDMENT. The orders for musters-out, issued on and subsequent to April 29, 1860, brought gladness to many hearts, and the gallant men who had, after a vast sacrifice of life and health, caused peace to dawn, were anxious to pass from the army to civil life, which they did a so quietly that it was scarcely known save by the welcome to their homes." The soldiers and the people were tiivd of war. For with truth IIMS it been said, that "in six hundred and twenty-five battles and severe skirmishes blood flowed like water. It streamed over the grassy plains; it stained the rocks; the under growth of the forest was red with it; and the armies marched on with majestic courage from one conflict to another, knowing that they w^re fighting for GOD and Liberty." The rapidity with which the work of disbandment was exe cuted will be apparent from the fact that, to August -7th, 640, 806 troops had been mustered out; August 22d, 719,338; September 14th, 741,107; October 15th, 785,205; November 15th, 800,963; January 20th, 1866, 918,733; February loth, 952,452; March 10th, 967,887; May 1st, 986 ; 782; June 30th, 1,010,670; November 1st, 1,023,021 leaving then in service 11,043 volunteers, colored and white. The command of Sherman (Army of the Tennessee and Army of Georgia) ;md the Arrny of the Potomac were the first to complete their musters-out, entirely. Regiments commenced leaving Sherman s command, then numbering, present and absent, 116,183 officers and men, from the rendezvous, near Washington on the 29th of May, and on the 1st of August the last one of the regiments mustered out left Louisville, 11 Kentucky, to which point the command (after the musters out therefrom were partly completed) was transferred, and the ar mies composing it merged into one, the Army of the Tennessee. The work of mustering out the troops was not continuous it was interrupted and delayed by the transier of the two armies from Washington to Louisville, and their subsequent consolidation. liegiments commenced leaving the Army of the Potomac (numbering, including the 9th Corps, 161,851 officers and men, present and abs -nt) from the rendezvous near Washington on the 29th of May, and about six weeks thereafter (July 19th) the last regiment started tor home. During the interval, the work, like that oi Sherman s command, was not continuous. It was interrupted and delayed by the movement of the 6th Corps from Danville, Virginia, to Washington, and the consol idation, by orders of June 28th, of the remaining portion of the army into a provisional corps, numbering present and absent, 22,699 officers and men. Thus, for the two commands in question, and between the 29th of May and the 1st of August (two months) 279,034 offi cers and men, present and absent, were mustered out and placed en route to their homes. Including the other armies and departments, the number was increased by August 7th (two months and seven days) to 640. 806 officers and men. Had it been possible to spare all the volunteers, the entire number, 1,034,064 could easily have been disbanded and re turned to their homes within three months from the date (May 29th, 1865,) the movement homeward commenced. In Macauley s England, we find the following relative to the disbandment of Cromwell s army: "The troops were now to be disbanded. Fifty thousand men accostomed to the profession of arms were at once thrown on the world ; and experience seemed to warrant the belief that this change would produce much misery and crime, that the discharged veterans would be seen begging in every street, or would be driven by hunger to pillage. But no such result fol- 12 tower!. In a few months there remained not a trace indicating that the most formidable army in the world had just been ab sorbed into the mass of the community. The royalists them selves confessed that in every department of honest industry the discharged warriors prospered beyond other men, and that none was charged with any theft, or robbery, that none was heard to ask an alms, and that, if a baker, a mason, or a wagoner, attracted notice by his diligence and sobriety, he was in all probability one of Oliver s old soldiers." A greater eulogy was won by the magnificent volunteer army of the United States, aggregating more than 1,000,000 men, a force more than twenty times the size of that referred to by the English historian. When the time for disban dment had arrived, Governors of States and other distinguished men all having deeply at heart the good of the country were apprehensive that so great a force, suddenly released from military restraint and employment would create disturbance throughout the country. The Sec retary of War was requested to provide troops to maintain order. He did not view the fears of others as well founded, and made reply, in substance: that "if we could not trust the soldiers who had subdued the rebellion, we might as well yield the life of the republic. He acted in accordance with his views, and beyond sending troops to take care of the depots wherein was stored the public property, turned over by the volunteers to the respective supply departments, precautions against disturbance were not taken. MOVEMENTS OF TROOPS LONG DISTANCES WITHIN SHOUT PERIODS OF TIME. 1. The transfer in 1863, by rail, of the 12th Army Corps, the command aggregating 23,000 men accompanied by its artillery, trains, animals and baggage from the Rapid an, in Virginia, to Stevenson in Alabama, a distance of 1,192 miles in seven days, crossing the Ohio river twice. 2. The transfer of the 23d Army Corps, 15,000 strong, with its artillery, trains, animals and baggage, from Clifton, Tennes- 13 See, via the Tennessee and Ohio rivers, and Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, to the Potomac, in eleven days distance 1,400 miles. This movement commenced January 15th, 1865, within five days after the movement had been determined upon in Washington. It was continued by water, to North Carolina, where, early in February, Wilmington was captured. March 22d, when the right wing of Sherman s army reached Golds- born, it found there the corps, which. a short time prior had been encamped on the Tennessee. The movement was much impeded by sovere weather rivers were blocked with ice, and railroads rendered hazardous by frost and snow. 3. The transfer, by water, of the 16th Army Corp?, from Eastport, Tennessee to New Orleans. The entire command, including a brigade of Artillery and a division of Cavalry, con sisted of 17,314 men; 1,038 horses; 2, 731 mules; 351 wagons, and 83 ambulances. Three days were required to embark it on 40 steamers. The fleet sailed on the 9th of February, 1865, and the command arrived at New Orleans on the 23d a distance of 1,330 miles in 13 days. 4. The transfer, by sea, from City Point, Virginia, to Texas, of the 25th Army Corps, 25,000 strong, with its artillery, am munition, ambulances, wagons, harness, subsistence, and 2,000 horses and mules. The embarkation took place between May 26th and June 17th, 1865 and the debarkation, at Brazos Santiago, between June 13th and 26th. The movement required a fleet of 57 ocean steamers ; entire tonage 56,987 tons. All of the vessels were provided tor a 12 days voyage 947 tons of coal and 50, 000 gallons of water were consumed daily. While this expedition was afloat, other movements by sea, in steam transports, aggregated more than 10,000 men, inclusive of 3,000 Confederate prisoners pent from Point Lookout to Mobile. Therefore there were more than 35,000 troops and prisoners afloat on the ocean at the same time. 5. From November 1st, 1863, to October 31st, 1864 one 14 year 626,126 men were forwarded to the field, and 268,114 were returned to their homes on furlough and for discharge ; making the aggregate of the movements 887,240 embracing independently of recruits, 495 regiments and 119 batteries and companies. The following year the aggregate was 1,064,080, distributed to 1,126 regiments, 241 batteries and 369 companies. SUPPLYING THE ARMIES. The Army of Sherman embracing 100,000 men and 60,000 animals was furnished with supplies from a ba :-e three hundred and sixty (360) miles distant, by one single-track railroad, located mainly in ihe country of an active enemy. The effort taxed and measured forethought, energy, patience and watch - fulness, and is a most instructive lesson. The line was main tained for months, until Atlanta was secured, and supplies for a new campaign had been placed there. The army then moved southeast, through Georgia, accom panied by thousands of beef cattle, and trains embracing 3.000 wagons filled with war supplies arid material. After the capture of Savannah, the command was promptly met at thrt place by a great fleet, conveying clothing, tentage, subsistence for soldiers and animals, wagons, harness, ammu nition, and all else necessary for the march or in camp. The necessary supplies were again in readiness at Kinston and Groldsboro, through the agency of railroads constructed to those places from Wilmington and Morehead City each of the two roads being 95 miles in length. While the foregoing was being accomplished, other large ar mies in the east and west, were as promptly and energetically supplied in all their wants. During the fiscal year ending June 30th, 1865, the demands for water transportation alone, required a fleet of 719 vessels, (351, steamers, 111 steam tugs, 89 sail vessels, 168 barges.) MILITARY RAILROADS. The President, by the act of January 1st, 1862, (General Order No. 10, Adjutant General s Office of that year,) was 15 authorized to take military possession of all the railroads in th^ United States; but it was not found necessary to exercise the authority over any of the roads outside the limits of the insur gent States. "The military railroad organization, (under a Director and General Manager funds for its support being supplied by the Quartermaster s Department,) was designed to be a great con struction and transportation machine for carrying out the objects of the commanding generals, so far as it was adapted to the purpose, and it was managed solely with a view to efficacy in that direction. It was the duty of the Quartermaster s Department to lend ail the material upon the cars, to direct where such material should be taken, and to whom delivered. It then became the province of the railroad department to com ply with said order in the shortest practicable time, and to perfect such arrangements as would enable it to keep the lines in repair under any and all circumstances." Among the wonders connected with military railroad con struction were : The Chattahoochee bridge, seven hundred and eighty (780) feet long and ninety-two (92) feet high, which was completely built in 4J days by 600 men. The Etow^ah bridge, six hundred and twenty-five (625) feet long, seventy-five (75) feet high, was burned, and rebuilt by the labor of six hundred (600) men of the construction corps in six (6) days. In October, 1864, Hood s army reached the rear of Sher man s forces, first at Big Shanty, afterwards north of Kesaca, destroying, in the aggregate, 35J- miles of track and 455 lineal feet of bridges. 25 miles of track and 230 feet of bridges were reconstructed and trains were run over the distance in 7J- days. In 13 days after Hood left the line trains were running over the entire length. Numerous other wonderful efforts are of record, but the fore going are sufficient to illustrate the speed with which the con struction corps operated. Commanders had such confidence in it that, in advancing, they were confident that the railroads in 16 their rear would not fail to meet the wants of their commands. This confidence was most important in connection with lines of operations lengthened in depth, and resulted from the knowledge that "none of the humanly possible precautions for basing an army had been neglected. OTHER LOGISTICAL MEASURES INDICATING THE SCIENCE OF THE STAFF. The Adjutant General s Department and the Bureau of the Provost Marshal-General had to do with supplying men for the armies ; the results, in part, involving the personnel, have been made apparent fiom what has been recited. The former, in addition, was charged, during the entire war, with the organi zation and disbandment of the forces. The recruitment of white volunteers was under the exclusive control of the Adjutant General s Department from, the first call for troops until May, 1863, when it was placed under the Provost Marshal General, to whom, by law, was confided the enrollment and draft, and thereby the entire recruiting service for white troops was placed under one head, and a great reduc tion made in the expenses of recruitment, through the more rigid control secured by the enrollment act. The Adjutant General s Department had charge of ihe recruitment of colored troops, and the re-enlistment of the vet eran volunteers in the field. The plan for the recruitment of the 126,000 veterans, who received the thanks of Congress, was devised and prepared by the Provost Marshal General, and relative thereto Stanton has said: "I know of no operation connected with the recruitment of the army which has resulted in more advantage to the service than the one referred to." The Departments of the Adjutant General and Provost Mar shal General recruited, respectively, 1,515,264 and 1,120,621 men. Involving the material, through the supply departments, we find that during the whole war, there was no failure of opera tions through lack of transportation or the supplies required of the Quartermaster s Department. Its vast and varied stores 17 h;irl not only to be ready at numerous and widely extended points, when needed, but it had to transport to all points, there to be in readiness at the proper time, the extensive quantities of prDvisions, medical and hospital stores, arms and ammunition provided by the other supply departments. The Army mule, for the purposes of the draft behaved nobly, and bore the conscription without being able to express a desire to furnish a substitute. On his roll oi honor we find 450,000 serving in the various armies. 650,000 horses joined the ranks ; and the third year of the war the field armies require 1 for the cavalry, artillery and trains, one-half as mary animals as there were soldiers. As the mules and horses had, as a general thing, to labor away from water and rail lines they gave but little attention to the mechanical manoeuvres of 719 steam and sail vessels in service at one time during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1865, and the 419 engines and 6,330 cars employed during the war. The soldier necessarily preferred the mail for his correspond ence ; he did not confine himself to a single line, and, as a result, the 1,000,000,000 telegrams trasmitted by the military telegraph were mostly on official business. Good and wholesome rations were uniformly supplied by the subsistence department, and there was not a campaign, expe dition or movement that failed on account of the inability of the department to meet all proper requirements. It is true that, generally, the bread was rather hard, yet, nevertheless, it was tackled and freely consumed. The Medical Department made ample provisions for the sick ind wounded from the first. Aside from the vast accommoda tions elsewhere, Sherman s army found at Savannah four first- class sea steamers, complete in all respects as hospital trans ports, with extra supplies for 5,000 beds, had it been necessary to establish large hospitals on his line of operations. Complaint was never made as to a shortage of medicine ; generally it was found that the supply exceeded any demand based on the soldiers " taste. 18 The Government had an abundance of money wherewith to- nieet its sacred obligations, and the Pay Department kept its- pledge "to make prompt payments in the shortest practicable lime." When the war commenced the Government was forced to obtain from foreign countries almost the entire supply of arms and ammunitions, but in 1863 the Ordnance Department became independent through home resources, both for the manufactured articles and the material composing them. Aside from contributing to the command of armies, the offi cers of the Corps of Engineers were charged with important labors in connection with the dei enses of Washington and other places ; the reconnoisance of positions held by the enemy ; the investment of cities and towns ; the fortilying of important points on railroads ; the construction of offensive and defensive fortifications necessary to the march of large armies ; the manoeuvring of pontoon trains ; surveys for the armies in the field, and the seacoast and lake dei enses. The ability and efficiency of its officers were notably illus trated in the construction of the pontoon bridge (exclusive of 200 feet of trestle work) over 2,000 feet long the main part in deep water, in some places 85 feet across the James Kiver above Fort Powhatan, by 450 men in five hours, between 5 and 10 o clock p. M., June 15, 1864. Over this single irail struc ture passe; I mainly in forty hours the army, about 100,000 men under Grant, with cavalry, artillery and infantry, and trains embracing about 5,000 wagons, besides 3,000 beef cattle, without an accident to an individual man or animal. This movement, one of the most important on record, took place during the fifth epoch of the grand campaign, from the Rapidan to the James, which ripened May 4th, 1864. The passage, in all its attending circumstances, may well stand forth brilliantly If it does not surpass, it will compare favorably with the passage of the Danube, before Wagram, by 150,000 of Napoleon s forces, through the agency of three 19 bridges in all 1,360 feet thrown over an arm of that river 140 yards wide. The Signal Service was particularly valuable in observing and reporting the changes and movements of the enemy, and connecting the army and navy when employed in combined oper ations, thus enabling the two branches of the service to act as a unit. Oftentimes the services were of vital importance by furnishing information that could not hav* been had otherwise, notably as referred to by Sherman, as follows : "When the enemy had cut our wires and actually made lodgement on our railroad about Big Shanty, the signal officers on Vining s Hill, Kenesaw, and Altoona, sent my orders to Gen eral Corse, at Rome, whereby General Corse was enabled to reach Altoona just in time to defend it. Had it not been for the services of this corps on that occasion, I am satisfied we should have lost the garrison at Altoona, and a most valuable deposi tory of provisions there, which was worth to us more than the aggregate expense of the whole signal corps for one year. " Again, the late Brigadier General Myer, as Chief Signal Officer, has said : "The officers of the Signal Corps opened the first direct com munication from the Upper to the Lower Mississippi, when Rear Admiral Farragut, running past the batteries of Port Hudson, found himself, after the perilous passage, cut off above that fortress from the vessels of his fleet which could not follow him, and were lying in the stream below. "There is not, perhaps, on record, a feat of aerial telegraphy such as that thus and then performed, when from the topmast of the flagship of the Admiral, lying above the fort, messages were regularly transmitted past^the guns of the fortress to a station on the mast-top of the war vessel Richmond, fi^e or six miles below." STANTON. It has been said that Stanton dominated the President to the extent of disregarding orders and. instructions. While he ever readily considered Stanton s advice, I had frequent opportu nities of observing that the President was the controlling power, the master as was his wont to say. I well remember an 20 order given atone time which the Secretary deemed based upon misconception. I was instructed to take the case to the President and invite his consideration to its prominent points. On reach ing the Executive Mansion I found the President in the reception room surrounded by a large number of persons. He immediately recoi>;nized me, stepped forward and conducted me into the most retired corner of the room. .4-fter I had stated the object of my visit, he said : Stanton is careful and may be right. I was very busy when I examined the case, but I will take the papers, re-examine, and by four o clock this afternoon send them by mes senger to your office. Before the hour indicated, the papers were in my hands. The President had revoked his order an~l affirmed the decision of the Secretary. The case is illustrative of the official relations .between the two great men. The allegation that Stan ton s death was the result of a self- inflicted wound is refuted, abundantly, by the letter from Sur geon-General Barnes, dated April 16, 1879, to the editor of the Philadelphia Press ; but I may here state that after Stan- ton s death I often saw his body, and, frequently, was very near it, and I remained at the house for the main portion of the night preceding the interment of the remains ; consequently I was in a position to have noticed self-inflicted injury had there been any. To a private soldier I have known him to give audience when his leisure WHS so pressed as to cause an interview with officers of high rank to be refused, and yet the warmth of his heart, as attested by the War Department records, was found going out at all times, through measures calculated to enhance the com fort and protect the interests of the members officers and men of the armies of the Union. His devotion to" the public welfare was such as to find him at his desk, not only during the day, but at night until near the dawn not satisfied to go to his home for needed rest until the most that could be had been accomplished. And when really ill during many nights of prolonged labor, a devoted and entreat ing wife, who had come injrthe hours of morning to accompany 21 him from his office, often failed to break the vigil devoted to the public interest. Often, at midnight, I have found myself with important papers before him for consideration, the labors of the day having so pressed him as to prevent his necessary action during the usual hours of duty ; and on more than one occasion did he fall asleep before I had finished, so great was his fatigue. The great strain eventually did its work, and at times he had, from illness, to remain at his house. On one of these occasions his old-time friend, Governor Brough, of Ohio, telegraphed to me to know Mr. Stanton s condition. I went to his house, and, after reading the telegram, he said he would answer it himself, and attempted to do so ; but his great strength had so far weakened that he could not wield the pen, and, with tremulous voice and tearful eyes, he bade me make the necessary reply. Endowed with greatness of intellect, coupled with super human energy and industry, he was eminently gifted in dis patching public affairs. While strictly honest, he was so blindly devoted to the cause of the Union, and so rigid in the view, that self-preservation was paramount to all other consid erations, that before him justice, at times, seemed powerless, and personal rights passed for trifles. But in spite of elements of his character which stand not approved, he stood well forward as to that, impersonal life which is the fullest definition, as well as the truest test, alike of goodness and greatness," and his great ability and the force of his will made him eminently successful in the high office of War Minister when treason and rebellion were abroad. It has been well said that his training, as an advocate, so strengthened his devotion to a cause when adopted, that even if he had not loved the cause of the Union he would have labored for it intensely because he was retained in it. With his qualifica tions and the delegation of almost unbounded military authority, he was the right arm of the Executive of the Nation "in smiting treason and rebellion and re-establishing the foundation of the Government." 22 His genius as a ruler and organizer, and ability to reach grand results with vigor and masterly skill, are found in the public archives, endurably recorded. Cameron said of Stan ton in June, 1878 : "He was a great, big, brave, loyal man ; perhaps too harsh and quick-tempered in his treatment of those around him, but, nevertheless, a thor oughly good and well-meaning man. He had terrible respon sibilities which at times cause him to be exacting almost to the very verge of injustice, but I am sure that he always intended to do right, and there is no doubt he was in every way the man best fitted for the place in the Government which he was called upon to fill. He was a man ot wonderful strength, not only of mind but of body, yet even he gave way under the constant, the never-ending strain which was put, upon all his faculties. His death was hastened by, if not the direct result of, overwork in the War Department." LINCOLN. It was a frequent thing for the President to visit my office, thus to obtain direct information. He was particularly inter ested in the success of the recruitment, and for his own conve nience he personally tabulated the daily telegraphic reports on a slip of paper. After he had made the necessary record, he would roll tiie slip around a short lead pencil and place it in his vest pocket from which he would take it during the ensuing visit. If the number of men obtained was satisfactory he would sit for a brief time conversing brightly ; but if otherwise, the enlarged furrows of care on his face would indicate the sadness of his disappointment, and, without a word, he would depart. These interviews indicated his great simplicity of character; but, withal, there was ever with him the marked dignity of a noble manhood. Soon after the act of July 17, 1862, authorizing persons of African descent to be received into the service of the United States, and before the President had decided fully what he would do under It, but ajj^i date when tho good results that 23 would follow the enactment were obvious to him, he received an application it may have, been from a Mr. Black or a Mr. Brown to raise a regiment. In his characteristic way he endorsed the application: "Referred to the Secretary of War. This gentleman wishes to engage in the ebony trade. A. Lincoln." After the colored troops had won their reputation when it was recognized that their colors were guarded with as much patriotic care as though lalismanic virtues clustered around them he said that their employment was one of the greatest blows dealt to the rebellion, and, in hoping that peace would oon be permanent, added : "Then will there be some black men who can remember that they have helped to this great consummation." Commencing with Milliken s Bend, June 7th, 1863 7 General Grant frequently complimented the colored troops, mucii to the President s gratification. The President, on one occasion, in defining the franchise, said that some of the colored people "might be let in" "they would probably help, ir- some trying time to come, to keep the jewel of liberty in the family of freedom." Hallam, when writing of Charlemagne, and the epoch made by that great Emperor in the history of the world, by advancing civilization and regenerating Western Europe, used words which may be applied to Lincoln : His sceptre was as the bow of Ulysses which could not be drawn by a weaker hand. He stood alone, like a beacon upon a waste, or a rock in the broad ocean. Plis deeds have cast a luster around his head, and testify the greatness that has umbodi- d itself in his name. THE CLOSING HOURS. April 14, 1865, I had, about ten o clock p. M., returned from the War Department to my house, and very soon thereafter was informed by a cousin of Mrs. Lincoln Dr. Lyman Beecher Todd 7 of Lexington, Kentucky that the President had been assas sinated, and the members of his cabinet attacked I at once hurried to the house of the Secretary of War, and there found 24 the family greatly alarmed and excited ; but the Secretary, just prior to my arrival, had started for Mr. Seward s residence. I followed and there learned that he had gone to the scene of the tragedy on 10th street; on reaching: the latter place I found him at the house to which the President had been taken irom Ford s Theatre. I remained there, near the Secretary, and at his request, during the night. About 1.30 P. M., he said that the wound was mortal; that the President was then dying, and that it was not probable he would live through the night. He was greatly saddened and referred to the change of scene from that at the Cabinet meeting, a few hours before, at which General Grant was present, when the state of the country and the prospect of a speedy peace were discussed. He stated that the President during the meeting was hopeful and very cheerful, and had spoken kindly of General Lee and others of the Confederacy. He informed me that it would be necessary to stand prepared to communicate the Pres ident s death to the Vice-President, and soon thereaiter, handed me the rough draft of the formal notification from which I pre pared a fair copy, and held it until after the President s death ; which was officially announced at 7.55 A. M., April 15, by a telegram from the Secretary to Major General Dix, as follows : "Abraham Lincoln died this morning at twenty-two minutes after 7 o clock." The notification to the Vice President was duly signed and communicated, as recited in a subsequent telegram, as follows: Official notice of the death of the late President, Abraham Lincoln, was given by the Heads of Departments this morning to Andrew Johnson, Vice-President, upon whom the Constitu tion devolved the office of President, Mr. Johnson, upon receiving this notice, appeared before the Honorable Salmon P. Chase, Chief Justice of the United States, and took the oath of office as President of the United States, and assumed its duties and functions." The death-bed scenes were harrowing in the extreme. Sur rounding and near the illustrious one, who was insensible from 25 the first, in consequence of his mortal wound, from which his life s blood was oozing, were the sobbing, grief-stricken wife, all the members of the Cabinet save Mr. Seward, and others in civil and military circles. As the sure approach of death was noticed, the deep sad gloom increased, and, at the solemn moment, it seemed that it had extended to Heaven to be from there promulgated back to Earth through the agency of deep sable clouds. The attendant drops of rain seemed to have been sent to mingle, sorrowfully, with the tears of the Nation. Soon after- 8 o clock the devoted War Minister had ordered all to be arranged for the removal of the body to the Executive Mansion, and then left me, as his representative, until after the transfer should take place. It was about this time that, after pressing and smoothing the eyes of the dead President, I placed coins on them to close them for a last long slumber. "Softly heroic the life had been all through"; and he who had loved and served his country so well, was, at the final instant, sealed for preservation in that repository of abundance- the love of his countrymen. To quote again from Bancroft s fitting words: "Where in the history of nations, had a Chief Magistrate possessed more sources of consolation and joy than Lincoln ? His countrymen had shown their love by choosing him to a second term of service. The raging war that had divided the country had lulled, and private grief was hushed by the grand eur of the result. The nation had its new birth of- freedom, soon to be secured forever by an amendment to the constitution. His persistent gentleness had conquered for him a kindlier feeling on the part of the South. His scoffers among the gran dees of Europe began to do him honor. The laboring classes everywhere saw in his advancement their own. All peoples sent him their benedictions. And at this moment of the height of his fame, to which his humility and modesty added charms, he fell by the hand of an assassin; and the only triumph awarded him was the march to the grave. ******** Not in vain has LINCOLN lived, for he has helped to make this republic an example of Justice, with no caste but the caste 26 led * our armies * * did of humanity. * * * The heroes who and ships into battle and fell in the service, not die in vain; they, and the myriads of nameless martyrs, and he, the chief martyr, gave up their lives willingly, that gov ernment of the people, by the people, and Tor the people, shall not perish from the earth. THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY WILL INCREASE TO SO CENTS ON THE FOURTH DAY AND TO $1.OO ON THE SEVENTH DAY OVERDUE. v 1933 OCT 31 1946 MAR 1 1266 10MV56Kf 6 J956 INTER LIBRARY LOAN Ov! MONTH AFTER RECEIPT NON-RENEWABLJE AUG 1 9 1959 LD 21-50m-l, 33 .$> UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY