GIFT OF 
 JANE K.SATHBR 
 
TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 A DISPASSIONATE SURVEY OF 
 
 PRESIDENT BUCHANAN S ADMINISTRATION, 
 
 FROM 1860 TO ITS CLOSE. 
 
 INCLUDING 
 
 A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR, EIGHT LETTERS 
 
 FROM MR. BUCHANAN NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED, AND 
 
 NUMEROUS MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES. 
 
 BY 
 
 HORATIO KING, 
 
 EX-POSTMASTER-GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. 
 
 1895. 
 
COPYRIGHT, 1895, 
 
 BY 
 HORATIO C. KING. 
 
 ELECTROTYPED AND PRINTED BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA, U.S.A. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH . 7 
 
 PART I. 
 
 CHAPTEK I. 
 
 The Tide of Secession on the Election of Abraham Lincoln ; Pointed 
 Correspondence ; Fearful Forebodings 23 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Letter of President Buchanan to Royal Phelps, Esq., of New York . . ^45 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Answer to Hon. J. D. Ashmore, M. C., of South Carolina, asking if he 
 could frank Public Documents, now that his State had " seceded" . . 48 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A Frank Answer to Hon. A. G. Jenkins, Member of Congress from 
 Virginia, asking why a Route Agent in his District was removed . . 49 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 The Peace Convention in 1861 52 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Beauregard s removal from West Point ; Senator Slidell s Anger ... 55 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Governor s Grievance ; an Amusing Anecdote 58 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Letter to Nathaniel Mitchell, on the Wickedness of the Rebellion, etc. 60 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Address in Oxford and Paris, Maine, in August, 1862, on the Folly of 
 Secession ; Denunciation of Rebel Sympathizers, etc 72 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Reminiscences of the Early Stages of the Rebellion 85 
 
 823229 
 
. CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. PAGE 
 
 Why was not the Rebellion crushed at the Start? 104 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 President Buchanan s Views on the Right of Secession and of Coercion 
 as applied to a State ; his Forbearance ; his Letter on the Assassina 
 tion of Lincoln, etc 130 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Letter to Rev. G. M. P. King, on the Progress of the War ; the Hand 
 of God plainly visible in it. General Holt s Comments 143 
 
 CHAPTER XI Y. 
 
 President Buchanan s Record ; Testimony of Judge Black and General 
 Holt ; General Dix s Famous Despatch, " Shoot him on the Spot" . 151 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Genesis of the Civil War; Action of the Government in relation to 
 FortSumter; full History 154 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 How General John A. Dix came to be Secretary of the Treasury . . . 186 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 The Stolen Arms Investigation ; Letter of Ex-President Buchanan . . 192 
 
 PART II. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Letters from ex-President Buchanan never before published . . . . f 202 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Hon. Robert C. Winthrop and the Washington National Monument . 209 
 
 PART III. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Trent Affair ; Capture of Confederate States Commissioners, Mason 
 and Slidell ; their Imprisonment and subsequent Release ; Friendly 
 Intercession of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert 216 
 
CONTENTS. 5 
 
 CHAPTEK II. PAGE 
 
 Lincoln at Gettysburg ; his immortal Address, etc 236 
 
 CHAPTEK III. 
 Lincoln and McClellan 241 
 
 CHAPTEK IV. 
 
 President Buchanan s Vist to Col. Thos. H. Benton on his Death-bed . 243 
 
 CHAPTEK V. 
 
 Assassination of President Lincoln ; Terrible Commotion ; Trial and 
 Conviction of Mrs. Surratt and others 256 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 General Holt and the Conspirators ; his Complete Vindication against the 
 vile Slanders of his Enemies 269 
 
 CHAPTEK VII. 
 
 Account of the Bursting of the "Peacemaker" on the Potomac near 
 "Washington ; Two Members of the Cabinet and other distinguished 
 Gentlemen killed 278 
 
 CHAPTEK VIII. 
 
 My First and Last Sight of President Lincoln V 282 
 
 CHAPTEK IX. 
 
 The Duel between Jonathan Cilley, of Maine, and "William J. Graves, 
 of Kentucky, both Members of Congress ; Death of Mr. Cilley ; In 
 dignation of the People . . 287 
 
 CHAPTEK X. 
 
 Narrative of the Battle of Bladensburg and Burning of the Capitol and 
 President s House, etc 316 
 
 CHAPTEK XI. 
 
 The "Bladensburg Kaces," a humorous Ballad 343 
 
 CHAPTEK XII. 
 
 Comments on the Narrative by George K. Gleig, retired Chaplain- 
 General of the British Army, in his Ninetieth Year, who was a 
 participant in the Battle 347 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 History of the Official " Penalty Envelope" 350 
 
6 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. PAGE 
 
 An Hour with Daniel Webster ; Specimens of his Poetry ; his Last 
 Sickness and Death 352 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Visit to Sir Rowland Hill ; Origin of Penny Postage 366 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Incidents in the Life of Sir "Walter Raleigh ; did he destroy the Second 
 Part of his History of the World ?..... 370 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 The Star-spangled Banner ; how this patriotic Song came to he written 374 
 
 PART IV. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Employment Necessary to Happiness a Farm Poem 377 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Life : a Poem on its Mystery 386 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Poetry an Inspiration 388 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Crossing the Ocean ; original Ocean Hymns 390 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Tarleton Raid, and how Thomas Jefferson " saved his Bacon" . . 394 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Army Poem. Apostrophe to the Flag 398 
 
 PART V. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Biographical Sketch of Queen Victoria 402 
 
 Letter from Sir Julian Pauncefote, British Ambassador 419 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 
 
 OF 
 
 HORATIO KING. 
 
 FOR one who has loved, admired, and revered the subject 
 of this sketch from earliest recollection, to write a brief 
 biography without prejudice is not an easy matter. His 
 life for more than fourscore years has been without spot or 
 blemish in my sight, and, to avoid the appearance of undue 
 partiality, I shall rely mainly upon the comments of those 
 who knew him well and intimately, although not connected 
 with him by ties of consanguinity. 
 
 Horatio King was the son of Samuel and Sally (Hall) 
 King, and was born in Paris, Maine, June 21, 1811. His 
 father was a farmer and emigrated from Massachusetts. His 
 grandfather was George King, of Raynham, in the State 
 last named, who, with his three brothers, served in the 
 war for independence. George was orderly-sergeant and 
 clerk of the Eaynham Company, and one of his brothers fell 
 in the war. Like most of the old and patriotic stock of the 
 Revolution and their immediate descendants, these ancestral 
 relatives of his were stanchly Democratic, which may, so 
 far as early impressions go, account for Mr. King s political 
 orthodoxy. Like most of the country-reared young men 
 of that period, he was brought up on the farm and had a 
 personal knowledge of what life upon the farm is, or rather 
 what it was at that time, for it is somewhat different now. 
 His poem herein, entitled " Employment Necessary to Hap 
 piness," may be taken as descriptive in no slight degree of 
 his farm life. 
 
 In the ordinary acceptance of that term, Mr. King was 
 
 7 
 
1 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 
 
 not liberally educated, though he supplemented by careful 
 study and voluminous reading and research the education 
 which the common schools afforded. To a strongly practi 
 cal training he added by his own exertions unusual literary 
 culture, acquiring among other accomplishments a good 
 knowledge of the French language, which aided him 
 greatly in his subsequent official career. 
 
 The whole course of his education, meaning by that word 
 the training of mind and body to the full development of 
 their powers and usefulness, has been eminently practical. 
 For the elementary knowledge essential or highly useful 
 to every pursuit in life, such as reading, spelling, writing, 
 grammar, arithmetic, and geography, there were no better 
 schools in the world than the common schools of New 
 England; and of these, in childhood and early youth, he en 
 joyed the full benefits ; and for the useful concerns of life, a 
 knowledge of human nature, of human character, and the 
 varied transactions of human life and of our political and 
 social conditions and institutions, never to be learned or un 
 derstood in college, perhaps no one pursuit is so truly and 
 widely useful as that of the printer and newspaper editor. 
 
 At an early age, in the spring of 1829, Mr. King went into 
 the office of the Jeffersonian, a thorough Jackson Democratic 
 paper, then published in his native town, for the purpose 
 of acquiring an expert knowledge of the printing business 
 and to befit himself to conduct the paper, in case he should 
 like the business well enough to purchase the establishment. 
 After being in the office about a year he became connected 
 with the paper as one of its proprietors, and six months 
 after became sole proprietor, being then a,bout nineteen 
 years of age, employing a village lawyer, at a salary of twelve 
 York shillings a week, to assist him in editing the sheet. 
 In 1832 he cast his first vote for General Jackson, and shortly 
 afterwards assumed the entire editorial management of his 
 paper. Its files show him to have been consistent and 
 earnest in his denunciation of South Carolina nullification, 
 
HOEATIO KING. 9 
 
 and throughout General Jackson s administration the Jef- 
 fersonian firmly, consistently, and energetically supported 
 the Old Hero ; and when Mr. Van Buren was, by the refusal 
 of the Senate to confirm his nomination, recalled from Eng 
 land, where, during the recess, the President had sent him 
 as minister, the Jeffersonian was among the first papers in 
 the country to run up his name for the Presidency. 
 
 In 1833 the unfortunate division of the Democracy of 
 Maine took place, and Mr. King was induced to remove his 
 press to Portland in May of that year. The consequence 
 was a sharp family quarrel on State and local matters, wilich 
 lasted two or three years, when many of his principal com 
 petitors, with their journalists at their head, went over bodily 
 to the enemy. From first to last Mr. King has combated 
 with like zeal every scheme which looked towards disunion. 
 
 He continued to edit the Jeffersonian until 1838, when he 
 sold the paper to the Standard, which was soon after merged 
 in the Eastern Argus, and may be said to " still live" in the 
 columns of that stanch advocate of Democratic principles. 
 This terminated his professional connection with the public 
 press. 
 
 But if anything more were wanting to complete Mr. 
 King s practical education and his knowledge of business 
 and of human nature, what better school could have been 
 found than that which he enjoyed in his twenty-two years 
 connection with all the various concerns and operations 
 of the Post-Office Department? There, if anywhere, the 
 whole lesson was presented, and by a careful, diligent, and 
 intelligent observer could be thoroughly learned. And in 
 that school, as was proved by his successive promotions, 
 and especially by his eminent fitness for and usefulness in 
 the responsible and important positions which he occupied, 
 he was neither an indifferent nor an unsuccessful student. 
 Gifted with a clear head, a quick perception, and indomi 
 table industry, coupled with a firm resolution to know 
 thoroughly whatever his actual business or pursuit rendered 
 
10 BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCH OF 
 
 it necessary or desirable for him to know, and brought con 
 tinually into business contact with shrewd, active minds, 
 his business education was most complete and effectual. 
 
 In the fall of 1838, Mr. King went to Washington to look 
 for a newspaper opening, and, not finding one to his mind, 
 he, in March, 1839, accepted a clerkship at $1000 per annum 
 in the Post-Office Department, tendered him by the then 
 Postmaster-General, Amos Kendall. Thus, at the foot of 
 the ladder, he commenced that connection which proved 
 alike beneficial to the country and honorable to himself, 
 and whence he climbed, every step marked by his ability and 
 energy, to the chief position. For a series of years he was 
 corresponding clerk for New England in the Contract Office, 
 a position of considerable responsibility and requiring for 
 the proper discharge of its duties the closest application and 
 a large amount of labor. 
 
 Towards the close of 1850 commenced his connection 
 with the foreign mail service, he being at that time trans 
 ferred to a corresponding desk having that matter in charge. 
 In this connection his services were of the most beneficial 
 character, and have fully entitled him to the lasting grati 
 tude of his countrymen, from the success which, under his 
 management, attended the effort to extend and improve our 
 postal arrangements with foreign nations. In these days, 
 when lines of steamships map the ocean as lines of railroads 
 do the land, when almost every important commercial city 
 of Europe, the islands, and South America have their cor 
 responding connection with some city of our Union, who 
 ever really and essentially has improved this branch of the 
 service has conferred a benefit upon nations which not only 
 the present but future generations will fully appreciate. 
 
 Up to 1851 no postal conventions had been entered into 
 with any European governments except Great Britain and 
 Bremen ; and thus, as has been well said by another, " an 
 entirely new field was left to be explored, and one which, 
 in view of the various lines of Atlantic steamers, just then 
 
HORATIO KING. 11 
 
 projected and becoming more and more objects of interest 
 and attention, opened not only an untried field, but one of 
 vast complications and perplexities. It was to this wide 
 and interesting field of endeavor that he was invited, and 
 the results which have followed were eminently his work. 
 To his comprehensive genius and that characteristic energy 
 which he possesses in an eminent degree, the nation is pri 
 marily indebted for those splendid results which have ex 
 tended our postal arrangements to every part of the com 
 mercial world, and gone hand in hand with the rapidly 
 advancing strides which steam and lightning have taken 
 in every direction. Here Mr. King found scope for every 
 latent energy of his mind. He was obliged to familiarize 
 himself with statistics and with a vast range of inquiries 
 not heretofore made in this country. lie found the postal 
 arrangements already made with Great Britain and Bremen 
 imperfect and unsatisfactory. They were revised and im 
 proved. With regard to Bremen, he and Hon. Rudolph 
 Schleiden, the Bremen Minister, prepared articles of agree 
 ment, approved by their respective governments, by which 
 the half-ounce letter-rate was reduced from twenty cents 
 (then, 1853, the lowest rate to Europe) to ten cents, which 
 was the beginning of low postage across the Atlantic. Be 
 sides this, postal arrangements were soon in rapid succes 
 sion effected with the West Indies, with several of the South 
 American states, and with Prussia, France, Hamburg, and 
 Belgium. 
 
 O 
 
 The giving of credit for these things to the subject of 
 this sketch does not at all detract from nor depreciate the 
 merits or services of his official superiors. They are justly 
 entitled to the general credit of these important arrange 
 ments, in the same degree that the President enjoys the 
 credit of a successful administration of the affairs of the 
 government. In both cases the laborious details are 
 planned, arranged, and perfected by assistants and ad 
 visers ; yet as the responsibility mainly attaches to the 
 
12 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 
 
 head, so the general credit should follow. But this de 
 tracts no whit from the merits or the just appreciation of 
 the laborious and intelligent subordinate, who ascertains 
 facts, systematizes and arranges details, and in reality gets 
 up the entire matter, which the superior has only to ex 
 amine and sanction. In this respect Mr. King, in the work 
 of these postal arrangements, is entitled to the very highest 
 credit, as no one could have performed the duties of his 
 position with more correctness and ability. 
 
 In the spring of 1854, on the death of Major Hobbie, 
 Mr. King, without solicitation on his part, was appointed 
 by President Pierce to the office of First Assistant Post 
 master-General. To his subordinates he was considerate, 
 kind, and obliging ; requiring of them, as he should, to have 
 all the business entrusted to them speedily and properly 
 done and their work kept up, but never acting captiously 
 nor finding fault needlessly. One secret of his official 
 success was his exactitude in keeping all his business in 
 hand, his desk at the close of each day being always 
 clear of papers, and his positive requirement of his clerks 
 that everything sent to their desks should be promptly 
 attended to. It may be mentioned here, also, that he 
 never allowed his office door to be locked, never cared 
 for cards, but was always ready to receive official callers 
 whose business he was there to perform without any hin- 
 derance or embarrassment of personal introduction. 
 
 His success in dealing with so many men of all parties 
 and all positions in life without making enemies is remark 
 able. It may, perhaps, be accounted for in two ways : that 
 he had no personal interest to subserve in what was done, 
 and manifestly cared only to know and to do what was 
 right ; and that when obliged to refuse a request, he re 
 membered and put in practice the old saying, that " to 
 refuse kindly what is asked of you is itself a boon." 
 
 As a public officer Mr. King was indefatigable, and de 
 voted his whole time and all the energies of his mind and 
 
HORATIO KING. 13 
 
 body to the duties of his position. His constant endeavor 
 was to have the work of the people, so far as he was con 
 cerned, well and faithfully executed. His efforts to protect 
 the Department against fraud and loss of revenue were per 
 sistent. He especially labored to defeat all attempts to use 
 the mails without paying for the privilege in contravention 
 of the law and to the detriment of an already overburdened 
 Department. As one of the many evidences of his zeal in 
 this matter, I recall the fact of his sitting up all night and 
 laboring in the House of Representatives to secure the pas 
 sage of the law requiring prepayment of postage on letters, 
 which was actually passed at five o clock on a Sunday morn 
 ing. The law exacting prepayment by stamps on transient 
 printed matter was also drafted by him ; and no one having 
 any acquaintance with our postal affairs will need to be told 
 that this law effects a large saving to the Department, both 
 in respect to the weight of the mails and the extra amount 
 of postage received. 
 
 Few men ever had the hardihood to approach Mr. King 
 with a dishonorable proposition of any kind. The reputa 
 tion for stern integrity, and the possession of it, in a place 
 like that filled by him, are of the very highest importance ; 
 and in both respects he was entirely suited to the place. 
 His memory, too, of what occurred in the Department 
 during his connection with it was remarkable, and showed 
 that, unlike many officials, he was not satisfied with the 
 simple performance of the routine duties of his office, 
 but had an intelligent eye to the whole operations of 
 each Bureau, and a vivid and long-enduring recollection of 
 whatever took place under his own particular supervision. 
 
 ]S"or, while constantly immersed in business since the 
 early age of nineteen, had, Mr. King neglected the pur 
 suits of literature or of science, but was proficient in 
 both. Every leisure hour has always been sedulously 
 devoted to the acquirement of knowledge. 
 
 As a writer, his style is terse, simple, vigorous, and 
 
14 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 
 
 manly. His points are clear, his arguments pertinent and 
 forcible, and his language choice and chaste. 
 
 As a politician Mr. King has been always a firm, con 
 sistent, unflinching Democrat, though not ultra. He has 
 lent a willing and hearty support to every Democratic ad 
 ministration since he has been old enough to exercise the 
 privileges of a citizen. 
 
 He held the position of First Assistant Postmaster-Gen 
 eral until the 1st of January, 1861, when he became Acting 
 Postmaster-General, and on the 1st of February he was 
 nominated by President Buchanan and on the 12th con 
 firmed by the Senate as Postmaster-General, serving in that 
 capacity until the inauguration of President Lincoln and 
 the appointment of his successor, March 7, 1861. He 
 filled all these important places with fidelity and distin 
 guished ability. He was Postmaster-General when treason 
 stalked with a bold front through the streets of the national 
 capital. 
 
 As a life-long Democrat, Mr. King was loyal to the core, 
 and remained so during the entire struggle. Though ex 
 empted by the law from the performance of military duty, 
 he furnished a representative recruit, who was duly mus 
 tered in and served in the Union Army. This exhibition 
 of patriotism and public spirit received official acknowl 
 edgment from the Government. 
 
 After retiring from the Post-Office Department, he was 
 appointed, in April, 1862, one of a Board of Commissioners 
 to carry out the provisions of the Emancipation Procla 
 mation in the District of Columbia. This position was 
 tendered him by President Lincoln unsolicited, and doubt 
 less on account of his conspicuous services near the close 
 of the previous administration. 
 
 His associate commissioners were Daniel R. Goodloe and 
 Dr. John M. Brodhead, with Wm. R. Woodward as clerk 
 and B. M. Campbell as expert. Of this important work, 
 Mr. Goodloe wrote : 
 
HORATIO KING. 15 
 
 " The whole number of claims presented within the time limited by 
 law was nine hundred and sixty-six, and the number of slaves embraced 
 by them was three thousand one hundred. Of these claims, thirty-six in 
 whole and twenty- one in part were rejected as the result of our investiga 
 tions, for reasons of disloyalty or for defects in the titles. These rejected 
 claims embraced one hundred and eleven slaves, for whom compensation 
 was withheld, and, as above stated, two thousand nine hundred and eighty- 
 nine were paid for under the Act of April 16, 1862. 
 
 " In addition to these cases, thirteen other applications were made after 
 the expiration of three months, that being the time within which petitions 
 were required by the act to be presented. Under the circumstances of 
 absence and ignorance of the existence of the law, it was decided to value 
 the slaves, twenty-eight in number, embraced in these thirteen cases, and 
 recommend them to the favorable consideration of Congress. The claims 
 were all paid by special appropriations. The total number of slaves 
 paid for, therefore, was three thousand and seventeen. The twenty-eight 
 above referred to fell below the average, the award for them being only 
 $9912.50. The commissioners recommended also two or three other 
 cases to Congress, cases in which the right of the slaves to freedom 
 under the act was contested on the ground that they were here as 
 runaways. In such instances the commissioners leaned to the side of 
 freedom, but at the same time were not unwilling for the parties to have 
 the benefits of the law as loyal claimants." 
 
 The duty having been expeditiously and satisfactorily 
 completed, the commission waited upon President Lincoln. 
 " He received us," says Mr. Goodloe, " as he did every one, 
 with the frankness and cordiality of the honest and true- 
 hearted man he was. When we informed him that we had 
 finished our work, he replied that he was glad to know that 
 somebody had finished something, and that he wished his 
 work was done. After some pleasant conversation our com 
 mission retired, and adjourned sine die." 
 
 The service of the commission was limited to nine months, 
 and, on finally leaving office, Mr. King went into a quiet 
 business as an attorney before the executive departments 
 and international commissions, which he followed until about 
 twenty years ago, when he retired as far as practicable from 
 active work. Mr. King has twice made the tour of Europe, 
 first in 1867 and again in 1875-76. The latter tour was 
 
16 BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCH OF 
 
 somewhat more extended than the first, and on his return 
 he published a book, entitled " Sketches of Travel, or Twelve 
 Months in Europe." He has written much and upon a great 
 variety of topics, and has also lectured on various occasions. 
 He delivered an oration before the Union Literary Society 
 of Washington in 1841, which was published. He also origi 
 nated a series of Saturday evening literary entertainments 
 at his private residence, which became very popular. Feb 
 ruary 2, 1884, the hundredth meeting was held, and the pro 
 ceedings w r ere printed in a neat pamphlet of forty-eight pages. 
 He has for many years been a contributor to newspapers and 
 magazines on historical, political, and literary subjects, 
 some of the articles being translations from the French. 
 
 He has retained in a remarkable degree both his mental 
 and physical powers. Never idle, each day finds some new 
 and congenial work for his ready hands. During the com 
 paratively long period of freedom from professional labors, 
 he has had abundant time to cultivate the social amenities 
 prominent in his disposition. Among his numerous asso 
 ciations he has enjoyed especially the close friendship of the 
 venerable Justin S. Merrill, Senator from Vermont, and 
 Robert C. Winthrop, of Massachusetts, recently deceased. 
 Of late years, at every recurring birthday anniversary of 
 these honored gentlemen, he has been accustomed to address 
 to each some appropriate greeting in rhyme, literary waifs, 
 so to speak, of which the following are examples : 
 
 " WASHINGTON, May 12, 1886. 
 " HON. EGBERT C. WINTHROP, 
 
 " Boston, Mass. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, We read that Horace Walpole said, A careless 
 song with a little nonsense in it, now and then, does not misbecome a 
 monarch ; and some rhymer, like the present, has popularized the senti 
 ment by the trite couplet, 
 
 A little nonsense now and then 
 Is relished by the wisest men. 
 
 " I venture, therefore, to inflict on you another birthday effusion. But 
 I honestly think Lord Tennyson and I had better quit rhyming, if we 
 
HORATIO KING. 17 
 
 expect to go down to posterity with colors untarnished ! he because he 
 is evidently getting past his time, and / because I do not seem to have 
 arrived at mine ! 
 
 " With profound respect, 
 
 " Very sincerely yours, 
 
 "HoKATio KING." 
 
 "WASHINGTON, May 12, 1886. 
 DEAR MR. WINTHROP, 
 
 " Is there any fine, 
 Or other penalty, for writing rhyme ? 
 As time rolls round and brings the genial spring, 
 All Nature smiles and birds their carols sing. 
 Then why not I, a bird of passage/ too, 
 Send, greeting, some poetic notes to you ? 
 Sure I will try, in spite of sprites and gnomes, 
 If you will make it right with Lowell and Holmes I 
 Far be it from remotest thought of mine 
 Their w ell- earned reputation to outshine ! 
 But, without verse, how could I well convey 
 Congratulations on your Natal Day 
 The seventy seventh, now the 12th of May 
 The real purpose of this humble lay ? 
 Long life and happiness to THEE and THINE ! 
 Eeceive the wish sincere of ME and MINE, 
 Who come warm greetings from our hearts to bring, 
 Dear Friend, 
 
 Most truly yours, 
 
 HORATIO KING, 
 "HON BLE ROBT. C. WINTHROP, 
 
 "Boston, Mass." 
 
 And the following, addressed to his elder brother, Alonzo, 
 now deceased, on his eighty-first birthday : 
 
 " DEAR BROTHER : We are growing old, 
 
 Your hair is thin and gray ; 
 I ve passed my threescore years and ten, 
 You re eighty-one to-day. 
 2 
 
18 BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCH OF 
 
 " But, though we count our years by scores, 
 
 We reckon not by time ; 
 Our spirits, fresh and full of life, 
 Are still but in their prime. 
 
 " Methinks I see us boys again, 
 
 At work upon the farm, 
 Or, task well done, in healthful play, 
 With naught to dread or harm. 
 
 " O blessed days of youth at home, 
 
 Where all looked bright and fair, 
 And under the paternal roof 
 We felt no weight of care ! 
 
 " Mind you when we were twelve at home, 
 
 With parents, sisters three, 
 And brothers seven, in union sweet ? 
 A pleasant sight to see ! 
 
 " Oh, happy, happy days were those 
 
 When life with us was new, 
 And no dark cloud had crossed our path 
 To shadow hope s bright view. 
 
 " But in this world of ceaseless change, 
 
 How strong soe er the tie 
 Of kindred, friends, of all mankind, 
 The word is, * once to die/ 
 
 " Thus, in the course of fleeting years, 
 
 We find our little band 
 Keduced one-halfhalf here, and half 
 Gone to the spirit-land. 
 
 " Thrice happy they who wait for us 
 
 On that celestial shore ; 
 They ve entered into heavenly rest, 
 To grieve and weep no more. 
 
 " And as we near that happy land, 
 
 It is a joy to know 
 
 Dear friends stand waiting for us there, 
 Who loved us here below. 
 
HOKATIO KING. 19 
 
 " Then let us cheerful bide our time, 
 
 Nor yield to doubt or gloom : 
 The silver lining on the cloud 
 Appears beyond the tomb. 
 
 " Affectionately, 
 
 " HORATIO KING. 
 WASHINGTON, D. C., February 3, 1882." 
 
 I venture also to insert still another, addressed to Senator 
 Justin S. Morrill, on his eighty-second birthday, April 14, 
 1892. 
 
 "DEAR MR. MORRILL: 
 
 " Once more, by promise bound, I come to greet 
 You warmly on your natal day, the eighth 
 Since, self-appointed, I became, in sooth, 
 The Poet- Laureate, in MORRILL sense 
 Par excellence, if not to King or Queen, 
 At least to one of high estate and true, 
 Whose laurel wreath, entwined around his brow, 
 Is mark conclusive of his noble rank. 
 
 " FOURSCORE AND TWO ! This, surely, is a theme 
 On which to moralize in sober thought, 
 In view of life s remotest bounds, and when 
 So near must seem, to all who reach that goal, 
 The portals of the bright celestial spheres. 
 
 " Although, three years ago, in playful mood, 
 I greeted you, As Youth to Age/ the truth 
 Demands admission frank that I have come 
 So close upon your steps, I now behold 
 Your fresh-made footprints near the hither shore. 
 
 " What matters it, though eighty years, or more, 
 Crowd close upon us, if in mind and strength 
 We hold our place intact in active life ? 
 And then, what matters, when our work is done, 
 If summons sudden come to call us home ? 
 It is not death, though bearing that dread name, 
 But birth, since real life begins, not ends, 
 When darkness shrouds the silent tomb. 
 
20 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 
 
 " Doubt not ! 
 But trust implicit in a Love Divine. 
 
 " Peace, health, and joy attend you evermore. 
 " Very sincerely, 
 
 "HOKATIO KING." 
 
 For sixteen years he took great pleasure in his duties as 
 a member, and most of the time as secretary, of the "Wash 
 ington National Monument Society, and had the great sat 
 isfaction of witnessing the completion and dedication of 
 the beautiful marble obelisk, a magnificent tribute to the 
 memory of the Father of his Country. Congress, having 
 put the monument and everything concerning it under the 
 charge of the War Department, and the work allotted to 
 the Society having been accomplished, he, with other of his 
 associates, tendered their resignations. 
 
 Mr. King spends his winters in Washington, and since 
 1882, about four months each season, has resided at his sum 
 mer home in West Newton, Mass., where with his own hands 
 he has cultivated a garden and raised most of the vegetables 
 required for his own family. 
 
 On May 25, 1835, he married Ann Collins, of Portland, 
 Maine, by whom he had seven children, only three of 
 whom, Mrs. Annie A. Cole, of Washington, D. C. ; General 
 Horatio C. King, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and Henry F. King, 
 of West Newton, Mass., survive. The others died young. 
 
 His first wife died September 22, 1869, and he married, 
 February 8, 1875, Isabella G. Osborne, of Auburn, N. Y. 
 
 Mr. King s somewhat eventful life has been one of great 
 usefulness. In all the positions he has filled he has inaugu 
 rated important improvements, including, within the last 
 few years, that of the onicial " Penalty Envelope," a conve 
 nient and economical device ; and by his literary efforts he 
 has contributed much to elevate the tone of society at the 
 national capital. He is a notable example to the youth of 
 his country. Born and bred under circumstances which 
 
HORATIO KING. 21 
 
 gave him no greater advantages than are enjoyed by a large 
 majority of the young men of our Union, he has attained 
 by his own energy, industry, and perseverance an exalted 
 station, and made for himself a name and a reputation of 
 which any man may well be proud. He has succeeded 
 because he has diligently and untiringly used the means, 
 and the only sure means, to accomplish those ends. Our 
 country has its thousands and tens of thousands as richly 
 gifted by nature, and as much favored by circumstances, as 
 was the subject of this sketch, who, by pursuing the same 
 methods, may attain equally distinguished success. 
 
 HORATIO C. KING. 
 
TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 PART I. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ELECTION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 
 
 Treasonable Course of the Constitution Newspaper Correspondence of 
 ex-President Pierce, John A. Dix, Postmaster of New York, Nahum 
 Capen, Postmaster of Boston, Hon. D. S. Dickinson, and the Author, 
 with Remarks on the Loyalty of President Buchanan. 
 
 I HAVE often regretted that I did not keep a complete 
 diary of the more important events at Washington during 
 the fall and winter of 1860-61 ; but the truth is, I had not 
 the requisite time and strength to do it, so onerous were 
 the official duties then devolving upon me. I did, however, 
 find time to make some brief notes, and these, with some 
 of my private letters hastily thrown off in connection with 
 my official correspondence, serve to refresh my recollection 
 of many of the startling occurrences of that appalling epoch. 
 Many of these private notes were addressed to General Dix 
 and Mr. Capen, the postmasters of Xew York and Boston, 
 through whose kindness I obtained copies of them, those 
 from General Dix having been received about a year before 
 his death. Of others of my letters I fortunately retained 
 copies, and all, together with the answers to some of them, 
 have been shown to a few friends, who have earnestly ad 
 vised me to allow them to be published. To this I have 
 consented, hesitatingly, with the assurance that any seem- 
 
 23 
 
24 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 ing egotism will be pardoned, if not overlooked, since it is 
 apparent that I am not actuated by any selfish motive. 
 
 I have put the letters as nearly in their order of date as 
 practicable, introducing only such explanatory remarks as 
 may seem necessary to their correct understanding. 
 
 " P. O. DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D. C., 
 
 " October 16, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, . . . Politically the signs look dark. It is painful 
 to hear so many sound and conservative men give it as their decided 
 opinion that there will certainly be resistance to Lincoln s administration 
 of the government. Property holders in this district are greatly con 
 cerned. 
 
 " Very respectfully and truly yours, 
 
 " HORATIO KING. 
 "HON. JOHN A. Dix, P. M., New York." 
 
 " P. O. DEPARTMENT, November 7, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, ... I write this (on the business of the department) 
 early in the morning, before seeing hardly any one. The bright sun is 
 shining into my office window, and everything is quiet, but a weight 
 presses on my heart which I never felt so sensibly before all foreboding 
 breakers ahead/ 
 
 " Very respectfully and truly, 
 
 "HORATIO KING. 
 " HON. JOHN A. Dix, New York." 
 
 "P. O. DEPARTMENT, APPT. OFFICE, 
 
 "November?, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, As indicating how I feel to-day, I take the liberty 
 of enclosing a copy of a letter I sent to the President this forenoon. 
 
 "The article in the Constitution referred to will do infinite mischief, 
 and I am not certain that the writer of it ought not to be stretched up as 
 a traitor. I presume, however, it is the result only of bad judgment. 
 
 " Very truly, 
 
 " HORATIO KING. 
 " HON. JOHN A. Dix, New York." 
 
 " WASHINGTON, November 7, 1860. 
 " MY DEAR SIR, The die is cast, and Lincoln is elected. 
 " Shall we now fan the flame of disunion, or shall we exert our in 
 fluence toward calming the already excited sentiment of the South ? 
 
ELECTION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 25 
 
 " What course should we, here in the District of Columbia, pursue ? 
 Should we join hands with the disunionists and help on the storm, or 
 should we not rather pour oil on the troubled waters ? . . . 
 
 " My own will illustrate the condition of thousands in this district. 
 With us everything depends on the Union being preserved. 
 
 " What, then, was my indignation on learning that men holding office 
 here under your administration were parading the streets here this morn 
 ing with disunion cockades on their hats ! and the leading article of the 
 1 Constitution to-day can have no other effect than to encourage and fan 
 the flame of disunion, both here and at the South. 
 
 " You will bear me witness that I have never intruded myself upon 
 your counsels. But may I not, in the most respectful yet in the most 
 earnest manner, now appeal to you for if you are silent your enemies 
 will, I am sure, attempt to hold you responsible for these things to use 
 your power in at once checking this dread spirit of disunion here in our 
 midst ? 
 
 " With great respect, 
 
 " Very sincerely your friend, 
 
 " HORATIO KING. 
 
 "His EXCELLENCY, JAMES BUCHANAN." 
 
 The editorial article of the Constitution referred to in 
 the preceding letter concludes as follows : 
 
 " We can understand the effect that will be produced in every South 
 ern mind when he reads the news that he is now called on to decide for 
 himself, his children, and his children s children, whether he will submit 
 tamely to the rule of one elected on account of his hostility to him and 
 his, or whether he will make a struggle to defend his rights, his inheri 
 tance, and his honor." 
 
 "CONCORD, N. H., November 7, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, Your note of the 5th inst. has just been received, 
 and I must thank you for your prompt attention to my little request, in 
 which I, of course, had no personal interest. 
 
 " So far as returns of the election have reached us, I can discern but 
 one green spot, and that the Fifth Massachusetts District. Mr. Apple- 
 ton s election is important in several aspects, but under the circumstances 
 it could have been predicted with no confidence. 
 
 " Indeed, it is singular, considering the sweep of this foul current, that 
 the only signal defeat should have met a man who has floated so long and 
 securely upon its surface as Mr. Burlingame. As the overthrow of a 
 party merely, the result [of the presidential election] is comparatively of 
 
26 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 little moment. As a distinct and unequivocal denial of the co-equal 
 rights of these States I cannot help regarding it as fearful. 
 
 " My apprehensions, I confess, are stronger than my hopes, but I will 
 trust in that good Providence which has hitherto held together these 
 confederated States. Will you present my very kindest regards to Mr. 
 Holt ? I shall never cease to prize his friendship. 
 
 " Yours truly, 
 
 "FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 " HON. HORATIO KING, 1st Assist. P. M. General, Washington, D. 0." 
 
 " (PRIVATE.) 
 
 " NEW YORK, November 22, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, . . . We have divers reports of disagreements in 
 the Cabinet in regard to the disunion movements in the South. I hear 
 nothing from Cobb in reply to my letter. 
 
 " There is a great fallacy at the basis of all the secession movements. 
 It is this, that the violation of a compact by one of the parties releases 
 all, assuming our federal system to be identical with a contract between 
 individuals for certain purposes. It is totally different, and is not subject 
 to the same reasoning and conclusions. The States have organized a 
 central government and ceded to it a part of their sovereignty. The 
 violation of the compact, to warrant a release of the parties, must be on 
 the part of the central government, and not of one of the associates. 
 Mr. Gushing, in his late letter, loses sight of this distinction a vital one, 
 as I think, in all our reasonings concerning the present disunion move 
 ments. In haste, I am, 
 
 " Truly yours, 
 
 " JOHN A. Dix. 
 "HON. HORATIO KING." 
 
 " (CONFIDENTIAL.) 
 
 " P. O. DEPARTMENT, APPT. OFFICE, November 23, 1860. 
 " MY DEAR SIR, Your private note of yesterday is received. I have 
 shown it to the Postmaster-General. I am told both the President and 
 Mr. Cobb are under a good deal of excitement. I have no doubt the 
 friends of the President are determined to know whether there is seces 
 sion in the Cabinet, and whether the President is responsible for the infa 
 mous course of the Constitution. And all you can do to this end will be 
 a public benefit. . . . 
 
 " Things are looking a little better in Georgia to-day. 
 
 " Very respectfully and truly yours, 
 
 "HORATIO KING. 
 " HON. JOHN A. Dix, New York." 
 
ELECTION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 27 
 
 " WASHINGTON, November 25, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, I would call and report to you what I know of the 
 feelings of your friends whom I met recently in a flying visit to my 
 native State, but that I know you are much occupied. May I not, there 
 fore, be allowed to say to you briefly, in writing, that their most anxious 
 desire is that the President will cast the whole weight of his influence 
 against the secession movements at the South and in support of the 
 Union ? Among those whom I met was General Dix, who, of course, is 
 greatly concerned with reference to the present excitement. He had 
 written both to Mr. Cobb and Mr. Breckinridge, pressing them to come 
 out boldly against secession. The inclosed note from him may be in 
 teresting to you. You need not trouble yourself to return it. 
 
 " I hope I shall not be deemed obtrusive. My great desire is that the 
 Union may be preserved, and that in your noble efforts to that end you 
 may know that all your true friends will stand by you to the last. 
 " I have the honor to be, 
 
 " Very sincerely your friend, 
 
 "HORATIO KING. 
 "His EXCELLENCY, JAMES BUCHANAN." 
 
 " (CONFIDENTIAL.) 
 
 " P. O. DEPT., November 25, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, I have good reason to believe that the President is 
 beset by secessionists, who are almost exclusively occupying his atten 
 tion; and it is important that the true friends of the Union should do all 
 in their power to strengthen his hands. Why will you not either write or 
 come and see him, and get all the strong men of your city to do the same? 
 I cannot call names, but rest assured what I tell you is true. The course 
 of the Constitution is infamous, but the President, I presume, has no 
 means of controlling it. Pray let him hear from you all in a most de 
 cided manner on this subject. Let him know how much the paper and 
 suspicions of disunion influences near him are injuring him. 
 
 " Stephens s speech is admirable ; but observe that you do not see it, or 
 anything like it, in the Constitution Get the papers to come out and 
 denounce the Constitution You may rely upon it, all its secession arti 
 cles are directly against the feelings of the President. 
 
 " As the existence of the Department depends on the stability of the 
 Union, I shall treat this as on official business/ 
 
 " Yours truly, 
 
 "HORATIO KING. 
 
 "HON. JOHN A. Dix, New York." 
 
28 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 " (UNOFFICIAL.) 
 "P. O., NEW YORK, November 27, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, It is impossible for me to leave here at this moment, 
 and I have an insuperable repugnance to a visit to Washington. On 
 receipt of your letter I sat down to write to the President, but constant 
 interruptions prevented me from finishing it. Besides I have some doubt 
 whether it would do good. I have made some inquiry in regard to the 
 editor of the Constitution? and incline to the belief that he cannot be in 
 fluenced from this quarter. At all events, those who might influence him 
 think as he does. I am, in a quiet way, doing all I can to promote a 
 better feeling at the South. I am sorry to say that nothing I have yet 
 done has met with a response from any of our Southern friends. I 
 believe we shall have to rely entirely on the efforts of our conservative 
 friends there. They seem at present to be overborne by the general ex 
 citement. I cannot think this will last. There must, at least, be an 
 effort to prevent a dissolution. I trust events here may aid the conserva 
 tive movement there. Vermont is moving to repeal her personal liberty 
 bills, with what success remains to be seen. Massachusetts will follow 
 her lead, and, I think, will repeal. 
 
 " I shall send my letter to the President this evening or to-morrow. 
 
 " With sincere regards, yours, 
 
 "HON. HORATIO KING." "JOHN A. Dix. 
 
 " P. 0. DEPT., APPT. OFFICE, November 27, 1860. 
 " MY DEAR SIR, Our chief clerk, Mr. Clements, and myself had an 
 hour with the President last evening, and our interview was most satis 
 factory. Mr. C. has just returned from Tennessee, and brings good news 
 from that State to the effect that nearly everybody there is opposed to the 
 hasty action of South Carolina, and is in favor of one more effort to pre 
 serve their rights in the Union. The President appeared to be much 
 gratified to be reassured of this. He is, as I supposed, a firm Union man. 
 I told him about your writing to and not receiving any answer from Mr. 
 Cobb, and he remarked that it would not do the slightest good to write to 
 him. I expressed myself freely to him about the course of the Constitu 
 tion newspaper, and told him how much it had injured him, etc., etc. I 
 have no doubt he will take strong ground in his message against seces 
 sion, as well as the right of secession ; but were I allowed to guess, I 
 would say that he will not be in favor of using force unless the property 
 of the United States is interfered with, such as the taking of the forts, 
 
 etc., when he would be obliged to act. 
 
 "Very truly, 
 
 " HORATIO KING. 
 " HON. JOHN A. Dix, P. M., New York." 
 
ELECTION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 29 
 
 " (CONFIDENTIAL.) 
 " P. O. DEPT., APPT. OFFICE, November 25, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, I am well assured that the President is beset by 
 men who are for breaking up the Union, secessionists, who strongly 
 advocate the right of secession, while the true friends of the Union 
 seem, to a great extent, to keep aloof. Why they keep away I cannot 
 comprehend, unless they think the Constitution newspaper speaks the sen 
 timents of the President, which is certainly not the fact. Rest assured, 
 the President will stand firmly for the Union ; and what I think is now 
 important is that his hands should be strengthened from every quarter. 
 You can do much to this end by writing him briefly and pointedly on 
 this subject, and you can get other strong men in Boston to do the same. 
 You will know best whom to call on ; but let this be strictly confidential 
 so far as my name is concerned. 
 
 " Don t hesitate to denounce the disunion course of the Constitution, 
 and speak of the reports of secession feelings in the Cabinet as most 
 unfortunate for the country and highly injurious to the President s rep 
 utation. 
 
 " Act immediately. Things look worse and worse every day. 
 
 " Very truly yours, 
 
 " HORATIO KING. 
 
 " NAHUM CAPEN, P. M., Boston, Mass." 
 
 " BOSTON, November 28, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, I have read your note to several gentlemen of note, 
 and all agree as to the importance of your views and agree with you, but 
 they have a delicacy about writing to the President unasked. I inclose 
 a note which I received last evening from Mr. Everett, and though I do 
 not exactly agree with him, yet I can understand how he and others may 
 entertain such opinions and have such feelings. 
 
 " Of course, I did not mention your name, because you requested me 
 not to do so. I simply stated that the letter was from a distinguished 
 person one who was fully advised of what was going forward. 
 
 " The feeling here is decidedly that the New England States will repeal 
 their nullification enactments. Vermont has the subject up, and I am 
 told to-day that Connecticut will do it by a large majority. The same 
 is expected of Massachusetts. 
 
 " Very sincerely, 
 
 "NAHUM CAPEN. 
 
 " HON. HORATIO KING, Washington." 
 
 A word further of explanation here. I saw how the 
 President was beset by the leading secessionists, and I was 
 
30 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 most anxious to have earnest Union men come to his relief. 
 I felt sure, too, that the latter were kept away on account 
 of the very fact that the former were known to occupy a 
 large part of his time and attention. It was unquestiona 
 bly owing in a great degree to the persistency of these de 
 termined disunionists in this regard, that the President s 
 health and strength were so nearly exhausted toward the 
 last that it was only with great and painful effort that he 
 was enabled to perform the fearful duties devolving upon 
 him. Some days, I remember, the Cabinet sessions were 
 held in the library, because he was too unwell to come into 
 his office. No sooner were the members of his Cabinet 
 dismissed than one or more of the leaders stood ready to 
 be ushered into his presence, and one after another, often 
 several together, they came, keeping him up until late in 
 the night. No one can tell what torture he must have been 
 thus subjected to by them in their efforts to attain their 
 ends. Never before, I imagine, was a president more re 
 joiced to be relieved from the responsibilities of office than 
 James Buchanan, on the 4th of March, 1861. 
 
 " LOWELL, MASS., Nov. 26, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, Your letter was received at Concord on Saturday, 
 and I should have answered it while there if I could have found a little 
 interval of leisure. I am here to-day on business, and can therefore do 
 scarcely more than to thank you ; but let so much, at least, be said. The 
 apprehensions which you so forcibly express did not increase mine. You 
 know how sincerely and earnestly I have for years deprecated the causes 
 which, if not removed, I foresaw must produce the fearful crisis which is 
 now upon us ; and I know how ineffectual, in this section, have been all 
 warnings of patriotism and ordinary forecast. Now, for the first time, 
 men are compelled to open their eyes, as if aroused from some strange 
 delusion, upon a full view of the nearness and magnitude of impending 
 calamities. It is worse than idle it is foolhardy to discuss the question 
 of probable relative suffering and loss in different sections of the Union. 
 In case of disruption we shall all be involved in common financial em 
 barrassment and ruin, and, I fear, in common destruction so much more 
 appalling than any attendant upon mere sacrifice of property, that one 
 involuntarily turns from its contemplation. To my mind one thing is 
 
ELECTION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 31 
 
 clear : no wise man can, under existing circumstances, dream of coercion. 
 The first blow struck in that direction will be a blow fatal even to hope. 
 " You have observed, of course, how seriously commercial confidence, 
 and consequently the price of stocks, etc., have already been shaken at 
 the North, and yet there is in the public mind a very imperfect apprehen 
 sion of the danger. Still, there are indications of a disposition to repeal 
 laws directed against the constitutional rights of the Southern States, 
 such as personal liberty bills, etc. and if we could gain a little time, 
 there would seem to be ground of hope that these just causes of distrust 
 and dissatisfaction may be removed. I trust the South will make a large 
 draft on their devotion to the Union, and be guided by the wise modera 
 tion which the exigency so urgently calls for. Can it be that this flag, 
 with all the stars in their places, is no longer to float, at home, abroad, 
 and always, as an emblem of our united power, common freedom, and 
 unchallenged security ? Can it be that it is to go down in darkness, if 
 not in blood, before we have completed a single century of our independ 
 ent national existence ? I agree with you that madness has ruled the 
 hour in pushing forward a line of aggressions upon the South, but I will 
 not despair of returning reason and of a re-awakened sense of constitu 
 tional right and duty. I will still look with earnest hope for the full 
 and speedy vindication of the co-equal rights and co-equal obligations of 
 these States, and for restored fraternity under the present Constitution 
 fraternity secured by following the example of the fathers of the repub 
 lic fraternity based upon admission and cheerful maintenance of all the 
 provisions and requirements of the sacred instrument under which they 
 and their children have been so signally blessed. When that hope shall 
 perish, if perish it must, life itself, my friend, will lose its value for you 
 and me. It is apparent that much will depend upon the views expressed 
 and the tone and temper manifested during the early days of the session 
 of Congress now near at hand. May the God of our fathers guide the 
 counsels of those who in the different departments of government are 
 invested in this critical epoch with responsibilities unknown since the 
 sitting of the convention which framed the Constitution. 
 
 " Your friend, 
 
 "FRANKLIN PIERCE." 
 
 " CONCORD, N. H., Dec. 6, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, Your letter of November 30 I found here on my 
 return from Hillsboro yesterday, and also several northern papers con 
 taining my letter to Secretary Thompson. 
 
 " Since the action of the Vermont Legislature upon the report of the 
 Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives, declaring the per 
 sonal liberty bill of that State to be clearly unconstitutional, I am in 
 
32 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 despair with regard to any amendment of errors at the North, so far as 
 the question of slavery is concerned. Eeason has surrendered its throne, 
 all sense of patriotism, justice, and right seems to have departed forever 
 from the black Republican portion of the country. If the legislature of 
 this State were convened to-day, I do not believe that they would repeal 
 their unconstitutional laws. When I say this you will understand that I 
 think the Union has already reached its termination. 
 
 " It seems to me that few men in this crisis suffer so keenly as I do. 
 With regard to pecuniary loss, it is nothing. I do not take it into 
 the account. It is not worth considering. We can all have bread, if we 
 will work for it, but we shall never have again the glorious ensign of our 
 country, which has been the object of our just admiration, the type of 
 our power, and the shield of our protection the world over. 
 
 "Your friend, 
 
 "FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 " HON. HORATIO KING, Washington, D. C." 
 
 " P. 0. DEPT., APPT. OFFICE, Dec. 10, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, . . . Madness still rules the hour. Would it not 
 be well to call public meetings at the North to give expression to the con 
 servative sentiment and show the true men of the South the importance 
 of standing by their Northern friends in the Union ? 
 
 " Very truly, 
 
 "HORATIO KING. 
 " NAHUM CAPEN, ESQ., P. M., Boston, Mass." 
 
 " WASHINGTON, D. C., Dec. 10, 1860. 
 
 "MY DEAR SIR, . . . Things look at present very dark; but some 
 of the mad and drunken spirits from the South are acting so outrageously 
 that the better-disposed Southern men are becoming disgusted. I was 
 credibly informed that yesterday, or day before, not less than six South 
 ern Representatives, who are open disunionists, were so drunk that they 
 were wholly unfit for any business, indeed, disgracefully drunk! and 
 these are the kind of men into whose hands the destinies of our country 
 seem at this moment to have been placed ! 
 
 " Cobb has resigned. y e ry truly 
 
 " GEN. Dix, New York." " HORATIO KING. 
 
 "NEW YORK, Dec. 11, 1860. 
 
 " DEAR SIR, . . . Alas for the Union ! I fear its safety is hopeless 
 if it depends on such as your note describes. But I will not cease to hope. 
 
 " Very sincerely, 
 "HON. HORATIO KING." "JOHN A. Dix. 
 
ELECTION OF ABEAHAM LINCOLN. 33 
 
 " (PRIVATE.) 
 "P. O. DEPT., APPT. OFFICE, Dec. 12, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, Your note of yesterday is received. 
 
 " It is becoming every day more and more apparent that there is quite 
 a large party at the South who, traitors at heart, are resolved on effecting 
 a dissolution of the Union, even though the North were to yield to the 
 utmost of their former demands, and these men are now in the lead. 
 One of them kept his place in the government till forced to resign from 
 very shame, and there are others of smaller calibre who are still retained, 
 traitors in the camp. 
 
 " And we are to allow the best government in the world to be destroyed 
 in the first hour of danger, without an effort to demonstrate that if states 
 men will but do their duty it is capable of withstanding far more serious 
 shocks than that with which it is now threatened. What mockery of 
 statesmanship ! What imbecility ! What culpable wickedness ! Will 
 not the God of nations send down his thunderbolts and arrest the base 
 wretches who are thus plotting our ruin ? 
 
 " It seems now to be pretty generally conceded that the cotton States 
 will secede, and the next thing is to avoid a conflict on that account, or 
 the whole country will be ablaze with civil war ! 
 
 " Very respectfully and truly yours, 
 
 " HORATIO KING. 
 "HON. JOHN A. Dix, New York." 
 
 " (PRIVATE.) 
 
 "NEW YORK, 14 Dec., 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, Your note received yesterday is confirmed to-day 
 in its worst anticipations. I did not answer because I have been busy 
 preparing an address to the people of the South, to be submitted this 
 evening to a committee, and passed upon to-morrow at a larger but not 
 a public meeting. I do not know that any appeal, in whatever fraternal 
 feeling it may be made, will be of any avail, but I think we have the 
 right to ask our Southern friends to pause and listen to us. If they refuse, 
 I see no issue out of the present darkness but in darker strife. 
 
 " Yours cordiajjy, 
 
 "JOHN A. Dix. 
 "HON. HORATIO KING." 
 
 "WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, It may seem presumptuous in me, an humble subor 
 dinate, to address you on great matters of state, but my apology, if any 
 is necessary, must be that I am an American citizen, with all that ardent 
 
 3 
 
34 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 love for my country and its government which should ever animate the 
 true patriot, and especially in times of danger like the present. 
 
 " I am amazed that some decided action is not taken by the Govern 
 ment to cut itself entirely loose from disunion and disunionists. Look at 
 the Constitution newspaper of to-day and, indeed, I may say, of every 
 issue since the Presidential election. Its whole bearing is for disunion ; 
 and, say what you will, the Government is held, and will be held, in a 
 great degree responsible for it. It was the organ to which the message 
 was confidentially intrusted, and its columns are daily filled with adver 
 tisements which it receives and can receive only by favor of the President, 
 for its circulation would not secure them to it by law. 
 
 " I saw, as every person of observation must have seen, the very day after 
 the election, that its influence was directed toward secession, and I felt 
 myself compelled immediately to call the attention of the President to it, 
 as I did in a letter, a copy of which I herewith inclose for your perusal. 
 
 " I know how the President is pressed by the secessionists, and I sym 
 pathize fully in all reasonable measures to be taken within the Union to 
 secure the rights of the South, and consign to infamy the leaders of black 
 republicanism at the North ; but, as his devoted friend and the friend of 
 every member of his Cabinet, I cannot restrain myself from the expres 
 sion of the deepest astonishment and mortification that the Government 
 should for one moment allow itself to occupy such a position as to afford 
 even its enemies a pretext to charge it with giving the slightest counte 
 nance, either directly or indirectly, to secession or secessionists. 
 
 " Is it not possible to relieve the administration from the infamy which 
 must attach to it for all time, so far as it is made responsible for the 
 course of the Constitution, and for keeping men in responsible positions 
 who are known and avowed disunionists ? For God s sake, let us see the 
 Government placed squarely and unequivocally on the side of the Union ! 
 With great respect, 
 
 " Very sincerely your friend, 
 
 "HORATIO KING. 
 
 " HON. J. S. BLACK, Attorney-General U. S." 
 
 " P. O. DEPT., APPT. OFFICE, Dec. 15, 1860. 
 
 "MY DEAR SIR, Your letter to Jefferson Davis is excellent, and I 
 have sent it forward through the P. O. 
 
 " You will see the President s proclamation and the address of the 
 disunionists in the Constitution (the secession organ) of to-day. 
 " I need hardly say that I am desponding to the last degree. 
 
 " Very truly, 
 
 " HORATIO KING. 
 " NAHUM CAPEN, ESQ., P. M., Boston, Mass." 
 
ELECTION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 35 
 
 " P. O. DEPARTMENT, APPT. OFFICE, Dec. 17, 1860. 
 
 "MY DEAR SIR, Your private letter of the 14th inst. came duly to 
 hand. ... I inclose, for your private eye and that of any of our friends, 
 the copy of a letter I was addressing to General Cass at the very moment 
 I heard of his resignation. I therefore sent it to Judge Black. You 
 may think it injudicious, but I am determined to sustain the Union until 
 not a hope for its continuance remains. 
 
 " The papers state the main reason of General Cass s resignation, but I 
 know that he has long felt as I have about the course of the Constitution 
 newspaper. 
 
 " Very respectfully and truly, 
 
 GEN. Dix, New York." " H RATIO KING. 
 
 " P. O. DEPT., APPT. OFFICE, Dec. 18, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, I have read your address with great pleasure. It is 
 cheering to read such a paper in the midst of the infamous articles and 
 speeches of treason that have of late been so common. The Intelligencer 
 of to-day has a stinging article, which I wish you would read. Let all 
 traitors be shown up, and the solid people will assign them to their proper 
 places. Don t let us permit their conduct to be so far winked at even as 
 to afford a shield to black Eepublicans who are the original aggressors. 
 " Very respectfully and truly, 
 
 " HON. J. A. Dix, New York." " HORATIO KING. 
 
 "NEW YORK, 19 Dec., 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, I thank you for your excellent letter to Judge Black. 
 I am as much disgusted as you are at the encouragement given to the 
 secessionists. I am for making all reasonable concessions. . . . But the 
 Government should quietly and firmly maintain the central authority. 
 
 " I am glad you like the address. I have written to leading Southern 
 men some of them secessionists against the right of secession, and 
 especially against an attempt to break up the Union on the grounds 
 assumed by South Carolina. But in a fraternal appeal intended to gain 
 time for readjusting existing differences, I thought it not wise to intro 
 duce any topic on which our Southern brethren are sensitive. . . . 
 
 " I am very truly yours, 
 
 " HON. HORATIO KING." " JOHN A Dix 
 
 " P. O. DEPT., APPT. OFFICE, Dec. 20, 1860. 
 
 "DEAR SIR, Yours of the 18th inst. is received. I have not had 
 time to read the proceedings or address of the solid men of Boston, but 
 have heard it spoken of with great satisfaction. 
 
36 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 " I think the disunionists are not having everything quite so much 
 their own way as at first. The true friends of the country are beginning 
 more generally to denounce the disunion Constitution, and to protest 
 against disunionists being retained in office. 
 
 " To show you how I feel, I inclose the copy of a letter which I had 
 nearly finished and intended to send to General Cass when I heard of his 
 resignation, so I addressed it to Judge Black. It is for the private eye of 
 friends only, of course. 
 
 " Very truly, 
 
 "HORATIO KING. 
 
 "NAHUM CAPEN, ESQ." 
 
 " (CONFIDENTIAL.) 
 
 "P.O. DEPT., Dec. 28, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, I feel as though we were on the verge of civil war, 
 and I should not be surprised if this city is under the military control of 
 the disunionists in less than one month ! There can be no doubt that 
 the Cabinet is divided, and rumor has it that the sympathies of the 
 President, as well as of Mr. Toucey, are with the disunionists in reference 
 to the question of sustaining Major Anderson ! Holt, Black, and Stanton 
 are firm for the Union, there can be no doubt. 
 
 " Is there no way to bring a healthful influence to bear on the Presi 
 dent and Governor Toucey ? Northern men all seem to be dumb and 
 paralyzed ! 
 
 " In haste, yours truly, 
 
 "HORATIO KING. 
 " NAHUM CAPEN, ESQ." 
 
 " (PRIVATE.) 
 
 " NEW YORK, 29 Dec., 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, Yours is received. I see fully, without any power 
 to prevent it, the danger in which the country is placed. I have had 
 little faith in the conciliatory action of the Republicans in Congress, 
 though I know there are some who think rightly. It was for this 
 reason that I moved, in conjunction with others here, in favor of a 
 strong appeal to our Southern friends in the States on the Gulf of Mexico 
 and the lower Mississippi to await the issue of the change which is 
 going on in public opinion in the North. Our appeal is to go to the 
 Southern conventions about to assemble in Georgia, Alabama, and Mis 
 sissippi. There seems but little prospect that any good will be accom 
 plished. At Washington I fear I can do nothing. I have written to 
 several leading Southern men, but I get no response. There is a deter 
 mination on the part of leading Republicans here that a conciliatory 
 
ELECTION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 37 
 
 course shall be pursued, and that reasonable compromises shall be made. 
 It remains to be seen whether they can influence the action of their 
 friends in Congress. 
 
 " Major Anderson, who was my lieutenant when I was a captain in the , 
 army, I have no doubt acted as any military man responsible for the 
 lives of those under his command would have done. His conduct is 
 approved here by all parties, even by the warmest advocates of Southern 
 rights. 
 
 " My great fear is that the masses, North and South, who hay been 
 indoctrinated into secession views on the one hand, and abolitionism on 
 the other, will not follow their leaders in a retrograde movement. But I 
 have less anxiety for the North than for the South. We can make things 
 right here if we can have time. . . . 
 
 " I am, dear sir, 
 
 " Yours truly, 
 
 " HON. HORATIO KING." " JoHN A Dix * 
 
 " WASHINGTON, Dec. 30, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, I rejoice to learn that the disunionists failed yester 
 day in their impudent and insulting demand that the administration 
 should remove Major Anderson or otherwise degrade him. 
 
 " It is every day becoming more and more apparent that they are 
 determined, as far as lies in their power, to make use of the administra 
 tion to strengthen themselves in their rebellious position, and, if neces 
 sary for their purpose, to break up the Government. Does it require any 
 close discernment to see that it would be fatal to follow their counsels ? 
 
 " They commenced, long before the election, by getting possession of 
 the Constitution newspaper, which, from the announcement of Lincoln s 
 election, has been openly for a dissolution of the Union, and some of 
 them have continued, and still continue, to hold office here in the Gov 
 ernment, although known to be hostile to that very Government which 
 feeds them ! 
 
 " In a letter to the President on the 7th of November, the day after 
 election, I called attention to these startling facts ; and, from that day 
 to the present, my amazement has increased until I am, at times, almost 
 paralyzed to see such things go un rebuked. It is all folly for the editor 
 of that paper to issue his pronunciamentoes that he alone is responsible 
 . . . so long as it is supported and kept alive by Government advertisements 
 which it receives solely through the favor of the administration, for it is not 
 entitled to them by law. Has not this fact been overlooked in the pressure 
 of the great troubles now threatening our destruction ? 
 
 " The question now is union or disunion. An article in that paper to 
 day advises that Lincoln s inauguration be prevented by armed force ! 
 
38 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Can the Government give such a paper patronage and escape the charge 
 of treason ? We must now take sides either for or against the continu 
 ance of the Union ; and the sooner we know where we stand the better. 
 
 " I wrote you yesterday hastily what I regard as the clear duty of the 
 Government in reference to Major Anderson, and I am confirmed in my 
 opinions by everybody to whom I have spoken since, as well as by the 
 press, several extracts of which I beg to inclose for your perusal. 
 
 " The duty of the administration, it seems to me, is very plain. It is 
 simply to see that the laws are executed, thus maintaining, with a firm 
 hand, the integrity of the Union. In this, rest assured, every friend of 
 the Union will sustain you. 
 
 " I have the honor to be 
 
 " Very truly your friend, 
 
 " HORATIO KING. 
 
 " HON. I. TOUCEY Sec y Navy." 
 
 " (PRIVATE.) 
 
 "P. O. DEPT., APPT. OFFICE, Dec. 31, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, I am rejoiced to hear you express yourself as you 
 do in regard to sustaining Major Anderson. But I greatly fear the 
 Cabinet now in session may take some action against him, although if he 
 is not sustained, you may expect to see the resignations of Black, Holt, 
 and Stanton. The most intense excitement is felt here on the subject, 
 and disunion men are raising heaven and earth to get the President to 
 degrade Major Anderson. To-day we have a most unpleasant rumor 
 that Floyd is to go back into the Cabinet. If this rumor is true, all is 
 lost! It is known that he sent a most savage message of inquiry to 
 Major Anderson ; but the answer he got in return had the true ring to it 
 of the Veni, vidi, vici stamp. 
 
 " It is said there is a secret society forming here to prevent Lincoln s 
 inauguration ! 
 
 " Very truly, 
 
 " HORATIO KING. 
 " HON. JOHN A. Dix, New York." 
 
 " (PRIVATE.) 
 
 " P. O. DEPT., APPT. OFFICE, Dec. 31, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, In answer to your note of the 29th inst., I am sorry 
 to say that I cannot give any assurance that the Jackson policy in the 
 present crisis will be pursued. Up to this time (12 M.), however, I 
 believe no order has been made against Major Anderson, except that the 
 Secretary of War (since resigned, thank God !) sent him a savage despatch, 
 inquiring why he removed his command. But this was not sustained by 
 
ELECTION OF ABKAHAM LINCOLN. 39 
 
 the majority of the Cabinet, and he got a regular soldier s answer back, 
 full of true metal. The Cabinet i* now in session on this subject, and 
 the most intense interest is felt here for fear that Major Anderson will 
 not be sustained. 
 
 " The President is borne down by the disunionists, and, as well as 
 Governor Toucey, needs support from all true friends of the Union. 
 Pray, see that letters are poured in upon them. On Saturday, however, 
 Governor Toucey was right, and I cannot think it possible that he will 
 flinch. General Scott, I fear, does not have the influence he should in 
 the counsel touching his command. . . . 
 
 " Very respect ly and truly, 
 
 " HORATIO KING. 
 
 " NAHUM CAPEN, ESQ., Boston, Mass." 
 
 " BINGHAMTON, Dec. 31, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, ... I am filled with anxious solicitude for the fate 
 of our country. May God avert the threatened evil ! 
 
 " Sincerely yours, 
 
 " HON. H. KING, 1st Asst. P. M. Gen 1 !." " D S> DlCKINSON - 
 
 " (CONFIDENTIAL.) 
 
 "P. O. DEPT., APPT. OFFICE, Jan. 3, 1861. 
 
 " MY DEAR GENERAL, . . . Things are being brought to a point 
 here, I think. I understand the * Commissioners (from South Carolina) 
 sent an insulting communication to the President, and that he sent it 
 back to them. We shall soon know who is for and who against the 
 Union. At present we know not whom to trust. 
 
 " Very truly, 
 
 "HORATIO KING. 
 " GEN. Dix, New York. 
 
 " P. S. That was most infamous business of Floyd at Pittsburgh. 
 One of the forts for which guns were intended is a bare sand-bar, and 
 the other has been just commenced, having a wall about two or three 
 feet high. He and Cobb are both traitors. Floyd s orders will be 
 countermanded." 
 
 " (PRIVATE.) 
 
 "NEW YORK, Jan. 3, 1861. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, I have been so pressed with outside business during 
 the last ten days (trying to save the Union) that I have been unable to 
 write to you. 
 
 " The first time we began to breathe freely was when Mr. Holt took 
 Governor Floyd s place in the War Department. The feeling here is 
 
40 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 strong and undivided in regard to sustaining the administration in its 
 determination to stand by Major Anderson, to protect the public property, 
 and to enforce the revenue laws. On these points the people of the 
 Northern States are as one man ; and I am satisfied the President will 
 have with him the conservative men of all sections of the country. 
 
 " I have been very busy corresponding with prominent men in and 
 out of Congress. We must preserve the Union. Congress should do 
 what is right, and the rest will be easy. Why cannot enabling acts be 
 passed admitting Kansas and New Mexico, and like enabling acts dividing 
 the residue of our territory by 36 SO , and admitting two more States, 
 at once, with no other restriction than that of a republican form of 
 government, which Congress under the Constitution is bound to guar 
 anty ? This will dispose of the whole territorial question ; and all may 
 support it without surrender of principle. What if New Mexico has a 
 very small population ? This fact should weigh nothing against restora 
 tion of harmony and preservation of the Union. 
 
 " Do not things look better ? Let me hear from you. 
 
 " Yours very truly, 
 
 "JOHN A. Dix. 
 
 " HON. HOEATIO KING." 
 
 " (PRIVATE.) 
 
 " P. O. DEPT., Jan. 4, 1861. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, I am obliged for your favor of yesterday. I feel as 
 though there is a slight improvement in the state of things here ; but the 
 disunionists conspirators are doing their utmost to head off the Gov 
 ernment in its present efforts to right itself. Things will not go entirely 
 satisfactory so long as Thompson and Thomas are retained in the Cabinet, 
 and especially the latter, who, I am disappointed to learn, is a rabid seces 
 sionist. I am glad to hear that there is a committee here from your city 
 to make a representation to the President in regard to him. For Thomp 
 son I have more compassion. He is not willingly a disunionist ; and I 
 guess he sustained the President in sending back their insulting commu 
 nication to the S. C. Commissioners. 
 
 " Let us press forward till we clear the Government of every disunionist. 
 " Very respectfully and truly, 
 
 " HORATIO KING. 
 " GEN. Dix, New York." 
 
 " (PRIVATE.) 
 
 "NEW YORK, Jan. 5, 1861. 
 
 "My DEAR SIR, Facts that have come to my knowledge give me 
 strong hopes that the Union will be preserved. I look for a speedy 
 
ELECTION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 41 
 
 movement on the part of the Republicans in Congress, and an effective 
 one. 
 
 " In the mean time the authority of the Government must be main 
 tained. I have written to several members of Congress, among others 
 Governor Seward, urging the adoption of the plan I suggested to you 
 yesterday, as one involving no sacrifice of principle or surrender of 
 position. We can do nothing unless the Republicans act with us, and I 
 have for the last week been pressing them here and in Congress. 
 
 " Yours sincerely, 
 
 " JOHN A. Dix. 
 
 " HON. HORATIO KING." 
 
 " P. O. DEPT., Jan y 7, 1861. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, I have yours of the 5th, and am glad to see that 
 you are laboring in the right direction. The Republicans must yield, or 
 all is lost. 
 
 " But the South must be reasonable. . . . Many good Union men are 
 disgusted with their arrogance. 
 
 " Very resp ly and truly, 
 
 "HORATIO KING. 
 " HON. JOHN A. Dix." 
 
 " (CONFIDENTIAL.) 
 
 " NEW YORK, Jan. 8, 1861. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, Why is money to very large amounts being trans 
 ferred to Washington ? It may be all right, but it is unusual. Nearly 
 a million of dollars has been sent on in specie within the last week. I 
 write you in confidence. Are these transfers made by order of the 
 President? Is he aware of them? These questions have suggested 
 themselves to me. There is a good deal of uneasiness in regard to the 
 Treasury Department. The Secretary and his assistant are known to be 
 secessionists, and our capitalists, who furnish the Government with 
 money, naturally feel a solicitude in regard to the disposition made of it. 
 The transfers in specie have attracted attention and produced a good 
 deal of unpleasant speculation. The Assistant Treasury Office is in 
 Wall Street, and any considerable quantity of gold cannot be moved 
 without being known. I met, a few days ago, a large number of boxes 
 going out, and on inquiry I found $400,000 were going to Washington. 
 
 " In haste, very truly yours, 
 
 " JOHN A. Dix. 
 " HON. HORATIO KING." 
 
 "P. O. DEPART., Jan y 12, 1861. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, Yours of the 8th came duly to hand. I am glad to 
 know that you have been active in your efforts to head off the conspira- 
 
42 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 tors here. We are progressing slowly, but surely, as I trust. The 
 appointment of General Dix to the Treasury, and the discarding of the 
 Constitution (newspaper) in the last two days, are two things most grati 
 fying. What is doing now, however, should have been done two months 
 ago, as you know I have been decided upon from the start. 
 
 " Who will be nominated for Secretary of War and Secretary of Inte 
 rior remains to be seen. You will have seen Slidell s attack on Mr. 
 Holt. Nevertheless, I believe if his name is sent in they will not be 
 able to reject him. One thing I hope there will be no mistake about, 
 and that is, that none but Union men will be allowed to go into the 
 Cabinet, even if they have all to be taken from the North. 
 
 " Matters at Charleston are bad enough ; but it is gratifying to know 
 that Major Anderson will not need any assistance, probably, for four 
 months to come. This was not known to the Government when the Star 
 of the West was sent for his relief. 
 
 " Very truly, 
 
 "HORATIO KING. 
 
 "NAHUM CAPEN, ESQ., P. M., Boston, Mass." 
 
 "P. O. DEPT., Jan y 21, 1861. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, Yours of the 19th inst. is received. 
 " I presume I shall continue to act as P. M. G., as I have been doing 
 since the 1st inst. I do not anticipate that any appointment will be sent 
 to the Senate at least for the present. 
 
 " I cannot see that there is much if any improvement in the state of 
 things. Yet if the Republicans would only present some reasonable 
 proposition, and vote upon it with anything like unanimity to show that 
 they were willing to do something, it would at once take the wind out of 
 the sails of secession in all the border States, and this would dampen the 
 ardor of the rebels . . . further South. 
 
 " Very resp ly and truly yours, 
 
 "HORATIO KING. 
 " NAHUM CAPEN, ESQ., P. M., Boston, Mass." 
 
 " P. O. DEPT,, March 5, 1861. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, I have only time in this, doubtless my last com 
 munication from the P. O. Department/ to thank you for your kind 
 letter of the 2d inst., and, in reply to your question, to say that I fear 
 the proceedings of the Peace Convention will result in little, if any, 
 good ; yet it is quite possible that they may be of use at an early day 
 before a called session of Congress. The aspect of affairs is gloomy, and 
 
ELECTION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 43 
 
 it will not surprise me if we are engaged in a civil war before the end 
 of this month, unless all the forts in the seceding States are peaceably 
 given to the revolutionists. 
 
 " Very sincerely your friend, 
 
 " HORATIO KING. 
 " NAHUM CAPEX, ESQ., P. M., Boston, Mass." 
 
 On the appointment of General Dix to the Treasury, Jan 
 uary 11, 1861, our correspondence, of course, ceased. As 
 the more important of his letters were read by Postmaster- 
 General Holt, who in turn showed them to the President, I 
 have always thought they led the way to that appointment. 
 Eminent as a patriotic statesman, his selection for the posi 
 tion was hailed with marked satisfaction, and he filled it 
 with distinguished ability. With none but kindly senti 
 ments towards the South, he at the same time held it to be 
 the imperative duty of the Government to " quietly and 
 firmly maintain the central authority." This, it may as 
 well be said here, is what President Buchanan endeavored 
 to the utmost of his power to do, while at the same time 
 he deemed it prudent, in the cause of peace and to avoid 
 bloodshed, to pursue a conciliatory policy towards the 
 South. It was this forbearance that for a time led even 
 some of his best friends to harbor slight misgivings in 
 respect to him as well as Secretary Toucey; and to this 
 day we sometimes hear him censured because he did not 
 at once come down on the secessionists as General Jackson 
 did on the nullifiers of South Carolina in 1832. These 
 critics seem to forget that, whereas President Jackson had 
 but a solitary little State to deal with, in President Bu 
 chanan s case all the Cotton States were united in the 
 rebellion, and only anxious for the Government to strike 
 the first blow, as in their view the surest and most speedy 
 means of inducing all the border States to join them. Mr. 
 Buchanan fully understood this ; hence his extreme caution, 
 with which it must, however, be admitted, some of his 
 nearest friends did not always sympathize, although it is 
 
44 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 now far from certain that his was not the wiser course. 
 Said Joseph Holt, in 1865 : 
 
 " Looking at the glorious results of the war, and remembering how won- 
 drously Providence has dealt with us in its progress, and how sublimely 
 the firing upon instead of from Fort Sumter seemed to arouse, instruct, 
 and unite the nation, and to inflame its martial and patriotic spirit, we 
 stand awe-struck and mute ; and that man would be bold, indeed, who, 
 in the presence of all that has occurred, should now venture to main 
 tain that the policy of forbearance was not at the moment the true 
 policy." 
 
 It is well known, and should be borne in mind when Mr. 
 Buchanan s policy of forbearance is assailed, that, for sev 
 eral weeks after his inauguration, President Lincoln still 
 " hoping [we have the testimony of Gideon Welles, his Sec 
 retary of the Navy] for a peaceful solution of the pending 
 questions," the greatest forbearance was observed, and " a 
 calm and conciliatory policy pursued toward the South. 
 
 President Buchanan stood on the defensive, and, true to 
 his oath, strove by every means in his power .to protect the 
 rights and property of the Government. He held it to be 
 his duty to see that the laws were obeyed ; but this was im 
 possible where the local authorities were all in rebellion, 
 and officers could not be found to enforce the execution of 
 the laws. For instance, there was no collector of customs 
 at Charleston, and he sent to the Senate the name of a gen 
 tleman to fill the place ; but his nomination was not con 
 firmed. In a letter to me of September 18, 1861, Mr. 
 Buchanan said, " Had the Senate confirmed my nomination 
 of the 2d of January of a collector for the port of Charles 
 ton, the war would probably have commenced in January 
 instead of May." 
 
 As a further indication of his true sentiments, and as due 
 to his memory, I venture to infringe the salutary rule 
 (which has been so often violated since Mr. Buchanan s 
 time in revealing what takes place in Cabinet session) by 
 relating a little incident that happened in Cabinet on the 
 
PRESIDENT BUCHANAN TO ROYAL PHELPS, ESQ. 45 
 
 19th of February, 1861. I copy from my diary made on 
 that day : 
 
 " February 19. In Cabinet to-day the principal matter presented was 
 an inquiry from Major Anderson, in charge of Fort Sumter, at Charles 
 ton, what he should do in the event of the floating battery understood to 
 have been constructed at Charleston being towed toward the fort with 
 the evident purpose of attack. The President wished time to consider. 
 Mr. Holt asked what he would do, or rather what Major Anderson ought 
 to do, in case he were in charge of a fort and the enemy should commence 
 undermining it. The President answered that he should crack away at 
 them. The President, however, is very reluctant to fire the first gun. 
 The Peace Convention, he said, was now in session in this city, and its 
 president, ex-President Tyler, had this morning assured him that no 
 attack would be made on the fort. The President expressed the opinion % 
 that the fort would eventually be taken." 
 
 " WASHINGTON, May 13, 1861. 
 
 " DEAR SIR, Your letter of the llth inst. is received. Troops con 
 tinue to arrive, but what the end is to be, who can tell ? It seems to me 
 the South has everything to lose and nothing to gain. 
 
 " Truly yours, 
 
 " HORATIO KING. 
 " NAHUM CAPEN, ESQ., Boston, Mass." 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 PRESIDENT BUCHANAN TO ROYAL PHELPS, ESQ. 
 
 THE following letter came into my hands through the 
 favor of the late George Bancroft, who received it from 
 Mr. Phelps some time before his death. I am left free to 
 publish it, hut the responsibility is my own. The letter 
 bears date December 22, 1860, two days after the secession 
 of SiOJith Carolina. At that time there was some hope that 
 Congress might agree to the Crittenden Compromise. An 
 act of Congress of 17th December had authorized the issue 
 
 o 
 
 of treasury notes ; the advertisement inviting bids for them 
 
46 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 was then out, and New York was looked to for the bulk of 
 subscriptions to the loan. Thus we may behold the key to the 
 letter. It is evident from Mr. Buchanan s appeal to his 
 personal and political friend that he wished to convince him 
 that it would be for the interest of New York to take the 
 loan. Deeply regretting the attempted secession of the 
 cotton States as Mr. Buchanan did, this and other docu 
 ments show that he never had the slightest inclination to 
 part with them. 
 
 (PRIVATE.) 
 
 WASHINGTON, 22d December, 1860. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, I have received your favor of the 20th 
 inst., and rejoice to learn the change of public sentiment 
 in your city. Still secession is far in advance of reaction, 
 and several of the cotton States will be out of the Union 
 before anything can be done to check their career. I think 
 they are all wrong in their precipitation, but such I believe 
 to be the fact. 
 
 It is now no time for resolutions of kindness from the 
 North to the South. There must be some tangible point 
 presented, and this has been done by Mr. Crittenden in his 
 Missouri Compromise resolutions. Without pretending to 
 speak from authority, I believe these would be accepted 
 though not preferred by the South. I have no reason 
 to believe that this is at present acceptable to the Northern 
 senators and representatives, though the tendency is in that 
 direction. They may arrive at this point when it will be 
 too late. 
 
 I cannot imagine that any adequate cause exists for the 
 extent and violence of the existing panic in New York. 
 Suppose, most unfortunately, that the cotton States should 
 withdraw from the Union, New York would still be the 
 great city of this continent. We shall still have within the 
 borders of the remaining States all the elements of wealth 
 and prosperity. New York would doubtless be somewhat 
 
PRESIDENT BUCHANAN TO ROYAL PHELPS, ESQ. 47 
 
 retarded in her rapid march ; but, possessing the necessary 
 capital, energy, and enterprise, she will always command a 
 very large portion of the carrying trade of the very States 
 which may secede. Trade cannot easily be drawn from its 
 accustomed channels. I would sacrifice my own life at any 
 moment to save the Union piF" such were the will of God; 
 but this great and enterprising brave nation is not to be 
 destroyed by losing the cotton States, even if this loss were 
 irreparable, which I do not believe unless from some un 
 happy accident. 
 
 I have just received an abstract from the late census. 
 
 In the apportionment of representatives the State of New 
 York will have as many in the House (30) as Georgia, 
 Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and South 
 Carolina united. The latter State contains 296,422 free 
 people and 408,905 slaves, and will be entitled in the next 
 Congress to 4 representatives out of 233. 
 
 Why will not the great merchants of New York examine 
 the subject closely and ascertain what will be the extent of 
 their injuries and accommodate themselves to the changed 
 state of things ? 
 
 If they will do this, they will probably discover they are 
 more frightened than hurt. I hope, the Treasury Note Loan 
 may be taken at a reasonable rate of interest. No security 
 can be better, in any event, whether the Cotton States secede 
 or not. Panic in New York may, however, prevent, because 
 panic has even gone to the extent of recommending that 
 the great city of New York shall withdraw herself from 
 the support of at least twenty-five millions of people and 
 become a free city. 
 
 I had half an hour, and have scribbled this off in haste 
 for your private use. 
 
 Your friend, 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 JAMES BUCHANAN. 
 
 EOYAL PHELPS, ESQ. 
 
48 TUENING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 Honorable John D. Ashmore, Member of Congress from South Carolina, 
 asks if he has the Bight to the Franking Privilege, now that South 
 Carolina has passed an Ordinance of Secession A Pointed Answer. 
 
 ANDERSON, S. C., Jan. 24, 1861. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, I have in my possession some one thou 
 sand to twelve hundred volumes of u public "documents," 
 being my proportion of the same as a member of the thirty- 
 sixth Congress. They were forwarded me in mail-sacks and 
 are now lying in my library. Since the date of the ordi 
 nance of secession (December 20, 1860) of South Carolina I 
 have not used the franking privilege, nor will I attempt to 
 do so without the special permission of the Department. 
 To pay the postage on these books, etc., would cost me a 
 large sum, and one I am not prepared to expend. The 
 books are of no use to me, but might be to my constitu 
 ents, for whom they were intended, if distributed among 
 them. Have I the right to frank and distribute them under 
 existing relations ? If so, please inform me. Having said 
 that I have not used the franking privilege since the 20th 
 December, I need hardly add that I shall not do so, even on 
 a " public document," unless you authorize it. 
 I am, with great respect, 
 
 Truly and sincerely yours, 
 
 J. D. ASHMORE. 
 HON. HORATIO KING, 
 
 Acting Postmaster-General. 
 
 POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT, January 28, 1861. 
 SIR, In answer to your letter of the 24th instant, ask 
 ing if you have the right, " under existing relations," to 
 frank and distribute certain public documents, I have the 
 
A FRANK ANSWER. 49 
 
 honor to state that the theory of the administration is that 
 the relations of South Carolina to the general Govern 
 ment have been in nothing changed by her recent act of 
 secession ; and this being so, you are of course entitled to 
 the franking privilege until the first Monday in December 
 next. If, however, as I learn is the case, you sincerely and 
 decidedly entertain the conviction that by that act South 
 Carolina ceased to be a member of the confederacy, and is 
 now a foreign State, it will be for you to determine how 
 far you can conscientiously avail yourself of a privilege the 
 exercise of which assumes that your own conviction is erro 
 neous, and plainly declares that South Carolina is still in 
 the Union, and that you are still a member of the Congress 
 of the United States. 
 
 I am, very respectfully, 
 
 your obedient servant, 
 
 HORATIO KING, 
 
 Acting P. M.- General. 
 HON. JOHN D. ASHMORE, 
 
 Anderson, S. C. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A FRANK ANSWER. 
 
 Hon. A. G. Jenkins, 1 Member of Congress from Virginia, informed why 
 a Route Agent in his District was removed. 
 
 POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT, February 22, 1861. 
 
 DEAR SIR, Your letter of the 20th inst. is received, re 
 questing " distinct and specific answers" to the following 
 interrogatories, viz. : 
 
 1. What are the grounds of the removal of Thomas J. 
 West, late route agent on the line from Grafton to Parkers- 
 
 1 Killed at the head of Confederate cavalry in Virginia early in the war. 
 
 4 
 
50 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 burg, Va., and of the substitution of another person in his 
 place ? 
 
 2. Why is it that these proceedings have been carried 
 out on my part without affording you any information of 
 my contemplated action ? 
 
 3. Upon whose suggestion was I led to remove Mr. West, 
 and by whose recommendations was I induced to appoint 
 his successor ? 
 
 4. And, finally, whether the same policy of secretly de 
 capitating your friends is to be acted upon hereafter as the 
 settled rule of the Department ? 
 
 These are plain questions, stated nearly in your own 
 language, and, in view of the custom which for a number 
 of years has prevailed in the Department, of consulting 
 members of Congress in regard to appointments and re 
 movals in their respective districts, it is not unnatural and 
 perhaps not unreasonable that you should ask them. But 
 you will excuse me for remarking, in all kindness, that, in 
 the first place, it is contrary to the rule of the Department 
 to communicate written answers to such inquiries; and, 
 secondly, that the right which you seem to claim, of con 
 trolling the appointments in your district, has no existence 
 in fact. Excepting the comparatively few T cases in which 
 the law imposes this duty on the President and Senate, the 
 power of appointing the officers of this Department rests 
 exclusively with the Postmaster-General, who alone is re 
 sponsible for its proper exercise. By courtesy, the member, 
 when agreeing politically with the administration, is very 
 generally consulted with respect to appointments in his dis 
 trict ; but his advice is by no means considered as binding 
 on the Department, nor is the Postmaster-General pre 
 cluded, even by courtesy, from making removals or ap 
 pointments on satisfactory information, as in the present 
 instance, exclusively from other reliable sources. When 
 the member is politically opposed to the administration, it 
 is not usual to consult him. 
 
A FEANK ANSWER. 51 
 
 Here I might close ; but, since you have asked these 
 questions, evidently under the honest impression that it is 
 my duty to answer them, I will disregard the rule so far as 
 to reply to the first, second, and fourth, simply stating, 
 with reference to the third, that I respectfully decline giving 
 the names of the parties by whose suggestions and recom 
 mendations I have been guided in making the change. 
 
 To the first, then, I have to inform you that Mr. West 
 was removed for leaving his route without permission from 
 the Department, and actively engaging in a movement the 
 avowed object of which is to induce the withdrawal of Vir 
 ginia from the Union. In other words, he was discharged 
 for undertaking to destroy the Government from whose 
 treasury he was drawing the means of daily subsistence and 
 whose Constitution he had solemnly sworn to support. 
 
 Your second and fourth interrogatories maybe answered 
 together. I did not advise with you because I had good 
 reason to believe that you were yourself, honestly, I doubt 
 not, fully committed to the secession interest in your State. 
 As to the policy to be pursued in the future towards your 
 friends in office, I can speak only of what may be done in 
 the few remaining days of this administration ; and I hesi 
 tate not to assure you that if, during this short time, any 
 other cases like the present come before me, I shall esteem 
 it my imperative duty to pursue the course adopted in this 
 instance. 
 
 This being not strictly an official letter, I may be par 
 doned for adding that I am for the Union without reserva 
 tion, equally against disunionists at the South and aboli 
 tionists at the North, and for the just rights of all sections 
 in the Union. 
 
 I have the honor to be, 
 
 Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 HORATIO KING. 
 
 HON. A. G. JENKINS, 
 
 House of Representatives. 
 
52 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 THE PEACE CONVENTION. 
 
 A Little Secret History Order Calling Out the Troops on February 22, 
 1861 Revoked Then Renewed. 
 
 THE strong prejudice which existed against President 
 Buchanan at the breaking out of the civil war, and not yet 
 entirely dispelled from the minds of many of his political 
 opponents, may, in a great degree, be truly ascribed to a 
 misapprehension of his real motives and modes of action. 
 As a case in point, there is a little piece of secret history 
 which, in justice to his memory, ought no longer to be kept 
 concealed. It relates to a private letter of his to ex-Presi 
 dent Tyler which was found among Mr. Tyler s papers when 
 his house was entered by United States soldiers during the 
 war. It was written when the Peace Convention, presided 
 over by Mr. Tyler, was in session in Washington. The 
 warmest relations existed between him and President 
 Buchanan, and great hopes were based on the action of 
 that Convention. As a matter of course, the President was 
 anxious to avoid everything which might, in. the remotest 
 degree, disturb its tranquillity, and, in deference to Mr. 
 Tyler s judgment and wishes, he had indicated a willingness 
 to dispense with the usual parade of United States troops 
 on the occasion of the celebration of Washington s birth 
 day, the 22d of February. Meantime, as a matter of 
 routine, the Secretary of War, Honorable Joseph Holt, 
 had, without, of course, consulting the President, given the 
 customary order calling out the troops on that day. Meet 
 ing the Secretary late on the evening of the 21st, the Presi 
 dent, having committed himself to Mr. Tyler, was much 
 concerned to learn that such an order had been issued, and 
 that, in all probability, it was too late, as it proved, to pre- 
 
THE PEACE CONVENTION. 53 
 
 vent its insertion in the National Intelligencer, to which it had 
 in the regular course of events been sent for promulgation. 
 Greatly fearing from Mr. Tyler s representations that the 
 people might accept the display as a menacing demonstra 
 tion, especially as a troop of Flying Artillery just ordered 
 from the West for the protection of the capital was to 
 form part of the military procession, the President at once 
 directed that the order be countermanded, and General 
 Scott was so informed in time to prevent the assembling of 
 the United States troops on the morning of the 22d. All 
 this, however, w r as unknown to the people, who had filled 
 the streets and avenues in expectation of witnessing the 
 grand parade; and after waiting impatiently an hour or 
 more for the appearance of the United States troops, only 
 the militia of the District having come out, a startling rumor 
 reached the ears of the crowd that the order which had 
 appeared in the Intelligencer calling out the troops had been 
 countermanded; thereupon a distinguished friend of the 
 President (Daniel E. Sickles, M.C.) hastened to the War 
 Department, where he found the President and the Secretary 
 of War together, and in a state of great excitement inquired 
 if the rumor was correct. Learning that it was, his earnest 
 protest and representations made so deep an impression on 
 the President that he authorized the Secretary of War to 
 confer immediately with General Scott, in order to see, late 
 as it was, if the original order could not be carried into 
 effect. This was done, and, although General Scott said the 
 soldiers had been dismissed and all of the officers had doffed 
 their uniforms, rendering it doubtful whether the order could 
 be obeyed, nevertheless he would, if possible, see it executed. 
 Fortunately, he succeeded, and everything passed off well. 
 The next morning the Intelligencer said : 
 
 " The military parade was, of course, the chief feature of the day. It 
 might be said the double military parade, for, while that of the morning 
 was composed of the militia companies only, there was a subsequent 
 general parade, in which the United States troops formed a conspicuous 
 
54 TUENING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 part. The artillery were the especial mark of interest, and their parade 
 on Pennsylvania Avenue dissipated all sense of fatigue from the thou 
 sands who had been abroad from almost * the dawn of day. The rapidity 
 with which the guns and magazines were manned and prepared for action 
 was startling to those unaccustomed to artillery practice. While they 
 were on the avenue they were at times as completely enveloped in the 
 dust they stirred up as they would have been in the smoke of battle." 
 
 Thus we have briefly the main circumstances under which 
 the following letter was written, on account of which letter 
 President Buchanan has been severely censured. It was a 
 simple explanation to Mr. Tyler of the reasons which had 
 led him to permit the military display, that under the pre 
 vious understanding would not otherwise have taken place. 
 
 " WASHINGTON, February 22, 1861. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, I find it impossible to prevent two or three com 
 panies of the Federal troops from joining in the procession to-day with 
 the volunteers of the district without giving serious offence to the tens of 
 thousands of people who have assembled to witness the parade. The day 
 is the anniversary of Washington s birth, a festive occasion throughout 
 the land, and it has been particularly marked by the House of Repre 
 sentatives. These troops everywhere else join such processions in honor 
 of the birthday of the Father of his Country, and it would be hard to 
 assign a good reason why they should be excluded from this privilege in 
 the capital founded by himself. They are here simply as a posse comitatus 
 to aid the civil authorities in case of need. Besides, the programme was 
 published in the National Intelligencer of this morning without my knowl 
 edge, the War Department having considered the celebration of this 
 national anniversary by the military arm of the Government as a matter 
 of course. 
 
 " From your friend, very respectfully, 
 
 "JAMES BUCHANAN. 
 
 "MR. TYLER." 
 
 Happily, as already observed, the celebration was a suc 
 cess ; and what was especially gratifying, the presence and 
 wonderful manoeuvring of the light artillery companies, 
 not forgetting the splendid bearing of the dragoons, and 
 the dismounted companies, headed by Duane s detachment 
 of sappers and miners, had the effect to allay, in a great 
 
BEAUEEGAKD S REMOVAL FEOM WEST POINT. 55 
 
 degree, the feeling of insecurity which for some time had 
 existed to an alarming extent, not only in Washington, but 
 throughout the country, before the arrival of these troops. 
 WASHINGTON, D. C., June, 1885. 
 
 NOTE. As confirmatory of the correctness of the foregoing, it is 
 deemed proper to insert the following statement : 
 
 " WASHINGTON, June 26, 1885. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, I am greatly indebted to you for the number of the 
 Magazine of History containing your article on Mr. Buchanan, which 
 was received this morning. I read the article carefully, and regard it as 
 simply perfect. 
 
 " Most sincerely yours, 
 
 "J. HOLT." 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Senator Slidell s Letter of January 27, 1861, to the President, asking if 
 this was done with his approbation The President s Polite but 
 Crushing Reply. 
 
 "WHEATLAND, September 18, 1861. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, I am collecting materials for history, and I cannot 
 find a note from Mr. Slidell to myself and my answer relative to the very 
 proper removal of Beauregard from West Point. I think I must have 
 given them to Mr. Holt. He was much pleased with my answer at the 
 time. If they are in his possession I should be glad if you would procure 
 me copies. They are very brief. The ladies of Mr. S. s family never 
 after looked near the White House. . . . From your friend, 
 
 " Very respectfully, 
 
 "JAMES BUCHANAN. 
 " HON. HORATIO KING." 
 
 On the receipt of this letter I immediately applied to Mr. 
 Holt, in the hope of being able to obtain from him the desired 
 copies, but he could not find them among his papers. Some 
 time afterward it occurred to me that I might possibly find 
 them in the War Department, and I remember I inquired 
 
56 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 after them there on two separate occasions. I remember 
 this because I was refused, I thought very unnecessarily, the 
 first time, by Secretary "W. W. Belknap, who not only de 
 clined to search for, but said he would not furnish them if 
 on file. This not very pleasant recollection was strength 
 ened by a very polite note now before me, under date of 
 May 6, 1878, from Secretary George W. McCrary, informing 
 me " that a careful search of the records of the department 
 fails to show such correspondence." Further comment is 
 unnecessary. 
 
 I wish now to express my gratification that the letters of 
 which the venerable ex-President desired copies, to be used 
 in his history of his administration, have at length made 
 their appearance. General Crawford gives them in his 
 " Genesis of the Civil War," together with a statement of 
 Major Beauregard s appointment on November 8, 1860, by 
 Secretary of War Floyd, and his subsequent removal by 
 Mr. Secretary Holt, Floyd s successor. Major Beauregard 
 was from Louisiana, and, as General Crawford no doubt 
 correctly states, owed the appointment to Senator Slidell, 
 his brother-in-law. As regards secession, he had, General 
 Crawford says, declared that the course of Louisiana was to 
 decide his course. Mr. Slidell knew his man. lie himself 
 was among the most determined conspirators in seeking to 
 destroy the Union ; and I remember how I was startled, I 
 think in 1859, when I met him on the occasion of a dinner 
 at the White House, and he expressed the opinion that the 
 Union would soon be dissolved. Seeing my surprise, " Oh, 
 well," said he, with apparent unconcern, " it may last five 
 or six years longer!" Of course when he heard that his 
 secession protege had been summarily dismissed from his 
 snug office of Superintendent of the Military Academy at 
 West Point, where he had put him to teach the cadets " how 
 to shoot" Union soldiers, he was very wroth, and imme 
 diately addressed to President Buchanan the following 
 letter : 
 
BEAUKEGARD S REMOVAL FROM WEST POINT. 57 
 
 " WASHINGTON, January 27, 1861. 
 
 "MY DEAR SIR, I have seen in the Star, and heard from other 
 parties, that Major Beauregard, who had been ordered to West Point as 
 Superintendent of the Military Academy, and had entered on the dis 
 charge of his duties there, had been relieved from his command. May I 
 take the liberty of asking you if this has been done with your appro 
 bation ? 
 
 " Very respectfully yours, 
 
 "JOHN SLIDELL." 
 
 General Crawford is at fault, as he is in many other things 
 in his " Genesis of the Civil War," when he says that Sen 
 ator Slidell s " influence with the President was at this time 
 potential. 7 He apparently thought he might overawe Mr. 
 Buchanan, hut he was not long in finding out his mistake. 
 
 I have more than once heard General Holt relate what 
 took place between him and the President at this point, and, 
 as appeared by a foot-note, he communicated the same in a 
 letter to General Crawford, from which I may be allowed 
 to quote. Soon after receiving Mr. Slidell s letter the Presi 
 dent sent for the Secretary of War and handed him the 
 letter, saying to him, " Read this." Upon reading it Gen 
 eral Holt, indignant at its tone, said, " Mr. President, we 
 have heard this crack of the overseer s whip over our heads 
 long enough. This note is an outrage ; it is one that Sen 
 ator Slidell had no right to address to you." " I think so 
 myself," replied the President, " and will write him to that 
 effect." " No," continued the Secretary, " I feel that I have 
 a right, Mr. President, to ask that you do more than this ; 
 that you will say to Senator Slidell, without qualification 
 and without explanation, that this is your act ; for you know 
 that, as Secretary of War, I am simply your representative, 
 and if my acts, as such, are not your acts, then they are 
 nothing." The President assented to this view, and with 
 out delay sent to Mr. Slidell the following answer : 
 
 " WASHINGTON, January 29, 1861. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, With every sentiment of personal friendship and 
 regard, I am obliged to say, in answer to your note of Sunday, that I 
 
58 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 have full confidence in the Secretary of War, and his acts, in the line of 
 his duty, are my own acts, for which I am responsible. 
 " Yours very respectfully, 
 
 " JAMES BUCHANAN." 
 
 Speaking of this subject only a few days ago, General 
 Holt expressed great satisfaction at the noble conduct of the 
 President on that occasion. 
 
 WASHINGTON, February 11, 1888. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE GOVERNOR S GRIEVANCE. 
 
 An Anecdote of Secretary Holt and Governor (" Extra Billy") Smith 
 The Governor wishes to know why the Guns of Fortress Monroe have 
 been Pointed Landward Secretary Holt s Amusing Answer. 
 
 I HAVE heard an amusing anecdote, altogether too good 
 to be lost, in which General Holt, Secretary of War in the 
 latter part of Mr. Buchanan s Administration, and the late 
 Governor William Smith, of Warrenton, Virginia, fondly 
 known as " Extra Billy," were the principal actors. With 
 out professing to speak " by authority," from my long ac 
 quaintance with those gentlemen I should not hesitate to 
 declare the story to be true. 
 
 For more than fifty years up to the time of his death, in 
 his eighty-ninth year, on the 18th of May, 1887, no man 
 from the Old Dominion was better known or more respected 
 in Washington than the kind-hearted and genial " Extra 
 Billy" Smith. Above all, he was a great favorite with the 
 ladies. I have seen him hold them delighted for an hour, 
 while he told them, in his rich, flowing expression, of his 
 love-affairs and other touching incidents of his early life. 
 
 It was in the month of January or February, or possibly 
 in the beginning of March, 1861. Secretary Holt was sit- 
 
THE GOVERNOR S GRIEVANCE. 59 
 
 ting alone in his room at the War Department, meditating, 
 no doubt, on what to do in the then agitated state of the 
 country, when Governor Smith was announced and was at 
 once shown in. He had hardly taken his seat when he 
 said, with some excitement, any one acquainted with him 
 can recall his manner of address under the circumstances, 
 " Mr. Secretary, I learn that cannon have been mounted 
 on the land side of Fortress Monroe, which I consider an 
 outrage on the sovereign State of Virginia, and I have come 
 to see what explanation can be made of this extraordinary 
 proceeding." 
 
 General Holt, though sometimes exhibiting what might 
 be regarded as rather a stern exterior, is far from cold when 
 the ice is once broken ; and he has a keen relish for genuine 
 wit and fun. He could not help smiling, perhaps a little too 
 broadly, when he replied : " Well, Governor, I am not a mili 
 tary man, and do not claim to have knowledge of the tactics 
 or strategy of war, but I have always heard that it was the 
 duty of the commander of a fortification to keep the muzzles 
 of his guns turned in the direction from which he was 
 expecting the enemy. It is possible" (he added) "that this 
 traditional view of military duty has led, under the circum 
 stances, to the result of which you speak." 
 
 This explanation did not seem to impress the Governor 
 favorably, and after a few hurried words he left. 
 
60 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 LETTER TO NATHANIEL MITCHELL, ESQ., OF BOSTON. 
 
 Views of W. L. Yancey, Jefferson Davis, J. C. Breckinriclge, and Howell 
 Cobb averse to Secession prior to 1861 Alexander Hamilton and 
 Judge Story against the Right to Secede Pointed Comments. 
 
 WASHINGTON, October 12, 1861. 
 
 DEAR SIR, Your letter of the 8th instant is received. 
 I concur fully in the views expressed by you respecting 
 the wickedness of the present rebellion and the desperate 
 character of many of its leading spirits; nor have I any 
 doubt that these men, who have conspired to destroy the 
 Government, will ere long be brought to condign punish 
 ment. It cannot be otherwise. Unless all history is false, 
 they are certain, sooner or later, to meet the traitor s doom. 
 They stand already condemned, not only by the united voice 
 of true loyalty everywhere, but by the testimony of some of 
 their own chieftains. Said Mr. "W. L. Yancey, at Mont 
 gomery, in 1858 : " No more inferior issue could be ten 
 dered to the South upon which we could dissolve the 
 Union than the loss of an election." Yet the election of 
 Mr. Lincoln, admitted on all sides to have been made ac 
 cording to the requirements of the Constitution, is the con 
 trolling fact on which they rely as a sufficient excuse for 
 their infamous conduct. 
 
 Mr. Yancey continues, " When I am asked to raise the 
 flao?- of rebellion against the Constitution, I am asked to do 
 
 O O 
 
 an unconstitutional thing, according to the requirements of 
 the Constitution as it now exists. I am asked to put myself 
 in the position of a rebel, of a traitor ; in a position where, 
 if the Government should succeed and put me down in the 
 revolution, I and my friends can be arraigned before the 
 Supreme Court of the United States, and there sentenced 
 
LETTER TO NATHANIEL MITCHELL, ESQ. 61 
 
 to be hanged for violating the Constitution and the laws 
 of my country." 
 
 This is clear and to the point. There is no intimation 
 that there was any way of escape except through success. 
 Not even the favorite subterfuge of the " right of seces 
 sion" seems then to have been thought of as affording any 
 chance for relief in case of failure. 
 
 Next hear what Mr. Jefferson Davis said in Faneuil 
 Hall, in the month of September, 1858: "But," he re 
 marked, " if those voices which breathed the first instincts 
 into the colony of Massachusetts, into those colonies which 
 formed the United States, to proclaim community, inde 
 pendence, and assert it against the powerful mother-country 
 if those voices live here still, how must they feel [alluding 
 to Northern disunionists] who come here to preach treason 
 to the Constitution and assail the Union it ordained and estab 
 lished! It would seem that their criminal hearts would 
 fear that those voices, so long slumbering, would break 
 their silence, that those forms which look down from these 
 walls, behind and around me, would come forth, and that 
 their sabres would once more be drawn from their scab 
 bards to drive from this sacred temple these fanatical men, 
 who desecrate it more than did the changers of money and 
 those who sold doves in the temple of the living God." 
 
 If the preaching of treason in Faneuil Hall by a few 
 fanatics should, in the opinion of Mr. Jefferson Davis, 
 thus start the dead to life, with armor on, ready to battle 
 for the Constitution and the Union, what must be the 
 effect of his own conduct and that of his guilty associ 
 ates in now assailing that Constitution and that Union 
 with arms in their hands ? Should he not expect that, 
 awakened by the sound of guns aimed at that glorious 
 "flag, whose constellation," as he declared in his speech 
 at Portland, " though torn and smoked in many a battle 
 by sea and land, has never been stained with dishonor," 
 should he not, I say, look, at such a time, to see the im- 
 
62 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 mortal Washington, supported by his brave compatriots 
 in arms, rise up and smite them from the face of the 
 earth ? 
 
 Much as the leaders of the rebellion relied on their own 
 internal strength and foreign aid, they depended yet more 
 for success on division and dissension in the free States. 
 Even while thus professing devotion to the Constitution 
 and the Union, looking to the possible contingency, if 
 not the probability, of an early rupture between the North 
 and the South, in these same speeches from which I have 
 quoted, Mr. Davis took occasion adroitly to inculcate his 
 peculiar States-Rights doctrines, affirming that fealty to 
 the Federal Government was subordinate to State alle 
 giance, and at Faneuil Hall he exultantly said, " And if 
 it comes to the worst, if, availing themselves of their ma 
 jority in the two Houses of Congress, they should attempt 
 to trample upon our equality in the Union, I believe that 
 there are here in Massachusetts States-Rights Democrats, 
 who have not been represented in Congress for many a 
 day, in whose breasts beats the spirit of the revolution, who 
 can whip the black Republicans." 
 
 In the same confident tone Mr. J. C. Breckinridge, 
 deprecating the employment of force against the revolt 
 ing cotton States, in his letter of the 6th of January last 
 to the Governor of Kentucky, held this language : " The 
 Federal Union cannot be preserved by arms. The attempt 
 would unite the Southern States in resistance, while in the 
 North a great multitude of true and loyal men never would 
 consent to shed the blood of our people in the name and 
 under the authority of a violated compact." 
 
 Such, I think I am correct in saying, was the opinion of 
 most of the prominent politicians, not to say statesmen, of 
 the South prior to the inauguration of the war by " that 
 ungodly and unmanly assault upon the little garrison of 
 Sumter" (as Mr. "Winthrop forcibly characterizes it); nor 
 is it more strange that they indulged this belief than that 
 
LETTER TO NATHANIEL MITCHELL, ESQ. 63 
 
 they finally became so lost to all sense of honor as to 
 plunge the country from the height of prosperity and 
 happiness into a cruel civil war. By the aid of their 
 friends in the free States they had hitherto secured 
 nearly everything they had demanded and maintained 
 their supremacy in the Government, and, like spoiled 
 children, they had the presumption to think that these 
 friends would adhere to them to the extent even of assist 
 ing to trample the flag of their country in the dust. 
 
 The more I reflect upon the atrocious conduct of these 
 men, the more amazed do I become at the enormity of their 
 guilt. Who, one year ago, would have believed such a 
 spectacle possible as that which we behold to-day ? more 
 than two hundred thousand men in arms against our Govern 
 ment, a Government the most beneficent the world ever saw, 
 and all this primarily through the influence and combined 
 action of probably less than one hundred individuals. It 
 could not and did not take place alone from natural causes. 
 No adequate cause nor combination of causes existed to 
 justify it. The whole country was prosperous, and the 
 people, in spite of the angry contentions of politicians, 
 were generally contented and happy. Even after the con 
 spirators succeeded in breaking up the Democratic Conven 
 tions at Charleston and Baltimore, which, it now plainly 
 appears, was an important step, sternly determined on and 
 resolutely carried out, in their programme of disunion, 
 the great mass of the Southern people were loyal in their 
 feeling, so much so that Mr. Yancey himself, in his public 
 address before them, was constrained to profess a love for 
 the Union ; arid Mr. Breckinridge, as a candidate for the 
 Presidency, and especially for the extreme States-Rights 
 party, felt compelled in the most emphatic manner to de 
 clare himself devotedly attached to the Union. Here is 
 what he said on the occasion of being serenaded at his 
 home in Frankfort, on the 18th of July, 1860 : " Fellow- 
 citizens, As to the charge that the convention to which I 
 
64 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 owe my nomination, or that the friends who support me, 
 or that I myself am tainted with a spirit of disunion, how 
 absurd to make a response to a Kentucky audience, and 
 in this old district, too ! I am an American citizen, a 
 Kentuckian who never did an act nor cherished a thought 
 that was not full of devotion to the Constitution and the 
 Union. . . . That Constitution was framed and transmitted 
 by the wisest generation of men that ever lived in the tide 
 of time. It may be called an inspired instrument. It 
 answered them at an early day. It has answered our pur 
 pose. It is good enough for our posterity to keep it 
 pure." 
 
 Alas ! Where now is this once proud and gallant Ken 
 tuckian who so recently filled the second highest office in 
 the gift of the republic ? A fugitive from his own loyal 
 State, not merely " tainted with a spirit of disunion," but, 
 with shame and mortification be it spoken, an open rebel 
 and traitor, in the camp and service of the enemy. 
 
 One of the ablest and purest among Southern statesmen, 
 Mr. J. S. Millson, late representative in Congress from the 
 Norfolk district, in a letter dated August 21, 1860, said : 
 " Mr. Breckinridge was, I fear, put up to be beaten, not 
 to be elected, and to make sure, also, of the defeat of any 
 Democratic competitor. . . . That there is a purpose to ac 
 complish the destruction of the present Union I have much 
 reason to fear." 
 
 But referring to the controversies then going on upon 
 issues relating to slavery, both between the Democratic and 
 Republican, and between the two sections of the Demo 
 cratic party, he remarked : " The truth is, both quarrels 
 relate rather to speculative differences of opinion than to 
 evils or dangers of which there is any well-founded ap 
 prehension. I allude, of course, to evils and dangers re 
 sulting from Federal legislation. And yet the quarrel has 
 never been fiercer than now. The explanation must be 
 sought, not in history, but in psychology : it is, that there 
 
LETTER TO NATHANIEL MITCHELL, ESQ. 65 
 
 never has been so little to quarrel about. ... It is the Union 
 that is wounded and suffers with us from every blow 
 struck at the Constitution, and those who counsel secession 
 on the bare apprehension of injustice forget that to flee 
 from wrongs committed against the Union is to flee from 
 remedies provided by the Union." 
 
 In his speech delivered in the hall of the House of 
 Representatives of Georgia on the 14th of November last, 
 Mr. Alexander II. Stephens, now Yice-President of the so- 
 called Confederate States, declared, " frankly, candidly, and 
 earnestly," that he did not think the people of the South 
 ought to secede from the Union in consequence of the 
 election of Mr. Lincoln to the Presidency of the United 
 States. 
 
 "In my judgment," said he, "the election of no man, 
 constitutionally chosen to that high office, is sufficient cause 
 for any State to separate from the Union. It ought to stand 
 by and aid still in maintaining the Constitution of the 
 country. To make a point of resistance to the Government, 
 to withdraw from it because a man has been constitutionally 
 elected, puts us in the wrong. ... If all our hopes are to 
 be blasted, if the republic is to go down, let us be found to 
 the last moment standing on the deck with the Constitution 
 of the United States waving over our heads. . . . The 
 President of the United States is no emperor, no dictator ; 
 he is clothed with no absolute power. lie can do nothing 
 unless he is backed by power in Congress. The House of 
 Representatives is largely in the majority against him. In 
 the Senate he will also be powerless. There will be a ma 
 jority of four against him. . . . My countrymen, I am not 
 of those who believe this Union has been a curse up to this 
 time. . . . But that this Government of oar fathers, with all 
 its defects, comes nearer the object of all good governments 
 than any other on the face of the earth, is my settled con 
 viction. . . . Have we not at the South as well as at the 
 North grown great, prosperous, and happy under its op- 
 
 5 
 
66 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 eration ? Has any part of the world ever shown such rapid 
 progress in the development of wealth and all the material 
 resources of national power and greatness as the Southern 
 States have under the general Government, notwithstand 
 ing all its defects? . . . Some of our public men have 
 failed in their aspirations : that is true, and from that comes 
 a great part of our troubles." 
 
 This last observation was received with " prolonged ap 
 plause," and the feeling in Georgia continued, in various 
 ways, to manifest itself strongly in favor of the Union 
 until, as in the other revolting States, silenced for the time 
 being by violence. 
 
 But notwithstanding the undoubted attachment to the 
 Union of the great majority of the people of the South, the 
 conspirators, whose head-quarters were in this city, deter 
 mined, reckless of consequences, that the work of separation 
 should go on. 
 
 " State Sovereignty," " Peaceable Secession," " No Co 
 ercion," was their cry, while they threw out the bait of 
 " Reconstruction" to draw in the doubting and to deceive 
 the unwary. The greatest pains seem to have been taken 
 to impress upon the minds of Southern men holding influ 
 ential positions, especially officers of the army and navy, 
 that the allegiance due from them to their respective States 
 was paramount to that which they owed to the United 
 States ; and in this consists the fatal error of thousands of 
 honest Southern men. How strange to us, who feel in every 
 pulse and nerve, in our very souls, that we are citizens, 
 not merely of this or that State, but American citizens! 
 State sovereignty, as understood and proclaimed by Southern 
 radicals, is a fallacy. Need we proof of this ? It is abun 
 dant and conclusive ; and, since I have set out by quoting 
 freely from various sources, and as I wish to group these 
 things, as well for my own as for your satisfaction, I will 
 here cite a few authorities, either of which ought to put 
 this question forever at rest. I commence with extracts 
 
LETTER TO NATHANIEL MITCHELL, ESQ. 67 
 
 from the letter of George Washington to the President of 
 
 O O 
 
 Congress, 17th September, 1787, presenting officially to 
 Congress the Constitution as passed by the Convention of 
 which he was President. This letter, as a writer in the 
 National Intelligencer remarks, was prepared and submitted 
 by Washington for the approval of the Convention, and was 
 approved by them unanimously , paragraph by paragraph : 
 " It is obviously impracticable in the Federal Government 
 of these States to secure all rights of independent sovereignty 
 to each, and yet provide for the interests and safety of all. 
 Individuals entering into society must give up a share of 
 liberty to preserve the rest. ... It is at all times difficult 
 to draw with precision the line between those rights which 
 must be surrendered and those which must be reserved. . . . 
 In all our deliberations on this subject, we kept steadily in 
 our view that which appears to us the greatest interest to 
 every true American, the consolidation of our Union, in which 
 is involved our prosperity, felicity, safety, and, perhaps, our 
 national existence." 
 
 Chief Justice Marshall states his opinion clearly in the 
 next two extracts : " The Government of the Union is em 
 phatically and truly a Government of the people. In form 
 and in substance it emanates from them. Its powers are 
 granted by them, and are to be exercised directly on them 
 and for them." 
 
 And again : " The people made the Constitution, and the 
 people can unmake it. It is the creature of their will, and 
 lives only by their will. But this supreme and irresistible 
 power to make or unmake resides only in the whole body 
 of the people, not in any subdivision of them. The attempt 
 of any of the parts to exercise it is usurpation, and ought 
 to be repelled by those to whom the people have delegated 
 their power of repelling it." 
 
 Judge Story is not less explicit and decided in the follow 
 ing : " The Constitution of the United States was ordained 
 and established, not by the States in their sovereign capaci- 
 
68 TUENING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 ties, but emphatically, as the preamble of the Constitution 
 declares, by The People of the United States. " 
 
 The second clause of the sixth article of the Constitution 
 itself is in the following language : " This Constitution and 
 laws of the United States which shall be made in pursu 
 ance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, 
 under the authority of the United States, shall be the 
 supreme law of the land; and the judges in every State 
 shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws 
 of any State to the contrary notwithstanding" 
 
 With reference to the question whether a State, under any 
 circumstances, could rightfully secede from the Union, Mr. 
 Madison says : " My opinion is that a reservation of a right 
 to withdraw, if amendments be not decided on under the 
 form of the Constitution within a certain time, is a con 
 ditional ratification ; that it does not make New York a 
 member of the new Union, and consequently should not be 
 received on that plan. Compacts must be reciprocal ; this 
 principle would not in such a case be preserved. The Con 
 stitution requires an adoption in toto and forever" 
 
 In a letter to Mr. Hamilton on the subject, he further 
 says : " The idea of reserving a right to withdraw was 
 started at Richmond, and considered as a conditional ratifi 
 cation, which was itself abandoned as worse than a rejec 
 tion." 
 
 In the year 1850, Mr. Howell Cobb, quoting and endorsing 
 these opinions of Mr. Madison against " the right of a State 
 to secede and thus dissolve the Union," truthfully says : 
 " The policy of our Government, during its whole exist 
 ence, looks to the continuance and perpetuity of the Union. 
 Its temporary and conditional existence is nowhere im 
 pressed either upon its domestic or foreign policy. . . . Now 
 we are told that there is no obligation to observe that Union 
 beyond the pleasure of the parties to it, and that the Con 
 stitution can be annulled by the act of any State in the 
 Confederacy. I do not so understand our Government. I 
 
LETTER TO NATHANIEL MITCHELL, ESQ. 69 
 
 feel that I owe my allegiance to a Government possessed of 
 more vitality and strength than that which is drawn from a 
 voluntary obedience to the laws." 
 
 It is due to Mr. Cobb that I should state here a historical 
 fact, which certainly ought not to be and will not be for 
 gotten, namely, that while holding a seat in the Cabinet on 
 a salary of 8000 a year, he prepared an elaborate and in 
 flammatory address to the people of his State, in which he 
 counselled an immediate resort to secession. Said he, " I 
 entertain no doubt either of your right or your duty to secede 
 from the Union." 
 
 I have stated that the conspirators had their head 
 quarters in this city. I should add that many of them 
 were under pay of the United States, and until late into the 
 last winter, their leading newspaper organ, the Constitution, 
 whose editor was a foreigner of the Hessian order, was 
 sustained at the seat of the general Government. They 
 were all " honorable gentlemen," and ardent advocates of 
 " peace." Of course their request, to be " let alone," could 
 not be disregarded without the danger of serious conse 
 quences. They retained their seats in the Cabinet and 
 legislative halls during the day, opposing every measure 
 intended to strengthen and protect the Government, and 
 secretly plotted treason at night. They were keenly averse 
 to the ordering of troops to Washington, and when, in spite 
 of their opposition, several companies of regulars were 
 brought here to secure the safety of the capital, some of 
 them " gnashed their teeth in rage." Here their plans were 
 concocted which were to carry all the slave States out of the 
 Union and give them the city of Washington as their seat 
 of government. They were " honorable gentlemen," and 
 this was to be done " legally," under the authority of " State 
 Sovereignty" and the " Sacred Right of Secession." The 
 forts, arsenals, navy- yards, custom-houses, government de 
 posits, etc., were to be seized only just so fast as the States 
 in which they were located should pass their ordinances of 
 
70 TUKNING OX THE LIGHT. 
 
 secession, and the city of Washington was to be taken 
 only when both Virginia and Maryland should be fairly out 
 of the Union. For a while they went on quite smoothly, 
 encountering scarcely the slightest opposition, much of 
 which success was owing to the ability and foresight of 
 that celebrated financier, the " honorable" J. B. Floyd, in 
 managing, while Secretary of War, to leave the fortifica 
 tions, etc., either without garrisons, or, as in the case of 
 General Twiggs s command in Texas, under the charge of 
 officers known to be traitors at heart. True, in some in 
 stances they did not wait for the passage of the ordinances 
 of secession before taking possessi on of the public property ; 
 and but for the presence of General McClellan and his band 
 of patriots, no doubt they might bring their tender con 
 sciences to consent as " a military necessity" to their occupy 
 ing Washington at once, notwithstanding that, owing to the 
 absence of some of her distinguished citizens on a visit to 
 Colonel Burke, of " PHotel de Lafayette," in New York, 
 Maryland has not yet " seceded." 
 
 Seriously, is there in the history of the world to be found 
 an account of any rebellion which, in the enormity of its 
 wickedness, can begin to compare with what we now wit 
 ness? There is no such record, and there never was so 
 great a crime committed by a people entitled to be styled 
 civilized, as that now being perpetrated by the rebels of the 
 Southern States. It is appalling to contemplate. Think of 
 the suffering and distress already caused and the still greater 
 pain and sorrow indescribable which, ere the rebellion is 
 subdued, must be experienced throughout the length and 
 breadth of the land, by this most inexcusable and savage 
 attempt to subvert the mildest and best Government ever 
 vouchsafed to mortal man. 
 
 No wonder that the loyal heart of the nation is bleeding 
 in agony at this awful spectacle. 
 
 No wonder that the Sons of Liberty in countless numbers 
 are aroused and hastening with stout hearts and strong arms 
 
LETTER TO NATHANIEL MITCHELL, ESQ. 71 
 
 to the rescue, all resolutely declaring that " the Union must 
 and shall be preserved." Yes, and rest assured the Union will 
 be preserved. 
 
 Welcome, thrice welcome, then, say I, to these brave 
 soldiers. On to victory ! 
 
 " Strike till the last armed foe expires, 
 Strike for your altars and your fires, 
 Strike for the green graves of your sires, 
 God, and your native land." 
 
 Let me not be misunderstood. I entertain no hostile feel 
 ings against the South. On the contrary, I have always 
 been, and trust I shall ever continue to be, her steadfast 
 friend. I would defend her to the last against every en 
 croachment, and secure to her the uninterrupted enjoyment 
 of all her just rights under the Constitution. Her people 
 are our brethren, and I rejoice to know from personal obser 
 vation that the feeling of friendship toward them in the 
 North remains unshaken. It is not against them that we 
 
 O 
 
 contend, but against a. band of traitors and conspirators, 
 their oppressors, and for their deliverance. In a word, the 
 war which has been forced upon us, and in which we are 
 engaged, " is not one of aggression, or conquest, or spolia 
 tion, or passion, but, in every light in which it can be re 
 garded, it is a war of duty. The struggle is intensely one 
 for national existence." 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 HORATIO KING. 
 NATHANIEL MITCHELL, ESQ., 
 
 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
72 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ADDRESS OF HORATIO KINO ON THE WAR. 
 
 Delivered at Oxford and Paris, Maine, in August, 1862 ; never before 
 published Vivid Sketch of the Times. 
 
 LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, Unaccustomed as I am to pub 
 lic speaking, I am, nevertheless, glad of the opportunity of 
 giving expression here, the home of my youth, to the senti 
 ments nearest my heart touching the wicked and uncalled- 
 for rebellion now threatening the destruction of the best 
 government upon the face of the earth. 
 
 What do we behold ? A people numbering more than 
 twenty millions, all in a condition of unparalleled pros 
 perity, suddenly thrown into a state of war ; and for what ? 
 Were any portion suffering under wrongs which could not 
 have been redressed by the peaceful means provided by the 
 Constitution ? ~No ; the ballot-box was still open to them, 
 and the loyalty of the great body of the people was yet 
 unshaken, when a few desperate men, who had long been 
 plotting the overthrow of the Government in the event of 
 being unable to control its action, set about to obtain pos 
 session of or destroy it by force of arms. 
 
 My friends, from that moment there have been but two 
 parties in this country, one for and the other against the 
 Union. True, men may differ as to the proper mode of 
 conducting the war; but all who are not now ready to lend 
 their countenance and support to the Government in its 
 efforts to put down this rebellion. I care not whether they 
 be North or South, are at heart traitors, and should be 
 treated as such. 
 
 It is too late to go into a discussion of the causes of the 
 war, at least, any such discussion should be postponed 
 until the contest is ended. It is enough to know that the 
 
ADDRESS OF HORATIO KING ON THE WAR. 73 
 
 war has been forced upon us, and that we must now either 
 conquer or be conquered. A permanent division is out of 
 the question. Were peace proclaimed to-day on the basis 
 of a dividing line and the acknowledgment of a Southern 
 Confederacy, two years would not elapse before we should 
 be again at war more determined and fiercer than ever. 
 
 There is in the South, I am sorry to say, a class of men 
 who have been educated to think themselves the superiors 
 of Northern men, and especially of our laboring classes, 
 whose intelligence they underrate and whose courage they 
 have heretofore doubted. This class is known as the 
 " Chivalry," and, having secured political control by making 
 politics their sole study and business, they have unfortu 
 nately had it in their power, although in a small minority, 
 so to shape the course of their State and county organiza 
 tions as to override the more quiet and law-abiding portion 
 of the Southern community ; and nothing short of a severe 
 chastisement will serve to bring them to that state of rational 
 common-sense and decency which is consistent with repub 
 lican equality and good neighborhood. Without a sound 
 drubbing, this class, which is not confined to the male gender, 
 will never consent to live at peace with us, unless, indeed, 
 we will agree to be their slaves. 
 
 No, gentlemen, there can be no peace now, except 
 through stern, unrelenting war; and those among you who 
 cry " Peace, peace," should be regarded as no better than 
 rebels in disguise, if they are not so in fact. 
 
 Peace, forsooth ! Yet we may have peace if we will give 
 up to the rebels the slave States, the District of Columbia 
 with its public buildings, the control of the Mississippi, raise 
 the blockade, and settle quietly down as " hewers of wood 
 and drawers of water" to this self-inflated Southern chivalry. 
 Nothing short of this will satisfy them ; and, if you have any 
 here at the North who are so blinded by partisan spite or so 
 degraded from innate meanness as to be willing to submit 
 to such a peace as this, I hope and trust it may be so man- 
 
74 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 aged that they may be drafted and forced to go where the 
 bullets of the enemy will put an end to their God-for-saken 
 lives. 
 
 I have said it is not now the time to discuss the causes of 
 the war ; but I may say that, whatever these causes, they 
 were one and all insufficient to justify this wicked assault 
 on the flag of the Union. There was no subject of contro 
 versy which, with sensible men, could not have been adjusted 
 without a resort to arms. The cry of " abolition," raised 
 by the conspirators, was only a pretext. South Carolina, 
 the leader of the rebellion, never lost a slave. The real 
 conspirators had for years been secretly engaged in prepa 
 rations to " precipitate the South into revolution." Instead 
 of seeking to prevent the election of Lincoln, which they 
 falsely proclaim as a reason for their infidelity, they did all 
 in their power to secure it. 
 
 But they really had nothing to fear from his elevation to 
 the Presidency. Had they kept their places in the halls of 
 Congress, instead of retiring in mock dignity and leaving 
 their seats vacant, they would, with the aid of the conserva 
 tive party of the loyal States, have been able to control every 
 important appointment under the Government, even the 
 members of his Cabinet. IsTor would it have been in the 
 power of Congress to pass a single measure tending to inter 
 fere with slavery in any State where it exists, nor in the 
 District of Columbia, where it is now forever abolished. 
 Their purpose was first to embarrass and then break up or 
 get control of the Government. Meantime, while State after 
 State was seceding, or proclaiming secession from the Union, 
 armed bands were taking possession of the forts, arsenals, 
 custom-houses, and other Government property in those 
 States, and the determination no doubt was, if possible, thus 
 to carry every slave State out, including Maryland, when the 
 capital itself was to fall into their hands. This they hoped 
 to do before Lincoln s inauguration. All through the winter 
 of 1860-61, still having their head-quarters at Washington, 
 
ADDRESS OF HORATIO KING ON THE WAR. 75 
 
 they were every moment occupied in their work of con 
 spiracy, some of their number being yet in the Cabinet, 
 where, professing to be entirely loyal, they were unfortu 
 nately allowed to remain to a late day. The error is plain 
 now : it was not so clear then, else they would undoubtedly 
 have been required to leave long before they did. NOT 
 would their political organ, the Constitution newspaper, have 
 been so long permitted there, at the very seat of Govern 
 ment, to counsel open rebellion, had the Government or the 
 people seen, as they now see, that treason, and only rank 
 treason, was at the bottom of all these proceedings. The 
 constant cry then was " Peace, peace," and few would believe 
 that the South would venture beyond a menace against the 
 Union, which, as they had indulged in this practice, though 
 in a milder manner, so often before, it was supposed was 
 resorted to merely for political effect. A great error. Some 
 few were for the adoption of energetic measures against the 
 conspirators, but the prominent sentiment, or perhaps hope, 
 seemed to be that if the shedding of blood could be avoided 
 all might yet be well. This view, of course, was favored by 
 all the conspirators and their satellites, who were constantly 
 011 the alert to prevent the Government, as far as lay in their 
 power, from taking any measures of defence. To my cer 
 tain knowledge, their utmost influence was exerted to pre 
 vent the bringing of troops to Washington, and some of 
 them were heard to say, when this was finally accomplished, 
 just prior to the inauguration, that the then Secretary of 
 War the patriotic and true-hearted Joseph Holt would 
 "be execrated by the South" for his action in producing 
 this important result, while others declared he "ought 
 to be placed in a strait jacket." Understand, these pro 
 fessedly " peace" men, or, at least, the most of them, were 
 not then open traitors, but were boisterous and some of them 
 sincere in their devotion to the Union ; and as their loyalty 
 had not hitherto been questioned, it is not surprising that 
 they should have been listened to with a degree of respect. 
 
76 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 It was not, in fact, until some time after the inauguration 
 that anything resembling a warlike policy was adopted on 
 the part of the national Government. Mr. Lincoln had 
 assured the country of his stern purpose to see that the 
 rights of the people in every section were protected, and 
 of his earnest desire for the preservation of peace. He had 
 offered positions in his Cabinet to prominent Southern men 
 and given every evidence of a friendly disposition towards 
 the South that any but base traitors could expect or de 
 mand; but all to no purpose. The rebellion had become 
 thoroughly rooted in the hearts of the original conspirators, 
 whose motto was " rule or ruin," and the Government and 
 the people were at length compelled to give up all hope of 
 peace, and now, as it were, for the first time, to look hid 
 eous war full in the face. If doubt had existed before, 
 there was now no question as to the real purpose of the 
 conspirators, and that the capital was actually in clanger. 
 
 What was the Government to do ? Was it to sit still and 
 patiently wait the arrival of the " Southern Chivalry," who, 
 defeated at the polls, were, Mexican-like, coming to take 
 possession by force of arms ? Is there in all the loyal 
 States a single person, not a traitor at heart, who will pro 
 claim himself a dastard by declaring that it was not the 
 imperative duty of the President to make the call for the 
 first seventy-five thousand troops when he did ? Does any 
 one now believe that if these decisive measures had not 
 been adopted, Washington would not have fallen into the 
 hands of the rebels ? If any such there be, let me tell him 
 he was never more mistaken. I firmly believe that it was 
 their plan to usurp the government, and, once in possession, 
 they relied on sufficient support from the Middle and 
 Western States to enable them to establish themselves per 
 manently therein, thus securing not only their ascendency 
 but the perpetuity of their favorite institution. 
 
 And how was this call of the President received by the 
 South ? It was at once misrepresented. The people, already 
 
ADDRESS OF HORATIO KING ON THE WAR. 77 
 
 greatly excited, were told that, instead of the defence of 
 Washington, " subjugation of the South" was to be the 
 work of the troops thus called into the field. Under this 
 delusion and deception, overawed by armed sentinels, the 
 people of Virginia committed the, to her, fatal error of se 
 ceding from the Union. Had she remained firm and for 
 bidden the armed traitors of the Cotton States to pollute, 
 by their footsteps, the soil of the once glorious but now 
 degraded Old Dominion, it is highly probable the rebellion 
 would ere this have been crushed and the country once 
 more united and happy. 
 
 Such, however, was not to be our lot, and it was left only 
 for the Government to put forth its strength for a desperate 
 struggle. Most nobly have the people rushed to the rescue. 
 In this bloody and unexpected contest, is it strange that the 
 Government, thus taken by surprise, should commit some 
 mistakes? Certainly not. But, after all, is it not wonder 
 ful that so much has been accomplished in the short time 
 we have been engaged in active warfare, considering the 
 gigantic proportions of the rebellion and the savage char 
 acter of our assailants ? Endangered, as we constantly have 
 been and are, by traitors from without and within, the enemy 
 have nevertheless been encircled by a Avail of fire, they 
 have been defeated in many a well-fought battle, and the 
 pressure on nearly every side is becoming more and more 
 severe every day. Our navy, soon I trust to be in a condi 
 tion " to defy the world in arms," has covered itself with 
 glory, our brave officers and soldiers are earning for 
 themselves undying fame, and we who remain at home 
 have but to do our duty in contributing by every means in 
 our power to the support of the holy cause of the Union, 
 and there is no fear of the result. 
 
 As in the days of the Revolution, so now we rejoice to 
 see that the gentler sex are in no wise backward in lending 
 a helping hand. With words of encouragement, they are 
 sending their sons, their husbands, and their brothers to the 
 
78 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 field of strife, themselves in many instances performing the 
 work of husbands and sons and brothers in their absence. 
 While those at home generally manifest an earnest desire to 
 aid the good cause and are thus doing all they can to that 
 end, many have enlisted as nurses for the sick and wounded 
 in the army, and, go where you may in the hospitals, 
 you will find one or more of these angels of mercy, who, 
 by her soothing presence and p>atient watching, is doing 
 all that a few years ago gave Florence Nightingale so en 
 viable a name throughout the civilized world. All honor 
 to the fair sex for their patriotic devotion and substantial 
 aid in this hour of our country s trial ! But what shall we 
 say of their erring sisters of the South, who have so far for 
 gotten what belongs to the female character as to disgrace 
 themselves by insults to our soldiers and by other con 
 duct most unbecoming their sex ? Should they be treated 
 as ladies ? I think not. They are unworthy of the name. 
 For my own part, I think General Butler deserves great 
 credit in setting an example of rigid punishment for this 
 class of persons. By this I would not be understood as 
 exactly approving the phraseology of his now celebrated 
 order on this subject; not that the females in question re 
 ceive more punishment than they really deserve by the odi 
 ous comparison conveyed by its language, but it is open to 
 objection on the ground that it gives his enemies and the 
 enemies of the Union an opportunity so eagerly seized upon 
 by them of misrepresenting its true intent, and thus ex 
 citing unjust prejudice. If a woman unsexes and makes of 
 herself a devil, I know of no reason why she should not be 
 treated accordingly. Besides, it is an insult to all deserving 
 the title, to speak of such a female as a u lady ;" and so far 
 as I have heard the opinion of ladies upon the order in 
 question, they have been decidedly in its favor. That it 
 would be misconstrued by the rebels might have been an 
 ticipated ; but there is something ludicrous in the exhibi 
 tion which grave members of the British Parliament made 
 
ADDRESS OF HOEATIO KING ON THE WAR. 79 
 
 about this matter, and I am not surprised to observe that 
 this display of holy indignation on their part regarding this 
 and other acts of our officers has furnished a theme for our 
 American Punch which has been well improved. Brother 
 Jonathan, long, lank, and saucy, stands leaning upon his 
 musket, a small black speck appearing upon one side of 
 his nose, while John Bull, beef-fed and pursy, with cane in 
 hand, very pompously calls his attention to this slight speck, 
 apparently without the remotest thought of his own nasal 
 organ, which presents itself a perfect blossom of blotches. 
 
 But we can afford to allow the British Government and 
 the British people to entertain any views and make any 
 comments they please in regard to our management of the 
 war, provided they will keep on their own side of the water. 
 We cannot, however, but feel humiliated for England when 
 we see her so ready to extend all the aid she dares to give 
 to the rebels, thereby plainly showing that she is not only 
 desirous of witnessing the downfall of our Government, 
 but the establishment of a Southern oligarchy, whose foun 
 dation corner-stone is slavery. The Queen, I am happy to 
 see, steadily maintains her declared purpose to observe neu 
 trality with reference to our domestic concerns. I entertain 
 for her a high respect, and if she consults the happiness of 
 her own people and that of her amiable son, the Prince of 
 Wales, who is to succeed her on the throne, she will never 
 allow of any active interference, which would be certain to 
 bring on a war between the United States and Great Britain. 
 
 " Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad." 
 The conspirators confidently counted both on foreign aid and 
 on division in the free States. Hitherto they have received 
 less of foreign assistance than they thought themselves 
 sure of ere they plunged the South into revolution, and 
 they have been almost wholly disappointed in respect to 
 division at the North. They have been equally at fault in 
 the estimate they had formed of the resources of the loyal 
 States and of the courage of our citizen soldiers, especially 
 
80 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 of the Northern and Middle sections of the Union. It may 
 be reasonably doubted whether they would have ventured 
 on rebellion had they possessed correct information on all 
 these points. But this was not possible, and, having care 
 fully calculated their own strength, which, it must be ad 
 mitted, we have ourselves underrated, and trusting to their 
 erroneous judgment on these points, they rushed madly 
 into revolution. 
 
 Nevertheless, if the contest is prolonged many months 
 longer, there is great danger that their calculations respect 
 ing foreign interference and division among ourselves may 
 yet be realized. It behooves us, therefore, to be thoroughly 
 united and to extend our utmost aid to the Government, 
 thus to secure a vigorous prosecution and speedy termina 
 tion of the war. Let us keep in view the fact that we are 
 fighting, not for the abolition of slavery, but for the pres 
 ervation of the Constitution and the Union. The danger 
 is that the very division on which the rebels counted may 
 yet be produced, and everything lost by the reckless and 
 determined pressure of certain extremists in the free States 
 for a proclamation of immediate emancipation of the slaves 
 throughout the South, and for the arming of the slaves 
 to fight against their masters. Will not this class of our 
 citizens take warning in season and cease embarrassing the 
 Government? The President has repeatedly announced his 
 policy on this subject, and it is such as commends itself to 
 the favor of every intelligent and well-disposed friend of 
 the Union. If slavery suffers or is totally destroyed as a 
 consequence of the war, no matter ; this is all right, and 
 the slave-owners must look for redress to those who com 
 menced the war. Wherever the slaves can be employed 
 to advantage as laborers in the army, it should of course be 
 done, but to think of ever raising the negro to a social 
 equality with the white man is arrant folly. 
 
 I was struck by some remarks in a letter written a few 
 weeks ago by the Honorable George E. Badger, of North 
 
ADDRESS OF HORATIO KING ON THE WAR. 81 
 
 Carolina, and late United States Senator from that State. 
 It is addressed to Honorable Mr. Ely, member of Congress 
 from New York. He says : 
 
 " Mr. Ely, think a moment. We have been invaded by 
 an enemy as unrelenting and ferocious as the hordes under 
 Attila and Alaric, who overran the Roman Empire. He 
 comes to rob us, to murder our people, to insult our women, 
 to emancipate our slaves, and is now preparing to add a new 
 element to this most atrocious as^ression and involve us in 
 
 OO 
 
 the direful horrors of a civil war. He proposes nothing 
 less than our entire destruction, the total desolation of our 
 country, universal emancipation, not from love of the 
 slave, but from hatred to us ; i to crush us/ to wipe out 
 the South, to involve us in irremediable misery and hope 
 less ruin." 
 
 Now, so far as the United States Government is con 
 cerned, I would ask, Is there in all this really one word of 
 truth ? Let us see. In one sense it is true, the armies of 
 the Union have i invaded the South. Chivalrous South 
 Carolina pronounced it an " invasion" when the Govern 
 ment sought to convey, by a merchant steamer, food to the 
 famishing little garrison at Fort Sumter, and fired upon 
 that vessel. So, when the President first called for troops 
 to protect the capital, the secessionists of Maryland had 
 the effrontery to proclaim that their State was " invaded" 
 by the transit of these troops to Washington; and our 
 brave soldiers were stoned and shot down like dogs in 
 the streets of Baltimore, so that, when they reached Wash 
 ington, many of them were bloody and bruised and 
 maimed, as I saw them in the city hospital the next day, 
 while the lifeless remains of others were returned to their 
 friends in Massachusetts, and others still left to die in Balti 
 more. 
 
 And so, too, the Virginia rebels cried " invasion" when a 
 detachment of our army moved across the river to Arlington 
 Heights and Alexandria, taking position there as the best 
 
 6 " 
 
82 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 possible means of preventing the rebels from destroying 
 the city; and, in the act of removing a secession flag from 
 one of the public houses in Alexandria, the brave Colonel 
 Ellsworth fell dead with a bullet through his body from 
 the gun of a rebel, who, thanks to young Brownell, in 
 stantly paid the penalty of his crime with his own life. 
 
 In this sense, and this only, has the South been " in 
 vaded." Invasion is a hostile entrance upon the territory 
 or premises of another, and no such invasion has been 
 made by the United States forces, who go, not as enemies 
 nor with hostile intent, but as friends equally of the North 
 and the South, to assert the rights of all under the Consti 
 tution and to uphold the flag of the Union. If the people 
 of the South would lay down their arms and submit to the 
 Constitution and the laws, not another gun would be dis 
 charged nor sword unsheathed against them. 
 
 It is untrue that either the loyal citizens or the soldiers 
 of the Union are " unrelenting and ferocious" toward the 
 South. On the contrary, the almost entire absence of this 
 feeling is one of the most remarkable features of this lam 
 entable contest. 
 
 They do not go to " rob," nor " murder," to " insult their 
 women," nor, as a primary object, " to emancipate their 
 slaves." One of the most serious complaints against our 
 army, heretofore, has been that, instead of subsisting our 
 troops as far as possible upon the rebels, thus making 
 the latter bear a part of the expense required to subdue 
 them, our generals have kept guard over their property 
 while our troops have been suffering for the actual neces 
 saries of life. To speak of the act of our soldiers in taking 
 the lives of rebels in arms as " murder" is a misnomer ; and 
 as to " insulting their women" this charge has already been 
 disposed of. Neither is it true that our Government, or 
 any considerable number of our citizens, are for " universal 
 emancipation." Let the South return to its loyalty to-day, 
 and not a slave need be set free without the consent of his 
 
ADDRESS OF HORATIO KING ON THE WAR. 83 
 
 master. Let the seceded States wheel again into line, and 
 instantly they will resume all their rights as sovereign and 
 independent States under the Constitution. 
 
 No, no, Mr. Badger, " think a moment," and see if you 
 are not charging the United States Government and the 
 brave troops who are fighting for your liberty and that of 
 your posterity, as well as ours, with entertaining sentiments 
 regarding emancipation which are common only to a small 
 party of extremists in the free States. I exceedingly regret 
 that you have even this much upon which to found your 
 charge, and I would fain hope that, discovering from your 
 own misconceptions the great injury they are inflicting on the 
 Union cause by their fanatical course, this party of extremists 
 will see the propriety of hereafter supporting the sound policy 
 of the national administration, instead of doing all in their 
 power to embarrass and turn it from the even tenor of its way. 
 
 My friends, I appear before you in no partisan spirit, for, 
 until the rebellion is put down, I desire to recognize no party 
 at the North other than the one great party of the Union. 
 It will then be time enough to look after party organizations, 
 and, if need be, settle up old scores. He who is not for us 
 is against us. I can hardly conceive it possible, and yet I 
 am told there are some, even in this State, who actually 
 sympathize with the rebellion and rejoice in its success. 
 We have in Washington many persons of this class, some, 
 I have no doubt, still subsisting on the bounty of the Govern 
 ment ; but being, as I believe without exception, of Southern 
 birth and generally careful to avoid exposure to arrest, they 
 have been tolerated there with a degree of patience, I must 
 say, scarcely compatible with public safety. Occasionally 
 one has been sent to the old capitol prison for a short time, 
 and with effect decidedly salutary, not only upon himself but 
 upon all his sympathizing friends in the city. Some should 
 long since have been made to join those of their brethren 
 who took themselves off to Richmond before the commence 
 ment of hostilities, in the fond expectation of soon returning 
 
84 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 in triumph ; but hitherto the Government has treated the 
 great body of these rebel sympathizers with marked leniency, 
 so they have been suffered to remain undisturbed. With 
 Christian fortitude and patience we can bear this in the 
 border States and the District of Columbia ; but in the free 
 States the Government should make short work of them. I 
 care not if not only the habeas corpus be suspended for their 
 benefit, but I am not sure it would not be a wholesome 
 remedy and excellent caution, here and there, to have 
 another kind of suspension practised upon them. I know 
 that all such traitors, and they are nothing but traitors, are 
 professedly great sticklers for the Constitution. They are 
 awfully shocked at any act of the Government, no matter 
 how necessary to self-preservation, which they may regard 
 as in the least extra-Constitutional ; while at the same time 
 they have no hesitation in cheering on the bogus President 
 and his faithful minions in their efforts utterly to annihilate 
 the Constitution and spread destruction throughout the land. 
 Such creatures would dance over the graves of their mothers ; 
 they should be branded w r ith infamy, and by means either 
 of bolts or hemp speedily put beyond the pale of decent 
 society. 
 
 But there certainly can be few, if any, such in this State. 
 The atmosphere is too pure for them. Judging from the 
 alacrity with which the noble sons of Maine, led on by our 
 distinguished generals, Howard, Jameson, Berry, Prince, 
 and other able officers, have sprung to arms, it is difficult 
 to believe that any among you are so base as to harbor even 
 the remotest thought of sympathy with treason. One would 
 suppose that every heart would thrill with joy and pride at 
 the glorious spectacle of our brave troops thus marching on 
 to duty and to victory. I shall never forget the pride and 
 delight with which I hailed their first appearance in Wash 
 ington, at a time when it seemed that any night the rebels 
 might bring their guns to bear upon and shell the city. 
 Honor, all honor, say I, to our brave officers and soldiers. 
 
EARLY STAGES OF THE REBELLION. 85 
 
 Let us strain every nerve to strengthen and encourage them 
 in their holy work of restoring the Union. I have said they 
 are marching on to victory. This cannot, must not be 
 doubted. The Union must be preserved. Slavery or no 
 slavery, the people of the United States are one family, the 
 territory they occupy is their own country, and this country 
 can have but one supreme government, the Government 
 of the old Union, whose Star-spangled Banner shall ever 
 continue a token of joy to all lovers of freedom throughout 
 the world. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 REMINISCENCES OF THE EARLY STAGES OF THE REBELLION. 
 
 Few Persons Apprehend Serious Trouble Only a Small Number of 
 Active Union Men in Washington Extracts of a Fierce Letter 
 from John D. Ashmore, Member of Congress from South Carolina 
 Letters from Edward Everett and ex-President Pierce Alarm now 
 in the City Resolution of the Senate appointing a Committee to 
 Investigate Cause Testimony of General Scott, Jacob Thompson, 
 the Mayor, Governor Hicks, of Maryland, and others Letters of 
 ex-President Buchanan Star of the West Sharp Correspondence 
 between Holt and Thompson Resignation of Members of the Cabinet 
 Senator Yulee s Threats Midnight Interview with General Scott. 
 
 IN recurring to the horrors of the war and of the few 
 months preceding it, as experienced by us here at the capital, 
 it has often occurred to me that, if possible, I suffered more 
 from the dread apprehension of the impending conflict, and 
 the shock upon shock at the seizure of the forts, arsenals, 
 custom-houses, post-offices, and other government property 
 by the rebels in the last months of President Buchanan s 
 administration, than at any subsequent period during the 
 war. No sooner was the election of Mr. Lincoln announced 
 and it was known throughout the country on the evening 
 of election-day, the 6th of November, 1860 than the threat 
 ening signs appeared in all parts of the South, and the 
 
86 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 i 
 
 secessionists everywhere, urged on by the Constitution news 
 paper of this city, nominally under the editorship of Wil 
 liam M. Browne, an Englishman, but really the mouth-piece 
 and under the direction of the leaders of the rebellion, set 
 to work actively to effect a withdrawal of all the slave States 
 from the Union. 
 
 This newspaper, having been regarded as the organ of the 
 administration, still sustained this character to a greater or 
 less extent, particularly as it was the continued recipient of 
 the Government advertisements, which furnished its prin 
 cipal means of support ; and this naturally gave rise to doubt 
 as to the course the administration intended to pursue in the 
 momentous crisis now at hand. But Messrs. Cobb, Floyd, 
 and Thompson were yet members of the Cabinet, the 
 Southern element was greatly in the ascendant here gen 
 erally, and the time had not come for so decisive a step even 
 as to withdraw from that paper the government patronage, 
 notwithstanding I know that soon after the election it became 
 a source of regret and mortification to many here that such 
 a sheet should be allowed to draw its main sustenance from 
 the Government it was seeking to destroy. When this pat 
 ronage, some weeks afterward, was finally withheld by order 
 of the President, the paper immediately ceased to exist ; but 
 so long as it was continued, it not only operated to the injury 
 of the administration, but did great harm also to the Union 
 cause North and South, for the reason before mentioned, that 
 the public had come so generally to regard it as the organ 
 of the administration. 
 
 A most remarkable fact of this period a fact which, in 
 making up a judgment upon President Buchanan s adminis 
 tration of affairs at this time, should not be forgotten was, 
 that few persons comparatively, either in the North or West, 
 appeared to apprehend any serious trouble, regarding the 
 threats and movements of the secessionists as only a repe 
 tition in an aggravated form, to be sure of what we had 
 seen on former occasions, and all for political effect, Nor 
 
EARLY STAGES OF THE REBELLION. 87 
 
 was this feeling confined to one party : it pervaded all the 
 free States. Hence, while the disunionists were everywhere 
 active, and endeavoring to disseminate the idea that they 
 were not only in favor with the administration, but with the 
 Democratic party at large, the great body of the true friends 
 of the administration stood aloof, never coming near the 
 President or offering counsel. How well I recollect that all 
 through the month of November I thought almost every 
 body in the free States was asleep. Here we were, a small 
 number then of active Union men, in the very hotbed of 
 the conspiracy, and surrounded by a host of bold and deter 
 mined disunionists bent on " rule or ruin." The great mass 
 of those here who at heart were true to the Union were 
 passive rather than otherwise, because they did not care to 
 expose themselves to the charge of " Black Republicanism," 
 which was then the potent missile levelled by the secession 
 ists against every person who dared openly to oppose them. 
 Was it strange, therefore, that any one, seeing and feeling 
 the real danger ahead, should have reached out after help ? 
 that with such feelings one should cast around for patriotic 
 statesmen to come to the rescue ? Humble as I was, occupy 
 ing then a subordinate position in the Post-Office Depart 
 ment, so impressed was I by the appalling aspect of affairs, 
 that I seemed to be impelled by a power beyond myself to 
 " cry aloud and spare not ;" and, departing from my previous 
 rule of appropriate modesty, to which it may be thought 
 I have not returned, I made bold to address earnest appeals 
 to distinguished men, far and near, to exert their influence 
 toward averting the threatened outbreak. The following 
 extract of a letter from a Southern member of Congress 
 may be taken as a specimen of the encouragement I received 
 from that quarter. It bears date November 5, 1860, the day 
 before the Presidential election : 
 
 " To the latter part of your letter I reply frankly. On my entrance into 
 Congress it was as a constitutional Union-loving man. From the days of 
 my childhood I have loved the Union, during youth and manhood I 
 
88 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 still loved it. ... If Lincoln be elected, as I have no doubt he will be, 
 and the South submit to his inauguration, then are they, in my judgment, 
 cowards and traitors to their own rights, unworthy of any other condition 
 than that that awaits them, inferiors, provincialists, and subjects. Lin 
 coln will never be the President of thirty-three confederate States. Men 
 like myself, who for a lifetime have fought the extreme ultraisms of the 
 South and the mad fanaticism of the North, will not permit Abe Lin 
 coln s banner, inscribed with higher law, negro equality, irrepressible 
 conflict, and final emancipation, to wave over us. We have and do 
 deserve a more glorious destiny. . . . Three hundred thousand swords are 
 now ready to leap from their scabbards in support of a Southern con 
 federacy. Fort Moultrie will be in the hands of the South on the morn 
 ing of the fourth day of March next. Our women and children are 
 ready and eager for the conflict, and would kick us out of our houses if 
 we basely and tamely yield again." 
 
 The above was evidently not intended, nor was it re 
 garded, as strictly a private letter. All such information, 
 when received, was promptly communicated to those in 
 authority. It was important, of course, that the President 
 himself should not only be kept advised of the actions of 
 the disunionists, but that he should discountenance their 
 nefarious proceedings, and that his hands should be strength 
 ened by support from patriotic citizens everywhere ; and to 
 this end it was the desire to have placed before him, as far 
 as possible, the opinions and advice of citizens in whose 
 judgment he might confide. Here is a letter to me from 
 the Hon. Edward Everett, who, it w r ill be recollected, had 
 just passed through the canvass as candidate for Vice- 
 President on the conservative ticket, with the Hon. John 
 Bell for President : 
 
 " BOSTON, 27th November, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, I share the opinion of your correspondent as to the 
 very critical state of public affairs, and I feel it to be the duty of every 
 good citizen, by word and deed, to contribute his mite, however small, to 
 rescue the country from impending peril, by far the greatest that ever 
 threatened it. 
 
 "The cause assigned by your correspondent as that which prevents 
 Union men from affording the President their support and counsel in this 
 crisis will not prevent my doing it, but ordinary self respect under the 
 
EARLY STAGES OF THE REBELLION. 89 
 
 notorious circumstances of the case requires that my views should not be 
 obtruded upon him unasked. Whenever they are specially invited by the 
 President himself, or any one in his confidence, they will be cheerfully 
 and respectfully given. 
 
 " I remain, my dear sir, with much regard, 
 " Very truly yours, 
 
 "EDWARD EVERETT." 
 
 The following letter is from ex-President Pierce. Imme 
 diately on its receipt I called on Mr. Secretary Thompson, 
 who with his own pen prepared a preface agreeably to Gen 
 eral Pierce s suggestion, and the letter to the Secretary 
 appeared in the Constitution of the next morning : 
 
 " AXDOVER, MASS., November 28, 1860. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, I have received your kind, earnest letter, and par 
 ticipate strongly in your apprehensions. To my vision the political 
 horizon shuts down close and darkly. It may be that light is to break 
 through somewhere, but I do not discern the quarter whence it is to come. 
 I had occasion to write a friendly letter to Secretary Thompson (Interior) 
 a day or two since, and expressed to him briefly my convictions and fears 
 and hopes in relation to the present state of public affairs. I did not 
 expect that letter to be published, but the blackness is gathering so fast 
 that if anything can be done to save our glorious Union it must be done 
 speedily, and, in my judgment, at the North chiefly. If you call on the 
 Secretary he will show you that letter, and if he thinks the publication 
 of it would be useful, he can use it as he pleases. The truth must appear 
 that it was written in the course of friendly correspondence, and not with 
 a view to publication. Among intelligent, reflecting men, alarm is evi 
 dently increasing here daily. One decisive step in the way of coercion 
 will drive out all the slave-labor States. Of that I entertain no doubt. 
 My suggestion about the tone and temper of Congress, and the importance 
 of temperate words and actions might possibly have some degree of good 
 influence, and there is, perhaps, more hope that the letter might be ser 
 viceable just at this juncture at the North ; but it was hastily written, 
 and my friend, the Secretary, must judge. If you call on him, show him 
 this note. 
 
 " In haste, your friend, 
 
 "FRANKLIN PIERCE." 
 
 It was all to no purpose : the tide rolled on. Congress 
 soon assembled, and became the arena of the fiercest dec- 
 
90 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 lamation and conflict. Everything like coercion on the 
 part of the general Government was denounced and re 
 sisted. Mr. Hindman, of Arkansas, said in the House, " I 
 am willing to give gentlemen a chance to try steel if they 
 prefer it." This was in debate on the bill to amend the 
 acts of 1795 and 1807, so as to authorize the President 
 to accept the services of volunteers, etc., called a " force 
 bill." " This bill," said the chairman having it in charge, 
 " only comes up in the morning hour." Mr. Cochrane, of 
 New York, replied, " If you pass this bill it will be the 
 mourning hour of this republic." " A most ill-timed, un 
 wise, and iniquitous measure," said Mr. Botts, not an 
 extreme man, from Virginia. " If there be any hope of 
 a restoration of peace," said Mr. Babcock, from the same 
 State, " it must be in the defeat of these force bills." And 
 they were finally all defeated. 
 
 Treason was openly proclaimed in the Senate, if not 
 in the House ; State after State " seceded," and the mem 
 bers and senators thereof, with mock solemnity, resigned 
 their seats and withdrew from the halls. The Secretary 
 of the Treasury, Howell Cobb, resigned on the 10th of 
 December; the Secretary of State, General Cass, on the 
 14th ; and the Secretary of War, J. B. Floyd, on the 29th 
 of that month, followed by the Secretary of the Interior, 
 Jacob Thompson, on the 8th of January. 
 
 Alarm continued to increase, and on the 26th of January, 
 1861, the following resolution was referred to the select 
 committee of five appointed by the House of Representa 
 tives on the 9th of that month, Hon. W. A. Howard, of 
 Michigan, being its chairman : 
 
 " Eesolved, That the select committee of five be instructed to inquire 
 whether any secret organization hostile to the Government of the United 
 States exists in the District of Columbia ; and, if so, whether any official 
 or employe of the city of Washington, or any employes or officers of the 
 Federal Government, in the executive or judicial departments, are mem 
 bers thereof." 
 
EARLY STAGES OF THE REBELLION. 91 
 
 The committee say that they entered upon the investiga 
 tion under a deep sense of the importance and the intrinsic 
 difficulty of the inquiry. They took the testimony of a 
 great many persons, including that of General Scott, ex- 
 Secretary Jacob Thompson, Colonel Berret, mayor, Dr. 
 Blake, Commissioner of Public Buildings, and Governor 
 Hicks and ex-Governor Lowe, of Maryland. I had occa 
 sion, several years ago, to prepare for one of the public 
 journals a synopsis of the report and testimony. It is a 
 curious book, especially when viewed in the light of subse 
 quent events. The mayor was the first witness called to 
 the stand. lie said he had not " been able to ascertain the 
 slightest ground for any apprehension of any foray or raid 
 upon the city of Washington." He knew about an organ 
 ization called the "National Volunteers," which he said 
 was not " a political organization ;" that it was composed 
 of citizens whom he knew to be " not only respectable," but 
 a great many of them " stake-holding citizens, who would 
 scorn to do anything that would bring reproach upon the 
 city." Nevertheless, if I am not mistaken, the larger part 
 of them, including their " senior officer," left Washington 
 and joined the rebellion. 
 
 The Commissioner of Public Buildings also said he 
 " could see no real ground to apprehend danger," but that 
 he had taken care to see that the Capitol was not blown 
 up ; that examinations were made every night, " by going 
 through it, up and down, all through the cellar and every 
 place," and that in the daytime he had his men placed 
 about all the main doors, " so that they might know what 
 came in and what went out." 
 
 Ex-Governor Lowe, who afterward, I think, left his 
 State to assist in the rebellion, denied any knowledge of 
 an organization in the District of Columbia " having for its 
 object the taking or holding any of the public property 
 here, as against the United States;" but he said, " I have 
 not the slightest doubt that, if Maryland does secede, she 
 
92 TUENING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 will claim her rights here, and I will advocate them." " So 
 far as the possession of the District is concerned ?" a mem 
 ber inquired. He answered, "Yes, sir, peaceably, if pos 
 sible, forcibly only as a last resort, that is, provided Mary 
 land shall resume her State sovereignty." 
 
 Mr. Jacob Thompson said, " Soon after the Presidential 
 election it was a question frequently discussed by individ 
 uals in my presence, in which discussion I participated, as 
 to the mode by which the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln 
 could be defeated, or, in other words, how the rights of the 
 South could be maintained in the Union. I heard some dis 
 cussion as to organizing a force by which his inauguration 
 could be prevented," but he believed this was now given up. 
 
 Dr. Cornelius Boyle, " senior officer" of the " National 
 Volunteers," said he knew there was no unlawful purpose 
 whatever entertained by that organization; that it was 
 nothing more nor less than a military company, numbering 
 between two hundred and fifty and two hundred and 
 eighty names, and that it was not a secret organization. 
 He admitted that he drafted and presented a set of resolu 
 tions, the first of which declared that " we will stand by 
 and defend the South, and that under no circumstances 
 will we assume a position of hostility to her interests;" 
 and the fourth that " we will act, in the event of the with 
 drawal of Maryland and Virginia from the Union, in such 
 manner as shall best secure ourselves and those States from 
 the evils of a foreign and hostile government within and 
 near their borders." 
 
 Cypriani Fernandini and 0. K. Hillard, of Baltimore, 
 testified that there were military organizations in that city, 
 numbering, the latter believed, not less than six thousand, 
 whose object was to prevent armed bodies of men from 
 passing through Maryland to the capital. Philip P. Daw- 
 son, of Baltimore, stated that he had it from good authority 
 that it was their object also to make an attack upon the 
 capital and prevent the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln. 
 
EAELY STAGES OF THE KEBELLION. 93 
 
 General Scott s testimony tended to show that there was 
 great concern for the capital in almost every part of the 
 country. Many letters were received by him daily, warn 
 ing him to put the city in a state of defence. Some of 
 these professed to give the plans of the conspirators, and 
 pointed out means of detection. He said, " These letters, 
 from the broad surface whence they come, either prove or 
 seem to indicate a conspiracy for one of two purposes at 
 least, either for mischief or creating alarm." One writer, 
 signing himself " Union," from South Carolina, concluded 
 his letter, " Would give my name, but if found out would 
 have to swing" 
 
 Governor Hicks, on the 3d of January, issued an address 
 to the people of Maryland, in which he said : 
 
 " I have been repeatedly warned by persons having the opportunity to 
 know, and who are entitled to the highest confidence, that the secession 
 leaders in Washington have resolved that the Border States, and espe 
 cially Maryland, shall be precipitated into secession with the Cotton 
 States before the 4th of March. They have resolved to seize the Federal 
 capital and public archives, so that they may be in a position to be ac 
 knowledged by foreign governments as the United States ; and the assent 
 of Maryland is necessary, as the District of Columbia would revert to 
 her in case of a dissolution of the Union. The plan contemplates forci 
 ble opposition to Mr. Lincoln s inauguration, and consequently civil war 
 upon Maryland soil, and a transfer of its horrors from the States which 
 are to provoke it." 
 
 Again, there had been some interviews as well as cor 
 respondence between the commissioners of some of the 
 Southern States and himself; and Governor Hicks said 
 that much of the opinion he had formed in regard to a 
 contemplated movement such as he had apprehended had 
 grown out of these interviews and other corroborative cir 
 cumstances. One of these commissioners, Judge Handy, 
 from Mississippi, had said, among other things, that Mr. 
 Lincoln and Mr. Hamlin would never be installed in office. 
 He had also received letters from several gentlemen, and 
 verbal statements from others in whom he had the fullest 
 
94 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 confidence, all going to convince him that he was not mis 
 taken in his apprehensions, although he now thought that 
 the hostile organization referred to had probably been dis 
 banded. On the 14th of February the committee made 
 their report, in which they said, " If the purpose was at 
 any time entertained of forming an organization, secret or 
 open, to seize the District of Columbia, attack the capital, 
 or prevent the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln, it seems to 
 have been rendered contingent upon the secession of either 
 Maryland or Virginia, or both, and the sanction of these 
 States." They also declared it as their unanimous opinion 
 that the evidence produced before them did not prove the 
 existence of a secret organization, here or elsewhere, hostile 
 to the Government, having for its object, upon its own re 
 sponsibility, an attack upon the capital or any of the public 
 property here, or an interruption of any of the functions of 
 the Government. I nevertheless believe that it was the de 
 termination of the conspirators, if possible, to take posses 
 sion of the capital, a determination depending, it is quite 
 probable, on the secession of Virginia and Maryland, both 
 of which States they hoped to see unite their fortunes with 
 the " Southern Confederacy." But Maryland did not come 
 up to time ; the flying artillery was brought here, and it was 
 then too late to attempt a coup d etat for the possession of 
 the capital and the public archives. Inasmuch as Mr. Bu 
 chanan refers to this subject in one of his letters, which, 
 with the exception of a few words, I propose to give entire, 
 I will introduce it in this place. It will be observed that he 
 did not apprehend any serious danger to the city, although 
 he acted wisely in ordering the troops here. 
 
 "WHEATLAND, April 21, 1861. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, I presume, from your letter to the New York Times, 
 we shall not agree as to the existence of any serious danger to the inaugu 
 ration of Mr. Lincoln on the 4th of March, 1861. The truth is, when I 
 first heard the reports circulated in the early part of the previous session, 
 I kept my eye upon the subject and had my own means of information. 
 
EARLY STAGES OF THE REBELLION. 95 
 
 I had no apprehension of danger for some time before the report of the 
 committee, but the stake was so vast I yielded to the members of the 
 Cabinet and ordered the troops to Washington. Virginia was at that 
 time as loyal a State as any in the Union, and the Peace Convention 
 which she originated was still in session. But we need not discuss this 
 question. . . . While with you I should be very unwilling to fall into 
 
 line under as a leader of the^Dgmocratic party, yet I know I shall 
 
 never be condemned to such an ordeal. I am as firm and as true a Demo 
 crat of the Jefferson and Jackson school as I have ever been in my life. 
 The principles of Democracy grew out of the Constitution of the United 
 States, and must endure as long as that sacred instrument. I firmly be 
 lieve that the Federal Government can only be successfully administered 
 on these principles ; and although I may not live to see it, yet I shall live 
 and die in the hope that the party, purified and refined by severe experi 
 ence, will yet be triumphant. Whilst these are my opinions, I obtrude 
 them on no person, but, like yourself, have withdrawn from party poli 
 tics. . . . 
 
 " Very respectfully, your friend, 
 
 "JAMES BUCHANAN." 
 
 But to return to the winter of 1861. The contest in hoth 
 houses was continued daily, but I do not propose to recite 
 further what occurred there, exept in reference to a reso 
 lution which called forth a report from the committee on 
 military affairs of the House, of which the Hon. Benjamin 
 Stanton, of Ohio, was chairman ; and I notice this report 
 "because of the reference to it in the following letter from 
 Mr. Buchanan : 
 
 "WHEATLAND, NEAR LANCASTER, 12th November, 1861. 
 "MY DEAR SIR, You will confer a great favor upon me if you can 
 obtain a half-dozen copies of Mr. Stanton s report from the committee 
 on military affairs, made on the 18th of February, 1861 (No. 85), rela 
 tive to the arms allegecTto have been stolen and sent to the South by 
 Floyd. This report, with the remarks of Mr. Stanton when presenting 
 {thought to have put this matter at rest, and it did so, I believe, so far 
 as Congress was concerned. It has, however, recently been repeated 
 by Cameron, Reverdy Johnson, and others, and I desire these copies 
 to send to different parts of the Union, so that the falsehood may be 
 refuted by the record. I am no further interested in the matter than 
 that if the charge were true it might argue a want of care on my 
 part. . . . 
 
r 
 
 96 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 "I learn from those who read Forney s Press that Stanton (Edwin 
 M.) is the counsel and friend of McClellan, who is, I trust and hope, 
 the coming man. 
 
 "I have materials put together which will constitute, unless I am 
 greatly mistaken, not merely a good defence, but a triumphant vindica 
 tion, of my administration. You must not be astonished some day to 
 find in print portraits drawn by myself of all those who ever served 
 in my Cabinet. I think I know them all perfectly, unless it may be 
 Stanton. 
 
 " From your friend, very respectfully, 
 
 "JAMES BUCHANAN." 
 
 A letter of somewhat earlier date refers to a controversy 
 between Mr. Holt and Mr. Thompson : 
 
 " WHEATLAND, 18th September, 1861. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, You recollect the correspondence between Mr. Holt 
 and Mr. Thompson. The last letter of Mr. Thompson to Mr. Holt was 
 published in the tri- weekly National Intelligencer of March 19, 1861, and 
 was dated at Oxford on March llth. I should be much obliged to you if 
 you could procure me a copy of this reply. . . . 
 
 " How Mr. Holt came to be so far mistaken in his letter of May 31st 
 to Kentucky as to state that the revolutionary leaders greeted me with 
 all-hails to my face, I do not know. The truth is that after the message 
 of the 3rd of December they were alienated from me, and after I had 
 returned the insolent letter of the first South Carolina commissioners to 
 them, I was attacked by Jefferson Davis and his followers on the floor 
 of the Senate, and all political and social intercourse between us ceased. 
 Had the Senate confirmed my nomination of the 2nd of January of a 
 collector for the port of Charleston, the war would~]5robably have com 
 menced in January instead of May. . . . 
 
 " From your friend, very respectfully, 
 
 "JAMES BUCHANAN." 
 
 Some time in the latter part of February or the beginning 
 of March, 1861, Mr. Thompson made a speech in Missis 
 sippi, in which he said : " As I was writing my resignation 
 I sent a despatch to Judge Longstreet that the Star of the 
 West was coming with reinforcements. The troops were 
 thus put on their guard, and when the Star of the West 
 arrived she received a rude welcome from booming can 
 non, and soon beat a retreat. I was rejoiced that the vessel 
 
EARLY STAGES OF THE REBELLION. 97 
 
 was not sunk, but I was still more rejoiced that the con 
 cealed trick, first conceived by General Scott and adopted 
 by Secretary Holt, but countermanded by the President 
 when too late, proved a failure." Mr. Holt, quoting the 
 above, wrote under the date of March 5 a scathing letter to 
 the editors of the Intelligencer, saying, " We have here a 
 distinct and exultant avowal on the part of the Honorable 
 Secretary, that while yet a member of the Cabinet he dis 
 closed to those in open rebellion against the United States 
 information which he held under the seal of a confidence 
 that from the beginning of our history as a nation had 
 never been violated." He went on to show, by correspond 
 ence between Mr, Thompson and the President, that the 
 sending of the Star of the West was done with the Presi 
 dent s sanction and after full consultation in the Cabinet ; 
 that the u countermand" spoken of was not more cordially 
 sanctioned by the President than it was by General Scott 
 and himself; and the order countermanding the sailing 
 of that vessel was given, not because of any dissent from 
 the order on the part of the President, but because of a 
 letter received that day from Major Anderson, stating in 
 effect that he regarded himself as secure in his position, and 
 yet more because of intelligence, which late on Saturday 
 evening reached the Department, that a heavy battery had 
 been erected among the sand-hills at the entrance of Charles 
 ton harbor, which would probably destroy any unarmed 
 vessel (and such was the Star of the West) which might 
 attempt to make its way up to Fort Sumter. This important 
 information satisfied the Government that there was no 
 present necessity for sending reinforcements, and that when 
 sent they should go, not in a vessel of commerce, but in a 
 man-of-war. 
 
 Mr. Thompson responded March 11, indignantly denying, 
 not that he sent the despatch, but that he acted on ofiicial 
 information, or that he had divulged any Cabinet secret. 
 He said, " On the morning of the 8th [of January] the 
 
 7 
 
98 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Constitution newspaper contained a telegraphic despatch 
 from New York that the Star of the West had sailed from 
 that port, with two hundred and fifty soldiers on board, 
 bound for Fort Sumter. This was the very first intimation 
 I had received from any quarter that additional troops had 
 been ordered to be sent. This information to me was not 
 6 official ; it was, in fact, conveyed with electric speed to 
 every part of the confederacy, known to be true by every 
 well-informed man in the city of Washington as soon as 
 known by me." 
 
 In his letter of resignation he had intimated that the Star 
 of the West expedition had been fitted out without his knowl 
 edge, in violation of an express understanding; but the 
 President in his reply denied this, saying that on Monday, 
 31st December, he had suspended orders which had been 
 issued by the War and Navy Departments to send the 
 Brooklyn with reinforcements to Fort Sumter, at the same 
 time promising that these orders should not be renewed 
 without being previously considered and decided in Cabinet. 
 He proceeds : 
 
 called a special Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, 2d January, 1861, 
 in which the question of sending reinforcements to Fort Sumter was 
 amply discussed both by yourself and others. The decided majority was 
 against you. At this moment the answer of the South Carolina com 
 missioners to my communication of 31st December was received and 
 read. It produced much indignation among the members of the Cabinet. 
 After a further brief conversation I employed the following language : 
 It is now all over, and reinforcements must be sent. Judge Black said, 
 at the moment of my decision, that after this letter the Cabinet would be 
 unanimous, and I heard no dissenting voice. . . . You are certainly mis 
 taken in saying that no conclusion was reached. In this your recollec 
 tion is entirely different from that of your oldest colleagues in the Cabinet. 
 Indeed, my language was so unmistakable that the Secretaries of War and 
 the Navy proceeded to act upon it without any further intercourse with 
 myself than what you heard or might have heard me say." 
 
 Finally, in Mr. Holt s rejoinder to Mr. Thompson s, under 
 date of 25th March, he spoke of the absurdity of his (Mr. 
 
EARLY STAGES OF THE REBELLION. 99 
 
 Thompson s) resigning his commission simply on an anon 
 ymous telegraphic report, adding that " such undoubted 
 proofs (of the correctness of the report) could have been 
 had on the 8th of January at Washington only from the 
 President, members of the Cabinet, or others having con 
 fidential relations with the Government. ... So far as the 
 moral aspects of the question are concerned, I deem it 
 wholly unimportant whether the information was derived 
 from official or private sources. In either case it was alike 
 his (Mr. T. s) duty, as a faithful officer, to have withheld it 
 from those who sought it at his hands for purposes of hostile 
 action against the Government of the United States." 
 
 It is but fair toward Mr. Thompson to say, that per 
 sonally he and the President parted on perfectly friendly 
 terms, although in the matter of this controversy it is 
 equally true that Mr. Buchanan did not sustain him. 
 
 Next as to the bearing of the secessionists toward Presi- 
 
 O 
 
 dent Buchanan. In his stirring and patriotic letter of May 
 31, 1861, to J. F. Speed, Esq., of Kentucky, Mr. Holt 
 held the following language : " The atrocious acts enumer 
 ated" (the seizure of forts, arsenals, etc., and the surrender 
 of an entire military department by a general, to the keep 
 ing of whose honor it had been confided meaning Gen 
 eral Twiggs, in Texas, who was summarily dismissed by the 
 order of President Buchanan " for treachery to the flag of his 
 country") " were acts of war, and might all have been treated 
 as such by the late administration ; but the President pa 
 triotically cultivated peace, how anxiously and how pa 
 tiently the country well knows. While, however, the revo 
 lutionary leaders greeted him with all-hails to his face, they 
 did not the less diligently continue to whet their swords 
 behind his back. Immense military preparations were 
 made, so that when the moment for striking at the Govern 
 ment of the United States arrived, the revolutionary States 
 leaped into the contest clad in full armor." 
 
 One thing is certain, if the leaders in the rebellion did 
 
100 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 not greet the President " with all-hails to his face," they 
 beset him, many of them, to the last. Undoubtedly there 
 was less of perfect freedom of communication between 
 them after his annual message of the 3d of December, but 
 they followed him up, and sought to control his action to 
 the extent of their power, until his term expired. 
 
 And now about the removal of Major Beauregard from 
 "West Point. I wish I had the notes which passed between 
 Mr. Slidell and the President on the subject, to insert here ; 
 but as it appeared that Mr. Holt could not find them among 
 his papers, it is to be feared they are lost. It is amusing 
 to observe that while the Secretary of War was arranging 
 to ship some of his " big guns" to the South, Senator 
 Slidell was equally diligent in having one at least trans 
 ferred to a most important position at the North ; and both 
 came to grief in much the same way, by running against 
 " Old Buck." If I am not mistaken, Major Beauregard, 
 whose rank did not entitle him to the appointment, had 
 hardly more than reached West Point before the order for 
 his removal was made by Secretary Holt, then recently 
 placed at the head of the War Department, and Senator 
 Slidell doubtless thought, when he wrote the President as 
 he did, I have reason to believe, in an imperious manner 
 that the latter would disavow the act of removal and rein 
 state Major Beauregard, so that he could have the opportu 
 nity of teaching the cadets at West Point not only " how to 
 shoot," " but where to shoot." Instead, however, of dis 
 avowing it, he, no doubt, gave the Senator to understand, 
 in no equivocal language, that he as President was respon 
 sible for it, probably without saying whether the Secretary 
 brought the matter to his attention before the order was 
 made or not. This, of course, was a fatal offence. 
 
 The same spirit was also manifested in reference to the 
 postal service. Before speaking of this, however, I will 
 refer to one other fact connected with the administration 
 of the War Department. A short time before the with- 
 
EARLY STAGES OF THE REBELLION: ^M 
 
 drawal of the Florida senators, they made a comnmnica- 
 tion, either to the President or to the Secretary of War, 
 requesting to be advised as to the particulars and extent 
 of the armament of the Government fortifications in that 
 State. It is hardly necessary to say that Secretary Holt 
 declined to furnish this information. 
 
 The ordinance of secession was passed in Florida on the 
 llth of January, and her senators withdrew about the 21st 
 of that month ; on which day the Postmaster-General made 
 an order abolishing the post-office at Pensacola. As soon 
 as this became known, Mr. Yulee, late senator from that 
 State, but now a citizen of " the Southern Confederacy," 
 called at the Post-office Department and requested to see 
 or be served with a copy of the order of discontinuance. 
 His request was politely refused. I do not remember 
 whether it was on this occasion or previously that he 
 jocosely intimated to the officer, thus unmindful of his 
 wishes, that a rope might, at some day not far distant, 
 be serviceable to him; but I well recollect that officer 
 replied that he would esteem it a great favor then to be 
 elevated in some position sufficiently commanding to 
 enable him to proclaim to the whole country his opinion 
 of secession and its wicked abettors.* 
 
 * This order may still possess interest as an item of history, and it is 
 now for the first time brought to light, as follows : " Whereas, an armed 
 body of men from the State of Alabama, acting under authority of its 
 Governor and upon the invitation of the Governor of Florida, have taken 
 possession of the navy-yard and of parts of the forts of the harbor of 
 Pensacola, in the State of Florida, and still retain them in defiance of 
 the rights of the Government of the United States ; and whereas, the 
 officers and troops constituting the garrison of Fort Pickens in said 
 harbor, and who are citizens of the United States and in the service 
 of its Government, are by said armed body of men prevented from 
 communicating with the shore and with the post-office of Pensacola; 
 and whereas, the Department has reliable information that attempts 
 on the part of said garrison to correspond with the Government at 
 Washington have been defeated by the intervention of said armed 
 
102 "TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 There was another instance of like character which occurs 
 to me. A route agent by the name of West, on one of the 
 railroads in Virginia, having been removed, the Honorable . 
 Albert G. Jenkins, member of Congress from that State, 
 who was afterward killed at the head of guerillas in West 
 Virginia, demanded in writing to know distinctly and spe 
 cifically the grounds of his removal. In this case the Post 
 master-General was more accommodating, as will be seen 
 by his letter to the member on a preceding page. 
 
 The postal service generally throughout the South was 
 continued under the direction of the Government of the 
 United States up to the 31st of May, 1861, when it was sus 
 pended by a general order of the Department. Meantime, 
 all through the winter the leaders of the rebellion were 
 making use of the mails, and those of them in Congress 
 of their franking privilege also, to " fire up the Southern 
 heart" and force the States into passing ordinances of 
 secession, seizing the Government property, etc. One 
 senator (Yulee), whose letter fell into loyal hands some 
 time during the war, wrote to his State under date of 
 January 5, 1861 : 
 
 " I think by the 4th of March all the Southern States will be out, 
 except, perhaps, Kentucky and Missouri, and they will soon have to 
 follow. A strong government of eight States, promptly organized, with 
 Jeff Davis for general-in-chief, will bring them to a realizing sense of 
 the gravity of the crisis. ... I shall give the enemy a shot next week 
 before retiring. I say enemy. Yes, I am theirs, and they are mine. I 
 am willing to be their master, but not their brother." 
 
 This is a fair representation of the spirit manifested by 
 
 force and by their lawless power over said post-office, whereby its 
 freedom and integrity have been destroyed ; and whereas, it is neither 
 just nor proper that a post-office or postal service should be supported 
 by the Government of the United States, from the use of which its 
 own citizens, and those in its employment and obeying its commands, 
 are excluded by the usurpations of the said Governor, or by any other 
 cause whatever: it is ordered that said post-office at Pensacola, in 
 the State of Florida, be and the same is hereby abolished." 
 
EARLY STAGES OF THE REBELLION. 103 
 
 the leading secessionists congregated in Washington during 
 the winter and spring of 1861 ; and when on the 15th of 
 April the President issued his call for seventy-live thousand 
 men, his demand was met by the Governors of several of 
 the Southern States in the same spirit of bravado and 
 defiance. 
 
 I have a vivid recollection of the doubt and gloom which 
 pervaded the city for days preceding the arrival of the first 
 troops called for by the President. Such, at least, was the 
 feeling among all those here who had resolved to stand by 
 the Government. Reports were rife that rebel soldiers were 
 moving on the Virginia side of the river that arms had 
 been sent forward for them ; and, as the passenger-boats 
 were plying every hour between Alexandria and Washing 
 ton, there was great fear that this means of communication 
 might be seized upon to place a hostile military force 
 suddenly in our midst. Late one night I found myself 
 at the telegraph- office with my friend, Ginery Twitchell, 
 a representative in Congress from Massachusetts, and so 
 alarming were the reports in reference to the movements 
 of troops jiear us in Virginia (who, it afterward appeared, 
 were on their way to take Harper s Ferry) that we sent to 
 General Scott an urgent request to stop the running of the 
 Alexandria boats. It was, I think, on the following night 
 that, being again at the telegraph-office, Mr. Twitchell 
 received a despatch that another Massachusetts regiment 
 had reached Havre De Grace; and we immediately pro 
 ceeded to communicate this information to General Scott. 
 It was midnight or after when we arrived at his lodgings, 
 and we were told that he had retired for the night. Our 
 message, however, was conveyed to him, and, in a few 
 minutes, clothed in his dressing-gown, he received us in 
 his office. Calm and commanding, " he looked every inch 
 a soldier," yet it was evident that he felt the deepest con 
 cern in view of the then threatening aspect of affairs. His 
 greatest anxiety at that moment was for troops to protect 
 
104 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Fortress Monroe and Harper s Ferry; arid having called 
 upon Massachusetts for these, he requested Mr. Tvvitchell 
 to urge Governor Andrew to hasten forward two regiments 
 for the purpose the one for the former place to be sent by 
 the fastest steamer possible direct to Old Point Comfort. 
 This request was complied with, and the Massachusetts 
 regiments for Fortress Monroe happily arrived there on 
 the 20th of April, just in time to save that important post. 
 Six hours later and it is believed it would have been cap 
 tured. As General Scott apprehended, Harper s Ferry fell 
 into the hands of the insurgents before the Union troops 
 could reach that point. 
 WASHINGTON, April, 1872. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 WHY WAS NOT THE REBELLION CRUSHED AT THE START ? 
 
 The Southern Disunionists Prepared to Resist Violence of the Abo 
 litionists and Eepublicans, etc. 
 
 IT is no easy matter to eradicate deep-rooted prejudice. 
 President Buchanan s is a remarkable case in point. Called 
 to the Presidency at a period when partisan spirit was almost 
 at its highest pitch, he encountered from the first the bitter 
 opposition not only of the original Abolitionists, but also 
 of the main body of the Republican party. The Southern 
 disunionists, prepared to resist had Mr. Buchanan been 
 defeated, were not in the best disposition for peace or 
 quiet; and it was natural and appeared wise for the 
 administration to endeavor to conciliate them by all 
 reasonable means in its power. This excited Republican 
 opposition the more ; and when Mr. Lincoln came to be 
 elected entirely by the votes of non-slaveholding States, 
 the public mind at the South was raised to fever heat, 
 
WHY WAS NOT REBELLION CRUSHED AT START? 105 
 
 while the sentiment of the Republican party generally 
 was that of boastful defiance ; and it was some time after 
 that election before they came to believe that the South 
 was really in earnest in its threats of secession. In their 
 estimation it was only bluster and bravado for political 
 effect, and this idea was not entirely relinquished until the 
 attack on Fort Sumter. Although such was the opinion 
 of the Republican party, as expressed through the press 
 and its public speakers, up to the time and even after Mr. 
 Lincoln s election to the Presidency, it is no uncommon 
 thing now to hear Mr. Buchanan condemned because he 
 did not crush the rebellion at the start; and many no 
 doubt honestly believe that the reason why this was not 
 done was, that, if not at heart a traitor, he failed on 
 account of inexcusable weakness and timidity. Any such 
 belief is wholly without foundation. 
 
 There were two circumstances which gave rise to many 
 complaints and no little prejudice against Mr. Buchanan 
 outside of any mere partisan considerations. The most 
 serious of these related to his declaration that " the Con 
 stitution has conferred no power on the Federal Govern 
 ment to coerce a State;" and the other grew out of his 
 being held responsible for the treasonable utterances of 
 the Constitution newspaper in the fall of 1860, and until 
 that paper was finally discontinued on the 30th of January, 
 1861. That newspaper, published at the seat of govern 
 ment, had been looked upon as the organ of the admin 
 istration; and although its active editor, Mr. William M. 
 Browne, a good-looking and well-educated Englishman, 
 from time to time declared that he alone was responsible 
 for its opinions, the fact that it continued to receive the 
 advertising patronage of the Government, solely through 
 the favor of the President, went far toward satisfying the 
 opposition, at least, that the denial of the editor was only 
 a weak subterfuge, especially as he sustained the President 
 in many of his public acts, including his course touching 
 
106 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 coercion. It is needless to deny that the best friends of 
 the President were embarrassed and not a little displeased 
 with this state of things, which existed for nearly three 
 months before the President rescinded his order giving 
 the Government advertising to that paper. It might have 
 been somewhat different had the paper obtained the adver 
 tising by reason of its large circulation, the law authorizing 
 it to be given to two of the city papers having the largest 
 subscription list and to such other paper as the President 
 might designate. I never could understand why the Presi 
 dent so long delayed to rescind his order, except that his 
 forbearance came from his fixed purpose to avoid, as far as 
 possible, exciting Southern hostility to the end of relinquish 
 ing the reins of government to his successor without blood 
 shed. 
 
 In his book entitled " Mr. Buchanan s administration on 
 the Eve of the Rebellion," speaking of the political aspect 
 of affairs at the time of Mr. Lincoln s election on the 6th 
 of November, 1860, and of the " virulence, uncommon even 
 in our own history," with which " his administration had 
 been pursued by the triumphant party from the beginning," 
 how " his every act had been misrepresented and con 
 demned," plainly showing " that whatever course he might 
 pursue he was destined to encounter their bitter hostility," 
 Mr. Buchanan further truthfully remarks : u No public 
 man was ever placed in a more trying and responsible posi 
 tion. Indeed, it was impossible for him to act with honest 
 independence without giving offence to both the anti-slavery 
 and secession parties, because both had been clearly in the 
 wrong." Since that time a new generation has come into 
 active life ; and it is not strange that prejudices should have 
 been imbibed by the younger class, on the one side and on 
 the other in politics, without that full knowledge of the 
 causes by which such prejudices were superinduced pos 
 sessed by those whose experience reaches back to the dawn 
 of abolitionism under the administrations of Presidents 
 
WHY WAS NOT REBELLION CRUSHED AT START? 107 
 
 Jackson and Van Buren. There are now living com 
 paratively few who can remember with what disfavor the 
 Abolitionists were then regarded by both of the great 
 political parties of the country, a feeling which under 
 went little change until after the election of James K. 
 Polk to the Presidency in 1844. The discussion on the 
 admission of Texas, and subsequently of California, now 
 gave marked impetus to the Abolition party for several 
 years; but the compromise measures of 1850, although 
 condemned by the Garrison Abolitionists, were acquiesced 
 in by the Democratic and Whig parties, and the public 
 mind for the time being was quieted on the slavery ques 
 tion. The platform of both the great political parties in 
 the Presidential campaign of 1852 contained resolutions 
 in favor of maintaining that compromise, and, in the 
 language of the Whig platform, declared that " We 
 deprecate all further agitation of the question thus settled, 
 as dangerous to our peace, and will discountenance all 
 efforts to continue or renew such agitation, whenever, 
 wherever, or however the attempt may be made." This, 
 however, did not silence the Abolitionists, then odious 
 to both the Whig and Democratic parties on account of 
 their unjust interference with the constitutional rights of 
 the South, and of their openly declared disunion senti 
 ments. These agitators were thus characterized by Mr. 
 Webster in his famous cabinet circular of October, 1850 : 
 "In the Northern and Eastern States," he says, "these 
 sentiments of disunion are espoused principally by persons 
 of heated imaginations, assembling together and passing 
 resolutions of such a wild and violent character as to 
 render them nearly harmless." So they appeared at the 
 time to the great body of the people in all sections of 
 the country opposed to them; yet their continued pro 
 mulgation afforded just the fuel required to feed the 
 flames of disunion in the slave States. In the words of 
 Mr. Buchanan, " When Congress assembled after the 
 
108 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 election of President Pierce, on the first Monday in 
 December, 1853, although the abolition fanatics had not 
 ceased to agitate, crimination and recrimination between 
 the sectional parties had greatly subsided, and a compara 
 tive political calm everywhere prevailed. . . . But how 
 short-lived and delusive was this calm!" The u long and 
 angry debate" upon the Kansas and Nebraska bill, intro 
 duced by Senator Douglas on the 23d of January, 1854, 
 and its passage with a section repealing the Missouri Com 
 promise in May following, " reopened the floodgates of 
 sectional strife, which it was fondly imagined had been 
 closed forever." This continued to increase " in violence 
 and malignity" until the country became involved " in the 
 greatest and most sanguinary civil war in history." 
 
 President Buchanan went no further in sustaining what 
 he considered the clear constitutional rights of the South 
 than did Mr. Webster in his great seventh of March 
 speech. Both were alike condemned by the Republicans 
 for the doctrines they advanced and their efforts at con 
 ciliation. In his eulogy on Daniel Webster at the Marsh- 
 field celebration, on the 12th of October, 1882, President 
 Allen, of the Webster Historical Society, well remarked : 
 " Who can deny to-day that the extremists of the South 
 were as logical in their claims for the maintenance of 
 slavery as were the Abolitionists of the North for its un 
 conditional overthrow? Webster stood alone, but Web 
 ster was consistent. He claimed to maintain the Con 
 stitution and the laws of the land in good faith, and he 
 acted up to his belief. . . . For this he was reviled and 
 maltreated both in the North and South. He dreaded 
 (and the result has proved the divinity of his prescience) 
 that disunion would be forcibly attempted by the South, 
 and that the country, plunged in all the horrors of a civil 
 war, would be deluged with the blood of its citizens. 
 Who can now say that he was not right ?" Undoubtedly 
 there are few among the reflecting of the community, 
 
WHY WAS NOT REBELLION CRUSHED AT START? 109 
 
 especially of those conversant with public affairs as far 
 back as 1835, who will not say he was right. Yet, how 
 often do we hear even the Garrison Abolitionists extolled 
 for " their work so well begun, and which finally culmi 
 nated in the abolition of slavery in the United States !" 
 It is difficult to see how their " work," which, in the 
 judgment of the great body of the people, was treason 
 able and consequently highly reprehensible before the war, 
 can now be regarded as entitling them to the gratitude of 
 the present and future generations, unless at the same time 1 
 they are to be commended for bringing on the most terri 
 ble war that ever afflicted mankind. For my own part, 
 rather than have any share in such commendation, I feel 
 much better satisfied to retain my true position with Daniel 
 Webster, James Buchanan, and the million of other patriots 
 throughout the country who also agreed with them in con 
 demning the course of the Abolitionists, and doing every 
 thing in their power to quiet agitation and prevent blood 
 shed. 
 
 Said President Buchanan in his last annual message : 
 
 "The long-continued and intemperate interference of the Northern 
 people with the question of slavery in the Southern States has at length 
 produced its natural results. The different sections of the Union are 
 now arrayed against each other, and the time has arrived, so much 
 dreaded by the Father of his Country, when hostile geographical parties 
 have been formed. I have long foreseen and often forewarned my 
 countrymen of the now impending danger." 
 
 Who will deny the correctness of this statement? 
 
 Decided, however, as was President Buchanan in his 
 censure of Northern interference with the question of 
 slavery, he was equally earnest in his appeals to the 
 Southern States not to allow this interference to drive 
 them into secession, which he likewise condemned as 
 wholly indefensible. In his message to Congress, he said : 
 
 " In order to justify secession as a constitutional remedy, it must be on 
 the principle that the Federal Government is a mere voluntary association 
 
110 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 of States, to be dissolved at pleasure by any one of the contracting parties. 
 If this be so, the Confederacy is a rope of sand, to be penetrated and dis 
 solved by the first adverse wave of public opinion in any of the States. 
 . . . Such a principle is wholly inconsistent with the history as well as 
 the character of the Federal Constitution." 
 
 Nor did he consider that anything which had yet oc 
 curred would justify revolutionary resistance. " In order 
 to justify a resort to revolutionary resistance," he said, 
 " the Federal Government must be guilty of a delib 
 erate, palpable, and dangerous exercise of powers not 
 granted by the Constitution." So far as the Federal Gov 
 ernment was concerned, he urged that no act whatever- 
 had been committed, either by the executive, legislative, or 
 judicial branch thereof, not strictly within constitutional 
 limits ; but, on the contrary, that even the fugitive slave 
 law, so offensive to many in the free States, had been 
 faithfully executed; it was not what Congress had done, 
 but what it was feared it might do, that was objected to; 
 and the Supreme Court of the United States had sustained 
 the rights of the South in every particular touching the 
 question of slavery. Knowing the impulsive character 
 of most of the leading men of the South, he earnestly 
 cautioned them against hasty action, insisting that " reason, 
 justice, a regard for the Constitution," all required that 
 they should "wait for some overt and dangerous act on 
 the part of the President elect, before resorting" to ex 
 treme measures. 
 
 Thus, Mr. Buchanan found himself between two fires. 
 " To preserve the Union," he says in his book, " was the 
 President s supreme object, and he considered it doubtful 
 whether it could survive the shock of civil war." 
 
 This brief summary shows how the President felt, and it is 
 the key to much of his action for which he has been severely 
 cejisured. Evidently decided not to do anything to give 
 the South just cause of complaint, he was ready himself to 
 suffer from what was regarded even by some of his political 
 
WHY WAS NOT REBELLION CRUSHED AT START? Ill 
 
 friends as extreme moderation toward the secessionists, 
 rather than that any act of his should serve to increase their 
 already inflamed passions. Hence I conclude that he deemed 
 it prudent not at once to incur their bitter enmity by with 
 drawing the Government advertising from the Constitution 
 newspaper. 
 
 The most cursory view of the columns of that sheet will 
 show how inevitable it was that President Buchanan must 
 suffer in the estimation of Union men on account of its 
 declared disunion sentiments and character. A few brief 
 extracts from it may not be out of place here. Its key-note 
 was sounded in its leading editorial of the 7th of Novem 
 ber, 1860, the first morning after Lincoln s election, when 
 the editor said : 
 
 " We can understand the effect that will be produced in every Southern 
 mind when he reads the news, that he is now called on to decide for him 
 self, his children, and his children s children, whether he will submit 
 tamely to the rule of one elected on account of his hostility to him and 
 his, or whether he will make a struggle to defend his rights, his inheri 
 tance, and his honor." 
 
 From this time until its " suspension" on the 30th of Janu 
 ary, the paper was filled with articles favoring secession, and, 
 under the immediate eyes of the leaders of disunion, it was 
 their willing mouth-piece. A month before even South 
 Carolina passed its ordinance of secession, we find a letter 
 from Senator Yulee informing the Legislature of his State 
 " that upon learning, any time between this [November 20] 
 and the 4th day of March next, of the determination of 
 Florida to dissolve her union with the Northern States, I 
 shall promptly and joyously return home, to support the 
 banner of the State to which my allegiance is owing and in 
 which my family altar is established." 
 
 Next, under date of 21st of November, we hear Senator 
 Hammond, of South Carolina, addressing a mass-meeting 
 at Columbus, Georgia, and saying : 
 
112 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 " South Carolina will certainly secede from the Union on the 17th or 
 18th of December next. She intends to try it fully at all costs. No 
 more compromise of any sort. She takes no guarantee, but will go out 
 high and dry forever. If Georgia will back her, there will be little or no 
 trouble." 
 
 On the following day the editor of the Constitution writes : 
 
 "Another and more decisive way is open to Messrs. Lincoln and Ham- 
 lin. By one bold stroke may they remove the difficulties and avert the 
 danger. Let them resign their positions. . . . Since Mr. Lincoln cannot, 
 in all likelihood, be more than the President of a broken Union, com 
 paratively little philosophy may reconcile him to the sacrifice. He is 
 simply called upon to give up gracefully what he cannot keep peacefully 
 and usefully." 
 
 At this time it was stated that Mr. Lincoln was receiving 
 a dozen letters a day threatening him with assassination. 
 
 Movements "being now in progress with a view to the 
 repeal of the " personal liberty acts" in those States which 
 had declared their purpose to disregard the fugitive slave 
 law, the editor, under date of November 24, said : " The 
 mere repeal of the personal liberty acts will not suffice to 
 satisfy the South ;" that amendments to the Constitution 
 are demanded. Again, December 22, he wrote : " Nowhere 
 throughout the Cotton States has a journal or a public man 
 ventured to counsel submission to the rule of a black Re 
 publican President." And on the 25th of December he 
 said : " The alternative is clear. You must recognize se 
 cession when ordained by the people of a State ; or, dream 
 ing of coercion, you must prepare for civil war." 
 
 Meantime, on December 20, the South Carolina Conven 
 tion unanimously adopted an ordinance of secession, and on 
 the 22d appointed three commissioners " to proceed forth 
 with to Washington to treat with the Government of the 
 United States concerning the relations between the parties." 
 The New York Commercial Advertiser having said that these 
 commissioners u ought to have no notice taken of them 
 whatever until the people who sent them to Washington 
 
WHY WAS NOT KEBELLION CEUSHED AT STAET? 113 
 
 have rescinded the insulting and rebellious ordinance of 
 secession," the editor of the Constitution, quoting the same 
 on the 25th of December, remarked : 
 
 " The commissioners, we submit, will be entitled to a hearing to a 
 friendly, candid, and intelligent hearing ; and, if wisdom have any weight 
 in the counsels of Congress, they will have it. They will be entitled to 
 more to a readiness to enter into negotiation for the adjustment of mat 
 ters in which the State and the Union are both concerned ; that, although 
 unable to prolong former relations, they may yet be enabled to remain 
 friends, and quietly and beneficially reciprocate the obligations and favors 
 of neighbors." 
 
 It now appears that, seriously disturbed by this persistent 
 opposition to his own patriotic views and purposes, President 
 Buchanan addressed to the editor of the Constitution the 
 following private letter, which was first published only o-n 
 November 22, 1880, when Mr. George Ticknor Curtis, his 
 biographer, produced it in a communication to the New 
 York Sun, in which article this observation also occurs : 
 " There is not a more remarkable instance in all history of 
 the misconception with which a great public man may be 
 pursued than this case of Mr. Buchanan." 
 
 [PRIVATE.] 
 
 " WASHINGTON, December 25, 1860. 
 
 "MY DEAR SIR, I have read with deep mortification your editorial 
 this morning, in which you take open ground against my message on 
 the right of secession. I have defended you as long as I can against 
 numerous complaints. You have a perfect right to be in favor of seces 
 sion, and for this I have no just reason to complain. The difficulty is 
 that the Constitution is considered my organ, and its articles subject me 
 to the charge of insincerity and double dealing. I am deeply sorry to 
 say that I must in some authentic form declare the Constitution is not 
 the organ of the administration. 
 
 " Your friend, very respectfully, 
 
 "JAMES BUCHANAN. 
 " WILLIAM M. BROWNE, ESQ." 
 
 This rebuke doubtless drew from the editor the following 
 article, which appeared in his paper of December 27 : 
 
 8 
 
114 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 " Notwithstanding our frequent and positive assurances to the contrary, 
 we see it daily asserted by the opponents of the President and his admin 
 istration that he is responsible for the course of this paper ; that the edito 
 rial articles are written at his dictation, or submitted for his revision and 
 approval ; and that, to all intents and purposes, it is the organ through 
 which he and his Cabinet express their opinions. We again, and for the 
 last time, pronounce the assertion that the President, or anybody on earth 
 but the editor and proprietor of this paper, is responsible for its opinions, 
 to be a deliberate falsehood. While we have given, and shall continue to 
 give, the President and his administration a hearty and zealous support, 
 we reserve to ourselves and always exercise the right to entertain and 
 express our own views and sentiments, no matter how widely they may 
 differ from those of our best friends." 
 
 The " hearty and zealous support" of the administration 
 thus promised was shown by the continued production of 
 such articles as were calculated only to disparage the Union 
 cause and embarrass the President in his efforts at concilia 
 tion. So infatuated were the leading secessionists with the 
 idea of their final success, and so sure were they that the 
 !N"orth would consent to a peaceable separation rather than 
 go to war, that their papers, of which the Constitution was a 
 conspicuous example, were jubilant over every act of disloy 
 alty, whether of citizen or State, that in rapid succession was 
 chronicled in their columns. Any prospect of staying the 
 tide of secession, instead of pleasure seemed to give them 
 only pain, and every such prospect was discredited. On 
 the 29th of December, Senators Crittenden and Douglas 
 received from gentlemen at Atlanta, Georgia, a despatch 
 inquiring, " Is there any hope for Southern rights in the 
 Union ? [adding] We are for the Union of our fathers if 
 Southern rights can be preserved in it." They answered, 
 " We have hopes that the rights of the Southern and of 
 every State and section may be protected within the 
 Union. Don t give up the ship. Don t despair of the 
 Republic." 
 
 This correspondence appeared in the Constitution on the 
 following day, with remarks by the editor of a discouraging 
 
WHY WAS NOT REBELLION CRUSHED AT START? 115 
 
 nature, and asking, " On what foundation do they [the 
 Senators] build their hopes ?" 
 
 Howell Cobb, Secretary of the Treasury, resigned on the"\ 
 8th of December, and Lewis Cass, Secretary of State, on the 
 12th of that month, but for opposite reasons. Mr. Cobb / 
 differed with the President on the right of secession and 
 the question of defending the public property and collecting 
 the revenue in South Carolina; and General Cass withdrew 
 from the Cabinet, it was understood, on account of a differ 
 ence of opinion in reference to the reinforcement of Fort 
 Sumter. I know, from an affecting interview I had with 
 him soon after his resignation, that he thought the fort 
 should have been put in a complete state of defence imme 
 diately after Mr. Lincoln s election. 
 
 Meantime the Constitution seized upon everything within 
 its reach to encourage the secessionists to press forward in 
 their insane movement to dissolve the Union. The with 
 drawal of South Carolina was proclaimed as complete and 
 final, and in a " Song of Deliverance," one of her most 
 gifted poets devoutly sung, 
 
 " The night of doom is past 
 
 And our Freedom born at last, 
 A fair immortal rises o er the storm of doubt and dread ; 
 
 She dawns in pomp of power, 
 
 At the God-appointed hour, 
 Youth s dewy morning in her eyes, Hope s halo round her head." 
 
 The Charleston Mercury published the " Doings in the 
 Federal Congress," and other news from Washington under 
 the head " Foreign News," and, as appears from the Consti 
 tution, the Rev. Mr. Dupree, in his prayer at the opening 
 of the South Carolina Convention on the 1st of January, 
 exclaimed : " God, wilt thou bring confusion upon our 
 enemies, and wilt thou strengthen the hearts and nerve the 
 arms of our sons to meet this great trial, in the name of 
 the God of Israel." 
 
116 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 The Governor of South Carolina had already issued his 
 proclamation, which appeared in the Constitution of the 28th 
 of December, saying, 
 
 " By virtue of authority in me vested [I] do hereby proclaim to the 
 world that this State is, as she has a right to be, a separate, sovereign, 
 free, and independent State ; and, as such, has a right to levy war, con 
 clude peace, negotiate treaties, leagues, or covenants, and to do all acts 
 whatsoever that rightfully appertain to a free and independent State." 
 
 The secessionists could he witty, as well as solemn and 
 devout ; and, by way of variety, I venture to reproduce a 
 specimen of their wit by transcribing from the Constitution 
 of the 12th of January the following effusion, entitled 
 
 "SECESSION CONSUMMATED. 
 
 " Yankee Doodle took a saw, 
 With patriotic devotion, 
 To trim the Tree of Liberty 
 According to his notion ! 
 
 " Yankee Doodle on a limb, 
 
 Like another noodle, 
 Cut between the tree and him, 
 And down came Yankee Doodle. 
 
 " Yankee Doodle broke his neck, 
 
 Every bone about him, 
 And then the Tree of Liberty 
 Did very well without him !" 
 
 The thought intrudes itself whether it were not others 
 instead of " Yankee Doodle" that undertook thus to trim 
 the "Tree of Liberty;" but this is all now satisfactorily 
 settled. 
 
 As a matter of course, the editor of the Constitution, like 
 all other Secessionists, was resolutely opposed to coercion ; 
 and they were all cunning enough to give the word a much 
 broader signification than did either President Buchanan 
 or any of his friends. While the secessionists, supported, 
 I regret to say, in no small degree by the Republican party, 
 
WHY WAS NOT EEBELLION CRUSHED AT START? 117 
 
 chose to represent the President as holding that the Govern 
 ment of the United States had no power under the Consti 
 tution to use force either against a rebellious State or the 
 individual citizens of such State to prevent the dismember 
 ment of the Union, he used the word " coercion" expressly 
 as against a seceding State in its corporate capacity, and not 
 in respect to the people of a State. This is what he said in 
 his message to Congress : 
 
 " The question, fairly stated, is, Has the Constitution delegated to 
 Congress the power to coerce a State into submission, which is attempting 
 to withdraw, or has actually withdrawn, from the Confederacy? If 
 answered in the affirmative, it must be on the principle that the power 
 has been conferred upon Congress to make war against a State. After 
 much serious reflection, I have arrived at the conclusion that no such 
 power has been delegated to Congress or to any other department of the 
 Federal Government." 
 
 In support of this view, he quotes Mr. Madison as saying, 
 in the convention which framed the Constitution, that 
 " The use of force against a State would look more like a 
 declaration of war than an infliction of punishment, and 
 would probably be considered by the party attacked as a 
 dissolution of all previous compacts by which it might be 
 bound." The clause " authorizing an exertion of the force 
 of the whole against a delinquent State" was then, 31st of 
 May, 1787, under consideration, and Mr. Buchanan states 
 that it was on motion of Mr. Madison unanimously post 
 poned, and was never, he believes, again presented. 
 
 Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, in his speech in the 
 Senate on the 18th of December, 1860, said, "I do not be 
 lieve the Federal Government has the power to coerce a 
 State," but " it has the right and the power to enforce and 
 execute the law upon individuals within the limits of a 
 State." 
 
 Mr. Buchanan justly complains of the Republican party 
 " because they have not chosen to take the distinction be 
 tween the power to make war against a State in its sov- 
 
118 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 ereign character, and the undoubted power to enforce the 
 laws of Congress directly against the individual citizens 
 thereof within its limits." 
 
 Mr. Simon Cameron, Republican Senator from Pennsyl 
 vania, when the subject was under consideration in the 
 Senate, said, " Coercion is the last remedy to which I would 
 resort. I do not know that I should ever resort to it; but 
 certainly it is the last remedy that I would resort to, to 
 keep my brother in my family." 
 
 We have the testimony of Judge Black and General 
 Holt that they both agreed with the President upon the 
 legal proposition that the Constitution of the United States 
 does not confer the power upon the Federal Government to 
 coerce a State by force of arms to remain in the Union. 
 General Holt says he knows that such was the opinion also 
 of Secretary Stanton, and Judge Black avers that General 
 Cass " was strong" for " the retention" of the term " co 
 ercion" in the President s message, although he [Black] 
 was opposed to that expression, because, as he says, he told 
 the President, " it would be read superficially and misun 
 derstood." It is equally certain that Secretary Toucey was 
 opposed to coercion ; for Judge Black says he " always 
 agreed with the President." Of course there is no doubt 
 as to the views of Secretaries Cobb and Thompson on this 
 subject. 
 
 In a letter to the Philadelphia Press, from Mr. John "W. 
 Forney, then the Republican Clerk of the United States 
 House of Representatives, and reprinted in the Constitution 
 of the 28th of December, he wrote : 
 
 " Let me not be misunderstood. The word ( coercion should never be 
 used. There is no desire on the part of the friends of the Union to 
 make war. Their attitude is, and should be, to enforce the execution of 
 the laws, nothing more, nothing less. It is not intended to make an 
 attack on South Carolina unless South Carolina should make an attack 
 upon the Government. Then that which is now secession becomes revo 
 lution, and revolution is treason, and must be rebuked as such." 
 
WHY WAS NOT REBELLION CEUSHED AT START? 119 
 
 It is well to remember that some time before the Presi 
 dent s message, in which the unfortunate expression, " co 
 ercion," appeared, was sent to Congress, leading Republi 
 cans everywhere scouted the idea of using force against the 
 Southern States ; and only three days after Lincoln s elec 
 tion the NQW York Tribune said : 
 
 " If the Cotton States shall become satisfied that they can do better 
 out of the Union than in it, we insist on letting them go in peace. The 
 right to secede may be a revolutionary one, but it exists nevertheless. 
 . . . We must ever resist the right of any State to remain in the Union 
 and nullify or defy the laws thereof. To withdraw from the Union is 
 quite another matter; and whenever any considerable section of our 
 Union shall deliberately resolve to go out, we shall resist all coercive 
 measures designed to keep it in. We hope never to live in a republic 
 where one section is pinned to another by bayonets." 
 
 Similar sentiments were subsequently repeatedly enun 
 ciated by the Tribune as well after as before the formation 
 of the Southern Confederacy. These and kindred articles 
 from other sources were greedily transferred to the columns 
 of the Constitution, whereby the secessionists were encour 
 aged and the administration suffered. At length, near the 
 end of January, 1861, the President withdrew the Govern 
 ment patronage from that paper, when the editor, on the 
 30th of that month, announced its " suspension for a short 
 time," after which he said it would be resumed " within the 
 limits of the Southern Confederacy, as at present consti 
 tuted, hoping, as I do most fervently, that in a short time 
 Washington and the State to which she belongs may be 
 included within those limits." He spoke of the Presi 
 dent s order as " official persecution," in the same breath 
 declaring : " I advocated secession. I hoped, and still hope, 
 that all the Southern States will secede." 
 
 The failure to reinforce the forts in Charleston harbor 
 was another serious cause of complaint against President 
 Buchanan. As already stated, this subject received early 
 attention of the Cabinet; but so many difficulties intervened 
 
120 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 that no decisive action was taken in the matter until the at 
 tempt to send recruits and subsistence stores to Fort Sumter 
 on the 5th of January, 1861, by the passenger steamer Star 
 of the West, which vessel, it will be recollected, was fired 
 upon by order of the Governor of South Carolina as she was 
 endeavoring to approach the fort, and she was compelled to 
 put. to sea. 
 
 In an " interview" with a correspondent of the Phila 
 delphia Press, in August, 1881, Judge Black said : 
 
 " Mr. Buchanan understood as well as anybody that the forts there 
 must be kept, and was thoroughly determined not to give them up. 
 Immediately after the election [of Mr. Lincoln] he directed Floyd, the 
 Secretary of War, to see that the forts were fully manned and provisioned. 
 1 If/ said he, addressing the Secretary, * those forts should be taken by 
 South Carolina in consequence of our negligence to put them in defen 
 sible condition, it were better for you and me both to be thrown into the 
 Potomac with millstones tied about our necks. Floyd replied very 
 solemnly that is, more solemnly than he usually spoke that his own 
 convictions accorded with those of the President, and said that duty 
 should be immediately and completely performed." 
 
 It was not done, however, and the sequel shows that, while 
 Messrs. Cass, Black, Holt, and Stanton were impatient at 
 the delay in ordering reinforcements sent, the President 
 came to the conclusion that it was prudent to wait. Judge 
 Black says : 
 
 " The object of the policy which the President thought proper to pur 
 sue, and that which I urged upon him as a better one, were the same, 
 namely, to preserve the peace and hand over the Government in as good 
 order as possible to the succeeding administration, and give Lincoln a 
 chance to do that which seemed good in his own eyes. Buchanan s con 
 viction was that Lincoln would try his best to avoid a fatal rupture, and 
 he would be able to satisfy the Southern men of that, if only they would 
 be quiet until the 4th of March. But if previous to that time a war 
 should open, the Union must utterly perish, for it was very plain that the 
 Congress then in session would not vote a man or a dollar to aid him in 
 saving it. [This point is strongly and conclusively presented by Mr. 
 Buchanan in his book.] If Fort Sumter should be taken, the conflict 
 would immediately begin, with the certainty of hideous ruin to the cause 
 of the Union. The imperious necessity of holding the forts in Charleston 
 
WHY WAS NOT REBELLION CRUSHED AT START ? 121 
 
 harbor was a point acknowledged by the whole of the administration, 
 except those Southern members who thought they ought to be peaceably 
 handed over to the secessionists. But we divided on the practical ques 
 tion of the best mode to keep them. The President was convinced that\ 
 if no movement were made looking to the increase of our force at that I 
 point, the revolutionary States would await the advent of the new 
 administration." 
 
 The correctness of this statement is fully corroborated by 
 Mr. Buchanan, who says that he had " determined not to 
 touch the status quo at Charleston as long as our troops 
 should continue to be hospitably treated by the inhabitants, 
 and remain in unmolested possession of the forts." Without 
 any formal agreement not to order a reinforcement of the 
 forts, as proposed by four of the representatives from South 
 Carolina, who called on the President for that purpose, and 
 who were told by him u such an agreement he would never 
 make," there is no doubt whatever of his determination at 
 that time (10th December) to await any hostile movement 
 on the part of South Carolina before sending such reinforce 
 ments. Judge Black says he knows of no satisfactory evi 
 dence that there was any such agreement, and here is what 
 General Hojt_says on the subject in an " interview" with the 
 aforementioned correspondent of the Philadelphia Press, in 
 August, 1881, viz. : 
 
 " I should deny emphatically that he [President Buchanan] ever had 
 any understanding with the Southern people which would prevent him 
 from carrying out the expressed and well-known policy of his adminis 
 tration, to refrain from hostile acts, if possible, but to defend the Southern 
 forts to the last extremity if they were assailed. I have often thought 
 while looking back over that stormy period that Mr. Buchanan acted most 
 wisely and judiciously in his treatment of the Southern question. You 
 must bear in mind that Mr. Buchanan was surrounded by a Congress 
 which would not have voted a man or a dollar to strengthen the force at 
 the command of the executive if a war should be precipitated. I firmly 
 believe the fact that because so much of forbearance was shown to the \ 
 South and that we refrained from firing first upon them, gave us great \ 
 moral strength when war finally came. I am convinced that the feeling 
 that they first fired upon the flag aroused our people to a point of enthu 
 siasm which carried us through the war." 
 
122 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 But there were other important reasons why it would 
 have been unwise at this time to undertake to strengthen 
 the military force doing garrison duty in the South. Mr. 
 Buchanan well remarks : 
 
 " The Senators from the Cotton States and from Virginia, where these 
 forts are situated, were still occupied with their brother Senators in 
 devising means of peace and conciliation. . . . Had the President never 
 so earnestly desired to reinforce the nine forts in question at this time, it 
 would have been little short of madness to undertake the task with the 
 small force at his command. . . . Had the President attempted to dis 
 tribute the General s [Scott s] thousand men, as he proposed, among the 
 numerous forts in the Cotton States, as well as Fortress Monroe, their 
 absurd inadequacy to the object would have exhibited weakness instead 
 of strength. It would have provoked instead of preventing collision. It 
 would have precipitated a civil war with the Cotton States without the 
 slightest preparation on the part of Congress, and would at once have 
 destroyed the then prevailing hopes of compromise. Worse than all, it 
 would have exasperated Virginia and the other border States then so 
 intent on remaining in the Union, and might have driven them at once 
 into hostile action." 
 
 On the 29th of December, John B. Floyd, Secretary of 
 War, handed in his resignation, containing the charge that 
 the administration had been guilty of a " violation of solemn 
 pledges and plighted faith," in allowing Major Anderson to 
 occupy Fort Sumter instead of Fort Moultrie. Two days 
 before, on learning that Major Anderson had removed to 
 Fort Sumter, as he claimed " against the solemn pledges of 
 the Government," he urged upon the President, as the " one 
 remedy now left us by which to vindicate our honor and 
 prevent civil war," to allow him to order Major Anderson 
 to withdraw the garrison from the harbor of Charleston 
 altogether. His letter of resignation immediately appeared 
 in the Constitution, together with the President s letter of 31st 
 of December, accepting the same and relieving him at once 
 from the charge of the War Department; Joseph Holt, 
 Postmaster- General, being authorized to fill his place until 
 his successor should be appointed. The fact is, as stated in 
 
WHY WAS NOT REBELLION CRUSHED AT START? 123 
 
 Mr. Buchanan s book, the authority under which Major 
 Anderson removed his troops to Fort Sumter was given in 
 a letter of instructions "prepared and transmitted to Major 
 Anderson by the Secretary himself," only a few days before 
 that removal took place. In a letter to the War Department 
 of the 27th of December, which, Mr. Buchanan says, " unfor 
 tunately did not arrive in Washington until some days after 
 its date/ Major Anderson says : " I will add that many 
 things convinced me that the authorities of the State de 
 signed to proceed to a hostile act" (against Fort Moultrie) ; 
 " the very contingency," Mr. Buchanan says, " on which the 
 Secretary had not only authorized but directed the Major to 
 remove his troops to Fort Sumter, should he deem this a 
 position of greater security." And here I may remark that 
 I well remember with what delight Mr. Holt, coming from 
 the Cabinet, announced at the Post-Office Department the 
 gratifying news of Major Anderson s success in transferring 
 the garrison to Fort Sumter. Mr. Floyd embraced the 
 occasion to present and read his letter of resignation in 
 Cabinet session, and we have the word of General Holt for 
 saying that it gave rise to "a scene exceedingly dramatic. 
 Mr. Floyd" (he says in the " interview" already referred to) 
 " became quite violent, and, knowing he was to go out of the 
 Cabinet on account of his advanced acceptances, he made 
 the removal of Anderson from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sum 
 ter the pretext for language which made his further con 
 tinuation in the Cabinet impossible, and it was a position in 
 which he knew the Southern people would sustain him." 
 It was at this or a previous Cabinet session, that, the ques 
 tion of giving up the forts being under discussion, Judge 
 Black said : 
 
 " There had never been a period in the history of the English nation 
 when any minister would propose to give up to an enemy of his Govern 
 ment a military post which was capable of being defended, without being 
 brought to the block. Mr. Buchanan," he continues, " thought the ex 
 pression a harsh one, but did not deny that it was true. He had no 
 
124 TUENING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 thought of yielding to Mr. Davis s solicitation [to abandon the forts in 
 Charleston harbor]. Floyd would have done it at that time, that is to 
 say, after he was notified that he must resign from the Cabinet for other 
 reasons or be removed. ... In this determination [to assert the national 
 control of the forts, arsenals, custom-houses, and other public property] 
 President Buchanan never wavered. He saw the drift toward war much 
 more clearly and much earlier than any public man of whom I have 
 knowledge." 
 
 Mr. Buchanan refers to what he thinks was " a probable 
 cause for this strange conduct on the part of the Secre 
 tary. This was," he says, " that three days before the South 
 Carolina commissioners reached Washington, the President 
 had communicated to him (23d December), through a dis 
 tinguished friend and kinsman of his own, a request that he 
 should resign his office, with a statement of the reasons why 
 this was made. When he heard this request he displayed 
 much feeling, but said he would comply with the President s 
 wishes. It is proper to state the reason for this request. 
 On the night before it was made (22d December) the fact 
 was first made known to the President that eight hundred 
 and seventy State bonds for 1000 each, held in trust by the 
 Government for different Indian tribes, had been purloined, 
 from the Interior Department by Godard Bailey, the clerk 
 in charge of them, and had been delivered to William H. 
 Russell, a member of the firm of Russell, Majors & Wad- 
 dell. Upon examination it was discovered that this clerk, 
 in lieu of the bonds abstracted, had from time to time re 
 ceived bills of corresponding amount from Russell, drawn 
 by the firm on John B. Floyd, Secretary of War, and by 
 him accepted and indorsed, and this without lawful authority. 
 In consequence there was found in the safe where the Indian 
 bonds had been kept, a number of these accepted bills, 
 exactly equal in amount to 870,000. These acceptances 
 were thirteen in number, commencing on the 13th of Sep 
 tember, 1860, and had been received by Mr. Bailey, according 
 to his own statement, 4 as collateral security for the return of 
 the bonds, and as such had been placed by him in the safe. 
 
WHY WAS NOT REBELLION CRUSHED AT START? 125 
 
 It is remarkable that the last of them, dated on the 13th 
 of December, 1860, for 135,000, had been drawn for the 
 precise sum necessary to make the aggregate amount of the 
 whole number of bills exactly equal to that of the abstracted 
 bonds." 
 
 These bills, being unlawfully accepted, have never been 
 paid, leaving their innocent holders to suffer the loss of all 
 they paid for them, which I think was par value in the 
 market. The advertisement of these Indian trust bonds, 
 making nearly three columns, was published daily in the 
 Constitution for a full month, thus adding greatly to its re 
 ceipts from the very Government it was at the same time 
 striving to destroy. 
 
 This extended explanation, touching Secretary Floyd s 
 resignation, is interesting, not only as an incident in history, 
 but it no doubt discloses the main cause, at least, of his 
 sudden hostility. 
 
 To give even a synopsis of all the accredited facts relating 
 to the matter of Fort Sumter would extend this article to 
 an unreasonable length. I have already furnished enough 
 to convince any unprejudiced person that, while there were 
 conflicting views on the subject in his Cabinet, there is nol 
 question whatever that President Buchanan pursued the 
 course in regard to it that he honestly believed best for the 
 preservation of peace and the safety of the Union. It 
 should not be forgotten that after the removal of Major 
 Anderson to Fort Sumter, the administration felt that there 
 was no danger of the fort being taken. On this point no 
 more conclusive evidence need be required than what ap 
 pears in the following letter of Mr. Holt, Secretary of War. 
 This letter, as its date shows, was sent to President Lincoln 
 on the 5th of March, immediately following his inaugura 
 tion. I should premise, what I can do, not only from personal 
 knowledge and recollection, but also from Mr. Buchanan s 
 own statement and from notes made in my diary at the 
 time, that, " on the 4th of March, at the moment when Mr. 
 
126 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Buchanan s administration was about to expire," the Sec 
 retary of War received from Major Anderson a letter, with 
 inclosures, declaring " that he would riot be willing to risk 
 his reputation on an attempt to throw reinforcements into 
 Charleston harbor with a force of less than twenty thou 
 sand good and well-disciplined men." In his book, re 
 ferring to this communication from Major Anderson, Mr. 
 Buchanan correctly says, " This was read by Mr. Holt, 
 greatly to his own surprise, and that of every member of 
 the Cabinet." I may add that it was then and there " agreed 
 that Mr. Holt should prepare a letter giving a history of 
 what had been done by Major Anderson and the Govern 
 ment since his removal to Fort Sumter, and transmit it with 
 this last communication to President Lincoln as early as 
 possible to-morrow" (5th of March, 1861). Here is Mr. 
 
 Holt s letter : 
 
 "WAR DEPARTMENT, March 5, 1861. 
 
 " SIR, I have the honor to submit for your consideration several let 
 ters with inclosures received on yesterday from Major Anderson and Cap 
 tain Forster of the Corps of Engineers, which are of a most important 
 arid unexpected character. Why they were unexpected will appear from 
 the following brief statement : 
 
 "After transferring his forces to Fort Sumter he (Major Anderson) 
 addressed a letter to this Department, under date of the 31st December, 
 1860, in which he says, l Thank God ! we are now where the Government 
 may send us additional troops at its leisure. To be sure, the uncivil 
 and uncourteous action of the Governor (of South Carolina) in prevent 
 ing us from purchasing anything in the city will annoy and inconven 
 ience us somewhat ; still we are safe. And after referring to some defi 
 ciency in his stores, in the articles of soap and candles, he adds : l Still 
 we can cheerfully put up with the inconvenience of doing without them 
 for the satisfaction we feel in the knowledge that we can command this 
 harbor as long as our Government ivishes to keep it. And again, on the 6th 
 of January, he wrote : My position will, should there be no treachery 
 among the workmen whom we are compelled to retain for the present, 
 enable me to hold this fort against any force which can be brought against 
 me ; and it would enable me, in the event of war, to annoy the South 
 Carolinians by preventing them from throwing supplies into their new 
 posts except by the aid of the Wash Channel through Stono Kiver. 
 
 "Before the receipt of this communication, the Government, being 
 
WHY WAS NOT REBELLION CRUSHED AT START? 127 
 
 without information as to his condition, had despatched the Star of the 
 West with troops and supplies for Fort Sumter, but the vessel, having 
 been fired on from a battery at the entrance to the harbor, returned 
 without having reached her destination. 
 
 " On the 16th of January, 1861, in replying to Major Anderson s letters 
 of the 31st of December and of the 6th of January, I said, Your late 
 despatches, as well as the very intelligent statements of Lieutenant Tal- 
 bot, have relieved the Government of the apprehensions previously enter 
 tained for your safety. In consequence it is not its purpose at present to 
 reinforce you. The attempt to do so would no doubt be attended by a 
 collision of arms and effusion of blood a national calamity which the 
 President is most anxious to avoid. You will, therefore, report frequently 
 your condition, and the character and activity of the preparations, if 
 any, which may be being made for an attack upon the fort or for ob 
 structing the Government in any endeavors it may make to strengthen 
 your command. Should your despatches be of a nature too important 
 to be intrusted to the mails, you will convey them by special messenger. 
 Whenever, -in your judgment, additional supplies or reinforcements are 
 necessary for your safety or for a successful defence of the fort, you will 
 at once communicate the fact to this Department, and a prompt and 
 vigorous effort will be made to forward them. 
 
 " Since the date of this letter Major Anderson has regularly and fre 
 quently reported the progress of the batteries being constructed around 
 him, and which looked either to the defence of the harbor or to an attack 
 on his own position. But he has not suggested that these works com 
 promised his safety, nor has he made any request that additional supplies 
 or reinforcements should be sent to him. On the contrary, on the 30th 
 of January, 1861, in a letter to this Department, he uses this emphatic 
 language : I do hope that no attempt will be made by our friends to 
 throw supplies in; their doing so would do more harm than good. 
 
 " On the 5th of February, when referring to the batteries, etc., con 
 structed in his vicinity, he said, Even in their present condition they 
 will make it impossible for any hostile force, other than a large and well- 
 appointed one, to enter this harbor, and the chances are that it will then 
 be at a great sacrifice of life ; and in a postscript he adds : Of course, 
 in speaking of forcing an entrance, I do not refer to the little stratagem 
 of a small party slipping in. This suggestion of a stratagem was well 
 considered in connection with all the information that could be obtained 
 bearing upon it, and in consequence of the vigilance and number of the 
 guard-boats in and outside of the harbor it was rejected as impracticable. 
 
 " In view of these very distinct declarations, and of the earnest desire 
 to avoid a collision as long as possible, it was deemed entirely safe to 
 adhere to the line of policy indicated in my letter of the 16th January, 
 
128 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 which has been already quoted. In that Major Anderson had been re 
 quested to report at once, whenever, in his judgment, additional sup 
 plies or reinforcements were necessary for his safety or for a successful 
 defence of the fort. So long, therefore, as he remained silent upon this 
 point the Government felt that there was no ground for apprehension. 
 Still, as the necessity for action might arise at any moment, an expedi 
 tion has been quietly prepared, and is ready to sail from New York on a 
 few hours notice, for transporting troops and supplies to Fort Sumter. 
 This step was taken under the supervision of General Scott, who arranged 
 its details, and who regarded the reinforcements thus provided for as 
 sufficient for the occasion. The expedition, however, is not upon a scale 
 approaching the seemingly extravagant estimates of Major Anderson and 
 Captain Forster, now offered for the first time, and for the disclosures of 
 which the Government was wholly unprepared. 
 
 " The declaration now made by the major that he would not be willing 
 to risk his reputation on an attempt to throw reinforcements into 
 Charleston harbor, and with a view of holding possession of the same, 
 with a force of less than twenty thousand good and well-disciplined men, 
 takes the Department by surprise, as his previous correspondence con 
 tained no such intimation. 
 
 " I have the honor to be, 
 
 " Very respectfully, 
 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 
 " J. HOLT. 
 
 " To THE PRESIDENT." 
 
 But I must bring this imperfect sketch to a close, imper 
 fect because there are so many more facts of like import 
 that might easily be given. It is, or ought to be, well 
 known that, for one month after President Lincoln s acces 
 sion, the policy of forbearance towards the seceding States 
 was pursued by him to an extent far beyond anything 
 his predecessor had done in that direction. Mr. Gideon 
 Welles, his Secretary of the Navy, has publicly declared 
 that " at the time of Mr. Lincoln s inauguration, and for 
 several weeks thereafter, he and others indulged in the 
 hope of a peaceful solution of the pending questions, and a 
 desire, amounting almost to a belief, that Virginia and the 
 other border States might, by forbearance and a calm and 
 conciliatory policy, continue faithful to the Union. . . . 
 And to conciliate the people of Virginia and the convention 
 
WHY WAS NOT REBELLION CRUSHED AT START? 129 
 
 then in session, the President desired that there should be 
 no step taken which would give offence." 
 
 This is true beyond a doubt. It was in this spirit that 
 President Lincoln delivered his Inaugural Address, and in 
 his message to Congress of the 4th of July, 1861, he says : 
 
 " The policy chosen looked to the exhaustion of all peaceable measures 
 before a resort to any stronger ones. It sought to hold the public places 
 and property not already wrested from the Government, and to. collect 
 the revenue, relying for the rest on time, discussion, and the ballot-box. 
 It promised a continuance of the mails at Government expense to the 
 very people who were resisting the Government, and it gave repeated 
 pledges against any disturbance to any of the people or any of their 
 rights. Of all that a President might constitutionally and justifiably do 
 in such a case, everything was forborne without which it was possible to 
 keep the Government on foot." 
 
 Need more be said to satisfy the most censorious critic 
 of President Buchanan s loyalty and honesty of purpose ? 
 For my own part, I but follow the precepts of the Golden 
 Rule in presenting, while I may, this humble tribute in his 
 behalf, and thus bearing testimony, as I do, to his unsullied 
 honor, patriotism, and fidelity. As General Holt said in 
 his late " interview," so I declare : " I wish distinctly to say I 
 that I believe Mr. Buchanan was in all respects, and at all 
 times, true to the Union," and that " he did the best he 
 could under the circumstances to preserve it." Judge Black 
 is not less explicit. Said he : " To charge him [President I 
 Buchanan] with unfaithfulness to the TJnion is the foulest \ 
 slander that was ever uttered. To say that he was in 
 fluenced by any feeling akin to personal fear, or that he 
 ever acted or forbore to act without the sanction of his con 
 science, is an outrage upon truth too gross to be endured. 
 He had faults. But what faults may not be forgiven to a 
 man of great ability and pure integrity who spent the best 
 years of his life in the public service ? He was as honest a 
 patriot as ever lived, and no man ever sat in the Presiden 
 tial chair that knew better than he did how to enforce the 
 respect due to himself and his office." 
 
 9 
 
130 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 DOCTRINE OF COERCION. 
 
 Views of President Buchanan, Madison, and Senator Johnson Letters 
 of Ex-President Buchanan Forbearance of both President Bu 
 chanan and Lincoln towards the South. 
 
 IT can be no satisfaction to any true American citizen to 
 entertain the belief that any President of the United States 
 has ever been guilty of treason, or an inclination towards 
 treason, either in act or thought. On the contrary, it must 
 be a subject of congratulation to every such citizen to know, 
 if it really be the fact, that we have never yet had a Presi 
 dent of whom it may not be said, " He was honestly de 
 voted to what he conscientiously believed to be the best 
 interests of this country; in a word, he was a patriot." 
 
 In the heat of party excitement, accusations more or less 
 grave have been made against each and all of our presi 
 dents, not excepting the Father of his Country ; but prob 
 ably no one of them has ever been pursued with charges 
 more serious or with a rancor more unrelenting than James 
 Buchanan, not only during his presidency and the subse 
 quent years of his retirement, but since his death. 
 
 I do not propose to enter upon a discussion of the ques 
 tions generally which divided the Democratic and Republi 
 can parties at and after his election, but to touch briefly 
 upon two points only : 1. The unjust censure cast upon 
 Mr. Buchanan in the allegation that he was opposed to 
 coercing the seceding States; and, 2. The charge that he 
 favored the South to an extent in its nature treasonable. 
 
 Regarding the first allegation, it would be presumption 
 in me to attempt to offer any observations of my own after 
 Judge Black s able exposition of this subject in the June 
 number of The Galaxy ; but I think it will be interesting 
 
DOCTRINE OF COERCION. 131 
 
 to the general reader to hear what Mr. Buchanan himself 
 says on this much- controverted doctrine, and, as I have his 
 book before me, entitled " Mr. Buchanan s Administration 
 on the Eve of the Rebellion," published in 1866, I will 
 make a copious extract from it. 
 
 To illustrate his views, he quotes from his annual mes 
 sage of December 3, 1860, to Congress, going at length into 
 facts and arguments to show that the right of a State to 
 secede from the Union does not exist under the Constitu 
 tion. He says : 
 
 " In order to justify secession as a constitutional remedy, it must be on 
 the principle that the Federal Government is a mere voluntary associa 
 tion of States, to be dissolved at pleasure by any one of the contracting 
 parties. If this be so, the Confederacy is a rope of sand, to be pene 
 trated and dissolved by the first adverse wave of public opinion in any 
 of the States. In this manner our thirty-three States may resolve them 
 selves into as many petty, jarring, and hostile republics, each one retiring 
 from the Union without responsibility whenever any sudden excitement 
 might impel them to such a course. By this process a Union might be 
 entirely broken inio fragments in a few weeks, which cost our forefathers 
 many years of toil, privation, and blood to establish. Such a principle 
 is wholly inconsistent with the history as well as the character of the 
 Federal Constitution." 
 
 After enforcing this patriotic view of the subject, demon 
 strating the illegality and folly as well as the wickedness 
 of secession, he proceeds : 
 
 " Then follows the opinion expressed in the message, that the Consti 
 tution has conferred no power on the Federal Government to coerce a 
 State to remain in the Union. [The italicizing is his.] The following is 
 the language : The question, fairly stated, is, Has the Constitution dele 
 gated to Congress the power to coerce a State into submission which is 
 attempting to withdraw from the Confederacy? If answered in the 
 affirmative, it must be on the principle that the power has been conferred 
 upon Congress to make war against a State. 
 
 " * After much serious reflection [this and the following paragraph he 
 quoted from his message] I have arrived at the conclusion that no such 
 power has been delegated to Congress or to any other department of the 
 Federal Government. It is manifest, upon an inspection of the Constitu 
 tion, that this is not among the specific and enumerated powers granted 
 
132 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 to Congress ; and it is equally apparent that its exercise is not necessary 
 and proper for carrying into execution any one of these powers. So far 
 from this power having been delegated to Congress, it was expressly 
 refused by the convention which framed the Constitution. 
 
 " It appears from the proceedings of that body that on the 31st May, 
 1787, the clause " authorizing an exertion of the force of the whole against a 
 delinquent State" came up for consideration. Mr. Madison opposed it in a 
 brief but powerful speech, from which I shall extract but a single sen 
 tence. He observed : " The use of force against a State would look more 
 like a declaration of war than an infliction of punishment, and would 
 probably be considered by the party attacked as a dissolution of all pre 
 vious compacts by which it might be bound " Upon his motion the 
 clause was unanimously postponed, and was never, I believe, again pre 
 sented. Soon afterward, on the 8th of June, 1787, when incidentally ad 
 verting to the subject, he said : " Any government for the United States 
 formed on the supposed practicability of using force against the un 
 constitutional proceedings of the States would prove as visionary and 
 fallacious as the government of Congress," evidently meaning the then 
 existing Congress of the old Confederation. 
 
 " The Republican party have severely but unjustly criticised this por 
 tion of the message, simply because they have not chosen to take the 
 distinction between the power to make war against a State in its sover 
 eign character, and the undoubted power to enforce the laws of Congress 
 directly against individual citizens thereof within its limits. It was 
 chiefly to establish this very distinction that the Federal Constitution 
 was framed. The Government of the old Confederation could act only 
 by requisitions on the different States, and these, as we have seen, obeyed 
 or disobeyed according to their own discretion. In case of disobedience, 
 there was no resort but to actual force against them, which would at once 
 have destroyed the Confederacy. To remove the necessity for such a 
 dangerous alternative, the present Constitution, passing over the govern 
 ments of the States, conferred upon the Government of the United States 
 the power to execute its own laws directly against their people. Thus 
 all danger of collision between the Federal and State authorities was 
 removed, and the indissoluble nature of the Federal Union established. 
 The Eepublican party have, notwithstanding, construed the message to 
 mean a denial by the President of the power to enforce the laws against 
 the citizens of a State after secession, and even after actual rebellion. 
 The whole tenor, not only of this message, but of the special message of 
 January 8, 1861, contradicts and disproves this construction. Indeed, 
 in the first clause of the message immediately preceding that relied upon, 
 and whilst South Carolina was rapidly rushing to secession, he expressed 
 his determination to execute the revenue laws whenever these should be 
 
DOCTRINE OF COEKCION. 133 
 
 resisted, and to defend the public property against all assaults. And in 
 the special message, after South Carolina and other States had seceded, 
 he reiterated this declaration, maintaining both his right and his duty to 
 employ military force for this purpose. Having proved secession to be a 
 mere nullity, he considered the States which had seceded to be still 
 within the Union, and their people equally bound as they had been 
 before to obey the laws. 
 
 "The disunionists, unlike the Republicans, placed the correct con 
 struction upon both messages, and therefore denounced them in severe 
 terms. 
 
 " The President was gratified to observe that Senator Johnson, of Ten 
 nessee, a few days after the date of the first message, placed this subject 
 in its true light, and thereby exposed himself to similar denunciations. 
 In his speech of December 18, 1860 ( Congressional Globe, p. 119), he 
 says, 1 1 do not believe the Federal Government has the power to coerce 
 a State, for by the eleventh amendment of the Constitution of the United 
 States it is expressly provided that you cannot even put one of the States 
 of this Confederacy before one of the courts of the country as a party. As 
 a State, the Federal Government has no power to coerce it ; but it is a 
 member of the compact to which it agreed in common with the other 
 States, and this Government has the right to pass laws, and to enforce 
 those laws upon individuals within the limits of each State. While the 
 one proposition is clear, the other is equally so. This Government can, 
 by the Constitution of the country, and by the laws enacted in con 
 formity with the Constitution, operate upon individuals, and has the 
 right and the power not to coerce a State, but to enforce and execute the 
 law upon individuals within the limits of a State. 
 
 " Sound doctrine, and in conformity with that of the framers ot the 
 Constitution! Any other might, according to Mr. Madison, have been 
 construed by the States in rebellion as a dissolution of their connection 
 with the other States, and recognized them as independent belligerents 
 on equal terms with the United States. Happily, our civil war was un 
 dertaken and prosecuted in self-defence, not to coerce a State, but to en 
 force the execution of the laws within the States against individuals, and 
 to suppress an unjust rebellion raised by a conspiracy among them against 
 the Government of the United States." 
 
 Such was Mr. Buchanan s belief in regard to the power 
 of the general Government to coerce a State. His official 
 acts were made to conform to this conviction, and out of 
 this came the charge of weakness and treachery which I 
 will also meet, not so much by any remarks of my own as 
 
134 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 by the testimony readily at hand of other witnesses entitled 
 to the fullest credit. The facts, however, speak for them 
 selves. Judge Black, in the article referred to, has pre 
 sented Mr. Buchanan s position in this regard clearly and 
 truthfully, and I venture the opinion that there are few, 
 if any, fair-minded persons of any political party whatever, 
 who, when they bring to mind the actual state of things 
 existing during the closing months of Mr. Buchanan s ad 
 ministration, will not admit that great injustice has been 
 done him by the thoughtless accusations against him of 
 timidity, weakness, and treachery. That he was cautious 
 there is no doubt, and it is equally certain now that in his 
 caution there was great wisdom. Had he been rash, instead 
 of cautious and forbearing as he was, in all probability 
 active hostilities would have been inaugurated in January 
 or February, 1861. Maryland as well as Virginia would 
 have been forced to declare for secession, the rebels would 
 have seized and held Washington, as I firmly believe it was 
 their intention to do, and, as was also their purpose I am 
 just as firmly convinced, Mr. Lincoln s inauguration w r ould 
 have been prevented. The city was swarming with seces 
 sionists both in and out of office, and there was a feeling 
 of insecurity fearful to contemplate, which found relief only 
 when, through the patriotic foresight of the Hon. Joseph 
 Holt, Secretary of War, supported by the President and the 
 rest of the Cabinet, a well-appointed body of United States 
 troops was brought here from the West to preserve the 
 public peace. The policy of the Government, however, was 
 purely defensive ; and this policy and the effect of it can 
 not be better illustrated than by the answer made by Mr. 
 Holt, in a publication, in September, 1865, to the false 
 charge that the cannon of Fort Sumter had " been muzzled 
 by treaty stipulations." 
 He says : 
 
 " That the batteries around Sumter were not fired upon while in course 
 of construction, was because the President shrank from the dread respon- 
 
DOCTRINE OF COERCION. 135 
 
 sibility of inaugurating civil war, and deemed forbearance his duty ; not 
 because he was restrained by any agreement or understanding whatever. 
 Looking at the glorious results of the war, and remembering how won- 
 drously Providence has dealt with us in its progress, and how sublimely 
 the firing upon, instead of from, Fort Sumter, served to arouse, instruct, 
 and unite the nation, and to inflame its martial and patriotic spirit, we 
 stand awe struck and mute ; and that man would be bold indeed who, 
 in the presence of all that has occurred, should now venture to maintain 
 that the policy of forbearance was not at the moment the true policy." 
 
 Nor, as is well known, did this policy of forbearance 
 cease with Mr. Buchanan s administration. It was con 
 tinued for some time after Mr. Lincoln s inauguration, and 
 to a degree much beyond anything of the kind under his 
 predecessor. They even went so far (according to Judge 
 Black s statement, which I have not seen contradicted) as 
 to vote six to one in Cabinet in favor of surrendering Fort 
 Sumter ! Strange, indeed, if such were the fact ! But, be 
 this as it may, we have the undoubted testimony of the 
 Hon. Gideon Welles, the able and courteous Secretary of 
 the Navy during the administrations of Presidents Lincoln 
 and Johnson, that extreme leniency was practised towards 
 the people in the southern States up to the firing upon Fort 
 Sumter; and this may be taken as evincing on the part of 
 Mr. Lincoln and his Cabinet the strongest approbation of 
 Mr. Buchanan s line of policy, much more restrained to be 
 sure, in the same direction. Allow me to reproduce here 
 some of Mr. "Welles s observations, as given in The Galaxy 
 of July last on this point. He remarks : 
 
 " At the time of Mr. Lincoln s inauguration, and for several weeks 
 thereafter, he and others indulged the hope of a peaceful solution of the 
 pending questions, and a desire, amounting almost to a belief, that Vir 
 ginia and the other border States might, by forbearance and a calm and 
 conciliatory policy, continue faithful to the Union. Two-thirds of the 
 convention then in session at Richmond were elected as opponents of 
 secession, and the people of that State were in about that proportion op 
 posed to it. But the Union element in the convention and out of it was 
 passive and acquiescent, while the secessionists were positive, aggressive, 
 and violent ; and, as is almost always the case in revolutionary times, the 
 
136 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 aggressive force continually increased in strengh and exactions at the ex 
 pense of those who were peacefully inclined. It was charged that the 
 new administration was inimical to the South, was hostile to Southern 
 institutions, and would use its power to deprive the people and States of 
 their rights by coercive measures. In order to counteract these un 
 founded prejudices and to do away with these misrepresentations, which 
 were embarrassing to the administration just launched upon a turbulent 
 sea, and to conciliate the people of Virginia and the convention then in session, 
 the President desired that there should be no step taken which would give 
 offence, and to prevent any cause of irritation, he desired that not even the 
 ordinary local political changes which are usual on a change of adminis 
 tration should be made. In regard to the navy-yard at Norfolk, he was 
 particularly solicitous that there should be no action taken which would 
 indicate a want of confidence in the authorities and people, or which 
 would be likely to beget distrust. No ships were to be withdrawn, no 
 fortifications erected. . . . 
 
 " Not until the last of March did the President fully and finally decide 
 to attempt to relieve Fort Sumter. . . . 
 
 " The attempt to relieve Major Anderson, though a military question, 
 was a political necessity. It became a duty of the Government after all con 
 ciliatory efforts were exhausted" 
 
 In allusion to his order of April 18, 1861, to Commodore 
 Paulding, " to proceed forthwith to Norfolk and take com 
 mand of all the naval forces there afloat," and " with the 
 means placed at his command to do all in his power to pro 
 tect and place beyond danger the vessels and property be 
 longing to the United States," he says : 
 
 " This order was to repel, not to assail ; the administration continued to 
 be forbearing, and to the last was not aggressive. Extreme men were dis 
 satisfied and censorious because the administration did not attack, though 
 not prepared. On to Sumter was the word, as at a later period the cry, 
 equally inconsiderate, was, On to Richmond. " 
 
 "Without specifying the many slanders promulgated 
 against Mr. Buchanan in respect to his conduct and senti 
 ments touching the war after its commencement and during 
 its progress, I think the time has arrived to lay before the 
 public extracts of letters from him in my possession, which 
 ought to remove the false impressions that many persons 
 
DOCTRINE OF COERCION. 137 
 
 have no doubt honestly entertained on the subject, from too 
 confident a reliance upon reckless partisan statements. I 
 shall omit, mostly, those parts of a personal or private 
 nature, confining myself mainly to his observations upon 
 public affairs. His first letter, which I will offer, is dated 
 
 " WHEATLAND, NEAR LANCASTER, July 13, 1861. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, My late severe illness has hitherto prevented me 
 from acknowledging the receipt of your kind letter of May last. . . . 
 
 " The future of our country presents a dark cloud through which my 
 vision cannot penetrate. The assault upon Fort Sumter was the com 
 mencement of war by the Confederate States, and no alternative was left 
 but to prosecute it with vigor on our part. Up to and until all social and 
 political relations ceased between the secession leaders and myself, I had 
 often warned them that the North would rise to a man against them if 
 such an assault were made. No alternative seems now to be left but to 
 prosecute hostilities, unless the seceding States shall return to their alle 
 giance, or until it shall be demonstrated that this object, which is nearest 
 my heart, cannot be accomplished. From present appearances it seems 
 certain that they would accept no terms of compromise short of an abso 
 lute recognition of their independence, which is impossible. I am glad 
 that General Scott does not underrate the strength of his enemy, which 
 would be a great fault in a commander. With all my heart and soul I 
 wish him success. I think that some very unfit military appointments 
 have been made, from which we may suffer in some degree in the begin 
 ning, but ere long merit will rise to its appropriate station. It was just 
 so at the commencement of the war of 1812. I was rejoiced at the ap 
 pointment of General Dix, and believe he will do both himself and the 
 country honor. 
 
 " Very respectfully, your friend, 
 
 "JAMES BUCHANAN. 
 
 "HON. HORATIO KING." 
 
 " WHEATLAND, September 18, 1861. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, I think I can perceive in the public mind a more 
 fixed, resolute, and determined purpose than ever to prosecute the war to 
 a successful termination with all the men and means in our power. En 
 listments are now proceeding much more rapidly than a few weeks ago, 
 and I am truly glad of it. The time has passed for offering compromises 
 and terms of peace to the seceded States. We well know that under 
 existing circumstances, they would accept of nothing less than a recog 
 nition of their independence, which it is impossible that we should grant. 
 
138 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 There is a time for all things under the sun, but surely this is not the 
 moment for paralyzing the arm of the national administration by a sui 
 cidal conflict among ourselves, but for bold, energetic, and united action. 
 The Democratic party has ever been devoted to the Constitution and the 
 Union, and I rejoice that among the many thousands who have rushed to 
 their defence in this hour of peril, a large majority belong to that time- 
 honored party. 
 
 " I sat down to write you a few lines, but find that my letter has swelled 
 into large proportions. 
 
 " From your friend, 
 
 " Very respectfully, 
 
 "JAMES BUCHANAN. 
 "HON. HOKATIO KING." 
 
 " WHEATLAND, NEAR LANCASTER, November 12, 1861. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, ... By the by, it is difficult to imagine how it was 
 possible to mystify so plain a subject under the laws of war as an ex 
 change of prisoners with the rebels, so as to make it mean a recognition 
 in any form, however remote, of their confederacy. It admits nothing 
 but that your enemy, whether pirate, rebel, Algerine, or regular govern 
 ment, has got your soldiers in his possession. The exchange admits 
 nothing beyond. The laws of humanity are not confined to any other 
 limit. The more barbarous and cruel the enemy, the greater is the neces 
 sity for an exchange, because the greater is the danger that they will shed 
 the blood of your soldiers. I do not apply this remark to the Confederate 
 States, and only use it by way of illustration. I believe they have not 
 treated their prisoners cruelly. 
 
 " They do not seem to understand at Washington another plain prin 
 ciple of the law of nations, and that is, that while the capture and con 
 fiscation of private property at sea is still permissible, this is not the case 
 on land. Such are all the authorities. The Treaty of Ghent recognized 
 slaves as private property, and therefore they were to be restored ; and 
 we paid for all our army consumed in Mexico. The rebels have violated 
 this law in the most reckless manner. . . . 
 
 " From your friend, 
 
 " Very respectfully, 
 
 "JAMES BUCHANAN. 
 
 "HoN. HORATIO KING." 
 
 " WHEATLAND, January 28, 1862. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, ... I do most earnestly hope that our army may 
 be able to do something effective before the first of April. If not, there 
 is great danger not merely of British but of European interference. 
 
DOCTRINE OF COERCION. 139 
 
 There will then be such a clamor for cotton among the millions of oper 
 atives dependent upon it for bread, both in England and on the Continent, 
 that I fear for the blockade. 
 
 " From my heart I wish Stanton success, not only for his own sake but 
 for that of the country. . . I believe him to be a truly honest man, 
 who will never sanction corruption, though he may not be quite able to 
 grapple with treason as the lion grapples with his prey. 
 
 " I remain, very respectfully, your friend, 
 
 "JAMES BUCHANAN. 
 
 "HON. HORATIO KING." 
 
 " WHEATLAND, NEAR LANCASTER, February 10, 1862. 
 " MY DEAR SIR, ... I trust that our late victories may be the pre 
 lude to those more decided, and that, ere the spring opens, we may be in 
 such a condition as to afford no pretext to England and France to inter 
 fere in our domestic affairs. 
 
 " From your friend, very respectfully, 
 
 "JAMES BUCHANAN. 
 "HON. HORATIO KING." 
 
 I regret that from this time till near the close of the war 
 our correspondence was suspended ; but I heard from him 
 frequently through common friends, and know that he 
 remained faithful and true to the end. In the month of 
 August, 1866, being in the city of Portland, Maine, I took 
 occasion to have published in the Eastern Argus a highly 
 patriotic letter which he addressed, on the 28th of Septem 
 ber, 1861, to Samuel A. Worth, Esq., in answer to an invi 
 tation from him, " as chairman of the appropriate committee, 
 to attend and address a Union meeting of the citizens of 
 Chester and Lancaster Counties, to be held at Hayesville, 
 on the 1st of October." He excused himself on account of 
 feeble health, but said : " Were it possible for me to address 
 your meeting, waiving all other topics, I should confine 
 myself to a solemn and earnest appeal to my countrymen, 
 and especially those without families, to volunteer for the 
 war, and join the many thousands of brave and patriotic 
 volunteers who are already in the field." He concluded 
 by saying, that " until that happy day shall arrive [of the 
 
140 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 return of the seceding States], it will be our duty to sup 
 port the President with all the men and means at the com 
 mand of the country, in a vigorous and successful prosecu 
 tion of the war." Under date of August 29, 1866, refer 
 ring to this " Hayesville letter," as he termed it, he said in 
 a letter to me, " I thank you for having caused it to be pub 
 lished. It is in perfect consistency with all I have written 
 or said." 
 
 If he was not as prominently active during the war as 
 might have been, the secret of it may perhaps be discov 
 ered in his reply to the following letter, the production of 
 which in this familiar communication (since, contrary to 
 my usual custom, I happened to retain a copy) will, I trust, 
 be excused : 
 
 "WASHINGTON, April 22, 1865. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, It is a long time since I have had the pleasure of 
 receiving a letter from you, and, although I believe the last which passed 
 between us was from me, I venture again to address you, for within the 
 past week my thoughts have been frequently directed toward you and 
 the scenes of the last few weeks of your administration. The frightful 
 tragedy just enacted in our midst appears only as the natural sequence 
 of the acts of the rebel conspirators in commencing first to denounce you 
 because you resisted their efforts to take possession of or break up the 
 Government, and next in openly assailing the Government by fire and 
 sword after the reins had passed from your hands. I have felt a strong 
 desire to hear from you, not only in months past, but especially in this 
 period when the whole heart of the nation is bowed and stricken with 
 grief. In all the letters I have from you wherein you speak of the re 
 bellion, it is a pleasure and a consolation to know that your declarations, 
 and hopes, and prayers are all for your country and its brave defenders, 
 and it is reasonable to suppose that few if any of our fellow-citizens can 
 be more deeply moved than you yourself must be at the awful assassina 
 tion of President Lincoln. Why, then, may we not be favored by a word 
 from you possibly, in all this darkness, a word of encouragement and 
 of hope ? Whether for the public eye or not, be assured it will always 
 afford me sincere pleasure to receive a letter from you. 
 
 " I have the honor to be, very respectfully and truly, 
 
 "HORATIO KING. 
 
 " His Excellency, JAMES BUCHANAN, Wheatland, Pa." 
 
DOCTRINE OF COERCION. 141 
 
 " WHEATLAND, NEAR LANCASTER, April 27, 1865. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, Rest assured that I was much gratified to receive 
 your favor of the 22d. If I was indebted a letter to you, I am sorry for 
 it ; because I entertain no other feeling toward you but that of kindness 
 and friendship. 
 
 " In common with you, I feel the assassination of President Lincoln to 
 be a terrible misfortune to our country. May God, in his mercy, ward 
 from us the evils which it portends, and bring good out of this fearful 
 calamity ! My intercourse with our deceased President, both on his visit 
 to me after his arrival in Washington and on the day of his first inaugu 
 ration, convinced me that he was a man of a kind and benevolent heart, 
 and of plain, sincere, and frank manners. I have never since changed 
 my opinion of his character. Indeed, I felt for him much personal 
 regard. 
 
 " Throughout the years of the war I never faltered in my conviction 
 that it would eventually terminate in the crushing of the rebellion, and 
 was ever opposed to the recognition of the Confederate government by 
 any act which even looked in that direction. Believing, always, seces 
 sion to be a palpable violation of the Constitution, I considered the acts 
 of secession to be absolutely void, and that the States were therefore still 
 members, though rebellious members, of the Union. 
 
 " Having prayed night and morning for the restoration of the Union, 
 the Constitution, and our civil liberties, and fondly believing that Presi 
 dent Lincoln was the destined instrument in the hands of Divine Provi 
 dence to accomplish these inestimable blessings, the awful news of his 
 diabolical assassination at such a moment overwhelmed me with sorrow. 
 
 " These are my heartfelt sentiments which you invite, but they are not 
 for the public eye. When, on the first opportunity after the battle of 
 Bull Run I expressed strong opinions to a public meeting in support of 
 the war, I was assailed as violently for this ... as if I had uttered 
 treason. If I were now to write for the public, which I could do with 
 heartfelt emotion, on the subject of the assassination, I should be treated 
 in a similar manner. 
 
 " My health is good, considering that I was seventy-four years of age 
 on Sunday last. I lead a tranquil and retired life ; and should be very 
 glad to welcome you once more to Wheatland. 
 
 " From your friend, very respectfully, 
 
 "JAMES BUCHANAN. 
 
 "HON. HORATIO KING." 
 
 In conclusion, let me say that I present this communica 
 tion in no partisan spirit, but purely in the interest of truth 
 
142 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 and justice, without reference to party politics. Moreover, 
 I have no hesitation in declaring that I consider it a duty 
 plainly devolving upon me to bear this testimony, while 
 yet I may, to the honesty, fidelity, and patriotism of Mr. 
 Buchanan. Seldom if ever absent from his post, whether 
 as senator, secretary of state, minister plenipotentiary, or 
 President of the United States, he was attentive to every 
 duty incumbent upon him. While President, if a citizen, 
 no matter how humble, appealed from any head of a de 
 partment to him for redress, he always listened with 
 patience, and, calling for a full statement of facts of the 
 case, investigated it thoroughly, and gave his decision in 
 the spirit of an upright judge. No one was turned away. 
 He acted as the President of the whole people, and as feel 
 ing that he was ultimately to be held responsible for every 
 official act done under his administration. If matters hap 
 pened to go wrong, no one regretted it more than he. His 
 ardent desire was for everything to go right. Happy would 
 it be for the people of this country could they be assured 
 of always securing in the higher posts of honor and au 
 thority, men as able, conscientious, and patriotic as was 
 James Buchanan, late President of the United States. 
 WASHINGTON, September, 1870. 
 
LETTER ON THE WAR. 143 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 LETTER ON THE WAR. 
 
 Its Progress The Hand of the Almighty now Apparent Poison at the 
 National Hotel. 
 
 WASHINGTON, Nov. 13, 1863. 
 REV. G. M. P. KING, PROVIDENCE, R. I. 
 
 DEAR SIR, What you say in regard to the sentiments 
 and conduct of some of the people in New England touch 
 ing the war would have surprised me had I not in my visit 
 there last summer heard and seen the same things. It 
 seemed to me that many of our friends there considered it 
 their duty, in standing up for what they called the " rights 
 of the South," to advocate the cause of slavery with quite 
 as much earnestness as we of the Democratic party in a 
 spirit of generosity, when we knew less about it than at 
 present, felt constrained to do in our political contests previ 
 ous to the war. Instead of moving forward with the rest 
 of the world, they appear to remain stationary. As an 
 instance of this not a little amusing, I observed in a Maine 
 newspaper, just before the late election in that State, an ex 
 tract from a speech of George F. Shepley, Esq., now brig 
 adier-general of volunteers, delivered in 1856, in which he 
 took occasion to pay a high compliment to John C. Breck- 
 inridge, then a candidate for the Vice-Presidency, which 
 extract was quoted to show General Shepley s present in 
 consistency in giving his hearty support to the measures of 
 the administration for the suppression of the rebellion in 
 which this same recreant son of Kentucky is engaged ! I 
 am pained to say that I met some who justified the South 
 in taking up arms, and who were bitterly severe upon the 
 administration for every shortcoming, real or supposed, 
 while blind to the stupendous crimes and wickedness which 
 
144 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 have characterized the boasted " chivalry" of the South 
 from the moment of their embracing the hideous monster, 
 Treason, to the present time. Averring that the South was 
 fighting for republican independence as fought the heroes 
 of 1776, they charged that it was the purpose of the ad 
 ministration to prosecute the war for the abolishment of 
 slavery and the subjugation of her people. They seemed 
 willing to ignore, if not actually to deny, the fact that, 
 instead of republican liberty, the leaders of the rebellion 
 openly proclaimed that they were contending for the estab 
 lishment of a government, than which none could be more 
 aristocratic, and of which, as declared by their Vice-Presi- 
 dent, A. H. Stephens, slavery was the " corner-stone." But 
 the further we move onward into the heart of the South, 
 the clearer view do we gain, not only of the real character 
 of slavery, but of those who seek to found a government 
 upon it. You have no doubt read a remarkable article on 
 this subject, which appeared in the Richmond Examiner of 
 28th May last, at a time when the rebels were flushed with 
 success and full of hope. The writer of that article says, 
 " The establishment of the Confederacy is verily a distinct 
 reaction against the whole course of the mistaken civiliza 
 tion of the age. And this is the true reason why we have 
 been left without the sympathy of the nations till we con 
 quered that sympathy with the sharp edge of the sword. 
 For liberty, equality, fraternity, we have deliberately sub 
 stituted slavery, subordination, and government. Those 
 social and political problems which rack and torture modern 
 society, we have undertaken to solve for ourselves in our 
 own way and on our own principles." . . . " Reverently we 
 feel," he continues, " that our Confederacy is a God-sent 
 missionary to the nations, with great truths to preach. We 
 must speak them boldly, and whoso hath ears to hear let 
 him hear." Is it not passing strange, when we behold the 
 South I mean those who control there acting up to these 
 monstrous doctrines, that there should be any division of 
 
LETTER ON THE WAK. 145 
 
 sentiment in the free States as to the policy or importance 
 of subduing at once and forever a power promising or un 
 dertaking thus to subvert the principles of liberty through 
 out the world ? In the presence of such declarations, and 
 the better knowledge obtained of the institution of slavery 
 since the war broke out. need we marvel that intelligent 
 
 o 
 
 statesmen like Mr. Bright, of the English Parliament, for 
 instance, should say of the South, " Her object is to retain 
 the power to breed negroes, to lash negroes, to chain them, 
 to buy and sell negroes, to deny them the enjoyment of the 
 commonest family ties, to break their hearts by rending 
 them at their pleasure, to close their mental eye against a 
 glimpse of that knowledge which separates us from the 
 brute creation, for, in accordance with their laws, it is a 
 penal act to teach a negro to read." 
 
 These are sweeping charges, and I do not quote to en 
 dorse them, although one must be very blind now to doubt 
 that the South is fighting to perpetuate slavery by the 
 establishment of a government hostile to the rights and in 
 denial of the dignity of labor. Nor is it less apparent, 
 judging from the ferocity and heartless barbarity mani 
 fested by the traitors towards the Union prisoners in many 
 instances, and towards the Union people of the South, that 
 the effect of slavery upon them is to the last extent per 
 nicious. Still they cling to and fight for it. 
 
 But a great change is going on greater by far in the 
 border States and at the South than at the North in re 
 gard to this institution. One of the most striking indi 
 vidual instances of this is to be seen in the recent address 
 of E. W. Gantt, a member elect to Congress, in 1860, from 
 Arkansas, who, until within a few months past, has held a 
 commission in the rebel service. Of slavery he says, " Its 
 existence had become incompatible with the existence of 
 the Government ; for while it had stood as a wall damming 
 up the current and holding back the people and laborers 
 of the North, it had, by thus precluding free intercourse 
 
 10 
 
146 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. . 
 
 between the sections, produced a marked change in their 
 manners, customs, and sentiments; and the two sections 
 were growing more divergent every day. This wall or the 
 Government one must give way. The shock came which 
 was to settle the question. I thought the Government was 
 divided and negro slavery established forever. I erred. 
 The Government was stronger than slavery. Reunion is 
 certain, but not more certain than the downfall of slavery. 
 . . . We fought for negro slavery. We have lost." 
 
 Look, too, at the wonderful strides towards general 
 emancipation in Maryland, Missouri, and several other 
 slave States ; nor let it be forgotten with what general 
 satisfaction immediate emancipation has been acquiesced in 
 in this District. There was at first, to be sure, some hesi 
 tancy and a little grumbling on the part of a few of the 
 owners, while a smaller number declined to present their 
 slaves for valuation and compensation, on the ground, as it 
 was understood, that they hoped and believed that Jefferson 
 Davis would sooner or later have permanent possession 
 here at the capital, and would, of course, protect them in 
 their " sacred rights." But while this latter number, which 
 was very small, are no doubt vexed with themselves for 
 their latent treachery, those who took advantage of the 
 law under a sort of protest would, I doubt not, every one 
 of them now heartily approve it, were the thing to be gone 
 over again. 
 
 In view of these among other numerous considerations 
 patent to every one who reads, it is unaccountable that so 
 many of our good people at the North, as if in a spirit of 
 magnanimity, should esteem it either their duty or good 
 policy to brace themselves so firmly in support of this tot 
 tering institution of slavery, and especially that they should 
 be so ready to denounce such men as General Butler, Gen 
 eral Shepley, Daniel 8. Dickinson, and others for yielding 
 to their honest convictions, and with Joseph Holt, Andrew 
 Johnson, Horace Maynard, and hosts of other patriotic 
 
LETTER ON THE WAR. 147 
 
 Southerners, saying, " God speed to universal emanci 
 pation." 
 
 Do you ask if I have turned Abolitionist ? I answer that 
 the political Abolitionism of former days differs widely from 
 the great movements now in progress for the freedom not 
 alone of the slaves, but of the down-trodden, laboring white 
 population, too, of the South. I am constrained to believe 
 with Mr. Gantt, that " the mission of slavery is accom 
 plished." And when, as he says, he has "recently talked 
 with Southern slaveholders from every State," that u they 
 are tired of slavery, and believe they could make more clear 
 money and live more peaceably without than with it," 
 why should we of the free States longer strive for its main 
 tenance ? Mr. Boyce, of South Carolina, warned his friends 
 that if they brought on a war against their Government it 
 would be the death of their cherished institution. They 
 did commence the war ; let them suffer, as they are doing 
 in many ways, its legitimate consequences. 
 
 Certainly we are not called upon to interpose any coun 
 teracting obstacle. Let the work go on. Do we not plainly 
 see in it the hand of the Almighty ? Heretofore we have, 
 as it were, waited for the records of history to be made up 
 before being permitted to see clearly the workings of Provi 
 dence in the affairs of men. As from an eminence we 
 looked back into the past to behold " His wonderful do 
 ings." But now we seem to feel His immediate presence 
 and to see His all powerful hand in the great events daily 
 transpiring around us. 
 
 No, my friend, you well know I am beyond the influence 
 of either official position (for I neither hold nor desire any) 
 or partisan politics. Neither " Abolitionism," " Republi 
 canism," nor " Democracy," in a party sense, have I any 
 thing to do with during the war. My motto is, " My coun 
 try first afterwards, if need be, my party." Let us give to 
 the administration a cheerful support. Its responsibilities 
 are immense how tremendously oppressive we cannot fully 
 
148 TURNING OX THE LIGHT. 
 
 realize until the war is ended, if, indeed, we ever can. Let us 
 seek to strengthen, not to destroy it. If we think errors are 
 committed, point them out in a spirit of friendship, not of 
 carping bitterness. Let us be united. Before there can be 
 peace the military power of the rebels must be broken and 
 thoroughly subdued. This can be done only by exerting 
 our united strength against them. They had been long 
 preparing for this struggle, and had, no doubt, many times 
 surveyed the whole field ere entering upon it in hostile 
 array. 
 
 You have, no doubt, seen the letter of that arch-traitor, 
 J. M. Mason, to Jefferson Davis, written in September, 
 1856, when the latter was Secretary of War, in which Mason 
 informs him, through his " most private ear," that the 
 Governors of several of the Southern States had agreed to 
 rendezvous at Raleigh, evidently for treasonable purposes, in 
 view of the anticipated election of Fremont to the Presi 
 dency, in which event he said he had already given it as his 
 judgment, that the South should not pause, but proceed at 
 once to immediate, absolute, and eternal separation, adding, 
 as he knew what he deserved, " so I am a candidate for 
 the first halter." The principal object of the letter, how 
 ever, was to urge Davis to comply with Governor Wise s 
 official request " to exchange with Virginia, on fair terms of 
 difference, percussion for flint muskets." 
 
 This, by the way, is the same " J. M. Mason" who, when 
 the question was to be submitted to Virginia whether or 
 not she should secede from the Union, you will recollect, 
 had the unblushing effrontery to advise all who were op 
 posed to secession to leave the State ! The same, too, who, 
 in his place in the United States Senate, in the spring of 
 1861, with an air of offended dignity, expressed his indig 
 nation at the quartering of United States troops in this city 
 and the mounting of cannon on the land side of Fortress 
 Monroe ! It was, indeed, a sore thing for the conspirators, 
 the arrival here of one or more batteries of flying artillery, 
 
LETTER ON THE WAR. 149 
 
 and they used their utmost power to prevent it. It seri 
 ously interfered with their arrangements; for there is 
 scarcely a doubt that their fixed purpose was to prevent 
 President Lincoln s inauguration and take violent possession 
 of the Government. 
 
 Again, looking farther back, it should create no surprise 
 if, when the entire history of this infamous conspiracy finally 
 comes to the light, it shall be found that the poisoning at 
 the National Hotel, where Mr. Buchanan was stopping in 
 the spring of 1857, prior to his inauguration, had for its 
 special object quietly to put him out of the way, in order to 
 give place to Vice-President Breckinridge, upon whom they 
 could rely to co-operate with them, through Floyd, Cobb, 
 and Thompson, in usurping the Government in the event 
 of being defeated, as they were, at the polls. Such a sug 
 gestion then would have shocked the public sense ; but after 
 what we have since witnessed, the perjuries, the thefts, the 
 robberies, the cold-blooded murders, the savage cruelties of 
 this traitor horde, no act of theirs, however horrible, need 
 startle us. 
 
 But this is diverging. The signs of an early suppression 
 of the rebellion are auspicious. Our armies on land and 
 water are bravely pressing onward ; the rebel cause is fast 
 losing ground in Europe, where so much pains have been 
 taken by Southern emissaries to enlist the aristocracy and 
 enemies of the United States in their behalf; no more pi 
 ratical vessels will be constructed in England or France to 
 prey upon our commerce; the rebels are in a straitened 
 condition for the necessaries of life ; and all that is now 
 wanted to put an end to further bloodshed, is for the people 
 of the loyal States at home to reinforce and support our 
 armies in the field, in the same spirit of union and patriot 
 ism with which they rallied in defence of our flag when it 
 was first assailed at Fort Sumter. This will ensure certain 
 success and end the war. Then the seceded States will 
 return to their positions under the Constitution ; slavery, if 
 
150 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 not already abolished, will have been destroyed as a political 
 power and be in a condition speedily to be annihilated by 
 the mighty current of emancipation sweeping southwardly 
 from the border slave States ; fraternity and brotherly love 
 will resume their sway ; we shall, I trust, all feel humbled 
 and yet exalted by our trials, and ready devoutly to exclaim, 
 "Let the heavens be glad and let the earth rejoice : and let 
 men say among the nations, THE LORD REIGNETH." 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 HORATIO KING. 
 
 NOTE. In reference to the above, I am quite sure I shall 
 not only be excused, but that I shall receive the thanks of 
 every loyal reader, for giving place here to the following 
 letter, showing, as it does, the hearty approbation of one of 
 the ablest, most eloquent, and patriotic of American states 
 men: 
 
 WASHINGTON, December 12, 1863. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, I return your letter, which I have read 
 with great gratification. It is fully up to the measure of 
 loyalty and statesmanship demanded by the stern emergen 
 cies of the times, and cannot fail to meet with a grateful and 
 appreciative reception from all true men. As a page in the 
 volume of your patriotic life, I am sure that in the years to 
 come you will look back upon it with unalloyed pleasure. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 J. HOLT. 
 
 HON. HORATIO KING. 
 
PRESIDENT BUCHANAN S RECORD. 151 
 
 CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 PRESIDENT BUCHANAN S RECORD. 
 
 A critic of the Atlantic Monthly criticised General Dix s famous de 
 spatch Opinions of Judge Black and General Holt. 
 
 IF the spiteful, and what I cannot help characterizing as 
 a juvenile, criticism of Mr. Curtis s " Life of Buchanan" in 
 the November number of the Atlantic Monthly shall have 
 the effect to induce the readers of that magazine to peruse 
 his work for themselves, the labor of the critic may not fail 
 entirely of good effect, for no one can read that work atten 
 tively without being convinced of the honesty of purpose, 
 great ability, and wisdom of President Buchanan. 
 
 Not to enter into any lengthy discussion, let us quote 
 a few of the critic s statements, with running remarks. 
 Speaking of Mr. Buchanan s failure to receive the nomina 
 tion for President in 1852, the writer says : 
 
 "The rejected candidate resigned himself to his disappointment and 
 was consoled by the mission to England." 
 
 The evidence presented by Mr. Curtis clearly shows that 
 Mr. Buchanan consented reluctantly to accept the appoint 
 ment to England, and finally agreed to take it only on con 
 dition that the u seat of negotiations," especially including 
 " the Central American questions," should be at London 
 instead of Washington. Again, says the critic : 
 
 " There is something very pitiable, something almost tragic, in the fig 
 ure of James Buchanan during those last months of his administration. 
 . . . On Mr. Curtis s own showing presumably the best that can be 
 made Buchanan failed miserably at the great crisis in the nation s life. 
 He took the ground that he would not precipitate war by applying force 
 to prevent a State from seceding, but that he would defend the flag and 
 property of the United States." 
 
152 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 The writer ought to know, what every school-boy knows 
 who has studied the Constitution of the United States, that 
 the President would have violated that instrument and 
 broken his oath of office had he attempted of himself to 
 " precipitate war by applying force to prevent a State from 
 seceding." Moreover, his great aim and most anxious de 
 sire was to avoid an open rupture, and this policy of for 
 bearance was also pursued by President Lincoln until all 
 hope of a peaceful settlement had -to be abandoned. Says 
 Mr. Gideon Welles, Mr. Lincoln s Secretary of the Navy : 
 
 " At the time of Mr. Lincoln s inauguration, and for several weeks 
 thereafter, he and others indulged in the hope of a peaceful solution of 
 the pending questions, and a desire, amounting almost to a belief, that 
 Virginia and other border States might, by forbearance and a calm and 
 conciliatory policy, continue faithful to the Union. . . . And to con 
 ciliate the people of Virginia and the convention then in session, the 
 President desired that there should be no step taken which would give 
 offence." 
 
 In his message to Congress of the 4th of July, 1861, 
 President Lincoln himself said : 
 
 " The policy chosen looked to the exhaustion of all peaceable measures 
 before a resort to any stronger ones. It sought to hold the public places 
 and property not already wrested from the Government, and to collect 
 the revenue, relying for the rest on time, discussion, and the ballot-box. 
 It promised a continuance of the mails at Government expense to the 
 very people who were resisting the Government, and it gave repeated 
 pledges against any disturbance to any of the people or any of heir 
 rights. Of all that a president might constitutionally and justifiably do 
 in such a case, everything was forborne witnout which it was possible to 
 keep the Government on foot." 
 
 The Atlantic censor continues : 
 
 " General Dix sent his famous order [ If any one attempts to haul 
 down the American flag, shoot him on the spot ], and says he did not 
 show it to the President, because he knew the latter would not have 
 allowed it to go forth. In other words, the President of the United 
 States would have refused to order an officer of the Government to defend 
 the national flag. It seems hardly worth while to write a volume in 
 
PRESIDENT BUCHANAN S RECORD. 153 
 
 defence of a man who was in such a state of cowardly panic as that. Mr. , 
 Curtis says that Buchanan had no troops, and that Congress would not! 
 do anything to help him. He had enough troops to have fought on the 
 instant, and at the first moment the flag was touched or a public building 
 seized. The moment a move was made by the South he should have 
 struck hard, and, whether defeated or victorious, the next breeze that 
 swept from the North would have brought to his ear the clash of resound 
 ing arms. Congress did nothing for him for the obvious reason that they 
 did not trust him. They knew that he was timid and time-serving, and 
 they then thought him a traitor. Many people in the North could not 
 believe that the South would really secede, and the leaders who saw 
 what was coming were simply playing for time, and waiting until they 
 could get a president in whom they could confide. The fact was that 
 Mr. Buchanan was a very weak man, who had been a tool of stronger 
 forces all his life." 
 
 Now, in answer to all this tirade let me say, first, that I 
 have no doubt General Dix was correct in the belief that 
 President Buchanan would have objected to the sending of |i 
 his famous order, although, knowing that I fully sympa 
 thized with him as regards the adoption of the most ener 
 getic measures in support of the Union, he told me of it 
 the evening he sent it. I am free to say, too, that it met 
 my hearty approbation. But, after all, showing the true 
 grit, as it certainly did, may there not be some doubt of its 
 wisdom ? Not only was no attempt whatever made to carry 
 it into effect, but I have it from Mr. "William Hemphill 
 Jones himself, to whom the order was sent, that he was 
 obliged to steal out of New Orleans to save his own neck. 
 
 Let me conclude with the handsome tribute which Gen 
 eral Holt, in his pamphlet already cited, pays to his old 
 chief, under date of October 8, 1883. 
 
 " I cannot close this communication without bearing emphatic testi 
 mony to the loyalty of President Buchanan throughout the troubled and 
 trying scenes which marked the last months of his administration. . With 
 measureless responsibilities oppressing him, badgered by traitors and by j 
 the department of the Government which owed him sympathy and a 1 
 loyal support, and standing, as he did, on the brink of a great national l 
 calamity, the imminence of which was awing all hearts, he was often 
 
154 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 cast down, but never unfaithful to his duties. Amid the blinding rancor 
 of party strife he was constantly misunderstood and constantly misrep 
 resented. He was not an aggressive man, nor at all given to violent 
 forms of speech or of action. He shrunk from the contemplation of civil 
 war and the bloodshed it would involve, and sought to postpone it to the 
 last possible moment. But in all this there was no taint of disloyalty. 
 While, however, uniformly gentle and suave in his modes, he was not 
 the less firm in view of the ends to be finally attained. And yet it was 
 this very gentleness and suavity the result in part, perhaps, of his pecu 
 liar temperament, but yet more, it may be, of the training inseparable 
 from his diplomatic career which often misled men who paused not to 
 reflect that iron hands are sometimes found in silken gloves." 
 WASHINGTON, October 27, 1883. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 Fall of Fort Sumter Acts of the Government and Major Anderson 
 Preceding the Fall Defence of Buchanan s Administration Presi 
 dent Lincoln s Forbearance. 
 
 AFTER all that has been written on the subject of Fort 
 Sumter, the failure to send reinforcements to Major Ander 
 son, in command of the forts in Charleston harbor, and the 
 charges brought against President Buchanan s .administra 
 tion on that account, it seems almost superfluous to attempt 
 any further answer to such charges. ~No one who will read 
 Mr. Buchanan s own account of the matter, as related in his 
 book, entitled " Mr. Buchanan s Administration on the Eve 
 of the Rebellion" (1866), followed in 1883 by Curtis s clear 
 exposition in his " Life of James Buchanan," need require 
 more evidence to convince him that what was done, or left 
 undone, in respect to reinforcements or supplies to those 
 forts, affords no good ground of complaint against President 
 Buchanan. Unfortunately, however, those books are beyond 
 the reach of the general public ; hence it is no uncommon 
 
GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 155 
 
 thing to hear him severely censured because of his failure 
 to order reinforcements sent and of the unfounded charge 
 that he entered into an " agreement" or " understanding" 
 with the South Carolinian authorities to withhold reinforce 
 ments so long as no attacks should be made on the forts. 
 
 One among the latest arraignments of President Bu 
 chanan, mainly on this subject, comes from Samuel Wylie 
 Crawford, "brevet major-general, U. S. A., A.M., M.D., 
 LL.D.," in his work, entitled " The Genesis of the Civil 
 War." Although the above titles appear after the name- of 
 the author on the title-page, we learn from him, in the last 
 chapter of his book, that he was assistant surgeon on the 
 medical staff of Major Anderson, and that it was not until 
 the return of the command from Fort Sumter to New York 
 that he was appointed major in the Thirteenth United States 
 Infantry, from which position, by gallant and meritorious 
 services in various battles, he rose to his present rank. His 
 book of 469 octavo pages relates almo st exclusively to the 
 action of the South Carolina authorities, of the Govern 
 ment at Washington, and of Major Anderson, touching 
 Fort Sumter and the other forts and United States arsenal 
 at Charleston. Whoever shall read this book will, I think, 
 be surprised at two things at least : the first is, that he has 
 given such prominence to the acts and sayings of leading 
 secessionists, notably the*" narrative of William II. Tres- 
 cot," who was assistant Secretary of State under Buchanan, 
 serving, according to his own statement, until the 17th of 
 December, three days only before the passage of the seces 
 sion ordinance of South Carolina. For weeks before sever 
 ing his official connection with the Department of State he 
 had, according to his own admission and from letters now 
 published, been acting as confidential agent of " the leaders 
 of the (secession) movement in his own State," and imme 
 diately thereafter " he became the agent of his State at 
 Washington until his return to South Carolina in February, 
 1861," when "he made a record of his impressions of the 
 
156 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 events which have been the subject of so much controversy, 
 and the truth about which is of essential importance to the 
 future history of the country. A record thus made [Gen 
 eral Crawford continues] may well be considered a valuable 
 contribution to the materials of that future history. It is 
 from this manuscript the writer has drawn largely, and 
 oftentimes the clear and vigorous narrative has been inserted 
 in the terse and graphic words of the author himself." 
 
 Surely General Crawford is to be congratulated on being 
 able to bring to his aid so astute and valuable an assistant, 
 whose name, from the amount of matter furnished by him, 
 might not have been out of place on the title-page of this re 
 markable " Genesis of the Civil War." In a matter relating 
 to secession and the rebellion, such a witness in the case 
 of a gallant Union officer and historian striving to convict 
 the President of the United States of a dereliction of duty 
 appears, in his estimation, to have been considered more 
 credible and of much greater weight than any testimony of 
 the President himself, or that of any member of his Cabinet. 
 The latter is not less explicit and abundant than the former, 
 and was ready at hand. 
 
 By way of parenthesis, I may remark that the private 
 secretaries to President Lincoln, in their one-sided, partisan 
 " history," have resorted to this same " narrative" of Mr. 
 Trescot, as well as to the testimony of other distinguished 
 secessionists, with a view to present President Buchanan in 
 an unfavorable light, if not actually as a traitor, before the 
 country. It would be interesting to know whether or not 
 this sort of aid on the part of Mr. Trescot to the Republican 
 cause was the inspiring motive which led Mr. Blaine, when 
 Secretary of State, to select him for one or more important 
 diplomatic appointments. 
 
 One other thing that must strike the reader of General 
 Crawford s work is the conflicting estimates which he, un 
 wittingly perhaps, places on the character, if not the motives, 
 of President Buchanan. 
 
GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 157 
 
 After narrating what lie holds the President had done or 
 
 O 
 
 left undone in regard to South Carolina, he goes on to say : 
 
 "The failure On the part of the President to reinforce the Southern i 
 forts, or any of them, . . . had produced its legitimate result. . . . Had I 
 such relief been promptly sent . . . the situation might have been far dif-^ 
 ferent. ... It is true that the organized force legitimately under his com- ( 
 mand, as reported by Lieutenant-General Scott, was small ; but it was at 
 the time at least sufficient to show the purpose of the Government and to 
 hold Fort Sumter until Congress could come to the rescue of the country. 
 But the President did nothing. His fear that by his own act he might 
 inaugurate hostilities and so bring on civil war, sustained by his political 
 convictions that the Union could not be preserved by a war between the 
 States, his overwhelming desire for peace, and his hope to keep the border I 
 States, amounted to a timidity which wholly incapacitated him for f 
 action. . . . When history shall come to pen the record of the close of 
 his career it will judge him not from what he did, but what, from his great 
 opportunities and grave responsibilities, he utterly failed to do." 
 
 Now, before turning back to his previous record, let it be 
 observed that General Crawford gives the sentiment he 
 quotes against President Buchanan "Wholly incapacitated 
 him for action" as his own ; but he does not tell us from 
 whom the language came. We might infer from his intro 
 duction that it was from his principal witness, although 
 Martin J. Crawford, one of the Confederate commissioners 
 from Montgomery, is credited by the author with having 
 employed similar language in speaking of the President. 
 Mr. Crawford had resigned his seat as a member of Con 
 gress from Georgia, and, coming on the 3d of March fresh 
 from the new-fledged Confederate Government, he probably 
 flattered himself that he might induce the President to take 
 some action by which they could avail themselves to their 
 advantage in their proceedings with the incoming adminis 
 tration. Finding, as he wrote home, that he had become 
 " fully satisfied that it would not be wise to approach Mr. 
 Buchanan with any hope of his doing anything which would 
 result advantageously to our [Confederate] Government," in 
 his chagrin, he added that he found him " wholly disquali- 
 
158 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 fied for his present position/ Therefore, " he would not 
 attempt to open negotiation with the outgoing adminis 
 tration." 
 
 Our author is entitled to as much of the testimony of his 
 peculiarly qualified witnesses from the Confederate side as I 
 can possibly find room for. 
 
 But to return. Mr. Lincoln was elected on the 6th of 
 November, prior to which time it was generally supposed, 
 certainly by all Union men, that his election would be acqui 
 esced in, North and South. It was not until the threaten 
 ing attitude of South Carolina and rumblings of disunion 
 
 O O 
 
 on the part of secessionists in other Southern States and in 
 Washington that much, if anything, was said on the im 
 portance of strengthening either our military or naval de 
 fences. " Meantime [says General Crawford] the Govern 
 ment at Washington was not indifferent to the movements 
 in South Carolina," where, " as soon as the result of the elec 
 tion was known, the Governor called for the services of the 
 Washington Light Infantry, and stationed them as a guard 
 over the United States arsenal, in the city of Charleston, on 
 the 12th of November." An inventor}^ afterward taken, 
 placed the value of this property at $400,000, all of which 
 was seized and appropriated to the use of the State. 
 
 At this period Secretary Floyd, while holding to the right 
 of secession, professed opposition to its exercise, but believed 
 it injudicious to attempt to reinforce the Southern forts, 
 while General Cass and Judge Black (Trescot states) were 
 in favor of it, and the President also " then informed him 
 that he had determined to reinforce the garrison in Charles 
 ton harbor, upon which a very animated discussion arose." 
 Floyd said " that he would cut off his right hand before he 
 would sign an order to send reinforcements to the Carolina 
 forts. Thompson, Secretary of the Interior, agreed with 
 him perfectly ;" and " the President consented to suspend 
 his decision until General Scott could reach Washington." 
 It was now proposed that Mr. Trescot call on the President 
 
GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAK. 159 
 
 and announce his determination to resign, and proceed at 
 once to Columbia " to lay the facts before the executive of 
 South Carolina" should the determination to reinforce be 
 insisted on. " I would be in Columbia, he said, in thirty- 
 six hours, and upon such information there could be no 
 earthly doubt that the forts would be occupied in the 
 following twenty-four," before reinforcements could reach 
 them. Merely the sending of ordinary supplies to Fort 
 Moultrie, he " believed, would lead to the occupation of 
 Fort Sumter in forty-eight hours." 
 
 Under date of November 15, 1860, " a special order was 
 issued by command of Lieutenant-General Scott, directing 
 Major Robert Anderson, First Artillery, to proceed to Fort 
 Moultrie and immediately relieve Brevet-Colonel John L. 
 Gardiner, lieutenant-colonel First Artillery, in command 
 thereof." Colonel Gardiner, it appears, had, on the 7th of 
 November, sent to the arsenal at Charleston " a matter of 
 ordinary routine" for a quantity of military stores, and " to 
 avoid observatipn, it was thought advisable to put the sol 
 diers detailed for the duty in citizens dress." Nevertheless, 
 "the movements of the men were watched information 
 was sent at once to Charleston," whose authorities prevented 
 the execution of the order. That effort of Colonel Gardiner, 
 General Crawford says, " cost him his position," but there 
 is nothing to show that even General Scott, through whom 
 the order for his removal was made, was advised of its im 
 pelling motive ; and it is not at all probable that the President 
 was consulted or knew anything about it. Mr. Trescot was 
 in the secret. The adjutant-general, S. Cooper, was in the 
 interest of the secessionists, and afterwards filled the same 
 position under Jefferson Davis, while Floyd, although still 
 claiming to be a Union man, " on his arrival at Richmond 
 [our author states] announced that he had, while Secretary 
 of War, supplied the South with arms in anticipation of the 
 approaching rebellion a confession that he had proved 
 treacherous to his former high official trust. He succeeded. 
 
100 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 He was taken into favor and was subsequently appointed to 
 the rank of brigadier-general in the Confederate army." 
 
 We may add here that on the 20th of December, without 
 the knowledge or consent of the President, he ordered to 
 the forts at Ship Island and at Galveston " in no condition 
 to receive their armaments !" one hundred and thirteen 
 columbiads and eleven 32-pounders. Fortunately, the 
 order was revoked by his successor, Joseph Holt, before 
 the guns could be shipped. 
 
 On his appointment, " Major Anderson proceeded at once 
 to his post, and, on the 23d of November, recommended 
 that Fort Sumter the key of entrance to the harbor 
 should be garrisoned at once." This was as quickly com 
 municated to the South Carolina authorities, for the city 
 was full of secession spies, always on the alert, and there 
 was no possibility of any movement being made by the 
 Government for protection against treason without its 
 being immediately known at Charleston. Colonel R. B, 
 Rhett, Jr., a prominent and influential citizen of South 
 Carolina, urged upon the Governor " that a large steamer 
 of the Boston line should be chartered, five hundred rifle 
 men put on board, and the ship anchored abreast of the 
 fort [Sumter] commanding the entrance of the inner har 
 bor." 
 
 Instead of going to the President, as at first proposed, 
 with a notice of his determination to resign and hasten 
 to Columbia, should the President determine to reinforce 
 the garrison at Charleston, it was decided that he should 
 write to Governor Gist " tell him that the President was 
 under very strong apprehensions that the people of Charles 
 ton would seize the forts ; that in consequence he felt bound 
 to send reinforcements; that the Southern members of 
 the Cabinet would resist this policy to resignation, but they 
 thought that if he felt authorized to write a letter assuring 
 the President that if no reinforcements were sent, there 
 would be no attempt upon the forts before the meeting of 
 
GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 161 
 
 the convention," etc. On the 29th of November, in a letter 
 marked " strictly confidential," he proceeds to execute this 
 trust, assuring the Governor that he wished him " distinctly 
 to understand that there is no possibility of such an order 
 being issued without the dissolution of the Cabinet and 
 your receiving ample notice." This, observe, was from the 
 Assistant Secretary of State. The Governor answered Mr. 
 Trescot November 29 : "I have found great difficulty in 
 restraining the people of Charleston from seizing the forts, 
 and have only been able to restrain them by the assurance 
 that no additional troops would be sent to the forts, or any 
 munitions of war." In a letter marked " confidential," of 
 same date, Governor Gist wrote to Mr. Trescot to " ask if 
 you [he] have any objections, in the event of your con 
 nection with the Federal Government ceasing, to remain 
 in Washington and act as confidential agent for this de 
 partment." He takes occasion also to remark : " If there 
 is any inquiry as to the course South Carolina will pursue, 
 you may safely say that she will not permit any increase 
 of troops or munitions of war in the forts or arsenals, and, 
 considering it an evidence of intention to coerce and an 
 act of war, she will use force to prevent it, and a collision 
 must inevitably ensue." 
 
 General Cass s letter of resignation was handed to the 
 President on the 15th of December, "the President [as 
 Mr. Buchanan himself states in his book, page 167] having 
 determined not to disturb the status quo at Charleston as 
 long as our troops should continue to be hospitably treated 
 by the inhabitants, and remain in unmolested possession 
 of the forts." "Meantime [says General Crawford] a 
 despatch had arrived from Major Anderson stating that 
 he felt secure in his position. This, in connection with 
 the influence exercised by the Southern members of the 
 Cabinet, induced the President to change his purpose, 
 and reinforcements were not sent." Major Anderson 
 had been informed by the adjutant-general that it w r as 
 
 11 
 
162 TUENING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 " believed, from information thought to be reliable, that 
 
 an attack will not be made on your command 
 
 The increase of the force under your command, however 
 much to be desired, would, the Secretary thinks, judging 
 from recent excitement produced on account of an antici 
 pated increase, as mentioned in your letter, but add to the 
 excitement, and might lead to serious results." 
 
 On the 9th of December, John McQueen, William 
 Porcher Miles, M. L. Bonham, W. W. Boyce, and Law 
 rence M. Keitt, members of Congress from South Caro 
 lina, after a conference with the President by four of 
 them, deprecating any attempt at reinforcements, ad 
 dressed a letter to him expressing their " strong con 
 victions" that the forts would not be either attacked or 
 molested " previous to the act of the convention, and we 
 hope and believe, not until an offer has been made through 
 an accredited representative to negotiate for an amicable 
 arrangement of all matters between the State and the 
 Federal Government; provided that no reinforcements 
 shall be sent into these forts, and their relative military 
 status shall remain as at present." The President objected 
 to the word "provided" in their statement, "lest, if he 
 should accept it without remark, it might possibly be con 
 strued into an agreement on his part not to reinforce the 
 forts. Such an agreement, he informed them, he would 
 never make." Still he had no present design, under the 
 circumstances, to change the condition of those forts. In 
 their report of this interview to the convention, Messrs. 
 Miles and Keitt said that the President promised, in the 
 event of his changing his policy for any reason, he would 
 return the paper to them that "the impression made 
 upon the delegation was that the President was wavering, 
 and had not wholly decided as to what course he would 
 pursue." They do not pretend or even intimate that there 
 was any pledge on either side. 
 
 Provision had been made " for the reinforcement of the 
 
GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR 163 
 
 forts in case of need," when, on the llth of December, the 
 following instructions were conveyed to Major Anderson 
 by Assistant Adjutant-General D. C. Buell, who was de 
 spatched to Fort Moultrie for that purpose by the Secretary 
 of war, viz. : 
 
 " You are carefully to avoid every act which would needlessly tend to , 
 provoke aggression, and for that reason you are not, without evident and 
 imminent necessity, to take up any position which could be construed 
 into the assumption of a hostile attitude ; but you are to hold possession 
 of the forts in this harbor, and, if attacked, you are to defend yourself 
 to the last extremity. The smallness of your force will not permit you, 
 perhaps, to occupy more than one of the three forts, but an attack on or 
 attempt to take possession of either of them will be regarded as an act of 
 hostility, and you may then put your command into either of them which 
 you may deem most proper to increase its power of resistance. You are 
 also authorized to take similar steps whenever you have tangible evidence 
 of a design to proceed to hostile acts." 
 
 When a copy of this order was laid before the President 
 he gave directions for its modification as regards the in 
 struction " to defend himself to the last extremity," Major 
 Anderson being advised that " it was sufficient for him to 
 defend himself until no reasonable hope should remain of 
 saving the fort." 
 
 About the 17th of December Captain Foster took from 
 the arsenal forty muskets and placed them in the magazines 
 at Fort Sumter and Castle Pinckney. " The act," says 
 General Crawford, " occasioned an excitement that ought 
 to have been foreseen." The military storekeeper informed 
 Captain Foster of this, " and assured him that some violent 
 demonstration was certain unless the excitement could be 
 allayed," and he asked the immediate return of the mus 
 kets. Captain Foster declined, but was willing to refer the 
 matter to Washington. Mr. Trescot s services were now 
 called into requisition by a telegram asking him " to have 
 the arms instantly returned, or a collision may occur at any 
 moment." The result was an order from the Secretary of 
 War directing Captain Foster to return the arms instantly, 
 
164 TUENING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 which was done ; and J. J. Pettigrew, aide-de-camp, tele 
 graphed back to Trescot, " The Governor says he was glad 
 of your despatch [conveying the order], for otherwise there 
 would have been imminent danger. Earnestly urge that 
 there be no transfer of troops from Fort Moultrie to Fort 
 Sumter, and inform the Secretary of War." 
 
 General Crawford states that " the sending of Major 
 Buell and the object of his mission were known in Wash 
 ington, and on the 13th of December the principal news 
 paper of Charleston published from its correspondent in 
 Washington the following despatch : 
 
 " Major Buell and several other officers of the army have been sent to 
 Fort Moultrie to look after the forts. Keep a sharp lookout upon them. 
 They were sent for no good to us. See that they make no change in the 
 distribution of soldiers so as to put them all in Fort Sumter ; that would 
 be dangerous to us." 
 
 Meantime, the difficulties of Anderson s position at Fort 
 Moultrie increased daily. 
 
 The President had now definitely determined upon a 
 policy (says our author) which he maintained until the last. 
 
 At midnight on the 18th of December (General Crawford 
 states) Governor Pickens (Governor Gist s successor) sent 
 for Captain Charles H. Simpson, who, with his Washington 
 Light Infantry, had been guarding the arsenal to prevent 
 the removal of ammunition or stores to the forts, and 
 ordered him, " with such men from his company as he 
 could rely upon, to cruise between the two forts" of Moul 
 trie and Sumter, to prevent the evacuation of the former 
 and taking possession of the latter. He said that he had 
 heard of such intention, and that it must be prevented " at 
 all hazards." He was to hail every boat passing between 
 the forts. If he found that any were boats with United 
 States troops on board, he was to prevent their passage, and, 
 should the officers persist, he was to sink their boats and 
 then immediately take Fort Sumter. 
 
GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 165 
 
 In a letter to Governor Pickens, dated December 18, Pres 
 ident Buchanan informed him of sending Caleb Gushing 
 to hold communication with him in his own behalf. He 
 " assumes the fact that the State of South Carolina is now 
 deliberating on the question of seceding from the Union,^ 
 and he considers it his duty to exert all the means in his j 
 power to avert so dread a catastrophe." Governor Pickens 
 said to Mr. Gushing that he would return no reply to 
 the President s letter, except to say, " very candidly, that 
 there was no hope for the Union, and that, as far as he 
 was concerned, he intended to maintain the separate inde 
 pendence of South Carolina, and from this purpose neither 
 temptation nor danger should for a moment deter him." 
 The ordinance of secession having passed on the 20th of 
 December, a committee of both houses of the legislature 
 invited Mr. Gushing to be present on the evening of that 
 day, when the ordinance was to be signed. It is hardly 
 necessary to say that he declined the invitation and returned 
 at once to Washington. 
 
 On the evening of December 26, Major Anderson ad 
 dressed a short letter to Adjutant-General Cooper, saying : 
 " I have the honor to report that I have just completed, by 
 the blessing of God, the removal to this fort [Sumter] of 
 all my garrison, except the surgeon, four non-commissioned 
 officers, and seven men. . . . The step which I have taken 
 was, in my opinion, necessary to prevent the effusion of 
 blood." 
 
 General Crawford states that orders had been given to 
 Captain Foster, who was left in charge of Fort Moultrie, 
 " that if there should be any attempt to interfere with the 
 passage of the boats upon the part of the guard-boat, he was 
 to fire upon her." Fortunately, the guard-boat did not make 
 her appearance until just after the transference, and " the 
 night passed without incident." 
 
 Meantime three commissioners Robert "W. Barnwell, 
 James H. Adams, and James L. Orr were appointed from 
 
166 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 South Carolina " to treat with the Government of the 
 United States," and they arrived in Washington on the day 
 of Major Anderson s removal to Fort Sumter. Before they 
 were ready to present their credentials to the President, the 
 news of that unexpected movement was, on the morning of 
 the 27th of December, brought to him by Senators Hunter, 
 of Virginia, and Davis, of Mississippi, Mr. Trescot also 
 accompanying them. Here is Mr. Trescot s account of the 
 interview, as quoted by our author : 
 
 " Have you received any intelligence from Charleston in the last few 
 hours ? asked Colonel Davis. None/ said the President. Then, said 
 Colonel Davis, I have a great calamity to announce to you. He then 
 stated the facts, and added, And now, Mr. President, you are surrounded 
 with blood and dishonor on all sides. The President exclaimed, My 
 God, are calamities (or misfortunes, I forget which) never to come singly ! 
 I call God to witness, you gentlemen, better than anybody, know that this 
 is not only without, but against my orders. It is against my policy. " 
 
 The Cabinet was immediately called together, when, as 
 our author states, at the suggestion of Judge Black, the 
 order conveyed to Major Anderson by Major Buell on the 
 llth of December, which order " seemed to be ignored or 
 forgotten," was sent for, and its import brought into special 
 notice. Until now, General Crawford observes, the Presi 
 dent had "possibly regarded it as a matter of routine 
 only." 
 
 The South Carolina commissioners had their first and only 
 interview with the President on the 28th of December. " He 
 received them courteously and as private gentlemen alone. 
 He listened [continues General Crawford] to their statement, 
 but informed them that it was to Congress they must look, 
 at the same time expressing his willingness to lay before 
 Congress any i propositions they might make to him." Mr. 
 Barn well acted as the chairman, and " brought to the atten 
 tion of the President the arrangement which had been made 
 early in December between him and the South Carolina dele 
 gation ; that it had been observed in good faith by the people 
 
GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 167 
 
 of South Carolina, who could at any time, after the arrange 
 ment was made, up to the night when Major Anderson 
 removed to Sumter, have occupied Fort Sumter and cap 
 tured Moultrie with all its command ; that the removal of 
 Anderson violated that agreement on the part of the Gov-tf 
 ernment of the United States, and that the faith of the! 
 President and the Government had been thereby forfeited."! 
 They persistently demanded that Major Anderson should be 1 
 at once ordered back to Fort Moultrie. General Crawford 
 furnishes this further account of the interview from a letter 
 of Mr. Orr, one of the commissioners present, written to 
 him September 21, 1871, over ten years after the interior 
 took place. 
 
 " The President made various excuses why he should be allowed time 
 to decide the question. . . . Mr. Buchanan still hesitating, Mr. Barnwell 
 said to him, at least three times during the interview, But, Mr. Presi 
 dent, your personal honor is involved in this matter ; the faith you pledged 
 has been violated, and your personal honor requires you to issue the 
 order. Mr. Barnwell pressed him so hard on this point that the Presi 
 dent said, You must give me time to consider this is a grave question. 
 Mr. Barnwell replied to him for the third time, But, Mr. President, your 
 personal honor is involved in this arrangement. Whereupon Mr. Bu 
 chanan, with great earnestness, said, Mr. Barnwell, you are pressing me 
 too importunately ; you don t give me time to consider. . . . The inter 
 view terminated without eliciting an order from the President to restore 
 the status of the troops in Charleston harbor." 
 
 We will let General Crawford speak again : 
 
 " Whatever agreement or understanding may have been entered into 
 between the Government at Washington and those who acted for the State 
 of South Carolina in regard to the existing status in the harbor of Charles 
 ton, it is evident that Major Anderson had not been informed of it. 
 When he heard almost daily that his position in Fort Moultrie would be 
 attacked, and saw the nightly watch upon him lest he should transfer his 
 command to the stronger and safer position of Fort Sumter, it was the 
 latter action, wholly in violation of any agreement that might have been 
 made, that impressed him beyond all others and mainly influenced his 
 actions, and he resolved to take advantage of the tangible evidence 
 and remove his command." 
 
168 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 In his letter of December 27 to the War Department, 
 Major Anderson says : " I will add that many things con 
 vinced me that the authorities of the State designed to pro 
 ceed to a hostile act." 
 
 In their letter to the President the South Carolina com 
 missioners renewed their demand that Major Anderson 
 should be ordered to remove his command back to Fort 
 Moultrie, and insisted that " the removal to Fort Sumter 
 was made in violation of the pledges given by the Presi 
 dent." On this point, while the President freely expressed 
 his surprise and regret at the removal, as likely to operate 
 injuriously against his policy for the preservation of the 
 peace, he positively denied the existence of any pledge, on 
 his part, tying his hands. " As to the alleged pledge" (he 
 himself says) u we have already shown that no such thing 
 existed." Nevertheless, strange to say, our Union general 
 (Crawford) seems to take the opposite side of this question, 
 and introduces his secession witnesses in support of it. Says 
 he: 
 
 " Anderson s action, while not inconsistent with the position of his 
 message nor the official action of his Cabinet, was wholly in violation of 
 the policy that the President had pursued. For a time the President was 
 undetermined as to what course to take, but he had eventually prepared 
 a draft of an answer to the South Carolina commissioners which yielded 
 the point at issue, when, by the firm and decided action of his Secretary 
 of State, the consequence of such action upon his part was presented in 
 so clear a light as to induce him to change his purpose." Says Trescot : 
 " For a moment he wavered. But he could take no other course. . . . 
 His Secretary of State and his Attorney-General said to him, Decide ; 
 whatever you may have done, we are uncommitted. Keep the word which 
 the South says you have pledged, and we resign. " 
 
 Right at this point I beg to introduce as a witness one 
 whose testimony ought to have nearly, if not quite, as much 
 weight as any presented in " Trescot s Narrative" no less 
 a witness than Judge Black himself. He was writing upon 
 his " memorandum" touching the paper above referred to, 
 which the President had hastily drawn up in reply to the 
 
GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 169 
 
 commissioners of South Carolina. He had remarked that 
 had the President refused to adopt his views, equally ap 
 proved by Messrs. Holt and Stan ton, as expressed in his 
 (Judge Black s) " memorandum" thereon, both he and Stan- 
 ton " would have resigned. Mr. Holt" (he adds) " perhaps 
 would have done the same, but he did not say so. There 
 never was any talk, or suggestion, or threat, absolute or con 
 ditional, of resignation by any Northern member of the 
 administration than what is here stated." 
 
 It does not appear on whose authority General Crawford 
 makes the following statement, but presumably on that of 
 his assistant editor. He writes : 
 
 " In regard to any understanding or agreement/ the President had 
 acknowledged it, and claimed that he was affected by it personally. You 
 do not seem to appreciate, Judge Black/ said he, that my personal honor 
 as a gentleman is involved. Such an understanding/ said Judge Black, 
 is impossible. You could not make it, or any agreement with any onel 
 that would tie your hands in the execution of the laws, and if you did \ 
 make it you must retire from it. Finally the President yielded his objec 
 tions and committed the paper which he had submitted to his Cabinet 
 into the hands of his Secretary of State." 
 
 It would appear from this that the supposition or allega 
 tion that the President acknowledged he had bound him 
 self by an " understanding" or " agreement," as charged, 
 is based on something he may have written in that paper, 
 which he placed in " the hands of his Secretary of State." 
 It is certain that General Crawford did not receive from 
 either Judge Black, Mr. Stanton, or Mr. Holt any such ad 
 mission, however he may have tried to obtain it from the 
 former, as indicated by the following marginal note, saying : 
 
 " On the 22d of March, 1882, I had a long and earnest conversation 
 with Judge Black upon the subject of the interview between the Presi 
 dent and the congressional delegation of South Carolina, as to the under 
 standing or arrangement agreed upon at that interview. The details of 
 his interview with the President when the commissioners of South Caro 
 lina were in Washington were stated, when, at the end, I said, Well, then, 
 
170 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 . Vv 
 
 Judge Black, there appears to be but one conclusion to be reached the 
 j President did make that agreement. The judge rose, and, looking steadily 
 I at me for a moment, said, * Kemember, that is your conclusion. " 
 
 Mr. Trescot, in his " Narrative," represents Attorney- 
 General Stanton as saying to him (Trescot), "You say the 
 President has pledged himself. I do not know it. I have 
 not heard his account, but I know you believe it." 
 
 Referring to this subject, Mr. Blaine, in his political his 
 tory, makes the charge that " Mr. Buchanan prepared an 
 answer to their (the South Carolina commissioners ) request, 
 which was compromising to the honor of the executive and 
 perilous to the integrity of the Union." Mr. J. Buchanan 
 Henry, the President s nephew and private secretary, called 
 General Holt s attention to and asked his opinion particu 
 larly on that statement. In his answer, May 26, 1884, Gen 
 eral Holt goes into a lengthy and unanswerable vindication 
 of Mr. Buchanan, which paper will form an important 
 chapter in the history of his administration. I will give 
 place only to this paragraph, which of itself is a sufficient 
 answer to Mr. Elaine s false and ill-judged charge. Says 
 General Holt, " While unable, at this late day, to recall all 
 the details of the answer to the commissioners drafted by 
 the President, my recollection is distinct that it contained 
 nothing, properly understood, that is, as the President 
 himself understood it and wished it to be understood by 
 others, which could be held to be compromising to the 
 honor of the executive and perilous to the integrity of the 
 Union. Mr. Buchanan had so guarded his personal honor 
 through a long life that, at its close, there was found upon 
 it neither stain nor trace of stain; with equal solicitude, 
 and, in my belief, with equal success, did he watch over 
 the honor of the great office he held." 
 
 The publication of the " Memorandum," or " Judge 
 Black s Protest," as he styled it when he first promul 
 gated it through the Lancaster (Pa.) Intelligencer of July 
 7, 1874, has no doubt given rise to very erroneous as well 
 
GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 171 
 
 as unjust criticisms upon Mr. Buchanan, and it is due to 
 the memory of Judge Black to express the charitable 
 belief that had he known that the well-intentioned paper 
 against which he so excitedly entered his "protest" was 
 no longer in existence, he never would have given his 
 comments to the press. Speaking of it, General Holt, in 
 his letter just mentioned, says, " The judge did nothing by 
 halves, and in the fervor of his loyalty to the Union he 
 commented on what had been evolved in the Cabinet, but 
 much more elaborating and intensifying his strictures by the 
 vigor of speech for which he was so distinguished." 
 
 Suffice it to say, in the language of General Holt, " the 
 President unhesitatingly directed that an answer should be 
 prepared in accordance with the changes desired, and this 
 was accordingly done." The letter, so perfected, was sent 
 to the commissioners, whose reply was so insulting that 
 it was instantly returned, with this indorsement : u This 
 paper, just presented to the President, is of such a nature 
 that he declines to receive it." Commenting on this mat 
 ter, Judge Black remarks : " Mr. Buchanan had always 
 felt in full the deep responsibility which rested upon him. 
 He was anxious to avoid a collision which would prevent 
 accommodation, hurry the border States out of the Union, 
 and precipitate a civil war, for which the Government was 
 totally unprepared. But he had never for a moment wil 
 lingly contemplated the surrender of the forts at Charles 
 ton. On the contrary, he had uniformly declared, before 
 the election and after, that if those forts should be given up 
 he would * rather die than live. 
 
 After all was over, Mr. Buchanan himself, in writing in 
 the third person on this subject, said, " The President be 
 lieved it to be impossible to garrison the numerous forts of 
 the United States in time of peace ; that to attempt this 
 would have been a confession of weakness, as the force at 
 his command was absurdly inadequate to the object in view, 
 and that it would have provoked instead of preventing col- 
 
172 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 lision. He therefore considered it his duty to refrain from 
 any act which might provoke or encourage the Cotton 
 States into secession, and to smooth the way for congres 
 sional compromise." 
 
 Major Anderson was now, as he believed, firmly in 
 trenched in Fort Sumter, and delegation after delegation, 
 sent by Governor Pickens, demanding his surrender or 
 return to Fort Moultrie was courteously dismissed with the 
 undeniable statement that he " had removed his command 
 from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter, as he had a right to do, 
 being in command of all the forts in the harbor." He said 
 he had not been informed of any " understanding" which 
 the Governor claimed he had violated, that his position 
 was threatened every night by the troops of the State, and 
 that he was apprehensive of a landing on the island. " To 
 prevent this," said he, earnestly, " I removed on my own 
 responsibility, my sole object being to prevent bloodshed." 
 He said at the same time, " In this controversy between the 
 North and the South, my sympathies are entirely with the 
 South." 
 
 Says General Crawford, " Anderson now felt strong in 
 his position, and he frequently remarked to the writer that 
 he controlled the situation. His whole effort was to effect, 
 as far as it lay in his power, a peaceful solution of the diffi 
 culties." " He had reported the progress of batteries in 
 construction around him, but as late as the 30th of January 
 he had urged with emphasis that he hoped that no attempt 
 would be made by friends to throw supplies in, and that 
 their doing so would do more harm than good." " Two 
 days after his entrance into the work he had informed his 
 Government that, God willing, he would in a few days be so 
 strong that the South Carolinians would hardly be foolish 
 enough to attack [me] him. He thought that the city was 
 entirely in his power ; that he could cut off its communi 
 cations by sea and close its harbor by destroying its light 
 houses, and he believed in his ability to do it." On the 
 
GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 173 
 
 31st of December he wrote to the War Department, saying, 
 " Thank God, we are now where the Government may send 
 us additional troops at its leisure." The Government having 
 decided to sustain Major Anderson in his present position, 
 Secretary Floyd made it a pretext to offer his resignation, 
 which was instantly accepted, as the President, through Vice- 
 President Breckinridge, had requested it some days before. 
 
 Now came the firing upon the Star of the West, on the 
 9th of January, 1861, the circumstances of which are too 
 well known to require repetition here. In a letter to 
 Governor Pickens, demanding to know if the firing was 
 by his order, Major Anderson characterized it as an act 
 " without a parallel in the history of our country or of 
 any other civilized government," that " if not disclaimed, 
 he must regard it as an act of war," and after a reasonable 
 time for the return of his messenger, he should not permit 
 any vessel to pass within the range of his guns. As Mr. 
 Buchanan remarks, " Had he adhered to his purpose, the 
 civil war would then have commenced." Governor Pickens 
 replied to Major Anderson, saying, " The act is perfectly 
 justified by me." Major Anderson concluded to despatch 
 Lieutenant Talbot to Washington and await instructions. 
 
 " On the llth of January, the same day [General Craw 
 ford says] upon which the hulks of four vessels were sunk 
 across the channel at the entrance of the harbor," Governor 
 Pickens made another demand for the surrender of Sumter, 
 having previously seized all the other forts, as well as the 
 United States arsenal at Charleston, with its nearly half a 
 million of stores. The result was the despatching of Lieu 
 tenant Hall to Washington with instructions from Major 
 Anderson, and the Governor appointed Issac W. Hayne, his 
 attorney-general, to accompany him. Meantime the State 
 authorities continued their active work on the fortifications. 
 I need not give the particulars of Mr. Hayne s mission ; 
 they are of public record, and it is sufficient to say that 
 the Governor s proposition to " buy Fort Sumter and con- 
 
174 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 tents as property of the United States, sustained by a decla 
 ration in effect that if she is not permitted to make the pur 
 chase she will seize the fort by force of arms," was, of 
 course, declined as wholly inadmissible, the ground of this 
 decision being clearly and ably stated in the letter of Feb 
 ruary 6, 1861, from the Secretary of War (Holt) to Mr. 
 Hayne. Mr. Holt closes his letter with the following 
 solemn warning : " If, with all the multiplied proofs which 
 exist of the President s anxiety for peace, and of the ear 
 nestness with which he has pursued it, the authorities of 
 that State (South Carolina) shall assault Fort Sumter, and 
 peril the lives of the handful of brave and loyal men shut 
 up within its walls, and thus plunge our common country 
 into the horrors of civil war, then upon them and those 
 they represent must rest the responsibility." 
 
 As early as the 31st of December provision had been 
 matured for the sending of reinforcements to the forts in 
 Charleston harbor by the war ship Brooklyn, but it was 
 deemed advisable to substitute the Star of the West for that 
 vessel we have seen with what result. This did not deter 
 the Government from making other preparations for the 
 relief of Fort Sumter, but the plan for such relief, for 
 various reasons, was not carried into effect. 
 
 On the 16th of February, Major Anderson wrote to the 
 War Department asking what course it would be proper for 
 him to take if, without a declaration of war or a notice of 
 hostilities, he should see the floating battery of the South 
 Carolina authorities approaching his fort, seeing they might 
 " attempt placing it within good distance before a declara 
 tion of hostile intentions." I was present when this ques 
 tion was presented in Cabinet. The President, still anxious 
 to avoid firing the first gun, wished time to consider. The 
 Secretary of War asked him what he would do, or, rather, 
 what Major Anderson ought to do, in case he were in 
 charge of a fort and the enemy should commence under 
 mining it. The President promptly answered that he 
 
GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 175 
 
 " should crack away at them." This, according to my 
 memorandum made at the time, was on the 19th of Feb 
 ruary. On the 23d of that month, replying to Major An 
 derson, Mr. Holt repeated his instructions of the 10th of 
 January, which were " to act strictly on the defensive, and 
 to avoid, by all means compatible with the safety of your 
 command, a collision with the hostile forces by which you 
 are surrounded," and added, " The policy thus indicated 
 must govern your conduct. The President is not disposed 
 at the present moment to change the instructions under 
 which you have been heretofore acting, or to occupy any 
 other than a defensive position. If, however, you are con 
 vinced by sufficient evidence that the raft of which you 
 speak is advancing for the purpose of making an assault 
 upon the fort, then you would be justified on the principle 
 of self-defence in not awaiting its actual arrival there, but 
 by repelling force by force on its approach." 
 
 The length of my article reminds me that I should 
 bring it to a close by the mention of only a few things 
 more relating to President Buchanan s administration, with 
 a brief allusion to the beginning of the administration of 
 Mr. Lincoln. 
 
 On the 4th of March, at the moment when the thirty- 
 sixth Congress and Mr. Buchanan s administration w^ere 
 about to expire, the Secretary of War laid before the 
 Cabinet a letter that morning received from Major Ander 
 son, which, as Mr. Buchanan correctly states, " was read by 
 Mr. Holt, greatly to his own surprise and that of every 
 other member of the Cabinet. In this the major declares 
 that he would not be willing to risk his reputation on an 
 attempt to throw reinforcements into Charleston harbor 
 with a force of less than twenty thousand good and well- 
 disciplined men." On the evening of the 4th, Mr. Bu 
 chanan, whose term as President had expired at 12 M., 
 called the members of his Cabinet together at the office 
 of District- Attorney Ould, over Corcoran andRiggs s Bank, 
 
176 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 when, after full consultation, it was agreed that Mr. Holt 
 should prepare a letter to President Lincoln, giving a detailed 
 account of what had been done touching Major Anderson s 
 occupation of Fort Sumter, and send it to him with Major 
 Anderson s letter and accompanying papers as early as 
 possible on the next day. 
 
 At noon on the 5th another meeting was held, as per 
 agreement, at the War Department, Mr. Buchanan and all 
 the members of his Cabinet except Judge Black being 
 present, when Mr. Holt s letter, which he had prepared, 
 was read, discussed, and, with slight alterations, unani 
 mously approved. This letter forms an important chapter 
 in the history of President Buchanan s administration. 
 
 Now, with two or three more quotations from our author 
 (not Trescot, but Crawford), and a forcible expression of 
 Judge Black, I pass to a brief mention of Mr. Lincoln s 
 policy of treating the great question of the day. 
 
 General Crawford states truthfully and manfully tha/t " it 
 was not denied that the President was powerless. No one 
 claimed that he could, by virtue of his office, make war, or 
 that, without additional and special legislation, he could 
 properly or efficiently act ; and yet the Congress of 1860- 
 61 simply and persistently refused to pass any act or adopt 
 any resolution either to preserve the Union by peaceful 
 measures or to grant to the executive the power of ag 
 gression, or to increase and define his power of defence." 
 " And yet Mr. Buchanan desired and strove to serve his 
 country. He had asked Congress for those powers neces 
 sary to meet the unprecedented condition of things, but 
 whose exercise without the action of Congress he deemed 
 impossible. To all of his appeals for such powers Con 
 gress treated him with indifference, if not with contempt." 
 " Upon one point he was inflexible, and from it he never 
 wavered, and that was his determination never, under any 
 pressure of circumstances, to surrender the forts at Charles 
 ton, and to this resolve he adhered to the last." 
 
GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 177 
 
 Shortly before his death, in August, 1883, Judge Black, 
 writing in answer to a letter of Mr. Jefferson Davis, said, 
 " The demand for the evacuation of Fort Sumter and the 
 surrender into the hands of South Carolina was, take it all 
 in all, the most impudent in the history of the world/ 
 
 President Lincoln had no sooner taken his seat than he 
 was beset with the same difficulties which had caused his 
 predecessor so much concern and trouble. The Montgomery 
 commissioners, with Associate Justice James A. Campbell, 
 of Alabama, who shortly afterwards resigned his seat on 
 the Supreme Bench, and many other pronounced seces 
 sionists, were on hand, all demanding the evacuation of 
 Fort Sumter. Justice Campbell, who had used his influence 
 with President Buchanan in trying in vain to get him to 
 disavow the act of Major Anderson in removing his com 
 mand to Fort Sumter, sought still, also " by his personal 
 influence with the new administration, to bring about a 
 peaceful solution of the difficulties," and the first step 
 towards that most desirable end was, they insisted, the 
 relinquishment of Fort Sumter into the possession of the 
 Montgomery government. 
 
 " A warlike construction [says General Crawford] of the 
 inaugural of Mr. Lincoln was placed upon it by the South 
 ern element at Washington." On the 6th of March, General 
 Beauregard assumed command of the troops at Charleston. 
 " Friends at Washington kept him fully informed of any 
 possible movement. On the same day Commissioner Craw 
 ford reported to his government that the selections made 
 of the advisers of the President would prove beneficial to 
 the Confederate States, and that it was the determined 
 purpose of the Secretaries of State and War (Seward and 
 Cameron) to accept and maintain a peace policy." He 
 deemed it advisable to support Mr. Seward s policy of 
 peace, because he felt confident it would tend to " cement 
 the Confederacy and put it beyond the reach of either his 
 arms or his diplomacy." " On the llth of March, Senator 
 
 12 
 
178 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Wigfall informed the Confederate general by telegraph 
 that it was believed that Anderson will be ordered to 
 evacuate Sumter in five days, and that this was certainly 
 informally agreed upon in Cabinet Saturday night. " 
 General Beauregard thereupon wrote Major Anderson that 
 he had been informed that Mr. Lamon, the authorized agent 
 of the President, had, after seeing Major Anderson, informed 
 Governor Pickens that the command was to be transferred 
 in a few days to another post. He added that " all that 
 would be required of him would be his word of honor as 
 an officer and gentleman that the fort, with its armament 
 and all public property, should remain without any arrange 
 ments for its destruction; that company and side arms 
 might be taken, and the flag saluted." 
 
 Major Anderson replied that "if he could leave this fort 
 only upon such a pledge he would never, so help him God, 
 leave this fort alive. 
 
 There were fears that the fort would be undermined, and 
 the New York Commercial Advertiser said, " If Sumter must 
 be abandoned, let it be a shapeless mass of ruins." 
 
 Commissioner Crawford professed great impatience at 
 the delay, as did also the authorities at Charleston. Said 
 the former, " The evacuation of Sumter is imperative." 
 Still, Judge Campbell advised patience. On the 15th of 
 March he drew up the following memorandum, which " re 
 ceived the approval of Mr. Justice Nelson," who, with him, 
 was striving for peace, " and its contents having been com 
 municated to the Secretary of State, was handed to the 
 commissioner, who at once advised the authorities at Mont 
 gomery." 
 
 " I feel perfect confidence in the fact that Fort Sumter will be evacu 
 ated in the next five days, and that this is felt to be a measure imposing 
 vast responsibility upon the administration. 
 
 " I feel perfect confidence that no measure changing the existing status 
 of things prejudicially to the southern Confederate States is at present 
 contemplated. 
 
GEXESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 179 
 
 " I feel entire confidence that any immediate demand for an answer to 
 the communication of the commissioners will be productive of evil and 
 not of good. I do not believe that it should be pressed. 
 
 " I earnestly ask for a delay until the effect of the evacuation of Fort 
 Sumter can be ascertained, or at least for a few days, say, ten days." . 
 
 Hon. John Bell, of Tennessee, we are told, strongly urged 
 Mr. Lincoln " not to disturb the Confederate States. He 
 had assured him that any attempt to collect the revenue or 
 to interfere with its government would be the signal for the 
 secession of every border State." 
 
 " The reluctance manifested upon the part of the com 
 mittee to yield to any delay," it appears, was u largely as 
 sumed," as General Crawford states that Colonel Forsyth, 
 one of the committee, told him in 1870 that their secret 
 instructions from Montgomery were " to play with Mr. 
 Seward to delay and gain time until the South was ready." 
 
 On the same day (15th of March) President Lincoln 
 wrote to each of his Cabinet officers, asking a written 
 answer to the following question : " Assuming it to be pos 
 sible to now provision Fort Sumter, under the circumstances 
 is it wise to attempt it?" 
 
 Mr. Seward answered by a long letter, from which I 
 make the following extracts : 
 
 " If it were possible to peacefully provision Fort Sumter, of course I 
 should answer that it would be both unwise and inhuman not to attempt 
 it. But the facts of the case are known to be that the attempt must be 
 made by the employment of a military and marine force, which would 
 provoke combat and probably initiate a civil war, which the Government 
 of the United States would be committed to maintain through all changes 
 to some definite conclusion. 
 
 " Influenced by these sentiments, I have felt that it is exceedingly for 
 tunate that to a great extent the Federal Government occupies thus far 
 not an aggressive attitude but practically a defensive one, while the ne 
 cessity for action, if civil war is to be initiated, falls on those who seek to 
 dismember and to subvert the Union. 
 
 " The policy of the time, therefore, has seemed to me to consist in con 
 ciliation, which should deny to disunionists any new provocation or ap 
 parent offence, while it would enable the unionists in the slave States to 
 
180 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 maintain with truth and with effect, that the alarms and apprehensions 
 put forth by the disunionists are groundless and false. 
 
 " If it be indeed true that pacification is necessary to prevent dismem 
 berment of the Union and civil war, or either of them, no patriot and 
 lover of humanity could hesitate to surrender party for the higher in 
 terests of country and humanity. 
 
 " Partly by design, partly by chance, this policy has been hitherto 
 pursued by the late administration of the Federal Government and by 
 the Republican party in its corporate action. It is by this policy thus 
 pursued, I think, that the progress of dismemberment has been arrested 
 after the seven Gulf States had seceded, and the border States yet remain, 
 although they do so uneasily, in the Union. 
 
 " Suppose the expedition successful. [For the reinforcement of Sum- 
 ter.j We have then a garrison in Fort Sumter that can defy assault for 
 six months. What is it to do then ? Is it to make war by opening its 
 batteries and attempting to demolish the defences of the Carolinians? 
 Can it demolish them if it tries ? If it cannot, what is the advantage we 
 shall have gained ? If it can, how will it serve to check or prevent dis 
 union ? In either case, it seems to me, that we will have inaugurated a 
 civil war by our own act, without an adequate object, after which reunion 
 will be hopeless, at least, under this administration." 
 
 The Secretary of War had given the subject careful con 
 sideration, and he was " reluctantly forced to the conclusion 
 that it would be unwise now to make any such attempt." 
 
 A like opinion was expressed by the remaining members 
 of the Cabinet, with the exception of the Secretary of the 
 Treasury, Mr. Chase, and the Postmaster-General, Mr. 
 Blair. Mr. Chase expressed himself as " in favor of some 
 attempt being made to relieve Fort Sumter, although he 
 was not now, nor had he previously been, decided in his 
 expressions to that effect." 
 
 Postmaster-General Blair availed himself of the occasion 
 to enter into a tirade against the Democratic party and the 
 late administration, charging that, " to the connivance of 
 the late administration, it is due alone that this rebellion 
 has been enabled to attain its present proportions. . . . 
 The action of the President in 1833 (he said) inspired re 
 spect, while in 1860 the rebels were encouraged by the con 
 tempt they felt for the incumbent of the Presidency." 
 
GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAK. 181 
 
 He strongly urged that the attempt should be made. " I 
 believe (he said) that Fort Sumter may be provisioned and 
 relieved by Captain Fox with little risk. No expense or 
 care should therefore be spared to achieve this success." 
 
 Immediately after the Cabinet meeting when this subject 
 was considered, it is stated, on the authority of Mr. Blair, 
 that, the President being called on by Mr. Blair s father, 
 Francis P. Blair, and asked " If it had been determined to 
 withdraw Anderson from Fort Sumter, the President re 
 plied that it had not yet been fully determined upon, but 
 that the Cabinet were almost a unit in favor of it, c all ex 
 cept your son, said he, and that he thought that such 
 would be the result." This story, General Crawford says, 
 " was so believed in the country." 
 
 I remember myself hearing Postmaster-General Blair 
 say in his office, probably at about this time, that a force of 
 twenty-five thousand men could easily put clown the rebel 
 lion. The result shows how mistaken he was, and how 
 unfit for Cabinet counsel. I have good reason to believe, 
 also, that his spiteful fling at President Buchanan was 
 superinduced not by any patriotic impulse but from per 
 sonal pique. It is apparent that there was " no love lost" 
 between Mr. Buchanan and the Blairs. I have before me 
 a letter from Mr. Buchanan in which, remarking that he 
 had long known them, he says : " Montgomery had not the 
 ability to make a respectable advocate of the Government 
 in the Court of Claims." 
 
 General Crawford states that Captain G. V. Fox, Post 
 master-General Blair s brother-in-law, was sent, with the 
 approval of the President, to confer with Major Anderson, 
 arriving at Charleston on the 21st of March. He had sug 
 gested a scheme for the relief of Sumter. On their meet 
 ing, Major Anderson " at once earnestly condemned any 
 proposal to send him reinforcements," as he had repeatedly 
 done as far back as the time when Floyd was removed. 
 " He asserted that it was too late ; he agreed with General 
 
182 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Scott (who, in the belief that the surrender of Fort Sumter 
 had heen determined upon, advised the surrender also of 
 Fort Pickens) that an entrance by sea was impossible, and 
 he impressed upon Captain Fox his belief that the reinforce 
 ments coming would at once precipitate a collision and 
 inaugurate civil war." 
 
 Not five only, but fifteen days had now passed since the 
 date of Judge Campbell s "memorandum." The South 
 Carolina authorities " had been impatient at the delay. 
 The promise made to them by the agent, Lamon, that he 
 would shortly return to remove the garrison from Fort 
 Sumter had not been fulfilled." 
 
 On the 30th of March, Governor Pickens telegraphed the 
 facts of Colonel Lamon s visit to the commissioners at 
 Washington, and they at once communicated with Judge 
 Campbell. " On that day the Secretary (Seward) informed 
 Justice Campbell that the President was concerned at the 
 contents of the telegram; that * the question involved a 
 point of honor, and that Lamon had no commission or 
 authority from him, nor any power to pledge him by any 
 promise or assurance. 
 
 " Mr. Seward said to Justice Campbell that he did not 
 think the President would attempt to supply Fort Sumter, 
 and that there is no intention to reinforce it." Judge 
 Campbell urged immediate evacuation. Mr. Seward said, 
 " I must see the President." He returned with the modi 
 fied answer, " I am satisfied the Government will not under 
 take to supply Fort Sumter without giving notice to Gov 
 ernor Pickens." 
 
 April 10, Secretary Seward informed the commissioners 
 that " the Secretary of State is not at liberty to hold official 
 intercourse with them," and they communicated this de 
 cision to the authorities at Montgomery. They left the 
 city the next day, but before their departure a telegram 
 was received from General Beauregard informing them 
 " of the arrival of a special messenger with the notice of 
 
GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAE. 183 
 
 the President of the United States that Fort Sumter was 
 4 to be provisioned either peaceably or otherwise forcibly. 
 
 It should be remarked that at no stage of these troubles 
 was Justice Campbell recognized in any other capacity 
 than that of a private gentleman, nor did he profess to 
 have any official agency. On the 13th of April fire was 
 opened on Fort Sumter, when he wrote the Secretary of 
 State, charging " equivocating conduct" and " systematic 
 duplicity/ as having been practised upon the authorities 
 at Montgomery through him, and that " such equivocating 
 conduct of the administration was the proximate cause of 
 the great calamity." 
 
 At length the fleet intended for the relief of Fort Sumter 
 put out to sea, and " before daylight on the 12th (April) 
 the rendezvous agreed upon was reached oft the Charleston 
 bar." " As they approached the land the firing was heard, 
 and the smoke and shells of the batteries were distinctly 
 visible. " 
 
 The first gun upon the national flag had now been dis 
 charged and actual hostilities commenced by the enemies 
 of the Union. Little did they anticipate the terrible results 
 of their folly arid rashness in firing that fatal shot which 
 both Presidents Buchanan and Lincoln had so earnestly 
 sought, by forbearance and peaceful measures, to avoid, 
 the latter pursuing, as he did for nearly six weeks, the 
 same conciliatory policy practised by his predecessor, nay, 
 in some respects even greater moderation and forbearance 
 until u forbearance ceased to be a virtue." I doubt if he 
 thought for one moment that peace would be preserved 
 for another day after he notified the Governor of South 
 Carolina of his order for the relief of Fort Sumter. After 
 this there was not the remotest prospect or possible reason 
 to hope for any other result. As he himself says, in his 
 message to Congress, the 4th of July, 1861, " The policy 
 chosen looked to the exhaustion of all peaceful measures 
 before a resort to any stronger ones. ... It promised the 
 
184 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 continuance of the mails (and they were continued until 
 the 31st of May) at the Government expense to the very 
 people who were resisting the Government, and it gave 
 repeated pledges against any disturbance to any of the 
 people or any of their rights. Of all that a President 
 might constitutionally and justifiably do in such a case, 
 everything was forborne without which it was possible to 
 keep the Government on foot." 
 
 How true it is, as Joseph Holt has pointedly written, 
 " That the first shot in the rebellion came from the enemy 
 was due wholly to this policy of procrastination, then so 
 severely censured ; and yet it was this first shot, and the 
 fact that it was fired not from, but upon, Fort Sumter and 
 the flag floating over it that inflamed and united the coun 
 try, and gave to the national patriotism a fervor and resist 
 less impetus which carried our armies and people in triumph 
 and glory through the war. Had the first shot come from 
 the batteries of Sumter, the fierce party passions then 
 raging would have been swift to denounce the administra 
 tion as making war upon the South, and fatal dissensions 
 among ourselves might have ensued. Could, therefore, the 
 short-sighted carpers of that day have been able to see the 
 end from the beginning, the reproaches which they heaped 
 upon President Buchanan would have turned to blessings 
 on their lips." 
 
 It is time to bring this long paper to a close. When I 
 began, I had no idea of extending it to so great a length 
 It was not my purpose to undertake a regular review ot 
 General Crawford s highly interesting volume, but by unim 
 peachable evidence, including not a little from his own pen, 
 to show not only that, in the general treatment of his subject, 
 he has done great injustice to President Buchanan and mem 
 bers of his Cabinet who stood by him, but also to demon 
 strate, as I believe I have done indisputably, that never at 
 any time did he give any pledge not to send relief to the 
 garrison in Charleston harbor ; and that, as the result has 
 
GENESIS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 185 
 
 proved, his steady precaution in guarding against any and 
 every step which the secessionists might have seized on as 
 an overt act on his part, was the wisest course that could 
 possibly have been adopted, looking to the fearful difficulties 
 by which he was surrounded and the grave responsibility 
 resting upon him to preserve the peace, if, by any means 
 short of dishonor, war could be averted. It was this mod 
 eration and forbearance that carried the Government over 
 to President Lincoln without bloodshed, and, as we have 
 seen, he pursued the same policy until it was apparent, 
 beyond doubt or hope, that the only alternative now was 
 national disgrace or civil war. Forced to decide, he chose 
 the latter alternative and laid down his life, a martyr to the 
 sacred cause of the Union. 
 
 Now, talk as you will censure Presidents Buchanan and 
 Lincoln as you may touching their action in regard to the 
 forts at Charleston, which it was but natural every loyal 
 person should have wished to see strengthened, and hence 
 the futile attempts to respond to their patriotic impulse ; 
 but I venture the assertion that after the election of Lincoln 
 there never was a day prior to Major Anderson s removal 
 to Sumter, when those forts would not have fallen into the 
 hands of the secessionists before any reinforcements could 
 have reached them, no matter how secretly ordered. As to 
 secrecy, such a thing, as we have seen, was impossible, with 
 secession spies in and out of Government office, everywhere 
 around us. 
 
 WASHINGTON-, February 2, 1888. 
 
 NOTE. It is due to history that I should state here that the foregoing 
 article was written at the desire of General Holt, who, before General 
 Crawford s book was published, had learned from conversation with him 
 that he intended to make some strictures upon President Buchanan s 
 course in regard to Fort Sumter that were unjust. Shortly after the book 
 appeared I read it carefully, and when I had finished the article I sent 
 for General Holt to come to my house for the purpose of submitting it to 
 him. I handed him paper and pencil with request to note the number 
 of any page in which he might wish to make any change. He listened 
 
186 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 attentively to the end without a pencil mark or a single word, and, 
 rising to take his leave, he said, in an earnest and emphatic manner, 
 " You have exhausted the subject," thus expressing entire acquiescence 
 in and approval of the narrative. H. K. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 JOHN A. DIX. 
 
 How it happened that General Dix was made Secretary of the Treasury 
 The Coe-Spaulding Letters Names of Secession Senators who 
 voted against Mr. Holt s Nomination for Secretary of War Plot to 
 Poison President Buchanan. 
 
 DOUBTLESS not many have seen the remarkable corre 
 spondence between Mr. George S. Coe, of New York City, 
 and Hon. E. S. Spaulding, formerly a member of Congress, 
 of Buffalo, New York, relating to the removal of Philip F. 
 Thomas, and the appointment of John A. Dix, Secretary 
 of the Treasury, in January, 1861. 
 
 Mr. Coe writes under date of February 14, 1888, and, 
 premising that " all incidents of the civil war are now of 
 historic interest," says he " recalls very vividly the fact of 
 meeting you [Mr. Spaulding] one morning at the Bank of 
 Commerce to confer about the payment of the Government 
 loan, which our bank in New York had taken in connection 
 with Baring Bros. & Co., of London, and had paid in part, 
 when it was discovered that Thomas [then Mr. Buchanan s 
 Secretary of the Treasury] was to transfer the money into 
 the Confederate region, where it would be captured by the 
 enemy. The question for us to consider was, whether we 
 should pay or default upon the balance. Upon that ques 
 tion we sent Mr. Moses Taylor, John C. Green, and A. A. 
 Lowe to Washington to confer with Mr. Buchanan. I feel 
 quite confident that you were the trusted agent to confer 
 with us on the subject, and it resulted in the appointment 
 
JOHN A. DIX. 187 
 
 of General Dix to be Secretary of the Treasury when we 
 paid the money." 
 
 Mr. Spaulding s answer is dated February 17. He says, 
 what is well known, that soon after the assembling of Con 
 gress in December, 1860, " Howell Cobb resigned the office 
 of Secretary of the Treasury, leaving the disloyal deputy 
 Philip Clayton, of Georgia, in charge of the Treasury De 
 partment. President Buchanan then appointed Philip F. 
 Thomas, of Maryland, Secretary to fill the vacancy, and 
 John J. Cisco, who was loyal to the Union, continued to 
 act as Sub-Treasurer in the city of New York, while the 
 Assistant Secretary at Washington was disloyal, and ap 
 parently acted with a view to discredit the bonds and 
 financial credit of the United States." 
 
 Mr. Spaulding proceeded to give an account of the 
 course now taken to raise " more money to pay current 
 expenses and the interest on the bonds," supposed to be 
 the bonds about to be offered under act of Congress of 
 December 17, 1860, for a loan to the Government. As the 
 record which I have examined shows, Secretary Thomas, 
 who came in soon after Mr. Cobb resigned on the 8th of De 
 cember, issued an advertisement, under date of December 18, 
 inviting sealed proposals " until the 28th December for the 
 issue of any portion or the whole of $5,000,000 in treasury 
 notes in exchange for gold coin of the United States within 
 five days from the acceptance of such proposals," under the 
 authority of the aforesaid act. " After this loan was made 
 [Mr. Spaulding states] it became apparent that more money 
 was being transferred to the Southern States than was neces 
 sary, and that the United States army was to a large extent 
 located in the Southern States. One or more of the instal 
 ments was paid on the bids on the last of December, 1860. 
 The financial situation became more and more alarming at 
 the attitude of the disloyal men in Mr. Buchanan s Cabinet. 
 Mr. Buchanan was himself in some degree vacillating and un 
 decided, but was generally believed to be loyal to the Union. 
 
188 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 " Three of his Cabinet viz., Jeremiah Black, Edwin M. 
 Stanton, and Joseph Holt were known to Mr. Seward and 
 others to be loyal to the Union, and were ready to co-operate 
 in preserving the finances and other important measures 
 until Mr. Lincoln should be inaugurated on the 4th of the 
 following March." 
 
 O 
 
 Under these circumstances Mr. Spaulding says that he 
 went from Washington he was then in Congress to New 
 York " to consult the brokers who had bid for the loan with 
 a view to have them hold back the payment of further in 
 stalments until the new Secretary of the Treasury could 
 be selected and appointed by Mr. Buchanan, and General 
 Dix was mentioned as a good man for the place in the 
 emergency." The result was that through the influence, 
 as he states, of a committee of distinguished gentlemen 
 who returned with him to Washington, in conference with 
 Senator Seward and the loyal members of the Cabinet, the 
 President " finally, in a very few days, removed Mr. Thomas 
 and appointed John A. Dix Secretary of the Treasury in 
 his place. General Dix came to Washington and took pos 
 session of the Treasury Department. The remaining in 
 stalments on the loan were paid, and the Treasury De 
 partment was thereafter well managed." 
 
 In this connection, not wishing to cast the least doubt 
 as to the correctness of Mr. Spaulding s narrative, it seems 
 apropos that I should relate the substance of what I wrote 
 to the New York Tribune on the 3d of May, 1879, published 
 in that paper near that date. I had seen it stated that 
 Judge Black had written to the Philadelphia Times that 
 " General Dix was not appointed Secretary of the Treasury 
 by Mr. Buchanan in consequence of a pressure from New 
 York capitalists, as has been said, and that only one person 
 mentioned his name to the President before the appoint 
 ment was made." Quoting this, I said that I had good 
 reason to believe that President Buchanan invited General 
 Dix to Washington not to take charge of the Treasury De- 
 
JOHN A. DIX. 183 
 
 partment, but with a view to his appointment as Secretary 
 of War. At that time, January 1, 1861, Postmaster-Gen 
 eral Holt, by designation of the President, was Secretary of 
 War ad interim, vice John B. Floyd. Under the law this left 
 me as acting Postmaster-General. Philip F. Thomas was 
 Secretary of the Treasury, having succeeded Howell Cobb. 
 The more ardent Union men near the President were not 
 satisfied to have Mr. Thomas in the Cabinet, and when Gen 
 eral Dix was sent for, Mr. Stanton, Attorney-General, re 
 quested me to meet General Dix on his arrival at the depot, 
 and, if possible, obtain his acquiescence in the plan, which I 
 was to divulge to him, of inducing the President to appoint 
 him Secretary of the Treasury. These instructions I carried 
 out with alacrity. I had a carriage ready, and before Gen 
 eral Dix reached his lodgings at Willard s Hote], he had 
 heartily agreed to the proposition. Taking leave of him 
 for the night he arrived by the evening train I was 
 driven at once to Mr. Stan ton s residence on C, near Four- 
 and-a-half Street. Having company in the parlor, he met 
 me in the hall, and when I informed him that all was as he 
 desired, he was so filled with delight that he seized and 
 embraced me in true German style. General Dix was 
 immediately appointed to the Treasury, vice Thomas, and 
 confirmed by the Senate January 11, 1861. 
 
 It is proper to remark here that some time after I wrote 
 as above to the Tribune, it may have been a year or two, 
 more or less, meeting Judge Black in Washington, he 
 intimated to me, somewhat darkly, that this account of 
 mine was not the true history of the case. I did not un 
 derstand him as doubting my narrative, but he appeared 
 disinclined to tell me wherein it was erroneous, if it were 
 so, and greatly to my regret I never afterwards had an 
 opportunity of speaking with him, as I intended to do, on 
 the subject. 
 
 I am reminded by this correspondence, also, of a private 
 letter written on the 22d of December, 1860, by President 
 
190 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Buchanan to Royal Phelps, Esq., of Xew York, which, with 
 explanatory remarks, was published in the Magazine of 
 American History for July, 1887. A copy of that letter was 
 given by Mr. Phelps, some time before his death, to a gen 
 tleman of world-wide fame, George Bancroft, who, in speak 
 ing of it to me, expressed the opinion that it looked as 
 though President Buchanan had made up his mind to let 
 the Cotton States go. I was startled by this remark, when 
 he offered to read the letter to me. I listened, almost 
 breathlessly, to its close, when, naturally relieved, I said 
 that I saw nothing whatever in it to justify any construc 
 tion unfavorable to Mr. Buchanan. It showed his great 
 anxiety to have the loan just advertised " taken at a reason 
 able rate of interest," and argued that such investment 
 would be perfectly safe even " should the Cotton States 
 withdraw from the Union." Said he, " Trade cannot easily 
 be drawn from its accustomed channels. I would sacrifice 
 my life at any moment to save the Union, if such were the 
 will of God; but this great and enterprising and brave 
 nation is not to be destroyed by losing the Cotton States, 
 even if this loss were irreparable, which I do not believe 
 unless from some unhappy accident." 
 
 The explanation appeared to satisfy my distinguished 
 friend, and he afterward gave me a copy of Mr. Buchanan s 
 letter, leaving me free to publish it, but on my own respon 
 sibility which I did not hesitate to assume accompany 
 ing the letter with an explanatory key. 
 
 To the contemporaries, certainly, of Messrs. Coe and 
 Spaulding, it must seem a little strange to hear Mr. Spauld- 
 ing say that " three of his [Buchanan s] Cabinet viz., Jere 
 miah Black, Edwin M. Stanton, and Joseph Holt were 
 known to Mr. Seward and others to be loyal to the Union." 
 We can afford to pass by the oft-repeated remark of Presi 
 dent Buchanan s " vacillating" and indecision. Xo doubt 
 he was generally believed to be " loyal to the Union." 
 
 As regards those three members of his cabinet, two were 
 
JOHN A. DIX. 191 
 
 from Pennsylvania and the third, although from Kentucky, 
 needed no stronger proof of his loyalty than was demon 
 strated when his nomination for Secretary of War came up 
 for confirmation and the following senators voted against 
 it, viz., Bayard (father of the now Secretary of State), 
 Benjamin, Bragg, Clingman, Green, Hemphill, Hunter, 
 Iverson, Lane, Mason, Polk, Slidell, and Wigfall. " Many 
 of the conspirators had previously withdrawn from the 
 Senate," else this proof had been still stronger. 
 
 I well remember that Philip Clayton was one of the most 
 rabid and outspoken disunionists in Washington, and at 
 the period referred to by Mr. Spaulding the city was full 
 of them. All that appeared to be necessary for their tri 
 umphant success in the last days of 1860, provided they 
 could have controlled Yice-President Breckinridge, which 
 is doubtful, was that the hellish plot to poison President 
 Buchanan at the ^sTational Hotel, in the spring of 1857, prior 
 to his inauguration, had succeeded, in which event the Yice- 
 President would have been in the Presidential chair. Of 
 course neither Mr. Breckinridge nor any but base wretches 
 like the assassins of Lincoln, knew of or would have counte 
 nanced such an infamous proceeding, but with a Southern 
 man not opposed to secession in the chair of State, who 
 knows that he might not have deemed it wise, as well as 
 merciful, to have favored a coup d etat, a la Napoleon III., 
 and withheld the reins from Lincoln, with a view to the 
 preservation of peace ? They (the disunionists) had Con 
 gress and the Supreme Court almost in their power, and 
 with all branches of the Executive Government also in 
 their hands, thus controlling the Treasury, the army, and 
 the navy, what could the people have done but submit to 
 fate? 
 
 Was the thought of such plot chimerical ? It may be, 
 but since I first ventured to express it in a letter published 
 in the Providence Journal of December 3, 1863, 1 have met 
 many well-informed persons who have said they fully be- 
 
192 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 lieve it, but the only public confirmation of it I have seen 
 is the following extract from the private journal of the late 
 H. J. Raymond, editor of the New York Times, published 
 in Scr&ner s Monthly Magazine for March, 1880, as follows : 
 
 "THURSDAY, March 5 [1863]. 
 
 " At lunch to-day I had a talk with Mr. Forbes [the celebrated war cor 
 respondent, who married General M. C. Meigs s daughter]. He said he 
 had very good reasons for saying that the famous disease at the National 
 Hotel, in Washington, in 1857, from which so many persons suffered, was 
 the result of an attempt on the part of the Southern disunionists to 
 poison Buchanan, in order to bring in Breckinridge as President, who 
 was in their councils, and would throw the power of the Government 
 into their scale. He said that soon after he visited a prominent South 
 ern politician, living at Culpepper Court House, in Virginia, and that 
 from what there transpired he was convinced he was in the plot. He 
 did not mention his name, and I did not think it proper to ask it." 
 
 WASHINGTON, February 24, 1888. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE " STOLEN ARMS." 
 
 Letter from ex- President Buchanan The Real Facts of the Case In 
 vestigation in Congress Secretary J. B. Floyd s Order for Colum- 
 biads revoked by his Successor. 
 
 IN looking over the things of the past I have thought 
 an interesting chapter might be introduced on the contro 
 verted subject of the " stolen arms." A great deal was 
 said and written on the subject in the early days of the 
 rebellion, and, as may be seen by the letter of November 
 12, 1861, of ex-President Buchanan, in Chapter X., the 
 matter was fully investigated by the Committee on Military 
 Affairs of the United States House of Representatives. 
 Hon. Benjamin Stanton, the chairman of that committee, 
 who made the report, was a Republican member from the 
 State of Ohio. 
 
THE "STOLEN ARMS." 193 
 
 I obtained and sent to Mr. Buchanan the desired copies 
 of Mr. Stanton s report, and the following observations of 
 the venerable ex-President, as copied from his book, entitled 
 " Mr. Buchanan s Administration on the Eve of the Eebel- 
 lion," will show the use he made of it. The spicy corre 
 spondence between him and General Scott relative to the 
 efforts to reinforce Fort Sumter, etc., will doubtless be re 
 membered by the intelligent reader. After giving a full 
 history of his own action in that matter he says : 
 
 " The general deemed it wise to escape from his awkward position by 
 repeating and endorsing the accusation against Secretary Floyd in regard 
 to what have been called * the stolen arms/ although this had been con 
 demned as unfounded more than eighteen months before by the report 
 of the Committee on Military Affairs of the House of Representatives. 
 This was that the Secretary, in order to furnish aid to the approaching 
 rebellion, had fraudulently sent public arms to the South for the use 
 of the insurgents. This charge chimed in admirably with public preju 
 dice at the moment. 
 
 " Although the committee, after full investigation, had, so long before 
 as January, 1861, proved it to be unfounded, yet it has continued, not 
 withstanding, to be repeated and extensively credited up till the present 
 moment. Numerous respectable citizens still believe that the Confed 
 erate States have been fighting us with cannon, rifles, and muskets thus 
 treacherously placed in their possession. This delusion presents a 
 striking illustration of the extent to which public prejudice may credit 
 a falsehood not only without foundation but against the clearest official 
 evidence. Although the late President has not been implicated as an 
 accessory to the alleged fraud, yet he has been charged with a want 
 of vigilance in not detecting and defeating it. 
 
 "The pretext on which General Scott seized to introduce this new 
 subject of controversy at so late a period (November, 1862) is far-fetched 
 and awkward." Mr. Buchanan, while repelling the charge in the gen 
 eral s report to President Lincoln that he had acted under the influence 
 of Secretary Floyd in refusing to garrison the Southern fortifications, 
 declares that " all my Cabinet must bear me witness that I was the Presi 
 dent myself, responsible for all the acts of the administration ; and cer 
 tain it is that during the last six months previous to the 29th of Decem 
 ber, 1860, the day on which he resigned his office, after my request, he 
 exercised less influence in the administration than any other member of 
 the Cabinet." Letter to National Intelligencer, October 28, 1862. 
 
 13 
 
194 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Whereupon the general, in order to weaken the force 
 and impair the credibility of this declaration, makes the 
 following insidious and sarcastic remarks : 
 
 "Now, notwithstanding this broad assumption of responsibility, I 
 should be sorry to believe that Mr. Buchanan specially consented to the 
 removal by Secretary Floyd of one hundred and fifteen thousand extra 
 muskets and rifles, with all their implements and ammunition, from 
 northern repositories to southern arsenals, so that on the breaking out 
 of the maturing rebellion they might be found without cost, except to 
 the United States, in the most convenient positions for distribution 
 among the insurgents. So, too, of the one hundred and twenty or one 
 hundred and forty pieces of heavy artillery, which the same secretary 
 ordered from Pittsburg to Ship Island in Lake Borgne, and Galveston, 
 Texas, for forts not yet erected." . . . 
 
 " But to proceed to the report of the committee, which effectually dis 
 proves the general s assertions. . . . The committee made their first 
 report on the 9th of January, 1861. With this they presented two tables 
 (Nos. 2 and 3) communicated to them by Mr. Holt, then the Secretary of 
 War, from the Ordnance Bureau, exhibiting the number and descrip 
 tion of arms distributed since the 1st of January, 1860, to the States and 
 Territories, and at what price. Whoever shall examine Table No. 2 will 
 discover that the Southern and Southwestern States received much less 
 in the aggregate instead of more than the quota of arms to which they 
 were justly entitled under the law for arming the militia. Indeed, it is a 
 remarkable fact that neither Arkansas, Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, 
 North Carolina, nor Texas received any portion of these arms, though 
 they were army muskets of the very best quality. This arose simply 
 from their own neglect, because the quota to which they were entitled 
 would have been delivered to each of them on a simple application to the 
 Ordnance Bureau. The whole number of muskets distributed among all 
 the States, North and South, was just eight thousand four hundred and 
 twenty-three. Of these the Southern and Southwestern States received 
 only two thousand and ninety-one, or less than one-fourth. 
 
 " Again, the whole number of long-range rifles of the army caliber 
 distributed among all the States in the year 1860 was one thousand seven 
 hundred and twenty-eight. Of these, six of the Southern and South 
 western States Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ten 
 nessee, and Virginia received in the aggregate seven hundred and fifty- 
 eight, and the remainder of these States did not receive any. 
 
 " Thus it appears that the aggregate of rifles and muskets distributed 
 in 1860 was ten thousand one hundred and fifty-one, of which the South 
 ern and Southwestern States received two thousand eight hundred and 
 
THE "STOLEN AKMS." 195 
 
 forty- nine, or between one-third and one- fourth of the whole number. 
 Such being the state of the facts, well might Mr. Stanton have observed, 
 in making this report, much to his credit for candor and fairness, that 
 1 there are a good deal of rumors and speculations and misapprehensions 
 as to the true state of facts in regard to this matter. " Congressional Globe, 
 1860-61, p. 294. 
 
 The report of the committee and the opinion expressed 
 by its chairman before the House, it might have been sup 
 posed, would satisfy General Scott that none of these mus 
 kets or rifles had been purloined by Secretary Floyd. But 
 not so. The ex-President had stated in his letter to the 
 National Intelligencer of November 7, 1862, that " the South 
 ern States received in 1860 less instead of more than the 
 quota of arms to which they were entitled by law." This 
 statement was founded on the report of the committee, 
 which had now been brought fully to his notice. He, not 
 withstanding, still persisted in his error, and in his letter 
 to the National Intelligencer of the 2d of December, 1862, he 
 says : " This is most strange contrasted with information 
 given to me last year, and a telegram just received from 
 Washington and a high officer now of the Ordnance De 
 partment, in these words and figures : Rhode Island, Del 
 aware, and Texas had not drawn at the end of 1860 their 
 annual quotas of arms for that year, and Massachusetts, 
 Tennessee, and Kentucky only in part. Virginia, South 
 Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, 
 and Kansas were, by the order of the Secretary of War, 
 supplied with their quotas for 1861 in advance, and Penn 
 sylvania and Maryland in part/ 
 
 " It is in vain that the general attempts to set up an anon 
 ymous telegram against the report of the committee. . . . 
 There is a mysterious vagueness about this telegram, cal 
 culated, if not intended, to deceive the casual reader into 
 the belief that a great number of these arms had been dis 
 tributed among the enumerated States, embracing their 
 quotas not only of 1860, but for 1861. From it no person 
 
196 TUENING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 could imagine that these eight States in the aggregate had 
 received fewer muskets and rifles than would be required 
 to arm two full regiments. 
 
 " The next subject investigated by the committee was, 
 had Secretary Floyd sent any cannon to the Southern 
 States ? This was a most important inquiry. Our colum- 
 biads and 32-pounders were, at the time, considered equal, 
 if not superior, to any cannon in the world. It was easy 
 to ascertain whether he had, treacherously or otherwise, 
 sent any of these formidable weapons to the South. Had 
 he done this it would have been impossible to conceal the 
 fact and escape detection. The size and ponderous weight 
 of these cannon rendered it impracticable to remove them 
 from the North to the South without the knowledge of 
 many outside persons in addition to those connected with 
 the Ordnance Bureau. The committee reported on this 
 subject on the 18th of February, 1861. There was no 
 evidence before them that any of these cannon had actually 
 been transmitted to the South. Indeed, this was not even 
 pretended. From their report, however, it does appear 
 that Secretary Floyd had attempted to do this on one oc 
 casion a very short time before he left the Department, but 
 that he had failed in this attempt in consequence of a coun 
 termand of his order issued by Mr. Holt, his successor in 
 the War Department. 
 
 " It requires but a few words to explain the whole trans 
 action. Secretary Floyd, on the 20th of December, 1860, 
 without the knowledge of the President, ordered Captain 
 (now Colonel) Maynadier, of the Ordnance Bureau, to cause 
 the guns necessary for the armament of the forts 011 Ship 
 Island and Galveston to be sent to those places. This order 
 was given verbally, and not in the usual form. It was not 
 recorded, and the forts were far from being prepared to 
 receive their armaments. The whole number of guns 
 required for both forts, according to the statement of the 
 Engineer Department to Captain Maynadier, was one hun- 
 
THE "STOLEN ARMS." 197 
 
 dred and thirteen columbiads and eleven 32-pounders. 
 When, late in December, 1860, these were about to be/ 
 shipped at Pittsburg for their destination on the steamer 
 Silver Wave, a committee of gentlemen from that city first! 
 brought the facts to the notice of President Buchanan. \ 
 The consequence was that, in the language of the report 
 of the committee, * Before the order of the late Secretary 
 (Floyd) had been fully executed, by the actual shipment of 
 said guns from Pittsburg, it was countermanded by the 
 present Secretary. This prompt proceeding elicited a vote 
 of thanks on the 4th of January, 1861, from the Select and 
 Common Councils of that city, to the President, the At 
 torney-General (Black), and the acting Secretary of War 
 (Holt). . . . 
 
 " The committee then, in the third place, extended back 
 their inquiry into the circumstances under which Secretary 
 Floyd had a year before, in December, 1859, ordered the 
 removal of one-fifth of the old flint-lock muskets from the 
 Springfield armory, where they had accumulated in incon 
 venient numbers, to five Southern arsenals. The com 
 mittee, after examining Colonel Craig, Captain Maynadier, 
 and other witnesses, merely reported to the House the tes 
 timony they had taken, without in the slghtest degree im 
 plicating the conduct of Secretary Floyd. . . . 
 
 "The United States had on hand four hundred and 
 ninety-nine thousand five hundred and fifty four say five 
 hundred thousand of these muskets. They were in every 
 respect inferior to the new rifle muskets, with which the 
 army had for some years been supplied. They were of the 
 old caliber, .69 of an inch, which had been changed in 1855 
 to that of .58 in the new rifle muskets. It was one hundred 
 and five thousand of these arms that Secretary Floyd or 
 dered to be sent to the five Southern arsenals ; i sixty-five 
 thousand of them were percussion muskets of the caliber 
 of .69, and forty thousand of this caliber altered to per 
 cussion. By the same order ten thousand of the old per- 
 
198 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 cussion rifles of the caliber of .54 were removed to these 
 arsenals. These constitute the one hundred and fifteen 
 thousand extra muskets and rifles, with all their imple 
 ments and ammunition, which, according to General Scott s 
 allegation, nearly three years thereafter, had been sent to 
 the South to furnish arms to the future insurgents. We 
 might suppose from this descripton embracing i ammuni 
 tion, powder, and ball, though nowhere to be found except 
 in his own imagination that the secessionists were just 
 ready to commence the civil war. His sagacity, long after 
 the fact, puts to shame the dulness of the Military Com 
 mittee. While obliged to admit that the whole proceeding 
 was officially recorded, he covers it with an air of suspicion 
 by asserting that the transaction was 4 very quietly con 
 ducted. And yet it was openly conducted according to 
 the prescribed forms, and must have been known at the 
 time to a large number of persons, including the general 
 himself, outside either of the War Department, the Spring 
 field armory, or the Southern arsenals. In truth, there was 
 not then the least motive for concealment, even had this 
 been possible." 
 
 The general pronounces these muskets and rifles to have 
 been of an " extra" quality. It may, therefore, be proper to 
 state from the testimony what was their true character. 
 
 In 1857 proceedings had been instituted by the War 
 Department under the act of 3d March, 1825, " to author 
 ize the sale of unserviceable ordnance, arms, and military 
 stores." The inspecting officers under the act condemned 
 one hundred and ninety thousand of the old muskets " as 
 unsuitable for the public service," and recommended that 
 they be sold. In the spring of 1859 fifty thousand of them 
 were offered at public sale. " The bids received," says 
 Colonel Craig, " were very unsatisfactory, ranging from 
 10 J cents to $2, except one bid for a small lot for $3.50. 
 In submitting them to the Secretary I recommended that 
 none of them be accepted at less than $2. 
 
THE "STOLEN ARMS." 199 
 
 An effort was then made to dispose of them at private 
 sale for the fixed price of $2.50. So low was the estimate 
 in which they were held that this price could not be ob 
 tained, except for thirty-one thousand six hundred and ten 
 of them in parcels. It is a curious fact that, although the 
 State of Louisiana had purchased five thousand of them 
 at $2.50, she refused to take more than two thousand 
 five hundred. On the 5th of July, 1859, Mr. H. G. Fant 
 purchased a large lot of them at $2.50 each, payable in 
 ninety days, but in the mean time he thought better of it, 
 and, like the State of Louisiana, failed to comply with his 
 contract; and Mr. Belknap, whose bid at $2.15 for one 
 hundred thousand of them, intended for the Sardinian 
 government, had been accepted by the Secretary, under the 
 impression that it was $2.50, refused to take them at this 
 price after the mistake had been corrected. Colonel Craig, 
 in speaking of these muskets generally, both those which 
 had and those which had not been condemned, testified that 
 " It is certainly advisable to get rid of that kind of arms 
 whenever we have a sufficient number of others to supply 
 their places, and to have all our small-arms of one caliber. 
 The new gun is rifled. A great many of those guns (flint 
 locks), altered to percussion, are not strong enough to rifle, 
 and, therefore, they are an inferior gun. They are of a 
 different caliber from those now manufactured by the Gov 
 ernment." 
 
 " Had the cotton States at the time determined upon re 
 bellion what an opportunity they lost of supplying them 
 selves with these condemned extra muskets and rifles, of 
 General Scott!" 
 
 Before dismissing this subject, the space devoted to which, 
 I trust, will not be deemed unreasonable, since there has 
 been so much doubt about it in the public mind, it may not 
 be out of place to say that I took occasion, about three 
 years ago, to examine the records in the Ordnance Office, 
 particularly as to the quantity of arms, accoutrements, etc., 
 
200 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 distributed to the Southern States in advance for 1861, and 
 it appeared that the whole quantity to Virginia was equal 
 to four hundred and fifty muskets ; South Carolina, three 
 hundred and thirty-five ; Georgia, five hundred and seventy- 
 six ; Florida, one hundred ; Alabama, four hundred and 
 ten ; Louisiana, two hundred and seventy-three, for W. T. 
 Sherman s military school; Mississippi, two hundred and 
 twelve; Arkansas, one hundred and eighty-two; and to 
 Maryland, one hundred; total, two thousand six hundred 
 and thirty-eight. Pennsylvania also received a supply equal 
 to nine hundred and five in advance for that year. It 
 should be observed here that all ordnance stores, including 
 accoutrements as well as muskets, were charged as so many 
 muskets at thirteen dollars each; therefore, in the above 
 aggregate of two thousand six hundred and thirty-eight, 
 for instance, there may have been, and probably was, act 
 ually less than two thousand muskets and rifles altogether. 
 Neither of the States of Delaware, Kentucky, Tennessee, 
 North Carolina, nor Missouri received any ordnance stores 
 in advance for 1861, for the reason, no doubt, that they did 
 not apply for them. The yearly quota for each State was 
 very small, and the orders for distribution were made from 
 time to time, in the ordinary course of business, as the ap 
 plications were received. 
 
 These applications, I understand, if correct as to quan 
 tity of stores, were never declined; but for years before the 
 war some of the States, either from having no suitable place 
 for the storage of arms, or from apprehension of their 
 seizure by the negroes, to be used in a servile insurrection, 
 omitted to apply for their quotas, and did not, therefore, re 
 ceive them. I did not take time to make a very thorough 
 examination, or to compare one year with another; but, 
 while some of the States south may have been a little 
 earlier or a little more prompt than formerly in securing 
 their quotas for 1860 and 1861, lam bound to say that I 
 have seen no evidence to show that the report of the Com- 
 
THE "STOLEN AKMS." 201 
 
 mittee on Military Affairs is not substantially correct. It 
 may be that, so far as the small number of arms distributed 
 in advance for 1861 are concerned, had the Secretary of 
 War sympathized with the free instead of the slave States, 
 he would have withheld those supplies ; although it might 
 have done more harm than good thus early to have indi 
 cated in this manner a want of confidence in the honor and 
 loyalty of the States applying. Be that as it may, however, 
 there was nothing whatever in these transactions touching 
 small-arms which could in the remotest degree reflect on 
 either the patriotism or the watchfulness of President Bu 
 chanan ; and, as to Secretary Floyd, it is quite apparent 
 that, leaving muskets and rifles out of sight, he had enough 
 to answer for simply in regard to the one hundred and thir 
 teen columbiads and the eleven 32-pounders, about which 
 there never has been any dispute. He was no doubt greatly 
 chagrined at the revocation of his extraordinary order by 
 his successor. 
 August 19, 1874. 
 
PART II. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 UNPUBLISHED LETTERS OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 
 
 The Author s Appointment as Commissioner to Free the Slaves in the 
 District of Columbia General Scott and Mr. Holt F. P. Blair- 
 Judge Woodbury General Cameron s Bank Politics in Pennsyl 
 vania General Dix. 
 
 WHEATLAND, NEAR LANCASTER, 1st May, 1862. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, I have received your favor of the 27th 
 inst. With my opinions steadily maintained for more than 
 a quarter of a century, I could not have advised you to 
 accept the appointment of appraiser of the negroes [of the 
 District of Columbia] under the late Emancipation Act [of 
 April 16, 1862, the wisdom of which was doubted by many 
 at the time], yet I feel much gratified with the token of 
 friendly regard manifested by your letter. If you have 
 clone wrong by accepting, you shall never be upbraided by 
 me for it. On the contrary, I ardently hope you may never 
 have occasion to regret it. 
 
 We lately had a visit from our friend, Dr. Blake, of 
 Washington. It was quite refreshing to us to learn so 
 much news and so many things relating to our friends in 
 that city. 
 
 I sincerely trust that your daughter enjoys good health 
 and is happy. 
 
 I have a debt due me in Maryland of a highly merito 
 rious character ; but the debtor, after years of delay, now 
 says he cannot be touched on account of an act of the 
 202 
 
UNPUBLISHED LETTERS OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 203 
 
 Legislature suspending all proceedings against debtors in 
 that State up till November next. If convenient, I would 
 thank you to send me a copy of this act (of course not 
 certified) or the substance of it. 
 
 With my kind regards to Mrs. King, I remain 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 Your friend, 
 
 JAMES BUCHANAN. 
 HON. HORATIO KING. 
 
 WHEATLAND, 5th October, 1865. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, I have received your favor of the 26th 
 ultimo with the two copies in pamphlet of Mr. Holt s 
 reply to Montgomery Blair, and, although I had read this 
 before in the newspapers, I received it with pleasure as a 
 token of your friendly regard. 
 
 If Mr. Holt had appreciated General Scott as I did upon 
 my first interview with him after I had unfortunately 
 invited him to Washington, he would not have addressed 
 him the letter of the 31st August, 1865, though every fact 
 stated therein, and more, is literally true. He ought to 
 have known that the general would not frankly admit 
 them, notwithstanding the preface of praises to his " great 
 name." He ought to have stated the well-known fact, 
 which could not be denied, without any such reference, 
 and thus escaped the evasive and unsatisfactory answer. 
 By the bye, as I was not perfectly certain who the person 
 was that induced General Scott to substitute the Star of the 
 West for the Brooklyn, then prepared for the occasion, I 
 have not named him in my book. 
 
 I know and have long known the Blairs perfectly well, 
 or, rather, old Francis P. Blair, for Montgomery had not 
 the ability to make a respectable advocate of the Govern 
 ment in the Court of Claims. If President Johnson should 
 fall into their hands, which some think probable, I shall not 
 
204 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 say what I apprehend, though I agree with him on his plan 
 of restoration. 
 
 I thought at the time that Mr. Holt s report of the 18th 
 February, coming four days after that of Mr. "W. A. How 
 ard, from the select committee, expressed unnecessary 
 alarm. If you have never read this report, especially the 
 long testimony of General Scott, I would advise you to 
 read it as a curiosity. You may find it in vol. ii., "Re 
 ports of Committees of the House, 1860-61, No. 79." I 
 think you will agree with me that the testimony justifies 
 the unanimous conclusion of the committee, a majority of 
 which were Republicans. 
 
 I forgot to mention that, according to my best recollec 
 tion, I did not remove Montgomery Blair, but suffered him 
 to remain in office until he should think proper to resign, 
 on account of regard for the memory of Judge Woodbury. 
 I well recollect that I received his apparently cordial thanks 
 for my forbearance. His conduct towards me since is a 
 characteristic of the family. Some day, in passing, you 
 might look whether he did not resign. 
 
 I am always glad to hear of the welfare of Annie and 
 her mother; and I hope you will remember me to them 
 with great kindness. 
 
 I believe my book will be published in the course of the 
 present month. It has been delayed much longer than I 
 desired or expected. 
 
 My own health, thank God ! continues remarkably 
 good considering my age, and I have excluded myself 
 entirely from any part in party politics, still believing, 
 however, in the Democratic creed, more, if possible, than 
 ever. 
 
 Miss Lane desires to be kindly remembered to you. 
 From your friend, 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 JAMES BUCHANAN. 
 
 HON. HORATIO KING. 
 
UNPUBLISHED LETTERS OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 205 
 
 WHEATLAND, 21st April, 1866. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, I was happy to receive and peruse your 
 favor of the 12th instant. I am glad to infer, from the 
 mule ride of your daughter on the hot ashes of Mount 
 Vesuvius, that she is in excellent health. May she continue 
 healthy and happy for many, very many years ! 
 
 I am happy to learn your favorable opinion of my book, 
 as well as that of Mr. Holt. As you have loaned your copy 
 away so much, I shall embrace the first opportunity of 
 
 presenting you another 
 
 With my kind regards to the members of your family, I 
 remain 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 Your friend, 
 
 JAMES BUCHANAN. 
 HON. HORATIO KING. 
 
 p. g. [Keferring to his last interview with Colonel Ben- 
 ton]. The Jacobs letter was, I know, published in the 
 Constitution; but the copy he sent me is from another 
 paper, perhaps the Intelligencer, I know not. 
 
 WHEATLAND, 23 June, 1866. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, I am pleased to learn that you arrived 
 safely at home the day you left us. You left very kind 
 remembrances of you behind. Indeed, the Sabbath when 
 all the company were together was passed charmingly, but 
 I fear not much to Christian edification. 
 
 I have read your poem [" Employment Necessary to Hap 
 piness"]. There is much good sense in it and it is better 
 than the common run of American poetry. Still, I think 
 you were more distinguished as Assistant Postmaster-Gen 
 eral and as the chief of the department than you will ever 
 become as a poet. Notwithstanding, I read your poem with 
 great pleasure and interest. 
 
206 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 I have not yet obtained a copy of the letter I promised to 
 send you. It shall be forthcoming in good time. 
 
 We have no news worth mentioning. The four ladies 
 desire to be kindly and cordially remembered to you, and 
 we all desire to see you again whenever this may meet your 
 convenience. 
 
 From your friend, 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 JAMES BUCHANAN. 
 HON. HORATIO KING. 
 
 WHEATLAND, 14 July, 1866. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, I have received yours of the 9th instant, 
 and now send you a copy of my Hayesville letter,* which 
 I received this morning from the Daily Express (Republi 
 can) of Lancaster, in which it was published on the 2d Oc 
 tober, 1861. 
 
 " Old Blair," in his letter to the public of August 15, 1856, 
 against my election, makes a point of my recommendation 
 of General Cameron s bank at Middleton as a safe deposi 
 tory of a portion of the public money. This, he asserts, 
 was made a short time before Mr. Folk s election in 1844, 
 and during Mr. Tyler s administration, when the deposit 
 bank system was, unfortunately, in full operation. I have 
 not the least recollection of any such recommendation, but 
 if it exists, as I suppose it does, then General Cameron, 
 my neighbor, and at that time my political friend, must 
 have called upon me for it, and I gave it as a matter of 
 course. 
 
 Should you be at the Treasury Department I should like 
 
 * Letter addressed to Samuel A. Worth, Esq., expresses the " deep in 
 terest he feels in the present condition of our country." He says " the 
 war has become inevitable by the assault of the Confederate States upon 
 Fort Sumter," and that until the Union is restored, " it will be our duty 
 to support the President with all the men and means at the command of 
 the country, in a vigorous and successful prosecution of the war." 
 
UNPUBLISHED LETTERS OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 207 
 
 to have a copy of this letter, which Blair says was written 
 in November, 1844 ; but I say in sincerity I care little for 
 it, and do not give yourself much trouble about it. 
 
 The three girls left me on yesterday morning, and the 
 house is now quiet. I enjoyed their society very much. 
 From your friend, 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 JAMES BUCHANAN. 
 HON. HORATIO 
 
 WHEATLAND, 29th August, 1866. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, Presuming that by this time you are in 
 Oxford [Me.], I write you to that place to thank you for 
 your kind letter of tne 17th instant, and especially for the 
 Portland Argus containing my Hayesville letter. I thank 
 you for having caused it to be published. It is in perfect 
 consistency with all I have written or said. 
 
 The Democratic party of this State are now in high 
 spirits, and feel much confidence that Clymer will be 
 elected Governor. This will be rendered certain if even a 
 moderate number of the Republicans should reinforce the 
 Democratic army and sustain the President s policy. 
 
 I do not like the progress to Chicago. I think it is ill- 
 judged. Mr. Seward can never obtain the confidence of 
 the Democracy of this State, and the identification of the 
 President with the repeal of the Missouri Compromise and 
 the doctrine of " Squatter Sovereignty," the two great 
 measures of Mr. Douglas, will not add to his strength. 
 Judge Black s powerful and conclusive reply to the " little 
 giant" does not seem to have produced any effect on the 
 President. 
 
 I approve the proceedings of the Philadelphia Conven 
 tion as far better than the programme of the Radicals. . . . 
 
 Mrs. Johnston is now with me on a visit. She is in fine 
 health and excellent spirits. I have had much agreeable 
 company during the summer, and enjoy my usual health. 
 
208 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 I need not say that I shall always be happy to see you at 
 Wheatland whenever you may be able to come. 
 From your friend, 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 JAMES BUCHANAN. 
 HON. HORATIO KING. 
 
 WHEATLAND, 2d May, 1867. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, I have received yours of the 29th ultimo, 
 informing me of your intended departure for Europe. May 
 you have a prosperous voyage and a happy and useful visit 
 to the Old World. My best wishes will attend you wherever 
 you may go. 
 
 You will, of course, meet General Dix in Paris, from 
 whom I have not heard for a long time. I believe you 
 were present in Cabinet and heard his denunciation of 
 
 when his name was mentioned in connection with the 
 
 mission to Turin. How changed he must be, because he and 
 his lady have since been on friendly and visiting terms with 
 
 and his family. It is even reported that Miss Dix is to 
 
 be married to s son. The last is gossip ; the first is true. 
 
 I am rejoiced to learn that your pecuniary affairs are so 
 prosperous. 
 
 With my kindest regards to Annie Augusta, 
 I remain very respectfully, 
 Your friend, 
 
 JAMES BUCHANAN. 
 
 HON. HORATIO KING. 
 
 WHEATLAND, 1st February, 1868. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, I have received your favor of the 28th 
 ultimo, and cordially congratulate you on your return to 
 your country after your European tour. It may be called 
 a flying visit, considering the number of places visited. I 
 have no doubt you enjoyed yourself very much and derived 
 profit and improvement from it. The meeting with your 
 daughter and your little grandchild must have been pecu- 
 
WASHINGTON NATIONAL MONUMENT. 209 
 
 liarly agreeable, and I trust that the trip may prove advan 
 tageous to Henry, who was doubtless delighted with it. 
 
 My own health, thank God ! is now good for a man of 
 my age, and I live in tranquillity and contentment. I 
 trust that on some occasion on your way to New Hamp 
 shire you may visit me and talk over events both foreign 
 
 and domestic 
 
 Always your friend, 
 
 HON. HOKATIO KING. JAMES BUCHANAN. 
 
 WHEATLAND, 7th Feb., 1868. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, I have received yours of the 5th, and 
 know not how I came to write you down as a New Hamp 
 shire man, for I was well aware you had been born in Maine. 
 I am glad of the mistake, however, as it has caused you to 
 send me the biographical sketch of yourself by Mr. Mer- 
 riam. I have read it with much pleasure. It is well writ 
 ten, and it is no more than just to the subject of it. It 
 omits the date of your birth 
 
 I have no news to give you. Thank God ! I am very well, 
 and always remain, sincerely and respectfully, 
 
 " Your friend, 
 
 HON. HORATIO KING. JAMES BucHANAN * 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP AND THE WASHINGTON NATIONAL 
 
 MONUMENT. 
 
 ROBERT C. WINTHROP was appointed by resolution of 
 Congress as the orator on the occasion of the dedication 
 of the Washington National Monument on the 22d of Feb 
 ruary, 1885, but, owing to a serious illness a few weeks 
 prior to that time, he was not able to be present to deliver 
 the grand oration he had prepared. 
 
 14 
 
210 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Near the end of June, 1884, lie received formal notice of 
 his appointment from Senator Sherman, chairman of the 
 commission designated by Congress to make the necessary 
 arrangements for the dedication. He was then residing at 
 his palatial seat in Brookline, Mass., and he immediately 
 drove over to see me at my summer home in West New 
 ton, five or six miles distant. He came to tell me, as 
 secretary of the Monument Society, of his embarrassment 
 at having so heavy a task before him. I observed at once 
 that he was very nervous. He said that this matter had 
 weighed upon him for a month past, and that he was sorry 
 to have come to the conclusion that he ought not to render 
 himself responsible for a long formal oration, adding that 
 he should immediately break down under such an effort 
 and do but poor justice to himself or to the occasion. He 
 also said if he were called on only to unite with others in 
 the addresses of the occasion, he should be encouraged to 
 make a brief discourse, but should not dare to promise an 
 oration. Recent infirmities, he said, warned him against 
 undertaking it, that his family all advised him to decline, 
 and, deeply regretting to disappoint his friends of the 
 association, he felt constrained to avoid so great a respon 
 sibility. 
 
 He seemed much relieved when I assured him that I 
 believed, under the circumstances, an address of fifteen or 
 twenty minutes would be satisfactory, and that everybody 
 would cheerfully excuse him from any labor either of 
 preparation or delivery likely to worry or fatigue him. 
 He seemed to seize on this idea, and said, possibly the 
 commission may make arrangements for having three or 
 four addresses instead of one oration. In such an arrange 
 ment, he added, he would willingly take part with Mr. 
 Edmunds and Mr. Carlisle, as President of the Senate and 
 Speaker of the House, respectively, or with Mr. Sherman 
 himself. It would give, he thought, variety and attraction 
 to the ceremonies. Finally, he said, " All I can do now 
 
WASHINGTON NATIONAL MONUMENT. 211 
 
 is to decline a formal oration, as it is to this only I am 
 invited." I promised to write both Senator Sherman and 
 Dr. James C. Welling, of the commission, advising them 
 of Mr. Winthrop s deep concern ahout the matter, and of 
 the assurances I had given him. Both immediately an 
 swered, confirming my assurance. 
 
 Senator Sherman said : " You may say to Mr. Winthrop 
 that the commission would very much regret if he should 
 be either unable or unwilling to be present, and that he is 
 entirely at liberty to speak as much or as little as his 
 health will permit, and we will adapt the other arrange 
 ments to suit his convenience." 
 
 Dr. Welling said : " I should deeply lament any over 
 taxing of the health or strength of our venerable friend in 
 his preparation for that event; that while the committee 
 are naturally anxious that he should be the central figure 
 among the speakers on that occasion, I am sure that in their 
 anxiety to make sure of this most desirable end they would 
 cheerfully defer to his own comfort and convenience in all 
 that relates to the length of the address." 
 
 On receipt of these letters, I immediately informed Mr. 
 Winthrop, who made the following gratifying reply : 
 
 " BROOKLINE, MASS., 28th June, 1884, Saturday evening. 
 " MY DEAR MR. KING, I will not let the week end with 
 out having thanked you, as I do sincerely, for your kind 
 and most effective intervention. Your two notes of the 
 26th and 27th reached me successively. The latter con 
 tained the note of Senator Sherman, which was everything 
 I could have desired, and which afforded me great satis 
 faction and relief. His remark that I might say as much 
 or as little as his health will permit dispels at once all my 
 doubts and difficulties, and has taken a load off my mind. 
 This evening I have received a similar assurance from him 
 in reply to my own letter, and I shall dismiss all further 
 anxiety. Accept my grateful acknowledgments 
 
212 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 " I return Senator Sherman s note to you, but have kept 
 a copy of it as a remembrancer. 
 
 " Believe me very sincerely and gratefully yours, 
 
 " KOB T C. WINTHROP. 
 " HON. HORATIO KING." 
 
 All now seemed to augur well for the future. Thus 
 encouraged, Mr. Winthrop proceeded to write his oration. 
 The following letter will show that he was in good spirits, 
 and that he was no longer oppressed by the task before him : 
 
 " BOSTOX, 2d Dec., 1884, 90 Marlborough Street. 
 "DEAR MR. KING, I have just been reading the two 
 letters of my friend Stuart, of Virginia [ex-Secretary of 
 the Interior], in the Sunday Herald, which you kindly sent 
 me. I think he has established a fair claim, though un 
 consciously on his own part, to have the pretty triangle 
 [opposite the National Theatre] called by his name. But, 
 at all events, he deserves a grateful remembrance in Wash 
 ington, as having led the way to the improvements which 
 have so adorned the capital. I owe you my acknowledg 
 ments, too, for several other papers, telling me of the 
 progress of the great monument. The little aluminum (or 
 is it aluminium ?) capstone is particularly interesting. When 
 that is fairly in place, I shall begin to feel that it is time for 
 my own preparation to be finished. But I never finish 
 anything until the last moment. You will have observed 
 that the 22d comes on Sunday. I hope that my part in 
 the ceremonies will be arranged for Saturday. Indeed, I 
 doubt extremely the expediency of allowing the celebration 
 to occupy more than one day. Congress cannot spare two 
 days at this short session, and the people who come from a 
 distance will not stay over Sunday. Two hours are enough 
 for the procession, and the exercises in the hall ought to 
 begin by half-past one or two o clock. I hope a chaplain 
 will be selected who will not make such an unconscionably 
 long prayer as Mr. McJilton made in 1848. I trust, too, 
 
WASHINGTON NATIONAL MONUMENT. 213 
 
 that the Marine Band will be warned against such long, 
 unmeaning interludes as they gave at the unveiling of the 
 Marshall Statue. A brief prayer and a few patriotic melo 
 dies are all that should come before the oration. 
 
 " I am fairly established in my winter quarters, and am 
 trying to catch some inspiration for an hours discourse. I 
 do not believe I can say what I ought to say in less than an 
 hour. But sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof, and 
 I will not indulge in any forebodings. I only hope the 
 newspapers will not have exhausted the theme, and used 
 up all the material before the day arrives. 
 
 " One of the papers said that the capstone was put in 
 place last Saturday at 12 o clock, but since then it has 
 been stated that the capstone was still in Philadelphia ! 
 Grace to it, wherever it is ! 
 
 " Kind regards to Mrs. King. 
 
 il Yours very truly, 
 
 HON. HORATIO KINS." " RoB T - ^INIHROP. 
 
 Most unfortunately, about the middle of December, Mr. 
 Winthrop was prostrated by u a sudden and insidious at 
 tack of pneumonia, which seized him, most unexpectedly, 
 on Thursday last [his son, Mr. Robert C. Winthrop, Jr., 
 writes, December 18, 1884]. On Friday he was so ill we did 
 not think he would live twenty-four hours. On Saturday 
 he rallied, and we were encouraged to some slight hope." 
 On the 22d of December he writes : " My father con 
 tinues about the same, and while his physicians do not 
 wholly reject the possibility of his recovery, yet the chances 
 are much against it. ... In no possible event would he be 
 able to be in Washington by February next, and he is so 
 feeble at present that it would be impossible to consult him 
 about having his address read by somebody else." On 
 the 25th of December he writes that his father continues 
 " slowly, very slowly, to improve ;" that he will " feel 
 highly flattered at their [the committee of arrangements ] 
 
214 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 decision to abide by his oration, even if he cannot deliver 
 it in person ;" and that " all he has ever said on the subject 
 is that, when first taken ill, he remarked to me, " my mon 
 ument address is substantially finished. I might have 
 altered it a little, but I dare say I should not have bettered 
 it." January 3, 1885, Mr. Winthrop, Jr., writes : " My 
 father, though still very feeble, is now able to sit up a por 
 tion of each day, and occasionally has letters and news 
 papers read to him. . . . To-day I read him your letter of 
 January 1, received this morning. He replied : " Tell Mr. 
 King that, if I had an ounce of strength in my body, I 
 should make haste to write him in person, to thank him for 
 his many expressions of kindness, but I cannot hold a pen. 
 Tell him I still cling to the hope of being in Washington 
 on the 21st of February, but I realize how very, very im 
 probable it is that I shall be strong enough to do so." 
 
 " BOSTON, 90 Marlborough Street, 14th Feb., 1885. 
 " HON. HORATIO KING, 
 
 " Sec y Washington Monument Association. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, I sent the first letter written by my own 
 hand since my illness to Senator Sherman yesterday, telling 
 him that I had been compelled to abandon the last hope 
 of being at Washington next week. This will be a disap 
 pointment to you and others, perhaps even to Congress and 
 the country ; but certainly to myself, beyond all others. I 
 had hoped for some weeks past to be able to be present at 
 the great ceremonial, and to pronounce a few opening sen 
 tences of my oration before handing it to Governor Long. 
 But man proposes and God disposes, and I will not 
 murmur at what I am sure has been ordered wisely. My 
 physician and my family forbid my thinking of leaving home 
 at present. Indeed, I have not left my house and hardly my 
 chamber as yet, and I should have been utterly unable to un 
 dergo the fatigue of a journey to Washington, or to deliver 
 any part of my oration if I had reached there. 
 
WASHINGTON NATIONAL MONUMENT. 215 
 
 " My son has communicated to me, from time to time, 
 your kind letters, and I thank you for them. I trust all 
 will go off well. It is a great satisfaction to me that Gov 
 ernor Long has so kindly consented to read the oration. I 
 hope that our friends will be satisfied with it. If it shall 
 revive some impressions of the real grandeur of Washing 
 ton s character, to which neither obelisks nor orations can 
 do full justice, it will have answered the main purpose I 
 had in view. 
 
 " But I have tried also to do justice to the builders of the 
 monument, including the association and Colonel Casey. 
 But it will speak for itself, and I will say no more about it. 
 " Believe me, dear Mr. King, 
 
 " Very truly yours, 
 
 " ROB T C. WINTHROP." 
 
 I add an extract from another letter referring to an acci 
 dental omission, and to the tablet containing the names of 
 persons, to be placed in the monument. 
 
 " BOSTON, March 9th, 1885, 90 Marlborough Street. 
 
 "DEAR MR. KING, Your favor of the 26th ult. was 
 duly welcomed 
 
 "If I can anywhere introduce Dr. [John B.] Blake s 
 name or Senator Sherman s [in official edition of the ora 
 tion] I shall do so with pleasure. I am sorry that Colonel 
 Casey has been disappointed in the action of Congress. I 
 hope no tablets will be affixed on the inside of the monu 
 ment of an extravagant size, or with too many names. I 
 should think a small tablet, giving the date of the dedica 
 tion, with the names of those concerned in the proceed 
 ings, is all that could be wisely adopted 
 
 " Thanks for all your pains in my behalf. I congratulate 
 you on the success of the inauguration ceremonies. 
 " Yours very truly, 
 
 "Eos T C. WINTHROP. 
 
 " HON. HORATIO KING." 
 
PART III. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE TRENT AFFAIR. 
 
 Excitement in Washington Discussion of the Neutrality Laws British 
 Precedent Edward Everett justifies the seizure George Ticknor 
 Curtis disapproves Admiral Wilkes reports Banquet in Boston 
 to the Admiral Secretary Welles s Congratulations Mason and 
 Slidell in Custody The London Times Moderate Earl Russell de 
 mands the Release of the Confederate Commissioners Mr. Seward s 
 Masterly Diplomacy The Ambassadors liberated Public Acqui 
 escence in the Decision. 
 
 I SHALL never forget my delight, October 16, 1861, when, 
 on meeting Senator John P. Hale in Pennsylvania Avenue, 
 opposite the White House, he informed me in a jubilant 
 manner that James M. Mason and John Slidell, Confed 
 erate Commissioners to England and France respectively, 
 had been captured on board the British mail steamer Trent 
 by Captain Charles Wilkes, of the United States steamer 
 San Jacinto, and brought into Hampton Roads, Virginia. 
 Old Point Comfort was electrified by the tidings, and the 
 announcement was no sooner sent over the wires than ex 
 pressions of joy were heard from every quarter of the Union 
 outside the seceded States. The Baltimore American said : 
 " Two of the magnates of the Southern Confederacy, two, 
 perhaps, who have been as potent for mischief as any that 
 could have been selected (out of South Carolina) from the 
 long list of political ingrates, have come to grief in their 
 persistent attempts to destroy the noble government to which 
 they owe all the honorable distinction they have hitherto 
 enjoyed." 
 
 216 
 
THE TRENT AFFAIR. 217 
 
 Neither press nor people waited for the particulars of the 
 capture before proceeding to discuss at length the question 
 of its legality. The Baltimore American, while apparently 
 justifying the act, expressed the opinion that it was " a vio 
 lation of the laws of neutrality, strictly considered ;" but, 
 later, the editor said he thought the character of the ques 
 tion was " beyond the reach of mere diplomacy," and that 
 the Government had no other alternative than to adhere to 
 the position it had already assumed. " In numerous ways 
 Government and people have fully endorsed the act of Cap 
 tain Wilkes, and the verdict will never be reversed although 
 all Europe, with England at its head, demand it." The Na 
 tional Intelligencer said : " The proceeding of Captain Wilkes 
 is fully justified by the rules of international law, as those 
 rules have been expounded by the most illustrious British 
 jurists and compiled by the most approved writers on the 
 laws of nations." In support of this position many British 
 authorities were cited. In the declaration of war by Great 
 Britain against Russia, promulgated on the 28th of March, 
 1854, the following language was used : " It is impossible 
 for Her Majesty to forego her right of seizing articles con 
 traband of war, and of preventing neutrals from bearing 
 enemies despatches." 
 
 There was a British precedent during the Mexican War : 
 General Paredes, a bitter enemy of the United States, 
 was arrested in 1846, at the beginning of the war, and, 
 being in Europe, was brought to Vera Cruz on the 14th of 
 August, 1847, in the British mail steamer Treviot, Secre 
 tary Buchanan made complaint in a letter to Mr. Bancroft, 
 our Minister to England, saying, " A neutral vessel, which 
 carries a Mexican officer of high military rank to Mexico 
 for the purpose of taking part in hostilities to our country, 
 is liable to confiscation, according to the opinion of Sir Wil 
 liam Scott" high British authority, whom he quotes. Mr. 
 Bancroft wrote to Lord Palmerston, who admitted the jus 
 tice of the complaint, and the commander of the Treviot, 
 
218 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Captain May, was ordered to be suspended for what the 
 British Government unhesitatingly acknowledged to have 
 been a violation of the belligerent rights of the United 
 States. Dr. Robert Phillimore, Advocate of Her Majesty 
 in her office of Admiralty as Judge of the Cinque Ports, 
 held that " it is indeed competent to a belligerent to stop 
 the ambassador of his enemy on his passage." The "Wash 
 ington Evening Star, November 9, said, " The British Gov 
 ernment should direct Lord Lyons to return the thanks of 
 Her Majesty to the United States Government for its for 
 bearance in not having seized the steamer Trent, brought 
 her into port, and confiscated ship and cargo for an open 
 and flagrant breach of international law. The Queen s 
 proclamation of May last acknowledged the rebel States to 
 be belligerents enemies of the United States and by their 
 own principles of international law, British ships were there 
 after to abstain from carrying despatches, or doing any act 
 that favored the Confederates, under penalty of seizure and 
 confiscation. Slidell and Mason should be held in rigid 
 custody until they can be tried and punished for their 
 crimes against the Government of the United States. Their 
 sham character of ambassadors affords no protection. It is 
 a lawful right of belligerents to seize an ambassador as soon 
 as any other person, if he can be caught at sea. The min 
 ister appointed by the Continental Congress to Holland, 
 Henry Laurens, was captured on the 3d of September, 1780, 
 by a British frigate, on his passage to Holland near New 
 foundland, was taken to England, and, after examination, 
 committed a close prisoner in the Tower of London on a 
 charge of high treason. Indulgence would be thrown away 
 on arch-traitors like Slidell and Mason." 
 
 Hon. Edward Everett, before the Middlesex Mechanic s 
 Association at Lowell, justified the capture of Messrs. Mason 
 and Slidell as perfectly lawful their confinement in Fort 
 Warren perfectly lawful and said they " would no doubt 
 be kept there until the restoration of peace, which we all so 
 
THE TEENT AFFAIR. 219 
 
 much desire/ and "we may, I am sure, cordially wish 
 them a safe and speedy deliverance." Mr. George Sumner, 
 a well-read lawyer, said in the Boston Transcript of Novem 
 ber 18 : " The act of Captain Wilkes was in strict accord 
 ance with the principles of international law recognized in 
 England, and in strict conformity with English practice." 
 Even the British Consul at New Orleans, Mr. Muir, it was 
 authoritatively stated, justified the seizure and supplied 
 legal authority to appear in a leading editorial of one of 
 the city papers. 
 
 Mr. George Ticknor Curtis and Mr. George S. Hillard, of 
 Boston, however, among others, pointed out the irregularity 
 of the seizure in not carrying the Trent in for judicial con 
 demnation. The New York Herald said : " It will not 
 probably enter the mind of a single American for a mo 
 ment, even after reading the news in our columns to-day, 
 that Mason and Slidell will be surrendered to the English 
 Government." There were some discordant voices. For 
 instance, the New Orleans Crescent said this " high-handed 
 interference with a British mail steamer by the Lincoln 
 Government will either arouse John Bull to the highest 
 pitch of indignation, or it will demonstrate that there has 
 been an understanding between the two governments for a 
 long time that England has been and is assisting the Abo 
 lition Government to the detriment of the South." 
 
 Then, from the other side of the line, the Toronto Globe 
 and Toronto Leader both condemned the act. The Globe 
 denounced it as " an outrage on the British flag and an in 
 fraction of international law ;" and the Leader declared it 
 was " the most offensive outrage which Brother Jonathan has 
 dared to perpetrate upon the British flag." Immediate lib 
 eration of the prisoners and apology, they claimed, should 
 be demanded. At the same time it was proposed to raise 
 an English subscription in New York to prosecute the cap 
 tain of the Trent in the English law courts for violating the 
 Qeeen s proclamation, in case of delay of the Queen s attor- 
 
220 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 ney-general to bring suit, or the owners of the vessel should 
 decline to prosecute him. 
 
 Such was the general drift of public sentiment imme 
 diately after the news of the capture was received. The 
 circumstances attending the seizure are briefly told. The 
 San Jacinto, which had been attached to the United States 
 African squadron, left St. Paul de Loanda on the 10th of 
 August, in temporary command of Lieutenant (now Rear- 
 Admiral) D. M. Fairfax, with orders to wait at Fernando 
 Po for Captain Wilkes, who took command there. On 
 arrival at Cienfuegos, he learned that the steamer Theo 
 dora from Charleston, South Carolina, with Messrs. Siidell 
 and Mason on board, had run the blockade, and he deter 
 mined to pursue and intercept her if possible. On reach 
 ing Havana, he found she had left that port on her return, 
 and that the Confederate Commissioners were waiting to 
 take passage to Europe in an English vessel. He then con 
 ceived the bold plan of intercepting the British mail steamer 
 and, in the event of their being on board, to make them 
 prisoners. He cruised in the Old Bahama channel where 
 he encountered the Trent on the morning of the 8th No 
 vember. The account reads : " We were all ready for her, 
 beat to quarters, and, as soon as she was in reach of our 
 guns, every gun of our starboard battery was trained upon 
 her. A shot from our pivot gun was fired across her bow. 
 She hoisted English colors, but showed no disposition to 
 slacken her speed or heave to. We hoisted the star- 
 spangled banner, and as soon as she was close upon us fired 
 a shell across her bow, which brought her to." Captain 
 Wilkes hailed her, and said he would send a boat. There 
 upon he ordered Lieutenant Fairfax to board her. Under 
 date of November 12, Lieutenant Fairfax reports the par 
 ticulars to Captain Wilkes, on board the San Jacinto, as fol 
 lows : " At 1.20 P.M. on theJh instant, I repaired alongside 
 of the British mail packet in an armed cutter, accompanied 
 by Mr. Houston, second assistant engineer, and Mr. Grace, 
 
THE TRENT AFFAIR. 221 
 
 the boatswain. I went on board the Trent alone, leaving the 
 two officers in the boat, with orders to wait until it became 
 necessary to show some force. I was shown up by the first 
 officer to the quarter-deck, where I met the captain and 
 informed him who I was, asking to see his passenger list. 
 He declined letting me see it. I then told him that I had 
 information of Mr. Mason, Mr. Slidell, Mr. Eustis, and Mr. 
 McFarland having taken their passage at Havana in the 
 packet to St. Thomas, and would satisfy myself whether 
 they were on board before allowing his steamer to proceed. 
 " Mr. Slidell, evidently hearing his name mentioned, came 
 up to me and asked if I wanted to see him. Mr. Mason 
 soon joined us, and then Mr. Eustis and Mr. McFarland, 
 when I made known the object of my visit. The captain of 
 the Trent opposed anything like a search of his vessel, nor 
 would he consent to show papers or passenger list. The 
 gentlemen above mentioned protested also against my 
 arresting and sending them to the United States steamer 
 near by. There was considerable noise among the passen 
 gers just about that time, and that led Mr. Houston and 
 Mr. Grace to appear on board with some six or eight men, 
 all armed. After several unsuccessful efforts to persuade 
 Mr. Mason and Mr. Slidell to go with me peaceably, I 
 called to Mr. Houston and ordered him to return to the 
 ship with the information that the four gentlemen named 
 in your order of the 8th inst. were on board, and force must 
 be applied to take them out of the packet. About three 
 minutes after there was still greater excitement on the quar 
 ter-deck, which brought Mr. Grace with his armed party. 
 I, however, deemed the presence of any armed men un 
 necessary, and only calculated to alarm the ladies present, 
 and directed Mr. Grace to return to the lower deck, where 
 he had been since first coming on board. It must have been 
 less than half an hour after I boarded the Trent when the 
 second armed cutter, under Lieutenant Green, came along 
 side (only two armed boats being used). He brought in 
 
222 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 the third cutter, eight marines and four machinists, in addi 
 tion to a crew of some twelve men. When the marines 
 and some armed men formed just outside the main-deck 
 cabin, where these four gentlemen had gone to pack up 
 their baggage, I renewed my efforts to induce them to 
 accompany me on board. Still refusing to accompany me 
 unless force was applied, I called to my assistance four or 
 five officers, and first taking hold of Mr. Mason s shoulder, 
 with another officer on the opposite side, I went as far as the 
 gangway of the steamer and delivered him over to Lieuten 
 ant Green to be placed in the boat. I then returned for 
 Mr. Slidell, who insisted that I must apply considerable 
 force to get him to go with me. Calling in at least three 
 officers, he also was taken in charge and handed over to 
 Mr. Green. Mr. McFarland and Mr. Eustis (the secreta 
 ries of Mason and Slidell), after protesting, went quietly 
 into the boat. They had been permitted to collect their 
 baggage, but were sent in advance of it, under charge of 
 Lieutenant Green." 
 
 Lieutenant James A. Green says: "When Lieutenant 
 Fairfax gave the order for the marines to be brought in, he 
 heard some one call out shoot him. As the marines ad 
 vanced, the passengers fell back. Mr. Fairfax then ordered 
 the marines to go out of the cabin, which they did, Mr. 
 Slidell at the same time jumping out of a window of a state 
 room into the cabin, when he was arrested by Mr. Fairfax, 
 and was then brought by Mr. Hall and Mr. Grace to the 
 boat, into which he got." Lieutenant Green further states 
 that Commander Williams, the mail agent, said the North 
 erners " might as well give up soon." Lieutenant Green 
 adds that, with the exception of the captain, who was " re 
 served and dignified," the officers of the vessel generally 
 showed an undisguised hatred for the Northern people and 
 a sympathy for the Confederates, denouncing Lieutenant 
 Fairfax and his men as " pirates, villains," etc. He says he 
 was informed by one of the crew of the Trent that Com- 
 
THE TRENT AFFAIR. 223 
 
 . 
 mander Williams was advising the captain to arm the crew 
 
 and passengers of his ship, as Williams threatened that 
 " the English squadron would break the blockade in twenty 
 days after his report." f 
 
 On his arrival at Hampton Roads, Captain Wilkes came 
 ashore, and at once sent Lieutenant Taylor with his report 
 to Washington. He had a long conversation with General 
 Wool, then in command there, who expressed .the opinion 
 that he had done right, and said that, " right or wrong, he 
 could only be cashiered for it." Wilkes s report to Secre 
 tary Welles, of the Navy, bears date Hampton Roads, No- 
 vember 1, 1861. He wrote : " I have found it impossible to 
 reach New York, my coal being exhausted. I shall procure 
 sufficient in a few hours to proceed forthwith to my desti 
 nation, New York, where I hope to receive your instruc 
 tions relative to the Confederate prisoners I have on board 
 this ship. I have determined to send Commander Taylor, 
 United States Navy, who is a passenger from the coast of 
 Africa, to Washington by the boat, as a bearer of despatches, 
 and have given him orders to report to you in person." 
 
 On receipt of Captain Wilkes s report, November 16, the 
 Secretary of the Navy sent to Commodore H. Paul ding, 
 Commandant of the Navy Yard, New York, the following 
 telegram : " You will send the San Jacinto immediately to 
 Boston, and direct Captain Wilkes to deliver the prisoners 
 at Fort Warren. Let their baggage be strictly guarded and 
 delivered to the colonel at Fort Warren for examination. 
 The San Jacinto will be paid off at Boston. Send amount 
 of money required. Answer per telegraph." 
 
 On the same day William H. Seward, Secretary of State, 
 united with Secretary Welles in the following telegram to 
 Robert Murray, United States Marshal, New York : " You 
 will proceed in the San Jacinto to Fort Warren, Boston, 
 with Messrs. Mason and Slidell and suite. No persons from 
 shore are to be permitted on board the vessel prior to her 
 departure from New York." We next hear of the San 
 
224 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Jacinto at Newport, Rhode Island, 21st November, where 
 Captain Wilkes was obliged to stop on account of the stress 
 of weather and for coal. Meantime it appears his pris 
 oners had united in a request that they might be permitted 
 " to remain in custody at Newport, on account of the com 
 parative mildness of climate and the delicate health" of one 
 of their number. They said they were " willing to pledge 
 themselves not to make any attempt to escape, nor to com 
 municate with any person while there unless permitted to 
 do so." This request being sent by telegram to Secretary 
 Welles, he replied same day, November 21 : " The Govern 
 ment has prepared no place for confinement of the prisoners 
 at Newport. The Department cannot change destination 
 of the prisoners." 
 
 On November 22, the Secretary of the Navy telegraphed 
 to Captain William L. Hudson, Commandant Navy Yard, 
 Boston : " Direct Captain Wilkes immediately on his ar 
 rival to have the effects of the rebel prisoners on board the 
 San Jacinto thoroughly examined, and whatever papers may 
 be found to send them by special messenger to the Depart 
 ment. Answer per telegraph." November 24, Captain 
 Wilkes reported his arrival at Boston, after having to put 
 into Holmes s Hole, on the morning of the 22d, on account 
 of fog. 
 
 On her way from Hampton Roads to Fort Warren, the 
 San Jacinto encountered a terrible gale, which old sailors 
 said had not been surpassed off Cape Cod for twenty years, 
 and she was so much delayed that she was obliged, as 
 already stated, to put into Newport for coal, which was 
 sent to her in lighters. The Confederate commissioners 
 and their secretaries occupied the captain s cabin, and 
 messed with him at table. He had, when they first came 
 on board, tendered the offer of his cabin for the accommo 
 dation of their families, but this was declined, and the latter 
 proceeded on their way in the Trent. All political talk was 
 prohibited by Captain Wilkes. Colonel Dimmick, in com- 
 
THE TRENT AFFAIR. 1>25 
 
 mand at Fort Warren, received the prisoners; their baggage 
 was landed and examined, consisting of six or eight trunks, 
 six valises, several cases of brandy, wines, and liquors, a 
 dozen or more boxes of cigars, and two cases (pints and 
 quarts) of ale, and conveyed in two carts. No despatches 
 were found. These all went on with the ladies of the pris 
 oners, and reached England from St. Thomas in the British 
 steamer La Plata. Shortly after going on board the San 
 Jacinto, the prisoners joined in a letter to Captain Wilkes, 
 in which they gave their version of the circumstances of 
 their arrest and transfer to his ship, and requested that 
 it be forwarded to Washington with his report, which was 
 done. They afterwards also united in a note to him, 
 acknowledging the courtesy with which they had been 
 treated on board. 
 
 There was a banquet at the Eevere House, in Boston, in 
 honor of Captain Wilkes, Hon. J. Edmunds Wiley pre 
 siding. His act was highly applauded by Mr. Wiley, 
 Governor Andrew, and Chief-Justice Bigelow. Captain 
 Wilkes and Lieutenant Fairfax made speeches, briefly de 
 scribing the capture. Captain Wilkes said he " had read 
 in the law books that despatches from an enemy were con 
 traband of war, and he took it for granted that ambassadors 
 were the embodiment of despatches." In his report to the 
 Secretary of the Navy, he called them " live despatches." 
 Governor Andrew said he was in the office of the Secretary 
 of War when the despatch came announcing the capture, 
 and that he joined heartily in the cheer led by the Secre 
 tary. He pronounced the act as " not only wise judgment, 
 but also manly and heroic success." 
 
 On November 30, Secretary Welles wrote Captain Wilkes 
 at Boston : " I congratulate you on your safe arrival, and 
 especially do I congratulate you on the great public service 
 you have rendered in the capture of the rebel emissaries. 
 Messrs. Mason and Slidell have been conspicuous in the 
 conspiracy to dissolve the Union, and it is well known that 
 
 15 
 
226 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 
 
 
 
 when seized by you they were on a mission hostile to the 
 Government and the country. Your conduct in seizing 
 these public enemies was marked by intelligence, ability, 
 decision, and firmness, and has the emphatic approval of 
 this department. It is not necessary that I should in this 
 communication which is intended to be one of congratu 
 lation to yourself, officers, and crew express an opinion 
 on the course pursued in omitting to capture the vessel 
 which had these public enemies on board, further than to 
 say that the forbearance exercised in this instance must 
 not be permitted to constitute a precedent hereafter for 
 infractions of neutral obligations." 
 
 The news of the seizure reached the Lords Commission 
 ers in London on the 3Xth of November, and by their order 
 was immediately communicated to Earl Russell. At the same 
 time a public meeting was called there, and a resolution 
 presented calling on the Government " to assert the dignity 
 of the British flag by requiring prompt reparation for this 
 outrage." On the suggestion of Mr. John Campbell, one 
 of the speakers, that the capture might ha>ve been justifia 
 ble in view of British law on the subject, the resolution was 
 laid over. 
 
 The London Times was at first quite moderate. It fully 
 admitted the right of search, and said the British Govern 
 ment " had established a system of international law which 
 now tells against us." It quoted Lord Stowell, who held 
 that " the only security that nothing is to be found incon 
 sistent with amity and the law of nations, known to the 
 law of nations, is the right of personal visitation and 
 search to be exercised by those who have an interest in 
 making it." It also cited the opinion of Chancellor Kent, 
 wherein he declared that " The duty of self-preservation 
 gives to belligerent nations this right. The doctrine of the 
 English Admiralty Courts on the right of visitation and 
 search and on the limitation of the right, has been recog 
 nized in its fullest extent by the courts of justice in this 
 
THE TKENT AFFAIR. 227 
 
 country (the United Stages). But the Times claimed that 
 when these decisions were given a different state of things 
 existed. There were then no mail steamers or vessels " car 
 rying letters wherein all the nations of the.wor!4 have im 
 mediate interest." Hence England did then what they 
 would not now do nor allow others to do. It was not 
 aware of any authority to show that the commissioners 
 " were contraband of war ; and in- any event it was not a 
 question to be adjudicated on by a naval officer .and four 
 boats crews. The legal course would* have been to take the 
 ship itself into port, and to ask for her condemnation, or 
 for the condemnation of the passengers, in a Court of- 
 Admiralty." 
 
 Under date of November 30, Earl Russell directed the 
 Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to instruct Vice- 
 Admiral Sir A. Milne to communicate fully with Lord 
 Lyons, British Minister at Washington. He speaks of the . 
 " act of wanton violence and outrage," and says the com 
 mander should " look to the safety of Her Majesty s pos 
 sessions in North America," and " not to place* his ships in 
 positions where they may be surprised or commande d by 
 batteries on land of a superior force." Arrangements for 
 increasing the military force in Canada were at once made. 
 Twenty thousand pfcked troops, the flower of the British 
 army, were mustered and passed in review, for embarkation* 
 via Halifax. The large ship Melbourne was being* loaded at 
 Woolwich with Armstrong guns, some eighty thousand 
 Enfield rifles, a large amount of ammunition, and other war 
 materials. Greater activity could not have been displayed 
 had war already been declared. Neither night nor Sunday 
 was allowed to suspend the work *of preparation at Wool 
 wich. 
 
 A well-informed correspondent of the New York Com 
 mercial Advertiser wrote from Paris, December 6 : " The 
 sudden despatch of arms and men to Halifax, the outfit of 
 numerous heavy ships of war, the violent language of the 
 
228 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 British press, and concurrence of the French press, are 
 events out of proportion to the nominal cause of them, and 
 indicate a secret design and foregone conclusion." He thinks 
 the British Government from the first " was disposed to aid 
 the rebellion for the purpose of dissolving the Union." He 
 advises that our Government accept at once the objection to 
 form taken by the British Government, and release Mason 
 and Slidell, thus depriving that Government of the pretext 
 on which it rests. 
 
 November 30, 1861, which seems to have been fraught 
 with many important communications concerning this affair, 
 Secretary Seward took the precaution to write to Mr. Charles 
 Francis Adams, our minister at London, a confidential letter, 
 with permission to read it to Lord Palmerston, " if deemed 
 expedient," in which letter, referring to the matter, he 
 said : " It is proper that you should know one fact in the 
 case without indicating that we attach importance to it, 
 namely, that in the capture of Messrs. Mason and Slidell 
 on board the British vessel, Captain Wilkes having acted 
 without any instructions from the Government, the subject 
 is, therefore, free from the embarrassment which might 
 have resulted if the act had been specially directed by us. 
 I trust that the British Government will consider the sub 
 ject in a friendly temper, and it may expect the best dispo 
 sition on the part of this Government." 
 
 Earl Russell was prompt to communicate with Lord Lyons 
 on this important subject. His letter to him bears date, 
 also, November 30, and after reciting the circumstances of 
 the capture as reported to him, he says : " It thus appears 
 that certain individuals have been taken from on board a 
 British vessel, the ship of a neutral power, while such vessel 
 was pursuing a lawful and innocent voyage an act of vio 
 lence which was an affront to the British flag and a vio 
 lation of international law. Her Majesty s Government, 
 bearing in mind the friendly relations which have long 
 subsisted between Great Britain and the United States, are 
 
THE TRENT AFFAIR. 229 
 
 willing to believe that the United States naval officer who 
 committed the aggression was not acting in compliance with 
 any authority from his Government, or that, if he conceived 
 himself to be authorized, he greatly misunderstood the 
 instructions which he had received. For the Government 
 of the United States must be fully aware that the British 
 Government could not allow such an affront to the national 
 honor to pass without full reparation, and Her Majesty s 
 Government are unwilling to believe that it could be the 
 deliberate intention of the Government of the United States 
 unnecessarily to force into discussion between the two gov 
 ernments a question of so grave a character, and with 
 regard to which the whole British nation would be sure to 
 entertain such unanimity of feeling. 
 
 "Her Majesty s Government, therefore, trust that, when 
 this matter shall have been brought under consideration of 
 the Government of the United States, that Government 
 will, of their own accord, offer to the British Government 
 such redress as alone could satisfy the British nation, 
 namely, the liberation of the four gentlemen and their de 
 livery to your Lordship, in order that they may again be 
 placed under British protection, and a suitable apology for 
 the aggression which has been committed. Should these 
 terms not be offered by Mr. Seward, you will propose them 
 to him." 
 
 Bearing upon this highly important letter of Earl Russell, 
 we find in Martin s " Life of the Prince Consort" a signifi 
 cant and interesting private history, showing that the Queen 
 was not satisfied with the draft submitted for her approval, 
 and that it was, at her suggestion, divested of its harsher 
 features, and very much softened in other respects, to guard 
 against giving offence to our Government. The draft was 
 returned with a memorandum drawn by the Prince Consort 
 and corrected with the Queen s own hand, indicating the 
 changes she would have made. The letter, as sent, shows 
 that her recommendation was followed in every particular. 
 
230 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Thus it is more than probable that her wisdom and good 
 will towards the United States saved the two countries 
 from a state of open hostilities, if not actual war. It is 
 well known that the Prince Consort was in accord with 
 her, and it is sad to think that the memorandum referred 
 to was the last political writing from his pen. He was 
 then seriously indisposed, and when he handed the paper 
 to the Queen, u he told her that he could scarcely hold the 
 pen while writing it." He died on the 14th of December, 
 1861. 
 
 At a public dinner given to Commander Williams in 
 London, 12th December, he made what appears to have 
 been not inaptly characterized as " a braggadocio speech," 
 in which he gave his account of the action of himself, 
 Lieutenant Fairfax, and others on board the Trent. He 
 said he and Lieutenant Fairfax asked each other s pardon 
 for anything which might have been said or done offensive 
 on either side, so far as they themselves were concerned. 
 He declared that one of Mr. SlidelPs daughters branded 
 an officer of the San Jacinto " to his face with his infamy, 
 having been her father s guest not ten days before." He 
 likewise averred, with an appeal to Heaven, that " the ma 
 rines made a rush towards Miss Slidell with fixed bayonets." 
 He said, " she did strike Mr. Fairfax, but not with the vul 
 garity of gesture attributed to her. Miss Slidell [he con 
 tinues] was in the cabin with her arms encircling his neck, 
 and she wished to be taken to prison with her father. Mr. 
 Fairfax attempted to get into the cabin I do not say 
 forcibly, for I do not say a word against Mr. Fairfax so far 
 as his manner is concerned he attempted to get her away 
 by inducements. In her agony, then, she did strike him 
 in the face three times." He said that " when the marines 
 made a rush for Miss Slidell, she screamed, for her father 
 snatched himself away from her to break the window of 
 his cabin, through which he thrust his body out. But the 
 hole was so small that I hardly thought it would admit the 
 
THE TRENT AFFAIR. 231 
 
 circumference of his waist. It was then the lady screamed. 
 When the marines rushed on with the point of the bayonet, 
 I had just time to put my body between their bayonets and 
 
 Miss Slidell, and I said to them, Back, you cowardly 
 
 poltroons. 
 
 The excitement in England, instead of abating, continued 
 to increase, although there was a conservative undercurrent 
 there not unfavorable to the United States. For instance, 
 Mr. John Bright counselled moderation, and the Sheffield 
 Foreign Affairs Committee petitioned the Queen to punish 
 Captain Moir and Commander Williams of the Trent for 
 disobeying her proclamation of 13th of May, by carrying 
 " officers" of the Confederate States and their " despatches." 
 
 The New York Tribune of 3d December said : " England 
 is almost beside herself, is the tenor of the latest arid most 
 trustworthy private letters. They say that passion has 
 swept away reason in a manner to an extent unknown 
 since 1831, and that the national sympathy with the South 
 developed by recent events is startling." Some now thought 
 the President might propose to submit the matter to arbi 
 tration ; but the New York Journal of Commerce suggested 
 that, " if the British Government wanted only an adjudica 
 tion by a Court of Admiralty, they could be easily accom 
 modated by a return of the prisoners on board of the Trent 
 at the point of capture, and then Captain Wilkes could fire 
 a gun across her bow and bring her into port according to 
 law." 
 
 There appeared to be no thought on the part of the 
 people or press of the United States that the prisoners 
 would be given up. Secretary Welles, in his annual report, 
 had referred to " the prompt and decisive action of Captain 
 Wilkes," as having " merited and received the emphatic ap 
 probation of the Department;" and a resolution of thanks 
 to him had been passed by the House of Representatives 
 immediately on coming together. Nevertheless, near the 
 close of December, to the amazement of many, it began 
 
232 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 to be whispered about that our Government, considering 
 discretion the better part of valor, had concluded to yield 
 to the demands of Great Britain. The New York Herald, 
 referring to this "silly rumor," said there "was not the 
 slightest truth in the report." 
 
 But now came the unexpected denouement. Having 
 taken several days to digest Earl Russell s despatch, a copy 
 of which had been left with him by Lord Lyons, Mr. Sew- 
 ard proceeded, December 26, to reply to it. He commenced 
 by reciting its principal points, and, saying it had been sub 
 mitted to the President, added : " The British Government 
 lias rightly conjectured, what is my duty now to state, that 
 Captain Wilkes acted upon his own suggestions of duty 
 without any direction or instruction, or even foreknowl 
 edge of it on the part of the Government." He corrects 
 some of Earl Russell s statements to the effect that the 
 round shot was fired in a direction obviously so divergent 
 from the course of the Trent as to be " quite as harmless as 
 a blank shot, while it should be regarded as a signal." So, 
 also, we learn that the Trent was not approaching the San 
 Jacinto slowly when the shell was fired across her bow, but, 
 " on the contrary, the Trent was, or seemed to be, moving 
 under a full head of steam, as if with a purpose to pass the 
 San Jacinto" Also, that Lieutenant Fairfax " did not board 
 the Trent with a large armed guard/ but left the marines 
 in his boat when he entered the Trent f that "the captain 
 of the Trent was not at any time or in any way to go on 
 board the San Jacinto" as Earl Russell had stated. Mr. 
 Seward described the character of the prisoners, saying their 
 despatches were carried to emissaries of the rebel govern 
 ment in England. He said, " The question before us is, 
 whether this proceeding was authorized and conducted 
 according to the law of nations. It involves the following 
 inquiries : 
 
 " 1st. Were the persons named and their supposed de 
 spatches contraband of war ? 
 
THE TRENT AFFAIK. 233 
 
 " 2d. Might Captain Wilkes lawfully stop and search the 
 Trent for these contraband persons and despatches ? 
 
 " 3d. Did he exercise that right in a lawful and proper 
 manner ? 
 
 " 4th. Having found the contraband persons on board and 
 in presumed possession of the contraband despatches, had 
 he a right to capture the persons ? 
 
 " 5th. Did he exercise that right of capture in the man 
 ner allowed and recognized by the law of nations ? 
 
 " If all these inquiries shall be resolved in the affirma 
 tive, the British Government will have no claim to repara 
 tion." 
 
 Addressing himself to these inquiries, he disposes of the 
 first four in the affirmative. Taking up the fifth, he says : 
 "It is just here that the difficulties of the case begin. In 
 the present case, Captain Wilkes, after capturing the con 
 traband persons and making prize of the Trent in what 
 seems to us a perfectly lawful manner, instead of sending 
 her into port, released her from capture, and permitted her 
 to proceed with her whole cargo upon her voyage." 
 
 Captain Wilkes (quoted by Mr. Seward) says he " forbore 
 to seize her (the Trent) in consequence of his being reduced 
 in officers and crew, and the derangement it would cause 
 innocent persons" on board. These reasons, Mr. Seward 
 declared, were satisfactory to the Government, so far as Cap 
 tain Wilkes was concerned. Finally, Mr. Seward rested on 
 the old American rule that in case of capture from search, 
 the question must " be carried before a legal tribunal, where 
 a regular trial may be had, and where the captor himself is 
 liable to damage for an abuse of his power." " If I decide 
 this case," continued Mr. Seward, " in favor of my own 
 Government, I must disavow its most cherished principles 
 and reverse and forever abandon its essential policy. The 
 country cannot aiford the sacrifice. If I maintain those 
 principles and adhere to that policy, I must surrender the 
 case itself. It will be seen, therefore, that this Government 
 
234 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 would not deny the justice of the claim presented to us in 
 this respect upon its merits. We are asked to do to the 
 British nation just what we have always insisted all nations 
 ought to do to us. ... I prefer to express my satisfaction 
 that, -by the adjustment of the present case upon principles 
 confessedly American, and yet, as I trust, mutually satisfac 
 tory to both of the nations concerned, a question is finally 
 and rightly settled between them, which heretofore ex 
 hausted not only all forms of peaceful discussion, but also 
 the arbitrament of war itself; for more than half a century 
 alienated the two countries from each other, and perplexed 
 with fears and apprehensions all other nations. The four 
 persons in question are now held in military custody at Fort 
 Warren, in the State of Massachusetts. They will be cheer 
 fully liberated. Your Lordship will please indicate a time 
 and place for receiving them." 
 
 Lord Lyons replied to Mr. Seward on the 27th December, 
 saying he would, without delay, send a copy of his " im 
 portant communication" to Earl Russell, and would confer 
 with him (Mr. Seward) on the arrangements for the de 
 livery of the " four gentlemen" to him (Lord Lyons). The 
 rest is soon told. On December 30, Lord Lyons wrote to 
 Commander Hewett of the Rinaldo, an English sloop-of- 
 war, to proceed with his vessel to Provincetown, Massachu 
 setts, and receive the released prisoners, adding : " It is 
 hardly necessary that I should remind you that these gen 
 tlemen have no official character. It will be right for you 
 to receive them with all courtesy and respect as gentlemen 
 of distinction ; but it would be improper to pay them any 
 of those honors which are paid to official persons;" and 
 their transfer should be " effected unostentatiously." 
 
 Being conveyed from Fort "Warren to Provincetown by 
 the tugboat Starlight, the " four gentlemen," with their lug 
 gage, were quietly transferred to the Hinaldo on the evening 
 of January 1, 1862, remarking that their " only wish was to 
 proceed to Europe ;" and that vessel at once set sail for St. 
 
THE TRENT AFFAIR. 235 
 
 Thomas, whence these emissaries of treason pursued their 
 weary way to their original respective destinations, cowed 
 and humiliated in no slight degree. Doubtless they knew 
 that only a cool reception awaited them. 
 
 The London Star said : " When Mason and Slidell have 
 been surrendered to us, it will surely be time to declare in 
 what capacity we, as a nation, are to receive them whether 
 as the envoys of Mr. Jefferson Davis, or as inoffensive vis 
 itors to a country where the rebel slave-owner and fugitive 
 negro are welcome alike to the protection of the law." The 
 London Times exulted over what it called " a great victory," 
 but said : " Mason and Slidell are about the most worthless 
 booty it would be possible to exact from the jaws of the 
 American lion. The four American gentlemen who have 
 got us into our late trouble, and cost us probably a million 
 apiece, will soon be in one of our ports. What they and 
 their secretaries are to do here passes our conjecture. They 
 are personally nothing to us." 
 
 !N"ot the least wonderful thing in this extraordinary affair 
 was the sudden acquiescence in and approbation of the 
 act of our Government in surrendering the " Confederate 
 ambassadors," on the part of the people and press of the 
 United States, as soon as Mr. Seward s masterly state 
 paper was published. Nor were our people alone in their 
 satisfaction at so happy a settlement of a vexed question 
 which alarmed and threatened to disturb all the maritime 
 nations of the world. 
 
236 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 PRESIDENT LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG. 
 
 Conflicting Accounts of his Speech at the Cemetery Dedication Ex- 
 Governor Curtin s Statement to the Writer A Wonderful Effort 
 Mr. Everett s Peroration The Dirge by B. B. French. 
 
 THERE have been so many conflicting statements about 
 President Lincoln s Gettysburg speech that I have taken 
 pains to bring some of them together with a view to see 
 if there is any way to get at the truth. In the first place, 
 as to the manner of its writing and delivery. 
 
 The reporter of the New York Times, as quoted by the 
 Springfield Republican, says Mr. Lincoln spoke from manu 
 script, referring to it as often as once for each sentence; 
 that he spoke in a loud voice and was loudly applauded. 
 He says that when the President had finished, it is related 
 that Mr. Everett, the orator of the day, who had spoken 
 before him, grasped Mr. Lincoln s hand warmly and said, 
 in substance, " What I have said here will be forgotten, but 
 your words will live." 
 
 Mr. John Russell Young, who, as reporter for the Phila 
 delphia Press, was also present, states that Mr. Lincoln 
 " took the single sheet of foolscap, held it almost to his 
 nose, and, in his high tenor voice, without the least attempt 
 for effect, delivered that most extraordinary address. There 
 were four or five thousand people present. Very few heard 
 what Mr. Lincoln said, and it is a curious thing that his 
 remarkable words should have made no particular impres 
 sion at the time." 
 
 Let us next hear what Colonel Ward H. Lamon, one of 
 Mr. Lincoln s most intimate associates before as well as 
 after his election, says, in the Philadelphia Times, October 
 4, 1887: 
 
PRESIDENT LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG. 237 
 
 "A day or two before the dedication, Mr. Lincoln told me he would 
 be expected to make a speech on the occasion ; that he was extremely 
 busy, with no time for preparation, and that he greatly feared he would 
 not be able to acquit himself with credit, much less to fill the measure 
 of public expectation. From his hat (the usual receptacle of his private 
 notes and memoranda) he drew a page of foolscap, closely written, which 
 he read to me, first remarking that it was a memorandum of what he 
 intended to say. It proved to be in substance, and, I think, in hcec 
 verba, what was printed as his Gettysburg speech. After its delivery, 
 he expressed deep regret that he had not prepared it with greater care. 
 He said to me on the stand, immediately after concluding the speech, 
 Lamon, that speech won t scour. It is a flat failure, and the people are 
 disappointed. . . . On the platform from which Mr. Lincoln made his 
 address, and only a moment after its conclusion, Mr. Seward turned to 
 Mr. Everett and asked him w r hat he thought of the President s speech. 
 Mr. Everett replied, It was not what I expected from him : I am disap 
 pointed. In his turn, Mr. Everett asked, What do you think of it, 
 Mr. Seward ? The response was : He has made a failure, and I am 
 sorry for it. His speech is not equal to him. Mr. Seward then turned 
 to me and asked, Mr. Marshal, what do you think of it ? I answered, 
 I am sorry to say it does not impress me as one of his great speeches. 
 In the face of these facts it has been repeatedly published that this 
 speech was received with great eclat by the audience ; that, amid the 
 tears, sobs, and cheers it produced in the excited throng, the orator of 
 the day, Mr. Everett, turned impulsively to Mr. Lincoln, grasped his 
 hand, and exclaimed, I congratulate you on your success ! adding, in 
 a transport of heated enthusiasm, Ah, Mr. President, how gladly would 
 I give all my hundred pages to be the author of your twenty lines ! All 
 this unworthy gush, it is needless to say, is purely apocryphal. Nothing 
 of the kind occurred. ... As a matter of fact, Mr. Lincoln s great 
 Gettysburg speech fell on the vast audience like a wet blanket. ... It 
 was then [after Mr. Lincoln s death] that we began to realize that it was 
 indeed a masterpiece, and it then dawned upon many minds that we had 
 entertained an angel unawares, who had left us unappreciated," 
 
 Now listen to what Andrew G-. Curtin, the distinguished 
 war Governor and statesman of Pennsylvania, says. Re 
 membering to have heard him relate the story of the 
 writing and delivery of Mr. Lincoln s extraordinary ad 
 dress, which now " belongs to the classics of literature" 
 it was in May, 1885, while riding with him and others over 
 the battle-field, and when he pointed out to me the house 
 
238 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 of Mr. Willis, in the village, where, he says, he saw Mr. 
 Lincoln en^ao;ed in writing it I called on him at his hotel 
 
 O O O 
 
 in this city a few days ago, and, with pencil in hand to 
 make sure of his exact words, asked him to repeat the 
 account. He said: 
 
 " I saw Mr. Lincoln writing his address in Mr. (now Judge) Willis s 
 house, on a long yellow envelope. He may have written some of it 
 before. He said, I will go and show it to Seward/ who stopped at 
 another house, which he did, and then returned and copied his speech 
 on a foolscap sheet. The people outside were calling now on Mr. Lincoln 
 for a speech, and he got me to go and speak for him. Mr. Lincoln rode on 
 horseback to the field, where a temporary stand had been erected. After 
 the oration of Mr. Everett and the singing of a dirge by the Baltimore 
 Glee Club, Mr. Lincoln proceeded to speak. He rose and presented him 
 self in a most dignified manner, becoming a President of the United 
 States. He pronounced that speech in a voice that all the multitude 
 heard. The crowd was hushed into silence because the President stood 
 before them. But at intervals there were roars of applause. My God ! 
 it was so impressive ! It was the common remark of everybody. Such a 
 speech, as they said it was ! Everett and all went and congratulated the 
 President, shaking him by the hand." 
 
 Governor Curtin, on the former as well as on the present 
 occasion, expressed extreme regret that he had not secured 
 that envelope on which he most positively declares he saw 
 Mr. Lincoln writing his address, as above described. 
 
 Finally, I am happy to be able to add one more item, 
 not less interesting, touching this controverted subject. 
 I have the statement from General Joseph Holt direct, 
 that a day or two after Mr. Lincoln s return from Gettys 
 burg, while signing some papers which he (General H.), 
 as Judge-Advocate-General, had brought for his signa 
 ture, the President looked up with lively satisfaction and 
 remarked, " I have just received a letter from Mr. Ever 
 ett, in which he says that I had said more in my little 
 speech than he had said in his whole oration." 
 
 Having presented the above rather conflicting testimony, 
 I believe I will submit the case " to the jury" my readers 
 
PRESIDENT LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG. 239 
 
 without either " summing up" or " argument," premising, 
 however, that I am inclined to stand by the grand old war 
 Governor. Besides I want the room for further illustration 
 of this little historical sketch. 
 
 It may be interesting to know that among the distin 
 guished persons on the platform at the dedication were, 
 according to the Philadelphia Press, the following : Gov 
 ernor Bradford, of Maryland; Governor Curtin, of Penn 
 sylvania; Governor Morton, of Indiana; Governor Sey 
 mour, of New York ; Governor Parker, of New Jersey ; 
 Governor Todd, of Ohio ; ex-Governor Dennison, of Ohio ; 
 John Brough, Governor-elect of Ohio ; Major-Generals 
 Schenck, Stahl, Doubleday, and Couch ; Brigadier- General 
 Gibbon and Provost-Marshal-General Fry. The reporter 
 must have also seen among them Secretary Seward and 
 Marshal Lamon, if not others, equally distinguished, in 
 cluding the late Major Benjamin B. French, author of the 
 dirge which follows. 
 
 The ceremonies w r ere opened with prayer by Rev. Thomas 
 H. Stockton, Chaplain of the House of Representatives. A 
 correspondent, " E>.," of the Philadelphia Press, states that 
 the reverend gentleman " concluded with the Lord s prayer, 
 and during the delivery of these eloquent words there was 
 scarcely a dry eye in all that vast assemblage." The popu 
 lace, " gathered within a circle of great extent around the 
 stand, were so quiet and attentive" (Mr. Young says) " that 
 every word uttered by the orator of the day (Edward Ever 
 ett) must have been heard by them all." 
 
 Here is Mr. Everett s peroration : 
 
 " * The whole earth/ said Pericles, as he stood over the remains of his 
 fellow-citizens who had fallen in the first year of the Peloponnesian war, 
 the whole earth is the sepulchre of illustrious men. All time, he 
 might have added, is the millennium of their glory. Surely I would do 
 no injustice to the other noble achievements of the war, which have 
 reflected such honor on both arms of the service, and have entitled the 
 armies and the navy of the United States their officers and men to 
 
240 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 the warmest thanks and the richest rewards which a grateful people can 
 pay. But they, I am sure, will join us in saying, as we bid farewell to the 
 dust of these martyr heroes, that wheresoever throughout the civilized 
 world the accounts of this great warfare are read, and down to the latest 
 period of recorded time, in the glorious annals of our common country, 
 there will be no brighter page than that which relates THE BATTLE OF 
 GETTYSBURG." 
 
 THE DIRGE. 
 
 " Tis holy ground 
 This spot where, in their graves, 
 We place our country s braves 
 Who fell in Freedom s holy cause 
 Fighting for Liberties and Laws 
 Let tears abound. 
 
 " Here let them rest 
 And summer s heat and winter s cold 
 Shall glow and freeze above this mould 
 A thousand years shall pass away 
 A nation still shall mourn this day, 
 Which now is blest. 
 
 " Here where they fell, 
 Oft shall the widow s tear be shed, 
 Oft shall fond parents mourn their dead 
 The orphan here shall kneel and weep, 
 And maidens, where their lovers sleep, 
 Their woes shall tell. 
 
 " Great God in heaven ! 
 Shall all this sacred blood be shed 
 Shall we thus mourn our glorious dead, 
 Or shall the end be wrath and woe, 
 The knell of Freedom s overthrow 
 A country riven ? 
 
 " It will not be. 
 
 We trust, God ! Thy gracious power 
 To aid us in our darkest hour. 
 This be our prayer, Father, save 
 A people s Freedom from the grave 
 All praise to Thee ! " 
 
PRESIDENT LINCOLN AND GENERAL McCLELLAN. 241 
 
 PRESIDENT LINCOLN S ADDRESS. 
 
 " Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this con 
 tinent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition 
 that all men are created equal. 
 
 " Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, 
 or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are 
 met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a 
 portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their 
 lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that 
 we should do this. 
 
 " But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate we cannot consecrate we 
 cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who strug 
 gled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. 
 The world will little note nor long remember what we may say here, but 
 it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather, to 
 be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here 
 have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated 
 to the great task remaining before us ; that from these honored dead we 
 take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full 
 measure of devotion ; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall 
 not have died in vain ; that this nation, under God, shall have a new 
 birth of freedom ; and that government of the people, by the people, for 
 the people, shall not perish from the earth." 
 
 WASHINGTON, February 17, 1888. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 PRESIDENT LINCOLN AND GENERAL M C CLELLAN. 
 
 The President visits the General His Accidental Detention Mr. Lin 
 coln declares he would not consent to sign the Death- Warrant of a 
 Soldier for failing to go where his legs refused to carry him Called 
 these " Leg Cases." 
 
 HERE is a little historical item which, as far as it goes, 
 ought to be known in explanation, possibly, of what has 
 been publicly brought against General George B. Me del - 
 lan as an unpardonable act of rudeness, not to say insult 
 
 16 
 
242 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 to President Lincoln. This act was the keeping President 
 Lincoln waiting for a considerable time on one occasion 
 when he called on McClellan at his head-quarters. Refer 
 ring to this a few days ago, in conversation with General 
 Henry J. Hunt, chief of artillery at the battle of Gettysburg, 
 and now governor of the Soldiers Home near Washington, 
 I inquired if he thought it possible that the story could be 
 true. Hesitating a moment, in evident belief of its falsity 
 so far as General McClellan was concerned, and appearing 
 never to have heard of its publicity, he answered, " Yes 
 with a reservation." He said that one day when he himself 
 called at McClellan s head-quarters he found General Barry 
 there in a great rage on account of what he regarded as a 
 gross insult to President Lincoln, who had called to see Gen 
 eral McClellan and had been kept waiting in the anteroom ; 
 but whether through the fault of the Irish door-keeper or 
 the neglect of the general, he did not appear to know. He 
 had, however, observed that when Mr. Lincoln passed up 
 stairs the door-keeper or orderly whatever his appellation 
 gave a clownish burst of expression, as if in derision of 
 the President. 
 
 How can the exact truth ever be known ? One thins; is 
 
 O 
 
 certain, instead of going to McClellan, the President should 
 have sent for him to come to the White House whenever 
 he wished to see him ; and this, I presume, was his usual 
 custom. 
 
 While writing of President Lincoln, I will relate another 
 singular incident not generally known, I think, and which 
 comes to me on equally undoubted authority (Joseph Holt, 
 President Lincoln s Judge-Advocate-General). At the be 
 ginning of the war, oftener probably than later in the fear 
 ful struggle, sometimes, in going into battle, a soldier who 
 had " never smelt gunpowder" would falter, shrink away, 
 and may be throw down his arms, utterly unable, from cow 
 ardice, to proceed, thus rendering himself liable to the pen 
 alty of death. When these cases came before President Lin- 
 
A EEMINISCENCE. 243 
 
 coin and the necessity of making an example of such culprits 
 was pointed out to him, he invariably pleaded off. By way 
 of convincing him not only of the imperative necessity of 
 strictly enforcing the law as a restraining influence against 
 cowardly instincts but also of its reasonableness and justice, 
 it was urged that, the soldier seeing before him two dangers, 
 on the one hand, sure death if he acted the coward, on 
 the other, a reasonable chance of escape if he pressed for 
 ward in battle, he would naturally choose the lesser of the 
 two and thus save his honor at least, if not his life. But it 
 was all to no purpose, Mr. Lincoln solemnly declaring that 
 he never could consent to sign the death-warrant of a sol 
 dier for failing to go where his legs refused to carry him ; and 
 he never did. He consigned to pigeon-holes without his 
 signature scores, if not hundreds, of these cases, where they 
 now lie buried at the "War Department. He called them 
 " Leg Cases." 
 WASHINGTON, December 1, 1886. 
 
 CHAPTER IY. 
 
 A REMINISCENCE. 
 
 Ex-President Buchanan His Last Interview with Colonel Thomas Hart 
 Benton Controversy between William Carey Jones and Francis P. 
 Blair, Sr. Interesting Incidents in the Life of Colonel Benton His 
 Death and Funeral. 
 
 IN one of Ex-President Buchanan s letters to me, dated 
 at Wheatland, 21st April, 1866, he wrote as follows : 
 
 " By-the-by, I wish to impose upon you a task which I do not think 
 will be uncongenial. Old Mr. Blair attempted to misrepresent the scene 
 between Colonel Benton and myself on the evening preceding his death, 
 which was as kind and affectionate on his part as if he had been my 
 dear brother. His noble daughter, who was alone present, voluntarily, 
 
244 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 and without my previous knowledge, contradicted him, and made and 
 published a true statement of the occurrence, signed by her husband, 
 Governor Jacob. The date of that letter is at Clifton (Kentucky), Au 
 gust 2, 1858. I had much difficulty in finding it, but at last obtained it 
 from Governor Jacob. He informs me there was a pamphlet published 
 at the time by William Carey Jones, the son-in-law of Colonel Benton, 
 which I ought to have, but it is not in his possession. Now I have 
 thought that this might be procured through my old friend Peter Force. 
 I would give any reasonable price for it, as I wish to leave behind me 
 some interesting reminiscences." 
 
 Sincerely desirous of obliging Mr. Buchanan, I at once 
 endeavored to procure the pamphlet referred to, calling at 
 all our book-stores for it, as well as upon Mr. Force, who, 
 though then a very old man, was still living in apparently 
 good health. It was all in vain. I could find it nowhere* 
 Mr. Force told me it might be, and probably was, in his 
 library, but that his pamphlets were not generally classified 
 or arranged, and that a search for it there would be nearly 
 hopeless. I was obliged to give it up for the time being, 
 intending, however, some time or other to find it if possible, 
 and I have at length succeeded, it having recently come to 
 light among the books and pamphlets of the late Peter 
 Force s library in the library of Congress. It bears no 
 title, but is addressed " To the People of the United States." 
 It is very severe on Mr. Blair, Sr., and refers likewise to 
 Mr. Francis P. Blair, Jr. The controversy arose from the 
 appearance, in the first instance, of a communication at 
 tributed to Mr. Blair, Sr., or as having been inspired by him, 
 from which the following is an extract. The writer pro 
 fessed to give an account of an interview with Colonel 
 Benton just before his death, saying : 
 
 " The inspiration of this theme (the Compromise of 1850) fired the 
 languid blood and reanimated for a moment the failing frame of the 
 dying patriot. In energetic whispers he told his visitor that the same 
 men who had sought to destroy the republic in 1850 were at the bottom 
 of this accursed Lecompton business. . . . He warmly praised the 
 intrepid and incorruptible Douglas Democrats who had resisted the 
 power and wiles of a corrupt and deluded administration." 
 
A REMINISCENCE. 245 
 
 Here is Mr. Jones s account of the interview, in allusion 
 to said communication : 
 
 " About eighty hours before the death of Colonel Benton, F. P. Blair, 
 Sr., of Silver Springs, Md., entered the sick-room. The orders of 
 Colonel Benton were that no visitors should be admitted. Mr. Blair s 
 long intimacy in the house allowed him to pass the hall-door, and, 
 when he had ascended the second story and his voice was heard, Colo 
 nel Benton said, Yes, let him come in a moment. Mr. Blair, when 
 he came in, saw this : Colonel Benton on his dying bed ; on one side 
 of it his eldest daughter, attending to the wants of her father, and 
 catching the faintest word from his lips ; on the other side of the bed 
 the writer of this, seated at a small, narrow table writing at the dic 
 tation of Colonel Benton. Mr. Blair remained some time. Two days 
 after there was published in the New York Tribune an anonymous 
 letter, giving a daguerreotype, as it were, of what was seen, only sub 
 stituting for Mr. Blair s person an imaginary person called a friend 
 from Missouri, and mentioning by name both my wife and myself. 
 What was seen being thus depicted, the narrative went on to falsify and 
 defame what was said by the dying man. A month afterward, only that 
 such a defamation should not go into record history, with apparent 
 assent of the witnesses vouched to it, I made a contradiction, but did 
 not mention any names." 
 
 Touching the assertion that Colonel Benton employed 
 opprobrious terms in speaking of the Lecompton business, 
 Mr. Jones, in reply to Mr. Blair, said, " You know that 
 Colonel Benton did not die with anything accursed or de 
 nunciatory on his lips, but with only good and kind words 
 for all to whom or of whom he had occasion to speak." 
 
 Mr. Jones says that the last lines intended for publica 
 tion in his " Abridgment of the Debates of Congress," that 
 Colonel Benton wrote, were to accompany a debate in the 
 Senate of 17th of June, 1850, and a short, energetic speech 
 by Mr. Webster, from which the following is an extract : 
 " I am against agitators, North and South ; I am against 
 local ideas, North and South, and against all narrow and 
 local contests. I am an American, and I know no locality 
 in America ; that is my country" 
 
 In commenting upon this, Colonel Benton observed that 
 
246 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 " It is impossible to read the speeches of this session, and 
 hear, as it were, the last words of the last great men of that 
 wonderful time, without having the feelings profoundly 
 moved by the deep danger to the Union which stood before 
 them, and the patriotic attempts they made to avert that 
 danger. This brief speech of Mr. Webster is a noble illus 
 tration of the feelings of the patriotic sages of that porten 
 tous day. They labored to save their country, and believed 
 [that they had done it.]" 
 
 Mr. Jones remarks : " Colonel Benton, at the time (April 
 5) that he wrote this note, was physically very feeble, in 
 bed, and suffering acute pain. The paper that he wrote on 
 being filled, he desired me, in copying, to add the con 
 cluding words. His strength failed him to add more at 
 the moment, and he continued his work of abridgment." 
 
 On the 6th of April Colonel Benton dictated to Mr. 
 Jones, who wrote a note to be appended to a debate in the 
 Senate of July 22, 1850, in which the concluding speech 
 was by Mr. Clay. In this he speaks of Mr. Clay as " the 
 great champion of the measure (the Missouri Compromise), 
 which he adheres to as the crowning principle in the meas 
 ures of 1850, and renews his testimony to it as a Southern 
 measure of thirty years duration." 
 
 In this connection it may not be out of place to intro 
 duce the following extract from a patriotic speech made by 
 Colonel Benton himself in the course of the great debate 
 in June, 1850 : " I recognize no such parties no two halves 
 in the Union. I know no North and I know no South, and 
 I repulse and repudiate as a thing to be forever contemned 
 this first attempt to establish geographical parties in this 
 chamber by creating a committee formed on that prin 
 ciple." 
 
 I cannot avoid observing here, by way of parenthesis, 
 how different might have been the condition of the United 
 States to-day had the patriotic sentiments and advice of 
 these great statesmen Webster, Clay, and Benton pre- 
 
A REMINISCENCE. 247 
 
 vailed from the start. I am not too young to remember 
 well when it was the common sentiment, and no offence to 
 express the opinion anywhere North or South, that negro 
 slavery was an evil which should be removed as soon as it 
 could be done reasonably and safely. Virginia was moving 
 in important measures toward gradual emancipation, and 
 the same thing was taking root and commanding the atten 
 tion of the better classes in the other border States, when 
 the whole South was aroused by the aggressive and appar 
 ently unfriendly action of the original Abolitionists, one of 
 whose principal leaders did not hesitate to proclaim, " The 
 Union is a lie ; the American Union is an imposture, a cove 
 nant with death and an agreement with hell. ... I am for 
 its overthrow." This note of warning put a stop at once 
 to all steps looking toward gradual emancipation, and the 
 South found itself powerless to act except on the defensive. 
 (Understand, these interjected remarks relate particularly 
 to times and action long prior to the repeal of the Missouri 
 Compromise or the formation of the Free-soil party.) 
 Were the Abolitionists right? Who knows that, instead 
 of thus exciting the baser passions, had brotherly love and 
 kindness been allowed full sway, the abolishment of slavery 
 might not have been accomplished by peaceful means, and 
 our civil war, with all its attendant and consequent destruc 
 tion, death, and woe unparalleled, averted ? With a great 
 hearted president like Abraham Lincoln, who knows that, 
 with the ancient harmony between the North and South 
 undisturbed, the peculiar institution might not have been 
 extinguished in the same manner and with the same gen 
 eral satisfaction that it was terminated in the District of 
 Columbia ? 
 
 These questions have often arisen in my mind. It may 
 be unpopular, but is it a crime to ask them ? I will not 
 pronounce the Abolitionists as intentionally dishonest, but 
 rather believe they were governed by pure motives. I did 
 not, however, believe either in their object or in their course 
 
248 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 of action ; hence I need not say that I am not now ready 
 to admit that the great mass of the people the two great 
 political parties of the country, with whom I was in accord 
 on this subject were all sinners, and only the Abolitionists 
 saints. I refer, now, to the disposition, prominently mani 
 fested on the part of some of the survivors of the old Abo 
 lition party, to canonize their leaders. Let them, if they 
 please, extol one another s deeds in the cause of abolition 
 let them have their tea parties and recall their many ex 
 ploits, their sacrifices, and their sufferings ; but when they 
 assume all the credit of freeing the slave, if it be a credit 
 that he should have been freed by war and bloodshed, in 
 stead of by peaceful means, may I not, in all charity, say, 
 let them not forget to hold themselves answerable, also, in 
 conjunction with kindred spirits at the South, for their fall 
 share of the terrible consequences of the war ? 
 
 But to return to my history. In a letter in the New 
 York Tribune, 23d July, 1858, Mr. Blair, Sr., said: 
 
 " When he died, Colonel Benton, like Clay and Jackson, left written 
 testimonials declaring the forfeiture of his confidence by Mr. Buchanan. 
 In the sketch of his life, submitted to his revision, and sent to the press 
 by him just before his fatal illness, he says that he had supported Mr. 
 Buchanan against his own son-in-law, Colonel Fremont, and assigns as 
 the reason the confidence that Mr. Buchanan, if elected, would restore 
 the principles of the Jackson administration, and the apprehension that 
 the success of Colonel Fremont would engender sectional parties fatal to 
 the preservation of the Union ; but adds that, soon after, he had reason 
 to change both opinions." 
 
 Mr. Jones positively denies that Colonel Benton ever 
 approved of the sketch referred to by Mr. Blair, and avers 
 that he [Colonel Benton] " specially repudiated the whole 
 piece," and " wrote with his own hands an entire substitute 
 for the caricature that had been prepared for him in the 
 Blair interest, getting out of his bed for the purpose one 
 month before his death, when he was suffering the agonies 
 of a thousand deaths." 
 
A REMINISCENCE. 249 
 
 It may serve to elucidate the subject somewhat to state 
 that, at this time, Francis P. Blair, Jr., was a candidate for 
 Congress in Missouri, and Mr. Jones refers to the father as 
 speaking of "my son and his Missouri canvass." Indeed, 
 he intimates that the whole thing was intended " specially 
 for Missouri consumption." 
 
 On the other hand, Mr. Blair, Sr., who, everybody knows, 
 was an u ugly customer" to encounter with the pen, did not 
 hesitate to affirm that, " In taking possession of Colonel 
 Benton s sick room, he [Jones] became a very convenient 
 exponent to suit his [Colonel Benton s] views to the neces 
 sities of the administration. But probabilities must be 
 concerted to give countenance to favorable reports. It was 
 arranged that President Buchanan and his premier [General 
 Cass] should sit by the death-bed." 
 
 " Arranged by whom ?" Mr. Jones exclaimed, with 
 fierce invective. 
 
 There can be no doubt that it was at the special request 
 and desire of Colonel Benton that both President Buchanan 
 and General Cass called to see him a few hours only before 
 he died. Mr. Jones, who returned from a foreign mission 
 about the 29th of March, 1858, says that, having mentioned 
 to Colonel Benton the fact of his calling immediately to 
 pay his respects to the President and Secretary of State, 
 Colonel Benton said to him, "I wish you to go again; to 
 take in person my card to each of them; before long, I 
 wish to see them." But the circumstances attending the 
 invitation and the visit of Mr. Buchanan are succinctly 
 stated in Governor Jacob s letter, already referred to, as 
 follows : " Mrs. Jacob wrote the note requesting the Presi 
 dent to call and see her father ; and the writing was delayed 
 some time for the reason that it was Colonel Benton s wish 
 that she should call in person and make the invitation, but 
 she was unwilling to leave her father for that length of 
 time. 
 
 " Mr. Buchanan came at once, and had an interview of 
 
250 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 some length with Colonel Benton, Mrs. Jacob being the 
 only other person present. The interview was wished for 
 by Colonel Benton for several reasons : First, to thank Mr. 
 Buchanan for an act of kindness to one of his children, 
 performed twelve years ago, which fact Colonel Benton was 
 not made acquainted with until three days before his death ; 
 secondly, to exhort him to try to preserve the Union, look 
 ing to God for strength and knowledge of the right course; 
 and, lastly, to assure him of his personal friendship and 
 good-will in those his last moments. It is with those words 
 we now have to deal. He took the President s hands in 
 his, and said, in clear tones, * Buchanan, we are friends ; 
 we have differed on many points, as you well know, but I 
 always trusted in your integrity of purpose. I supported 
 you in preference to Fremont, because he headed a sec 
 tional party, whose success would have been the signal for 
 disunion. I have known you long, and I knew you would 
 honestly endeavor to do right. I have that faith in you 
 now, but you must look to a higher power to support and 
 guide you. We will soon meet in another world ; I am 
 going now ; you will soon follow. My peace with God is 
 made, my earthly affairs arranged ; but I could not go with 
 out seeing you and thanking you for your interest in my 
 child. Much more was said that is too sacred to repeat. 
 Colonel Benton was much exhausted, and Mr. Buchanan 
 frequently urged him to spare himself. Mr. Buchanan 
 remarked to members of his family that nothing had ever 
 given him greater pleasure. When Mrs. Jacob returned 
 to her father s room, he called her to him, and said, 6 My 
 child, you are a witness of what has passed this evening; 
 think of it, and remember it. I am glad Mr. Buchanan 
 came ; all is peace with me, and I can rest. 
 
 The Washington Union of April 11, 1858, said, " The 
 President, hearing of the extreme illness of his ancient 
 compeer, called upon him Friday evening. The dying 
 statesman declared afterward his exceeding gratification 
 
A REMINISCENCE. 251 
 
 at the visit. The interview is said to have been pro 
 tracted." 
 
 Mr. Jacob Hall, of Missouri, between whom and Colonel 
 Benton a warm personal friendship had existed for many 
 years, said, in a letter to William Carey Jones, under date 
 of June 17, 1858, referring to an interview with Colonel 
 Benton, which took place a short time prior to Mr. Bu 
 chanan s visit, that " He (Colonel Benton) expressed him 
 self in unmistakable terms of friendship toward the Presi 
 dent, commending his honesty and uprightness of purpose. 
 He remarked more than once that he would die without an 
 unkind feeling toward any human being. He gave me a 
 verbal message for the President in accordance with these 
 sentiments, which he requested that I should deliver to 
 him. This I did according to his request and my recol 
 lection of the same." 
 
 Colonel Benton died on the morning of April 10. Up to 
 almost the last moment he was engaged upon his great 
 work, dictating its closing chapter. " His daughter, Mrs. 
 Jones, sitting beside the bed, received it, sentence by sen 
 tence, whispered in her ear, and repeated it aloud to her 
 husband, who wrote it down. It was then read over to 
 Colonel Benton and received his corrections. Surely this 
 indomitable energy and courage in the very face of the 
 " King of Terrors" was most remarkable. I thought so at 
 the time, nor do I remember ever having heard, before or 
 since, of so wonderful a death-bed scene. 
 
 In announcing the demise of Colonel Benton, the National 
 Intelligencer had also this touching notice : " It is a curious 
 and affecting circumstance that the youngest and the oldest 
 of the family should have died within a few hours of each 
 other under the same roof. An infant grandson of Colonel 
 Benton, the child of Mr. William Carey Jones, died in the 
 house of his grandfather yesterday morning (llth of April), 
 and the nursling and the grandfather now lie side by side 
 in death on the same bier." 
 
252 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 On the 8th of April Colonel Benton addressed the fol 
 lowing note to Samuel Houston, Esq., Senator in Congress 
 from the State of Texas, and George W. Jones, Esq., Rep 
 resentative in Congress from the State of Tennessee, viz. : 
 
 " C STREET, WASHINGTON, April 8, 1858. 
 
 To you, as old Tennessee friends, I address myself, to say that in the 
 event of my death here I desire that there should not be any notice taken 
 of it in Congress. There is no rule of either house that will authorize 
 the announcement of my death, and if there were such a rule I should 
 not wish it to be applied in my case, as being contrary to my feelings and 
 convictions long entertained. 
 
 " Your old Tennessee friend, 
 
 "THOMAS H. BENTON." 
 
 In the Senate, on Monday, the 12th of April, Mr. Polk, 
 of Missouri, said it was known to the members of the 
 Senate that Colonel Benton had requested that no public 
 demonstration should be made in Congress in consequence 
 of his death, but he deemed it proper to move an adjourn 
 ment to give members an opportunity to attend the funeral. 
 Mr. Clark, of Missouri, made a similar announcement in 
 the House, and both houses adjourned accordingly. 
 
 There was a large attendance at the funeral, including 
 the President, heads of departments, foreign ministers, 
 members of Congress, and other distinguished persons. 
 Only two of his daughters, Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Jacob, 
 with their husbands, were present ; of the other two, Mrs. 
 Fremont was at the time on her way to California, and Mrs. 
 Boileau was in Calcutta. " The grandsire and the grand 
 child reposed in death side by side, and friendly hands had 
 strewn their common bier with choice flowers some in 
 mature bloom, others just budding into beauty." 
 
 The pall-bearers were General Jesup, General Houston, 
 Governor Floyd, W. W. Seaton, James B. Clay, W. II. 
 Appleton, Jacob Hall, and John C. Rives, none of whom 
 survives, unless it be Mr. Appleton. 
 
A REMINISCENCE. 253 
 
 The place of sepulture at St. Louis is now indicated by a 
 fine bronze statue of the illustrious Senator. 
 
 Rev. Byron Sunderland, who conducted the funeral cere? 
 monies in this city, said, " During the last week of Colonel 
 Benton s life I had several interviews with him at his own 
 request. Our conversation was mainly on the subject of 
 religion, and in regard to his own views and exercises in 
 the speedy prospect of death. In these conversations he 
 most emphatically and distinctly renounced all self-reliance 
 and cast himself entirely on the mediation of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ as the ground of his acceptance with God. 
 His own words were, God s mercy in Jesus Christ is my 
 sole reliance. 
 
 As early as in September, 1857, Colonel Benton had a 
 severe attack of what he supposed to be colic, when Dr. J. 
 F. May, his physician, pronounced his disease (cancer of the 
 bowels) incurable, and so informed him. This Dr. May 
 states in a letter under date of April 13, 1858, to Mr. Wil 
 liam Carey Jones. Dr. May proceeds : " Before he was 
 relieved, in the attack just spoken of, he had given up all 
 hope of life. He told me he was satisfied the hour of his 
 dissolution was near at hand, that it was impossible for 
 him to recover, and that his only regrets at parting with 
 the world were in separating from his children, and in 
 leaving his great work undone ; that death had no terrors 
 for him, for he had thought on that subject too long to feel 
 any. " 
 
 In the intervals of his visits to him during the last week 
 of his illness, Dr. May said he ascertained that he was in 
 the habit of correcting proof-sheets, and " I recollect one 
 occasion [said he] when I did not suppose he could stand, 
 he suddenly arose from his bed, and, in the face of all re 
 monstrance, walked to his table at some distance off, and 
 corrected and finished the conclusion of another work on 
 which he was engaged. His unconquerable will enabled 
 him to do it, but when done he was so exhausted I had to 
 
254 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 take the pen from his hand to give it the direction. As 
 soon as he recovered from the immediate danger of this 
 attack he labored, as he had done for years before, con 
 stantly at his task, rising at daylight, and writing inces 
 santly, with the exception of the hour he usually devoted to 
 his afternoon ride on his horse, which he seemed to think 
 was a benefit to him, and at this labor he continued from 
 day to day until about a week before his death, when, no 
 longer able to rise from weakness, he wrote in his bed, and 
 when no longer able to do that dictated his views to others. 
 " Thus, it may be truly said of him, he literally died in 
 harness, battling steadily, from day to day, with the most 
 formidable malady that afflicts humanity, his intellect un 
 clouded, and his iron will sustaining him in the execution 
 
 7 O 
 
 of his great national work to the last moment of his exist 
 ence." 
 
 Thus ended the life of one of the ablest and most dis 
 tinguished men of his day. I have given place to these in 
 teresting accounts of his last hours because such detailed 
 descriptions of the closing scenes in the lives of great per 
 sonages always possess a charm for me, more especially as 
 they offer encouragement in that I think I behold in bold 
 relief the stamp of immortality upon souls thus animated as 
 they pass out of mortal sight. 
 
 Colonel Benton was born in Hillsborough, IN". C,, March 
 14, 1782, and consequently was in his seventy- seventh year 
 when he died. He was a student at Chapel Hill College, in 
 that State, studied law in William and Mary College, Vir 
 ginia, served one or two years as lieutenant-colonel in the 
 army, and in 1811 commenced the practice of the law at 
 Nashville, Tenn., removing finally to St. Louis about the year 
 1815. He was elected Senator from Missouri in 1820, ante 
 rior to the formal admission of that State into the Union. 
 He retired from the Senate in 1851, but subsequently served 
 as a Representative from the St. Louis district in the Thirty- 
 Third Congress. At the beginning of his senatorial career 
 
A REMINISCENCE. 255 
 
 he was a member of the Committee on Military Affairs, of 
 which General Jackson was chairman. When a resident 
 of Tennessee there had been a serious encounter between 
 them, but, being brought together upon this committee, 
 " their friendly intercourse was here renewed." We are 
 also assured that " the early alienation was never alluded to 
 between the two friends, until one or two evenings before 
 General Jackson s departure from Washington for the Her 
 mitage, in March, 1838, when a very solemn and affecting 
 conversation occurred, the nature of which we may well 
 conjecture, but which, of course, has never transpired." 
 
 But for the fact that almost a new generation has grown 
 up since we had the happiness in this country to pay for 
 our daily marketing in gold coin, it would doubtless still be 
 fresh in the memory of all that the pet name for such 
 money was u Benton mint-drops," in acknowledgment of 
 his known character and influence as a " hard-money man," 
 himself being not unfrequently spoken of as " Old Bul 
 lion." He became famous, likewise, for his celebrated dec 
 laration, " Solitary and alone I set this ball in motion." 
 This he made in the Senate on the 17th of January, 1837, 
 at the close of the debate on his resolution for expunging 
 from the " Journal of the Senate" Mr. Clay s resolution of 
 three years before condemning General Jackson for the 
 removal of the public deposits from the old Bank of the 
 United States. 
 
 I could add many more interesting incidents in the life 
 of Colonel Benton, but my article is already sufficiently 
 lengthy. Although of a proud and ostentatious bearing, 
 in social intercourse he was usually mild and fascinatingly 
 agreeable. Especially fond of his family, he was a most 
 devoted husband and father. His wife preceded him to the 
 tomb but a short time, and his son-in-law, William Carey 
 Jones, has been dead several years, while the demise of his 
 youngest daughter, Madame Boileau, occurred in France 
 only a few months ago. 
 
256 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 In conclusion, let me say that in referring to the Kansas 
 trouble and to ex-President Buchanan s remark about the 
 elder Mr. Blair, it is far from my purpose to revive any 
 controversy relating to differences growing out of the ex 
 citing subject of slavery, or to reflect upon any person 
 whomsoever. The feeling among the parties concerned 
 arose, no doubt, out of political considerations alone, and I 
 have sought to give truly and fairly only what each has 
 said for himself. 
 
 August 2, 1874. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 
 
 Terrible Shock and Intense Excitement at the Shooting of the President 
 and Murderous Attack on Secretary Seward and his Son Official 
 Bulletins of the Fearful Particulars Death of the President 
 Troops in the District of Columbia ordered out Eewards offered 
 for Arrest of the Assassins The Cabinet notifies Vice-President 
 Johnson Ceremony of his Inauguration The Assassin Payne s 
 Arrest, and with Atzerodt, Herold, and Surratt condemned to Death 
 Evidence of Guilt of Mrs. Surratt and Others Stanton s Im 
 pressive Eemarks when the President ceased to breathe. 
 
 WERE it possible to photograph the scenes which took 
 place on the night of the 14th of April, 1865, and the suc 
 ceeding several days in the city of Washington, it would 
 make a picture surpassing in horror and consequent excite 
 ment anything of the kind, perhaps, in the history of the 
 world. A correspondent of the Boston Advertiser, under 
 date of Washington, April 14, 11.15 P.M., truthfully wrote : 
 " A shock from heaven, laying half the city in ruins, would 
 not have startled us as did the word that started out from 
 Ford s Theatre half an hour ago, that the President had 
 been shot. It flew everywhere in five minutes, and set five 
 thousand feet in swift and excited motion on the instant." 
 
ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 257 
 
 The description of the shooting is familiar to most 
 readers, but no person, not present in the city, could pos 
 sibly form any true conception of the horror, mingled with 
 apprehension of threatened danger, which prevailed here 
 at the time. No sooner was the terrible report of the 
 assassination of President Lincoln spread abroad than the 
 rumor came that attempts had been made also upon the 
 lives of members of his Cabinet and of Vice-President 
 Johnson. The early morning of the 15th was full of these 
 and kindred startling rumors, and every one was holding 
 his breath, not knowing what next to expect. Some relief 
 was felt on learning that the members of the Cabinet, as 
 well as the Yice-President, were all safe, except Mr. Seward, 
 Secretary of State, who, with his son Frederick, it was 
 feared, had been fatally wounded. Major Augustus Seward, 
 an older son, and George F. Robinson, a soldier, nurse of 
 Secretary Seward, were also reported as seriously wounded. 
 
 The following official bulletins, varying in 110 essential 
 particular from the actual facts, will always possess an 
 historical interest : 
 
 "WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, April 15, 1.30 A.M. 
 " MAJOR-GENERAL Dix, New York. 
 
 " Last evening, at 10.30 P.M., at Ford s Theatre, the President, while 
 sitting in his private box with Mrs. Lincoln, Miss Harris, and Major 
 Rathburn, was shot by an assassin who suddenly entered the box. He 
 approached behind the President. The assassin then leaped upon the 
 stage, brandishing a large dagger or knife, and made his escape by the 
 rear of the theatre. The pistol-ball entered the back of the President s 
 head. The wound is mortal. The President has been insensible ever 
 since it was inflicted, and is now dying. 
 
 " About the same hour an assassin, either the same or another, entered 
 Mr. Seward s house, and, under pretence of having a prescription, was 
 shown to the Secretary s chamber. The Secretary was in bed, a nurse 
 and Miss Seward with him. The assassin immediately rushed to the 
 bed, inflicted two or three stabs on the throat and two on the face. It is 
 hoped the wounds may not be mortal. My apprehension is that they 
 will prove fatal. The nurse alarmed Mr. Frederick Seward, who was in 
 an adjoining room, and hastened to the door of his father s room, where 
 
 17 
 
258 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 he met the assassin, who inflicted upon him one or more dangerous 
 wounds. The recovery of Frederick Seward is doubtful. 
 
 " It is not probable that the President will live through the night. 
 
 " General Grant and wife were advertised to be at the theatre this 
 evening, but the latter started for Burlington at six o clock, last 
 evening. 
 
 " At a Cabinet meeting, at which General Grant was present, to-day, 
 the subject of the state of the country, and the prospects of speedy 
 peace, was discussed. The President was very cheerful and hopeful, 
 spoke very kindly of General Lee and others of the Confederacy, and 
 the establishment of government in Virginia. All the members of the 
 Cabinet, except Mr. Seward, are now in attendance upon the President. 
 I have seen Mr. Seward, but he and Frederick were both unconscious. 
 
 " EDWIN M. STANTON, 
 
 " Secretary of War." 
 
 " WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D. C., 3 A.M., April 15. 
 " MAJOR-GENERAL Dix, New York. 
 
 " The President still breathes, but is quite insensible, as he has been 
 ever since he was shot. He evidently did not see the person who shot 
 him, but was looking on the stage, as he was approached behind. 
 
 "Mr. Seward has rallied, and it is hoped he may live. Frederick 
 Seward s condition is very critical. The attendant who was present was 
 stabbed through the lungs, and is not expected to live. The wounds of 
 Major Seward are not serious. 
 
 " Investigation strongly indicates J. Wilkes Booth as the assassin of 
 the President. Whether it was the same or a different person that 
 attempted to murder Mr. Seward remains in doubt. 
 
 " Chief- Justice Cartter is engaged in taking the evidence. Every 
 exertion has been made to prevent the escape of the murderer. His 
 horse has been found on the road near Washington. 
 
 " EDWIN M. STANTON, 
 
 "Secretary of War." 
 
 "WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D. C., April 15, 4.10 A.M. 
 " MAJOR-GENERAL Dix, New York. 
 
 "The President continues insensible, and is sinking. Secretary 
 Seward remains without change. Frederick Seward s skull is fractured 
 in two places, besides a severe cut upon the head. The attendant is still 
 alive, but hopeless. 
 
 " Major Seward s wounds are not dangerous. It is now ascertained 
 with reasonable certainty that two assassins were engaged in the horrible 
 crime : Wilkes Booth being the one that shot the President ; the other, 
 
ASSASSINATION OF PEESIDENT LINCOLN. 259 
 
 a companion of his, whose name is not known, but whose description is 
 so clear that he can hardly escape. 
 
 " It appears, from a letter found in Booth s trunk, that the murder was 
 planned before the 4th of March, but fell through then because the 
 accomplice backed out until Richmond could be heard from. Booth 
 and his accomplice were at the livery-stable at six o clock last evening, 
 and left there with their horses about ten o clock, or shortly before that 
 hour. It would seem that they had for several days been seeking their 
 chance, but for some unknown reason it was not carried into effect until 
 last night. One of them has evidently made his way to Baltimore, the 
 other has not been traced. 
 
 " EDWIN M. STANTON, 
 
 " Secretary of War." 
 
 General C. C. Augur, in command of the Military De 
 partment of Washington, as soon as he learned that the 
 President had been shot, ordered out the troops in the 
 District, and " in a few moments the city was encircled 
 with pickets, stationed at a distance of about fifty feet 
 apart. Cavalry was placed on all the roads leading from 
 Washington, and mounted men and military detectives 
 proceeded to scour the country in every direction, with 
 orders to arrest any suspicious parties that they might 
 find." 
 
 General Augur at the same time issued an order offering 
 10,000 reward " to be paid to the party or parties arresting 
 the murderer of the President, Mr. Lincoln, and the assas 
 sin of the Secretary of State, Mr. Seward, and his son." 
 This was followed by the offer of a reward of $20,000 by 
 the city government, and supplemented by the further offer 
 by the Secretary of War of $100,000, for the arrest of the 
 assassins. 
 
 Early on the morning of the 15th of April the following 
 communication was presented by the Attorney-General to 
 the Vice-President : 
 
 "WASHINGTON CITY, D. C., April 15, 1865. 
 
 " SIR, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, was shot 
 by an assassin last evening at Ford s Theatre, in this city, and died at 
 the hour of twenty-two minutes after seven o clock. 
 
260 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 " About the same time at which the President was shot, an assassin 
 entered the sick-chamber of the Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of 
 State, and stabbed him in several places in the throat, neck, and face, 
 severely, if not mortally, wounding him. Other members of the Secre 
 tary s family were dangerously wounded by the assassin while making 
 his escape. By the death of President Lincoln, the office of President 
 has devolved, under the Constitution, upon you. The emergency of the 
 government demands that you should immediately qualify according to 
 the requirements of the Constitution, and enter upon the duties of Presi 
 dent of the United States. If you will please make known your pleasure 
 such arrangements as you deem proper will be made. 
 " Your obedient servants, 
 
 " HUGH McCuLLOCH, 
 
 " Secretary of the Treasury. 
 " EDWIN M. STANTON, 
 
 " Secretary of War. 
 " GIDEON WELLES, 
 
 " Secretary of the Navy. 
 "WILLIAM DENNISON, 
 
 " Postmaster-General. 
 " J. P. UPSHER, 
 
 " Secretary of the Interior. 
 "JAMES SPEED, 
 
 " Attorney-General. 
 " To ANDREW JOHNSON, Vice-President of the United States." 
 
 Mr. Johnson requested that the ceremony should take 
 place at his rooms in the Kirkwood House, corner of Penn 
 sylvania Avenue and Twelfth Street, at ten o clock A.M., 
 and., accordingly, Chief-Justice Chase was present at that 
 hour and administered the oath, the following named gen 
 tlemen also being in attendance, viz., Hugh McCulloch, 
 James Speed, F. P. Blair, Sr., Montgomery Blair, Senators 
 Foot, of Vermont, Eamsay, of Minnesota, Yates, of Illi 
 nois, Stewart, of Nevada, Hale, of New Hampshire, and 
 General Farnsworth, of Illinois. 
 
 From a number of newspaper accounts before me, written 
 at the time of the assassination, I supplement my own recol 
 lections of this tragical event. 
 
 The play on the boards that fatal night was " Our Amer- 
 
ASSASSINATION OF PEESIDENT LINCOLN. 261 
 
 lean Cousin," and it was progressing smoothly to its climax. 
 The only character on the stage was that of Lord Dundreary 
 (Sothern), Laura Keene being the other star of the even 
 ing. Suddenly the report of a pistol was heard. " The 
 audience had not time to wonder what new incident of the 
 play was thus heralded, when there came another and 
 stranger interruption. A dark, lithe form vaulted over 
 the railing of the President s hox, which was canopied with 
 the American flag. As the intruder struck the stage, he 
 fell forward, but soon gathered himself up and turned erect 
 in full view of the audience." At the moment of jumping, 
 or as soon as he recovered himself after reaching the stage, 
 he cried out, "Sic semper tyrannis ;" and one statement is 
 that either just before or immediately after those words, he 
 cried, loud enough to be heard all over the house, " The 
 South is avenged." Captain Rathburn, who was in the 
 President s box, attempted to arrest him, when the assassin 
 turned quickly, and, drawing a knife, dealt him a severe 
 blow. The slight defence, however, had the effect to cause 
 the spur of the murderer to catch in the fringe of the flag, 
 and he fell, striking his right knee and thigh, and dragging 
 the flag from its fastening down upon the stage with him, 
 detaching the spur, which he left behind him. He had 
 already heard his name pronounced by a score of lips 
 when he rushed across the stage and made his escape 
 through the back alley, where he had a horse in waiting 
 for him. 
 
 Meantime a scream of distress was heard from Mrs. Lin 
 coln, and the greatest confusion ensued. Everybody knew 
 now that the President had been shot. He had sunk down 
 without a groan or a struggle ; and after her first outcry, 
 Mrs. Lincoln had fainted. The theatre was immediately 
 cleared, and the dying President was tenderly borne to a 
 house on the opposite side of the street, where he expired 
 on the 15th of April, at seven o clock and twenty-two min 
 utes A.M. 
 
262 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 The murderous attempt on the life of Secretary Seward 
 has been often described. This part of the conspiracy was 
 assigned to a miscreant whose real name was found after- 
 terwards to be Powell, but whose alias was Lewis Payne. 
 He made his way into Mr. Seward s house on the pretext 
 that he was the bearer of a prescription or medicine from 
 his physician ; but his bloody purpose was immediately dis 
 closed by his attack upon the servants who stood in his way, 
 and nothing stopped him from reaching the Secretary s 
 room, where the latter was lying seriously hurt from being 
 thrown out of his carriage a short time previously. Rob 
 inson, the soldier nurse, stated that Frederick Seward, 
 Major Augustus Seward, and Mansell, one of the servants, 
 were all wounded on or near the stairway. The assassin 
 held in his hand a long knife, the blade of which appeared 
 to be twelve inches in length and one inch in width. Major 
 Seward was cut in several places, but not dangerously. One 
 statement is that Frederick Seward met the assassin at the 
 door and was then felled to the floor by blows administered 
 with a navy pistol with such force as to break the pistol and 
 separate the chambers from the barrel. In the struggle, 
 Robinson received a wound in his forehead. The knife 
 glanced off, and the assassin s hand came down upon Rob 
 inson s face and felled him to the floor. He then leaped to 
 the bed where Mr. Seward lay, apparently in a helpless con 
 dition, and gave a tremendous blow at his face, but missed 
 and almost fell across the bed. Miss Seward escaped from 
 the room and ran to the front window screaming murder. 
 By this time Robinson had recovered and caught hold of 
 the assassin s arm, but failed to keep him back, and he 
 again struck Mr. Seward with his dagger, first on one side 
 of his face or neck, and then on the other, when the Secre 
 tary rolled in the bedclothes out upon the floor. They con 
 tinued to struggle until the enraged fiend, having, as he had 
 reason to believe, finished his deadly work, forced his way 
 out of the house, without his hat, and rode away. He 
 
ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 263 
 
 threw his knife into the street, where it was picked up and 
 afterwards presented, presumably by the Government, to 
 Robinson, who had been mistakenly reported as fatally 
 wounded, and it is still in his possession. Some years later 
 he received the appointment, which he still holds, of pay 
 master in the navy, in recognition of his bravery in saving 
 the life of Mr. Seward. 
 
 The following current account of Payne s arrest I believe 
 to be authentic. It is worth preserving here. The Surratt 
 house stands, as it did in 1865 and many years before, with 
 in one square of mine, IsTo. 707 H Street, ~N. W., w r here I 
 have resided ever since 1846. It had been noticed that sev 
 eral persons were in the habit of going into a house in the 
 heart of the city of Washington and coming out again with 
 their clothes changed, and that other suspicious movements 
 since the assassination of the President made it possible 
 that the inmates might have some connection with that 
 melancholy event. On Monday night, April 17, Colonel 
 Welles, provost-marshal, ordered the arrest of the inmates, 
 who turned out to be Mrs. Surratt, the mother of one of the 
 alleged assassins, his sister, and two other persons. While 
 preparing to remove them to head-quarters for examination 
 evidences of their deep sympathy with the assassins being 
 discovered there was a slight knock at the front door. 
 What followed is thus related : 
 
 The door was opened by Major Morgan, Major Smith and 
 Captain Wermeskirch standing by, with their pistols ready 
 to be used if necessary. At the door was a young-look 
 ing man, about five feet eleven inches in stature, of light 
 complexion, with peculiarly large gray eyes, and hair that 
 had evidently been dyed. He wore a gray cashmere coat 
 and vest, fine black cloth pantaloons, and fine boots. His 
 boots and pantaloons were covered with mud almost to the 
 knees, and his whole appearance was that of one who had 
 been lying out in the rain. He had a pickaxe on his shoul 
 der. When the door was opened, he exclaimed, " I believe 
 
264 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 I am mistaken," and turned to go away. He was asked by 
 Major Morgan whom he wanted to see. He answered, 
 "Mrs. Surratt." Major Morgan said, "Mrs. Surratt lives 
 here; she is at home; walk in." He then came in, and 
 was ushered into the parlor. After being seated he was 
 closely interrogated as to his business at that time of night, 
 twenty minutes after eleven, his occupation, etc. In reply, 
 he stated that he was a laboring man, and had been sent for 
 by Mrs. Surratt to dig a gutter, and had called to know at 
 what time next morning she wished him to come to work. 
 Major Morgan stepped to the door of the parlor, and said, 
 "Mrs. Surratt, will you step here for a moment?" Mrs. 
 Surratt came, and Major Morgan asked, " Do you know this 
 man ?" She said, raising her hand, " Before God, I do not 
 know him and have never seen him." The stranger went 
 on to say that he had been for some time past employed on 
 the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as a laborer; that he was 
 at work on the road on Friday last, and slept that night 
 with the other road hands ; that he had no money, and 
 earned his living with his pickaxe. He confusedly at 
 tempted to tell where he had slept on Sunday night, and 
 where he had been since Saturday morning, but often con 
 tradicted himself, and broke down completely in this part 
 of his narrative. During the investigation he produced 
 a certificate of the oath of allegiance, purporting to have 
 been taken by Lewis Payne, of Fauquier County, Virginia, 
 and claimed that was his name ; but when questioned about 
 it, evidently did not know anything about the date of the 
 certificate. He asserted frequently that he was a poor man, 
 and could neither read nor write, and earned his living by 
 his daily labor ; but his language was that of a man of edu 
 cation, and his feet and hands were small and well-shaped, 
 the latter being delicate, white, as soft as a woman s, and 
 unstained with any mark of toil. He wore on his head 
 a sort of Scotch skull-cap, which on examination was found 
 to have been made by cutting off the arm of a stockinet 
 
ASSASSINATION OF PEESIDENT LINCOLN. 265 
 
 shirt, or the leg of drawers of the same material, the top 
 of the cap being formed by tying a string around one of 
 the ends. 
 
 Upon searching his pockets they were found to contain 
 a comb, hair- and tooth-brushes, a pot of pomatum, a pack 
 age of pistol cartridges, a new pocket compass, and twenty- 
 five dollars in greenbacks. After the preliminary examina 
 tion, he was taken, in charge of officers Sampson and Devoe, 
 to General Augur s head-quarters, where, upon further ex 
 amination, he gave an account of himself quite different 
 from the one previously given. It was evident that he was 
 in disguise, and had been completely taken by surprise in 
 finding the officers at the house where he expected to find 
 a welcome and refuge. The facts disclosed in the exami 
 nation induced the belief that he was the blood-thirsty 
 villain who had attempted the life of Secretary Seward on 
 Friday night. He was placed in a room with two other 
 strangers. The light was made dim, as nearly as possible 
 in imitation of the condition of the light in Mr. Seward s 
 room on that eventful night, and the domestics of Mr. 
 Seward were sent for. Upon entering the room, the porter, 
 a colored boy about seventeen years of age, threw up his 
 hands with an exclamation of horror, and, pointing to the 
 man, said, " That is the man ! I don t want to see him ; 
 he did it; I know him by that lip!" The servant had 
 already described some peculiarity about the upper lip of 
 the man whom he had admitted to commit the foul and 
 murderous deed at Secretary Seward s, and testimony had 
 been procured tracing him step by step, from the time of 
 his separation from Booth until he entered Mr. Seward s 
 house. The chain of evidence was complete and fastened 
 upon him as the perpetrator of the horrid crime which had 
 shocked the whole community. The villain was heavily 
 ironed, and placed in confinement on one of the gunboats. 
 
 J. Wilkes Booth and David E. Herold, it is w r ell known, 
 succeeded in making their way over the Eastern Branch of 
 
266 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 the Potomac into Maryland, stopping there at Dr. Samuel 
 A. Mudd s to have Booth s leg set, broken in jumping from 
 the President s box at the theatre ; then they were chased 
 through the swamp in St. Mary s County across the Poto 
 mac to Garrett s farm, near Port Royal, Virginia, on the 
 Rappahannock, where they were brought to bay in Gar 
 rett s barn on the 26th of April. Herold surrendered, but 
 Booth refusing to surrender, after a long parley, the barn 
 was set on fire. The flames rose rapidly, firing the whole 
 building, when Booth ran to where the fire was kindled, 
 and with pistol raised, was peering through the darkness, 
 but seemed unable to see any one. He then turned, gazed 
 upon the flames, and suddenly started for the door, when 
 Sergeant Corbett, in violation of orders, left the line, and, 
 going close to the wall before him, fired his pistol through 
 a crack, shooting Booth in the neck, causing his death in 
 about three hours. 
 
 G. A. Atzerodt, whose assignment was to kill the Vice- 
 President, was arrested on the 18th of April, near German- 
 town, Montgomery County, Md. Samuel Arnold, charged 
 with conspiracy to kidnap the President, Michael O Laugh- 
 lin, believed to have been chosen to murder General Grant, 
 Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, Edward Spangler, who held Booth s 
 horse in the alley leading from the theatre, and Mrs. Sur- 
 ratt were all soon in custody. John H. Surratt, another 
 of the conspirators, left the city immediately after the 
 tragedy, and, going first to Canada, went from there to 
 Italy, \vhere he was found in the military service of the 
 pope, arrested in December, 1866, and brought back for 
 trial, but escaped conviction. 
 
 Payne, Atzerodt, Herold, and Mrs. Surratt were declared 
 guilty by a military commission, and were hanged on the 
 7th of July, 1865. O Laughlin, Arnold, and Mudd were 
 sentenced to imprisonment at hard labor for life. Spangler 
 was let off with six years like imprisonment, and all four 
 were sent to serve their sentence at the Dry Tortugas. 
 
ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 267 
 
 Mudd was pardoned February 8, 1869, and Arnold and 
 Spangler on the 1st of March, 1869. O Laughlin died of 
 yellow fever, September 23, 1867, while in confinement at 
 Fort Judson, Florida. 
 
 The purpose of the assassins was believed to be to take 
 the lives also of Secretary Stanton, the Vice-President, and 
 General Grant, the latter of whom was advertised to attend 
 the theatre with the President, but left early in the evening 
 for Burlington, 2s\ J., returning immediately, however, the 
 next morning, on learning of the assassination. 
 
 It was currently reported that, on the evening of the 
 assaults, two gentlemen, who went to apprise the Secretary 
 of War of the attack on Mr. Lincoln, met at the residence 
 of the former a man muffled in a cloak, who, when accosted 
 by them, hastened away without a word. It was evident, 
 therefore, as was remarked at the time, that the aim of the 
 conspirators was to paralyze the nation by at once striking 
 down the head, heart, and arm of the country. 
 
 I did not intend in this paper to say another word about 
 Mrs. Surratt, but when it was nearly finished I happened 
 to mention it to one of the oldest and most distinguished 
 
 o 
 
 United States senators, who remarked that a great deal had 
 been said by her apologists against her execution, claiming 
 that it was unjust and cruel, since, if guilty at all, it was 
 only in conspiring to kidnap the President, which he be 
 lieved she herself had confessed ; but, said he, even were 
 this the extent of her guilt, there is not another Govern 
 ment in the world that would not, for such a crime, have 
 condemned her to death. 
 
 But whether there was ever a plot to kidnap or not, is it 
 not simply preposterous to suppose that Booth and Herold 
 alone were to attempt it, or that Mrs. Surratt was ignorant 
 of the final purpose to assassinate the President? Why did 
 she go twice to Surrattville, first on the llth, and the second 
 time on the afternoon of the 14th of April, when she made 
 of John M. Lloyd, who kept the Surratt House, particular 
 
268 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 inquiry about two carbines and some ammunition left there 
 in concealment five or six weeks previously, by John H. Sur 
 ratt, in company with Herold and Atzerodt, as testified by 
 Lloyd, who was there and her friend, and who was thrown 
 into the old capitol prison on suspicion of being implicated 
 with them ? Weichman, another witness, who drove Mrs. 
 Surratt both times to Surrattville, testified that, on the last 
 occasion, they returned to Mrs. Surratt s about half-past nine 
 or ten on the night of the 14th, and that a few minutes there 
 after Mrs. Surratt answered the door-bell, and he u heard 
 footsteps going into the parlor and immediately going out." 
 Was it Booth, who had called to make sure that the two 
 carbines and ammunition were in readiness for him and 
 Herold ? Lloyd testified that he thought Mrs. Surratt, on 
 both visits, spoke of the carbines, which she called " shoot 
 ing irons," and he is positive she did so on the last, when 
 she said to him, " Mr. Lloyd, I want you to have the shoot 
 ing irons ready; some parties will call for them to-night." 
 I will conclude with a remarkable incident which comes 
 to me from good authority, touching Mr. Stanton. It is 
 known, of course, that there was a time when he did not 
 hesitate to speak contemptuously of Mr. Lincoln, and that, 
 not infrequently, while a member of his Cabinet, his bearing 
 toward the President was highly disrespectful, as it was, 
 likewise, toward some of his subordinate chiefs and officers 
 of the army. He is sometimes called the " Great War Sec 
 retary," and in many respects he doubtless was entitled to 
 that distinction ; nor would I detract one iota from the 
 value of the great services he rendered the country during 
 the war. But in some respects, certainly, he was a strange 
 man, not easily comprehended. Few among his intimate 
 acquaintances felt that they really knew him. Even Presi 
 dent Buchanan was not sure on this point. In a letter to 
 me of 12th of November, 1861, the ex-President, referring 
 to his intention to write a history of his administration, 
 said, " You must not be astonished some day to find in 
 
HOLT AND THE LINCOLN CONSPIRATOES. 269 
 
 print portraits drawn by myself of all those who ever served 
 in my Cabinet. I think I know them all perfectly, unless 
 it maybe Stanton." 
 
 Visitors at the War Department will remember seeing 
 there Mr. Stanton s portrait, a perfect likeness, which rep 
 resents him leaning on his elbow, the forefinger of his right 
 hand against his cheek, and his thumb under his chin. 
 This was the position chosen by the artist for his picture, it 
 being Mr. Stanton s exact pose when looking with mourn 
 ful anxiety on the face of the dying President; and at the 
 moment he breathed his last, when the attending physician, 
 with hand on Mr. Lincoln s pulse, announced that it had 
 ceased to beat, Mr. Stanton, with deep feeling, said, " He 
 now belongs to the ages." 
 
 It is pleasant to find that, even in this late and last hour, 
 Mr. Stanton was brought to realize the true grandeur of the 
 illustrious man whose martyrdom will bear precious fruit 
 through the centuries to come. 
 December 1, 1893. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 GENERAL HOLT AND THE LINCOLN CONSPIRATORS. 
 
 Triumphant Refutation of the Charges of allowing Mrs. Surratt to be 
 manacled, and of his withholding from President Johnson the 
 Recommendation for Commutation of her Sentence to Life Im 
 prisonment. 
 
 IN the New York Tribune of September 2, 1873, there ap 
 peared an anonymous communication written from Wash 
 ington under the signature of u Truth," so grossly calum 
 nious of General Joseph Holt, Judge- Advocate-General in 
 the trial of the assassins of President Lincoln, that he 
 demanded the name of the author, who proved to be John 
 T. Ford, of Ford s Theatre, where the fearful tragedy was 
 
270 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 enacted, and who, at the time, was committed to the Carroll 
 Prison, where he was kept on suspicion, it is presumed 
 over a month, when he was liberated without being brought 
 to trial. Naturally enough, perhaps, he harbored a strong 
 prejudice against General Holt, and sought to defame his 
 character under cover through the press. Among other 
 things he accused General Holt with having kept Mrs. 
 Surratt " heavily manacled during her trial, and also of 
 virtually depriving her of reputable counsel," referring to 
 the Hon. Reverdy Johnson, who, as clearly appears by his 
 argument, which was upon the question of jurisdiction, vol 
 untarily withdrew, leaving the case in the hands of his asso 
 ciate counsel, Messrs. Clampitt and Aiken. General Holt 
 met the other charge by a letter, addressed to him, under 
 date of September 4, 1873, from General J. F. Hartranft, 
 who, referring to Ford s article in the Tribune, said : 
 
 " I think it proper, in justice to you, to declare publicly that its state 
 ments, so far as they relate to occurrences within my own observation, 
 are absolute falsehoods. As marshal of the court before whom the con 
 spirators were tried, I had charge of Mrs. Surratt before, during, and 
 after the time of her trial, in all a period of about two months, during 
 which she never had a manacle or manacles on either hands or feet ; and 
 the thought of manacling her was not, to my knowledge, ever entertained 
 by any one in authority." 
 
 One would suppose that proof so conclusive ought to set 
 forever at rest the " manacle" charge ; and, as regards the 
 reference to Reverdy Johnson, it is plain beyond doubt that, 
 u had he desired to continue in the case, assuredly there 
 was no power that could have prevented him from doing so." 
 
 Yet, notwithstanding this and the overwhelming testi 
 mony on the other more serious and wanton charge against 
 General Holt of withholding from President Johnson the 
 recommendation of five members of the court that the 
 sentence of Mrs. Surratt be commuted to imprisonment in 
 the penitentiary, John T. Ford appears again in the North 
 American Review for April, 1889, in an article reiterating 
 
HOLT AND THE LINCOLN CONSPIRATOES. 271 
 
 the falsehoods of his anonymous communication, and trying 
 to show that General Holt was guilty of withholding from 
 President Johnson the aforesaid recommendation of Mrs. 
 Surratt to mercy. 
 
 Now, in as brief a manner as possible, I will recite some 
 of the stronger evidence, clearly proving the falsity of this 
 last charge, made first before President Johnson s term 
 expired, and afterwards by Johnson himself, when he was 
 seeking " to curry favor with the South in the hope of 
 being elected to the Presidency." He did not dare to make 
 the charge while he was at the head of the Government, 
 because he knew if he did that General Holt would instantly 
 demand, as he did ask for in 1866, a court of inquiry, which 
 the President declined to order, and that all the facts and 
 circumstances of the case would come out. General Holt, 
 I think, took little, if any, public notice of this slander until 
 he found it had received the indorsement of ex-President 
 Johnson, when, in a communication published in the Wash 
 ington Dally Chronicle of August 26, 1873, he produced the 
 most incontrovertible proof that " President Johnson had 
 knowledge of, considered, and commented on the recom 
 mendation of Mrs. Surratt to clemency by members of the 
 court before her execution." It had been publicly asserted 
 that President Johnson approved the findings of the court 
 " without having seen the recommendation or known of its 
 existence," although it was known, of course, to every 
 member of the court, and it was also made known to Sec 
 retary Stanton, both by General Holt and by Judge Bing- 
 ham, one of the special judge-advocates in the trial, im 
 mediately after the close of the trial. In his answer to 
 General Holt (see "Washington Daily Chronicle of November 
 12, 1873), Mr. Johnson undertakes to support his assertion 
 that he never saw the recommendation by showing that 
 it was omitted in Pitman s authorized publication of the 
 proceedings of the trial. But this omission was fully ex 
 plained. It arose simply from the fact, as stated by General 
 
272 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 II. L. Burnett, special judge-advocate, who superintended 
 the publication, that " the recommendation to mercy con 
 stituted properly no part of the record of the trial," and 
 was not, therefore, furnished by him to Pitman for his 
 book. In a letter of December 22, 1873, to General Holt 
 (see Washington Daily Chronicle, December 1, 1873) Mr. 
 Pitman also says, " The recommendation in favor of Mrs. 
 Surratt was not inserted in my book for the reason that it 
 formed no part of the proceedings of the trial ; it was not 
 mentioned at any open session." 
 Judge Bingham says : 
 
 " Before the President had acted on the case I deemed it my duty to 
 call the attention of Secretary Stanton to the petition for the commuta 
 tion of sentence upon Mrs. Surratt, and did call his attention to it before 
 the final action of the President. . . . After the execution I called upon 
 Secretaries Stanton and Seward and asked if this petition had been pre 
 sented to the President before the death sentence was by him approved, 
 and was answered by each of these gentlemen that the petition was pre 
 sented to the President and was duly considered by him and his advisers 
 before the death sentence upon Mrs. Surratt was approved, and that the 
 President and the Cabinet, upon such consideration, were a unit in 
 defying the prayer of the petition ; Mr. Seward and Mr. Stanton stating 
 that they were present." 
 
 Attorney-General James Speed, in a letter to General 
 Holt, March 30, 1873, says : 
 
 " After the finding of the military commission that tried the assassins 
 of Mr. Lincoln, and before their execution, I saw the record of the case 
 in the President s office, and attached to it was a paper, signed by some 
 of the members of the commission, recommending that the sentence 
 against Mrs. Surratt be commuted to imprisonment for life ; and, accord 
 ing to my memory, the recommendation was made because of her sex. 
 I do not feel at liberty to speak of what was said in Cabinet meetings. 
 In this I know I differ from other gentlemen, but feel constrained to 
 follow my own sense of propriety." 
 
 James Harlan, Secretary of the Interior, states positively 
 that " after the sentence and before the execution of Mrs. 
 Surratt, I remember distinctly the discussion of the ques- 
 
HOLT AND THE LINCOLN CONSPIEATORS. 273 
 
 tion of the commutation of the sentence of death pro 
 nounced on her by the court to imprisonment for life, had 
 by members of the Cabinet, in the presence of President 
 Johnson." He thinks there were only three or four mem 
 bers present, and when he entered the subject was under 
 warm discussion. He does not remember hearing read in 
 Cabinet meeting any part of the record of the trial or the 
 recommendation of clemency, but says he was "told that 
 the whole case had been carefully examined by the Attor 
 ney-General and the Secretary of War," the two Cabinet 
 officers more immediately concerned, officially, in the 
 matter. At this period Mr. Harlan was the editor of the 
 Chronicle, and in reference to the recommendation to mercy 
 he said, " Had such a paper been presented, it is, in our 
 opinion, hardly probable that it would, under the circum 
 stances, have induced him to interfere with the regular 
 course of justice." 
 
 James M. Wright, at the time Chief Clerk of the Bureau 
 of Military Justice, states that when President Johnson 
 sent a messenger to General Holt requesting him to bring 
 the papers before him for his action, the recommendation 
 for mercy was among them, in plain sight, and that when 
 the case came back through the Adjutant-GeneraPs office 
 it remained attached to the other papers. 
 
 General R. D. Mussey, President Johnson s private sec 
 retary, says, " On the Wednesday evening previous to the 
 execution (which was Friday, July 7, 1865) Mr. Johnson 
 said to me that he was going to look over the findings of 
 the court with Judge Holt, and should be busy and could 
 see no one." Two or three hours afterwards, Mr. Johnson 
 came out of the room where he had been in conference with 
 General Holt and said to him [General Mussey] that " the 
 papers had been looked over and a decision reached." 
 General Mussey continues : 
 
 " I am very confident, though not absolutely assured, that it was at 
 this interview Mr. Johnson told me that the court had recommended Mrs. 
 
 18 
 
274 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Surratt to mercy on the ground of her sex (and age, I believe). But I 
 am certain he did so inform me about that time, and that he said he 
 thought the grounds urged insufficient, and that he had refused to inter 
 fere ; that if she was guilty at all, her sex did not make her any the less 
 guilty ; that he, about the time of her execution, justified it ; that he 
 told me that there had not been women enough hanged in this war. " 
 
 General James A. Ekin, one of the commissioners in the 
 trial, relates, under date of August 26, 1867, a conversation 
 he had with General Holt soon after the trial, in which he 
 states that General Holt told him that the entire case, in 
 cluding all papers, had been placed before the President, 
 and that his particular attention had been directed to the 
 recommendation of certain members for the commutation 
 of the sentence of Mrs. Surratt ; that the President had 
 carefully scrutinized and fully considered the case, in 
 cluding the recommendation to mercy on behalf of Mrs. 
 Surratt ; but that he could not accede to or grant the peti 
 tion, for the reason that there was no .class in the South 
 more violent in the expression and practice of treasonable 
 sentiments than the rebel women, etc. 
 
 General H. L. Burnett, in an address before the Loyal 
 Legion, New York, on the 3d of April, 1889, published in 
 the New York Tribune of the next day, in giving an account 
 of the trial and explaining why the recommendation for 
 clemency to Mrs. Surratt did not appear in Pitman s book, 
 said: 
 
 " When I reached my office from the War Department on June 30, or 
 possibly on the morning of July 1, I attached the petition for mercy to 
 the findings and sentences, and at the end of them. I carried the find 
 ings and sentences, and the petition or recommendation, and delivered 
 them to the Judge-Advocate-General in person; and I never saw the 
 record again until many years after, I think in 1873 or 1874. After 
 Judge Holt s interview with the President, on July 5, the former came 
 to Mr. Stanton s office in the War Department. I was with Mr. Stanton 
 when Judge Holt came in. He said, I have just come from a confer 
 ence with the President over the proceedings of the military commission. 
 Well, asked Mr. Stanton, what has he done ? He has approved the 
 findings and sentence of the court/ replied Judge Holt. What did he 
 
HOLT AND THE LINCOLN CONSPIRATORS. 275 
 
 say about the recommendation to mercy of Mrs. Surratt ? He said that 
 she must be punished with the rest ; that no reasons were given for hia 
 interposition by those asking for clemency in her case except age and 
 
 Now, is there a fair-minded person living who would 
 require more or better proof that the recommendation for 
 the commutation of the sentence of Mrs. Surratt to impris 
 onment for life was in President Johnson s office, and that 
 the question was fully considered by him in conference with 
 several, if not with all, of the members of his Cabinet be 
 fore the day of execution? True, no one states that he 
 actually saw it in the President s hands, though Judge 
 Bingham says both Secretaries Stanton and Seward told 
 him it was presented to him and duly considered before 
 the death sentence was approved. But Attorney-General 
 Speed, a direct eye-witness, could, had he chosen to speak, 
 have made this fact certain beyond doubt or cavil. Mr. 
 Ford professes amazement at General Holt s anxiety for 
 more detailed testimony from Mr. Speed, as indicated by 
 their correspondence on the subject in the North American 
 Review for July, 1888. I am myself free to confess that I 
 do not think any additional proof whatever is at all neces 
 sary for General Holt s complete vindication; but Mr. 
 Speed had been a life-long friend of his, and knowing that 
 he saw the aforesaid recommendation in the President s 
 own hands, is it strange that he should insist that he should 
 tell him so ? He may be and is, I think, over-sensitive. In 
 his preface to Pitman s book of the trial, Major Ben : Perley 
 Poore, who unwittingly repeats the false newspaper man 
 acle story, observes, " General Holt is an inflexibly upright 
 administrator of justice, yet humanities have a large place 
 in his heart ;" and General Mussey, speaking of the call 
 made by General Holt at the White House on the morning 
 of the execution, when Miss Surratt was there and the 
 President had refused to see her or any one in her mother s 
 behalf, overruling, also, at the same time, Judge Wylie s 
 
276 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 writ of habeas corpus, says, " I shall never lose the im 
 pression made upon me of your [General Holt s] deep pity 
 for her [Miss Surratt] and of the pain which her distress 
 caused you." But will Mr. Ford or any other of General 
 Holt s persistent calumniators be so kind as to state why 
 General Holt should have been so anxious for Mr. Speed to 
 tell the whole truth, had he not known, beyond the remotest 
 question, that it would have been conclusive testimony in 
 his favor ? Would he have asked Mr. Speed to say more 
 than he did say, if he had had the least doubt on that point ? 
 Surely not. 
 
 It is not the purpose of this article to go into the evi 
 dence regarding Mrs. Surratt s guilt or innocence ; but I 
 cannot refrain from brief comment on the following quota 
 tion from Mr. Ford s article, wherein, referring to Mrs. 
 Surratt, he says : 
 
 " The very man of God who shrived her soul for eternity was said to 
 be constrained to promise that she should not communicate with the 
 world. As the poor martyr walked in her shroud to the scaffold, it is 
 also said that she begged the priest by her side to let her tell the people 
 1 she was innocent. She was told that the Church was permitted only 
 to prepare her soul for eternity ; that already she was dead to all else. " 
 
 This looks strange, to say the least ; and I am reminded 
 by it that it was just this which the late John M. Brod- 
 head, Second Comptroller of the Treasury, once told me 
 was, in his view, conclusive proof of Mrs. Surratt s guilt. 
 He believed that, had not the priest known from her confes 
 sion that she was guilty, he would never have prohibited 
 her from declaring her innocence, but would himself have 
 insisted on it to the last moment. One thing is certain, 
 there was no man living who more firmly believed in her 
 guilty participation in the assassination of Abraham Lin 
 coln than President Johnson, who, in commenting on the 
 appeals made to him for clemency, said at the time to Eev. 
 J. George Butler, of St. Paul s Church, Washington, that 
 
HOLT AND THE LINCOLN CONSPIKATOES. 277 
 
 " he could not be moved ; for, in his own significant lan 
 guage, Mrs. Surratt kept the nest that hatched the egg 
 
 I have observed that General Holt at one time asked for 
 a court of inquiry. It was in September, 1866. In his 
 answer, November 14, 1866, Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary 
 of War, wrote to Brevet Major-General Holt, Judge- Advo- 
 vate-General, as follows : 
 
 " Your letter of the llth of September applying for a court of inquiry 
 upon certain imputations therein mentioned as made against you, of offi 
 cial misconduct in relation to the prosecution of Mrs. Surratt and others 
 charged with the assassination of the late President, Abraham Lincoln, 
 and in the preparation of testimony against Jefferson Davis and others, 
 charged with complicity in said crime, has been submitted to the Presi 
 dent (Johnson), who deems it unnecessary for your vindication to order 
 a court of inquiry. 
 
 "In communicating the President s decision, it is proper for me to 
 express my own conviction that all charges and imputations against your 
 official conduct are, in my judgment, groundless. So far as I have any 
 knowledge or information, your official duties as Judge-Advocate-General 
 in the cases referred to, and in all others, have been performed fairly, 
 justly, and with distinguished ability, integrity, and patriotism, and in 
 strict conformity with the requirements of your high office and the obli 
 gations of an officer and a gentleman." 
 
 WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 [NOTE. I called on General Joseph Holt to-day (October 17, 1892), 
 and referring to the false charges made against him touching the trial 
 and execution of Mrs. Surratt, he said, " That summary of yours (in the 
 Century Magazine for April, 1890) is worth everything that has been pub 
 lished."] H. K. 
 
278 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Bursting of the Big Gun on the Princeton Five Instantly Killed 
 and Several Wounded. 
 
 THE 28th of February, 1844, was a beautiful day. The 
 United States steamer Princeton, Captain li. F. Stockton, 
 United States navy, lay off Alexandria, then a part of the 
 District of Columbia ; and, proud of her splendid appear 
 ance, Captain Stockton had issued a large number of invi 
 tations for a grand gala day in an excursion down the 
 river. 
 
 Never, perhaps, was there a more brilliant and delighted 
 company than the four or five hundred people who responded 
 to this invitation. It embraced the very elite of the capital, 
 of both sexes, including the President and his Cabinet, Sen 
 ators and Representatives, foreign ministers, and other dis 
 tinguished citizens and temporary residents. 
 
 A grand collation was provided, and everything arranged 
 for a day of unalloyed pleasure. One of the attractions of 
 the occasion, and an important feature in the vessel s arma 
 ment, was what was then considered an extraordinarily 
 large gun, recently constructed, and carrying a ball of two 
 hundred and twenty-five pounds. It was named " The 
 Peacemaker." 
 
 As soon as the company was well on board, orders were 
 given for the ship to start, and in a few minutes all were 
 sailing gayly and joyously toward Mount Vernon. On the 
 passage down, this immense gun was discharged two or 
 three times in the presence of the crowd of visitors who lined 
 the deck. The trial and exhibition were entirely satisfac 
 tory, and it was near four in the afternoon before the order 
 was given to return. 
 
THE STORY OF "THE PEACEMAKER." 279 
 
 The ladies had been served with ample refreshments of 
 the choicest kind, and the gentlemen next found room at 
 the table. The vessel was now opposite Fort Washington, 
 when Captain Stockton ordered another discharge of " The 
 Peacemaker," and many persons took positions near the 
 gun, better to witness the operation of firing. Fortunately, 
 the ladies were all between decks, and a large part of the 
 gentlemen had not yet left the lunch table, otherwise many 
 more doubtless might have been on the gun-deck. In 
 stantly upon the discharge, and before the smoke had 
 passed off, the most frightful shrieks and groans startled 
 and almost paralyzed every living being on board. The 
 gun had burst into many pieces, and the dead and wounded 
 lay prostrate around it. 
 
 Death had chosen shining marks for his fatal arrows, and 
 those who were instantly killed were Mr. Upshur, Secretary 
 of State ; Mr. Gilmer, Secretary of the Navy (both from 
 Virginia); Commodore Kennon, of the navy; Mr. Virgil 
 Maxey, of Maryland, ex-minister to the Hague ; and Mr. 
 Gardner, a distinguished citizen of New York, whose 
 daughter afterwards became the second wife of President 
 Tyler, and presided gracefully at the White House. Among 
 those who were stunned by the concussion were Senator 
 Thomas .H. Benton, Captain Stockton and Lieutenant 
 Hunt, of the Princeton, and Mr. W. D. Eobinson, of 
 Georgetown. Seventeen seamen were wounded more or 
 less seriously, and a colored servant of the President almost 
 immediately died from his wounds. The wonder was that 
 President Tyler escaped. 
 
 Sorrowfully, and with her colors at half-mast, the Prince 
 ton slowly continued her way back toward Washington, and 
 when the news of the terrible disaster reached the city, the 
 greatest excitement prevailed. Never before had such a 
 shock been felt at the capital. It was not until near evening 
 when the vessel arrived off the navy-yard, and the bodies 
 of the dead statesmen were retained on board overnight. 
 
280 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 The next morning, being placed in their coffins, they were 
 conveyed in solemn procession (during the progress of 
 which minute-guns were fired) to the President s House, 
 and placed in the East Room, where thousands on thousands 
 of citizens and strangers gathered to view them. I can 
 never forget the impression this fearfully sad sight made 
 upon me. On the assembling of Congress at twelve o clock, 
 the President sent a message to the two Houses, referring 
 in appropriate terms to the terrible disaster, and announcing 
 the death of the two secretaries by name. Upon the read 
 ing of the message in the Senate, Mr. William C. Rives 
 made a short address, from which the following is an ex 
 tract. Said he, " Surely, Mr. President, never in the mys 
 terious providences of God has a day on earth been marked 
 in its progress by such startling and astounding contrasts 
 opening and advancing with hilarity and joy, mutual con 
 gratulations and patriotic pride, and closing in scenes of 
 death and disaster, of lamentation and unutterable woe. 
 It was my sad fortune, Mr. President, to be an eye-witness 
 of these never-to-be-forgotten events. If I had language 
 to describe them, the power of speech would fail me." 
 
 Mr. Hopkins, of Virginia, made the leading speech in the 
 House, and upon the adoption of resolutions to attend the 
 funeral, etc., both branches adjourned from the . 29th of 
 February till Monday, the 4th of March. On the evening 
 of the 29th of February, the remains of Mr. Maxey were 
 removed to the house of his son-in-law, Mr. Francis Mar- 
 koe, and thence, on the following morning, to the family 
 residence in Maryland. 
 
 The funeral was held at the President s House on the 2d 
 of March. Assembling in their respective halls, the mem 
 bers of the Senate and House proceeded thence in a body 
 to the funeral, the religious ceremonies at which were con 
 ducted by Rev. Mr. Hawley, of St. John s church ; Rev. Dr. 
 Laurie, pastor of the Presbyterian church, then occupying 
 the building since converted into Willard s Hall, on F 
 
THE STORY OF "THE PEACEMAKER." 281 
 
 Street ; and Rev. Mr. Butler, of the Trinity church, corner 
 of C and Third Streets. The East Room was filled to its 
 utmost capacity, while still greater crowds assembled in the 
 adjoining halls and in front of the edifice outside. The 
 funeral escort under command of General Scott was most 
 imposing. Besides the volunteer troops and a battalion of 
 marines, there was a squadron of cavalry, troops of United 
 States artillery, etc., and many officers of the navy as well 
 as of the army. There were pall-bearers to each hearse. 
 The President and surviving members of his Cabinet, the 
 Senate and House of Representatives, with their officers, 
 foreign ministers, judges of the courts, and officers of the 
 executive departments, various societies and private citizens 
 joined in the procession to the Congressional Cemetery. 
 Never before, probably, except on the occasion of President 
 Harrison s funeral, in April, 1841, when I remember Major- 
 General Macomb was in command, had so large a funeral 
 procession been seen at the capital. 
 
 In returning from the cemetery, the President s horses 
 took fright near the Capitol, and ran with fearful speed 
 along Pennsylvania Avenue a distance of nearly one mile, 
 when, fortunately without collision, they were finally ar 
 rested by a resolute colored man, and the distinguished 
 occupants of the carriage escaped unhurt. 
 
 These scenes are impressed almost as vividly on my 
 memory as though they were of yesterday. I might go to 
 the records to show how few of the prominent actors in 
 public life of that time still survive; but it would only add 
 another mournful shadow to the picture. 
 
 WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
282 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 MY FIRST AND LAST SIGHT OP PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 
 
 His Secret Arrival in Washington Calls with Seward on the President 
 and Cabinet Lee s Surrender Great Rejoicing The Serenade 
 Star-Spangled Banner and Dixie The President s Speech. 
 
 THERE is no more vivid or apparently indelible impres 
 sion on the tablet of my memory than my first and last 
 sight of President Lincoln; and the circumstances con 
 nected therewith are equally well remembered. The first 
 occasion was when he called on President Buchanan, in 
 company with Senator Seward, on the 23d of February, 
 1861, and the last was when he excused himself from 
 making a speech at the Executive Mansion on the evening 
 of April 10, 1865, the next day after Lee s surrender. 
 
 It is generally known that Mr. Lincoln arrived in Wash 
 ington, unannounced, several hours before he was expected 
 by the public at large. It was supposed that he would rest 
 at Harrisburg overnight, and probably not more than three 
 or four persons were cognizant of his intention to come 
 directly through without stopping. Indeed, it was stated 
 at the time that he kept this intention entirely to himself, 
 but it was doubtless known to his travelling companions, 
 Mr. Lamon, afterwards marshal of the District of Colum 
 bia, and Mr. E. J. Allen, as well as to Senator Seward. 
 None of the railroad officials on the train, either from Har 
 risburg to Baltimore, or from Baltimore to Washington, 
 knew he was on board. Great preparations for his recep 
 tion had been made, both at Baltimore and Washington ; 
 and as late as eleven o clock, after his arrival in the morn 
 ing of the 23d, active preparations were in progress to send 
 the contemplated extra train for hirn to Baltimore. Shortly 
 before six o clock of that morning, somewhat to the won- 
 
MY FIRST AND LAST SIGHT OF LINCOLN. 283 
 
 der of the few around at that early hour, Senator Seward 
 was seen waiting at Willard s Hotel, where rooms had been 
 quietly engaged for Mr. Lincoln the previous day. He had 
 not long to wait before Mr. Lincoln arrived, and was imme 
 diately escorted to his rooms by Mr. Seward, who left him 
 alone for rest. At nine o clock A.M., Mr. Lincoln received 
 his breakfast in his private parlor, and his presence was so 
 little known in the city that it was one o clock in the after 
 noon before any callers came to see him. 
 
 About eleven in the morning, in company with Mr. Sew 
 ard, Mr. Lincoln went to pay his respects to the President. 
 There was a special meeting of the Cabinet that forenoon, 
 and it was in session when the door-keeper came in and 
 handed the President a card. With a look of pleasant sur 
 prise, Mr. Buchanan said, " Uncle Abe is down-stairs !" and 
 immediately went to meet him in the Red Room.* In the 
 course of fifteen or twenty minutes he returned with Mr. 
 Lincoln and Governor Seward, who were presented to the 
 members of the Cabinet, and, after a few minutes conver 
 sation of no special importance, the visitors left to call on 
 General Scott. Although I was living in Washington while 
 Mr. Lincoln was a member of Congress, I had no recollec 
 tion of having ever seen him before. I was at once struck 
 by his tall, lank figure, towering, as it did, almost head and 
 shoulders above Senator Seward, and even overtopping 
 President Buchanan, as they entered the room. I was 
 equally impressed, also, by his quiet, unafiected manner 
 and placid disposition. I did not observe in him the least 
 sign of nervousness or deep concern ; and there is good 
 reason to believe that, " with malice towards none, with 
 charity for all," he felt confident of being able to gain the 
 good- will of the Southern malcontents and of soon bringing 
 the seceding States back to their proper relations in the 
 Federal Government. The Peace Convention was then in 
 
 * The writer was one of the members of President Buchanan s Cabinet 
 at the time. 
 
284 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 session, and hopes of an amicable settlement had not yet 
 been abandoned. But, alas ! alas ! ! Instead of allowing 
 wisdom to assert its control, the madness of folly bore sway, 
 and for four long years the country was deluged in blood ! 
 The news of Lee s surrender was received at the War 
 Department just before nine o clock Sunday evening, the 
 9th of April, 1865, and ere the dawn of day the citizens 
 were awakened by the sound of cannon proclaiming the 
 joyful tidings. Soon crowds of people, accompanied by 
 bands of music, passed through the streets, singing the 
 " Star-Spangled Banner," " Rally Round the Flag, Boys," 
 and other patriotic songs. The courts met and adjourned, 
 and nearly all business was suspended. The clerks in the 
 various offices were dismissed for the day, and hundreds of 
 them, augmented by throngs of other citizens, gathered on 
 the south steps and sidewalk of the Interior Department, 
 and unitedly raised their voices to the grand old tune of 
 " Old Hundred" in singing 
 
 " Praise God from whom all blessings flow." 
 
 Never in my life had I heard those words sound so sweetly 
 or seem to touch the heart so tenderly. I was on my way 
 to the Post-Office Department, where I found Postmaster- 
 General Dennison in the main hall of the second story 
 making a congratulatory address to a crowd assembled 
 around him. About ten o clock, a line, composed of 
 nearly two thousand persons, mostly from the Navy Yard 
 and vicinity, and constantly increasing, passed along Penn 
 sylvania Avenue, headed by the Marine Band, and with two 
 small howitzers in the rear, which were fired at intervals. 
 On reaching the White House, after several airs by the band, 
 loud calls were made for the President, when he shortly ap 
 peared at a front chamber window, and was greeted with 
 hearty cheering. The band now struck up the stirring 
 tune " America," and was joined vocally in the words, 
 
 " My country, tis of thee I sing," 
 
MY FIRST AND LAST SIGHT OF LINCOLN. 285 
 
 by the assembled multitude. It was some minutes before 
 order was restored, when, after a moment s stillness, Mr. 
 Lincoln said : 
 
 " I am greatly rejoiced, my friends, that an occasion has occurred on 
 which the people cannot restrain themselves. I suppose arrangements 
 are being made to appropriately celebrate this glorious event this evening 
 or to-morrow evening. I will have nothing to say then if it is all drib 
 bled out of me now. I see you have a band. I propose having this inter 
 view closed by the band performing a patriotic tune, which I will name. 
 Before this is done, however, I wish to mention one or two little circum 
 stances connected with it. I have always thought that Diiie was one 
 of the best tunes I had ever heard. Our adversaries over the way, I know, 
 have attempted to appropriate it. [Applause.] I referred the question 
 to the Attorney-General, and he gives it as his legal opinion that it is 
 now our property. [Laughter and applause.] I now ask the band to 
 favor us with its performance." 
 
 The band responded most heartily, to the delight of all 
 present, and the crowd proceeded to call on Secretary Stan- 
 ton, who declined speaking on the plea of ill-health. He, 
 however, introduced General Halleck, who said : 
 
 " Always ready as I am to obey the orders of my superior officer, the 
 Honorable Secretary of War, I hardly think he will go so far as to require 
 me to become a stump-speaker. [Laughter, cheers, and cries, The people 
 require it ; it is a military necessity ! ] Stump-speaking, my friends, is 
 something in which I have never indulged. I can only say that our 
 congratulations and thanks are due to General Grant and our brave 
 generals and soldiers in the field for the great victory announced this 
 morning, and for the blessing of peace, of which it is the harbinger." 
 [Applause.] 
 
 Secretary Welles was next called on at his house, when 
 he appeared and merely bowed his thanks for the honor. 
 
 About five o clock in the afternoon, several hundred 
 persons assembled in and around the portico of the "White 
 House in expectation of a speech from the President. 
 After repeated calls, Mr. Lincoln appeared at the centre 
 window over the front door, and, as soon as the cheering 
 with which he was received ceased, he spoke substantially 
 as follows : 
 
286 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 " I appear, my friends, in response to your call, for the purpose of say 
 ing that if the present company have assembled by appointment, there is 
 some mistake. More or less people have been gathered all day, and in 
 the exuberance of good feeling all of which was greatly justifiable 
 have called on me to say something. I have said what was proper to be 
 said for the present. Some mistake has crept into the understanding, if 
 you think a meeting was appointed for this evening. [Voices : We want 
 to hear you now. ] I have appeared before larger audiences than the 
 present during the day, and have said to them what I now desire to 
 repeat. With reference to the great good news, I suppose there is to be 
 some further demonstration, and perhaps to-morrow would suit me better 
 than now, as in that case I should be better prepared. I would therefore 
 say that I am willing, and hope to be ready, to say something then. [Ap 
 plause.] Occupying the position I do, I think I ought to be particular, 
 as all I say gets into print. A mistake hurts you and the country, and I 
 try not to make mistakes. [A voice : You have never made any. ] If 
 agreeable to have a general demonstration to-morrow evening, I will try 
 and say something, in which, at least, I shall be careful to avoid making 
 any mistakes." 
 
 Thanking those present for the call, the President bade 
 them good-night, and retired amid the cheers of the assem 
 blage. I never saw him again. Throughout this brief 
 address his face wore a benignant and satisfied expression, 
 which told plainly of the unspeakable relief the surrender 
 of Lee had brought to him. I could but remark the great 
 change from his usually sad look to one, I might say, almost 
 angelic ; and I am fortunate to possess his photograph taken 
 while in this happy state of mind at that time. He deliv 
 ered his contemplated speech to an immense crowd on the 
 following evening his last public address on earth. 
 
DUEL BETWEEN CILLEY AND GRAVES. 287 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE DUEL BETWEEN JONATHAN CILLEY AND 
 WILLIAM J. GRAVES. 
 
 THE report, not long ago, that Major William Preston 
 Graves was " dying at Little Rock, where he had been sta 
 tioned with his regiment, the Second Artillery, the past two 
 years," recalls the deplorable duel in which Jonathan Cilley, 
 of Maine, fell at the hands of Major Graves s father, the 
 late William J. Graves, of Kentucky, on the 24th of Feb 
 ruary, 1838. The report goes on to say, truly, that, " next 
 to the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, 
 no event of the character ever attracted more attention, and 
 it might have said greater condemnation, than that between 
 Graves and Cilley." It also repeats what was erroneously 
 stated at the time, and which has been repeatedly denied 
 from certain knowledge, that " Cilley was noted as one of 
 the most skilful shots of the day." I shall have occasion 
 to refer again to this assertion. When this unnatural com 
 bat took place, I resided in my native State of Maine, and 
 was at Augusta, where the Maine Legislature was in ses 
 sion, when the news of Mr. Cilley s death was received. I 
 well remember the wide-spread excitement and condemna 
 tion which immediately followed. Few people are now 
 living who shared in or were witnesses to that excitement, 
 and who remember the circumstances leading to and attend 
 ing that appalling tragedy. 
 
 Some fourteen or fifteen years ago I prepared an account 
 of it, which the late ex-Governor of Maine, H. J. Ander 
 son, who was familiar with all the facts, pronounced the 
 most complete ever written of the whole affair ; but unfor 
 tunately it was printed in a local magazine that never 
 reached its second number. As it would be new to the 
 
288 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 majority of readers now, and could hardly fail to possess a 
 melancholy interest for all, I propose to reproduce it in 
 substance, adhering strictly to the facts of the narrative as 
 originally presented. 
 
 Both combatants were representatives in Congress, and 
 hitherto they had been warm personal friends, notwith 
 standing Cilley was a Democrat and Graves a Whig. A 
 charge of corruption against a Senator in Congress, made 
 by " The Spy in Washington," Matthew L. Davis, corre 
 spondent of the New York Courier and Enquirer, was the 
 basis of the trouble which led to the fatal rencounter. He 
 was the intimate friend and biographer of Aaron Burr, and 
 while acting as correspondent at the capital, he was ex 
 cluded, I remember, from the ladies gallery on account of 
 alleged gross immorality there. In a letter to his paper the 
 charge referred to was set forth as follows : 
 
 " The more brief my statement the better it will be understood. It is 
 in my power, if brought to the bar of either house, or before a com 
 mittee, and process allowed me to compel the attendance of witnesses, to 
 prove by the oath of a respectable and unimpeachable citizen, as well as 
 by written documentary evidence, that there is at least one member of 
 Congress who has offered to barter his services and his influence with a 
 department or departments for a compensation. Why, sir, said the 
 applicant for a contract, if my proposition has merit, it will be received ; 
 if it has not, I do not expect it will be accepted. And what do you 
 think was the answer of the honorable member ? I will give it to you in 
 his own emphatic language : Merit ? said he ; why, things do not go 
 here by merit, but by pulling the right strings. Make it my interest and 
 I will pull the strings for you. " 
 
 The editor of the Courier and Enquirer, James Watson 
 Webb, vouched for the character and standing of his cor 
 respondent, and called upon Congress promptly to initiate 
 the investigation thus challenged, both as an act of justice 
 to itself and the country. Whereupon Henry A. Wise, 
 of Virginia, offered in the House of Representatives, on the 
 12th of February, a motion for a committee of inquiry, 
 
DUEL BETWEEN CILLEY AND GRAVES. 289 
 
 embodying in the preamble of his resolution both the above 
 extract arid the editorial comments thereon. The resolu 
 tion gave rise to a warm debate, and resulted in a deter 
 mination to bring Mr. Davis before the bar of the House. 
 He appeared accordingly, and, having declared that the per 
 son alluded to in his letter was not a member of the House, 
 he was discharged. 
 
 On the 13th of February, John Buggies, Senator from 
 Maine, addressed a letter to the Washington Globe, stating 
 that he had been informed that the charge referred to " was 
 a blow aimed at him." In explanation, he said that a Mr. 
 Jones, of New Jersey, had applied to him to draw up a 
 specification and claim for a patent for a trunk- lock. He 
 had consented to do it, " as it was a strictly professional 
 matter." Subsequently he had agreed to take an assign 
 ment of one-fourth part of the patent for his services; the 
 papers were drawn and assented to by Jones, but never 
 executed, nor had any compensation ever been allowed for 
 his services. 
 
 On the 16th of February, at Mr. Ruggles s request, a 
 committee to investigate the charge against him was ap 
 pointed in the Senate, and he was entirely exonerated. 
 
 In the debate on Mr. Wise s resolution, Mr. Cilley said : 
 
 " As the course proposed to be pursued on this occasion was novel and 
 extraordinary, he hoped the House would pause before it embarked in 
 this business on such authority as was produced. This charge comes from 
 the editor of a newspaper, and we all know that in a country where the 
 press is free, few men can expect to escape abuse and charges of a similar 
 description. Ordinarily, when we are about entering upon a business 
 of this kind before a magistrate, a conservator of the peace, the charges 
 submitted are obliged to be made distinctly, clearly, and under the 
 solemnity of an oath ; and why should we now depart from this well- 
 known and well-settled rule ? He knew nothing of this editor, but it 
 was the same editor who had made grave charges against an institution 
 of this country (the old United States Bank in 1831), and afterwards was 
 said to have received facilities to the amount of fifty-two thousand dol 
 lars from the same institution and gave it his hearty support ; he did not 
 
 19 
 
290 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 think his charges were entitled to much credit in an American Congress. 
 If he has charges to make, let him make them distinctly and not 
 vaguely ; let him make them under the solemnity of an oath, and then 
 it will be quite time enough to act. He trusted the House would not 
 go into an investigation of this kind on a mere newspaper statement 
 without any proof." 
 
 It was the subject of pointed comment at the time that, 
 whereas, the remarks of Mr. Cilley were published in the 
 Globe of the 12th, Mr. Webb waited until the 21st of Feb 
 ruary before demanding an explanation. Therefore, the 
 presumption was, and it was distinctly charged, that " the 
 offence was taken at Washington, the plot arranged there, 
 and Mr. Webb sent for, after full consultation, and notified 
 that he must take offence at Mr. Cilley s remarks. This 
 supposition was the more readily credited not only because 
 the same imputation against Mr. Webb had " been thou 
 sands of times made on innumerable occasions in Congress" 
 without his ever resenting it in any such manner, but also 
 from the fact that Mr. Cilley s ability and fearless bearing 
 in debate had aroused a determination on the part of certain 
 Southern gentlemen, if possible, to intimidate him and 
 destroy his influence. As an illustration of this feeling the 
 following extract from the Democratic Review is in point. 
 Referring to the discussion upon Mr. Wise s resolution, 
 above mentioned, the editor, J. L. O Sullivan, afterwards 
 United States minister to Portugal, and who, I am glad to 
 know, still survives, said : 
 
 " An altercation of a very acrimonious character on the part of Mr. 
 Wise arose upon this occasion. In reply to Mr. Cilley, Mr. Wise, among 
 general remarks upon the opposition of the friends of the administration 
 to all investigation without specific charges, etc., remarked, Every man 
 careful of his honor, when such charges as these are made, will not wait 
 to have them specifically framed, and in the present instance he would 
 say to the gentleman from Maine that a member of the party (Demo 
 cratic) to which that gentleman belongs should be the last man to oppose 
 the investigation of a charge like this, for it was much more likely to be 
 him that was meant by the author of the charge than himself (Mr. W.). 
 
DUEL BETWEEN CILLEY AND GRAVES. 291 
 
 1 1, sir, said Mr. Wise, have no influence with the executive or any of 
 its branches, to sell for a price, " etc. 
 
 Afterwards, in the course of the debate, the following alter 
 cation took place, as we find it reported in the Intelligencer : 
 
 " But now, because he (Mr. C.) had stood up to defend the character 
 of the House against that anonymous imputation, he was to hear the 
 basest charges against himself. 
 
 " Mr. Wise here asked if the gentleman from Maine meant to say 
 that he (Mr. W.) had made base charges in relation to himself? 
 
 " Mr. Cilley would explain. He did feel that it was ungenerous for 
 that gentleman to have said that the presumption was rather that it was 
 he (Mr. C.) than himself (Mr. W.) to whom this charge alluded. 
 
 " Mr. Wise had made no personal charge against the member from 
 Maine, false or true, none whatever ; and he again asked that gentleman 
 if he meant to say that he had insinuated base charges against him. 
 
 " Mr. Cilley responded in substance what he had said. 
 
 " Mr. Wise. Then the gentleman from Maine designs deliberately to 
 insult me. 
 
 " Mr. Cilley certainly did not ; he had not made any charge against 
 the gentleman from Virginia. He knew his rights and those of his con 
 stituents on that floor. 
 
 " Mr. Wise understood, and did not understand the gentleman from 
 Maine as disclaiming the charge, that he had made base charges against 
 that gentleman. 
 
 " Mr. Cilley said that he had distinctly remarked that the gentleman 
 from Virginia had said he (Mr. C.) was more obnoxious to the charge 
 contained in the resolution before the House than he (Mr. W.) was ; and 
 he could say no less than he had said, fearless of all consequences, but 
 he had no intention to insult any one. The gentleman from Virginia 
 just remarked that he had been informed of the name of the member 
 alluded to ; why not disclose it ? 
 
 " Mr. Wise rose and said that he could never again treat that gentle 
 man with confidence who could rise in his place and repeat to the House 
 what a member had said in private conversation in his seat. 
 
 " Mr. Cilley had not intended to violate confidence. The gentleman 
 from Virginia had said openly in his seat that he knew the name of the 
 member meant. 
 
 " Mr. Wise. But it was in reply to an express question of another 
 member. 
 
 " Some farther explanation then took place between Mr. Cilley and 
 Mr. Wise, etc. 
 
292 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 " The report of it is here cut off. Mr. Cilley sustained himself with 
 perfect firmness and dignity to the end, his manner being, according to 
 our information, in highly advantageous contrast with that of his assail 
 ant. The latter concluded by the following remark, spoken so openly and 
 loud as to be heard at some distance, a remark which Mr. Cilley never 
 affected to notice or to hear : But what is the use of bandying words 
 with a man who won t hold himself personally accountable for his 
 words? " 
 
 Fully to appreciate this scene, one needs to have known 
 its principal actors and observed the calm, firm, and digni 
 fied manner of Cilley in contrast with the fierce look and 
 aggressive bearing of his opponent, as the writer more than 
 once saw him in debate in the House during the winter of 
 1838-39, while Graves, looking sad and desponding, was 
 also still a member of that body. 
 
 We will next present the correspondence, etc., as it 
 appeared in a paper signed by the seconds in the duel, 
 George W. Jones, of Iowa, and Henry A. Wise, of Vir 
 ginia, which they published as their 
 
 "STATEMENT. 
 
 " WASHINGTON CITY, D. C., February 26, 1838. 
 
 " The following is a statement of the facts of the duel between the 
 Honorable William J. Graves, of Kentucky, and the Honorable Jona 
 than Cilley, of Maine, agreed upon by George W. Jones and Henry A. 
 Wise, the seconds of the parties, committed to writing between the 
 hours of 10.30 o clock A.M., February 25th, and 12 o clock M. this day. 
 The seconds propose, first, to state the correspondence which occurred 
 before the challenge and which was communicated through others than 
 themselves, neither second having borne any message, verbal or written, 
 to or from either of the principals, until Mr. Wise bore the challenge 
 and Mr. Jones bore the acceptance. This correspondence, as it has been 
 placed in the hands of the seconds, is as follows, to wit : 
 
 " Mr. Graves to Mr. Cilley. 
 
 " HOUSE OF KEPRESENTATIVES, February 21, 1838. 
 " In the interview which I had with you this morning, when you de 
 clined receiving from me the note of Colonel J. W. Webb, asking whether 
 you were correctly reported in the Globe in what you are there repre 
 sented to have said of him in this House upon the 12th instant, you will 
 
DUEL BETWEEN CILLEY AND GRAVES. 293 
 
 please say whether you did not remark, in substance, that in declining to 
 receive the note, you hoped I would not consider it in any respect disre 
 spectful to me, and that the ground on which you rested your declining 
 to receive the note was distinctly this : That you could not consent to get 
 yourself into personal difficulties with conductors of public journals for 
 what you might think proper to say in debate upon this floor, in dis 
 charge of your duties as a representative of the people, and that you did 
 not rest your objection in our interview upon any personal objection to 
 Colonel Webb as a gentleman. 
 
 " Very respectfully your obedient servant, 
 
 " W. J. GRAVES. 
 "HONORABLE JONATHAN CILLEY. 
 
 " Mr. Cilley to Mr. Graves. 
 
 " HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, February 21, 1838. 
 
 " The note which you just placed in my hands has been received. In 
 
 reply I have to state that in your interview with me this morning, when 
 
 you proposed to deliver a communication from Colonel Webb, of the 
 
 New York Courier and Enquirer, I declined to receive it because I chose 
 
 to be drawn into no controversy with him. I neither affirmed nor denied 
 
 anything in regard to his character ; but when you remarked that this 
 
 course on my part might place you in an unpleasant situation, I stated to 
 
 you, and now repeat, that I intended by the refusal no disrespect to you. 
 
 " Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 "JONA. CILLEY. 
 " HONORABLE W. J. GRAVES. 
 
 "Mr. Graves to Mr. Cilley. 
 
 " HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, February 22, 1838. 
 " SIR, Your note of yesterday, in reply to mine of that date, is inex 
 plicit, unsatisfactory, and insufficient ; among other things in this, that in 
 your declining to receive Colonel Webb s communication, it does not dis 
 claim any exception to him personally as a gentleman. I have therefore 
 to inquire whether you declined to receive his communication on the 
 ground of any personal exception to him as a gentleman or a man of 
 honor ? A categorical answer is expected. 
 
 " Very respectfully, 
 
 "WILLIAM J. GRAVES. 
 " HONORABLE J. CILLEY. 
 
 " Mr. Cilley to Mr. Graves. 
 
 " HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, February 22, 1838. 
 " SIR, Your note of this date has just been placed in my hands. I 
 regret that mine of yesterday was not satisfactory to you, but I cannot 
 
294 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 admit the right on your part to propound the question to which you ask 
 a categorical answer, and therefore decline any further reponse to it. 
 
 " Very respectfully, 
 
 "JONATHAN CILLEY. 
 " HONORABLE W. J. GRAVES. 
 
 " Here follows the first paper borne by Mr. Wise : 
 
 " As you have declined accepting a communication which I bore to you 
 from Colonel Webb, and as, by your note of yesterday, you have refused 
 to decline on grounds which would exonerate me from all responsibility 
 growing out of the affair, I am left no other alternative but to ask that 
 satisfaction which is recognized among gentlemen. My friend, Honor 
 able Henry A. Wise, is authorized by me to make the arrangements suit 
 able for the occasion. 
 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 
 "W. J. GRAVES. 
 " HONORABLE J. CILLEY. 
 
 "Mr. Wise states that he presented the foregoing challenge to Mr. 
 Cilley in the parlor at Mr. Birth s boarding-house a few minutes before 
 twelve o clock, on Friday, the twenty- third instant. 
 
 " In addition to the foregoing correspondence the seconds propose 
 to relate only such facts and circumstances as occurred within their joint 
 knowledge, after their own participation in the melancholy affair. 
 
 " On the evening of the twenty-third instant, about the hour of five 
 o clock, Mr. Jones, the second of Mr. Cilley, delivered to Mr. Graves in 
 the room of Mr. Wise, and in his presence, the following note, which was 
 the first paper borne by Mr. Jones, to wit : 
 
 " WASHINGTON CITY, February 23, 1838. 
 " HONORABLE W. J. GRAVES : 
 
 " Your note of this morning has been received. My friend, General 
 Jones, will make the arrangements suitable to the occasion. 
 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 
 "JONA. CILLEY. 
 
 " Immediately upon the preparation of the acceptance of the challenge, 
 Mr. Graves retired, leaving Mr. Jones with Mr. Wise, who submitted to 
 Mr. Wise the following propositions for the arrangement of the meeting, 
 to wit: 
 
 " WASHINGTON CITY, February 23, 1838. 
 
 " SIR, Mr. Cilley proposes to meet Mr. Graves at such place as may 
 be agreed upon between us to-morrow at twelve o clock M. The weapons 
 
DUEL BETWEEN CILLEY AND GRAVES. 295 
 
 to be used on the occasion shall be rifles ; the parties placed side to side 
 at eighty yards distance from each other ; to hold the rifles horizontally 
 at arm s length downward ; the rifles to be cocked and triggers set ; the 
 word to be, Gentlemen, are you ready ? after which, neither answering 
 no, the words shall be in regular succession, Fire, one, two, three, 
 four. Neither party shall fire before the word fire, nor after the word 
 * four. The positions of the parties at the ends of the line to be deter 
 mined by lot. The second of the party losing the position shall have the 
 giving of the word. The dress to be ordinary winter clothing and sub 
 ject to the examination of both parties. Each party may have on the 
 ground, besides his second, a surgeon and two other friends. The seconds, 
 for the execution of their respective trusts, are allowed to have a pair of 
 pistols each on the ground, but no other persons shall have any weapon. 
 The rifles to be loaded in the presence of the seconds. Should Mr. 
 Graves not be able to procure a rifle in the time prescribed, time shall be 
 allowed for that purpose. 
 
 " Your very obedient servant, 
 
 "GEORGE W. JONES. 
 " HONORABLE HENRY A. WISE. 
 
 " About nine o clock P.M., at Mr. Jones s room at Dawson s, Mr. Wise 
 returned to him the following answer, to wit : 
 
 " WASHINGTON CITY, February 23, 1838. 
 
 " SIR, The terms arranging the meeting between Mr. Graves and Mr. 
 Cilley, which you presented to me this evening, though unusual and 
 objectionable, are accepted with the understanding that the rifles are to 
 be loaded with a single ball, and that neither party is to raise his weapon 
 from the downward horizontal position until the word fire. 
 
 " I will inform you, sir, by the hour of eleven o clock A.M. to-morrow 
 whether Mr. Graves has been able to procure a rifle, and, consequently, 
 whether he will require a postponement of the time of meeting. 
 
 " Your very obedient servant, 
 
 " HENRY A. WISE. 
 " HONORABLE GEORGE W. JONES. 
 
 " About eight o clock A.M. on the twenty-fourth instant, Mr. Jones left 
 at Mr. Wise s room the following note, to wit : 
 
 " WASHINGTON CITY, February 24, 1838. 
 
 " SIR, I will receive at Dr. Reilly s, on F Street, any communication 
 you may see proper to make me until eleven o clock A.M., to-day. 
 " Respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 "GEORGE W. JONES. 
 " HONORABLE H. A. WISE. 
 
296 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 " DR. REILLY S, F STREET, February 24, 1838, 10 A.M. 
 " SIR, I have called at this place in conformity to your note of this 
 morning, to inform you that Mr. Graves has not as yet been able to pro 
 cure a rifle and put it in order, and cannot be ready by twelve o clock M. 
 to-day. He is desirous, however, to have the meeting to-day, if possible, 
 and I will inform you by half-past twelve o clock M. to-day what time he 
 will require to procure and prepare a weapon. 
 
 " Very respectfully, etc., 
 
 "HENRY A. WISE. 
 "HONORABLE GEORGE W. JONES. 
 
 " Afterwards Mr. Jones left at Mr. Wise s room the following note, to 
 wit: 
 
 " WASHINGTON, 10.30 A.M., February 24, 1838. 
 
 " SIR, Your note, dated at ten o clock to-day, is received. In reply 
 I have the pleasure to inform you that I have in my possession an excel 
 lent rifle, in good order, which is at the service of Mr. Graves. 
 
 " Very respectfully, etc., 
 
 " GEORGE W. JONES. 
 " HONORABLE H. A. WISE. 
 
 " Afterwards Mr. Jones sent to Mr. Wise s room the following note, 
 to wit : 
 
 " WASHINGTON, February 24, 1838, 11 A.M. 
 
 "SlR, Through the politeness of my friend Dr. Duncan, I now 
 tender to you, for the use of Mr. Graves, the rifle referred to in my note 
 of ten o clock this morning. 
 
 " Respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 " GEORGE W. JONES. 
 " HONORABLE H. A. WISE. 
 
 " And with this note a rifle and powder-flask and balls were left at Mr. 
 Wise s room. 
 
 " After the reception of this note from Mr. Jones, Mr. Wise called on 
 him at Dr. Reilly s and informed Mr. Jones that Mr. Graves had pro 
 cured a rifle other than that left at his room by Dr. Duncan, and would 
 be ready for the meeting at three o clock P.M. It was then agreed that 
 the parties should meet at the Anacostia bridge, on the road to Marl- 
 borough, Maryland, between the hours of half-past one and half-past two 
 o clock P.M., and if either got there first he should wait for the other, 
 and that they would thence proceed out of the District. Accordingly 
 the parties met at the bridge, Mr. Cilley and his party arriving there 
 
DUEL BETWEEN CILLEY AND GRAVES. 297 
 
 first, and all proceeded, about two o clock P.M., to the place of meeting. 
 On arriving at the place, Mr. Jones and Mr. Wise immediately proceeded 
 to mark off the ground. They then decided the choice of positions. 
 Mr. Wise won the position, and consequently Mr. Jones had the giving 
 of the word. At the time Mr. Jones was informed by Mr. Wise that 
 two gentlemen (Mr. Calhoun, of Kentucky, and Mr. Hawes, of Ken 
 tucky) were at some distance off, spectators, but they should not approach 
 upon the ground. Mr. Jones replied that he objected to their coming 
 on the ground, as it was against the articles of the meeting, but he enter 
 tained for them the highest respect. Mr. Wise informed Mr. Jones that, 
 contrary to the terms, he had brought on the ground two rifles ; that if 
 he (Mr. Jones) required him to do so, he would immediately send one 
 of them away. Upon Mr. Jones finding that the rifle was unloaded, he 
 consented that it should remain in one of the carriages. There were, it 
 is proper to remark, several persons on the ground (besides the hack- 
 drivers and the two gentlemen at a distance before mentioned) who were 
 there without the authority or consent of either party or their friends, 
 as far as is known either to Mr. Jones or Mr. Wise, and one of these 
 persons was supposed to be the owner of the field. Shortly after the 
 hour of three P.M. the rifles were loaded in the presence of the seconds ; 
 the parties were called together ; they were fully instructed by Mr. Jones 
 as to their positions, and the words were twice repeated to them as they 
 would be and as they were delivered to them in the exchange of shots. 
 After they were ordered to their respective positions, the seconds assumed 
 their places, and the friends accompanying the seconds were disposed 
 along the line of fire to observe that each obeyed the terms of meeting. 
 Mr. Jones gave the word distinctly, audibly, and in regular succession, 
 and the parties exchanged shots without violating in the least a single 
 instruction. They both missed. After which Mr. Wise called upon the 
 friends generally to assemble and hear what was to be said. Upon the 
 assembling of the friends, Mr. Jones inquired of Mr. Wise whether his 
 friend (Mr. Graves) was satisfied. Mr. Wise immediately said in sub 
 stance, * Mr. Jones, these gentlemen have come here without animosity 
 towards each other ; they are fighting merely upon a point of honor ; 
 cannot Mr. Cilley assign some reason for not receiving at Mr. Graves s 
 hands Colonel Webb s communication, or make some disclaimer which 
 will relieve Mr. Graves from his position ? Mr. Jones replied, in sub 
 stance, Whilst the challenge is impending, Mr. Cilley can make no 
 explanation. Mr. Wise said, in substance, The exchange of shots sus 
 pends the challenge, and the challenge is suspended for the purpose of 
 explanation. Mr. Jones therefore said he would see Mr. Cilley, and did 
 go to him. He returned and asked Mr. Wise again, Mr. Wise, do I 
 understand aright that the challenge is suspended? Mr. Wise an- 
 
298 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 swered, It is. Mr. Jones was then about to proceed, when Mr. Wise 
 suggested that it was best, perhaps, to give the explanation or reason in 
 writing. Mr. Jones then said, in substance, Mr. Wise, if you require 
 me to put what I have to say in writing, I shall require you to put what 
 you have said and may say in writing. Mr. Wise replied, Well, let us 
 hear the explanation beforehand, as it may not be necessary to put it in 
 writing. Mr. Jones then proceeded, as he now thinks, substantially to 
 say, I am authorized by my friend, Mr. Cilley, to say that, in declin 
 ing to receive the note from Mr. Graves, purporting to be from Colonel 
 Webb, he meant no disrespect to Mr. Graves, because he entertained for 
 him then, as he now does, the most kind feelings ; but that he declined 
 to receive the note because he chose not to be drawn into controversy 
 with Colonel Webb. Mr. Wise thinks this answer of Mr. Jones s was, 
 in substance, as follows : I am authorized by my friend, Mr. Cilley, to 
 say that, in declining to receive the note from Mr. Graves purporting to 
 be from Colonel Webb, he meant no disrespect to Mr. Graves, because 
 he entertained for him then, as he does now, the highest respect and 
 most kind feelings, but my friend refuses to disclaim disrespect for 
 Colonel Webb, because he does not choose to be drawn into an expression 
 of opinion as to him. Such is the substantial difference between the 
 two seconds as to the answer of Mr. Jones. The friends on each side, 
 with the seconds, then retired from each other to consult upon this 
 explanation. After consultation, Mr. Wise returned to Mr. Jones and 
 said, Mr. Jones, this answer leaves Mr. Graves precisely in the position 
 in which he stood when the challenge was sent. Much conversation 
 then ensued between the seconds and their friends, but, no nearer 
 approach to reconciliation being made, the challenge was renewed and 
 another shot was exchanged in a manner perfectly fair and honorable to 
 all parties. After this the seconds and their friends again assembled 
 and the challenge was again withdrawn, and very similar conversations 
 to that after the first exchange of shots again ensued. Mr. Jones then 
 remarked, * Mr. Wise, my friend, in coming to the ground and exchanging 
 shots with Mr. Graves, has shown to the world that in declining to receive 
 the note of Colonel Webb he did not do so because he dreaded a contro 
 versy. He has shown himself a brave man, and disposed to render sat 
 isfaction to Mr. Graves. I do think he has done so, and that the matter 
 should end here. To this Mr. Wise replied, in substance, Mr. Jones, 
 Mr. Cilley has already expressed his respect for Mr. Graves in the written 
 correspondence, and Mr. Graves does not require of Mr. Cilley a certifi 
 cate of character for Colonel Webb ; he considers himself bound not 
 only to preserve the respect due to himself, but to defend the honor of 
 his friend, Colonel Webb. These words of Mr. Wise Mr. Jones recol 
 lects, and Mr. Wise thinks he added the words, Mr. Graves only insists 
 
DUEL BETWEEN CILLEY AND GRAVES. 299 
 
 that he has not borne the note of a man who is not a man of honor 
 and not a gentleman. After much more conversation and ineffectual 
 attempts to adjust the matter, the challenge was again renewed, and, 
 whilst the friends were again loading the rifles for the third exchange 
 of shots, Mr. Jones and Mr. Wise walked apart, and each proposed to 
 the other anxiously to settle the affair. Mr. Wise asked Mr. Jones if 
 Mr. Cilley could not assign the reason for declining to receive the note 
 of Colonel Webb, that he did not hold himself accountable to Colonel 
 Webb for words spoken in debate ? Mr. Jones replied, that Mr. Cilley 
 would not assign that reason, because he did not wish to be understood 
 as expressing the opinion whether he was or was not accountable for 
 words spoken in debate. Mr. Wise then, according to recollection, 
 asked Mr. Jones whether Mr. Cilley would not say that in declining 
 to receive the note of Colonel Webb he meant no disrespect to Mr. 
 Graves, directly or indirectly? To which Mr. Jones replied affirma 
 tively, adding, Mr. Cilley entertains the highest respect for Mr. Graves, 
 but declines to receive the note because he chose to be drawn into no 
 controversy with Colonel Webb/ After further explanatory conversa 
 tion the parties then exchanged the third shot, fairly and honorably as 
 in every instance. Immediately previous to the last exchange of shots 
 Mr. Wise said to Mr. Jones, If this matter is not terminated this 
 shot, and is not settled, I will propose to shorten the distance. To which 
 Mr. Jones replied, After this shot, if without effect, I will entertain the 
 proposition. 
 
 " After Mr. Cilley fell, Mr. Wise, for Mr. Graves, expressed a desire to 
 Mr. Jones to see Mr. Cilley. Mr. Jones replied to Mr. Wise, My friend 
 is dead, and went on to Mr. Graves and told him that there was no 
 objection to his request to see Mr. Cilley. When Mr. Jones approached 
 Mr. Graves and informed him that his request should be granted, Mr. 
 Graves inquired, How is he ? The reply was, My friend is dead, sir. 
 Mr. Graves then went to his carriage. Mr. Wise inquired of Mr. Jones 
 before leaving the ground whether he could render any service, and 
 tendered all the aid in his power. Mr. Wise and Mr. Jones concur that 
 there were three shots exchanged. 
 
 " Such is the naked statement of all the material facts and circum 
 stances attending this unfortunate affair of honor, which we make in 
 justice to our friends, to ourselves, and to all cpncerned, the living and 
 the dead ; and it is made only for the purpose of allaying excitement in 
 the public mind, and to prevent any and all further controversy upon 
 the subject, which already is full enough of woe. We have fully and 
 substantially stated wherein we agree and disagree. We cordially agree, 
 at all events, in bearing unqualified testimony to the fair and honorable 
 manner in which the duel was conducted. We endeavored to discharge 
 
300 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 our duties according to that code under which the parties met, regulated 
 by magnanimous principles and the laws of humanity. Neither of us 
 has taken the least exception to the course of the other ; and we sincerely 
 hope that here all controversy whatever may cease. We especially desire 
 our respective friends to make no publication on the subject. None can 
 regret the termination of the affair more than ourselves, and we hope 
 again that the last of it will be the signatures of our names to this paper, 
 which we now affix. 
 
 " GEORGE W. JONES. 
 
 " HENRY A. WISE." 
 
 Vain hope ! Instead of this being " the last of the affair," 
 the supposed instigators of it were met on all sides with 
 a perfect storm of indignation, and an almost universal 
 demand for a searching investigation of the matter and 
 punishment of the guilty ; and the more the circumstances 
 of the tragedy became known the fiercer the cry for retri 
 bution. Before proceeding, however, to depict this feeling, 
 I will introduce the sworn statement of William H. Mor- 
 rell and Daniel Jackson, two chosen friends of Colonel 
 Webb, who, according to their testimony, " said that it was 
 utterly impossible that a meeting could be permitted to 
 take place between Messrs. Graves and Cilley until Mr. 
 Cilley had first met him (Webb), and that he was deter 
 mined to force such a meeting upon Mr. Cilley, be the con 
 sequences what they might." It was accordingly agreed 
 that Colonel Webb, with two friends "properly armed, 
 should repair to Mr. Cilley s room, when Mr. Webb should 
 offer to Mr. Cilley the choice of his duelling pistols with the 
 following alternatives : either then and there to settle the 
 question or pledge his word of honor that he would give 
 Colonel Webb a meeting before Mr. Graves at such a place 
 and time and with such weapons as Mr. Cilley might 
 appoint ; and in the event of doing neither, then to expect 
 the most serious consequences on the spot. Mr. Webb then 
 added : " Should he refuse either to fight me at the time, 
 or give the pledge required, I shall have no alternative left 
 but to shatter his right arm and thereby prevent his meet- 
 
DUEL BETWEEN CILLEY AND GEAVES. 301 
 
 ing my friend." Before this plan could be carried out, it 
 was found that Mr. Cilley had left his lodgings for the duel 
 ling ground, understood to be Bladensburg, to which place 
 Colonel Webb and his two friends immediately repaired. 
 On their way, Colonel Webb designated the following order 
 of proceedings : 
 
 " On reaching the parties/ said he, I ll approach Mr. Cilley and tell 
 him this is my quarrel, and he must fight me, and that, if he aims his 
 rifle at my friend, I ll shoot him on the spot. We know that, upon this, 
 Messrs. Graves and Wise will interfere, and that we will be ordered off 
 the ground ; but I shall tell them that we have come prepared to lose 
 our lives or prevent the meeting, and that it cannot proceed without first 
 disposing of us. From our knowledge of the parties, it is probable that 
 some one of them will then raise his weapon at me, when I shall in 
 stantly shoot Cilley, and we must proceed to defend ourselves in the best 
 way we can. " 
 
 After stating that they drove to the usual duelling ground 
 and several other places without being able to find the par 
 ties, the witnesses say : " It is unnecessary to add what would 
 have been the course of Colonel Webb if Mr. Graves, in 
 stead of Mr. Cilley, had been injured. Suffice it to say that 
 his determination was sanctioned by us, and, however much 
 we deplored it, we could not doubt but the extraordinary 
 position in which he would then have been placed would 
 have warranted the course determined upon." 
 
 Alluding to the dark intimation in the last paragraph, an 
 able editor, at the time holding a high position under the 
 United States government, remarked, " Thus, then, it seems 
 if Cilley had escaped from the field with his life, he would 
 have been, doubtless, assassinated by Webb and his asso 
 ciates." 
 
 Colonel Schaumbourg, a friend of Mr. Cilley, states that 
 before the meeting, Mr. Cilley said to him : 
 
 " Mr. Graves has taken upon himself to demand of me to say, and that 
 in language dictated by himself, that James Watson Webb is a gentle 
 man and a man of honor. Now, that is what I am not going to disgrace 
 
302 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 myself by saying. I see into the whole affair. Webb has come on here 
 to challenge me because he and perhaps others think that, as I am from 
 New England, I am to be bluffed, and Mr. Webb will proclaim himself a 
 brave man, having obtained an acknowledgment on my part that he is a 
 gentleman and a man of honor. But they have calculated without their 
 host. Although I know that the sentiment of New England is opposed 
 to duelling, I am sure that my people will be better pleased if I stand the 
 test than disgrace myself by humiliating concessions. Sir, the name I 
 bear will never permit me to cower beneath the frown of mortal man. It 
 is an attempt to browbeat us, and they think that because I am from the 
 East, I will tamely submit." 
 
 Besides the two seconds, the friends of each party on the 
 ground were, on the part of Mr. Cilley, Jesse A. Bynum, 
 member of Congress from North Carolina, Colonel W. 
 Schaumbourg, of Pennsylvania, and Alexander Duncan 
 (surgeon), member of Congress from Ohio ; and, on the part 
 of Mr. Graves, John J. Crittenden, Senator, and Richard 
 H. Menifee, member of Congress from Kentucky, and Dr. 
 J. M. Foltz, surgeon, of Washington City. These gentle 
 men were quite as free from censure in the affair as were 
 some others not present. The greater weight of " public 
 opprobrium and disgust" fell upon Mr. Wise and Colonel 
 Webb, as will appear from quotations we will see from the 
 public records and the press. 
 
 Mr. Cilley s death was announced in the House of Rep 
 resentatives on the 26th of February by the Hon. John 
 Fairfield, of Maine, and in the Senate, the same day, by 
 the Hon. Reuel Williams, of Maine, and appropriate reso 
 lutions provided for the appointment of a committee of 
 seven members to investigate the causes which led to Mr. 
 Cilley s death and the circumstances connected therewith ; 
 also to inquire whether, in the matter, there had been any 
 breach of the privileges of the House. The resolutions, 
 after considerable opposition, were passed by yeas one hun 
 dred and fifty-two, nays forty-nine, and this committee was 
 composed of the following gentlemen : Isaac Toucey, of 
 Connecticut, W. W. Potter, of Pennsylvania, George Grin- 
 
DUEL BETWEEN CILLEY AND GRAVES. 303 
 
 nell, Jr., of Massachusetts, F. H. Elmore, of South Carolina, 
 A. D. W. Bruyn, of New York, S. Grantland, of Georgia, 
 and J. Eariden, of Indiana. The committee were divided 
 in opinion, and made three reports, Mr. Toucey, afterward 
 Senator and member of both President Folk s and President 
 Buchanan s Cabinet, presenting that of the majority. It 
 embraces the material facts and circumstances of the duel, 
 and, among other things, declares that " It is a breach of 
 the highest constitutional privileges of the House, and of 
 the most sacred rights of the people in the person of their 
 representative, to demand in a hostile manner an explana 
 tion of words spoken in debate." 
 
 The committee submitted resolutions for the expulsion 
 of William J. Graves, Henry A. Wise, and George W. 
 Jones. Finally, after a long debate, the whole subject was 
 laid on the table by a vote of one hundred and two to sev 
 enty-six, a vote of censure merely being passed. 
 
 High as party feeling ran at the time, indignation and 
 denunciation were by no means confined to one side in 
 politics. "Never," said Charles G. Green, editor of the 
 Boston Post, " was there a more dastardly murder than 
 that of the unfortunate Cilley. The nation should echo 
 with indignation at this horrible outrage, this cold-blooded 
 assassination." Naming two of the principal actors (Webb 
 and Wise) in the affair, the same editor calls the one " the 
 miserable poltroon," and the other " the wretch," adding, 
 " both of them are equally a disgrace to human nature, and 
 will receive the execration of mankind ; we hope that the 
 penitentiary or the gallows will soon relieve society of their 
 baneful presence." A Washington correspondent of the 
 Journal of Commerce is quoted as saying that, " After Jones 
 returned the last time, from the conference, with Wise s 
 reply, Mr. Cilley said, in a calm and collected tone, They 
 thirst for my blood ! ? In a previous conference, as re 
 ported by the seconds, Mr. Cilley said that " in declining 
 to receive the note from Colonel Webb, he meant no disre- 
 
304 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 spect to Mr. Graves, because lie entertained for him then, 
 as he now does, the highest respect and most kind feelings." 
 " But," as remarked by the Democratic Review, published by 
 Langtree and O Sullivan, at the time, " all this was without 
 avail." 
 
 Making due allowance for poetical license, the following 
 poem, written by the present writer and published in the 
 Eastern Argus very soon after this deplorable affair, ex 
 presses what I know was the feeling, particularly in New 
 England : 
 
 "WITHOUT AVAIL. 
 
 " Without avail ! Infernal plot ! 
 
 The thirst for blood was there ; 
 Else had the noble-minded lived 
 The statesman s wreath to wear. 
 
 " Without avail ! In hate conspired 
 
 At heart the murderers aim 
 To take his life, or deep disgrace 
 To stamp upon his name ! 
 
 " In vain avowals of respect 
 
 Of kindly feeling, where 
 The base intent was fix d 
 The thirst for blood was there ! 
 
 " Eevenge and private malice deep, 
 
 In hearts as foul as hell, 
 In open day demanded blood ! 
 Hence Freedom s champion fell ! 
 
 " But though with blood their hands are stained, 
 
 Though stiff the limbs and chill 
 In death the heart of him who fell 
 Yet live the murderers still ! 
 
 " Strange may it seem the wretches live I 
 
 But on each murderer s head 
 Forever rests a Nation s curse ; 
 A Nation s heart hath bled I 
 
DUEL BETWEEN CILLEY AND GRAVES. 305 
 
 " The wretches live ; the cause behold : 
 
 Stern justice hath decreed 
 That they may reap in misery long 
 The fruits of their vile deed. 
 
 " Aye, ever, wheresoe r they roam, 
 
 In silence awful dread, 
 Before their harass d eyes shall stand 
 The spectre of the dead ! 
 
 " Serene and joyful though the day 
 
 To others may appear, 
 Their ears the aged mother s sighs 
 In ev ry sound shall hear I 
 
 " And ev ry breeze to them shall bear 
 
 Around them e er shall rise 
 The stricken widow s piteous wail 
 And helpless orphans cries ! 
 
 " Their way, with piercing thorns hedg d round, 
 
 Shall lead them but to meet 
 At every step, in hideous shape, 
 Mad vipers at their feet. 
 
 " Thus, until struck by death s cold darts, 
 
 Their bitter fate shall be ; 
 And o er their memory e er shall roll 
 The fire of infamy !" 
 
 Mr. Cilley fought under disadvantages which (says the 
 Journal of Commerce) must have been well known to those 
 on the other side, and which induced some persons to say 
 that his seconds ought never to have suffered him to fight 
 under them at all. These disadvantages were stated to 
 be that Mr. Cilley, being, as was personally known to the 
 present writer, very near-sighted, could not see to shoot at 
 the distance measured off, which was alleged to be greater 
 by twenty yards than that agreed on ; that his rifle was so 
 light only about one-half the calibre of that of his antag 
 onist that it would not carry that distance with accuracy ; 
 that he was shooting against the wind, which was blowing 
 
 20 
 
306 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 a gale ; and that he stood on rising ground in open light, 
 presenting a plain mark, while his antagonist was shaded 
 by a copse of wood. Under all these disadvantages, after 
 disclaiming all enmity to Graves, and after technical requi 
 sition preliminary to accommodation in honorable duelling, 
 and even after he had declared that he did not wish to take 
 Graves s life, but entertained for him " the highest respect 
 and the most kind feelings," Mr. Cilley was shot down ! 
 " What," asked the Eastern Argus, " does this prove but 
 that he was foully murdered ?" 
 
 At a great public meeting, held at the capital of Maine, 
 on the 9th of March, 1838, " for the purpose of noticing in 
 a suitable manner the atrocious murder of Hon. Jonathan 
 Cilley," a series of resolutions were unanimously adopted, 
 declaring, among other things, that the duel was " the 
 result of a foul conspiracy, concerted and approved among 
 a few political leaders, to take advantage of Mr. Cilley and 
 draw him into a quarrel, in order that they might seize 
 upon the opportunity afforded to gratify personal feelings 
 of private malice and revenge, and remove out of the way 
 an opponent every day becoming more and more formida 
 ble, whose eloquent appeals and retorted sarcasms it would 
 be more easy to silence by the pistol than answer in debate ; 
 that in the course pursued by Henry A. Wise in managing 
 and conducting the incidents of the duel after the first fire, 
 there is evidence of deep and vindictive malignity; and 
 that he stands justly chargeable before the world, upon his 
 own showing, of having violated every recognized principle 
 of chivalry by availing himself of his position and the 
 occasion to glut his own feelings of private grudge and ill- 
 will against Mr. Cilley for a former supposed offence given 
 by the deceased, not to his principal, Graves, but to him 
 self, Wise, a course of conduct worthy only of a recreant 
 and a dastard ; that the studied attempt made by Henry 
 A. Wise to palliate and gloss over his conduct during the 
 duel, apparent in the imperfect but official account, so 
 
DUEL BETWEEN CILLEY AND GRAVES. 307 
 
 called, of the doings, and the special desire expressed in 
 the account, that those who witnessed the scene should 
 make no publication on the subject, afford strong pre 
 sumptive evidence of a consciousness that there were deeds 
 of darkness and treachery in the history of the conflict 
 which would not bear to be told; while, on the other hand, 
 the careful insertion in that account of a statement that Mr. 
 Wise inquired of Mr. Jones, before leaving the ground, 
 4 whether he could render any service, and tendered all the 
 aid in his power, the murder having been already perpe 
 trated, and the lifeless corpse of Mr. Cilley then lying 
 stretched out before him, is a derision and a mockery upon 
 the better feelings of our nature, worthy only of the man 
 who could coolly triumph over the fallen victim of his own 
 foul machinations ; and that in the transaction which ter 
 minated in the death of Mr. Cilley, considered under the 
 mildest and most mitigated features given to it by those 
 who took part in it, there is presented to the people of 
 Maine a case of ruthless assassination of preconcerted 
 and cold-blooded murder of one of their representatives, 
 for having boldly and fearlessly done his duty, and being 
 resolved to continue to do so." 
 
 The editor of the Democratic Review, in a position to 
 obtain the most correct information on the subject, was 
 very severe in his comments upon the whole affair, and 
 particularly with reference to Wise s course in insisting, 
 after the second shot, either that Mr. Cilley should " ac 
 knowledge Webb to be a gentleman and a man of honor," 
 or that ""blood should flow !" 
 
 "It is not enough that he (Mr. Cilley) has said nothing to the dis 
 paragement of Mr. Webb that he is free in expression of the highest 
 respect and best feeling toward Graves ; it is not enough that two shots 
 have been interchanged on this flimsy punctilio of honor, in the language 
 of one of the gentlemen on the field, in his remonstrance, based on an 
 abstraction and assumed upon an implication ; it is not enough that all 
 persons on the ground the second, the surgeon, and consulting friends 
 
308 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 of the challenged party, the surgeon and one at least of the friends of 
 the challenging side (Mr. Crittenden) are unanimous in opinion that 
 all has been done that the most fastidious honor can require ; it is not 
 enough that he (Wise) has put a distinct proposition, in decisive terms, 
 as if an ultimatum, from an anxiety to bring an end to the combat, that 
 acknowledgment shall be made that no disrespect was meant to Mr. 
 Graves, directly or indirectly, and that it was, in terms, answered affirm 
 atively : nothing whatever will suffice but a degrading acknowledgment 
 contrary to the conscience and truth of the party, and to the well-known 
 majority of society, and entirely extraneous to the relation between the 
 parties in the field an acknowledgment which nothing but a trembling 
 cowardice, widely unlike the brave bearing of poor Cilley, could yield 
 under such circumstances an acknowledgment which he knew, and 
 could not but have known, could not and would not be conceded. No, 
 nothing will suffice but this abject and impossible submission or blood I 
 The spirit of malignant evil that ruled the ascendant of that dark hour 
 triumphed, and the kind-hearted, the generous, the peaceful, the manly, 
 the noble, the true, the brave, lay weltering in his own blood 1" 
 
 The following, says the editor of the Review, are sub 
 stantially the views of the matter which Mr. Cilley ex 
 pressed freely to his friends on the morning of the fatal 
 encounter : 
 
 " I am driven to this meeting by a positive compulsion. I have done 
 all that an honorable man could do to avert it. Why should I acknowl 
 edge that man to be a gentleman and a man of honor ? In truth and 
 conscience I could not do so, and still less can I have it so unreasonably 
 extorted from me by force and threat. I have no ill-will nor disrespect 
 toward Mr. Graves. He knows it, and I have repeatedly and fully 
 expressed it. I abhor the idea of taking his life, and will do nothing 
 not forced upon me in self-defence. The pretext of the challenge is 
 absurd. I understand the conspiracy to destroy me as a public man. 
 But New England must not be trampled on, my name must not be dis 
 graced, and I go to this field sustained by as high a motive of patri 
 otism as ever led my grandfather or my brother to battle, as an unhappy 
 duty, not to be shrunk from, to my honor, my principles, and my 
 country." 
 
 On the evening before the duel he charged one of his lady 
 friends, should he not survive, to say to his wife that he 
 
DUEL BETWEEN CILLEY AND GRAVES. 309 
 
 " had endeavored to pursue that course in all things which 
 she would approve and his own conscience dictated." 
 
 In a biographical sketch of Mr. Cilley, published in the 
 Democratic Review for September, 1838, Nathaniel Haw 
 thorne says : 
 
 " A challenge was never given on a more shadowy pretext ; a duel was 
 never pressed to a fatal close in the face of such open kindness as was 
 expressed by Mr. Cilley ; and the conclusion is inevitable that Mr. Graves 
 and his principal second, Mr. Wise, have gone further than their own 
 dreadful code will warrant them, and overstepped the imaginary dis 
 tinction which, on their own principles, separates manslaughter from 
 murder." 
 
 Mr. Wise was not a man to rest silent under such op 
 probrium. On the 16th of March, 1838, he issued a long 
 address to his constituents in which he gave his own 
 account of the duel so far as he himself was concerned. 
 He began by saying that " the catastrophe had brought 
 upon him much odium and reproach," but claimed that he 
 was bound to act for Mr. Graves, because, said he : 
 
 " I felt obliged to do for him what I would have called on him to do 
 for me. It is said that I myself was hostile to his antagonist. If so, I 
 may have been incompetent, but I solemnly deny that I was hostile to 
 Mr. Cilley. There had been a slight misunderstanding between u$ in 
 debate, which passed off with the moment and left no trace of animosity 
 behind. But hostile to him or not, and though hostility might, perhaps, 
 have incited another to take his life dark and deadly such hate must 
 have been yet my conduct proves that I did earnestly endeavor to pre 
 vent the shedding of blood by reconciling his difference with my friend ; 
 and the history of the tragedy proves that not only I but two other 
 gentlemen of known character and standing, who were never accused of 
 hostility to him, and who might have overruled me by their voices and 
 influence, could not reconcile that difference or prevent its result." 
 
 He says, also, that he rebuked Graves for bearing the 
 note from Mr. Webb, and that he told him that Mr. Cilley s 
 reasons, as repeated by Mr. Graves, for refusing to receive 
 the note " were very proper," and his answer, " certainly 
 satisfactory." Here is what he said Mr. Graves represented 
 
310 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Mr. Cilley had in substance verbally declared : That, " in 
 declining to receive the note he hoped it would not be 
 thought disrespectful to him (Mr. Graves) ; that he declined 
 on the ground that he could not consent to be involved in 
 personal difficulties with conductors of public journals for 
 what he had thought proper to say in debate upon the floor, 
 and that he did not decline upon any personal objection to 
 Colonel Webb as a gentleman." Mr. Wise appears to have 
 assented to the propriety of Mr. Graves requiring this 
 answer to be put in writing, and so came the challenge, the 
 terms of which Mr. Wise said were regarded as " barbarous 
 and such as might properly be declined; but it was thought 
 they were intended to intimidate ; that the distance was so 
 great as in some measure to mitigate the severity of the 
 weapon, and therefore I was advised that they should be 
 accepted." It was likewise suggested that the challenged 
 party might be the first to fly from these terms. 
 
 He speaks of his difficulty in procuring a suitable rifle 
 for Mr. Graves, and admits that he had asked Mr. Jones to 
 assist him in that particular. At the same time he says, 
 " I wished to gain time not only to procure a fit rifle, but to 
 afford an opportunity, if possible, to prevent the meeting." 
 
 He quotes from Mr. Jones s note the passage in which he 
 said to Mr. Wise that he had the pleasure to inform him 
 that he had an excellent rifle in good order which was at 
 the service of Mr. Graves, and remarks that, without wait 
 ing for an answer, Mr. Jones tendered to him " for the use 
 of Mr. Graves, the rifle referred to," and its appendages. 
 Thus, Mr. Wise says, " A weapon, not one of a pair, was 
 tendered for the use of Mr. Graves in a manner that was 
 considered taunting." Leaving it be inferred, of course, 
 that one preferred to it had been reserved for Mr. Cilley. 
 He contends, too, that Mr. Cilley " precipitated the time of 
 meeting when the second of Mr. Graves was avowing a 
 want of preparation and a desire for delay." 
 
 He proceeds to say : 
 
DUEL BETWEEN CILLEY AND GRAVES. 311 
 
 " The distance appointed was eighty yards. It is my firm belief that 
 the distance stepped off by Mr. Jones and myself, which we did pari 
 passu, was nearer one hundred yards than eighty. The ground was meas 
 ured before the choice of positions, and I believe that we both stepped 
 with a view of preventing the parties from hitting each other. I kept 
 my eye on Mr. Cilley. It was my duty to see he obeyed the rules. At 
 the first exchange of shots I thought he fired, though perfectly fair, too 
 hurriedly, and his ball did not reach Mr. Graves, because he did not 
 raise his rifle sufficiently high. Mr. Graves fired after Mr. Cilley." 
 
 At the second shot, he says : 
 
 " Mr. Graves s rifle went off quickly, and, as he told me afterwards, 
 accidentally, and into the ground. Mr. Cilley drew up very deliberately, 
 aimed, I feared, a deadly shot, and fired. I thought he had hit Mr. 
 Graves. It was very apparent to me that Mr. Cilley had shot at the life 
 of Mr. Graves. If, when Mr. Graves s rifle went off, without harm to 
 him, he had discharged his in the air or reserved his fire, the fight would 
 have been at an end." 
 
 Nevertheless, Mr. Cilley s friends said that, even admit 
 ting that Mr. Wise was correct in his assertion that Mr. 
 Cilley fired after the discharge of Mr. Graves s rifle, it was 
 equally true, according to his own statement, that Mr. 
 Graves, on the first exchange of shots, had done the same 
 thing toward Mr. Cilley. It does not appear how Mr. 
 Wise could reconcile his allegation in this regard with his 
 official statement, conjointly with Mr. Jones, that the second 
 shot was exchanged " in a manner perfectly fair and honor 
 able to all parties," and that they bore their unqualified 
 testimony to the fair and honorable manner in which the 
 duel was conducted. 
 
 Between the second and third shots, in making the prop 
 osition he did, that Mr. Cilley should say that " in declining 
 to receive Colonel Webb s note, he meant no disrespect to 
 Mr. Graves, either directly or indirectly," Mr. Wise says he 
 went beyond his instructions ; and that he understood Mr. 
 Jones to say that " Mr. Cilley would not say these words 
 alone, nor without adding words which did away the effect 
 of the word indirectly, and which left the parties exactly 
 
312 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 where they were when they came upon the ground." He 
 says, " It was at the instance of Mr. Graves himself that I 
 remarked to Mr. Jones, immediately previous to the last 
 exchange of shots, If this matter is not terminated this 
 shot, and is not settled, I shall propose to shorten the dis 
 tance. " 
 
 Later February, 1839 Mr. Wise availed himself of an 
 opportunity to present his defence before the House of 
 Representatives. I was there and heard it. He was wildly 
 excited and defiant. Said he : 
 
 " I am ready to be tried. Put me at your bar, and I will plead in 
 stantly. I am ready to say on the spot, I did on that occasion just what 
 I will do again under similar circumstances. Let Puritans shudder as 
 they may, I proclaim that I belong to the class of Cavaliers, not to the 
 Eoundheads ! You shall not taunt me. What are you doing ? You 
 have passed a penitentiary act [the anti-duelling law]. You are then 
 bound to take the defence of character into your own hands, as you have 
 taken arms from the hands of the cavalier. Will you do it ? No ! I 
 call upon you, I call upon society, either to defend me or give me back 
 my arms. In the face of an approaching election, I say to my good con 
 stituents. ... If you are determined I shall not defend myself when 
 assailed, like a true knight, do not send me to Congress, for I shall just 
 as surely fight, if occasion is given, as you send me ; and so I shall ever 
 continue until the holy religion of the Cross takes possession of my soul, 
 which may God grant right early." 
 
 Up to this time, and for nearly two years afterwards, Mr. 
 Wise, in public estimation, stood out prominently as the 
 one individual altogether the most deserving of censure in 
 this matter. As he himself said in an appeal " to the 
 public," in March, 1842, " The whole weight of an almost 
 insupportable odium fell upon my reputation for my con 
 duct in the affair." 
 
 But in the winter of that year, or earlier, the relations of 
 some of the parties to the transaction had become changed. 
 Mr. AYise had espoused the cause of President Tyler, thus 
 separating himself from his old friend Henry Clay, who 
 was a candidate for the presidency, and to whose fortunes 
 
DUEL BETWEEN CILLEY AND GRAVES. 313 
 
 Messrs. Graves and Webb, with the Whig party generally, 
 adhered. It began to be whispered about that Mr. Clay 
 had been consulted and exercised a controlling influence in 
 the affair of the duel, and a direct charge to this effect 
 brought out Mr. Graves, on a call from Mr. Clay, in expla 
 nation. I will not extend this narrative by going at length 
 into the particulars of the correspondence which followed, 
 and in which Messrs. Wise, Graves, Clay, Reverdy John 
 son, and Charles King took part. Suffice it to say that, 
 except so far as Wise was concerned, all was said that could 
 be to exculpate Mr. Clay, but, as must be admitted, not with 
 entire success. It came out that he was early consulted by 
 all these gentlemen, and that he actually "drew the form 
 of challenge which was finally adopted." It was a modifi 
 cation of the form submitted to him by Wise and Graves, 
 and the latter states that " it was rather calculated to soften 
 the language and not so completely to close the door to an 
 adjustment of the difficulty." Mr. Wise says that when he 
 and Mr. Graves called on Mr. Clay, in discussing the terms 
 of the duel, which he (Wise) " protested against as unusual 
 and barbarous," Mr. Clay remarked that Mr. Graves was 
 " a Kentuckian, and that no Kentuckian could back out 
 from a rifle." 
 
 Mr. Wise stated that 
 
 " Mr. Clay s friends particularly were very anxious, for obvious reasons, 
 not to involve his name especially in the affair. Thus many confidential 
 facts remained unknown on both sides. Mr. Clay himself, it is true, while 
 all his friends were trembling lest the part he took in it should be dis 
 closed, boldly came to me and said, Sir, it is a nine days bubble I If 
 they want to know what I did in the matter, tell them to call me before 
 them and I will tell them. This excited my admiration at the time, 
 and was effectual to prevent me from unnecessarily bringing his name 
 before the committee." 
 
 After all, I think public sentiment, as at first expressed, 
 was not materially modified by these later developments, 
 and that it remains unchanged as regards Wise s great cul- 
 
314 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 pability, notwithstanding Graves, in the course of their 
 correspondence, declared to him, u I always have, and now 
 do, most emphatically exempt you from all blame or cen 
 sure growing out of your connection with the affair. I, and 
 I only, am justly responsible for whatever was done by 
 myself or those representing me as my friends on that 
 occasion." 
 
 One of the most stinging accusations against Mr. Wise 
 was made by ex-President John Quincy Adams, in the 
 House of Representatives on the 26th of January, 1842, 
 when a resolution, offered by Mr. Gilmer, of Virginia 
 (killed by the bursting of the " Peacemaker" on the 
 " Princeton," in February, 1844), was under discussion, de 
 claring that Mr. Adams had justly incurred the censure of 
 the House in presenting for its consideration an abolition 
 petition for the dissolution of the Union. Mr. Wise took 
 a leading part in the discussion, in the course of which the 
 venerable ex-President was led to .say that, " four or five 
 years ago, there came to the House a man [Wise] with his 
 hands and face dripping with the blood of a murder, the 
 blotches of which were yet hanging upon him." This, in 
 nearly the same language, he twice repeated, and at the 
 same time said : " I never did believe but he [Wise] was the 
 guilty man, and that the man who pulled the trigger was 
 but an instrument in his hands. This was my belief in the 
 beginning." 
 
 Of the actors in this deplorable affair, the only survivor 
 (December, 1891) is George W. Jones, of Iowa, Mr. Cilley s 
 second. Mr. Graves, after long and intense suffering, both 
 mental and physical, died in Louisville, Ky., on the 27th 
 of September, 1848, aged forty-three years. 
 
 Jonathan Cilley was born at Nottingham, !N". H., on the 
 2d of July, 1802, and was, therefore, at his death in the 
 thirty-sixth year of his age. He was a man of fine per 
 sonal appearance, in size and weight about medium, and 
 of rather dark complexion. He was a graduate of Bowdoin 
 
DUEL BETWEEN CILLEY AND GEAVES. 315 
 
 College. His friend Nathaniel Hawthorne describes him, 
 while at college 
 
 " As a young man of quick and powerful intellect, endowed with 
 sagacity and tact, yet frank and free in his mode of action ; ambitious 
 of good influence ; earnest, active, and persevering, with an elasticity 
 and cheerful strength of mind which made difficulties easy and the 
 struggle with them a pleasure. In the summer of 1837 I met him for 
 the first time since our early youth, when he had been to me almost an 
 elder brother. In his person there was very little change, and that little 
 was for the better. He had an impending brow, deep-set eyes, and a 
 thin and thoughtful countenance, which, in his abstracted moments, 
 seemed almost stern ; but in the intercourse of society it was brightened 
 with a kindly smile that will live in the recollection of all who knew 
 him." 
 
 One who had been a bosom friend and constant companion 
 through an acquaintance of sixteen years says of him : 
 
 " He was the kindest and gentlest of human beings, with a constant 
 and happy flow of animal spirits and the innocence of a child, while at 
 the same time as independent, courageous, and firm in his purposes as 
 he was clear in his judgments and upright in his every thought." 
 
 Mr. Cilley left a wife and three children, two sons and 
 a daughter, the latter an infant whom he never saw. It is 
 a singular fact that on the Sunday succeeding the Saturday 
 on which he fell, Mrs. Cilley, wholly unconscious of the 
 terrible news already on its way to her, was so impressed 
 from reading the well-known hymn, commencing with the 
 lines 
 
 " Far, far o er hill and dale on the winds stealing, 
 List to the tolling bell, mournfully pealing," 
 
 that she was induced to mark it with a pencil. The second 
 and third stanzas read : 
 
 " Now, through the charmed air slowly ascending, 
 List to the mourner s prayer solemnly bending : 
 
 Hark ! hark I it seems to say, 
 
 Turn from those joys away 
 
 To those which ne er decay, 
 For life is ending. 
 
316 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 " O er the father s dismal tomb see the orphan bending, 
 From the solemn churchyard s gloom hear the dirge ascending : 
 
 Hark ! hark ! it seems to say, 
 
 How short ambition s sway, 
 
 Life s joys and friendship s ray, 
 In the dark grave ending !" 
 
 Alas ! the soul-chilling, heart-rending news of the tragic 
 death of the husband and father was soon to place beyond 
 doubt the sad reality of what seemed to have been thus 
 mysteriously foretokened. Mrs. Cilley never entirely re 
 covered from the fearful shock. She died on the 15th of 
 October, 1844. 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF BLADENSBURG BURNING OF WASHINGTON IN 
 
 1814. 
 
 PRIOR to the late civil war, during many years, we had 
 for Second Assistant Postmaster-General Mr. William H. 
 Dundas, who was somewhat of a wag, and who delighted 
 in rallying the mild and staid John Smith, one of the clerks 
 of the Department, on having served in a militia company 
 at the battle of Bladensburg, otherwise reproachfully called 
 " the Bladensburg races." Said he, " The red-coats got a 
 little the better of you at the start, but you beat them in the 
 long run." 
 
 There having been so many meagre and often conflicting 
 stories about this famous battle and the fall of Washing 
 ton, I determined, if possible, to sift the various accounts, 
 and present within reasonable limits an intelligible record. 
 To this end I examined the files of many of the prominent 
 newspapers of the day, and read all I could find on the 
 subject in books. It appears that no serious fears were felt 
 for the safety of the capital until within a few days of its 
 
THE BATTLE OF BLADENSBURG. 317 
 
 capture. We can imagine what consternation prevailed 
 among the citizens when the danger suddenly became im 
 minent. The Boston Centind of August 24, 1814, contained 
 a letter from Washington, dated August 16, saying, " We 
 are all in alarm here. The enemy are said to be in great 
 force in the Chesapeake. It is apprehended this city is 
 their object, and that they will land in the Patuxent or near 
 Annapolis, near which several of their ships have been 
 seen. It is expected the President will issue another proc 
 lamation, directing Congress to assemble at some other 
 place except Washington, say Lancaster, Pennsylvania/ 
 President Madison had already summoned Congress (Au 
 gust 8) to meet on the 19th of September. Another item 
 in the Centind of a later date was, " The public papers 
 began to be removed from Washington 21st August, and 
 all the horses, carriages, and drivers are pressed. The 
 roads are crowded w r ith women and children, and the 
 greatest distress prevails." A correspondent of the Balti 
 more Patriot wrote from Washington that, " On Sunday 
 (21st) the public officers were all engaged in packing and 
 sending off their books, and the citizens their furniture. 
 On Monday this business was continued with great indus 
 try, and many families left the city. The specie was re 
 moved from all the banks in the District." A gentleman 
 wrote from Washington at one o clock in the morning of 
 the day of the battle, " I cannot find language to express 
 the situation of the women and children, who are running 
 the streets in a state bordering on distraction ; their hus 
 bands, fathers, and brothers all under arms, scarce a man 
 to be seen in the city. Enemy reported to be thirteen thou 
 sand strong." 
 
 The British squadron under command of Yice-Admiral 
 Cockburn entered Chesapeake Bay on the 16th of August. 
 On the 18th a part of their ships with the British troops, 
 under General Ross, then estimated, as one account states, 
 "at from five thousand to ten thousand, probably rising 
 
318 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 seven thousand," entered the Patuxent River, and a part 
 ascended the Potomac, in all then reported to be " com 
 posed of fifty sail, including transports." It was known 
 that the troops were largely made up from the army of the 
 Duke of Wellington tried veterans in the regular service 
 whose embarkation for the United States our Govern 
 ment had been advised of as early as the month of June 
 succeeding the triumphant entry of the allied forces into 
 Paris, March 30, when Napoleon abdicated to give place to 
 Louis XVIII. (on the 6th of April, 1815), and the pacifica 
 tion of Europe. The report soon came that these British 
 troops were landing at Benedict, twenty- seven miles east 
 of Washington, on the Patuxent, and that they were pre 
 paring to march to Washington, although there was great 
 uncertainty as to whether Washington, Annapolis, or Fort 
 Washington, on the Potomac, was their objective point. 
 Meantime more active preparations for defence were hastily 
 made by calling out all the available militia and regular 
 United States troops in the District of Columbia, as well as 
 from Baltimore and other sections not far distant. General 
 W. H. Winder was ordered to the command, and under 
 date of August 20 issued two " General Orders," calling on 
 his soldiers " to do their duty without regard to sacrifice 
 and privation," and upon the people within or contiguous to 
 his command " to rally round the standard of their country 
 in defence of the capital and their own firesides." These 
 orders were supplemented by a similar stirring appeal from 
 James H. Blake, the mayor of Washington. 
 
 There is undoubted evidence that President Madison 
 was early alive to the importance of adopting effective 
 measures for the safety of the capital. At a special Cabinet 
 meeting called for this purpose on July 1, 1814, the subject 
 was fully discussed and a plan of defence agreed on, which, 
 had it been carried out, might have proved successful. But 
 this failed, it appears, through the inefiiciency or indiffer 
 ence, or both combined, of General Armstrong, Secretary 
 
THE BATTLE OF BLADENSBUKG. 319 
 
 of War, who could not or would not believe, until the 
 enemy was seen on his march to Bladensburg, that Wash 
 ington was his destination ; who seemed to think it far 
 more probable that he was going either to Baltimore or 
 Annapolis, that he " would never be so mad as to make an 
 attempt on Washington, and that it was therefore totally 
 unnecessary to make any preparations for its defence." As 
 late as the day of the battle, the New York Evening Post 
 received information from Washington that, although the 
 British had disembarked at Benedict, they had not marched 
 thitherward, and that the militia had collected in such num 
 bers in and near the capital as to insure its safety in case 
 of attack. The result, however, was that, "only eleven 
 days before the enemy entered the city, the commanding 
 general had under his orders but little more than one 
 thousand men," and with his utmost exertions he had suc 
 ceeded in collecting not more than half the force it was 
 intended by the President he should have when the day of 
 battle came. Even then, a regiment of some eight hundred 
 men from Virginia, who arrived in the city the day before, 
 could not join the army for want of necessary equipments, 
 for which the War Department had made little or no 
 provision. General Winder, in his official report, says, 
 " About five thousand men, including three hundred and 
 fifty regulars and Commodore Barney s command (about 
 five hundred men), was all that he was able to interpose at 
 Bladensburg. Much the larger part of this force, he says, 
 arrived on the ground when the enemy were in sight, and 
 were disposed of to support in the best manner the position 
 which General Stansbury had taken with his command from 
 Baltimore. They had barely reached the ground before the 
 action commenced." 
 
 For several days before the British ventured up the 
 Patuxent, detachments were from time to time landed 
 from their vessels and engaged in committing depredations 
 on the unoffending planters, burning their dwellings and 
 
320 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 seizing tobacco and other products, not omitting to supply 
 themselves with provisions, the most delicate within their 
 reach. Commodore Barney had moved his flotilla up the 
 Patuxent above Nottingham. It consisted, he said, " of 
 fourteen open row-boats (not gun-boats) and one tender, 
 having crews amounting in the whole to five hundred and 
 three men." On Friday, August 19, Colonel Monroe, Sec 
 retary of State, with Captain Thornton s troops from Alex 
 andria, made a reconnoissance, and discovered that the 
 enemy was debarking at Benedict. A letter from Wash 
 ington, in the Richmond Enquirer of August 23, states that 
 Colonel Monroe was near being captured at Nottingham, 
 but that he escaped from one side of the town while the 
 British were marching in at the other. Mr. George K. 
 Gleig, a British subaltern present, thus describes the de 
 barkation : " As soon as the dawn began to appear on the 
 morning of the 19th, there was a general stir throughout 
 the fleet. A gun-brig had already taken her station within 
 one hundred and fifty yards of a village called St. Bene 
 dict s, on the left bank of the river, where it was deter 
 mined that the disembarkation should be effected. Her 
 broadside was turned toward the shore, and her guns, 
 loaded with grape- and round-shot, were pointed at the 
 beach to cover the landing of the boats; and being moored 
 fore and aft with spring cables, she was altogether as man 
 ageable as if she had been under sail. . . . By three o clock 
 in the afternoon the whole army was landed, and occupied 
 a strong position about two miles above the village." 
 
 On Saturday, August 20, General Winder despatched 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Tilghman, with his squadron of dra 
 goons, " by way of the Wood Yard (about fifteen miles 
 from Washington), to fall down upon the British, to annoy, 
 harass, and impede their march by every possible means, to 
 remove or destroy forage and provisions from before the 
 enemy, and gain intelligence. Captain Caldwell, with his 
 troop of city cavalry, was despatched with the same views 
 
THE BATTLE OF BLADENSBURG. 321 
 
 toward Benedict by Piscataway, it being wholly uncertain 
 what route the enemy would take if it was his intention to 
 come to Washington." Other smaller detachments were 
 sent to different points to watch the movements of the 
 enemy and give information. At that time, being pretty 
 well convinced that it was the intention of the enemy to 
 proceed directly to Washington, General Winder gave 
 orders to Colonel Scott and Major Peter to retire and 
 occupy the first eligible position between the junction of 
 two roads leading thither and the Wood Yard. After a 
 great deal of reconnoitring and some skirmishing, in which 
 shots were exchanged with little effect, the British forces 
 continued slowly to advance and ours to fall back towards 
 the eastern branch of the Potomac and Bladensburg. Com 
 modore Barney s flotilla was lying near Mt. Pleasant, about 
 nine miles from Nottingham, when, on the approach of the 
 British fleet, August 21, the commodore, with four hundred 
 of his men, abandoned their boats, leaving the rest of the 
 crew with orders to blow them up, which they did on the 
 following day, and all joined the army. The capture or 
 destruction of this flotilla, which could not have been very 
 formidable, was undoubtedly the first object the enemy had 
 in view, and so soon as its destruction was thus accom 
 plished, they were left free to decide whether to take the 
 road to Washington, Annapolis, or Baltimore. While rest 
 ing within a few miles of Nottingham, squads of British sol 
 diers were sent out to scour the neighboring woods, where it 
 had been represented by some of the country people, prob 
 ably slaves impressed as guides into the service of the 
 enemy, " numerous detached bodies of riflemen lay in am 
 bush amid the thickets;" and Mr. Grleig relates "a little 
 adventure," which he says occurred to himself on one of 
 these excursions, premising that it illustrates what he was 
 pleased to style " the low cunning which forms a leading 
 trait in the American character." He says they surrounded 
 two men dressed in black coats, and armed with bright fire- 
 
 21 
 
322 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 locks and bayonets, sitting under a tree. " As soon," he 
 says, " as they observed me, they started up and took to 
 their heels, but, being hemmed in on all sides, they quickly 
 perceived that to escape was impossible, and, accordingly, 
 stood still. I hastened toward them, and, having got within 
 a few paces, I heard the one say to the other, with a look 
 of the most perfect simplicity, Stop, John, till the gentle 
 men pass. There was something so ludicrous in this 
 speech, and in the cast of countenance which accompanied 
 it, that I could not help laughing aloud ; nor was my mirth 
 diminished by their attempts to persuade me that they were 
 quiet country people, come out for no other purpose than 
 to shoot squirrels. When I desired to know whether they 
 carried bayonets to charge the squirrels, as well as muskets 
 to shoot them, they were rather at a loss for a reply ; but 
 they grumbled exceedingly when they found themselves 
 prisoners and conducted as such to the column." 
 
 During the night of August 21 the enemy remained at 
 Nottingham, their boats and tenders were anchored there, 
 and the next day, soon after daybreak, the whole moved 
 forward again ; but in such a way, first on one road and 
 then on the other, or by dividing their forces, some taking 
 the road toward Fort Washington and some toward An 
 napolis, as to keep General Winder in the dark respect 
 ing their real purpose, as well as to weary out his troops 
 by constant watching. As the enemy advanced, our troops 
 retired. By two o clock on the afternoon of August 22, 
 General Ross, supported by Rear- Admiral Cockburn, had 
 reached Maryborough, " where he remained until the same 
 hour next day, having, of course, abundant time to rest and 
 refresh his troops, and being perfectly unmolested." Late 
 in the afternoon of the 22d, General Winder, with the cav 
 alry of observation, retired to the Long Old Fields, ten 
 miles from Bladensburg, where his troops were encamped. 
 Here " he was informed that the President and heads of 
 departments had arrived at a house one mile in the rear of 
 
THE BATTLE OF BLADENSBURG. 323 
 
 the camp." About two o clock in the morning of the 23d 
 his troops were roused by " a false alarm from a sentinel, 
 were formed in order of battle, and, when dismissed, were 
 ordered to hold themselves ready for their posts at a mo 
 ment s warning." This was the second night in succession 
 in which they had been deprived of their rest. Before nine 
 o clock in the forenoon they were under arms again, and 
 were reviewed by the President and suite. General Stans- 
 bury was now at Bladensburg in command of the Baltimore 
 troops. The enemy still pressing forward toward the Long 
 Old Fields, General Smith had, agreeably to orders, sent 
 off the baggage across the Eastern Branch, and his troops, 
 together with Commodore Barney s men, were drawn up 
 ready to receive the enemy should he make an attack. 
 Orders had been sent to the city for the removal of the 
 public records, and the most important of these in the 
 State Department, and probably also in the War Depart 
 ment, both being in the same building, were taken first to 
 an unoccupied mill on the Virginia side, near the Chain 
 Bridge, a few miles above Georgetown, and soon afterward 
 to Leesburg. 
 
 The head of the enemy s column, by three o clock in the 
 afternoon of the 23d, was about five miles from Maryborough 
 and within three miles of General Winder s position, where 
 they halted. This being " at a point from whence they 
 could take the road to Bladensburg, to the Eastern Branca 
 bridge, or to Fort Washington, indifferently, or it might be 
 to cover their march upon Annapolis," great doubt was 
 yet entertained which course the British meant to pursue. 
 Their force was still " very imperfectly known, opinions 
 and representations varying, General Winder says, from 
 four to twelve thousand, the better opinion fixed it at from 
 five to seven thousand," while his force at Long Old Fields 
 numbered only about twenty-five hundred. In this state 
 of doubt and uncertainty, after waiting for the enemy until 
 sundown, General Winder determined, he said, to retire 
 
324 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 over the lower Eastern Branch bridge, and, Commodore 
 Barney concurring, they retired with their respective com 
 mands accordingly, and encamped in the city that night, 
 when by his order the upper bridge over the Eastern 
 Branch was destroyed. The President and heads of de 
 partments likewise left and went home. Commodore Bar 
 ney posted his artillery so as to command the lower bridge 
 at the Navy Yard. 
 
 About ten o clock next day, the 24th, General Winder 
 " received intelligence that the enemy had turned the head 
 of his column toward Bladensburg," leaving now no further 
 doubt of his intention to strike for Washington. General 
 Winder at once ordered General Smith with the whole of 
 the troops to move immediately to that point, while he him 
 self, " leaving the President and some of the heads of de 
 partments at his quarters, where they had been for an hour 
 or more," hastened forward and arrived at the Bladensburg 
 bridge about twelve o clock, where he found Colonel Beall 
 had that moment passed his command, having just arrived 
 from Annapolis. Upon inquiry, he learned that General 
 Stansbury was on rising ground on the left of his line, 
 where he soon found him and Colonel Monroe, who had 
 been aiding General Stansbury to post his command. 
 Meantime, General Smith with his troops had arrived on 
 the ground, and " Commodore Barney s men and marines 
 were halted on the turnpike about a mile" nearer the city, 
 in the rear of the main force. 
 
 Of this final struggle, all the accounts seem to agree as to 
 the main facts. About one o clock of the 24th, a column 
 of the enemy appeared in sight, moving up the Eastern 
 Branch parallel to the position of our troops. A galling 
 fire from the advanced artillery and Major Pinkney s bat 
 talion of Baltimore riflemen was immediately opened upon 
 them with terrible effect as they were descending the street 
 toward the bridge. Mr. Gleig, referring to this encounter, 
 says : " While we [the British troops] were moving along 
 
THE BATTLE OF BLADENSBURG. 325 
 
 the street, a continued fire was kept up, with some execu 
 tion, from those guns which stood at the left of the road, 
 but it was not till the bridge was covered with our people 
 that the two-gun battery on the road itself began to play. 
 Then, indeed, it also opened, and with tremendous effect; 
 for at the first discharge almost an entire company was 
 swept down." This caused the enemy to leave the street, 
 and they crept down under cover of houses and trees, in 
 loose order, so as not to expose themselves to risk from the 
 shot; it was therefore only occasionally that an object pre 
 sented at which the artillery could fire. In this sort of sus 
 pension the enemy began to throw rockets, and his light 
 troops to accumulate down in the lower parts of the town, 
 near the bridge, but principally covered from view by the 
 houses, and soon began to press across the creek, every 
 where fordable, and in most places lined with bushes and 
 trees, which sufficiently concealed their movements. The 
 advanced American riflemen fired half a dozen rounds, 
 when they retreated twenty or thirty yards while the 
 enemy s rockets, being at first aimed too high, were flying 
 over their heads. The President and Attorney-General 
 Richard Rush were briskly riding toward Bladensburg, 
 just before the battle begun, without perceiving that the 
 British were so near as to be almost within musket range, 
 and they were in great danger of being captured. They 
 turned into the orchard among our troops, where they met 
 the Secretaries of State and War, and where the greatest 
 consternation was manifest. Soon the rockets " received a 
 more horizontal direction, and passed very close above the 
 heads of Shultz s and Ragan s regiments, composing the 
 entire left of Stansbury s line. A universal flight of these 
 regiments was the consequence ;" nor could they be rallied, 
 with the exception of about forty men of Colonel Ragan s 
 and a part of Captain Showers command, who, although 
 thus deserted, made a gallant but ineffectual stand. Colo 
 nel Ragan, in his great efforts to rally his men, was 
 
326 TUENING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 wounded and taken prisoner. Major William Pinkney, 
 the eloquent lawyer and distinguished statesman, was also 
 seriously wounded. The Fifth Baltimore regiment, under 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Sterrett, being the left of General Stans- 
 bury s brigade, still stood its ground, and except for a 
 moment, when part of them recoiled a few steps, remained 
 firm until ordered to retreat. The reserve under General 
 Smith, with the militia of Washington and Georgetown, 
 the regulars, and some detachments of Maryland militia, 
 flanked on their right by Commodore Barney and his men, 
 and Colonel Beall, maintained the contest with great effect 
 until overpowered by numbers. 
 
 Commodore Barney had taken position, with three 18- 
 pounders, between General Stansbury s and General Smith s 
 commands, not far from the noted duelling-ground, and, 
 feebly supported by Colonel BealFs militia on a neighbor 
 ing eminence, by a well-directed fire the enemy was held in 
 suspense and suffered severely more than an hour, until the 
 British General, Ross, advanced with fresh troops to the 
 rescue. All accounts agree that the most stubborn resist 
 ance was made under Commodore Barney, whose brave 
 marines fought " until the enemy reached nearly to the 
 muzzles of the guns ; nor did they retire until ordered to 
 do so, after every hope of victory vanished." The British 
 narrator, Gleig, says the sailors not only " served their guns 
 with a quickness and precision which astonished their 
 assailants, but they stood till some of them were actually 
 bayoneted, with fuses in their hands ; nor was it till their 
 leader was wounded and taken, and they saw themselves 
 deserted on all sides by the soldiers, that they quitted the 
 field." The gallant commander, as he was preparing to 
 withdraw from an untenable position, received a ball in the 
 upper part of his thigh, which was never extracted, and of 
 which wound he died several years afterward. Thirteen 
 of his men were killed in action before the order for retreat 
 was given. 
 
THE BATTLE OF BLADENSBUEG. 327 
 
 This ended the battle. Although General Winder hoped 
 to be able to rally his troops and make another stand near 
 the Capitol, his forces were so disorganized and scattered 
 that he found it impossible ; and both the Secretary of War 
 and Secretary of State concurred with him that " it was 
 wise and proper to retire through Georgetown and take 
 post in the rear of it, on the height, to collect his force." 
 lie " accordingly pursued this course, and halted at Ten- 
 nallytown, two miles from Georgetown, on the Frederick 
 road." General Armstrong suggested throwing our troops 
 into the Capitol building, but this plan was at once dis 
 missed as impracticable, " since it would have taken nearly 
 the whole of them to have sufficiently filled the two wings, 
 which would have left the enemy masters of every other 
 part of the city." 
 
 Meantime the President and heads of departments had 
 made their escape in advance of the retreating troops, and 
 the utmost terror reigned in the cities of Washington and 
 Georgetown. A letter in the Baltimore Patriot of August 
 26, from an eye-witness, says : " The President, who had 
 been on horseback with the army the whole day, retired 
 from the mortifying scene and left the city on horseback 
 accompanied by General Mason and Mr. Carroll. At 
 Georgetown, the President met his lady, she having left 
 the city only half an hour before, having remained with 
 great composure at the President s house until a message 
 brought her the tidings that the British were within a few 
 miles of the city, and that our army was retreating with 
 out any chance of being rallied so as to check their march. 
 The President and Secretary of State went to Virginia with 
 their families, the other officers of the government to Fred- 
 ericktown, where the President intends to meet his secre 
 taries next week." I may add that our soldiers did not 
 tarry long at Tennallytown, but kept on to Montgomery 
 Court House. 
 
 I am inclined to believe that the President met his car- 
 
328 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 riage on reaching the city, as I found in the Richmond 
 Enquirer, of August 27, a statement to the effect that two 
 gentlemen, who passed through Washington on the day of 
 the battle, when about to start from Pennsylvania Avenue 
 for the Long Bridge, heard the cry " There goes the Pres 
 ident !" and looking, they saw him driving in his carriage 
 towards the President s house. They had come in a stage 
 from Baltimore, and the first intimation they had of danger 
 was on the road near Bladensburg, where they were met by 
 shrieking w r omen who reported that the enemy were ap 
 proaching, and the stage came into the city in a roundabout 
 way. Mr. Charles J. Ingersoll says : " After Barney s and 
 Miller s defeat and retreat [Miller was captain of the 
 marines], Ross attempted nothing further. One-fifth of his 
 army was killed, wounded, or missing, for they deserted 
 whenever they could, and the rest were so entirely over 
 come by their labors and exertions from early in the morn 
 ing until four o clock [when the contest, begun at one 
 o clock, ended] that they were incapable of further effort. 
 Rest was indispensable to them, and as they lay on the 
 ground it was Barney s opinion, freely expressed, that five 
 hundred well-disciplined cavalry could have rode through 
 and taken them all, almost without waking them from their 
 heavy slumbers. Cockburn s jocular and contemptuous 
 ofiicial reason for not pursuing was, that the victors were 
 too weary and the vanquished too swift." 
 
 There is no doubt as to the exhausted condition of a large 
 part of the forces of both armies. The weather w r as very 
 hot ; many of our troops had been without proper food and 
 rest for three or four days ; and a writer in the Baltimore 
 Patriot states that the British soldiers " were so overpowered 
 by their rapid march that many of them fell dead on the 
 road. As they passed through Bladensburg their mouths 
 \vere open, gasping for breath, and their officers were order 
 ing them forward with their swords and spontoons. Twelve 
 were buried in one field that had not a wound." The Na- 
 
THE BATTLE OF BLADENSBURG. 329 
 
 tional Intelligencer, of September 1, says : " The loss of the 
 enemy before he regained his ships [on the 29th of August] 
 probably exceeded a thousand men. He lost at least two 
 hundred killed in the battle and by explosion, and three or 
 four hundred wounded. Many died of fatigue, numbers 
 were taken prisoners by the cavalry hanging on his rear, 
 and not a few deserted." Our loss was twenty-six killed 
 and fifty-one wounded. 
 
 On August 20, in a sharp encounter near the coast, the 
 British lost one of their distinguished officers, Sir Peter 
 Parker, commander of the ship Menelaus, besides thirteen 
 soldiers killed and twenty-seven wounded. According to 
 Niles s Register, he had said he " must have a frolic with the 
 Yankees before he left them," and, in order to gratify this 
 desire, he went out with a detachment to surprise Colonel 
 Kead, a veteran of the Revolutionary war, who, with one 
 hundred and seventy men, was watching the enemy at 
 Belair. They met in the night, and in the " frolic" which 
 ensued Sir Peter received a mortal wound and expired in a 
 few minutes. It is worthy of note, singular as it may seem, 
 that, for this military exploit, he has a monument in West 
 minster Abbey. 
 
 Accounts vary slightly as regards the entry and reception 
 of the enemy into the city. A correspondent wrote from 
 Baltimore, September 1 : " The British army was halted 
 on the plain near the capital. General Ross, Admiral 
 Cockburn, and some other officers, with about one hundred 
 and fifty men, entered the city. On passing a house near 
 the Capitol, in which Mr. Gallatin formerly resided, a shot 
 from a window, said to be fired by a French barber, killed 
 the horse on which General Ross rode. This imprudent 
 act caused the destruction of the house and adjoining build 
 ings." Mr. Chester Bailey, a United States mail contractor, 
 purporting to be an eye-witness, wrote to Paulson s Adver 
 tiser, Philadelphia, " After the battle, a small party of the 
 British entered the city about 9 P.M. ; on passing the first 
 
330 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 house (this was at the corner of Second Street East and the 
 old Baltimore turnpike, which had been occupied by Mr. 
 Gallatin when Secretary of the Treasury) a volley was fired 
 from the windows, which killed General Boss s horse under 
 him, one soldier, and wounded three others ; the house was 
 immediately surrounded and some prisoners taken (a part 
 of them were negroes) and the house set on fire." Inger- 
 soll says : " Having given his exhausted soldiers some in 
 dispensable repose, Ross, with Cockburn, attended by a 
 body guard of two hundred bayonets, and saluted by the 
 fulminations from the Navy Yard, rode slowly into the 
 wilderness city, whose population was a little over eight 
 thousand, scattered over large spaces, and of whom almost 
 every male was then absent, either in arms, some distant 
 hiding-place, or a few keeping close in their dwellings. 
 Many passed the night in huts and corn fields around the 
 town. The first considerable dwelling the enemy was to 
 pass had been Mr. Gallatin s residence, the house of Mrs. 
 Sewell, some hundred yards from the Capitol. From be 
 hind the side wall of that house, as is supposed, at all events 
 from or near to it, a solitary musket, fired by some excited, 
 and perhaps intoxicated person, believed to be a well-known 
 Irish barber, but never ascertained who was the perpetra 
 tor, no doubt aimed at General Ross, killed the bay mare he 
 rode." 
 
 Mr. Gleig said it was General Ross s intention only " to 
 lay the city under contribution, and return quietly to the 
 shipping," and that therefore " he did not march the troops 
 immediately to the city, but halted them upon a plain in its 
 immediate vicinity, whilst a flag of truce was sent in with 
 terms. But whatever his proposal might have been, it was 
 not so much as heard, for scarcely had the party bearing 
 the flag entered the street than they were fired upon from 
 the windows of one of the houses, and the horse of the 
 General himself, who accompanied them, killed. You will 
 easily believe that conduct so unjustifiable, so direct a 
 
BURNING OF WASHINGTON IN 1814. 331 
 
 breach of the law of nations, roused the indignation of 
 every individual, from the General himself down to the 
 private soldier. All thoughts of accommodation were in 
 stantly laid aside ; the troops advanced forthwith into the 
 town, and having put to the sword all who were found in 
 the house from which the shots were fired, and reduced 
 it to ashes, they proceeded, without a moment s delay, to 
 burn and destroy everything in the most distant degree 
 connected with the Government." 
 
 It is proper to state here that this British account of an 
 intention to spare the city is not credited, as Admiral Cock- 
 burn, Commander-in-chief of the British fleet, had, under 
 date of August 18, addressed a letter to Secretary Monroe, 
 informing him that he had received instructions from his 
 government " to destroy and lay waste such towns and dis 
 tricts on the coast as may be found assailable," in retalia 
 tion for alleged depredations of our troops in Upper Canada. 
 The Admiral, however, knew, or should have known, that 
 full reparation had been made to the satisfaction of the 
 Governor of that province in the preceding February, and 
 he took the precaution to retain his threatening letter until 
 ten days after the date before sending it off, so that it did 
 not reach its destination until August 31, a week after the 
 burning of the Capitol and other Government buildings. 
 While the enemy were entering the city, the Navy Yard 
 was being destroyed by order of the Secretary of the Navy, 
 and the bridge over the Eastern Branch there was also 
 blown up, most unnecessarily, as it was considered, by 
 United States engineers. 
 
 The first public building set on fire by the British was 
 the Capitol. The British column continued its march to 
 the eastern front of that edifice, then deployed into line, 
 and directing a volley of musketry at it, took formal pos 
 session in the name of their king. It is a singular and in 
 teresting historical fact, that the British lieutenant who 
 forced the Capitol, by breaking down one or more of its 
 
332 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 doors, was afterwards for many years a member of Parlia 
 ment. He won great distinction in the army, serving in 
 India, Portugal, and Spain, before he was sent to America, 
 where he took part in the attacks on Washington and Bal 
 timore, and was wounded before New Orleans. He served 
 under Wellington, both in the Peninsular war and at 
 Waterloo. He was noted for volunteering for storming 
 parties. In 1835, he commanded a British auxiliary legion 
 of ten thousand men in aid of the Queen of Spain against 
 Don Carlos ; was a lieutenant-general in the Crimean war, 
 " and for his services at the Alma and Inkerman he re 
 ceived the thanks of Parliament, and the grand cross of 
 the Bath, and was made a grand officer of the Legion of 
 Honor." This was Sir De Lacy Evans, who was born in 
 1787 and died in 1870. 
 
 Finding that the Capitol was partially fire-proof, it was 
 at first decided to blow it up with gunpowder, but, this 
 determination being announced to the citizens nearest the 
 building, their " expostulations, together with the entreaties 
 of the ladies, induced the general to order it to be set fire 
 to in every vulnerable point, and it was soon enveloped in 
 flames." Mr. Ingersoll states that it was among the stories 
 told when Congress met three weeks afterwards, " that the 
 Admiral (Cockburn), in a strain of coarse levity, mounting 
 the Speaker s chair, put the question, Shall this harbor of 
 Yankee democracy be burned ? All for it will say, Aye ; 
 to which loud cries of assent bein^ vociferated, he reversed 
 
 O 
 
 the question, pronounced it carried unanimously, and the 
 mock resolution was executed by rockets and other com 
 bustibles applied to the chairs and furniture (as well as 
 library books and papers) heaped up in the centre and fired 
 wherever there was a fit place. The temporary wooden 
 structure connecting the two wings readily kindled. Doors, 
 chairs, the consumable parts, the library and its contents in 
 an upper room of the Senate wing, everything that would 
 take fire, soon disappeared in sheets of flame, illuminating 
 
BURNING OF WASHINGTON IN 1814. 333 
 
 and consternating the environs for thirty miles around, 
 whence the conflagration was visible. In a room adjoining 
 the Senate chamber portraits of the King and Queen of 
 France, Louis the XVI. and his wife, were cut from the 
 frames, by whom has never appeared. The frames were 
 scorched, but not burned." Some parts of the building, 
 being fire-proof, escaped the flames, notably the vestibule 
 of the Supreme Court Law Library, where some of the 
 columns are ornamented with a unique and beautiful 
 American order of architecture, representing Indian corn 
 in the ear. 
 
 The Capitol, with its library and most of its public records, 
 being thus destroyed, the troops, headed by Ross and Cock- 
 burn, and conducted by a former resident (who was soon 
 after arrested as a traitor), marched along Pennsylvania 
 Avenue, "without beat of drum or other martial sound 
 than their ponderous tramp," and set fire to the President s 
 house and Treasury building. Mr. Gleig states that " when 
 this detachment, sent out to destroy Mr. Madison s house, 
 entered his dining parlor, they found a dinner-table spread 
 and covers laid for forty guests. Several kinds of wine in 
 handsome cut-glass decanters were cooling on the side 
 board; plate-holders stood by the fire-place filled with 
 dishes and plates ; knives, forks, and spoons were arranged 
 for immediate use ; in short, everything was ready for the 
 entertainment of a ceremonious party." They sat down to 
 this dinner, he says, " not indeed in the most orderly man 
 ner, but with countenances which would not have disgraced 
 
 O 
 
 a party of aldermen at a civic feast ; and having satisfied 
 their appetites and partaken pretty freely of the wines, 
 they finished by setting fire to the house which had so lib 
 erally entertained them." This grand dinner was no doubt 
 a myth. The story is improbable for various reasons. In 
 the first place, the President had been with the army in the 
 field much of the time, for the two or three days the great 
 est alarm and confusion prevailed among the inhabitants 
 
334 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 remaining in the city, and we have the testimony of the 
 President s porter, not only that there was no preparation 
 for dinner or eating beyond a small quantity of meat in the 
 kitchen, but if there had been food, that the British would 
 not have eaten it, such was their fear of poison. Mr. 
 Bailey, before cited, however, in his account, says the 
 troops entered and took some powder and collected some 
 papers, and soon an explosion was heard and the house 
 was seen on fire. The Treasury Office, he adds, was also 
 soon on fire ; the President s house being first despoiled of 
 a few objects of curiosity some pictures and books from 
 Mr. Madison s library, and a parcel of the pencil notes 
 received by Mrs. Madison from her husband while he was 
 with the troops. Before leaving the house she had seen to 
 the removal of many valuable articles, including the full- 
 length portrait of Washington, still preserved in the White 
 House. It has been often said that, in order to save this 
 portrait, she cut it from the frame, which it appears she 
 was ready, knife in hand, to do, but fortunately those 
 assisting succeeded in detaching it from the gilt frame and 
 preserving it intact on the inner wooden frame. She is 
 likewise credited with having saved the original Declara 
 tion of Independence. 
 
 The Hon. J. H. B. Latrobe, President of the Maryland 
 Historical Society, kindly placed in my hands an interesting 
 letter written to his mother by Mrs. Madison, December 3, 
 1814, giving a graphic account of her escape from the 
 White House. As an excuse for delay, she says that she 
 wrote a long letter, then in her drawer unfinished and out 
 of date, her husband having been taken sick before she had 
 described all her adventures, and continued indisposed so 
 long that she lost the thread of her story and became 
 ashamed of her egotism. She continues : 
 
 " Two hours before the enemy entered the city, I left the house where 
 Mr. Latrobe s elegant taste had been so justly admired, and where you 
 and I had so often wandered together, and on that very day I sent out the 
 
BURNING OF WASHINGTON IN 1814. 335 
 
 silver (nearly all) the velvet curtains and General Washington s picture, 
 the cabinet papers, a few books, and the small clock left everything else 
 belonging to the publick, our own valuable stores of every description, a 
 part of my clothes, and all my servants clothes, &c., &c., in short, it 
 would fatigue you to read the list of my losses, or an account of the gen 
 eral dismay, or particular distresses of your acquaintance. Mrs. Hunter 
 and Mrs. Thompson were the only ladies who stood their ground. I 
 confess that I was so unfeminine as to be free from fear, and willing to 
 remain in the Castle. If I could have had a cannon through every win 
 dow, but, alas ! those who should have placed them there, fled before me, 
 and my whole heart mourned for my country ! I remained nearly three 
 days out of town, but I cannot tell you what I felt on re-entering it 
 such destruction such confusion ! The fleet full in view and in the act 
 of robbing Alexandria! The citizens expecting another visit and at 
 night the rockets were seen flying near us !" 
 
 In a letter to his wife, October 14, 1814, William Wirt 
 wrote : 
 
 "I went to look at the ruins of the President s house. The rooms 
 which you saw so richly furnished, exhibited nothing but unroofed 
 naked walls, cracked, defaced, and blackened with fire. I cannot tell you 
 what I felt as I walked amongst them. . . . From this mournful monu 
 ment of American imbecility and improvidence, and of British atrocity, 
 I went to the lobby of the House of Representatives, a miserable little 
 narrow box, in which I was crowded and suffocated for about three hours, 
 in order to see and hear the wise men of the nation. They are no great 
 things. ... I called on the President. He looks miserably shattered 
 and woe-begone. In short, he looked heart-broken. His mind is full of 
 the New England sedition." 
 
 Besides his excellent library, Mr. Madison lost a large 
 amount of other private property, estimated at twelve thou 
 sand dollars. Whilst these buildings were blazing, eleven 
 of the British officers, including Ross and Cockburn, were 
 taking a supper at Mrs. Suter s boarding-house near by, 
 which General Ross had ordered before applying the torch, 
 insisting against the good woman s protest that he preferred 
 her house to McLeod s tavern across the way "because 
 [he said] he had some acquaintance with her, mentioning 
 several familiar circumstances," showing that he had been 
 
336 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 there, no doubt as a spy, before the battle. The woman 
 who waited at the table recognized two of the party, one of 
 them, wretchedly dressed, pretending to be a deserter from 
 the British army, having a few days before called at the 
 house and begged for something to eat. Another had also 
 been there previously, and was acquainted with the locali 
 ties. Mr. Ingersoll, who received his information from the 
 landlady herself, asserts that when the party came for sup 
 per, one of them, dressed in blue and mounted on a mule, 
 rode partly through the low front door into the house, in 
 troducing himself as the much-abused Admiral Cockburn. 
 At table he blew out the candles, saying he preferred the 
 light of the burning palace and Treasury, whose conflagra 
 tion hard by illuminated the room. The following ap 
 peared in the Intelligencer a few days afterwards : 
 
 " Look out for spies I It is an impression now very general that the fall 
 of this city may be ascribed to the facility with which spies and traitors 
 carried on their operations even within a week preceding the capture by 
 the enemy. With a view to warn our neighbors against the evil into 
 which it appears our citizens fell, we shall state a singular fact, which is 
 susceptible of legal proof. The lady of a house where the British offi 
 cers supped on the evening they entered the city, recognized among them 
 a person who had been at her house, and even called on Mrs. Madison 
 in the President s house (as the person declared) in the disguise of a dis 
 tressed woman, on the Saturday preceding the capture ! This is a fact 
 which may be relied on. The number and names of all the landlady s 
 family, then absent, were also known to this officer, with whom were Gen 
 eral Ross and Cockburn, the incendiary." 
 
 After destroying the Capitol, President s house, and 
 Treasury building, the British retired for the night to their 
 main army in camp on Capitol Hill. The edifice of the 
 State and War Departments and the building occupied by 
 the Patent and General Post Office, on the present site of 
 the latter department, being still unharmed, they sallied 
 out again on the morning of the 25th, with orders to com 
 mit them also to the flames, together with the printing 
 office of the Intelligencer. On their way up the avenue they 
 
BUKNING OF WASHINGTON IN 1814. 337 
 
 were confronted by a young man on horseback, whose name 
 was Lewis, " claiming relationship to General Washing 
 ton," who discharged a pistol at them, when he was in 
 stantly shot down. It was said he thought thus to avenge 
 himself for having been impressed on a British ship and 
 compelled to fight against his own country. The column 
 kept on and the State and War Department building was 
 soon in ashes, but the Patent Office was spared through the 
 earnest intercession of its chief, Dr. William Thornton, 
 Rev. O. B. Brown, and other citizens, who urged that it 
 would be a shame and disgrace to burn the valuable models 
 and drawings deposited there, which would be useful to all 
 mankind. Thus the Post Office, too, was saved. Coming 
 to the office of the Intelligencer, which was obnoxious to 
 British vengeance on account of its bold denunciation of 
 British barbarities in the destruction and pillage of private 
 property on the coast and elsewhere, the incendiary torch 
 was about to be applied to that building, when, seeing that 
 its conflagration would involve the destruction of several 
 other private buildings adjacent thereto, the officer in 
 charge was prevailed on to spare it, taking care, however, 
 to destroy the editor s library and the presses and other 
 printing materials of the establishment. " Be sure," said 
 Cockburn, " that all the C s are destroyed, so that the ras 
 cals can have no further means of abusing my name as they 
 have done. I ll punish Madison s man Joe (Gales) as I have 
 his master Jim." 
 
 While this devastation was going on, another detachment 
 of troops, both soldiers and sailors, was sent to complete 
 the destruction at the Navy Yard and Arsenal, which had 
 been partially destroyed by order of the Secretary of the 
 Navy, with one or more war ships lying in the river. 
 Having, as they thought, accomplished their vandal work, 
 among other things mutilating the Naval Monument, after 
 wards removed to the basin at the west front of the Capitol, 
 and thence, a few years ago, to Annapolis, Mr. Ingersoll 
 
 22 
 
338 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 states that one of the men, as they were about leaving 
 Greenleaf s Point, where the Arsenal was located, " pitched 
 his torch, as a safe place for extinguishment," into a dry 
 well where large quantities of gunpowder, shells, and other 
 munitions of war had been concealed, when, " with a terrible 
 crash, the mine instantly exploded, flinging missiles of death 
 and mutilation wide around, killing and cruelly wounding 
 near a hundred of the surrounding destroyers." Mr. Ed 
 ward Simins, of Washington, a well-preserved gentleman 
 of ninety years, who was officially mentioned for his 
 bravery at the battle of Bladensburg, told me, a few weeks 
 before his death, which occurred on the 14th of February, 
 1884, that this explosion was caused, not by the throwing 
 of a torch into the well, but from the ignition of a train 
 of powder which had fallen from the kegs in their removal 
 to the well. This seems more probable, since the incendi 
 aries were sent to burn and not to extinguish. An officer 
 of the British ship Regulus, writing home at the time, and 
 giving an account of this disaster, states the number killed 
 as " about twelve, and wounded about thirty more, most 
 of them in a dreadful manner." He says he had the good 
 fortune to escape with whole skin and bones, but somewhat 
 bruised, adding, " the groans of the people, almost buried 
 in the earth, or with legs and arms broke, and the sight of 
 pieces of bodies lying about, was a thousand times more 
 distressing than the loss we met with in the field the day 
 before." Major Williams thinks the British loss was un 
 derstated by this officer. 
 
 On the night of the 24th, or following day, the Long 
 Bridge over the Potomac was rendered impassable by the 
 burning or blowing up of both ends the Washington end 
 by the British, and that on the Virginia side by a corporal 
 in charge of it, perceiving, as he thought, a body of the 
 enemy about to cross from the city ; whilst, on the other 
 hand, the British were equally panic-stricken under the 
 apprehension that our troops, to the number, as they sup- 
 
BURNING OF WASHINGTON IN 1814. 339 
 
 posed, of twelve thousand or more, were on their way from 
 the other side to recapture the city. That night a complete 
 Bull-Run panic reigned on both sides. " Early in the even 
 ing," says a British officer who was present, " the different 
 British corps had been directed, in a whisper, to make ready 
 for falling back as soon as darkness should set in. From 
 the men, however, the thing was kept profoundly secret," 
 although they were given to understand that an important 
 movement was about to take place, and hints were thrown 
 out to induce the expectation of a further advance instead 
 of a retreat, which was carried out with all the secrecy and 
 silence possible before morning. While the ruthless in 
 vaders were thus stealing away in alarm on account of the 
 non-arrival of their fleet at Alexandria, as expected, and 
 what they had erroneously supposed was a greatly aug 
 mented force of American troops ready to swoop down 
 upon them from Georgetown Heights, the President and 
 heads of departments, with Mrs. Madison, having crossed 
 over into Virginia the evening before, had made their way 
 to the point of rendezvous a tavern sixteen miles from 
 Georgetown, where they were to spend the night. At 
 midnight they were startled by a report that the British 
 were coming ; and it had been given out that it was their 
 purpose, if possible, to capture the President and take him 
 to London. Telling his wife to disguise herself, use another 
 carriage than her own, and fly still further, the President 
 left " his hiding-place in the inn to pass the rest of that 
 moist and wretched night in a hovel in the woods." Early 
 next day tidings reached them that the British had with 
 drawn, and all now turned their steps towards the city. 
 
 When Mrs. Madison, still in her disguise, with only one 
 attendant, arrived at Long Bridge, burned at both ends, 
 Colonel Fenwick, in command there, and " busy in trans 
 porting munitions of war over the Potomac in the only 
 boat left at his disposal, peremptorily refused to let any 
 unknown woman cross in the boat with her carriage." She 
 
340 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 sent for him, and, on making herself known confidentially, 
 she " was driven in her carriage into the frail boat, which 
 bore her homewards," and she stopped at her sister s, Mrs. 
 Cutts s house, which was owned and occupied many years, 
 and to the time of his death, by ex-President John Quincy 
 Adams, on F Street, one square from the Treasury Depart 
 ment. The President and his secretaries returned by way 
 of Georgetown, and the government was soon again set 
 on foot. After boarding at Mrs. Cutts s a few weeks, the 
 President and family resumed housekeeping in the Ogle 
 Tayloe mansion, still standing at the corner of Eighteenth 
 Street and New York Avenue, where they passed the 
 winter. The special session of Congress, called for the 
 19th of September, was held in the Patent Office. 
 
 The enemy did not stop to bury their dead, and they left 
 many of their wounded behind. Philip Frenau thus de 
 scribes their arrival and exit : 
 
 " A veteran host by veterans led, 
 With Ross and Cockburn at their head, 
 They came they saw they burned and fled I" 
 
 A part of their fleet pushed up the river to Alexandria, 
 August 28, when that city at once capitulated on humili 
 ating terms. Captain Gordon, the British officer in com 
 mand, states that Fort Washington was abandoned and the 
 magazine blown up by the United States garrison without 
 firing a gun, leaving the way clear for his ships to reach 
 Alexandria, and that he took from there seventy-one vessels 
 loaded with flour, tobacco, cotton, wine, sugar, and other 
 merchandise of value. With comparatively little damage, 
 in spite of all that could be done to oppose them by shore 
 batteries, fire-ships, and sharp-shooters, the enemy escaped 
 with their booty. Their next move was against Baltimore, 
 where, at the battle of North Point, September 12, Ad 
 miral Cockburn officially reported, " General Ross, in the 
 first desultory skirmish, received a musket-ball through hio 
 
BURNING OF WASHINGTON IN 1814. 341 
 
 arm into his breast, which proved fatal to him on his way 
 to the water-side for re-embarkation." Thus fell the British 
 general who led the attack on Washington, and who, at a 
 dinner there, August 25, gave as a toast, " Peace with 
 America war with Madison." 
 
 As will have been observed, I have introduced several 
 extracts from the British narrative of Mr. George R. Gleig ; 
 and it may be interesting to state that some time after I had 
 prepared this sketch, I learned incidentally that he was still 
 alive, and, at the age of ninety-one years, the Chaplain- 
 General of the British army. Thinking he might favor me 
 with some reminiscences of the British invasion and occu 
 pancy of Washington, I addressed him on the subject, and 
 have received two letters from him in reply, one dated 
 April 24 and the other June 4, 1884. 
 
 In the first he writes : 
 
 " You ask me for anecdotes connected with the battle of Bladensburg 
 and the capture of Washington. I could give you many were we face 
 to face. On paper I must confine myself to such as are least likely to 
 overtax your patience. 
 
 " 1. Nothing could exceed the kindness of the inhabitants of Bladens 
 burg to our wounded, both when thrust upon them and after we had 
 returned to our ships. In the same room with Colonel Thornton lay 
 your gallant Commodore Barney, both grievously hurt. A friendship 
 was at once struck up between them, which lasted through their lives. 
 The commodore told Thornton the following story: I commanded a 
 battery of artillery and saw one of your men deliberately pile up some 
 stones, then lie down behind them and take aim. " Oh," said I, to my 
 self, " you are a crack shot, I suppose, but I ll balk you," which I did, 
 for I pointed one of our guns at him myself, and when the smoke cleared 
 away his parapet was in ruins, and himself nowhere. I hope he ran 
 away. 
 
 " 2. When your people gave way, one brave fellow tried to stop them 
 by waving the flag he carried and taking a few steps to the front. But it 
 is not easy to rally raw troops as yours were, and only a few men answered 
 to his call. One I well remember, for he fired thrice at me, and wore a 
 black coat. We were in loose skirmishing order, and, being very anxious 
 to capture the color, I ran directly towards the bearer. Before I could 
 reach him, he dropped the color, evidently having received a wound, and 
 
342 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 my friend with the black coat moved off also, though not till with his 
 third shot he gave me a scratch in the thigh. I got the color, which 
 now hangs in the chapel of Chelsea Hospital. My wound, though slight, 
 made me stiff, and I was glad to enter Washington on horseback. 
 
 " 3. Two adventures befell me there. I was limping past a house in a 
 street near the Capitol, when a window was opened and a negro woman 
 invited me to enter. The family had quitted the town, and the servants 
 offered me all manner of good things. I was amused, and told them I 
 wanted nothing except a clean shirt, having only one which I had worn 
 since the 19th. The clean shirt was immediately produced, which I put 
 on, leaving mine to replace it. 
 
 " 4. On the 25th a hurricane fell on the city, which unroofed houses 
 and upset our three-pounder guns. It upset me also. It fairly lifted me 
 out of the saddle, and the horse which I had been riding I never saw 
 again. This is surely gossip enough." 
 
 In my letter of grateful acknowledgment, I inquired of 
 Mr. Gleig respecting the conflicting accounts of the fatal 
 explosion at the arsenal and of the alleged flag of truce. 
 This is his reply : 
 
 " I really do not know what was the cause of the explosion to which 
 you refer. The explosion itself I perfectly recollect ; but, not being near 
 the spot where it occurred, I have nothing more to revert to respecting 
 its cause than the rumors of the camp. Both the accounts which you 
 give to me were circulated among us. Which is the correct one, if 
 either, I cannot tell. I have no doubt you are right as regards the shots 
 fired after General Ross and Admiral Cockburn entered Washington. 
 It was dark when they entered the town, and as the American army had, 
 I believe, evacuated the place, the men [who] fired on the general would 
 not understand either the nature of the roll of the drum, which demands 
 a parley, or a white flag, if it were shown. With respect to the other 
 point, bearing on Ross s instructions, the facts are these : Twenty-three 
 American soldiers engaged in the invasion of Canada were recognized, 
 when taken prisoners, as deserters from the British army. They were 
 imprisoned preparatory to trial ; whereupon General Dearborn immedi 
 ately imprisoned as many British prisoners, and warned the English 
 authorities that life would go for life. Forthwith forty-six more Ameri 
 cans, officers and non-commissioned officers, were put in arrest as guar 
 antees for the lives of the British prisoners. On neither side were lives 
 taken, but the incident embittered the feeling of hostility which, on the 
 American side, vented itself in the burning of some Canadian villages 
 during the winter, and, on the side of England, called forth the stern 
 
THE BLADENSBURG RACES. 343 
 
 order to destroy American towns on the coast. Ross s despatch was not 
 a happy one. He seems to have been hurried by indignation into sanc 
 tioning proceedings which met with no approval in London ; indeed, so 
 little was our vandalism approved that the government withheld from 
 him the honors which he would have otherwise received after a brilliant 
 though short campaign." 
 
 The enemy succeeded not only in destroying property 
 valued at two million dollars, but by unparalleled barbarity 
 in inflicting upon their country a stigma, the record of 
 which there is not an Englishman of to-day who would 
 not rejoice to see erased from the pages of history. Our 
 own countrymen, too, I am inclined to believe, would be 
 willing to see this done, provided the record and recollec 
 tion of the not over-creditable defence of the capital could 
 also at the same time be forever blotted out. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE BLADENSBURG RACES. 
 
 EDITOR OF MAGAZINE OF AMERICAN HISTORY : 
 
 I wish I had known of an amusing production, which has 
 unexpectedly come into my hands, touching " The Bladens- 
 burg Races," since your contributor, Colonel Norton, wrote 
 me asking for some appropriate accompaniment to the bur 
 lesque British engraving of the " Burning of Washington," 
 in your December issue. This is a ballad of sixty-eight 
 stanzas, somewhat after the style of "John Gilpin s Ride." 
 It opens in this wise : 
 
 " James Madison a soldier was, 
 
 Of courage and renown, 
 
 And Generalissimo was he 
 
 Of famous Washington. 
 
 " Quoth Madison unto his spouse, 
 
 Though frighted we have been 
 These two last tedious weeks, yet we 
 No enemy have seen. 
 
344 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 " To-morrow is the twenty-fourth, 
 
 And much indeed I fear 
 That then, or on the following day, 
 That Cockburn will be here. 
 
 " To-morrow, then/ quoth she, we ll fly 
 
 As fast as we can pour 
 Northward unto Montgomery, 
 All in our coach and four. 
 
 " My sister Cutts, and Cutts and I, 
 
 And Cutts s children three, 
 Will fill the coach ; so you must ride 
 On horseback after we/ 
 
 " He soon replied, I do admire 
 
 Of humankind but one, 
 And you are she, my Dolly dear ; 
 Therefore it shall be done. " 
 
 The " Generalissimo" thereupon prepares for the trip 
 saying his " trusty steed the Griffin bold" would " safely 
 bear him through" that he, with the members of his Cab 
 inet, " would start as though for Bladensburg," but when 
 they had cleared the town they would put " for Montgom 
 ery, and o ertake the coach at early noon." This seemed 
 greatly to please " Mistress Dolly," on whose ruddy cheek 
 he pressed a kiss. 
 
 " O erjoyed was he to find, 
 Though bent on running off, she d still 
 His honor in her mind." 
 
 Fearing the " mob should grumble loud," the coach was 
 not allowed to start from the White House ; but " six 
 precious souls, and all agog," entered it " at brother 
 Cutts s." 
 
 " Smack went the whip, round went the wheels ; 
 
 Were never folks so glad : 
 The dust did rise beneath the coach, 
 As though the dust were mad." 
 
THE BLADENSBURG EACES. 345 
 
 The " General" mounted to follow, when, " looking 
 back," he " saw his Cabinet behind." 
 
 " Monroe, you re late P quoth Madison, 
 
 Tis late indeed, I fear, 
 For us to steer for Bladensburg ; 
 
 The British are so near. " 
 And now, as 
 
 " The Cabinet on horseback sat," 
 
 they " reasoned high," as to whether they should set out 
 for the camp, 
 
 " Or northward straight should fly." 
 
 Before the council ended " Cuffee screamed, De Shappo- 
 hat and sword " of the General " be leave behind, " when 
 he was directed to bring them at once. This caused a little 
 delay, but the "gallant Four" Madison, Monroe, Arm 
 strong, and Rush (the " Boatswain," Secretary of the Navy, 
 was detained) soon reached the " country road," when 
 they moved on rapidly, not a little accelerated by the 
 " loud blast of a bugle-horn," which disturbed " our hero," 
 the General, " it scared his horse so." 
 
 " Away went he, and after him 
 
 Our heroes rode apace ; 
 They little dreamt, when they set out, 
 Of running such a race." 
 
 With some mishaps and much trepidation, they at length 
 all " came unto the spot where Winder s forces lay," when 
 they anxiously inquired : 
 
 " * Where are the British ? Winder, where ? 
 
 And Cockburn, where is he? 
 D ye think your men will fight, or run, 
 When they the British see ? " 
 
 , telling Armstrong and Rush to " stay here in 
 camp," the " General," with Monroe as his " aid," said he 
 would return adding:: 
 
346 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 " And, Winder, do not fire your guns, 
 
 Nor let your trumpets play, 
 Till we are out of sight forsooth, 
 My horse will run away. " 
 
 They flew toward Montgomery, the " General :" 
 
 " Then, speaking to his horse, he said, 
 
 I am in haste to dine : 
 Twas for your pleasure I came here ; 
 You shall go back for mine. 
 
 " Now, at Montgomery, his wife 
 
 Out of the window spied 
 Her gallant husband, wond ring much 
 To see how he did ride. 
 
 " Stop, stop ! your Highness, here s the house ! 
 
 They all at once did roar ; 
 " Here, at Montgom ry, you re as safe 
 
 As ten miles off, or more. 
 
 " Stop him, Monroe ! here s sister Cutts, 
 
 The girls, and Cutts, and I ; 
 The dinner s cold, and we are tir d ! 
 Monroe says, So am I. " 
 
 But the distant cannonade so frightened the steeds that 
 " neither horse nor James a whit inclined to tarry there," 
 and, with Monroe, the " General" kept on until they finally 
 brought up at Frederick, much to the astonishment of 
 everybody on the road the women thinking " our General 
 rode express :" 
 
 " And so he did ; for he first bore 
 The news to Frederick- town ; 
 Nor stopt from where he first got up, 
 Till he again got down. 
 
 " Now, long live Madison, the brave ! 
 
 And Armstrong, long live he ! 
 And Rush, and Cutts, Monroe and Jones ! 
 And Dolly, long live she ! 
 
LETTER FROM MR. GEORGE R. GLEIG. 347 
 
 " And when, their country s cause at stake, 
 
 Our General and Monroe 
 Next take the field, to lead our troops 
 Against th invading foe ; 
 
 " But fly their posts ere the first gun 
 
 Has echo d o er the wave, 
 Stop ! stop ! Potomac ! stop thy course ! 
 Nor pass MOUNT VERNON S GRAVE I" 
 
 The whole production reveals an undercurrent of disre 
 spect and bitterness especially towards Madison which 
 leads to the supposition that the verses were written very 
 soon after the battle. They were printed in 1816, but the 
 author of them, so far as I am aware, is unknown. 
 
 WASHINGTON, December 2, 1885. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 LETTER FROM MR. GEORGE R. GLEIG, CHAPLAIN-GENERAL OF 
 THE BRITISH ARMY, CONCERNING THE BATTLE OF BLADENS- 
 BURG, IN WHICH MR. GLEIG WAS A PARTICIPANT NOTE OF 
 ANSWER TO HIM. 
 
 BYLANDS, WINCHFIELD, llth Nov., 1885. 
 THE HON. HORATIO KING : 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, I am very much obliged to you for 
 sending me a copy of the Magazine of American History, 
 which contains your interesting paper on the "Battle of 
 Bladensburg and the Capture of Washington." You de 
 scribe well the state of feeling among the inhabitants of the 
 city, and are doubtless more correct than one of the in 
 vading force could be as to the strength of the defending 
 troops brought into the field. But your authorities do us 
 some injustice when they speak of large desertions from 
 our ranks and acts of pillage by our men. We did not 
 
348 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 lose a single man by desertion. And never, perhaps, was 
 so little damage done to the persons and property of the 
 peaceable inhabitants by any hostile army on its march to 
 or from the capital. You know what my opinions are of 
 the wanton destruction to public buildings in Washington 
 itself. They were those of the home Government at the 
 time, and are entertained now by all classes. But in the 
 details related by you there are many ludicrous mistakes. 
 I was one of the battalion which first took up a position on 
 the high ground overlooking the capital, and I can vouch 
 for it that not a mortal shot was fired either before or after 
 the conflagration took place. Of the dinner in the Presi 
 dent s House, I certainly did not partake ; but I was told 
 by more than one of the officers who professed to have 
 been present at it, that it was a reality and not a myth. 
 So, likewise, in regard to our numbers, there can be no 
 mistake. We landed four battalions of the line and one of 
 marines, 3600 bayonets, which the sailors who dragged our 
 3-pounder guns, and the fifty artillerymen who worked 
 them, raised to about 4000 in all. Writing as I did with 
 out reference to official documents, I much overrated our 
 loss in battle, which, including several deaths by sunstroke, 
 amounted to a little over 300, not 500. So difficult is it to 
 be quite exact in writing history when historians of different 
 nationalities undertake to describe events, each as it had 
 represented itself to his own idiosyncrasy. 
 
 Born in 1796, 1 shall complete my ninetieth year on the 
 20th of April next, if I live so long. 
 
 Let me add that, while it lasted, the musketry fire of 
 your people at Bladensburg was as sharp as any which I 
 ever encountered from the French. 
 
 Once more thanking you for giving me the pleasure of 
 reading your account of our operations, in which I took 
 part upwards of seventy years ago, believe me, 
 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 
 G. R. GLEIQ. 
 
LETTER FKOM MR. GEORGE R. GLEIG. 349 
 
 [!N"oTE. Mr. Charles J. Ingersoll, author of an "His 
 torical Sketch" of the war, is the authority for stating that 
 the British troops fired at the Capitol before entering and 
 taking possession of it. He says, " Drawing up their 
 column on the east of the building, after a short consider 
 ation whether it should be exploded by gunpowder or con 
 sumed by fire, the latter was resolved upon by the enemy, 
 as was believed, lest the blowing up should injure adjacent 
 dwellings. The troops were ordered to fire a volley into 
 the windows, after which the commanders let their fol 
 lowers into the interior." This statement is reiterated by 
 a gentleman from Bladensburg, vouched for as reliable by 
 Mr. Ingersoll, and " confirmed by the important testimony 
 of a highly respectable English officer." This Bladensburg 
 gentleman, " with all the recollections [Ingersoll says] of 
 the very spot," gives the following account of the firing on 
 General Ross. He says that after Commodore Barney was 
 wounded and captured, " his sailors and marines, retreating 
 reluctantly, were burning with anxiety to have another 
 brush with the enemy, but were marched off by the officers, 
 their rear being closely followed by the British troops until 
 they entered the suburbs of Washington, when a party of 
 the sailors entered a three-story brick dwelling-house be 
 longing to Robert Sewell, and awaited the near approach 
 of the enemy s column, led by General Ross in person, 
 when they fired a volley which killed or disabled the horse 
 upon which the general was mounted. The sailors then 
 retreated by the rear of the building, and the British set 
 fire to and destroyed the house." With respect to the 
 elaborate dinner said to have been set out for the President 
 and invited guests at the White House, Ingersoll says, 
 " Mr. John Sousa, Mr. Madison s porter, a respectable 
 Frenchman, who still (in 1849) survives, pronounces all this 
 account of food a fable." 
 
 The private houses and the stores pillaged, according to 
 Ingersoll, were those of Messrs. Spriggs, Boon, Burch, 
 
350 TUENING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Long, Rapine, Watterson, McCormick, Caldwell, Elliott, 
 B. and C. Burns, Ricks, Crampton, and General Washing 
 ton ; and the dwellings burnt were those of Messrs. Sewell, 
 Ball, Frost, Phillips, Tomlinson, and Mrs. Hamilton, in 
 cluding the large hotel belonging to David Carroll, of Dud- 
 dington & Co. In his official report, Admiral Cockburn 
 boastingly said, " In short, sir, I do not believe a vestige of 
 public property or store of any kind which could be con 
 verted to the use of the Government, escaped destruction." 
 
 H. K] 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE PENALTY ENVELOPES : A LITTLE INSIDE HISTORY REGARD 
 ING THEIR INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IT would require several pages to present a detailed 
 account of my years of vexatious, gratuitous labor in ob 
 taining the introduction of the official "penalty envelope;" 
 but the following article which I furnished to the Boston 
 Herald of July 12, 1894, must suffice for the present occa 
 sion : 
 
 In the Herald of the 9th inst., there is what appears to 
 be a valuable historical account of United States postage- 
 stamps, but it doubtless contains some errors, one of which 
 I respectfully ask sufficient space to point out, since some 
 thing of my own action ten years and over after I left the 
 post-office department is connected with it. The writer 
 states : 
 
 " In order to put a stop to abuses of the franking privilege, official 
 stamps were provided in 1873 for each of the executive departments of 
 the government for use on official matter sent through the mails. They 
 were of about the same denominations as the ordinary stamps for the use 
 of the public. After a few years trial they were gradually abandoned, 
 and in their place the post-office department issued official penalty enve 
 lopes for official business. The last of the official stamps, which turned 
 
THE PENALTY ENVELOPES. 351 
 
 out to be a still greater source of abuse than the old franking practice, 
 came to pass in 1879." 
 
 The first act authorizing the use of the penalty envelope 
 bears date March 4, 1877, when it went into effect at once. 
 Its use would have been universal in the executive depart 
 ments but for a decision of the Attorney-General that, Con 
 gress having made an appropriation for departmental post 
 age-stamps at the same time, it was its intention that both 
 the penalty envelopes and stamps might be used. It was 
 natural for the third assistant postmaster-general, the finan 
 cial officer of the department, to ask an appropriation for 
 the stamps then in use, as it was not known whether the 
 penalty envelope would be authorized or not; but, when the 
 question arose, Senator Hamlin, chairman of the committee 
 on post-offices and post-roads, who had requested me to 
 submit my device to the committee (for I may be allowed, 
 as I have the right in justice to myself, to say it was my 
 device), wrote to me from his home in Bangor, saying : 
 " You and I know it was the purpose of the law that the 
 penalty envelope should take the place of the departmental 
 stamps." However, he advised that I should seek for 
 remedy by an amended bill, which I prepared, with various 
 improvements, taking care to add a clause, as I did in the 
 first bill, repealing the stamp act, and this was presented 
 at the next session of Congress. When it came finally to 
 pass, on March 4, 1879, as bad luck would have it, it was 
 tacked on to the general post-office appropriation bill, as the 
 first had been, leaving out the repealing clause. Meantime 
 the third assistant continued to ask for the stamp appro 
 priation, in defiance of the purpose and desire to get rid of 
 the stamps, which the adjutant-general and commissioner 
 of internal revenue both, I remember, denounced as an 
 intolerable nuisance; and so both systems were kept up, 
 to the annoyance of all the departments, except the post- 
 office, where the penalty envelope was universally used from 
 the passage of the first act. 
 
352 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 To make a long story short, I drew a third bill and " lob 
 bied" for it, pro bono publico, both through the press and in 
 Congress, until at length, in spite of the persistent opposi 
 tion of the third assistant postmaster-general, who, strange 
 to say, was allowed to have his own way in the matter, the 
 amended act became a law, broader in its scope than origi 
 nally intended, and forbidding the further use of the depart 
 mental stamps on July 5, 1884. Thereupon the stamps in 
 enormous quantities, mostly in the hands of the contractors, 
 were ordered to be destroyed. 
 
 Now, I do not hesitate to say that, had the first penalty 
 envelope act been allowed, as it was intended, entirely to 
 supplant the official stamps, the government, in the seven 
 years or more I literally fought for this reform, might have 
 saved in clerk hire, the prevention of fraud, etc., thousands 
 upon thousands of dollars. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 AN HOUR WITH DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 EVERYTHING relating to Daniel Webster is of interest, 
 from his boyhood to the close of his life, October 24, 1852, 
 at the age of threescore years and ten. The autobiography 
 of his early life plainly shows " the stuff he was made of," 
 exhibiting, as it does, the essential features of the best New 
 England character. In the first school he attended, only 
 reading and writing were taught, and as to these, he says, 
 " the first I generally could perform better than the teacher, 
 and the last a good master could hardly instruct me in ; 
 writing was so laborious, irksome, and repulsive an occu 
 pation to me always. My masters used to tell me that they 
 feared, after all, my fingers were destined for the plough- 
 tail." 
 
AN HOUR WITH DANIEL WEBSTER. 353 
 
 In May, 1796, young Webster was placed in Phillips 
 Academy, at Exeter, New Hampshire, where his instructors 
 were Mr. Thacher, afterward judge of the municipal court 
 of Boston, and Mcholas Emery, subsequently a distin 
 guished counsellor and judge of the supreme court, well 
 known to the writer, at Portland. Says Mr. "Webster : "I 
 am proud to call them both masters. I believe I made tol 
 erable progress in most branches which I attended to, while 
 in school ; but there was one thing I could not do. I could 
 not make a declamation ; I could not speak before the 
 school. The kind and excellent Buckminster [his Latin 
 teacher] sought, especially, to persuade me to perform the 
 exercises of declamation, like other boys, but I could not 
 do it. Many a piece did I commit to memory and recite, 
 and rehearse, in my own room, over and over again ; yet 
 when the day came, when the school collected to hear 
 declamations, when my name was called, and I saw all eyes 
 turned to my seat, I could not raise myself from it. Some 
 times the instructors frowned, sometimes they smiled. Mr. 
 Buckminster always pressed and entreated, most winningly, 
 that I would venture ; but I could never command sufficient 
 resolution. When the occasion was over, I went home and 
 wept bitter tears of mortification." 
 
 His instructors well knew how greatly success in life 
 often depends on the ability to give free utterance to one s 
 sentiments, without embarrassment, before a public assem 
 bly ; and hence their urgency. What but that invaluable 
 talent, or acquisition, assures the preference to many over 
 their associates, who, in point of general information, are 
 in all respects their equals if not superiors, but whose 
 speeches, when called for, lie hidden, as it were, and only 
 come to the mind with facility and triumphant effect when 
 they are safe from observation, oftener than otherwise, in 
 bed. 
 
 In 1802, at twenty years of age, Mr. Webster went to 
 Fryeburg, Maine, " to keep school," at the rate of three 
 
 23 
 
354 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 hundred and fifty dollars per annum. This (he says) was 
 no small thing, for " I compared it not with what might be 
 before me, but what was actually behind me. It was bet 
 ter, certainly, than following the plough." At an earlier 
 date, he says : " I was fond of poetry. By far the greater 
 part of Watts s psalms and hymns I could repeat at ten or 
 twelve years of age. I am sure no other sacred poetry will 
 ever appear to me so affecting and devout." About the 
 same time, when his father brought home a copy of Pope s 
 " Essay on Man," he says, " I took it and very soon could 
 repeat it from beginning to end." 
 
 Webster was not only fond of poetry, as evinced by his 
 poetic quotations in correspondence and speeches, but he 
 sometimes courted the muses, his poetical inspirations not 
 infrequently appearing in rhyme as well as in his prose pro 
 ductions. One of his earlier poems was addressed to George 
 Herbert, supposed to be one of his college companions, on 
 leaving Dartmouth College, December 20, 1798. He de 
 plores their separation in twenty -two lines of heroic meas 
 ure, and closes with this stanza : 
 
 " Let love and friendship reign, 
 Let virtue join the train 
 And all their sweets retain, 
 
 Till Phoebus blaze expire ; 
 Till God who rules on high 
 Shall rend the tottering sky, 
 All nature gasping die 
 
 And earth be wrapped in fire." 
 
 In a letter from Salisbury, February, 1809, to an asso 
 ciate whom he addressed familiarly as " Brother Bingham," 
 there is a hint that a Mr. Clark, another friend, had heard 
 that he " was just about to (try to) be married ;" and he in 
 troduces these original lines, presumably to describe the 
 maiden in the case : 
 
 " Bright Phoebus long all rival suns outshone, 
 And rode triumphant on his splendid throne ; 
 
AN HOUR WITH DANIEL WEBSTER. 355 
 
 When first he waked the blushes of the morn, 
 
 And spread his beauties o er the flowery lawn, 
 
 The yielding stars quick hastened from the sky, 
 
 Nor moon dare longer with his glories vie ; 
 
 He reigned supreme and, decked in roseate light, 
 
 Beamed his full splendors on the astonished night. 
 
 At length on earth behold a damsel rise, 
 
 Whose growing beauties charmed the wondering skies ! 
 
 As forth she walked to breathe the balmy air, 
 
 And view the beauties of the gay parterre, 
 
 Her radiant glories drowned the blaze of day, 
 
 And through all nature shot a brighter ray. 
 
 Old Phoebus saw and blushed now forced to own, 
 
 That with superior worth the damsel shone. 
 
 Graced with his name, he bade her ever shine, 
 
 And in his rival owned a form divine 1" 
 
 It was about this time, 1801, writing to " Brother 
 Harvey" Bingham, he got off the following distich. He 
 says : " I expect to meet many disappointments in the pros 
 ecution of the law. I find I have calculated too largely on 
 the profession. For this reason I have engaged a new aux 
 iliary to support me under mortification; it is tobacco. 
 
 " Come then, tobacco, new-found friend, 
 Come, and thy suppliant attend 
 
 In each dull, lonely hour. 
 Then, while the coxcomb pert and proud, 
 The politician learned and loud, 
 
 Keep one eternal clack, 
 I ll tread where silent nature smiles, 
 Where solitude my woe beguiles, 
 
 And chew thee, dear tobac." 
 
 He now addresses his friend Fuller again this time " all 
 in rhyme" an epistle so good I should like to quote it 
 
 entire : 
 
 " Since, friend Habijah, you are thus distrest, 
 Since Love s fierce tortures thus inflame your breast, 
 Since . . . s charms forever haunt your dreams, 
 And her fair form before you always seems, 
 A little poetry, perhaps, might roll 
 Love s boiling torrent from your troubled soul. 
 
356 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 I, too, with Muses straying through the grove, 
 
 May soothe my pains, though not the pains of love. 
 
 For those blessed fields, where Love s gay Graces reign, 
 
 I once have tried, and tried, alas ! in vain. 
 
 No longer on those verdant banks I tread, 
 
 No longer wander o er the flowery mead ; 
 
 Those fragrant lawns of Love, which you explore, 
 
 I once, perhaps, have known, but know no more. 
 
 " Come, then, together let us beat the field 
 Where Arts and Science their best laurels yield, 
 Together let us climb the ethereal height, 
 Where Freedom s flambeaux shed a living light ! 
 To sing Columbia, then, shall be our care, 
 Her arts, her arms, her heroes, and her fair. 
 Columbia hail ! thy glories fire my song, 
 Thy worth deserves, to thee the bays belong I 
 See Science glow within thy peaceful realm, 
 See her bright blaze old ignorance o erwhelm ! 
 See yon proud dome now register her name ! 
 See Dartmouth blazon the bright rolls of fame ! 
 Columbia s arms, too, soon shall awe the world, 
 And kings and tyrants from their thrones be hurled, 
 Her every hero shall a Eugene prove, 
 And bow to no one but the thundering Jove. 
 Her fair now rival Argos nymphs divine, 
 Though all her daughters not like . . . shine, 
 For when she gently rolls that sparkling eye, 
 When her soft bosom heaves the tender sigh, 
 Not Venus self to Paris did appear 
 Half so divine, so lovely, or so fair ! !" 
 
 From a poem of ninety-two lines on the " Course of Life," 
 addressed to Mr. John Porter, June 4, 1802, the following 
 is a characteristic quotation : 
 
 " Tis true, let Locke deny it to the last, 
 Man has three beings, Present, Future, Past. 
 We are, we were, we shall be ; this contains 
 The field of all our pleasures and our pains. 
 Enjoyment makes the present hour its own, 
 And hope looks forward into works unknown : 
 While backward turn d our thoughts incessant stray 
 And mid the fairy forms of memory play." 
 
AN HOUR WITH DANIEL WEBSTER. 357 
 
 The postscript of a letter of April 30, 1805, addressed to 
 his brother Ezekiel, ends thus : 
 
 " Fol de dol, dol de dol di dol, 
 I ll never make money my idol ; 
 For away our dollars will fly all. 
 With my friend and my pitcher 
 I m twenty times richer 
 Than if I made money my idol ; 
 Fol de dol, dol de dol di dol I" 
 
 There are many of Mr. Webster s poems extant, but no 
 one more remarkable, perhaps, than the lines on the death 
 of his son Charles, in the winter of 1825, after a short ill 
 ness, at the age of three years. In a touching notice of 
 his death, Mr. E. Buckminster Lee observes that he was 
 " a lovely child of singular attractiveness of mind and 
 character. Shortly after his death, when the round con 
 tour of the cheeks had a little fallen away, his face and 
 head were like a perfect miniature cast of his father. No 
 marble bust can ever present a more perfect likeness of his 
 noble father." 
 
 LINES ADDRESSED BY MR. WEBSTER TO HIS ANGEL CHILD. 
 
 " My son, thou wast my heart s delight, 
 
 Thy morn of life was gay and cheery ; 
 That morn has rushed to sudden night, 
 Thy father s house is sad and dreary. 
 
 " I held thee on my knee, my son ! 
 
 And kissed thee laughing, kissed thee weeping, 
 But, oh ! thy little day is done, 
 Thou rt with thy angel sister sleeping. 
 
 " The staff on which my years should lean 
 
 Is broken ere those years come o er me ; 
 My funeral rites thou shouldst have seen, 
 But thou art in the tomb before me. 
 
 " Thou rear st to me no filial stone, 
 
 No parent s grave with tears beholdest ; 
 Thou art my ancestor, my son ! 
 And stand st in Heaven s account the oldest. 
 
358 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 " On earth thy lot was soonest cast, 
 
 Thy generation after mine, 
 Thou hast thy predecessor past ; 
 Earlier eternity is thine. 
 
 " I should have set before thine eyes 
 
 The road to heaven, and shown it clear ; 
 But thou, untaught, spring st to the skies, 
 And leav st thy teacher lingering here. 
 
 " Sweet seraph, I would learn of thee, 
 
 And hasten to partake thy bliss ! 
 
 And oh ! to thy world welcome me, 
 
 As first I welcomed thee to this. 
 
 " Dear angel, thou art safe in heaven ; 
 
 No prayers for thee need more be made ; 
 Oh, let thy prayers for those be given 
 Who oft have blest thy infant head. 
 
 " My father ! I beheld thee born, 
 
 And led thy tottering steps with care, 
 Before me risen to heaven s bright morn, 
 My son ! my father ! guide me there." 
 
 Could anything be more touching? This tenderness of 
 feeling and dependence on an overruling power are manifest 
 throughout Webster s life. By nature he was devotional ; 
 and while in seasons of gayety it was his wont " to lend 
 himself gracefully and with infinite humor to the amuse 
 ment of the hour," there was never any attempt to conceal 
 the religious bent of his mind. He was a member of the 
 Congregational Church at Salisbury, which mode of wor 
 ship, he said, he believed, " on the whole, to be preferable 
 to any other," although, as he declared, he had " great 
 respect for some other forms of service;" and we have his 
 creed in fourteen brief articles of faith as communicated 
 by him in a letter to Eev. Thomas Worcester, former pastor 
 of that church. Of these, the two following are the eighth 
 and the last : 
 
 " I believe in the universal providence of God, and leave to Epicurus, 
 and more unreasonable followers in modern times, the inconsistency 
 
AN HOUR WITH DANIEL WEBSTER. 359 
 
 in believing that God made a world which He does not take the trouble 
 of governing. 
 
 " Finally, I believe that Christ has imposed on all his disciples a life 
 of active benevolence ; that he who only refrains from what he thinks 
 to be sinful has performed but a part, and a small part, of his duty ; that 
 he is bound to do good and communicate, to love his neighbor, to give 
 food and drink to his enemy, and to endeavor, as far as in him lies, to 
 promote peace, truth, piety, and happiness in a wicked and forlorn world, 
 believing that in the great day which is to come, there will be no other 
 standard of merit, no other criterion of character than that which is 
 already established, By their fruits ye shall know them. " 
 
 In a letter to his nephew, C. B. Haddock, March 21, 
 1828, he writes : 
 
 " It does not appear to me unreasonable to believe that the friendships 
 of this life are perpetuated in heaven. Flesh and blood, indeed, cannot 
 inherit the kingdom of God ; but I know not why that which constitutes 
 a pure source of happiness on earth, individual affection and love, may 
 not survive the tomb." 
 
 Again, in his discourse on the life and character of his 
 brother counsellor and bosom friend, the late Jeremiah 
 Mason, delivered about 1849, he observed that " nothing 
 of character is really permanent but virtue and personal 
 worth. They remain. Whatever of excellence is wrought 
 into the soul itself, belongs to both worlds. Real goodness 
 does not attach itself merely to this life, it points to another 
 world. Political or professional fame cannot last forever, 
 but a conscience void of offence before God and man is an 
 inheritance for eternity. Religion, therefore, is a necessity, 
 an indispensable element in any human character. There 
 is no living without it." 
 
 It would be instructive to make other extracts from his 
 orations and addresses, which found their way into my 
 scrap-book at the times of their delivery, but limited space 
 forbids. Often we see that this man did not hold him 
 self above recognizing a higher power whose blessings he 
 humbly craved for his country and humanity. Not the 
 least interesting features, alike of his private letters and his 
 
360 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 speeches, are apt poetical quotations, thus proving his love 
 of poetry, which some writers, in their superior wisdom, 
 nowadays presume to disparage, and these are not infre 
 quently from " Paradise Lost" and Pope s " Essay on Man," 
 the latter of which, as already remarked, and much of the 
 former also, it might seem, he committed to memory in 
 youth, when, as he states in his autobiography, " We had 
 so few books that to read them once or twice was nothing. 
 We thought that they were all to be got by heart." He 
 was accustomed, also, as stated to the writer by a justice 
 of the United States Supreme Court, to keep a stock of 
 good things, as well in prose as in poetry, constantly in 
 memory, to be used whenever occasion offered. Some of 
 the best of these, as is well known, are gems from his own 
 rich mine. 
 
 In April, 1891, an article of mine was published in the 
 Magazine of American History, in which I mentioned having 
 long had in my possession an original pamphlet copy of 
 an oration which I supposed the only one of the kind ex 
 tant, delivered by Mr. Webster, at Concord, New Hamp 
 shire, on July 4, 1806. I soon received a letter from Mr. 
 C. W. Lewis, of Boston, informing me that a copy of the 
 same is in the Boston Athenseum, and he sent me a pam 
 phlet, copyrighted by him in 1882, containing a Fourth of 
 July oration by Webster, made at Fryeburg, Maine, in 1802. 
 The preface to this pamphlet states that this oration had slept 
 for eighty years, when it found its way, with a large mass 
 of Webster s private papers, to an old junk-shop in Boston, 
 and " was there secured from destruction by the proprietor, 
 whose keen eye happened to catch the name of Webster on 
 one of the papers." Mr. Lewis also called attention to the 
 fact that some portions of both orations are much alike, 
 and, what is more remarkable, that the last speech made 
 by Mr. Webster in the Senate of the United States, July 
 17, 1850, concludes with almost the same peroration with 
 which he closed those two early orations. 
 
AN HOUR WITH DANIEL WEBSTER. 361 
 
 In his autobiography Webster observes : " Like other 
 young men, I made Fourth of July orations, at Fryeburg, 
 1802; at Salisbury, 1805; at Concord, 1806, which was 
 published ; and at Portsmouth, 1812, published, also." It 
 is quite evident that he did not intend the one of 1802, and 
 probably that of 1805, either, should ever see the light. 
 The following extract is taken from the oration of 1802. 
 After extolling in glowing terms the privileges vouchsafed 
 to the American people in point of climate, soil, rivers, 
 hills, etc., with a Constitution above all price, he exclaims : 
 
 " Amidst these profuse blessings of nature and of Providence, beware I 
 Standing in this place, sacred to truth, I dare not undertake to assure you 
 that your liberties and your happiness may not be lost. Men are subject 
 to men s misfortunes. If an angel should be winged from heaven, on an 
 errand of mercy, to our country, the first accents that would glow on his 
 lips would be, Beware ! be cautious ! you have everything to lose ; you 
 have nothing to gain. We live under the only government that ever 
 existed which was framed by the unrestrained and deliberate consulta 
 tions of the people. Miracles do not cluster. That which has happened 
 but once in six thousand years cannot be expected to happen often. Such 
 a government, once gone, might leave a void to be filled, for ages, with 
 revolution and turmoil, riot and despotism." 
 
 In the oration of 1806 the same expressions appear, and 
 there is a similarity of expression all the way through it. 
 He says, " A correct and energetic tone of public morals is 
 the prop on which free constitutions rest. After all that 
 can be said, the truth is, that LIBERTY consists more in 
 the morals and habits of the people than in anything else. 
 When the public mind becomes thoroughly vitiated and 
 depraved, every attempt to preserve public Liberty must 
 be in vain. Laws are then a nullity, and constitutions 
 waste paper." 
 
 The closing; sentences of the oration of 1802 are as fol- 
 
 O 
 
 lows : " A true patriot, with his eye and his heart on the 
 honor and happiness of his country, hath an elevation of 
 soul that lifts him above the rank of ordinary men. To 
 common occurrences he is indifferent. Personal considera- 
 
362 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 tions dwindle into nothing, in comparison with his high 
 sense of public duty. In all the vicissitudes of fortune he 
 leans with pleasure on the protection of Providence and on 
 the dignity and composure of his own mind. While his 
 country enjoys peace, he rejoices and is thankful ; and if it 
 be in the counsel of Heaven to send the storm and the 
 tempest, his bosom proudly swells against the rage that 
 assaults it. Above fear, above danger, he feels that the last 
 end which can happen to any man never comes too soon if he falls 
 in defence of the laws and liberties of his country" 
 
 Mr. Webster s last speech in the Senate, July 17, 1850, 
 was on the " Compromise Measures," and its peroration is in 
 the following words : " I mean to stand on the Constitution. 
 I need no other platform. I shall know but one country. 
 The ends I aim at shall be my country s, my God s, and 
 truth s. I was born an American, and I intend to perform 
 the duties incumbent upon me in that character to the end 
 of my career. I mean to do this, with absolute disregard 
 of personal consequences. What are personal consequences ? 
 What is the individual man, with all the good or evil which 
 may befall a great country in a crisis like this, and in the 
 midst of great transactions which concern that country s 
 fate ? Let the consequences be what they will, I am care 
 less. No man can suffer too much and no man can fall too 
 soon, if he suffer, or if he fall, in defence of the liberties 
 and constitution of his country." There is no need of 
 apology for these quotations, since one could hardly be 
 better employed than in committing to memory such noble 
 sentiments. 
 
 I think I never heard Mr. Webster speak in the Senate 
 more than two or three times. I listened to his oration on 
 the occasion of laying the corner-stone of the extension of 
 the Capitol, July 4, 1851, and his form and features, as he 
 then appeared, are indelibly impressed on my memory, as 
 they are, likewise, as I saw him at the President s reception, 
 when Washington Irving and " Boz" were among the dis- 
 
AN HOUR WITH DANIEL WEBSTER. 363 
 
 languished guests. The crowd was so great that it was 
 difficult to get a good sight of either Irving or Dickens. 
 Webster was evidently in a happy mood, he may have 
 just come from a social dinner, for, when the people were 
 passing through the parlors, he took position close against 
 the wall by the door of the East Room, and, with a roguish 
 look, straightened himself back at full length, as if to have 
 his height measured. I thought he was one of the noblest 
 looking men I had ever seen, and he was certainly not less 
 remarkable physically than mentally. He speaks of his 
 father, who died in 1806, as " the handsomest man he ever 
 saw, except his brother Ezekiel, who appeared to him the 
 finest human form he ever laid eyes on." 
 
 There is a little historical story connected with "Webster 
 as Secretary of State under President Fillmore, about 1850 
 or 1851. Postmaster-General Nathan K. Hall one day took 
 me with him to meet an engagement he had made at the 
 White House. The business in hand related to the foreign 
 mail service, of which I had charge at the time, and I was 
 to make a statement with a view to obtaining the consent 
 of the President, as required by law, to a retaliatory order 
 that the Postmaster-General desired to make to counteract 
 the practice of the British Government in charging the 
 same postage on letters between the two countries the 
 single rate was then twenty-four cents whether the sea 
 conveyance was by the United States or British steamers. 
 As soon as the facts of the case had been presented by the 
 Postmaster-General, together with such explanations as were 
 required from me, Mr. Webster raised himself up, and, with 
 a jovial manner, said, in his deep tone of voice, " Mr. Pres 
 ident, as we boys used to say in our debating society, / 
 motion that you give your consent to the proposed measure 
 of retaliation." Whereupon the order was at once made, 
 receiving the President s approval, and it soon put a stop to 
 the unjust practice, by enabling Brother Jonathan to give 
 John Bull "tit for tat." 
 
364 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 " Mr. Webster," observes one whose relations with him 
 were intimate, " was never seen to more advantage than 
 within his own household, at the family board, or in stroll 
 ing with him over his farm at Marshfield, or standing with 
 him upon the sea beach and looking out upon the ocean 
 before us, which, like the scope of his intellectual vision, 
 appeared boundless. To hear him converse upon the past, 
 the present, the future, in a familar, colloquial manner to 
 listen to his great thoughts, expressed in purest words of our 
 language, and wonder how he could thus speak and think, 
 are joys which we can find no words to express." 
 
 Mr. Webster s kindness of heart was proverbial. A 
 touching instance of this is shown by his letter of October 
 17, 1852, to President Fillmore the last but one he wrote 
 to him asking that Mr. Conrad, Secretary of War, who 
 had given attention to Mr. Webster s department in his 
 absence, be allowed to sign a treaty, saying he " should be 
 glad to show him some mark of grateful respect," and that 
 " it is a feather in the life of a public man to sign a treaty." 
 His letter to President Fillmore, on the morning of the fol 
 lowing day, was the last letter he wrote with his own hand. 
 He had not then given up all hope of recovery ; but after a 
 comparatively comfortable night, he wrote : " At this hour 
 (ten o clock) I feel easy and strong, and as if I could go into 
 the Senate and make a speech !" Yet he sadly adds : " At 
 one I shall sink all away, be obliged to go to bed at three, 
 and go through the evening spasms. What all this is to 
 come to, God only knows. My Dear Sir I should love to 
 pass the last moments of your administration with you, and 
 around your council board. But let not this embarrass 
 you. Consider my resignation as always before you, to be 
 accepted any moment you please." 
 
 But the end was fast approaching; and when, late on the 
 afternoon before his death, this announcement was made to 
 him by his physician, Mr. Webster "received the announce 
 ment calmly, and directed all the members of his family to 
 
AN HOUR WITH DANIEL WEBSTER. 365 
 
 be called in, the female members first, and then his male 
 relatives and personal friends, addressing each of them in 
 dividually, and bade each an affectionate farewell." Be 
 tween ten and eleven o clock at night he uttered, some 
 what indistinctly, the words, " Poet, poetry, Gray, Gray," 
 whereupon Mr. Fletcher Webster repeated the first line of 
 Gray s " Elegy," " The curfew tolls the knell of parting 
 day." "That s it, that s it," said Mr. Webster; and the 
 book was brought and several stanzas read to him, which 
 seemed to give him pleasure ; thus, to the last, showing his 
 love of poetry. Having no fear of dissolution, he spoke 
 of the difficulty of the process of dying, when Dr. Jeffries 
 repeated the verse : " Though I walk through the valley of 
 the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with 
 me : Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me." 
 
 Mr. Webster said immediately : " The fact, the fact. That 
 is what I want, Thy rod, Thy rod, Thy staff, Thy staff." 
 Shortly after, at twenty-two minutes before three o clock, 
 he passed tranquilly, and with perfect trust, to the regions 
 of the blest. In Edward Everett s speech of October 27, 
 describing this closing scene, he said : " In the long and 
 honored career of our lamented friend, there are efforts 
 and triumphs which will hereafter fill one of the brightest 
 pages of our history. But I greatly err if the closing scene 
 the height of the religious sublime does not far tran 
 scend in interest the brightest exploits of his public life." 
 
 Who will doubt that, after a life devoted to the defence 
 of " the Constitution, the laws, and the liberties of his 
 country," this grand old patriot and statesman, " above fear, 
 above danger, above reproach," reached his " last end," not, 
 as in the providence of God, " too soon," but ripe for the 
 transition, and that upon his entry into eternal life he was, 
 as he had prayed to be, welcomed by his angel son, who 
 " stand st in Heaven s account the oldest" ? 
 
366 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 SIR ROWLAND HILL. 
 
 A Pleasant Announcement Origin of Penny Postage Handsome Re 
 ward Postage-Stamps Their Origin A Personal Interview. 
 
 THE following item is going the rounds of the news 
 papers : " Sir Rowland Hill, the veteran ex-Postmaster- 
 General of England, and Lady Hill, celebrated their golden 
 wedding a short time since." 
 
 This is a pleasant announcement; and it may be interest 
 ing to the generality of readers to know something more 
 of the life and character of this philanthropist. Sir Row 
 land Hill (he must not be confounded with Rev. Rowland 
 Hill, born 1774, died 1833) has never been the actual Post 
 master-General of Great Britain ; but as first secretary of 
 the British Post-Office Department for several years, and 
 as post-office reformer previously, he undoubtedly exercised 
 a greater influence in postal matters than any Postmaster- 
 General of that kingdom ever did. Born at Kidderminster, 
 December 3, 1795, " he early showed a great fondness for 
 figures, which was subsequently developed in the study of 
 mathematics. His first occupation was that of mathemati 
 cal tutor in a school kept by his father, and for a number 
 of years he devoted himself to improving school instruction 
 and organization." As secretary, in 1833, of the South 
 Australian Commission, he aided in founding that colony. 
 Four years afterward he began to press for postal reform, 
 and in 1838 succeeded " in having the matter referred to a 
 special committee of the House of Commons." This com 
 mittee, after due consideration of the subject, reported in 
 favor of Mr. Hill s plan of penny postage, notwithstanding 
 the post-office authorities, who were given a full hearing 
 before them, were " hostile to the change." " In July, 
 
SIR ROWLAND HILL. 367 
 
 1839, a bill to enable the treasury to carry Mr. Hill s plan 
 into effect, introduced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
 passed by a majority of 102; and on August 17 the project 
 became a law. A temporary office under the treasury was 
 at the same time created to enable Mr. Hill to inaugurate 
 his plan, and on January 10, 1840, the uniform penny rate 
 came into operation." Notwithstanding it gave good prom 
 ise of success, the post-office authorities continued un 
 friendly ; he was left without adequate support, and " soon 
 after the accession of the Peel ministry," about 1843, he 
 was dismissed, arid received the appointment of one of the 
 directors of the Brighton Railway. The people, however, 
 were on his side, and 13,000 was raised by subscription 
 for a testimonial to him. If I am not mistaken this was 
 used in the erection of his statue at Birmingham. At any 
 rate, I am quite sure that my old friend, Elihu Burritt, told 
 me there was, or was to be, such a monument erected there 
 in honor of Sir Rowland. " Upon the return of the Whigs 
 to power in 1846, he was appointed secretary to the Post 
 master-General, holding divided authority with Colonel 
 Maberly," and in 1854 he became sole secretary, which 
 office he held until he was retired several years afterward. 
 "In 1860 he was knighted in acknowledgment of his ser 
 vices at the post-office, and received a Parliamentary grant 
 of 20,000, the first Albert gold medal of the Society of 
 Arts, and the degree of D.C.L. from Oxford." 
 
 The above facts, long familiar to experienced post-office 
 men, I have taken from the American Cyclopaedia. Here is 
 a newspaper account of the origin of postage-stamps : 
 
 " The origin of the stamp has a tinge of romance in it. It was thirty- 
 seven years ago that Rowland Hill, while crossing a district in the north 
 of England, arrived at the door of an inn where a postman had stopped 
 to deliver a letter. A young girl came out to receive it ; she turned it 
 over and over in her hand and asked the price of postage. This was a 
 large sum, and evidently the girl was poor, for the postman demanded a 
 shilling. She sighed sadly, and said the letter was from her brother, but 
 that she had no money ; and so she returned the letter to the postman. 
 
368 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Touched with pity, Mr. Hill paid the postage and gave the letter to the 
 girl, who seemed very much embarrassed. Scarcely had the postman 
 turned his back, when the young innkeeper s daughter confessed that it 
 was a trick between her and her brother. Some signs on the envelope 
 told her all she wanted to know, but the letter contained no writing. 
 We are both so poor/ she added, that we invented this mode of cor 
 respondence without paying for our letters. The traveller, continuing 
 his road, asked himself if a system giving place to such frauds was not a 
 vicious one. Before sunset Rowland had planned to organize the postal 
 service on a new basis with what success is known to the world." * 
 
 I have no reason to question the correctness of this 
 account. 
 
 In 1867, being in London with my youngest son, Henry 
 Franklin, we called at the General Post-Office on the brother 
 of Sir Rowland, Frederick Hill, Esq., who then, as at pres 
 ent, held the office of secretary. Having expressed a desire 
 to see Sir Rowland, with whom I had formerly had exten 
 sive official correspondence, soon after reaching our board 
 ing-house I received a note, dated June 15, from Mr. Fred 
 erick Hill, in which he said : " I saw my brother, Mr. 
 Rowland Hill, this morning, and was glad to find that he 
 was at present tolerably well. I mentioned your being just 
 now in London, your having called here, and your desire 
 to see him ; and he said he should be happy to see both 
 yourself and your son any morning you may be at liberty 
 to ride over to Hampstead. He lives at Bertram House, 
 half a mile on the London side of Hampstead." 
 
 Thus invited, on the 17th we presented ourselves at Ber 
 tram House, and sent in our cards. We were first con 
 ducted into the parlor, where Sir Rowland soon made his 
 appearance, giving us a cordial welcome, and then asked 
 
 1 In a letter to me, dated London, December 22, 1877, Sir Rowland 
 wrote : " The story you have quoted belongs to Coleridge. I only quoted 
 it as an argument in favor of prepayment. As regards the statue at 
 Birmingham, this was paid for by a subscription raised by the townsfolk 
 themselves for the purpose, and no part of the national testimonial was 
 used to defray expenses." 
 
. SIR ROWLAND HILL. 369 
 
 us to accompany him to his library up-stairs. From our 
 recollection of him we should judge that he was a man just 
 about the height and size of President Hayes; and this is 
 perhaps the most satisfactory description of his person I 
 could give. He had not the look of an old man, but stood 
 erect and was active in all his movements. He appeared 
 to be in perfect health ; but said if he undertook to walk 
 any considerable distance for instance, to the further end 
 of his spacious garden, to which he pointed from the library 
 window he was troubled with vertigo. He treated us like 
 old acquaintances, showing us many of the tokens of ap 
 probation he had received from various distinguished per 
 sons, including his commission of knighthood from the 
 Queen. As a choice memento of our visit I have now 
 before me a proof-sheet which he presented me of one of 
 the first letter envelopes ever made. Upon the upper face, 
 side, and ends are various devices, one of which represents 
 a person writing, surrounded by a crowd eagerly looking 
 on, with elephants in the background, evidently an East 
 ern scene ; on the opposite corner is a commercial picture, 
 in which the civilized and savage world are brought to 
 gether, of course through the means of cheap postage and 
 other facilities for easy communication ; below these, on 
 either end, are female figures in the attitude of reading 
 letters to listening children ; and at the top, in the centre, 
 is a kind of coat-of-arms, representing, also by a female 
 figure, the spirit of universal communication despatching 
 flying angels with messages in all directions. 
 
 After an hour s most agreeable interview, during which 
 we were treated to cake and wine, Sir Rowland came down 
 stairs with and presented us to Lady Hill, who greeted us 
 in the pleasantest manner, and on the following day sent us, 
 " With Lady Hill s compliments," tickets to the Zoological 
 Gardens. 
 
 24 
 
370 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 INCIDENTS IN SIR WALTER KALEIGH ? S LIFE. 
 
 He burns Materials he had prepared for his History of the World His 
 
 Confession, etc. 
 
 IN the third volume of his " Addresses and Speeches," 
 Robert C. Winthrop has given us a valuable contribution to 
 .history that must be regarded as conclusive evidence that 
 Sir Walter Raleigh made quite a long speech on the scaf 
 fold immediately before his execution. This speech that 
 has usually been called his " Confession" has been dis 
 credited by some historians, but Mr. Winthrop found in 
 the " Common Place Book of Adam Winthrop, the father 
 of the first Governor of Massachusetts," among several 
 accounts of historical events, carefully copied from seem 
 ingly authentic sources, " The Confession and Execution of 
 Sir Walter Raleigh." This copy, with unimportant varia 
 tions only, agrees with the general version of the " Con 
 fession." Says Mr. Winthrop, " Sir Walter was executed 
 in October, 1618, when Adam Winthrop was living at 
 Groton, England, at seventy years of age, a magistrate of 
 the old county of Suffolk, who, a few years before, had re 
 signed the auditorship of Trinity College, Cambridge, which 
 he had held sixteen or seventeen years. His son, who, 
 twelve years afterwards, came over to New England as 
 Governor of Massachusetts, was then about thirty years old. 
 Both of these men took an intellgent interest in public 
 affairs, and might have personally witnessed the execution 
 of Raleigh, had they chanced to be in London at the time." 
 Mr. Winthrop, after considering it very fully, observes, " In 
 conclusion, we can hardly doubt that this speech was made 
 substantially as it has been reported." 
 
 Another incident in Sir Walter s life, hardly less im- 
 
INCIDENTS IN SIB WALTER RALEIGH S LIFE. 371 
 
 portant, and about which much more serious doubt has 
 been thrown, is the statement that he destroyed material 
 he had collected for a continuation of his " History of the 
 "World." This appears in a book entitled " Celebrated 
 Trials, Selected by a Member of the Philadelphia Bar" 
 (John Jay Smith, born 1798), and published by L. A. 
 Godey, in 1836. In this book it is stated that Sir Walter, 
 " some few days before he suffered, sent for Mr. Walter 
 Burr, who formerly printed his first volume of the History 
 of the World/ whom, taking by the hand, after some other 
 discourse, he asked how it had sold ? Mr. Burr returned 
 this answer : It has sold so slowly that it has undone me. 
 At these words Sir Walter, stepping to his desk, took 
 the other, unprinted part of his history, which he had 
 brought down to the times he lived in, and, clapping his 
 hand upon his breast, said, with a sigh, Ah ! my friend, 
 hath the first part undone thee ? the second part shall undo 
 no more: this ungrateful world is unworthy of it! and 
 immediately going to the fireside, threw it in, and set his 
 foot upon it till it was consumed. As great a loss to learn 
 ing as Christendom could have sustained ; the greater 
 because it could be repaired by no hand but his." 
 
 Edward Edwards, author of a " Life of Sir Walter Ealeigh," 
 published in 1868, said to be the best ever written of him, 
 attributes this story of the bookseller to one Winstanley, 
 who, it would appear from the context, was, says Edwards, 
 " the author of a very worthless book, published in 1660," 
 forty-two years only after Sir Walter s execution, when, 
 if not true, its falsity must have been known to thousands 
 of his contemporaries then living. Was it denied at the 
 time ? Edwards says, " It has neither authority nor cor- 
 roboration," and, thereupon, enters into what seems to me 
 a weak argument to convince his readers that, " at any 
 period, the destruction, irrevocably, of the result of long 
 toil on the faith of a statement like that given in the story 
 of Walter Burr, smacks rather of fable than of history. 
 
372 TUENING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Strictly true [he continues] Winstanley s statement cannot 
 be, since a second edition of the History of the World 
 had actually appeared before the date assigned, with so 
 much precision, to this conversation in the Tower between 
 the author and bookseller." What, I venture to ask, does 
 this prove ? Mind, it was not a " second volume" which " had 
 actually appeared," but a " second edition of the first and 
 only volume ever issued, the large octavo volume of 1614, 
 a copy of which I have examined in the Congressional Li 
 brary. Who knows that the bookseller s misfortune did 
 not arise from undertaking a second edition, after the first, 
 probably a small one, had been disposed of? Look at these 
 additional facts. This old volume, as already remarked, 
 bears date 1614, two years before Sir Walter was released 
 from the Tower to take charge of his last and fatal Guiana 
 expedition. It comprises the whole of his " History of the 
 World." It is divided into five books, the fifth bearing this 
 heading: "From the settled rule of Alexander s Successors 
 in the East untill the Romans (prevailing over all) made 
 conquest of Asia and Macedon." Of course, this fifth and 
 last book is plainly not " brought down to the times he 
 lived in." Now mark : In the closing paragraph of his 
 history he wrote, " Lastly, whereas this Booke, by the title 
 it hath, calls itselfe The first part of the Generall Historie 
 of the World, implying a Second and Third Volume, 
 which I also intended and have hewne out ; besides many 
 other discouragements pers wading my silence, it hath 
 pleased God to take that glorious Prince out of the world, 
 to whom they were directed ; whose unspeakable and never 
 enough lamented losse hath taught me to say with Job, 
 4 Versa, est in Luctum Cithara mea $ organum meum in vocem 
 flentium: " * 
 
 What has become of the materials for these second and 
 third volumes, thus "hewne out?" Evidently, whatever 
 
 1 Chapter xxx. 31. 
 
INCIDENTS IN SIR WALTER RALEIGH S LIFE. 373 
 
 the bookseller might reasonably have supposed was a com 
 plete " second part" was, in fact, only what had been 
 " hewne out" for such volume ; and, now that Sir Walter 
 knew he was about to suffer death, what more natural, in 
 dependently of any irritation from seeing his great work 
 was ill appreciated, than that he should wish to destroy his 
 undigested notes, in order to prevent their possible use in 
 a manner to detract from his well-earned " fame to come, 
 which [Edwards declares] he loved with a passion hardly 
 second in intensity to the love of wife and children." More 
 over, we have seen that his " Confession," as related, pre 
 sumably, by the same writer who gives us the story of the 
 bookseller, agrees in all essential particulars with the best 
 authenticated version thereof. Why, then, should that 
 story, which Edwards says had been current " now for 
 more than two centuries," be discarded as fabulous, since 
 it forms a consecutive part of the author s account of the 
 trial, conviction, and execution of Raleigh ? 
 
 Finally, let it be remembered, that Sir Walter was con 
 fined in the Tower for at least two months immediately 
 preceding his death. Is it not reasonable, therefore, to sup 
 pose that he occupied more or less of this time in collecting 
 materials for the continuation of his history ? However this 
 may be, we have his positive and undoubted assertion that 
 he had " hewne out" a second and third volume, and, un 
 less these materials can be accounted for in some other way, 
 there is the strongest presumptive evidence that he com 
 mitted them to the flames in the presence of his publisher. 
 
374 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER. 
 
 Circumstances under which it was written Two Accounts Capture of 
 Dr. Beans and other Americans F. S. Key goes for their Release 
 and is detained on a British Ship. 
 
 GENERALLY well known as are the main circumstances 
 under which our stirring national song of the " Star* 
 Spangled Banner" was written, the particulars thereof are 
 not so familiar to all as riot to be worthy of record in this 
 place. Recently, in examining a file of the old National In 
 telligencer, I came across this song as first published in that 
 paper on the 27th of September, 1814, a fortnight only 
 after the battle of North Point, Baltimore. It appears 
 there with the following heading and preface : 
 
 " DEFENCE OF FORT M HENRY. 
 
 " (From a Baltimore paper.) 
 
 " The annexed song was composed under the following circumstances : 
 A gentleman had left Baltimore, with a flag of truce, for the purpose of 
 getting released from the British fleet a friend of his, who had been 
 captured at Marlborough. He went as far as the mouth of the Patuxent, 
 and was not permitted to return, lest the intended attack on Baltimore 
 should be disclosed. He was therefore brought up the bay to the mouth 
 of the Patapsco, where the flag vessel was kept under the guns of a 
 frigate, and he was compelled to witness the bombardment of Fort 
 M Henry, which the Admiral (Cockburn) had boasted that he would 
 carry in a few hours, and that the city must fall. He watched the flag 
 at the fort through the whole day with an anxiety that can be better 
 felt than described, until the night prevented him from seeing it. In 
 the night he watched the bomb-shells, and at early dawn his eye was 
 again greeted by the proudly waving flag of his country. 
 " Tune Anacreon in, Heaven." 
 
 Here follows the song, at the bottom of which is this 
 note in brackets : " (Whoever is the author of those lines, 
 
THE 8TAR-SPANGLED BANNER. 379 
 
 they do equal honor to his principles and his talents. N 
 
 It would appear that this famous song had not yet 
 received its characteristic name, by which it ha* long been 
 so well known throughout the civilized world. With the 
 name of its author, Francis 8. Key, it is destined to live as 
 long as American independence shall hold a record in the 
 history of mankind. 
 
 In Mr. Charles J. Ingersoll s " Sketch of the Second 
 AVar between the United States and Great Britain," pub- 
 blished in 1849, the following not less interesting account 
 is given as having been furnished to him by " a gentleman 
 of Bladensburg," writing of the remarkable battle fought 
 there on the 24th of August, 1814. 
 
 The [British] army having pawed the Tillage of Upper Marlborough 
 en route for their shipping (the second day after the bottle), leaving several 
 stragglers to follow, several gentlemen of that village formed the deter 
 mination to cat some of them off and make them prisoners of war. The 
 principal of these gentlemen were Dr. William Beams, as prime mover, 
 and General Robert Bowie and John Bodgers, who succeeded in making 
 several prisoners, who were confined. The British officers, bearing of this 
 occurrence, however, that night sent back a strong party to the village, 
 who liberated the prisoners, and, taking these gentlemen out of their 
 beds, hurried them off without allowing them a moment to clothe them 
 selves, and, dins placing them on old horses, carried them, no doubt amid 
 the jeers of the soldiery, to the shipping. After many entreaties and 
 expostulations, two of the gentlemen were let off and permitted to return 
 to Upper Marlborough, but they considered Dr. Beans a fair prize, and 
 determined to take him to Halifax or England. Having the doctor on 
 board, the fleet left the Patuxent River, and, ascending the Chesapeake 
 Bay, appeared off Fort M Henry. The numerous and influential Mends 
 of Dr. Beans immediately set to work to devise some plan by which an 
 effort might be made to obtain his release from the fleet. Accordingly a 
 petition was signed by some of the most respectable citizens of Prince 
 George s County, among whom were individuals who had acted rery 
 kindly towards Colonel Wood and other British officers and soldiers who 
 had been left [wounded] in Bladensburg, on the return of the British 
 army, of which the commander of the army or fleet was no doubt aware. 
 These preparations being made, the eloquent and talfntpd Francis 8. 
 
376 TUENING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Key, the friend of Dr. Beans, was appointed as the messenger and 
 champion to go to the rescue. He accordingly proceeded to Annapolis, 
 and, by means of a small craft and the white flag, he boarded the Ad 
 miral s ship, to make known his mission. The fleet being about to make 
 an attack on Fort M Henry, while the army effected a landing at North 
 Point, Mr. Key was detained on board, and compelled, from his position, 
 to witness the furious bombardment of Fort M Henry. The novelty of 
 his situation, a near view of the powerful means then operating for the 
 reduction of Baltimore to the power of the enemy, and the further dese 
 cration of the American flag, his solicitude for the successful resistance 
 of his countrymen, and noble emotions of a patriot heart thus excited 
 and warmed, produced, amid the storm and strife by which he was sur 
 rounded, a memento worthy of the man and honorable to his country ; 
 and long will the Star-Spangled Banner be sung, to light up in every 
 American bosom the sacred fire of patriotic devotion to the flag of his 
 country." 
 
 Francis S. Key was born in 1779, and died (I think) in 
 Washington, in 1843. I remember him about that time as 
 a mild, agreeable, entertaining gentleman ; and I also recall 
 the fact of having, on a Sunday afternoon, heard him elo 
 quently address the Sunday-school scholars of the city in 
 the East-Capitol park. 
 
PART IV. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EMPLOYMENT NECESSARY TO HAPPINESS 
 
 IN every age and clime since Time began, 
 In town and city, hence to far Japan, 
 The world has aye been furnished, ready made, 
 With hosts of doctors, often poorly paid, 
 Whose mission, whether singly or combined, 
 Has been to tinker and improve mankind. 
 Some set themselves our bodies to amend, 
 And they are dubbed " M.D.," but for what end ? 
 Then others take the title "LLJX," 
 And others "D.D.," as their high degree, 
 While those are common who these honors lack, 
 On whom the world confers the title " quack." 
 Some deal in doses gentle, some severe, 
 Some for effects hereafter, others here 
 Prescriptions, whether from their heads or shelves, 
 Which they are seldom known to take themselves, 
 Thus demonstrating clearly what the fact is, 
 How much more easy tis to preach than practise. 
 
 
 
 Well, so it is, among this class you find 
 Your poet here to-day, with heart inclined 
 To proffer in this way a wholesome pill, 
 One made to ease and cure, and not to kill, 
 Lest, when you come his title to proclaim, 
 The letter " Q" be added to his name ! 
 It matters not ; tis now, alas ! too late, 
 Do what he may, for him to shun his fate ; 
 
 377 
 
378 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Your kind forbearance, therefore, he would ask, 
 To bear him safely through his pleasant task. 
 
 At once, then, let us offer, if we can, 
 The best prescriptions for the ills of man. 
 What may these be ? Foremost among them all 
 Is what we ever have been taught to call 
 LABOR ; a tonic, potent, free, and sure 
 A thousand ills to stop, if not to cure. 
 Yes, labor, labor, in His glorious plan, 
 God s noblest blessing to His creature, man. 
 Where seek we first the ruddy bloom of health, 
 A boon without which none can boast of wealth ? 
 Where but among the happy, free and gay, 
 Where honest labor rules the livelong day ? 
 
 Go, visit yonder farm-house on the green, 
 
 If it so happen you have never been, 
 
 And see what favors fortune doth allow 
 
 To him whose pride it is to hold the plough. 
 
 Go, in a summer eve, near set of sun, 
 
 And when the well-planned, hard day s work is done, 
 
 See how the farmer and his rugged boys, 
 
 The wife and daughters, cherish life s rich joys, 
 
 Free from the cares that hinder or destroy 
 
 The calm delight of those who shun employ. 
 
 Behold his fields of richly-waving grain, 
 
 Moved by the breeze that sweeps along the plain ; 
 
 See how they smile, kiss d by the rosy lips 
 
 Of mellow sunbeams ere the night s eclipse ; 
 
 In shade just changing to a golden hue 
 
 In every aspect beautiful to view. 
 
 Next turn we to those forests, deeply green, 
 That in their mimic grandeur may be seen 
 Spread out in rows well suited to adorn 
 Broad acres covered thick with Indian corn. 
 
EMPLOYMENT NECESSAEY TO HAPPINESS. 379 
 
 Look with what care all weeds have been removed, 
 How every means of thrift has been improved, 
 To aid the willing stalk for well-formed ear, 
 And bring a bounteous crop for winter s cheer. 
 Then see those other " patches" in between, 
 More modest, since their treasures are unseen. 
 Oh, come, immortal muses ! show the way to 
 Immortalize that unpoetic plant, potato 
 That glorious fruit, the French call pommes de terre, 
 Which meets a ready welcome everywhere, 
 Alike in palace, cabin, and in tent; 
 Would I could all its virtues here present ! 
 What, let me ask, was General Marion s roast, 
 He set before his haughty British host, 
 When, without other courses, fruit or wine, 
 He asked him one day at his tent to dine ? 
 What but potatoes, mealy, sweet, and good ? 
 " Behold," he said, " our wholesome daily food." 
 Well might the British general quick discern, 
 And well the British lion truly learn 
 The folly of contending with a foe 
 Thus ready every comfort to forego. 
 Not every comfort, either, since we see 
 They had potatoes plenty, duty free. 
 
 But we have rambled, and are passing by 
 Those splendid sights that all around us lie. 
 See there the garden, crowded with all kinds 
 Of fruits and flowers, while near its border winds . 
 The mountain stream, whose crystal waters flow, 
 In merry glee, to greet the lake below. 
 
 What recollections scenes like these awake 
 The mountain stream, the field, the placid lake 
 Of boyhood s pleasant hours, when full of life 
 We dwelt contented, free from worldly strife ; 
 
380 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Content to labor till our work was done, 
 Ne er seeking any useful task to shun ! 
 Nor were we always made to dig and toil, 
 Lest work incessant might our tempers spoil. 
 One rule, I well remember, used to be 
 A rule most wise, how plain it is to see ! 
 That when it rained too hard to work without, 
 We might employ the time in catching trout. 
 
 Dressed in a suit the best for such a use, 
 
 A hole-y suit, exempt from all abuse ; 
 
 Our boots of cowhide, coarsely made and stout, 
 
 With holes in toes to let the water out ; 
 
 Thus well equipped, with hooks, and line, and bait, 
 
 We hastened to the brook at rapid rate. 
 
 Then cutting here a rod of proper length, 
 
 Elastic, slender, yet of ample strength 
 
 To bear the speckled swimmer safe to port, 
 
 We were prepared to enter on our sport. 
 
 And now, with cautious step, we near the place, 
 
 Some well-known haven of the finny race, 
 
 And throwing in our hook, with tempting bait, 
 
 In breathless silence we their motions wait. 
 
 The invitation to this treach rous meal 
 
 Is quick accepted, and the hidden steel, 
 
 Its work performing, holds its victim tight, 
 
 Till safely landed, much to our delight. 
 
 Thus we proceed, exploring well the brook, 
 
 Through meadow, pasture, wood, in every nook, 
 
 Until well paid, and heedless of the rain, 
 
 We take our fish and saunter home again. 
 
 Here let us pause, a moral to discover : 
 
 Barbed baits are common, mark it, the world over. 
 
 Next, see the orchard, with its generous store 
 Of fruit delicious, near the farmer s door. 
 
EMPLOYMENT NECESSARY TO HAPPINESS. 381 
 
 Here shall we find the " good sort" and the pear, 
 
 The "summer sweeting" and the "greening" fair; 
 
 Here the sound " russet" and the " blue pearmain," 
 
 All adding to his comfort, health, and gain. 
 
 Some serve for autumn, some for winter use, 
 
 Some yield to pressure their enlivening juice, 
 
 A liquid once called cider, pure and plain, 
 
 But which, when " doctored," now they call champagne ! 
 
 What sight more fair in all the world to see, 
 
 Go where we may, than fruitful apple-tree ? 
 
 Its boughs low-bending with their precious freight ; 
 
 From such, no doubt, Eve slyly plucked and ate. 
 
 How much they seem to speak our Maker s praise, 
 
 How much remind us of our childhood days 
 
 When apple-parings were so well prepared 
 
 That they who went to pare were often paired ! 
 
 Behind the orchard, see the pasture green, 
 And herds reclining blissful and serene. 
 To-morrow s cares to them bring no dismay ; 
 They chew their cud in peace, and seem to say 
 To us, who claim by right their lords to be, 
 " Go seek our trust, and evermore be free." 
 
 And now the milkmaid comes with honest heart, 
 
 Well trained from childhood to perform her part 
 
 In all the useful duties that pertain 
 
 To household work, ne er thinking to complain. 
 
 With pail in hand she hastens o er the lawn, 
 
 As well at eve as in the early dawn ; 
 
 And in her daily task is sure to find 
 
 The food for health a well-contented mind. 
 
 Nor is she left alone this work to do, 
 
 The farmer s boys assist, and nimbly, too, 
 
 Till soon the shining dairy swells in pride, 
 
 With pans of milk in line on either side. 
 
382 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 But ere we pass from this delightful scene, 
 Turn we to view twill well repay, I ween 
 The farmer s barn, where snugly packed away 
 For winter s use lie tons of well-made hay. 
 Of life industrious here behold the proof, 
 The mows, hard pressed, extend quite to the roof. 
 The swallow, twittering, forced to quit her nest, 
 Retires to seek afar some place of rest, 
 Where, undisturbed, the frigid winter through, 
 She sleeps till springtime calls to life anew. 
 Beneath the scaffolds here are stables fine, 
 With stalls arranged for oxen, horse, and kine, 
 And here, secure from winter s piercing snows, 
 The gentle herd may rest in calm repose. 
 
 Nor should we fail, in passing, to survey 
 The farmer s cottage, and our homage pay 
 To real worth ; ourselves we honor most 
 By honoring thus our country s solid boast 
 The hardy yeoman, whose athletic arm 
 Protects from want in peace, in war from harm. 
 What air of comfort, what convenience here 
 For household work, to every housewife dear ! 
 In kitchen, pantry, cellar, and in hall, 
 See how complete for service, and how all, 
 With parlor, chamber, stairs above, below, 
 Is planned for comfort, not for empty show ; 
 Yet while the leading purpose, it is true, 
 Is use and comfort ever kept in view, 
 Still equal care is used the eye to please, 
 In structure pure, in ornamental trees, 
 And all the various ways contrived by art 
 T insure convenience and a grace impart. 
 
 These, then, and more than these, the happy fruits 
 Of honest labor in the world s pursuits 
 
EMPLOYMENT NECESSARY TO HAPPINESS. 383 
 
 Of life industrious, not on gain intent 
 For sake of gain ; but to be wisely spent 
 In meeting all life s various wants, and save 
 From pains of poverty and the poor man s grave. 
 
 Next let us pass to the mechanic art, 
 Wherein so many well perform their part. 
 Here, in the busy workshop we shall find 
 Rare genius with ripe scholarship combined, 
 Eipe in the knowledge of transactions past 
 Ripe, too, in what concerns their trade, and last, 
 Not least, I own in knowledge true and plain, 
 That labor brings contentment, health, and gain. 
 
 How sweet the task, did I possess the skill, 
 This picture rough in all its parts to fill, 
 By sketching each profession, art, and trade, 
 And showing how employment e er is made 
 If useful, not too constant nor severe, 
 To cater to our health and pleasure here. 
 Nor time nor skill will now allow of this ; 
 Yet, ere the subject we for aye dismiss, 
 A word of caution may not be amiss. 
 I would not, sure, that man should be a slave 
 To labor constant, but that he should have 
 Time for repose and pastime when inclined, 
 And time, of course, to cultivate the mind. 
 Time for amusement never fail to take ; 
 Who would exclude it makes a grave mistake. 
 
 What saith a real poet who once wrote 
 
 On this same point ? Allow me here to quote : 
 
 " How often have I blest the coming day, 
 
 When toil, remitting, lent its turn to play; 
 
 And all the village train, from labor free, 
 
 Led up their sports beneath the spreading tree, 
 
384 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 While many a pastime circled in the shade, 
 
 The young contending as the old surveyed; 
 
 And many a gambol frolicked o er the ground, 
 
 And sleights of art and feats of strength went round. 
 
 And still, as each repeated pleasure tired, 
 
 Succeeding sports the mirthful band inspired ; 
 
 The dancing pair that simply sought renown 
 
 By holding out to tire each other down, 
 
 The swain mistrustless of his smutted face, 
 
 Whilst secret laughter titter d round the place, 
 
 The bashful virgin s sidelong looks of love, 
 
 The matron s glance that would those looks reprove : 
 
 These were thy charms, sweet village ! Sports like these, 
 
 With sweet succession, taught e en toil to please." 
 
 One word for any ready with a sneer 
 
 (Full sure am I, none such are gathered here) 
 
 To speak contempt ous of the lab ring mass, 
 
 Because of labor let their insults pass. 
 
 Look when you may, and you will surely find 
 
 They re wanting all in character refined, 
 
 Their coat of arms tis easy to describe, 
 
 Twill show whence sprang this self-inflated tribe : 
 
 Here, on one side, are lapstone, awl, and last 
 
 A codfish, shears, and tailor s goose, well cast 
 
 A butcher s knife, a wash-tub, and a mop ; 
 
 On the reverse, a scaffold with a drop. 
 
 All symbols, truly, save the one last named, 
 
 Of which they have no cause to be ashamed, 
 
 Howe er it might disturb their pride to see 
 
 That we so well have traced their pedigree. 
 
 !No, no, my friends, in pity turn away 
 
 From such poor creatures of the passing day, 
 
 And in the higher walks of life aspire 
 
 To win renown, nor ever think to tire ; 
 
EMPLOYMENT NECESSAEY TO HAPPINESS. 385 
 
 Press on ! press on ! proud of your high estate, 
 Leave drones and upstarts to their sorry fate. 
 
 But ere we bring this rustic sketch to end, 
 The scholar s task our muse may well attend ; 
 For he who delves for knowledge, digs for gold, 
 And all gold-diggers bear the lab rer s mould. 
 The student, then, deny it he who can, 
 Is well and truly styled a laboring man ; 
 A worker of the soil why is he not, 
 Since daily cultivation is his lot ? 
 Wrought not by muscle, like the toiling swain, 
 But that far nobler labor of the brain, 
 Without whose aid the muscles toil in vain. 
 His fields are boundless, he must needs explore, 
 So be he reaps, or delves for precious ore, 
 In all the various regions that present 
 Fair promise to the eye on gain intent ; 
 Nor will he fail a harvest to enjoy, 
 Who thus his time and talents doth employ. 
 But this plain fact e er let him bear in mind, 
 The seeds he sows will yield their fruit in kind, 
 And happy he who thus himself prepares 
 To gather naught but grain, unmixed with tares. 
 The student, too, may justly claim to be 
 A good mechanic, all will sure agree. 
 Is t not his wont, by true ambition fired, 
 To fashion well the implements required 
 In life s fierce battles, when, his school-days past, 
 He enters boldly on life s stage at last ? 
 And then, again, as doubtless you re aware, 
 He s famed for building castles in the air ! 
 An undertaking which he would not start 
 Were he not trained in the mechanic art. 
 Thus have we shown how it doth come to pass 
 That students form an active working class. 
 
 25 
 
386 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Now, of the ladies may I say a word ? 
 
 Of those, I mean, of whom we ve sometimes heard, 
 
 Who vainly boast, would you believe ? oh, fie ! 
 
 They never made a bed nor baked a pie.! 
 
 Nor boiled a pot, nor made a batch of bread, 
 
 Nor swept a room, nor combed a baby s head ! 
 
 My goodness ! Can it be that such there are ? 
 
 Are any such in market? Oh, beware ! 
 
 Young men love playthings, but not such as these 
 
 To keep ; be sure of this, they re hard to please, 
 
 When in good earnest to select a wife 
 
 A partner, helpmeet, counsellor for life. 
 
 Thus may we see, through all life s varied scenes, 
 That work brings wealth and wealth supplies the means 
 To make life easy and secure content 
 In what alone concerns a life well spent. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 LIFE. 
 
 LIFE ! what mystery thy birth enshrouds ! 
 For ages past hath man in vain essayed 
 This mystery to solve thy origin to learn. 
 Soul ! my Soul ! speak out and tell me clear, 
 Whence came thou here ? whence thy deep yearning for 
 Immortal life ? Methinks I hear thee say, 
 " Be still and trust. In God we live, and move, 
 And have our being; more we cannot know." 
 Ah, true ! but this great truth, full well I know, 
 Thy restless spirit ne er will satisfy. 
 In One all-ruling Power we must, we do 
 Believe. No revelation, save what all 
 
LIFE. 387 
 
 May read in Nature s open book, need we 
 
 To prove that this is so. When we recall 
 
 The countless wonders of the Universe, 
 
 From merest atom to the glorious sun, 
 
 And stars, and planets, in their order, all 
 
 In perfect harmony upborne, and earth, 
 
 So fraught with beauty, grandeur, light, and life, 
 
 All, all proclaim One over-ruling Hand. 
 
 But this, does this assurance give that we, 
 
 The vale of death once passed, shall live again ? 
 
 That in a higher, purer sphere, our souls 
 
 Shall mingle in communion sweet, and know, 
 
 As we, in this life present, one another know ? 
 
 Momentous questions these, that ever rise 
 
 And constant audience seek. T is true, the words 
 
 Of revelation come belief to claim 
 
 All doubt dispel ; yet few, methinks, are there 
 
 Who do not crave more light. Whence shall this come ? 
 
 Whither to end all doubt, seek we for proof? 
 
 Not, surely, in the grovelling passions of 
 
 The carnal heart, that drag to lowest depths 
 
 And darkness dire ; but upward, upward, where 
 
 The mental vision scope may take afar, 
 
 Without obstruction from the earth below. 
 
 We can ascend. United by the bonds 
 
 Of love, and taking for our guide the rule 
 
 The Golden Rule that never leads astray 
 
 Our souls may rise to regions clear, so full 
 
 Of heavenly light that twixt eternal life 
 
 And this, no barrier appears. 
 
388 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 POETRY AN INSPIRATION : MR. STODDARD ? S RATHER STARTLING 
 ASSERTION TO THE CONTRARY. 
 
 WHOEVER has read Sir Edwin Arnold s "Light of the 
 "World" will doubtless have observed that, in his intro 
 duction to it, Richard Henry Stoddard makes the rather 
 startling assertion that what has heretofore been generally 
 received as an admitted fact, that real poetry is an inspira 
 tion, is, after all, in his estimation, only " a delusion which 
 was fostered by immature rhymesters to palliate their short 
 comings and impart dignity to their trivialities." This 
 would appear to be taking direct issue with the author of 
 the oft-repeated epigram that " poets are born, not made," 
 and he adds that poetry " is now as universally recog 
 nized to be an art as painting, sculpture, or music, and 
 the rules to which it conforms have been gathered from 
 the practice of the masters and formulated into a system 
 of critical laws, which not to know is to know nothing 
 of poetry." Undoubtedly, what passes for good poetry, 
 so far as sense and rhythm are concerned, may be com 
 posed without any special inspiration, but I am inclined 
 to believe that in order to the production of the most per 
 fect spirituelle character of poetry, the author himself must 
 be inspired above any help from art or " system of critical 
 laws," just, for instance, as a mere mechanical performer 
 on a musical instrument, with little or no ear for harmony 
 of sound, may touch every note correctly without the ability 
 to thrill the listener like an Ole Bull or a Bischoff. Says 
 Cicero, " Nascimur poetce, fanus oratores" We are born 
 poets ; by education we may become orators. 
 
 Let us hear also what the " Autocrat of the Breakfast 
 Table" says of his experience : 
 
POETRY AN INSPIRATION. 389 
 
 " A lyric conception hits like a bullet in the forehead. I have often 
 had the blood drop from my cheeks when it struck, and felt that I turned 
 as white as death. Then comes a creeping as of centipedes running 
 down the spine ; then a gasp and a great jump of the heart ; then a sud 
 den flush, and a beating of the vessels of the head ; then a long sigh, and 
 the poem is written. ... I said written, but did not say copied. Every 
 such poem has a soul and a body, and it is the body of it, or the copy, 
 that men read and publishers pay for. The soul of it is born in an 
 instant in the poet s soul. It comes to him a thought tangled in the 
 meshes of a few sweet words words that have loved each other from the 
 cradle of the language, but have never been wedded until now. . . . No 
 wonder the ancients made the poetical impulse wholly external goddess, 
 muse, divine afflatus, something outside always. I never wrote any verses 
 worth reading. I can t. I am too stupid. If ever I copied any that 
 were worth reading, I was only a medium." 
 
 Undoubtedly the art of poetry may be acquired, but with 
 out that inspiration which comes to the aid of every true 
 poet, what is produced is little, if any, better than rhymed 
 prose. Emerson calls it " that dream power which every 
 night shows thee is thy own; a power transcending all 
 limit and privacy, and by virtue of which a man is the con 
 ductor of the whole river of electricity." 
 
 As an appropriate conclusion to these hasty comments 
 let us turn to Sir Edwin Arnold s proem preceding his 
 beautiful poem : 
 
 " The Sovereign Voice spoke once more in my ear : 
 
 Write, now, a song unstained by any tear ! 
 
 What shall I write ? I said. The Voice replied, 
 
 Write what We tell thee of the Crucified ! 
 
 How shall I write, I said, who am not meet 
 
 One word of that sweet speaking to repeat ? 
 
 It shall be given unto thee ! Do this thing ! 
 
 Answered the Voice : Wash thy lips clean and sing ! " 
 
 WASHINGTON, D. C., May 10, 1891. 
 
390 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CROSSING THE OCEAN. 
 New Sensations Singular Coincidence Ocean Hymns. 
 
 FOR one who has never been out of sight of land, it is 
 no slight undertaking to come to a fixed determination to 
 cross the Atlantic. Speaking for myself, I am free to ac 
 knowledge that, when, in the year 1867, I began to think 
 seriously of it propelled by no imperative order or busi 
 ness, but moved mainly by a desire for rest and to see 
 something of the Old World it required all the resolution 
 at my command to make up my mind actually to engage 
 my passage and prepare for the voyage. In fact, even after 
 I had reached this determination, and had selected my 
 state-room on the good steamship Fulton, Captain Charles 
 H. Townsend, to sail from New York to Havre on the llth 
 of May, it was not until we were fairly set out upon the 
 great deep no land in sight that I came gradually to 
 realize the actual truth that surely, beyond doubt, I was 
 leaving my own country to set foot on another and far dis 
 tant continent. ... I was now keenly sensible to the truth 
 of the remarks of Madame de Stael, that " It becomes a 
 much more serious matter to quit one s country when in 
 going away it is necessary to cross the sea. Everything," 
 she adds, " is solemn in a voyage of which the ocean marks 
 the first steps : it seems that an abyss opens behind you, 
 and that the return may be forever impossible. Moreover, 
 the sight of the sea always makes a profound impression ; 
 it is the image of the Infinite which attracts the soul in 
 cessantly, and in which, without cessation, the soul appears 
 to lose itself." 
 
 Out to sea ! Only they who have bidden adieu to home 
 and dear friends, and thus, as it were in a dream, found 
 
CROSSING THE OCEAN. 391 
 
 themselves on the bosom of the great deep, with no land 
 nor a living thing outside their vessel in sight, save a flock 
 of gulls our constant companions much of the way over 
 and back can realize the feeling which I now experi 
 enced. It was a new sensation, one of the remarkable 
 characteristics of which is a feeling, I may say, of utter 
 helplessness as regards all human support. I am happy, 
 however, to observe that this experience was to me a source 
 of joy on account of the realization more vivid, if possi 
 ble, than ever before of the Omnipotent Presence. . . . 
 
 On both Sabbaths going over we had a long passage 
 there were religious services in the saloon, and, if I may 
 judge from the interest and solemnity apparent on every 
 countenance, there was on the part of all present and there 
 were few or no absent passengers on that occasion a deep 
 and increased feeling of dependence on the Almighty arm, 
 a sincere and hearty thankfulness for His merciful care of 
 us, which can never be effaced from our memories. It is, 
 indeed, a fact, not a little singular, perhaps, that this feeling 
 found utterance in two hymns composed by two of the 
 passengers Henry F. King and his father without either 
 knowing the intention of the other, which hymns were 
 sung at those meetings, all who could sing joining in them, 
 having supplied themselves with copies thereof. The first 
 (the son s composition), to the tune of " America," was 
 sung as follows : 
 
 Our Father, hear our prayer, 
 As we are gathered here, 
 
 To worship Thee. 
 Keep us, a little band, 
 Well in Thy guiding hand, 
 And bring us safe to land 
 
 Beyond the sea. 
 
 We give our thanks to Thee, 
 Gratefully, willingly, 
 For all Thy care 
 
392 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Since we have left our home, 
 O er foreign lands to roam ; 
 And may we ever come 
 To Thee in prayer. 
 
 O Thou who ruPst the wave, 
 And hast the power to save, 
 
 Thy praise we sing. 
 Praised be Thy holy name, 
 Throughout the world the same, 
 Above all earthly fame, 
 
 Great God, our King. 
 
 The other, to the tune of " Old Hundred," as follows : 
 
 Great God, we come with grateful hearts 
 
 To offer up our thanks to Thee 
 For all Thy mercies, all Thy care 
 
 Of us, Thy children on the sea. 
 
 Oh, bear us safely to the shore, 
 
 With one united voice we pray ; 
 To Thee we look Thee we adore 
 
 To Thee our heartfelt homage pay. 
 
 Watch o er us evermore, and guide 
 
 Our footsteps wheresoe er we be ; 
 In storm or sunshine, oh, abide 
 
 With us, Thy children on the sea. 
 
 Then shall we feel no dread alarm ; 
 
 Our souls will rest in peace on Thee ; 
 Our trust sincere, safe from all harm, 
 
 Behold Thy children on the sea. 
 
 Here is another ocean hymn and some impromptu stan 
 zas, composed by the present writer on board the Cunard 
 steamship Scotia, Captain Leitch, on her outward trip, May 
 12, 1875, himself and wife being passengers. Our sailing 
 day was Wednesday, and the hymn was sung to the tune 
 of " God Save the Queen," as a part of the religious ser 
 vices on Sunday. It was also included in the religious ser 
 vices, one Sunday, on the Cunarder Bothnia, when we were 
 
CROSSING THE OCEAN. 393 
 
 returning home in the following May arriving on the 16th 
 
 of that month. 
 
 Father of Light and Love, 
 High on Thy throne above, 
 
 Give us thine ear. 
 All weak and powerless, we, 
 Thy children on the sea, 
 Would turn our thoughts to Thee, 
 
 And nothing fear. 
 
 O God, in Thee we trust ; 
 On Jesus bosom must 
 
 Our safety be ; 
 Then would we ever rest 
 Our heads upon His breast 
 The haven e er the best, 
 
 On land or sea. 
 
 Oh, take us safe to shore, 
 Thy guidance we implore 
 
 From day to day ; 
 To Thee our thanks we bring, 
 Give us all hearts to sing 
 The praises of our King, 
 
 His will obey. 
 
 " ALL S WELL." 
 List to the sound of bells, 
 As on the air it swells 
 And in the darkness tells 
 
 The hour of night ; 
 Then hear the watchman s cry 
 On lookout to espy 
 All danger far and nigh 
 
 That all is right. 
 
 The cheering words, " All s well," 
 All nervous fears dispel 
 And to our senses tell 
 
 That safety reigns. 
 Then sink we into rest, 
 Lulled by the foamy crest 
 Upon the ocean s breast, 
 
 In solemn strains. 
 
394 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Now, when life s end is near, 
 And all seems dark and drear, 
 We breathless list to hear 
 
 The last hour bell ; 
 Oh, may the joyful word 
 In silver tones be heard 
 
 "ALL S WELL." 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 SAVED BY FRIED CHICKEN HOW COLONEL TARLETON FAILED 
 TO CAPTURE THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 IN 1781 Lord Cornwallis sought to capture the Governor 
 (Thomas Jefferson) and the legislature of Virginia, sitting 
 at Richmond, and afterwards at Charlottesville, to which 
 town they hastily adjourned to avoid arrest. Failing at 
 Richmond, Colonel Tarleton, in command of the expedi 
 tion, with a force of cavalry and infantry, pursued, but suc 
 ceeded, as history states, in capturing only " some members 
 of the assembly," evidently not more than two or three. 
 
 There is a tradition that Tarleton s failure arose from his 
 fondness for fried chicken. The scouting party stopped at 
 Dr. Joseph Walker s plantation, some twenty miles from 
 Charlottesville, for breakfast, when a messenger was sent 
 in hot haste to warn the Virginians of their advance. 
 Rations were distributed to the men, and the family cook 
 made haste to get up a real Virginia meal for the colonel 
 and his staff. Twice she prepared a delicious dish of fried 
 chicken, and both times, when her back was turned, some 
 of the hungry soldiers dashed into the kitchen and carried 
 it off. 
 
 Tarleton was angry at the delay, but was told that what 
 there was of the meal could be served at once if he desired, 
 but that if he wished to have chicken he must set a cor- 
 
TARLETON S RAID. 395 
 
 poral s guard to protect the cook. This he ordered done. 
 The guard was set, the chickens were cooked and eaten, 
 but the delay enabled the messenger to reach Charlottes- 
 ville and give the alarm in time. 
 
 TAKLETON S RAID. 
 
 In seventeen hundred eighty-one, 
 
 In revolution time, 
 The march of Tarleton was begun 
 
 In grandeur all sublime. 
 
 In Richmond town his forces lay, 
 
 Whence government had fled 
 To Charlottesville, long miles away, 
 
 By common prudence led. 
 
 Tom Jefferson, the chief, was there, 
 
 The legislature, too ; 
 And Tarleton, balked, did then declare, 
 
 " I ll capture the whole crew." 
 
 So off he started with his force, 
 
 Made up with great display, 
 Of infantry, as well as horse, 
 
 Full sure to win the day. 
 
 When he had reached the Walker place, 
 
 Some twenty miles from town, 
 He called a halt and slackened pace ; 
 
 The troopers all got down. 
 
 To breakfast, now, the order passed, 
 
 For hunger called aloud, 
 And rations for the men flew fast 
 
 Among the waiting crowd. 
 
 The colonel and his body-guard 
 
 On Dinah did depend 
 As kitchen maid, she thought it hard, 
 
 But dared not to offend. 
 
 The colonel gave an order stern 
 
 To get a meal right then 
 Of chicken fried and rolls the best, 
 
 And keep it from his men. 
 
396 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Now, Dinah had received a hint 
 
 To be in no great haste, 
 And never in the least to stint 
 
 In catering to their taste. 
 
 Their breakfast being well set out 
 
 As any one could wish, 
 Some soldiers, lurking thereabout, 
 
 Broke in and seized the dish. 
 
 Again our Dinah turned a hand 
 
 To get another meal ; 
 No sooner done than came a band 
 
 And every crumb did steal. 
 
 Meantime a messenger had flown, 
 As fast as horse could go, 
 
 To Charlottesville, to make there known 
 What then they did not know, 
 
 That Tarleton, by Cornwallis sent, 
 
 Had started on the run 
 To capture all the government, 
 
 Including Jefferson. 
 
 Black Dinah, feigning sore distress, 
 To Tarleton made her way, 
 
 Her wounded feelings to express, 
 And this to him did say : 
 
 " Dem deuced sogers, over dar, 
 Did broke into my kitchen, 
 And, pon my honor, I declar , 
 Dey stol d dat mess of chicken. 
 
 " But, colonel, ef you is in haste, 
 
 Dere s odder vittles cooked, 
 
 Dat can be fixt to suit you taste, 
 
 Dem sogers is not hooked." 
 
 The colonel now began to rave, 
 And swore right up and down, 
 
 That chicken fried he sure would have, 
 Before he left the town. 
 
TAKLETON S RAID. 397 
 
 " Den you must send de corpTs guard," 
 
 Said Dinah, with a look 
 Impatient, sharp, and very hard, 
 " For to protect de cook." 
 
 " Here, adjutant," the colonel cried, 
 
 " Go set a guard to see 
 That, when again the fowls are fried, 
 The rogues do not cheat me." 
 
 Then Dinah went to work again, 
 
 And in good time prepared 
 A breakfast luscious, though but plain, 
 
 In which no pains were spared. 
 
 With gusto, Tarleton and his staff 
 
 Now ate the food well done 
 It was a scene to make one laugh 
 
 And then they travelled on. 
 
 But when they came to Charlottesville, 
 
 The legislative hall 
 Was vacant, closed, and very still 
 
 No members there at all. 
 
 All had escaped, save one or two, 
 
 Too weak to leave the place, 
 And knew no better way to do 
 
 Than knuckle in the race. 
 
 In haste the colonel pushes on 
 
 To Monticello s shade, 
 Full sure of seizing Jefferson 
 
 Main object of his raid. 
 
 But, well forewarned, the able chief 
 
 Slipped off without delay, 
 While Tarleton, smothering his grief, 
 
 Turned round and rode away. 
 
 Thus, twill be seen, the colonel had 
 
 Of chicken fried partaken ; 
 And Jefferson was very glad, 
 
 For it had " saved his bacon." 
 
398 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PATRIOTIC POEM. 
 
 RECITED AT THE REUNION OF THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, JULY 
 3, 1890, AT PORTLAND, ME. 
 
 WHO shall tell in rhythmic measure 
 
 All the story of the war ? 
 What became of untold treasure ? 
 
 Who shall tell what it was for ? 
 
 How the conflict, like no other, 
 
 Spread affliction far and wide ; 
 Brother madly fighting brother, 
 
 Fiercely ranged on either side. 
 
 Oh, the wicked, fatal error 
 
 Of the rash resort to arms ! 
 Filling every heart with terror 
 
 Every day with war s alarms ! 
 
 Now I mind me, when I started 
 
 On life s mission, long ago 
 Only just from boyhood parted 
 
 I beheld the signs of woe. 
 
 North and south I saw arising, 
 
 Plain before my anxious eyes, 
 Little clouds, not yet surprising, 
 
 On the face of tranquil skies. 
 
 True, to some they foretold danger, 
 Meagre as their forms appeared ; 
 
 Not so to the passing stranger : 
 He saw nothing to be feared. 
 
PATRIOTIC POEM. 399 
 
 Nor was any early meeting 
 
 Thought at that time to impend, 
 Of these clouds portentous fleeting 
 
 Whereso er their motion tend. 
 
 Peace and Plenty held their places, 
 
 Smiling on a happy land ; 
 All serene their air, like Graces 
 
 Crowned with beauty, hand-in-hand. 
 
 Strange that at a time so cheering 
 
 I should see in vivid dream 
 Armies in the skies appearing, 
 
 Hostile in degree supreme. 
 
 What, I asked myself in wonder, 
 Does this startling vision show ? 
 
 Is it this in doubt I ponder 
 Must we meet a foreign foe ? 
 
 Seemed no cause for such collision, 
 
 All was quiet over sea ; 
 What should aid to a decision 
 
 In the matter, puzzled me. 
 
 But at length the clouds, expanding, 
 
 Move in angry aspect near, 
 Dark before each other standing, 
 
 Touching patriots hearts with fear. 
 
 Look ! what means this strange communion ? 
 
 See ! emblazoned on each cloud, 
 In letters bold, the word DISUNION ! 
 
 All alarming, fierce, and loud ! 
 
400 TUENING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 Hark ! what sound is that conspiring, 
 Rumbling, trembling, from afar ? 
 
 Tis from guns on Sumter firing ! 
 Tocsin dread of civil war ! 
 
 Oh ! what act of direful madness ! 
 
 Oh ! the folly of the strife ! 
 Oh ! what cause of deepest sadness ! 
 
 Who shall save the nation s life ? 
 
 Such was my first exclamation, 
 
 Standing near the helm of state ; 
 Whence should come the declaration 
 
 That should my distress abate ! 
 
 " To arms ! to arms !" the cry went forth 
 From LINCOLN S proud and lofty post. 
 
 " Wake ! East and West and South and North ! 
 Spring, spring to arms, a mighty host ! 
 
 " Our flag insulted bids you come; 
 
 It calls for patriots strongly nerved ; 
 March quickly, cheered by fife and drum, 
 
 The UNION it must be preserved !" 
 
 As when the mighty river s banks 
 
 Are swollen by the sudden flood, 
 The people rushed to fill the ranks, 
 
 And in a solid phalanx stood. 
 
 The nation s capital their aim, 
 
 They moved at once in grand array, 
 
 As line on serried line they came 
 Thejr noble chieftain to obey. 
 
PATRIOTIC POEM. 401 
 
 A brief suspense, and then they start 
 To meet their bold and threatening foe; 
 
 Each man inflamed to do his part, 
 Kor any hardship to forego. 
 
 Now, soon is heard the clash of arms, 
 
 Afar the cannon s angry roar, 
 O erwhelming all with war s alarms, 
 
 That spread, like fire, from door to door. 
 
 Too late ! the fatal shot was fired 
 
 "When aimed in hate at Sumter s shield ; 
 
 Almost, alas ! all hope expired 
 When patriots fell on battle-field. 
 
 Too late ! too late ! the war goes on 
 In blood and carnage oh, how long ! 
 
 Until, at last, the RIGHT has won 
 Until defeat o erwhelms the WRONG. 
 
 Peace now resumed her rightful sway; 
 
 Those hateful clouds have disappeared ; 
 DISUNION sank with them away, 
 
 And UNION her proud ensign reared. 
 
 Flag of our free, united land, 
 
 Float on ! float on ! o er sea and strand ! 
 
 We greet thee, seen away from home, 
 
 In foreign climes, where er we roam, 
 
 With pride and satisfaction pure, 
 
 A shield and safeguard strong and sure. 
 
 Float on ! float on ! no longer fear ! 
 
 All hearts are with thee, far and near. 
 
 Float on ! float on ! from shore to shore ! 
 
 Float on ! float on ! forevermore ! 
 
 26 
 
PART V. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 QUEEN VICTORIA INTERESTING INCIDENTS IN HER LIFE. 
 
 AT sunrise on a beautiful morning, the 24th of May, 
 1819, in an old palace looking out upon Kensington Park. 
 Alexandrina Victoria was born. The privy councillors and 
 great officers of state, near by, were immediately called in 
 as certifying witnesses, and " the Duke of Kent, with his 
 own hand, signified the joyful news to all his relatives both 
 at home and abroad before he retired to rest." It was 
 regarded as " an omen of goodly import that the day and 
 hour which ushered the future sovereign into the world 
 was the same which had eighty-one years before given birth 
 to her revered grandfather." The event was the more joy 
 ful from the fact that the British nation had but recently 
 been called to mourn the sudden death of the beautiful 
 Princess Charlotte, wife of Leopold I., of Belgium, and 
 heir to the throne. The British people will never cease 
 to cherish with the warmest affection the memory of this 
 lamented Princess, who so suddenly, with her new-born 
 infant, fell asleep to awake no more on earth. A touch- 
 ingly beautiful white marble monument in St. George s 
 Chapel at Windsor, representing her reclining figure, is 
 gazed upon with melancholy interest by all beholders. 
 
 The Duchess of Kent was a true mother to her infant 
 princess, whose baptism and initiation into the church in the 
 names I have given were performed " with all the pomp 
 of circumstance" when she was four weeks old. Instead of 
 taking what was said to be the usual course of the nobility 
 
 402 
 
QUEEN VICTORIA. 403 
 
 and turning her royal babe over to a third person for daily 
 sustenance, with maternal tenderness she nursed the child 
 herself, greatly to the satisfaction of the English people. 
 Never, probably, were parents happier in the possession or 
 prouder of a promising and lovely child than were the good 
 Duke and Duchess of Kent with their little treasure. It is 
 said of the Duke, who in a few short months was snatched 
 by death from the amiable Duchess and her infant off 
 spring, that he used with exulting joy to present his 
 " smiling cherub to each succeeding guest, and listen with 
 unwearied delight to their perpetually repeated praises of 
 its activity, intelligence, and beauty." 
 
 It \vas unfortunate, not to say cruel, for so kind and 
 devoted a parent to be wounded in feeling as he was 
 on the occasion of a grand review which took place on 
 Hounslow Heath not long after the christening. At this 
 review " The Prince Regent was present, attended by a 
 splendid train of military officers, among whom was the 
 Duke of Kent. The Royal Duchess was on the heath in 
 her carriage, accompanied by the Princess Victoria and 
 her attendants. The Regent is said to have objected to 
 this early display of parental pride, and, turning to the 
 Duke of Kent, asked, with some displeasure, " Why was 
 not that infant left at home ? She is too young to be 
 brought into public." The unkind rebuke evidently cut to 
 the quick, since we are assured that " into the public the 
 royal babe was brought no more during the short period of 
 her father s life ; and it is believed that to this expression 
 of the Regent s opinion may in some measure be attributed 
 the extreme retirement in which the first ten years of the 
 young Princess s life were passed." 
 
 Except this unpleasant episode, nothing appears to have 
 occurred to disturb the current of happiness, during the 
 following summer, at Kensington Palace. The Duke and 
 Duchess were often to be " seen walking arm and arm in 
 the beautiful grounds which surrounded the palace, min- 
 
404 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 gling with pleasure among their delighted countrymen. 
 The interest of the scene was much increased by the pres 
 ence of the royal infant, who, in the arms of her nurse, 
 would answer with her innocent smiles to the occasional 
 caresses of her fond parents, and the more respectful notice 
 of the spectators," no strangers, however, being permitted 
 to approach her too closely. 
 
 During the ensuing winter months " their Royal High 
 nesses had removed into Devonshire for the benefit of its 
 milder climate, but had scarcely domesticated themselves 
 in their beautiful retreat, Woolbrook Cottage, Sidmouth, 
 before the illustrious Duke was seized with severe indis 
 position, the effects of a neglected cold, which, defying all 
 the efforts of medicine, terminated fatally within a fort 
 night from the first attack. The Duchess was immediately 
 withdrawn from the scene of her bereavement," and re 
 turned to Kensington Palace, where she received the kind 
 est attention of friends, including Prince Leopold, the 
 Duchess of Clarence, then the amiable Queen Dowager, 
 and other members of the royal family. 
 
 This touching incident is related of the Duke of York s 
 first visit to his afflicted sister-in-law. Having inquired for 
 his infant niece, she was no sooner, in compliance with his 
 desire, brought into the room, than, recognizing, it is sup 
 posed, his great resemblance to her deceased father, she 
 stretched out her little arms towards him and called him 
 " Papa." The Duke was greatly affected, and, clasping her 
 to his bosom, promised to be indeed a father to her. " This 
 promise, as far as circumstances would admit, he always 
 faithfully observed ;" and his fatherly care and kindness 
 were u repaid by her infantile love and gratitude, particu 
 larly exemplified in his last illness, when she visited him 
 daily, always carrying in her hand a beautiful bouquet of 
 choice flowers, with which the Duke delighted to decorate 
 his private sitting-room, until it was replaced on the follow 
 ing day by a fresh supply from her store of sweets." 
 
QUEEN VICTORIA. 405 
 
 From all accounts the young Princess must have been 
 an uncommonly interesting child, and she was frequently 
 spoken of as beautiful, with her bright blue eyes and ruddy, 
 round face. Like all smart children, her cunning childish 
 actions were a constant subject of remark as well as source 
 of pleasure to her friends. During these years of early 
 childhood she " was daily to be seen riding or running 
 about in Kensington Gardens, and her intercourse with the 
 visitors" is represented as " of a very endearing descrip 
 tion." 
 
 Her father, as is well known, was the fourth son of 
 George III., and her mother was a sister of Leopold I., 
 being at the time of the marriage, in the month of July, 
 1818, a young widow, the Princess Leiningen, with two 
 children a son whose name was Charles Emrich, and a 
 daughter named Feodora a prince and princess, of course. 
 In all her early years Victoria had for a constant attendant 
 or companion her half-sister, the young Princess Feodora, 
 by whom she was frequently drawn in her little carriage, 
 other attendants also being along. I may remark here that 
 Prince Charles Emrich died in 1850, and the Princess Feo 
 dora (afterwards by marriage the Princess Hohenlohe-Lan- 
 genburg) on the 23d of September, 1872. To the last the 
 sisters were devotedly attached to each other. In her diary 
 the Queen, referring to the time, in 1824, when she herself 
 was only five years of age, and when she resided in com 
 pany with Feodora at Claremont, says : " Those days at 
 Claremont were the happiest of my childhood." Her Ger 
 man kinsfolk called Victoria " the little May Flower." 
 
 Very shortly after her fourth year the King issued cards 
 for a state dinner-party, " signifying to the Duchess of Kent 
 his wish that her infant daughter should accompany her 
 and be presented to the assembled guests." Some time 
 before this her uncle, the Duke of York, had made a 
 present to her of a donkey, which she prized as " the great 
 est treasure she possessed in the world;" and, full of joyful 
 
406 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 anticipation on the morning of this memorable visit, " I am 
 going," said she, " to see the King !" and, turning to her 
 mother, she naively asked, " Oh, mamma ! shall I go upon 
 my donkey ?" 
 
 From her cradle to her accession to the throne Victoria 
 was never separated from her mother, who taught her her 
 first lessons and superintended her education, assisted by 
 Rev. George Davys, afterwards Dean of Chester, who was 
 appointed her preceptor at an early period, and held the 
 position until she was proclaimed Queen. At five years of 
 age she could speak three languages, English, French, and 
 German, and when she was eleven she not only spoke 
 these with fluency, but also was acquainted with Italian, 
 had made such progress in Latin as to be able to read " Vir 
 gil" and " Horace" with ease, and had commenced Greek 
 and mathematics. Her moral training kept pace with her 
 intellectual instruction. Says a late English writer, " The 
 cultivation of the heart of her child" was what the mother 
 first strove to accomplish ; and, " above everything, any 
 approach to pride or hauteur was discouraged." She was 
 " trained to be courteous, affable, lively, and to put social 
 inferiors perfectly at their ease." Mr. Davys was not alone 
 with the Duchess as guide and teacher of the young Prin 
 cess. She likewise had special instructions in the different 
 branches, including music, drawing, etc., and always showed 
 herself an apt student. The Duchess of Northumberland, 
 at the suggestion of the King, was appointed her governess. 
 
 I could fill pages with many other things relative to the 
 infancy and childhood of our illustrious heroine, but I 
 must skip five or six years of this happy domestic life and 
 come to her accession, at the death of William IV., on the 
 20th of June, 1837. In these intervening years she jour 
 neyed with her mother throughout the larger part of the 
 United Kingdom, being everywhere received with pride 
 and acclamation by the people as their future sovereign. 
 To show something of the manner of this tour of in spec- 
 
QUEEN VICTORIA. 407 
 
 tion, information, and pleasure, I will mention one incident. 
 It was on the occasion of her visit at Portsmouth to the 
 Victory, a man-of-war. " Their Royal Highnesses, having 
 completed their interesting inspection of the ship, seated 
 themselves at one of the mess tables, and desired the dinner 
 intended for the seamen of that mess to be laid before them. 
 This being done, the Princess, with her mother and all the 
 ladies of her suite, drank of the grog and partook of the 
 beef and potatoes, served on wooden platters, and using 
 the knives and forks belonging to the mess. The Princess 
 declared that the dinner was much to her liking ; and the 
 delight of the sailors at this act of condescension exceeded 
 
 o 
 
 all bounds." 
 
 I should also remark, before proceeding further, that the 
 Princess was about eleven years of age when she first 
 became aware of her exalted destiny; and this fact, which 
 had been carefully kept from her, she herself discovered 
 one day when reading English history with her governess. 
 Both her governess and her mother were startled by the 
 questions she put, and were obliged to admit the correctness 
 of her conclusion. This was in 1830, the year William IV. 
 was called to the throne. Seven years swiftly passed, and 
 the young Princess, at the age of less than one month over 
 eighteen years, was suddenly summoned, on the 20th of 
 June, 1837, to take his place. The next day she " was 
 publicly proclaimed, under the title of Alexandrina Vic 
 toria I. ; but since that day she has disused the Russian 
 name bestowed upon her by her Muscovite godfather, pre 
 ferring to retain simply VICTORIA." 
 
 That I may be as brief as possible, I need not describe 
 the accession and coronation ceremonies. Suffice it to say 
 they were appropriate, as they were solemn and gorgeous. 
 Says Miss Martineau, " If the millions who longed to know 
 how the young sovereign looked and felt could have heard 
 her first address, it would have gone far to satisfy them. 
 The address was of course prepared for her; but the 
 
408 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 manner and voice were her own, and they told much. 
 Her manner was composed, modest, and dignified; her 
 voice firm and sweet ; her reading, as usual, beautiful." 
 
 The next great event in the Queen s life was her betrothal 
 and marriage to her cousin, Prince Albert, of Saxe-Coburg- 
 Gotha, on the 10th of February, 1840. In her own journal 
 we find it stated that, " when he was a child of three years 
 old, his nurse always told him that he should marry the 
 Queen, and that, when he first thought of marrying at all, 
 he always thought of her." In her own memoirs of her 
 lamented husband, we have also a full and touching account 
 of their courtship and marriage. Their first meeting was 
 in May, 1836, on the occasion of a six weeks visit of the 
 Duke of Coburg with his two sons, Ernest and Albert, to 
 the Duchess of Kent. Albert was the younger of the two 
 brothers, and three months the junior of Victoria. This 
 visit is represented as having afforded great pleasure, par 
 ticularly to the royal cousins, Victoria and Albert, who 
 were then seventeen years of age ; nor were they ignorant 
 of what was undoubtedly its leading purpose. Albert s 
 mother, the Dowager Duchess of Gotha, had often spoken 
 to him, years before, of her earnest wishes on the subject; 
 and although we have the Queen s authority for the state 
 ment that " nothing was settled" at the time of this visit, a 
 letter from her, dated June 7, 1836, to King Leopold, who 
 took a lively interest in bringing about this happy match, 
 shows plainly what she designed and expected. That letter, 
 referring to Prince Albert, concludes : " I have only now to 
 beg you, my dear uncle, to take care of the health of one 
 now so dear to me, and to take him under your special pro 
 tection. I hope and trust that all will now go on prosper 
 ously and well on this subject, now of so much importance 
 to me." The Prince, however, did not feel so sure of his 
 position, "being kept in the dark;" and after waiting in 
 suspense nearly two years, and knowing that any offer of 
 marriage must now be made by the Queen, and not by him- 
 
QUEEN VICTORIA. 409 
 
 self, if they were ever to become husband and wife, he. 
 intimated to King Leopold that, while he was willing to 
 wait provided only that he could have " some certain as 
 surance to go upon," without such assurance he might in 
 justice to himself feel obliged to take himself out of the 
 way. Fortunately it was not so to be ; and the Queen has 
 since reproached herself that " she had not, after accession, 
 kept up the correspondence with her cousin as she had done 
 before it, instead" (she says) " of keeping him waiting for 
 probably three or four years, at the risk of ruining all his 
 prospects for life, until she might feel inclined to marry." 
 
 On the 10th of October, 1839, the two Princes, Ernest 
 and Albert, arrived at Windsor Castle, bearing a letter 
 from the King of the Belgians, commending them to the 
 Queen, " who received them herself at the top of the stair 
 case and conducted them at once to the Duchess of Kent." 
 In less than one week thereafter, on the 15th, the Queen 
 sent for Prince Albert to come to her room, where he 
 found her alone. The next day the Prince wrote to " the 
 old friend of the family, Baron Stockmar, who was natu 
 rally one of the first to be informed of his engagement. 
 4 1 write to you, he says, < on one of the happiest days of 
 my life, to give you the most welcome news possible. He 
 then describes what took place, " and ends by saying, 4 More 
 or more seriously I cannot write to you, for that, at this 
 moment, I am too bewildered. The Queen herself says, 
 " The Prince received her offer without any hesitation and 
 with the warmest demonstration of kindness and affection," 
 adding, in the words of her journal, " How I will strive to 
 make him feel as little as possible the sacrifice he has made. 
 I told him it was a great sacrifice on his part, but he would 
 not allow it." 
 
 It was the commonly received report at the time, that at 
 one of the palace balls, just before this final engagement, 
 Victoria " took occasion to present her bouquet to the Prince 
 at the conclusion of a dance, and that the hint was not lost 
 
410 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 upon the polite and gallant German. His close uniform, 
 buttoned up to the throat, did not admit of placing the 
 Persian-like gift where it would be most honored; so he 
 drew his penknife and cut a slit in his dress in the neigh 
 borhood of his heart, where he gracefully deposited the 
 happy omen." 
 
 Now, again, from the necessity of brevity, I am reluc 
 tantly constrained to dismiss this delightful subject with 
 only a few more words. The young Princes returned to 
 Germany on the 14th of November, but on the following 
 28th of January Albert came back to England in state, and 
 on the 10th of February, 1840, his marriage with Victoria 
 took place and u was magnificently celebrated in the Chapel 
 Royal of St. James Palace." 
 
 Nothing now occurred seriously to disturb the happiness 
 of the young couple until the 10th of June following, when, 
 as they were driving in a phaeton up Constitution Hill in 
 London, a young man named Oxford, seventeen or eighteen 
 years of age, fired two pistol-shots at the Queen, but hap 
 pily without effect. The fellow was at once arrested, and, 
 as one writer states, "it being impossible to assign any 
 conceivable cause for the act, he was declared insane and 
 doomed to incarceration for life." Theodore Martin, au 
 thor of the "Life of the Prince Consort," however, says, 
 " There was no doubt that the wretched creature knew 
 what he was about, and acted, so far as intentions can be 
 judged by acts, with a murderous intent. It would have 
 been well, as events proved [he continues], if he had been 
 dealt with on this footing." The best comment on the 
 lenity shown in allowing him to escape by " the insanity 
 dodge, " Mr. Martin further remarks, " was pronounced by 
 Oxford himself on being told of similar attempts of Francis 
 and Bean in 1842, when he declared that if he had been 
 hanged, there would have been no more shooting at the 
 Queen." 
 
 The next attempt on the life of the Queen, that of John 
 
QUEEN VICTORIA. 411 
 
 Francis, represented by Prince Albert as " a little swarthy, 
 ill-looking rascal," occurred in 1842, close to the spot of 
 the former shooting, arid when the Queen and her husband 
 were returing home from a drive. The scoundrel was only 
 five paces from them when he fired, without effect, and was 
 immediately seized by a policeman. He was tried, found 
 guilty of high treason, and sentenced to death, which sen 
 tence, at the instance of the merciful Queen, was afterwards 
 commuted into a sentence of transportation for life. We 
 have Prince Albert s statement that, during the trial, the 
 fellow was not out of his mind, but that he was " a thorough 
 scamp," and that the populace were in a state of extreme 
 indignation " against him. His answers/ the Prince says, 
 " are evasive and witty. He tries to make fun of his 
 judges." " Yet," observes Mr. Martin, " after the sentence 
 of death was pronounced upon him, the wretched vanity 
 which, more than any murderous intent, had prompted 
 his dastardly outrage, could no longer maintain the sem 
 blance of indifference which he had hitherto affected, and 
 he fell swooning into a turnkey s arms, and was carried 
 insensible from the court." 
 
 This merciful act of commutation had hardly become 
 public before still another attempt was made on Victoria s 
 life, the culprit this time being what Prince Albert, in 
 writing to his father, under date of July 4, 1842, called " a 
 hunchback wretch," whose name was Bean. He had tried 
 to shoot at the carriage in which the Queen, Prince Albert, 
 and their uncle Leopold were sitting ; but his pistol missed 
 fire. On being examined, it " was found to contain some 
 powder, paper lightly rammed down, and some pieces of 
 clay pipe." 
 
 Bean appeared to have been more fool than knave, and 
 he was tried and sentenced, on the 25th of August, to 
 eighteen months imprisonment, under an act passed the 
 preceding month, which act not only made all such at 
 tempts punishable by imprisonment or transportation, but 
 
412 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 also directed that the culprit should " be publicly or pri 
 vately whipped as often and in such manner and form as 
 the court shall direct, not exceeding thrice." 
 
 On the 19th of May, 1849, on Constitution Hill, an Irish 
 bricklayer, named Hamilton, fired a pistol, charged only 
 with powder, at the Queen, and he was sentenced to seven 
 years transportation. On the 27th of May, 1850, as she 
 was leaving the Duke of Cumberland s residence in her 
 carriage, she was struck in the face by Robert Pale, an ex- 
 lieutenant of hussars, but not seriously hurt. He was like 
 wise sentenced to seven years transportation. 
 
 The latest attempt on the life of the Queen was in April, 
 1852, when " a worthless vagabond, by the name of Rod 
 erick McLane, fired a pistol-shot at her at the London Rail 
 way Station, but without effect. He was at once arrested, 
 tried, and acquitted on the ground of insanity clearly 
 proven." 
 
 On the 29th of February, 1872, Arthur O Connor, a boy 
 of seventeen, pointed an empty pistol at the Queen as she 
 was entering Buckingham Palace after a ride. The plea 
 was insanity, but he was sentenced to a whipping and 
 twelve months transportation. 
 
 It not being the purpose of this sketch to recount, as it 
 might, the many wise public acts of administration in which 
 the hand of the good Queen is often plainly visible, I will 
 hasten to a close by the mention of a few incidents in 
 which she has been brought lovingly into intimate rela 
 tions with the people of the United States. One of the 
 most noted of these occurred at the completion of the At 
 lantic cable in August, 1858, a wonderful feat, which aston 
 ished the whole world. On the 16th of that month Vic 
 toria addressed to President Buchanan this cablegram, 
 about the first, if not the very first, which passed over the 
 wires : " Her Majesty desires to congratulate the President 
 upon the successful completion of the great international 
 work in which the Queen has taken the deepest interest." 
 
QUEEN VICTORIA. 413 
 
 This despatch reached the President at the Soldiers 
 Home, when he immediately came to the White House 
 and responded in a longer cablegram, cordially recipro 
 cating the Queen s congratulations, and expressing the hope 
 that, " under the blessing of Heaven," the telegraph might 
 " prove to be a bond of perpetual peace and friendship be 
 tween the kindred nations, and an instrument destined by 
 Divine Providence to diffuse religion, civilization, liberty, 
 and law throughout the world." 
 
 The next pleasant incident of the kind was in 1860, 
 when President Buchanan, learning that the Prince of 
 Wales was about to visit Canada, wrote Her Majesty, say 
 ing : " Should it be the intention of His Royal Highness to 
 extend his visit to the United States, I need not say how 
 happy I should be to give him a cordial welcome to Wash 
 ington. You may be well assured that everywhere in this 
 country he will be greeted by the American people in such 
 a manner as cannot fail to prove gratifying to your Majesty. 
 In this they will manifest their deep sense of your do 
 mestic virtues as well as their convictions of your merits 
 as a wise, patriotic, and constitutional sovereign." 
 
 I copy the Queen s answer entire, as follows : 
 
 " BUCKINGHAM PALACE, June 22, 1860. 
 
 " MY GOOD FRIEXD, I have been much gratified at the feelings 
 which prompted you to write to me, inviting the Prince of Wales to 
 come to Washington. He intends to return from Canada through the 
 United States, and it will afford him great pleasure to have an opportu 
 nity of testifying to you in person that these feeling are fully recipro 
 cated by him. He will thus be able, at the same time, to mark the 
 respect which he entertains for the Chief Magistrate of a great and 
 friendly state and kindred nation. 
 
 " The Prince of Wales will drop all royal state on leaving my domin 
 ions, and travel under the name of Lord Renfrew, as he has done when 
 travelling on the continent of Europe. 
 
 " The Prince Consort wishes to be kindly remembered to you. 
 " I remain ever your Good Friend, 
 
 " VICTORIA R." 
 
414 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 How beautiful and how gratifying was all this ! 
 
 We all know that the Prince of Wales did extend his 
 visit to the United States, and that the President gave a 
 special reception at the White House in his honor, where 
 the young Prince and suite, with an immense crowd of the 
 elite of Washington, citizens, and transient visitors were 
 entertained in becoming style. I may add that it was my 
 good fortune to be present and to have a pleasant chat with 
 His Royal Highness. 
 
 And now we come to another, and, in its results, a vastly 
 more important event, the aifair of the Trent. On the 7th 
 of November, 1861, and near the beginning of our terrible 
 war, that British steamer left Havana for England with the 
 mails and passengers, and on the next day was met by the 
 San Jacinto, a United States ship-of-war, commanded by 
 Captain (afterwards Rear-Admiral) Wilkes. Brought to 
 by a round shot, soon afterwards followed by a shell, fired 
 by the San Jacinto across her bow, the Trent, by order of 
 Captain Wilkes, was at once boarded by Lieutenant (after 
 wards Rear-Admiral) Fairfax, accompanied by a guard of 
 marines, and Messrs. Mason and Slidell, accredited envoys 
 of the Confederate States to England and France, respect 
 ively, with their secretaries, Messrs. McFarland and Eustis, 
 were forcibly removed, and brought by the San Jacinto to 
 the United States as prisoners of war. As soon as this 
 bold, but no doubt very imprudent, act became known 
 in England, it produced the greatest excitement, and the 
 British Lion instantly prepared for war ! Instructions of 
 a threatening character were drawn up and submitted by 
 Lord John Russell to the Cabinet, and then sent to the 
 Queen for her approval, before being forwarded to Lord 
 Lyons, British Minister at Washington. They embodied a 
 demand for the release and restoration of the prisoners to 
 British protection, as well as a disavowal of the act of Cap 
 tain Wilkes, with instructions to Lord Lyons to retire from 
 the United States should this demand be refused. I think 
 
QUEEN VICTORIA. 415 
 
 I am justified in expressing the opinion that, had these in 
 structions gone out without material modification, either 
 the United States would have been disgracefully humbled 
 by yielding, or war with Great Britain would have been the 
 fearful alternative, the result of which at that crisis in our 
 affairs I shudder to think could have been nothing short 
 of a fatal disruption of our glorious Union ! 
 
 Prince Albert drafted a memorandum to accompany the 
 Cabinet paper on its return. This was slightly changed in 
 the Queen s own hand, as appears from a fac-simile of it 
 which I have seen, and it contains their suggestions for a 
 softening modification of the original despatch submitted 
 by the Cabinet. It is most gratifying to know that it was 
 couched in friendly terms, and the Cabinet paper being mod 
 elled upon the line thus indicated, it was divested of its 
 harsh features, and led, as is well known, to an amicable 
 settlement of the unpleasant affair. All honor and a thou 
 sand heartfelt thanks to the Queen and her noble hus 
 band. 
 
 "Who will say that this happy settlement of a most dan 
 gerous complication was not in great measure due to the 
 good offices, already cited, of Mr. Buchanan, and his remark 
 ably agreeable relations with the Queen and Prince Consort 
 while he was United States Minister to the Court of St. 
 James ? It is well known that he was a great favorite with 
 both, especially with the Queen, and that he held them in 
 highest esteem. 
 
 But I must turn for a moment from these pleasant re 
 flections to sombre and sadder scenes. The Queen had, 
 only a few months before, on the 16th of May, 1861, been 
 deprived, by death, of one of the dearest and best of 
 mothers, the estimable Duchess of Kent, and now, at the 
 very time of greatest need of his counsel and assistance, 
 her beloved husband was soon to be cruelly snatched from 
 her by the all- destroy ing angel of death ! The paper just 
 described was the last political memorandum he ever wrote, 
 
416 TUKNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 and when he handed it to the Queen, being seriously ill, 
 " he told her that he could scarcely hold the pen while 
 writing it." This was on the 1st of December. At a 
 quarter past ten o clock on the night of the 14th of that 
 month his great soul took its flight u to seek a nobler scope 
 for its aspirations in the world within the veil," and the 
 Queen was overwhelmed by a grief indescribable, and from 
 which she can never entirely recover on this side of the 
 grave. Intense, however, as her grief has been, impelling 
 her to comparative seclusion, she has never failed to per 
 form her sovereign administrative duties. For the first 
 time after her bereavement, she opened Parliament in per 
 son not until February, 1876, and she never once appeared 
 at the theatre, after the death of the Prince, until after the 
 4th of October, 1881, when she was persuaded by the Prince 
 of Wales to attend a private dramatic entertainment gotten 
 up by him at Abergeldie Castle, Scotland, expressly for her 
 diversion. 
 
 In April, 1886, by act of Parliament proposed by Mr. 
 Disraeli, she was authorized, in addition to her title of 
 Queen, to assume that of Empress of India. 
 
 The Queen s own appalling bereavement has, no doubt, 
 so wrought upon her finer sensibilities that whenever she 
 hears of those similarly stricken, her heart at once goes out 
 toward them in warmest sympathy. Thus, when President 
 Lincoln was assassinated, she " sent to his widow a long 
 letter, which her son, Robert Lincoln, described as the out- 
 gushing of a woman s heartfelt sympathy," a letter which 
 he informs me has never been published. 
 
 Not so with her touching appeals for exact information 
 regarding the condition, from time to time, of our lamented 
 President Garfield, and her repeated messages of earnest 
 sympathy and condolence through the period of his fatal 
 illness and death. I present these in their order of date, 
 with the remark that she was also, no doubt, kept constantly 
 informed on the subject through Mr. Lowell, our Minister 
 
QUEEN VICTORIA. 417 
 
 in London. The first was sent through Lord Granville at 
 five o clock on the afternoon of July 2, 1881, the day the 
 President was shot. 
 
 " To Sir Edward Thornton, the British Embassy, Washing 
 ton : The Queen desires that you will at once express the 
 sorrow with which she has learned of the attempt upon the 
 President s life and her earnest hope of his recovery. Her 
 Majesty wishes for fall and immediate reports of his con 
 dition." 
 
 July 3, from Mr. Lowell to Mr. Elaine, Secretary of 
 State : " Just received the following from the Queen : I 
 am most anxious to hear latest accounts of the President, 
 and wish my horror and deep sympathy to be conveyed to 
 him and Mrs. Garfield. 
 
 Same date, from Sir H. Ponsonby, Windsor Castle, to 
 British Minister : " The Queen is most anxious to learn 
 as to the state of the President. Please wire latest 
 news." 
 
 July 14, from Mr. Lowell, London, to Mr. Elaine : " I 
 have received the following from the Queen : I wish to 
 express my great satisfaction at the very favorable accounts 
 of the President, and hope that he will soon be considered 
 out of danger. 
 
 August 17, the Queen to Mrs. Garfield: "I am most 
 anxious to know how the President is to-day, and to express 
 my sympathy with you both." To this Mrs. Garfield sent 
 an encouraging reply and grateful acknowledgment, 
 
 August 27, from Mr. Lowell to Mr. Elaine : u I have just 
 received from Her Majesty, the Queen, at Balmoral, a tele 
 gram in these words : I am most deeply grieved at the sad 
 news of the last few days, and would wish my deep sympa 
 thy to be conveyed to Mr. Garfield. 
 
 The next and last despatch was received on the morning 
 of September 20, and discloses the long-dreaded and heart 
 rending end of this frightful tragedy : 
 
 27 
 
418 TURNING ON THE LIGHT. 
 
 " Mrs. Grarfield, Long Branch: Words cannot express the 
 deep sympathy I feel with you at this terrible moment. 
 May God support and comfort you as He alone can. 
 
 "THE QUEEN. 
 " Balmoral Court," 
 
 On the following day word came that the Queen had 
 ordered the Court to go into mourning for the late Presi 
 dent Garfield for a week from the 21st of September, " a 
 tribute of respect," the London Times remarked, " which 
 will be all the more valued by the Americans, as it is un 
 precedented, no similar notice having been taken previously 
 by the English Court of the death of an American President 
 in office."^ 
 
 And, now, as her last beautiful offering, on the 22d of 
 September the good Queen telegraphed the British Minis 
 ter to have a floral tribute prepared and presented in her 
 name with a mourning card bearing the following inscrip 
 tion : 
 
 " Queen Victoria, to the memory of the late President 
 Garfield : an expression of her sorrow and sympathy with 
 Mrs. Garfield and the American nation. 
 
 " September 22, 1881." 
 
 Under date of London, July 21, 1884, President Arthur 
 received and gracefully acknowledged the following cable 
 message : 
 
 " To the President of the United States, Washington: The 
 Queen heartily congratulates the President and people of 
 the United States on the rescue of Lieutenant Greeley and 
 the gallant survivors of the Arctic expedition. She trusts 
 that favorable reports have been received of the sufferers. 
 
 "THE QUEEN. 
 
 " Windsor Castle." 
 
 Yet once more, when the whole country was 
 " Robed in the sable garb of woe," 
 
QUEEN VICTORIA. 419 
 
 at the death of the great soldier of the war, the Queen 
 manifested the same considerate womanly feeling as on 
 previous mournful occasions, through the despatch, July 21, 
 1885, to Mrs. Grant, saying: " Her Majesty, the Queen, 
 requests me to convey to yourself and family her sincere 
 condolence on the death of General Grant." 
 
 Finally, on the 2d of June, 1886, Her Gracious Majesty 
 sent the following despatch to President Cleveland : " Pray 
 accept my sincere congratulations on your marriage, and 
 my best wishes for your happiness." 
 
 " Come, now, ye kings of the earth and all people, princes 
 and all judges of the world, young men and maidens, old 
 men and children," come and behold one of the kindest 
 and most devoted of daughters; one of the most loving 
 and considerate of mothers ; one of the happiest and most 
 irreproachable of wives ; one of the sincerest and most 
 sympathetic of friends ; one of the wisest, the best, the 
 most universally respected of sovereigns that ever sat on 
 any throne. At her feet I lay this humble tribute with 
 the devout and soul-inspired aspiration " GOD SAVE THE 
 QUEEN !" 
 
 [COPY.] 
 
 (PERSONAL.) 
 
 BRITISH EMBASSY, 9th May, 1894. 
 
 DEAR MR. KING, I owe you many apologies for keeping 
 so long the MS. you kindly lent me of your admirable 
 biographical sketch of Queen Victoria. I finished its 
 perusal a few days ago, and was about to write to you to 
 say how much pleasure it gave me, when I received your 
 note. I hasten to return the MS. and to express my high 
 appreciation of its literary merit as well as of the kind sen 
 timents toward England and her sovereign with which it is 
 
 inspired. 
 
 Yrs. sincerely, 
 
 JULIAN PAUNCEFOTE. 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, or 
 
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 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
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