fc. - 
 
 // 
 
 / 
 
 ANECDOTES 
 
 OP 
 
 THE CIVIL 
 
 THE 
 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 BY 
 
 BREVET MAJOR-GENERAL E. D. TOWNSEND, 
 
 LATE ADJUTANT- GENERAL, U. 8. ABMY 
 (KKTIBED). 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 D. APPLETOtf AND COMPANY, 
 
 1, 3, AND 5 BOND BTKEET. 
 
 1884. 
 
COPTRIGHT BY 
 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 
 
 1883. 
 
OFTHE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF 
 
 PEEFAOE 
 
 WITHOUT desiring to lay any claim to that fondness 
 for story-telling commonly attributed to garrulous old 
 people, the author has very naturally often enjoyed the 
 pleasure which the narration of incidents, some of them 
 now known, perhaps, to no other person living, has 
 seemed to afford his friends. The opinion, repeatedly 
 urged on such occasions, that he ought to preserve in 
 authentic shape some of these historical anecdotes, has at 
 length induced him to reduce to form such as he made 
 notes of at the time, or can now recall with accuracy. If 
 they fall short of the expectations formed of one who was 
 known to have filled positions of high responsibility in 
 military councils during the most critical period of our 
 country s existence, or fail to reveal some of the hidden 
 reasons for certain measures, and the secret history of 
 certain events, which he may be supposed to know, it 
 must be attributed partly to his conviction that in some 
 matters the information confided to him was intended 
 never to be made known ; and partly to the fact that, 
 while his advice and experience were always submitted 
 
 207056 
 
iv PREFACE. 
 
 to the higher powers when called for, he abstained from 
 seeking knowledge which it was dangerous to the success 
 of critical enterprises to have disseminated more than was 
 absolutely necessary, content with understanding enough 
 to insure an efficient execution of the authority intrusted 
 to him. 
 
 Now that the lapse of time has softened the memories 
 of the great conflict, and, beneath the kindly intercourse 
 daily becoming cemented between North and South, the 
 whole country is rapidly growing in prosperity, wealth, 
 and power, the acts of men who were violently assailed 
 in the hour of heated strife can and ought to be viewed 
 with justice and kindness. Especially is this so in regard 
 to those who are now far enough beyond the reach of 
 criticism in the unknown world. It is the author s 
 hope that nothing may be found in these papers contrary 
 to that spirit of national charity. 
 
 CITY OF WASHINGTON, D. C., June, 1883. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PEESIDENT BUCHANAN. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Secession of Massachusetts The Irish soldier Token of affection . 1 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 GENERAL SCOTl s LOYALTY. 
 
 Tribute of Hon. W. M. Meredith and others Rumored resignation 
 Virginia s bid for his services Testimony of Senator Douglas 
 " Always a Union man " Parting with Governor Morehead Re 
 newed oath " Views " Southern estimate of them ... 3 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 DEFENSE OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 Floyd s policy Plan to capture Fort Moultrie C. P. Stone Regulars 
 and volunteers J. S. Wadsworth An old fogy Assignment of 
 officers to guard public buildings General Sanford His grand 
 review ............ 9 
 
 CHAPTER IY. 
 
 SUBEENDEB OF AUGUSTA ABSENAL, GEOEGIA. 
 
 The point of honor . . ........ If 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A YOUTHFUL SCOUT. 
 
 Sleeping en route March of the Seventh New York . . . .19 
 
vi CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 OCCUPATION OF THE BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILROAD DEPOT. 
 
 Limited means of transportation Groundless fear of navigating the 
 Potomac River 21 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 APPREHENDED PERSONAL VIOLENCE TO GENERAL SCOTT. 
 
 Anonymous letters Precautions Demonstrations of respect Suspi 
 cious characters Threats of " cold steel " . . . .22 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 A ROMANCE. 
 A flag-hoisting A test 28 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ROBERT E. LEE ARLINGTON HEIGHTS. 
 
 A painful interview Occupation of Arlington Easy shelling distance 
 Mrs. Lee s note 29 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 NEUTRALITY OF KENTUCKY. 
 
 Simon B. Buckner Correspondence with General McClellan Ander 
 son, Nelson, and Carter An unsuccessful diplomat . . .35 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 MOUNT VERNON. 
 
 Neutral ground General Scott s order 38 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 GENERAL SCOTT AND THE STARS AND STRIPES. 
 
 A flag presentation " Are ye all there ? " 40 
 
CONTENTS. vii 
 
 PACK 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 EVENINGS AT GENERAL SCOTT S HEADQUARTERS. 
 
 A civil lawyer An exacting host A kind heart Seventy-fifth birth 
 day A romantic adventure The cadet Gray The hot breakfast . 42 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 VALUE OF A SPOOL OF COTTON. 
 
 Capture of United States troops in Texas Escape of French s battery, 48 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 COLONEL MARTIN BURKE THE FRENCH LADY. 
 
 The American Bastile Arbitrary arrests justified Obedience to or 
 ders A very respectable " French lady " 50 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE FIRST BATTLE OF BULL RUN. 
 
 Scott s plan opposed to invasion His proposed campaign down the 
 Mississippi " On to Richmond ! " An anxious night A panic 
 Order out of chaos 55 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE COMMAND OF THE ARMY. 
 
 General McClellan Discipline of volunteers Scott s choice for gen- 
 eral-in-chief His complaint against McClellan McClellan succeeds 
 gcott His tribute to Scott Halleck succeeds McClellan An order 
 bewitched 60 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 BALL S BLUFF RED RIVER. 
 
 Object of demonstration on Leesburg Rigorous treatment of General 
 Stone The secret history Colonel Raymond Lee General Stone 
 at Red River Colonel Bailey s engineering Capture and recovery 
 of his vote of thanks ?0 
 
viii CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 BEEVICE IX THE ADJUTANT-GENEEAI/S OFFICE. 
 
 General Scott s retirement Disposal of his staff Detached duty of 
 the adjutant-general Several candidates 76 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 JUIITJS P. GAEESCIIE. 
 
 Killed in battle Official announcement of his death His charities 
 
 Decorated by the Pope A priest s eulogium 82 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 AEMT OF THE POTOMAC COMMANDEE8. 
 
 Generous spirit of Burnside and Lincoln Plain language to Hooker 
 
 Swapping horses while crossing a river 85 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 PBESIDENT LINCOLN. 
 
 A cavalry rifle The nervous traveler and the donkey " There is a 
 man in there ! " 89 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 STTNDET PEESON8. 
 
 Quakers Isaac s mode of warfare A woman in man s clothes A 
 
 kind Southern woman A secret society " Knights of the Golden 
 Circle " Grenfel Release of Confederate prisoners A Southern 
 clergyman Greetings from the North Chaplains Bounty-jump 
 ersI. C. V. R 92 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 GENEEAL FEANK P. BLAIE. 
 
 How to legalize an illegal order .... .105 
 
CONTENTS. ix 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 EAELT S INVASION. 
 
 A false alarm President Lincoln s narrow escape . . . .108 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY TBOPHIES. 
 
 Sheridan s black horse " To Early, in care of Sheridan " A big scare 
 Lo, they were gone ! . . . . . . . . . HO 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 TEIP TO SAVANNAH. 
 
 A Sunday service A salute at sea Conference with colored minis 
 ters Fort Fisher Promoted while asleep 114 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 AMNESTY. 
 
 Proclamation sent through the lines Good fruits " Dixie " . .119 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 ILLUMINATION FOB THE CAPTURE OF EICHMOND. 
 
 Magic effect A perverse eagle 122 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 AD INTERIM. 
 
 Mr. Stanton s suspension Not sustained General L. Thomas appoint 
 ed ad interim Mr. Stanton resists Colloquy A lawyer s ruse 
 " Stand firm ! " Neutral ground Another ad interim A new Sec 
 retary 124 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 EDWIN M. STANTON. 
 
 "Always tying your shoe" " Some one had been drinking " The Sec 
 retary obeying orders Blood enough shed Malicious reports 
 Baptism Kindly notice 136 
 
x CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 THE COLORED MESSENGERS. 
 Batcher Madison s portrait ..... . 142 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 THE RECORDS OF THE ADJUTANT-GENERAL^ OFFICE. 
 
 Obstacle to capital-moving Method of keeping records Tracing a 
 cotton claim Tracing a soldier Confederate archives The Ala 
 bama . . . . . .x 144 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 A CASE OF CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE. 
 
 The unknown man Convincing proofs ... .152 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 ORIGIN OF MILITARY COMMISSIONS. 
 
 General Scott in Mexico Martial law Lieber s instructions . . 160 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 MEDALS AND CORPS BADGES. 
 
 Medals of honor Recommendations "Kearny patch" Red white 
 and blue Legal recognition Legends Devices . . .164 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 CONFEDERATE FLAGS. 
 
 Inevitable Stars and Stripes The Southern Cross The Stars and Bars 
 The battle-flag The white flagIts surrender to the Monitor 
 The black flag .......... 197 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 FORT 8UMTER. 
 
 A pleasure-trip The programme Fac-simile of Anderson s dispatch 
 The flag-raising Festivities News of the President s death .210 
 
CONTENTS. xi 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 THE FUNERAL OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 
 
 Unparalleled grief Guard of honor Funeral-train Lying in state 
 Mottoes and floral tributes Imposing demonstrations The vet 
 eran Scott " Come home " At the tomb A long farewell . . 220 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 THE GRAND REVIEWS. 
 
 A vast camp "War-worn veterans The Bummer Brigade Final dis 
 charge 244 
 
 APPENDIX A. 
 
 GENEEAL SCOTT S " VIEWS." 
 
 Paper of December 29, 1860 Several confederacies Garrison the 
 forts Paper of October 30, 1860 Solicitude for the Union 
 Paper of October 28, 1860 Holding the forts Paper of March 
 3, 1861 Four alternatives "Wayward sisters" . . . .241) 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 
 PRECAUTIONS AGAINST ATTACK. 
 
 General Orders, No. 4, April 26, 1861 257 
 
 APPENDIX C. 
 
 Extract from Secretary of War s report to the President, December 1, 
 1862 258 
 
 APPENDIX D. 
 
 PLAN OF CAMPAIGN. 
 Original draft of letter to General McClcllan, May 3, 1861 . . . 260 
 
 APPENDIX E. 
 
 RETIREMENT OF GENERAL SCOTT. 
 
 Act to retire Lieutenant-Gcnnral Winfield Scott Correspondence . 263 
 
xii CONTENTS. 
 
 APPENDIX F. 
 
 COLLOQUY WITH COLORED MINISTERS. 
 
 Minutes of colloquy at Savannah, Georgia 267 
 
 APPENDIX G. 
 
 DEATH OF JUSTICE E. M. STANTON. 
 
 Affidavits and statements of cause of death .... . 275 
 
 APPENDIX H. 
 
 MILITARY COMMISSIONS. 
 
 General Scott s projet General Orders, No. 287, September 17, 1847 . 279 
 
ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PRESIDENT BUCHANAN. 
 Secession of Massachusetts The Irish soldier Token of affection. 
 
 PRESIDENT BUCHANAN was very fond of visiting the 
 Soldiers Home, near Washington. He sometimes, in the 
 summer, occupied the quarters of one of the officers sta 
 tioned there, with whom he was on terms of friendly in 
 timacy. I was asked by this officer to meet the President 
 at dinner one day in the fall of 1860. The Bishop of 
 Maryland was also there. It was a delightful day, and I 
 walked out, in order to enjoy the fresh air and exercise. 
 
 There were some twelve or fourteen persons at the 
 dinner. The hostess sat at the head of the table, with 
 the President on her right, and myself on her left. The 
 bishop was on the left of the host, at the other end of 
 the table. In the general conversation that ensued it 
 happened that the probable action of the Southern States 
 in the pending troubles was discussed. The opinion was 
 expressed that several of them would secede. Already 
 several officers of the army and navy from those States had 
 
2 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 resigned. Mr. Buchanan seemed to be much annoyed, 
 and said little. Presently some allusion was made to 
 Massachusetts, when the President said, with considerable 
 warmth : u I wish Massachusetts would secede ; she is 
 practically already out of the Union by her action in the 
 fugitive-slave matter." Now I, being a Massachusetts 
 man, felt rather awkwardly at this. Questions as to what 
 I ought to do coursed rapidly through my brain. Sud 
 denly an inspiration seized me. Looking up at the Presi 
 dent, who was directly opposite me, I said with mock 
 humility, " Mr. President, if Massachusetts should secede, 
 would it be my duty to resign from the army, sir ? " 
 There was a dead silence. The President looked a little 
 confused, and asked, " Are you from Massachusetts ? " 
 "Yes, sir," said I; "but I have been a good deal in 
 California, and became very fond of that State, which 
 makes me sometimes feel like saying of it, as the Irish 
 soldier did, when asked where he came from i I w r as 
 born in Ireland, sir ; but I call Illinois me native State. " 
 This excited a good laugh, and the conversation after 
 ward took a more general turn. 
 
 I hardly knew whether or not to congratulate myself 
 on my hit ; but after dinner the President showed that he 
 took it in good part, for he asked me how I came out of 
 town. On my saying I had walked, he offered me a seat 
 in his carriage if I would ride into town with him. Of 
 course the offer was accepted with pleasure. On the way, 
 I piloted him to the Oak Hill Cemetery, in Georgetown, 
 where he desired to see a monument he had ordered in 
 memory of a favorite niece, who was interred there, and 
 of whose gentle nature he spoke with feeling and affec 
 tion. He asked my opinion of the monument, and re- 
 
PRESIDENT BUCHANAN. 3 
 
 marked that he had not yet prepared the inscription, 
 which was the only part unfinished, and that he feared 
 he would hardly be able to attend to it properly before 
 the time came for him to leave Washington. I offered to 
 assist him in any way, and subsequently drew a plan of 
 the monument, with the words of the inscription arranged 
 on it, for his approval. I then attended to the cutting of 
 the words and the setting up of the monument. 
 
 This ride was thus the prelude to one of those episodes 
 in life where the tender emotions of the heart shine forth 
 with most sweetness amid the stern perplexities and harsh 
 criticisms which attend high public office. It caused me 
 me ever to remember with very kind feelings the official 
 parting with Mr. Buchanan, when, a few weeks after, he 
 retired from the presidential chair. 
 
 CIIAPTEK II. 
 
 GENERAL SCOTx s LOYALTY. 
 
 Tribute of Hon. W. M. Meredith and others Rumored resignation Vir 
 ginia s bid for his services Testimony of Senator Douglas " Always 
 a Union man " Parting with Governor Morehead Renewed oath 
 " Views " Southern estimate of them. 
 
 FOR some unaccountable reason, efforts have been 
 made, since General Scott s death, to throw doubts upon 
 his real loyalty to the Union. In 1860 and 1861 much 
 anxiety was felt to ascertain what course he would take. 
 The papers of the day, however, furnished abundant evi 
 dence that the tribute paid in a letter of April 30, 1861, 
 
4 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 addressed to him by Alexander Henry, Horace Binney, 
 "W. M. Meredith, and others, was only just. This is an 
 extract from that letter : 
 
 " At a time like this, when Americans, distinguished 
 by the favor of their country, intrenched in power, and 
 otherwise high in influence, and station, civil and military, 
 are renouncing their allegiance to the flag they have sworn 
 to support, it is an inexpressible source of consolation and 
 pride to us to know that the General-in-Chief of the Army 
 remains like an impregnable fortress at the post of duty 
 and glory, and that he will continue to the last to uphold 
 that flag, and defend it, if necessary, with his sword, even 
 if his native State should assail it." 
 
 The Charleston (South Carolina) " Mercury," of April 
 22, 1861, stated that " a positive announcement was made 
 at Montgomery, Alabama,* that General Scott had re 
 signed his position in the Army of the United States, and 
 tendered his sword to his native State Virginia. At 
 Mobile, one hundred guns were fired in honor of his res 
 ignation." This shows something of the estimated value 
 of the general s influence. 
 
 Many efforts were made to induce him to resign, but 
 he never once wavered in his devotion to the Union, 
 whatever may be thought of the wisdom of his views, 
 which, like those of every one, may be open to criticism. 
 On one occasion Judge Robertson, a small, thin, but ven 
 erable-looking man, came to Washington with two other 
 Virginia gentlemen, to offer General Scott the command- 
 in-chief of the Army of Virginia, together with an estate 
 belonging to the Commonwealth, and esteemed the most 
 valuable in Virginia, if he would abandon the United 
 
 * Then the capital of the Southern Confederacy. 
 
GENERAL SCOTT S LOYALTY. 5 
 
 States service and go with the South. The general lis 
 tened in silence as Kobertson feelingly recalled tne days 
 when they were school-boys together ; and then spoke of 
 the warm attachment Virginians always cherished for 
 their State, and of their boasted allegiance to it above all 
 other political ties. But, when he began to unfold his 
 offer of a commission and estate, the noble old soldier 
 stopped him, exclaiming : " Friend Kobertson, go no fur 
 ther. It is best that we part here, before you compel me 
 to resent a mortal insult." Kobertson and his friends at 
 once took their departure, and I saw them as they de 
 scended the stairs, looking much discomfited. 
 
 Senator Douglas delivered a speech in Ohio in which 
 he said he had been asked whether there was truth in the 
 rumor that General Scott was about to resign. " Why," 
 said the Senator, " it is almost profanity to ask that ques 
 tion. I saw him only last Saturday. He was at his desk, 
 pen in hand, writing his orders for the defense and safety 
 of the American capital." The Senator then detailed a 
 conversation he had had with Judge Kobertson, in which 
 the latter corroborated the account of the interview just 
 narrated. 
 
 General Scott answered an inquiry from his old and 
 valued friend, Senator J. J. Crittenden, as to his reported 
 intention to resign : " I have not changed ; always a Union 
 man." 
 
 Just before actual non-intercourse between the sec 
 tions, Governor Morehead, of North Carolina, an old 
 friend of General Scott, came one morning to his office. 
 He had been to Philadelphia to withdraw his daughter 
 from school, and take her home while travel was yet un 
 interrupted. The interview between the old friends was 
 
6 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 very affecting. Both deprecated the prospect, so immi 
 nent, ol a separation of the States. Not a suggestion was 
 hinted that they might soon be together in the new con 
 federacy, but their parting was evidently viewed by both 
 as final. The Governor shortly arose and bade a mourn 
 ful farewell. He then said his daughter, a sweet young 
 lady, who was in a carriage below, wished very much to 
 see General Scott once more, and asked if she might 
 come. Of course, a ready assent was given, and she 
 presently appeared. A few parting words of regret were 
 spoken, and she, bending over the general as he sat in 
 his chair, kissed him reverently on the forehead. Tears 
 streamed down the cheeks of father and daughter as they 
 silently withdrew. 
 
 On Monday, May 6, 1861, in obedience to orders from 
 the War Department requiring all officers to specially re 
 new their oath of allegiance to the United States, the 
 oath was administered to General Scott in his office, and 
 at the same time to his staff. 
 
 The famous sentence, " Say to the seceded States, 
 Wayward sisters, depart in peace, " has been quoted as 
 if it stood alone, to indicate that General Scott favored se 
 cession. This is evidently unfair. The sentence referred 
 to was the fourth and last alternative which it seemed 
 to him was within reach of the President. It was con 
 tained in a letter of March 3, 1861, to the Secretary of 
 State about to come into office, and which appeared in 
 print without the general s sanction. As early as Octo 
 ber, 1860, the " views " of General Scott upon " threat 
 ened " secession were published, and the four alternatives, 
 afterward submitted to Mr. Seward, were a sort of sup 
 plement to those views. The three papers entire will be 
 
GENERAL SCOTT S LOYALTY. 7 
 
 found in Appendix A. As interpreted by the light of 
 frequent conversations during my service with the gen 
 eral, there is no doubt in my mind that he meant to show 
 " all solicitude for the safety of the Union? and by point- 
 in^ out not what he would approve or desire, but what 
 would probably occur, viz., the fatal division not into 
 North and South, but into four, and subsequently more, 
 wesik confederacies to warn his countrymen against the 
 dangers which seemed so imminently to threaten. Then, 
 to prevent the possibility of secession, he declared : " In 
 my opinion, all these works " (in Southern States) " should 
 be immediately so garrisoned as to make any attempt to 
 take any one of them by surprise, or coup de main, ridic 
 ulous " ; and, with proper management, that " there is 
 good reason to hope that the danger of secession may le 
 made to pass away without one conflict of arms, one exe 
 cution, or one arrest for treason" 
 
 This was in October, 1860, before any events had oc 
 curred to show what the future would certainly bring 
 forth. To be sure, the advice to send troops to reenforce 
 the posts seems absurd in view of the very small number 
 he reported as available. But, as in duty bound, when 
 submitting his recommendations, he represented the full 
 extent of his own resources, leaving it to the President to 
 use his constitutional powers to provide the means. A 
 few weeks later, when there was a will, a way was readily 
 found to raise all the troops needed. There is an obvi 
 ous reason why, in the agitated state of the public mind, 
 General Scott ought not to have made a specific recom 
 mendation in writing on this head. 
 
 As to the Southern sentiment, it was seen in the furi 
 ous denunciations of him in Southern papers when his 
 
8 ADECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 real position came to be known. Tlie secession estimate 
 of his " views " was announced at the reception tendered 
 to Mr. Floyd in Richmond, after he resigned his place in 
 President Buchanan s Cabinet, in these words : 
 
 " The plan invented by General Scott to stop seces 
 sion was, like all campaigns devised by him, very able in 
 its details, and nearly certain of general success. The 
 Southern States are full of arsenals and forts, command 
 ing their rivers and strategic points. General Scott de 
 sired to transfer the army of the United States to these 
 forts as speedily and as quietly as possible.* The South 
 ern States could not cut off communication between the 
 Government and the fortresses without a great fleet, which 
 they can not build for years, or take them by land with 
 out one hundred thousand men, many hundred millions 
 of dollars, several campaigns, and many a bloody siege. 
 Had Scott been able to have got these forts in the condition 
 he desired them to be, the Southern Confederacy would not 
 now exist" 
 
 This was the involuntary tribute paid to General 
 Scott s " views " in the capital of that very State which 
 he had repudiated for the Union. It was not intended 
 to glorify him, but Mr. Floyd for thwarting him. 
 
 * The army had been unnecessarily scattered under Secretary Floyd s 
 administration, and his assent was necessary to enable General Scott to 
 draw in from remote posts companies now much more needed at the East. 
 
DEFENSE OF WASHINGTON. 9 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 DEFENSE OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 Floyd s policy Plan to capture Fort Moultrie C. P. Stone Regulars and 
 volunteers J. S. Wadsworth An old fogy Assignment of officers 
 to guard public buildings General Sanford His grand review. 
 
 As early as January 2, 1861, the "New York Times " 
 had the following statement : " It is now well known that 
 military companies have been organized and drilled for 
 months past in Maryland and Virginia, and that the dis 
 tinct object of their organization is to aid in the seizure of 
 "Washington City in the interest of the disunionists, or 
 the prevention by force of Lincoln s inauguration. Some 
 of the less prudent of their leaders boast in private cir 
 cles that they have five thousand well-armed and organ 
 ized men ready to strike the blow instantly upon the con 
 certed signal being given." 
 
 This statement perfectly agreed with information in 
 possession of the War Department before Mr. Floyd left 
 it. It is matter of surprise, under the circumstances, that 
 Floyd should have permitted General Scott to assemble 
 the military force he was able to bring to Washington 
 for the defense of the capital. Other circumstances would 
 seem to indicate either that Floyd had not at that time 
 fully made up his mind what would be the drift of 
 events ; or that he had not decided what his own course 
 should be ; or else that he did certain things to conceal 
 his ultimate designs. 
 
 Mr. Floyd resigned as Secretary of War in the last 
 part of December, 1860. Within about a month before 
 
10 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 that time, Colonel Cooper being absent, I was in charge 
 of the Adjutant-General s office. Going one day to the 
 Secretary s room on some business, T met there Colonel 
 R. E. DeRussy, Acting Chief of Engineers, who had 
 been sent for by the Secretary. Mr. Floyd took from 
 his table-drawer a letter, which he read aloud, from some 
 one in Charleston, South Carolina, stating that an organ 
 ized band of the young men of Charleston had formed a 
 plan to capture Fort Moultrie by assault. There was but 
 a small garrison of regulars there, wholly inadequate to 
 defend the fort. The sand had been blown into the 
 ditch until it had gradually filled it in some places to 
 within a short space from the top of the wall, so as to 
 make it an easy matter to scale the parapet. Suggestion 
 was made by the writer that information, or instructions, 
 should be conveyed in some form to the commanding 
 officer, to the effect that, in case of an assault being made, 
 only a nominal defense would be necessary, in view of 
 the fact that the attack would be made by so considraeble 
 a number that the garrison could suffer itself to be over 
 powered, and surrender gracefully, without loss of honor, 
 and thus avoid useless bloodshed. This was the way the 
 Southern arsenals and small detached posts were all 
 taken; though no intimation was given by the United 
 States authorities that they might be surrendered at all. 
 Having read the letter, Mr. Floyd asked Colonel De 
 Russy if there was any way at his disposal in which the 
 sand could be cleared from the ditch. The colonel re 
 plied that there was a small but sufficient balance of 
 appropriation which could be applied to that purpose, 
 and he could have it done as if it were a part of the re 
 pairs he had been for some time putting on Fort Moul- 
 
DEFENSE OF WASHINGTON. 11 
 
 trie. The Secretary then gave orders that the work 
 should be done without loss of time. 
 
 Although a grand organization of the entire militia 
 force of the District of Columbia existed in general 
 orders of the War Department, and plenty of regiments, 
 brigades, and divisions were to be found on paper , yet the 
 actual force consisted of two or three companies, pretty 
 well drilled, and of a major-general and two brigadiers, 
 whose physical capacity for active duty was at least 
 doubtful. Moreover, most of the officers and men of the 
 organized companies were either positive in their affilia 
 tion with the South, or openly declared they would not 
 fire upon their relatives and friends from Maryland and 
 Virginia, if arrayed against them, even to resist an attack 
 upon Washington. 
 
 It happened that at this time Captain Charles P. 
 Stone,* who was a distinguished graduate of the Military 
 Academy, and had but a short time before resigned his 
 commission in the Ordnance Department, was then in the 
 city. Acting on the principle which all graduates from 
 West Point recognize, Captain Stone offered his services 
 to General Scott in any capacity where he could be useful. 
 He was a Massachusetts man, and had served with credit 
 under General Scott in the Mexican War. About the 
 first of January, 1861, he was mustered into the United 
 States service as colonel and inspector-general of the 
 District of Columbia militia, under the legal organization, 
 and was assigned to the military command of the District 
 of Columbia, with authority to reorganize the volunteers 
 of the District. He very soon disposed of the disloyal 
 
 * For several years past distinguished as the chief of military staff to 
 the Khedive of Egypt. 
 
12 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 and lukewarm elements, and had a small but compact 
 body of men, who did excellent service. 
 
 Besides this force, Magruder s Light Battery, of the 
 First United States Artillery, Barry s, of the Second Ar 
 tillery, and a very fine battery, made up at West Point, 
 of men, horses, and guns used in the instruction of cadets, 
 and commanded by Griffin, also some foot-companies of 
 artillery and some of infantry, which were within reach, 
 were brought to Washington. Thus about three thou 
 sand men were collected there, barely enough to guard 
 the public buildings and the approaches to the city. 
 
 Colonel Stone was indefatigable in posting his troops, 
 and in collecting all the provisions he could get,* so as to 
 
 * At about this time, General Scott received a telegram from General 
 James S. Wadsworth, in New York, asking him if a vessel-load of cheese 
 would be acceptable. I well remember the expression of satisfaction with 
 which the general directed a reply to be sent that it would be, for it was 
 really a question of some concern whether the army commissary and the 
 private grocery and provision stores would have subsistence enough for 
 citizens and troops until the way could be opened from the North. The 
 cheese arrived safely and was issued to the troops. General Wadsworth 
 soon after entered the United States service, and after rendering much 
 important aid in various capacities, and making himself exceedingly popu 
 lar, was killed in battle. The name of Fort Richmond, on Long Island* 
 near the entrance to New York Harbor, was changed to Fort Wadsworth 
 in his honor. With this fort is connected, later, one of President Lincoln s 
 humorous sallies. High officials of the navy proposed to the President 
 that the military engineers should prepare Fort Wadsworth with sand-bags 
 and others appliances, according to the latest ideas of defense against iron, 
 clad ships with heavy armaments ; and that an iron-clad ship should then 
 try to batter it down. The experiment was to be tried of the relative 
 powers of such a battery to destroy and of such a fortification to with 
 stand. The President paid a visit to Secretary Stanton in his office, to ask 
 his opinion of the scheme. Mr. Stanton sent for the then Chief of Engi 
 neers, General Delafield. He heard the whole plan in silence, and then 
 said : " Mr. President, I do not perceive that any provision is made that my 
 
DEFENSE OF WASHINGTON. 13 
 
 stand a siege if necessary. He took large quantities of 
 flour from the mills in Georgetown, the most of which he 
 stored in the Capitol building. All the halls were soon 
 barricaded with barrels, and the floors white with their 
 contents. 
 
 Companies were quartered in the public buildings, 
 with stores of ammunition and provisions. Picket-guards 
 were posted at the bridges and highways leading into the 
 District, and a concerted signal was announced, at sound 
 of which the troops were to repair to certain rendezvous 
 in case of attack. 
 
 It occurred to me that it would be a wise plan to as 
 sign a regular officer of rank to the charge and command 
 of each public building and important section of the city. 
 General Scott approving the suggestion, Colonel Stone 
 and I arranged the details, which were given in an order 
 of the general. Adjutant-General L. Thomas lived in 
 Georgetown ; to him was assigned the command of all 
 the troops there, and the provision for guarding the 
 bridges. He was always there at night. Major McDowell, 
 assistant adjutant-general, who was" the officer employed 
 to muster volunteers into the United States service, was 
 .assigned to Capitol Hill, especially to take charge of the 
 Capitol building. This became an important and exten- 
 
 fort shall be allowed to defend itself. This is one of our most costly perma. 
 nent forts, and it is in complete order. I shall have no objection whatever 
 to the test, if you permit me to man my batteries and fire back again ; but 
 I am not willing to stand by and see those expensive works knocked to 
 pieces without their having a chance to give as good as they get." " That s 
 right ! that s right ! " said the President ; " why, they told me you were a 
 good deal of an old fogy ; but I like just such old fogy ideas as yours." 
 It seemed that some persons had been advising the President to retire 
 General Delaneld, and put a younger officer at the head of his corps, 
 
14 ANECDOTES OF TEE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 sive command, as soon as regiments of volunteers from 
 the North arrived, for many of them were quartered 
 there. McDowell so commended himself to Secretary 
 Cameron, by his skillful management of these new troops, 
 that a little later, with the influence of Mr. Chase, Secre 
 tary of the Treasury like himself an Ohio man he 
 was selected to receive the commission of brigadier-gen 
 eral in the regular army. 
 
 Captain W. B. Franklin, Corps of Topographical En 
 gineers,* who had charge of the extension to the Treasury 
 building, then in process of erection, was assigned to that 
 building. He collected there quite a magazine of sup 
 plies. For the defense of the President and the Executive 
 Mansion I named several high officers, but Colonel Stone 
 objected to each one. At last I asked him who was his 
 choice. He replied, "I claim that post for myself, as 
 the most responsible and dangerous." Colonel J. P. 
 Taylor, commissary-general of subsistence, was assigned 
 to the Patent-Office building ; Captain A. A. Humphreys, 
 Corps of Engineers, to the Smithsonian ; Colonel Garesche, 
 assistant adjutant-general, to the War Department build 
 ing. Some warm personal friends of President Lincoln 
 formed a volunteer body-guard, to stay in the Executive 
 Mansion. 
 
 The officers thus distributed attended to their regular 
 duties in the day, but were at their posts every night to 
 be in readiness for an emergency. Instructions for their 
 guidance in such an event were issued in general orders. 
 (See Appendix B.) The few troops we had were fre 
 quently marched in small bodies through the streets, 
 
 * Of this officer s balance of character, General Scott used to say that 
 he was neither too fast nor too slow. 
 
DEFENSE OF WASHINGTON. 15 
 
 either in relieving guards, or for exercise, and thus an 
 impression arose that their numbers were much greater 
 than they really were. Several years after the war I was 
 told by a citizen that such was the general belief, and that 
 it was supposed we were constantly being reenforced by 
 the troops seen marching to and fro. 
 
 There never was greater rejoicing than when the vol 
 unteers from the North began to arrive. The famous 
 New York Seventh was the first to appear. It arrived 
 April 27th, and its welcome will not soon be forgotten. 
 It marched up Pennsylvania Avenue to the Executive 
 Mansion, where it passed in review before the President, 
 and thence to the War Department, where it was regu 
 larly mustered into service. After this, other regiments 
 continued to arrive in quick succession. Major-General 
 Sandford, long conspicuous in New York as an energetic 
 and intelligent commander of a fine division of the State 
 uniformed militia, received from General Scott a tele 
 gram, dated May 6, 1861, saying, " Send without delay 
 every regiment of the New York quota in and about your 
 city, as soon as equipped for service, to this place, ma the 
 ocean and the Potomac River." By untiring exertions, 
 he forwarded his whole division, splendidly organized and 
 equipped. In reference to his coming in person, General 
 Scott telegraphed to him, on the 8th of May : " Nobody 
 more highly estimates your value as a soldier than myself, 
 and you will receive a hearty welcome from. me. More 
 than one brigade of your troops are here, and more ex 
 pected. Your right to follow them and command them 
 is unquestionable, but your presence will be attended with 
 one disadvantage: we are in critical circumstances, and 
 it would take weeks to make you as well acquainted with 
 
16 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 localities, officers, and men, as brevet Brigadier-General 
 Mansfield, whom you would supersede as the commander 
 of the department." 
 
 "With an unselfishness worthy of commemoration, Gen 
 eral Sandford waived this consideration, and soon followed 
 his division, reporting in person in the latter part of May. 
 He was received into the United States service, and placed 
 in command of the New York troops and of Arlington 
 Heights. General Scott was very much pleased at his 
 soldierly tone, and at the orders he had given his troops 
 in starting them from New York. Hearing that the Po 
 tomac River was closed by rebel batteries, he instructed 
 them to proceed up the river in their transports, and, if 
 molested by hostile batteries, to land in sufficient force, 
 storm them, and disperse the enemy. 
 
 The first grand review that took place in the city of 
 Washington was that of Major-General Sandford s divis 
 ion of ten thousand men. The troops marched before 
 President Lincoln and Cabinet, and General Scott, who 
 were seated on a platform erected on the sidewalk in 
 front of the Executive Mansion. A large proportion of 
 the regiments was composed of foreign citizens, who had 
 evidently seen military service in their native countries, 
 and being, as they were, all well dressed in uniforms of 
 their own fancy, well drilled, and preceded by excellent 
 bands, or drum-corps, the effect was much like a display 
 of fine troops somewhere in Europe. It had a great in 
 fluence in inspiring military enthusiasm and confidence, 
 in strong contrast with the depression of our beleaguered 
 state but a few weeks before. 
 
 The uniforms of several regiments, like the Zouaves, 
 were new to Americans, and none the less striking. The 
 
SURRENDER OF AUGUSTA ARSENAL, GEORGIA. 17 
 
 Garibaldi Guards presented a most picturesque appear 
 ance, in a rich foreign uniform, with vivandieres attached 
 to each company, marching on its right flank. As this 
 regiment passed in review, nearly every man took from 
 the muzzle of his musket, or from his breast, a small 
 bunch of flowers, or of evergreens, and tossed it toward 
 the stand. The vivandieres did the same, and raised 
 their hands to their caps in a graceful salute. The ground 
 in front of the stand was thus completely strewed with 
 flowers. One man, more enthusiastic than the rest, 
 stepped from the ranks toward the stand and lodged a 
 handsome bouquet directly in General Scott s lap. The 
 next day there was a loud lament and complaint of this 
 regiment from persons living near the encampment, that 
 their gardens had been stripped of every flower and green 
 sprig ! 
 
 CHAPTER IY. 
 
 SURRENDER OF AUGUSTA ARSENAL, GEORGIA. 
 The point of honor. 
 
 IN the evening of the 23d of January, 1861, a tele 
 gram was received from Captain Arnold Elzey, Second 
 Artillery, commanding Augusta Arsenal, Georgia, say 
 ing : " I am just officially informed by the Governor of 
 Georgia, now in Augusta, supported by a superior mili 
 tary force, that Georgia, having resumed exclusive sov 
 ereignty over her soil, it has become his duty to require 
 me to withdraw the troops under my command at the 
 
18 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAE. 
 
 earliest practicable moment from the limits of the State. 
 He declares his intention to take possession of the arsenal, 
 and proposes to receipt for the public property and ac 
 count for the same on adjustment between the State of 
 Georgia and the United States of America. He further 
 declares that the retention of the troops upon the soil of 
 Georgia after remonstrance is, under the laws of nations, 
 an act of hostility, claiming that the State now is not only 
 at peace, but anxious to cultivate the most amicable rela 
 tions with the United States Government, and that an 
 answer from me to his demand is required at nine o clock 
 A. M. to-morrow. An immediate answer to this communi 
 cation is respectfully requested." 
 
 I submitted this to General Scott as soon as it arrived. 
 The general took me in his coupe to the residence of the 
 Hon. Joseph Holt, Secretary of War, on Capitol Hill, to 
 prepare a reply. The veteran, annoyed as he was at the 
 idea of United States troops surrendering a post under any 
 circumstances, was aware how hopeless an attempt at re 
 sistance would be, and yet, he insisted, the point of honor 
 demanded that at least a shot should be fired before delib 
 erately yielding even to an overwhelming force. How to 
 convey this idea by telegraph to the commander of the 
 arsenal, without exacting unnecessary bloodshed, was the 
 question. After trying several forms, the following was 
 agreed upon and sent that evening, in the hope that the 
 officer to whom it was addressed would weigh it carefully, 
 and that his soldierly instinct would enable him to see its 
 drift : 
 
 " The Governor of Georgia has assumed against your 
 post and the United States an attitude of war. His sum- 
 
A YOUTHFUL SCOUT. 19 
 
 inons is harsh, and peremptory. It is not expected that 
 your defense shall be desperate. If forced to surrender 
 by violence or starvation, you will stipulate for honorable 
 terms and a free passage by water with your company to 
 New York. J. HOLT, Secretary of War" 
 
 If Captain Elzey did not apprehend what was ex 
 pected of him, it may perhaps be accounted for by his 
 subsequently resigning and entering the Confederate ser 
 vice. His official report shows that early the next morn 
 ing he sent to beg an interview with the Governor of 
 Georgia, when he arranged terms for the immediate sur 
 render of all public property except that of his company 
 and its arms. 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 A YOUTHFUL SCOUT. 
 Sleeping en route March of the Seventh New York. 
 
 WHILE Northern troops were arriving daily at An 
 napolis, and their presence was greatly needed in Wash 
 ington, they had to remain for some time inactive from 
 want of ability to communicate orders to them. The 
 roads were beset by rebel scouts, and the railroad was en 
 tirely controlled by unfriendly hands. Two or three offi 
 cers attempted to make their way to Annapolis, but were 
 obliged to turn back. At last a young son of Colonel 
 Abert, Chief of the Corps of Topographical Engineers, 
 undertook to convey a message. He bore orders to Gen- 
 
20 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 eral B. F. Butler, who held a commission from the Gov 
 ernor of Massachusetts, and was the senior officer of the 
 troops at Annapolis. Mr. Abert was familiar with the 
 whole of that part of the country, and, though a mere 
 stripling, he developed a rare coolness, bravery, and en 
 durance, worthy a much older person. He started on 
 foot, in his ordinary civilian dress, and, going across the 
 country, struck the Annapolis Railroad not far from the 
 Junction. He was frequently stopped, but, by his ready 
 answers and evident knowledge of persons and localities, 
 sustained his role of a Maryland citizen trying to get 
 home to Annapolis. So completely did he deceive his 
 interrogators that they helped him on the way, instead of 
 impeding his journey. He was allowed to get on a plat 
 form-car bound for Annapolis, and very coolly lay down 
 and went to sleep until he safely reached a point near 
 the depot, when, to evade arrest ~by the Yankees, he got 
 off and stole into town. From that time General Butler 
 was regularly invested with the command, and the regi 
 ments began their march for the capital. Young Abert 
 afterward received a commission in the regular army, 
 and was a gallant officer. 
 
 The experience dreaded by the gentleman who came 
 to ask General Scott what was the destination of the Sev 
 enth New York Regiment was not realized. The regi 
 ment was among the very first to reach Annapolis. In 
 reply to the question what the general wished it to do, 
 he said, " March to Washington." " March ! why, gen 
 eral, its tracks will be marked with blood ; it will have 
 to fight its way through hordes of rebels ! " " Fight, sir, 
 fight ! That is what the regiment came for ! This is not 
 a time to play soldier on parade ! " The reality of the 
 
OCCUPATION OF THE RAILROAD DEPOT. 21 
 
 situation was at once perceived, and no further question 
 was raised. The regiment marched, and would have 
 fought, too, but it met no opposition. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 OCCUPATION OF THE BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILROAD DEPOT. 
 
 Limited means of transportation Groundless fear of navigating the Poto 
 mac River. 
 
 ON the morning of April 25th, as I happened to 
 come out of the office opposite the War Department, 
 Secretary Cameron drove to the door in a buggy. See 
 ing me, he turned his driver out, and invited me to take 
 his place. Assuming the reins, I inquired, "Where 
 shall I drive, sir ? " "I wish," said he, " to go to the 
 railroad depot as fast as possible." On reaching the 
 depot, the first thing was to close the telegraph-office and 
 lock it up, before the operator could send off a dispatch. 
 Then we found Colonel Stone, who was at the depot, 
 and, with the guard already stationed there, had been 
 collecting all the extra rails and material he could find. 
 The Secretary directed him to take possession of the 
 depot, and all the small amount of rolling-stock and ma 
 terial there, and to hold it under military control. 
 
 While we were at the depot a small train arrived from 
 Baltimore, which was taken. The engines and cars thus 
 seized, with some few at Annapolis,* constituted for some 
 
 * Among these was the engine which had been taken to pieces by rebels 
 and was put together again by the Massachusetts volunteer, who, being a 
 machinist, recognized it as one he had helped to manufacture. 
 
22 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 weeks the only means of land transportation for convey 
 ing troops from Annapolis. Several regiments destined 
 for Washington had landed there, in consequence of the 
 reports which had reached the North that the rebels had 
 batteries on the Potomac which would sink any trans 
 ports going up the river. The fact really was, that our 
 gunboat flotilla made daily examination of Matthias 
 Point, where the channel runs very near the shore, and 
 of other dangerous places, and for a long time found no 
 evidence of batteries, or preparations to erect them. But 
 this information could not be conveyed in time to the 
 troops on their way. 
 
 It was not long before volunteer troops enough were 
 received into service to guard the line of communication 
 from Philadelphia through Baltimore ; and then engines 
 and rolling-stock sufficient for all demands were rapidly 
 put upon the route, and trains ran without fear of inter 
 ruption. But, during the weeks of limited means, it was 
 necessary to send an officer s guard with every train that 
 moved to and from Washington. 
 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 APPREHENDED PERSONAL VIOLENCE TO GENERAL SCOTT. 
 
 Anonymous letters Precautions Demonstrations of respect Suspicious 
 characters Threats of " cold steel." 
 
 EARLY in the commencement of the secession troubles, 
 General Scott had lodgings at the house of Cruchet, a 
 French caterer, on Sixth Street, opposite what was then 
 
APPREHENDED VIOLENCE TO GEN. SCOTT. 23 
 
 the Unitarian Church, and is now the Police Court. One 
 of his aides lodged on the opposite side of the street. A 
 company of artillery, serving as infantry, was quartered a 
 few blocks away, and a sergeant s guard detailed from 
 this company was always on duty at the general s lodg 
 ings. 
 
 About this time, a large number of communications 
 were received from several Northern States, Canada, 
 Kentucky, and other parts of the South, and from Eu 
 rope, especially from Germany, some of them anony 
 mous, others signed with a name. All concurred in 
 the declaration that a plot existed to assassinate Presi 
 dent Lincoln and General Scott. They agreed singu 
 larly in the details, and sometimes in fixing the same 
 dates for the attempt. The staff opened the general s 
 mails, and we decided not to annoy him by telling him 
 everything of this threatening character which we re 
 ceived, but only to inform him of so much of the con 
 tents of the communications as seemed necessary for him 
 to know. 
 
 One of these letters was from a clergyman living in a 
 most prominent secession city, and read as follows, the 
 names being purposely left blank : 
 
 , February 14, 1861. 
 
 General WINFIELD SCOTT. 
 
 RESPECTED Sra : A man by the name of 
 
 was taken suddenly ill at the Hotel, and, desiring 
 
 the services of a minister, I was called in. He had hardly 
 time to confess to me that he was an accomplice to a 
 most diabolical scheme of undermining and blowing up 
 the Capitol on the Ides of March. I am constrained by 
 
24 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 his request to write you immediately, hoping that you 
 may succeed in frustrating so diabolical a plan. 
 I am, truly yours, 
 
 Rector Church of 
 
 So many of these statements agreed in affirming that 
 the general would be attacked on a certain Thursday, 
 that I could not help feeling unusual apprehension, and 
 I determined to leave nothing undone to defeat the dia 
 bolical plot. The evening before that Thursday, one of 
 the aides, who had been to the general s quarters, called 
 at my house and told me the general wished to see me. 
 In order to be prepared with any official information that 
 might be required, I asked if he had mentioned why he 
 wished to see me. The aide replied no, but he thought 
 the general felt a little uneasy at being alone, so far away 
 from where all the officers lived, the aide who was quar 
 tered near him being temporarily absent in New York. 
 I went down at about eight o clock, and found, as had 
 been suggested, that I was merely wanted for company. 
 I now thought it best to tell the general frankly that we 
 apprehended an attempt on his life the next night, and 
 wished he could be persuaded to move on the morrow to 
 some lodgings near the War Department, where imme 
 diate access could be had to him. He at first made light 
 of it, said that he felt quite secure with his guard, and 
 that he did not place much reliance on the anonymous 
 letters. I urged upon him that we had no right in such 
 times to disregard even such sources of information, but 
 when so many, coming from places so far apart, agreed 
 in such a singular and circumstantial manner in their 
 
APPREHENDED VIOLENCE TO GEN. SCOTT. 25 
 
 assertions, I thought it an imperative duty to use ex 
 traordinary precautions. At length he consented that I 
 should procure him suitable lodgings, and agreed to move 
 the next day. I remained with him till eleven o clock, 
 after offering to stay all night and keep watch by him, 
 to which he would not listen. Then I gave the guard 
 minute cautions and instructions. The sergeant was, on 
 the occurrence of anything unusual, to send immediately 
 to the company quartered near, and dispatch a messenger 
 for me. The next morning I engaged the kind offices of 
 Captain Palmer, of the Corps of Engineers, who had more 
 leisure than I, to hunt up new quarters for the general. 
 He found very comfortable ones at Mrs. Duvall s, a house 
 No. 159 (old series) still standing back in a yard, on 
 the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue, between Seven 
 teenth and Eighteenth Streets. I dined with the Gen 
 eral at Cruchet s Thursday evening, and after dark we 
 drove in his coupe to Mrs. Duvall s. The headquarters 
 company was moved to a house qn Seventeenth street, 
 opposite the War Department. The sergeant s guard was 
 stationed in an out-building in the yard of the general s 
 quarters, where it could hear orders conveyed in a whis 
 per, and sentinels were posted in the yards in front and 
 rear of the house. The back yard extended through to 
 G Street, near its junction with Seventeenth, and the 
 whole company could hear an alarm-shot, and in two 
 minutes be at the general s side. 
 
 For several nights, until arrangements were made for 
 an aide to lodge in the house, I rested on a sofa in the 
 outer room, next the general s chamber, with sword and 
 revolver at hand, fully expecting that some attempt would 
 be made upon us. Nor shall I ever be convinced that any- 
 
26 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 thing prevented it except the evident state of preparation 
 and watchfulness which was maintained. Every half-hour 
 in the night I visited the sentinels and took observations 
 of the neighborhood. There was a wood-yard on each 
 side of the house, and frequently in the night the pecul 
 iar secession whistle was heard, coming from some one 
 in these yards. I would then send out a patrol to search 
 these yards. There were discharges of guns frequently in 
 the night, and the inmates of the house heard bullets 
 strike against its brick walls. The gentlemen boarders, 
 among them a young clergyman, were at their request 
 furnished with fire-arms, and they would have used them 
 to good effect in the general s defense, so enthusiastic 
 was their veneration for him. 
 
 Whenever General Scott alighted from his coupe to 
 pass to his office, lines were formed by persons, generally 
 in humble life, who removed their hats, and frequently 
 uttered a fervent " God bless you, general ! " as he passed 
 them. Sometimes dark-visaged men would be seen on 
 the corners of the street, intently scrutinizing him ; and 
 we were told by a stable-keeper near by that on two or 
 three occasions very suspicious-looking men had asked 
 him all sorts of questions as to where the general lived, 
 how many officers he had on his staff, and what sort of 
 looking men they were ; and that he had once seen them 
 take notes after such a conversation. 
 
 There was a young officer of cavalry attached to the 
 general s staff as an extra aide. He was quite proud of 
 his uniform and of his fine horsemanship, and certainly 
 was a good-looking fellow. I had heard that there 
 was a company formed near Tenally Town, back of 
 Georgetown, which was drilling at night under suspicious 
 
APPREHENDED VIOLENCE TO GEN. SCOTT. 27 
 
 circumstances. As this young officer was intimately ac 
 quainted in Georgetown and vicinity, I directed him to 
 go out cautiously and try to ascertain the facts, without 
 letting his mission be known. He could not forego the 
 gratification of displaying his uniform and military trap 
 pings to his old friends, so out he galloped in complete 
 martial equipment. He went to a store-keeper whom he 
 knew, and believed to be a Union man, and bluntly in 
 quired of him about what he wanted to ascertain. The 
 man told him he had heard there was such a company 
 under drill, but he did not know much about it. He 
 promised to ascertain and let him know in a day or two 
 if he would go out again. " But," said he, " when you 
 come again I advise you to come in citizen s dress, or else 
 to bring a guard with you. All General Scott s staff are 
 known and marked, and, some of these times, if they 
 don t look out, they will get an inch of cold steel in 
 them." 
 
 These were some of the incidents that occurred every 
 day, especially about the middle of April, 1861, which 
 kept us vigilant night and day. No wonder that for 
 weeks we lived in the constant expectation that, as we 
 proceeded on our way from the general s quarters to our 
 own, often late at night, we might at anytime be assailed 
 from behind a tree, or from some dark alley. 
 
28 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 CHAPTEK VIII. 
 
 A ROMANCE. 
 A flag-hoisting A test. 
 
 AMONG the early arrivals of troops at the capital were 
 the First Regiment of Rhode Island Infantry, command 
 ed by Colonel Ambrose E. Burnside (afterward general 
 and Senator), and Captain Charles H. Tompkins s bat 
 tery of Rhode Island Artillery. Governor William 
 Sprague accompanied these troops, to be soon followed 
 by others from his State, as commander-in-chief of the 
 whole. The Governor wore a military dress, was attended 
 by a staff, and by his presence and example, no less than 
 by the excellent organization and equipment of his com 
 mand, did much toward creating the enthusiasm and pride 
 which inspired the whole body of troops and the loyal 
 among civilians. The infantry regiment was quartered in 
 the Department of the Interior, over which building the 
 United States flag was hoisted on the 3d of May, amid 
 the acclamations of a large assemblage, the regiment pa 
 rading in front, and its band playing patriotic airs. 
 
 Governor Sprague was remarkably youthful in ap 
 pearance, and generally thought to be handsome. This, 
 with his modest, dignified manners, made him quite pop 
 ular. Some of the most piquant of romances notoriously 
 originate during the stirring times of war, and so the 
 handsome and chivalric young Governor soon became the 
 object of harmless gossip in connection with the beautiful 
 daughter of the Secretary of the Treasury. This young 
 lady was the belle of the time, and her father s estimate 
 
EGBERT K LEE ARLINGTON HEIGHTS. 29 
 
 of her was readily accepted in addition to her more pat 
 ent charms : " She is a good daughter," he said, in reply 
 to some complimentary allusion to her. The report of 
 this engagement, not then acknowledged, did not fail to 
 be discussed in General Scott s military family. The 
 general himself, having a high regard for both parties, 
 made some kind remarks referring to it. It happened 
 one day, on the occasion of some display of troops, that 
 the young lady, with her father, appeared on the street 
 in an open landau. As they stopped near General Scott s 
 office, the gallant veteran went to the carriage to pay his 
 respects. As they were chatting, Governor Sprague came 
 up and joined the group. Soon after, in his quarters, the 
 general again referred to the report of the engagement, 
 and said : " Did you observe the young lady during that 
 interview ? I watched her narrowly, and she bore the 
 test admirably ; no sign of emotion was betrayed by her." 
 He evidently took as much interest in the affair as the 
 younger men. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 EGBERT E. LEE ARLINGTON HEIGHTS. 
 
 A painful interview Occupation of Arlington Easy shelling distance 
 Mrs. Lee s note. 
 
 ROBERT E. LEE was colonel of the Second (now Fifth) 
 Regiment United States Cavalry, stationed in Texas. 
 He had commanded that military department, and in 
 April, 1861, was on leave of absence. General Scott 
 knew that he was at Arlington Heights, at the house of 
 
30 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 his father-in-law, Mr. Custis, and one day asked me if I 
 had seen or heard of him lately. I replied in the neg 
 ative, except that he was on leave and at Arlington 
 Heights. Said the general, " It is time he should show 
 his hand, and, if he remains loyal, should take an impor 
 tant command." I then suggested that I should write a 
 note to Lee, and ask him to call at the general s head 
 quarters. " I wish you w r ould," replied the general. The 
 note was written, and the next day, April 19, 1861, Colo 
 nel Lee came to the office. The general s was the front 
 room of the second story. His round-table stood in the 
 center of the room, and I had a desk in one corner. The 
 aides were in an adjoining room, with a door opening 
 into the general s. When Lee came in I was alone in 
 the room with the general, and the door to the aides 
 room was closed.* I quietly arose, keeping my eye on 
 the general, for it seemed probable he might wish to be 
 alone with Lee. He, however, secretly motioned me to 
 keep my seat, and I sat down without Lee having a 
 chance to notice that I had risen. The general having 
 invited Lee to be seated, the following conversation, as 
 nearly as I can remember, took place : 
 
 General Scott. You are at present on leave of absence, 
 Colonel Lee ? 
 
 Colonel Lee. Yes, general, I am staying with my fam 
 ily at Arlington. 
 
 General Scott. These are times when every officer in 
 the United States service should fully determine what 
 course he will pursue, and frankly declare it. No one 
 
 * General Cullum thinks he was also in the room with the general, and 
 present at this interview, but I am quite confident no one but myself wit 
 nessed the conversation between General Scott and Colonel Lee. 
 
ROBERT E. LEE ARLINGTON HEIGHTS. 31 
 
 should continue in government employ without being 
 actively engaged. (No response from Lee.) 
 
 General Scott (after a pause). Some of the Southern 
 officers are resigning, possibly with the intention of tak 
 ing part with their States. They make a fatal mistake. 
 The contest may be long and severe, but eventually the 
 issue must be in favor of the Union. (Another pause, 
 and no reply from Lee.) 
 
 General Scott (seeing evidently that Lee showed no dis 
 position to declare himself loyal, or even in doubt). I 
 suppose you will go with the rest. If you purpose to re 
 sign, it is proper you should do so at once ; your present 
 attitude is an equivocal one. 
 
 Colonel Lee. General, the property belonging to my 
 children, all they possess, lies in Virginia. They will be 
 ruined if they do not go with their State. I can not raise 
 my hand against my children. 
 
 The general then signified that he had nothing further 
 to say, and Colonel Lee withdrew. The next day, April 
 20, 1861, he tendered his resignation, and it was accepted 
 the 25th. General Scott made no remark upon the sub 
 ject, but he was evidently much grieved at thus parting 
 with a man of whom he had been justly proud, and for 
 whom he had cherished the highest personal regard. He 
 had no more devoted or efficient staff officer than Lee 
 was in the Mexican War. 
 
 It was probably near the same day as the interview 
 with General Scott that the following incident, related to 
 me by the late General Shiras, occurred. Shiras was in 
 the office of Adjutant-General L. Thomas when Colonel 
 Lee came in there. Standing on the side of the table 
 opposite where Thomas was sitting, Lee said, " General 
 
32 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 Thomas, I am told you have said I was a traitor ! " 
 Thomas arose, and, looking him in the eye, replied : " I 
 have said so ; do you wish to know on what authority ? " 
 " Yes," said Lee. " "Well, on the authority of General 
 Scott ! " Lee muttered, " There must be some mis 
 take," turned and left the room. 
 
 Colonel Lee s family remained at their home, the 
 Custis mansion, Arlington Heights, for some time after. 
 They would doubtless have been treated with respect by 
 our people had they chosen to continue their residence 
 there. The cause of their hasty departure was the intelli 
 gence that the heights were to be occupied and fortified 
 by the Union forces. 
 
 On the evening of May 2d there was a conference at 
 General Scott s headquarters, in which the commander 
 of the troops in "Washington, General Mansfield, partici 
 pated. The subject considered was the general defense 
 of the city of Washington. Among the points discussed 
 was the Heights of Arlington, and whether it commanded 
 the city. The next day General Mansfield reported as 
 follows : 
 
 ""We now come to the city, and Georgetown, and 
 arsenal, exposed to the Virginia shore. Here I must re 
 mark that the President s house and department build 
 ings in its vicinity are but two and a half miles across the 
 river from Arlington high ground, where a battery of 
 bombs and heavy guns, if established, could destroy the 
 city with comparatively a small force, after destroying 
 the bridges. The Capitol is only three and a half miles 
 from the same height at Arlington, and at the aqueduct 
 the summits of the heights on the opposite shore are not 
 over one mile from Georgetown. 
 
ROBERT K LEE ARLINGTON HEIGHTS. 33 
 
 " "With this view of the condition of our position, it 
 is clear to my mind that the city is liable to be bom 
 barded at the will of an enemy, unless we occupy the 
 ground which he certainly would occupy if he had any 
 such intention. I therefore recommend that the heights 
 above mentioned be seized, and secured by at least two 
 strong redoubts, one commanding the Long Bridge and 
 the other the aqueduct, and that a body of men be there 
 encamped to sustain the redoubts, and give battle to the 
 enemy if necessary. I have engineers maturing plans, 
 and reconnoitring further. It is quite probable that our 
 troops assembled at Arlington would create much excite 
 ment in Virginia; yet, at the same time, if the enemy 
 were to occupy the ground there, a greater excitement 
 would take place on our side, and it might be necessary 
 to fight a battle to disadvantage." 
 
 It may be supposed there was no little commotion 
 among the chief men when it was ascertained that any 
 public building in Washington could be so easily shelled 
 from Arlington. General Scott was in the habit of writ 
 ing short "bulletins" as he called them, daily to the 
 President. These were copied by a young officer, a rela 
 tive of the Lee family, in whom the general took an ex 
 traordinary interest, and whom he supposed he had warmly 
 attached to himself by many signal favors. The general 
 made the result of General Mansfield s investigation of 
 Arlington the subject of his bulletin, immediately after 
 its receipt, and informed the President of the determina 
 tion taken to prepare a column to go over at an early day 
 to occupy the heights. For prudential reasons this bul 
 letin was copied by another person, and it was not in 
 tended that the young aide should know anything about 
 
34 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 it. He had been warned not to cross the river to visit 
 his relatives. By accident the general left this bulletin 
 on his table, and the young man read it. He doubtless 
 made it known to Mrs. Lee.* 
 
 In a day or two the general received from her the 
 following note : 
 
 " ARLINGTON, May 5th 11861], 
 
 " MY DEAR GENERAL : Hearing you desired to see the 
 account of my husband s reception in Richmond, I have 
 sent it to you. No honor can reconcile either of us to this 
 fratricidal war, which we would have laid down our lives 
 freely to avert. Nor can it ever terminate now till every 
 heart in the whole South ceases to beat, or they obtain the 
 justice they demand. "Whatever may happen, I feel that 
 I may expect from your kindness all the protection you 
 can in honor afford. More I would not ask, or expect. 
 Nothing can ever make me forget your kind apprecia 
 tion of Mr. Lee. If you knew all you would not think so 
 hardly of him. Were it not that I would not add one 
 feather to his load of care, nothing would induce me to 
 abandon my home. Oh, that you could command peace 
 to our distracted country ! 
 
 Yours in sadness and sorrow, 
 
 "M. C. LEE. 
 
 " Lieutenant-General SCOTT." 
 
 When the heights were taken possession of, on the 24th 
 of May, the Custis mansion was found abandoned. It has 
 never been reoccupied by the family. As the war pro 
 gressed, its absolute necessity as a fortified point induced 
 the Government to erect several earthworks around the 
 
 * He left the service a very short time after, and before he could be 
 possessed of any important secrets. 
 
NEUTRALITY OF KENTUCKY. 35 
 
 Custis estate. The estate itself was converted in part 
 into a national cemetery, and in part into a depot for the 
 Signal Service, and it still remains in that use. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 NEUTRALITY OF KENTUCKY. 
 
 Simon B. Buckner Correspondence with General McClellan Anderson, 
 Nelson, and Carter An unsuccessful diplomat. 
 
 IT is well known with what anxiety the position which 
 the State of Kentucky would occupy in the great contest 
 was regarded by both sides. The effort from the begin 
 ning was, if possible, to keep it neutral. But this could 
 not be. Its geographical location made it too important 
 a strategical region to prevent a desperate struggle for its 
 possession. Simon B. Buckner, a graduate of West Point 
 of the class of 1844, and a native of Kentucky, played 
 rather a conspicuous part in its earlier councils of the 
 war. He resigned from the army in 1855, and settled 
 in Kentucky. In 1861 he was Inspector-General of the 
 State, and commanded its Home Guards under Governor 
 Magoffin. 
 
 In June, 1861, some letters of General Buckner were 
 published in the Louisville (Kentucky) papers, stating 
 that he had entered into an arrangement with General 
 McClellan, at Cincinnati, to the following effect : 
 
 " The authorities of the State of Kentucky are to pro 
 tect the United States property within the limits of the 
 State, to enforce the laws of the United States, in accord- 
 
36 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 ance with the interpretations of the United States courts, 
 as far as those laws may be applicable to Kentucky, and 
 to enforce, with all the power of the State, our obliga 
 tions of neutrality as against the Southern States, as long 
 as the position we have assumed shall be respected by the 
 United States. 
 
 " General McClellan stipulates that the territory of 
 Kentucky shall be respected on the part of the United 
 States, even though the Southern States should occupy 
 it ; but, in the latter case, he will call upon the authori 
 ties of Kentucky to remove the Southern forces from our 
 territory. Should Kentucky fail to accomplish this ob 
 ject in a reasonable time, General McClellan claims the 
 same right of occupying given to the Southern forces. 
 I have stipulated in that case to advise him of the ina 
 bility of Kentucky to comply with her obligations, and 
 to invite him to dislodge the Southern forces. He stipu 
 lates that, if he is successful in doing so, he will withdraw 
 his forces from the territory of the State as soon as the 
 Southern forces shall have been removed." 
 
 In the middle of June following, General Buckner 
 called into the service of the State some companies, in 
 view of an excitement at Columbus, Kentucky. He stated 
 to their commander, in assigning him to command the 
 force : 
 
 " Its general object will be to carry out the obligation 
 of neutrality which the State has assumed in the contest 
 now impending on our borders." 
 
 Supposing that at this time Buckner was acting in 
 good faith to preserve neutrality, yet in the above ex 
 tracts may be found some provisions which would make 
 it easy to array Kentucky on the side of the South before 
 
NEUTRALITY OF KENTUCKY. 37 
 
 the contingency in which the United States troops might 
 enter the State could be acted on. If he desired to use 
 it for that purpose, much valuable time could be gained 
 by that Governor who, in April, replied to the call of the 
 War Department for volunteers, "I say, emphatically, 
 Kentucky will furnish no troops for the wicked purpose 
 of subduing her sister Southern States." General McClel- 
 lan s version of the agreement was to the effect that 
 Buckner repeatedly solicited an interview with him, and 
 when it took place it was strictly private and personal ; 
 that he gave no pledge on the part of the United States 
 authorities that United States troops should not enter 
 Kentucky, but the only understanding, so far as he knew, 
 was that Confederate troops should be confined to Con 
 federate soil, so far as Kentucky was concerned. 
 
 In May, 1861, General Robert Anderson was assigned 
 to the command of the Military Department of Kentucky, 
 he being a native of the State ; and Lieutenants Nelson 
 and Carter, of the navy, also natives, were commissioned 
 brigadier-generals of United States volunteers, and sent 
 there. The object in sending these officers was that they 
 might exert their influence in organizing the State militia 
 in the interest of the Union, so that the Governor would 
 have a reliable military force under his authority, suffi 
 cient to cause the neutral attitude of the State to be 
 respected. Anderson was also intended to be a safe 
 counselor to the Governor, in reference to any mili 
 tary movements that might be made, and to take com 
 mand if the United States should have to take part in 
 them. 
 
 In August Buckner was in "Washington. He talked 
 very cautiously about the affairs of Kentucky, and seemed 
 3 
 
38 ADECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 anxious to create the impression with the Government 
 that he was laboring zealously for the Union. The Presi 
 dent was at one time on the point of conferring upon 
 him (subject, however, to General Anderson s approval) 
 the commission of brigadier-general of volunteers ; but, 
 for certain reasons, this was not done, and he returned to 
 Kentucky without such credentials. Soon after his re* 
 turn he began to act under the commission of a general 
 officer from the Confederate Government. With the two 
 commissions, to use as circumstances might dictate, he 
 could, if so disposed, have raised a very respectable body 
 of recruits for the Confederates. 
 
 CHAPTEK XL 
 
 MOUNT V E R N O N. 
 
 Neutral ground General Scott s order. 
 
 IN May, 1861, there were rumors that the bones of 
 Washington had been moved from Mount Yernon. The 
 report caused quite a sensation North and South. The 
 estate was in charge of a lady who resided there. Through 
 her means an understanding was brought about between 
 Union and secession people of all classes that the domain 
 should be regarded as strictly neutral ground, to which 
 both parties should have equal right. Upon a represen 
 tation made by this lady, General Scott, glad to find there 
 was still one bond of union left the name of Washing 
 ton issued the following order : 
 
MOUNT VEBNON. 39 
 
 GENERAL ORDERS, No. 13. 
 
 HEADQUARTERS OP THE ARMY, 
 
 WASHINGTON, July 31, 1S61. 
 
 It has been the prayer of every patriot that the tramp 
 and din of civil war might, at least, spare the precincts 
 within which repose the sacred remains of the Father of 
 his Country. But this pious hope is disappointed. Mount 
 Yernon, so recently consecrated anew to the immortal 
 Washington by the ladies of America, has already been 
 overrun by bands of rebels who, having trampled under 
 foot the Constitution of the United States the ark of 
 our freedom and prosperity are prepared to trample on 
 the ashes of him to whom we are all mainly indebted for 
 these mighty blessings. 
 
 Should the operations of war take the United States 
 troops in that direction, the general-in-chief does not 
 doubt that each and every man will approach with due 
 reverence, and leave uninjured, not only the tomb, but 
 also the house, the groves, and walks which were so loved 
 by the best and greatest of men. 
 
 WINFIELD SCOTT. 
 
 By command : 
 
 E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General. 
 
 ISTo case of trespass was ever known to occur after the 
 neutrality of the domain was once established. 
 
40 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 GENERAL SCOTT AND THE STARS AND STRIPES. 
 A flag presentation " Are ye all there ? " 
 
 As the general was one day sitting at his table in the 
 office, the messenger announced that a person desired to 
 see him one moment with a gift he had for him. A Ger 
 man was introduced, who without flourish made known 
 that he had been commissioned by a house in New York 
 to present to General Scott a small silk banner. It was 
 very handsome, of the size of a regimental flag, and was 
 made of a single piece of silk, stamped with the stars and 
 stripes in their proper colors, instead of being composed 
 of different pieces stitched together, as is usually the case. 
 The German said the manufacturers were desirous of 
 offering some token of the great respect in which General 
 Scott was held, and of their sense of his importance to 
 the country in that perilous time. The general was highly 
 pleased, and, in accepting the gift, assured the donors that 
 the flag should hang in his room wherever he went, and 
 finally enshroud him when he died. As soon as the 
 man departed, the general desired that the stars might be 
 counted, to see if all the States were represented. They 
 were "all there." The flag was forthwith draped be 
 tween the windows, over the lounge where the general 
 frequently reclined for rest during the day. It went with 
 him in his berth when he sailed for Europe, after his re 
 tirement, and enveloped his coffin when he was interred 
 at West Point. 
 
GEN. SCOTT AND THE STARS AND STRIPES. 41 
 
 This incident was a remarkable illustration of Mrs. 
 Sigourney s lines which appeared in the " National Intel 
 ligencer " about that time : 
 
 STARS IN MY COUNTRY S SKY. 
 
 Are ye all there ? Are ye all there, 
 
 Stars of my country s sky ? 
 Are ye all there 1 Are ye all there, 
 
 In your shining homes on high ? 
 " Count us ! count us," was their answer, 
 
 As they dazzled on my view, 
 In glorious perihelion, 
 
 Amid their field of blue. 
 
 I can not count ye rightly ; 
 
 There s a cloud with sable rim ; 
 I can not make your number out, 
 
 For my eyes with tears are dim. 
 Oh ! bright and blessed angel, 
 
 On white wing floating by, 
 Help me to count, and not to miss 
 
 One star in my country s sky ! 
 
 Then the angel touched mine eyelids, 
 
 And touched the frowning cloud ; 
 And its sable rim departed, 
 
 And it fled with murky shroud. 
 There was no missing Pleiad, 
 
 Mid all that sister race ; 
 The Southern Cross gleamed radiant forth, 
 
 And the pole-star kept its place. 
 
42 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 Then I knew it was the angel 
 
 Who woke the hymning strain 
 That at our dear Redeemer s birth 
 
 Pealed out o er Bethlehem s plain ; 
 And still its heavenly key-tone 
 
 My listening country held, 
 For all her constellated stars 
 
 The diapason swelled. L. H. S. 
 
 HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 EVENINGS AT GENEEAL SCOTT s QFAETEES. 
 
 A civil lawyer An exacting host A kind heart Seventy-fifth birthday 
 A romantic adventure The cadet Gray. 
 
 THE President, Secretaries of War, State, and Treas 
 ury used often to drop in at General Scott s office, or at 
 his quarters in the evening. "When the President came, 
 the general would always rise and insist on his taking the 
 big arm-chair, which himself had been occupying. He 
 would then recount to him the military movements of the 
 day, and they would discuss some matter of interest, 
 either of a military or political character. Sometimes 
 nice questions would arise on international law as appli 
 cable to the peculiar relations between the contending 
 sections. On such occasions the general showed that he 
 had not forgotten his early education as a civil lawyer, but 
 through life had continued to read until he had become 
 really profoundly learned in that profession. 
 
EVENINGS AT GEN. SCOTT S QUARTERS. 43 
 
 The general always expected one or more of the staff 
 to dine with him, and to be at his quarters all the even 
 ing. Then, too, the officer commanding the troops in the 
 District, and other high officers, would call to communi 
 cate with him, so he was always informed of everything 
 that was going on. If there was no business, he was fond 
 of relating anecdotes. They were always interesting, 
 though the staff did not uniformly enjoy them, because 
 they had so often heard some of them, after a fatiguing 
 day, in a room heated by a six-burner gas- chandelier in 
 midsummer. And, to say truth, the general had fallen 
 into a way of speaking very slowly, with sometimes long 
 pauses between his words. In short, these occasions were 
 sometimes quite trying, for the general was exacting ; he 
 not only required auditors, but strict attention from them, 
 and he sometimes showed impatience when he thought 
 they were wanting. One evening I had a dull headache, 
 and sat with my hand shading my eyes from the bright 
 gas-light. Suddenly the general stopped in the midst of 
 a sentence, and said sharply, " Colonel Townsend is now 
 asleep ! " I looked up in some surprise, and said, " Oh, 
 no, general, I hear every word you say, but I have a head 
 ache, and the gas hurts my eyes." With a changed tone 
 he said, " Oh, pardon me," and went on with his story. 
 At another time he was in a terrible mood. We all 
 thought the dinner of rich jowl, of which he was espe 
 cially fond, was at fault. He snapped up every one who 
 said a word. The District commander soon excused him 
 self, saying he must go home and get a cup of tea. When 
 he withdrew, the general said, " I don t like tea-sops." 
 So each one came in turn for some hit. All this time I 
 had escaped by keeping silent. At last I brought it on 
 
44 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 myself from the very fear that he would remark on my 
 silence. He was speaking of peculiarities of pronuncia 
 tion in different States, and illustrating them by exam 
 ples. Coming to Virginia, he repeated the words, " Go up- 
 stars" " Now," thought I, " is a good time to show that 
 I am an appreciative listener," so I added, in a pleasant 
 voice, "And shut the do" He turned fiercely upon me 
 and said : " What has that to do with it ? I have not come 
 to that yet." Said I quietly, but in a decided tone : " I 
 beg your pardon, sir ; I ll not interrupt you again." He 
 saw I was justly displeased, and immediately changed 
 his manner. After this the evening passed much more 
 agreeably, and the general did not make another petulant 
 remark. I received a vote of thanks from the rest of the 
 staff for this involuntary coup, and the general never 
 showed any displeasure at it. 
 
 At one time I was sorely afflicted with " Job s com 
 forters," which seriously interfered with my necessary ac 
 tivity. One evening, when my right wrist was thus nearly 
 disabled, the general desired me to write a dispatch at 
 his dictation. I usually wrote as rapidly as he spoke, but 
 on this occasion I was obliged to ask him to wait a mo 
 ment until I could overtake him. He made some remark 
 about my not being as prompt as usual, but when he 
 knew the reason he offered to take the pen himself. 
 These trifling incidents illustrate the kind heart always 
 showing itself amid the general s peculiarities. 
 
 Thursday, June 13,1861, General Scott s seventy-fifth 
 birthday, was marked by the presentation to him of a 
 handsome bouquet by his staff. The general was much 
 gratified, and spoke in complimentary terms of us, as " the 
 staff of his old age." 
 
EVENINGS AT GEN. SCOTT S QUARTERS. 45 
 
 One or two of the anecdotes related by the general at 
 the evening soirees will be found interesting here. 
 
 A ROMANTIC ADVENTURE. General Scott was cap 
 tain of artillery in 1812. He was ordered with his 
 horse-battery to march to the Northern frontier, where 
 he laid the foundation of his fame. He had an excel 
 lent first sergeant, who took pains to keep men, horses, 
 and material in the highest order, and he was very 
 proud of his splendid battery. On the march, as the 
 battery was passing through a valley, the road lay close 
 to the base of a high hill. At a sudden turn in the road 
 Captain Scott, mounted on his spirited charger, came 
 directly in front of a very attractive young woman, who 
 was quite alone. The unexpected appearance of this 
 formidable military display, seemingly ready to trample 
 her under foot, threw the young lady into a great state 
 of alarm. She turned pale, and seemed about to faint. 
 Instantly the gallant captain sprang from his horse, and 
 said some reassuring words, at the same time encircling 
 her waist with his arm, as was evidently necessary to sup 
 port her in her state of agitation. And so, the path be 
 tween the foot of the hill and the road being very nar 
 row, and the danger great that she might receive injury 
 from the horses or wheels, she turned about to go home. 
 The captain walked by her side and conversed pleasantly 
 with her, not deeming it prudent the while to remove his 
 supporting arm. They parted at her home, with modest 
 expressions of thanks from the young lady. 
 
 Many years after, Captain Scott, now become general, 
 with world-wide fame, was journeying in a private con 
 veyance over the same road. Late at night, in a pelting 
 
46 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 storm, he stopped at a wayside inn, and asked lodgings 
 and a supper. The landlord made some difficulty about 
 even admitting him, alleging that he had no good ac 
 commodations, and could not provide a supper at that 
 hour. After a short parley the traveler announced him 
 self as General Scott, commander of the army, traveling 
 on urgent military duty. He had come a long way that 
 day, was weary and hungry, and the night was inclement. 
 In an instant the door was thrown open, and the guest 
 was shown to a parlor where in a twinkling a bright fire 
 crackled on the hearth, and very soon after a smoking 
 supper was served in good style, the host himself acting 
 as waiter. After supper the general was ushered to the 
 best chamber, where all things were arranged for his com 
 fort. The next morning, at breakfast, the host addressed 
 him with " General Scott, you are the only man in the 
 world of whom I am jealous. I don t know but my wife 
 thinks more of you than she does of me. She would like 
 to come in and see you." The general had no conception 
 who the fair lady could be, but he begged that he might 
 have the pleasure of greeting her. In the tidy, good- 
 looking matron who was thus introduced he recognized 
 the pretty young woman of the hill-side adventure. 
 
 THE CADET GRAY. Another anecdote of the gen 
 eral s is interesting as accounting for the gray uniform 
 which has so long been the pride of West-Pointers. 
 While preparing at Buffalo, in the summer of 1814, for 
 the campaign in Canada, General Scott wrote to the 
 quartermaster-general for some new uniforms, especially 
 overcoats, for his men. Having received in reply the 
 information that they could supply him with nothing 
 
EVENINGS AT GEN. SCOTT S QUARTERS. 47 
 
 which he required, but that he could have some over 
 coats of a light-gray color, very comfortable, though not 
 the regulation uniform, he at once ordered them. Thus 
 it happened that his command was clad in this dress 
 when it crossed to Canada to meet the British under 
 General Riall. General Scott, having been ordered to 
 advance upon the British camp at Chippewa, moved in 
 that direction on the morning of July 4th. In his march 
 he encountered a body of the enemy, which, after some 
 skirmishing, withdrew toward its main camp, and was 
 rapidly and persistently pursued by Scott with his grays, 
 whom the British commander mistook for volunteers, be 
 cause of their uniform. When nearly overtaken, the 
 British crossed Street s Creek and broke down the bridge 
 behind them. When the Americans came to the bridge, 
 and found their object foiled by its destruction, they 
 could not repress their impatience and disappointment, 
 for this alone prevented the battle of Chippewa, which 
 was so handsomely won the following day, from being 
 fought on the 4th of July. 
 
 After the battle, the British commander, who had 
 been so hotly pursued, told General Scott he could not 
 .account for the good discipline of the volunteers before 
 whom he had been forced to retreat so rapidly, or for the 
 pertinacity of the pursuit, until he ascertained that his 
 adversary really commanded a fine body of regulars, and 
 remembered that anxiety to celebrate the anniversary of 
 their independence had incited them. 
 
 It was in honor of this brigade and its commander 
 that the gray became the famous " cadet gray." 
 
 Major-General Jacob Brown, in his report of the bat 
 tle of Chippewa, said : " Brigadier-General Scott is enti- 
 
48 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 tied to the highest praise our country can bestow; to 
 him, more than any other man, I am indebted for the 
 victory of the 5th of July. His brigade has covered 
 itself with glory. 15 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 VALUE OF A SPOOL OF COTTON. 
 Capture of United States troops in Texas Escape of French s battery. 
 
 AT the time of the outbreak of the rebellion, Major- 
 General David E. Twiggs, a Louisiana man, was in com 
 mand of the Military Department of Texas. A large pro 
 portion of the regular army was serving within that 
 department, distributed in small bodies over an immense 
 tract of country. The Government was persuaded that 
 Twiggs secretly acted in concert with the Texan author 
 ities, and suffered them to beleaguer the Union troops in 
 every direction, so that no measures could be taken to 
 prevent their surrender in detail to overwhelming num 
 bers. Thus very nearly all the officers and enlisted men 
 were put under a strictly worded parole not to serve in 
 any capacity during the whole war, unless exchanged. 
 Some, but not all, of the immediate staff serving under 
 Twiggs were stanch in their loyalty to the Union, and 
 they did what they could under the adverse circumstances 
 which enveloped them. Among these was one of the 
 best of men, Major William A. Nichols, assistant adju 
 tant-general. As chief of the staff he could do much by 
 foreseeing and providing for emergencies before they 
 
VALUE OF A SPOOL OF COTTON. 49 
 
 occurred. It was through his contrivance that a valuable 
 battery of artillery escaped from the State and was saved 
 to the Government. 
 
 In a note to me, dated March 7, 1861, Major Nichols 
 says : " I send you a spool of cotton to show what shifts 
 we were put to. It contains an order to French (William 
 II. French, who commanded the battery) to cuidar * 
 (take care) for his guns find it." The spool of cotton 
 presented exactly the appearance of any ordinary one; 
 but on removing the label pasted over the end and con 
 cealing the hole which passes through the center of the 
 spool, I discovered a small roll of thin paper, on which 
 was written the following order : 
 
 "HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF TEXAS, 
 
 " SAN ANTONIO, February 10, 1861. 
 
 " The Commanding Officer, Fort Duncan. 
 
 " SIR : Move instantly with the artillery companies 
 upon Brazos Santiago ; take your arms, guns, and neces 
 sary equipments and camp equipages ; leave your horses 
 on embarkation. The formal orders have been inter 
 cepted. Texas will demand the guns of the batteries. 
 A steamer will be ready to take you by sea." 
 
 Not only were the movements of the army closely 
 watched by the Texan s, but some of Twiggs s staff took 
 service against the Government, and did all in their power 
 to wrest everything of value from the loyal officers, and 
 convey it to the Texan authorities. In order to evade 
 such vigilance, the wife of Major Nichols managed to 
 send the spool containing the order to the wife of the 
 British consul, at Eagle Pass, inclosing it in a letter, in 
 
50 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 which she asked that it be conveyed to Major French. 
 This lady dispatched it by a Mexican boy, who safely de 
 livered it, and French s sagacity guided him to its real 
 object. He skillfully eluded the beleaguerers, and saved 
 all his guns. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 COLONEL MARTIN BIJRKE THE FRENCH LADY. 
 
 The American Bastile Arbitrary arrests justified Obedience to orders 
 A very respectable French lady. 
 
 EARLY in the summer of 1861, when things were rap 
 idly developing toward the rebellion, a new power, not 
 hitherto exercised in this country, was exerted for the 
 public safety. Persons were arbitrarily arrested and con 
 fined under military guard, on evidence satisfactory to 
 the General Government that they were guilty of acts of 
 a disloyal and dangerous character. It devolved upon 
 the Secretary of State, in the first instance, to indicate 
 who should be thus put in confinement. He made the 
 arrests through his marshals, and they were turned over 
 to General Scott, w^ho held them at Fort Lafayette, in 
 New York Harbor. By a natural association of ideas, 
 both with the name and this use of the fort, it soon ac 
 quired the title of " the American Bastile." 
 
 This new and arbitrary power struck the Secretary of 
 State with much force, and he once remarked to General 
 Scott that he found it hard to realize that he had only to 
 touch a bell and order the arrest of Mr. A. B., and in a 
 
COLONEL MARTIN BURKE THE FRENCH LADY. 51 
 
 short time to hear that A. B. was accordingly imprisoned 
 at Fort Lafayette. The military justification of this 
 measure and the extreme caution with which the power 
 was exercised are ably set forth in Mr. Stanton s report 
 as Secretary of War, dated December 1, 1862. (See Ap 
 pendix C.) 
 
 The officer assigned to the immediate command of 
 Fort Lafayette, specially selected by General Scott for 
 that duty, was Colonel Martin Burke, of the regular ar 
 tillery. The Secretary of State had heard the general s 
 frequent jocose allusions to the colonel in terms which 
 evinced perfect confidence in his vigilance and fidelity. 
 One day he asked, " Who is this Colonel Martin Burke, 
 of whom you seem to think so highly ? " The general 
 replied : " He is one of my regulars, sir ; a veteran well 
 known in the army." " Will he surely obey these ex 
 traordinary orders we are giving ? " " You may rely on 
 that, sir. Colonel Martin Burke is famous for his unques 
 tioning obedience to orders. He was with me in Mex 
 ico, and, if I had told him at any time to take out one of 
 my aides-de-camp and shoot him before breakfast, the 
 aide s execution would have been duly reported." This 
 , created a hearty laugh, and brought some comical expres 
 sions to the faces of the aides present. Martin Burke 
 was thenceforth a synonym for unquestioning obedi 
 ence. 
 
 As might be supposed, Colonel (afterward brevet 
 Brigadier-General) Burke was involved in some trouble 
 on account of civil processes sought to be served on him, 
 to avoid which he confined himself within his chain of 
 sentinels almost as closely as he kept his prisoners. He 
 once received a summons to attend as a witness before a 
 
52 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 court-martial at Fort Columbus, in New York Harbor, 
 about nine miles from his post. He wrote to headquar 
 ters to inquire what it was his duty to do, saying he feared 
 arrest by the civil authorities under an attachment which 
 had been issued against him for not producing a prisoner 
 in court on a writ, but which could not be served at the 
 military post. This, he said, might prevent his obeying 
 the summons of the court-martial. He suggested that, 
 if it was deemed important enough for him to go, he 
 might possibly escape arrest by traveling by water at 
 night. His concern was, not about the arrest, but about 
 a possible obstacle to his obeying his orders to appear as 
 a witness. 
 
 The following are the instructions which were given 
 for Colonel Burke s guidance : 
 
 HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, 
 
 WASHINGTON, July 19, 1861. 
 
 Lieutenant- Colonel MARTIN BTJBKE, U. S. Army, Fort 
 Hamilton, N. Y. 
 
 SIK : The general-in-chief directs that you assume 
 command of Forts Hamilton and Lafayette, New York 
 Harbor, taking quarters at the former place. 
 
 Orders have been given for the confinement of certain 
 political prisoners and prisoners of war in Fort Lafayette, 
 and a guard has been detailed for their custody, the offi 
 cers of which will be quartered with the guard in the 
 same fort. The general directs that you give orders to 
 the following purpose : 
 
 1. That the prisoners be securely held, and that they 
 be allowed every privilege consistent with this end, and 
 be treated with all kindness. 
 
COLONEL MARTIN BURKE THE FRENCH LADY. 53 
 
 2. That a record be kept of the names, dates of con 
 finement, and release of the prisoners. 
 
 3. That the prisoners be permitted to provide them 
 selves with such comforts as they require. 
 
 4:. That an exact account be kept of the subsistence, 
 etc., furnished the prisoners of war. 
 
 I am, sir, very respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 E. D. TOWNSEND, 
 Assistant Adjutant-General. 
 
 Among the most noted and troublesome of Colonel 
 Burke s guests at Fort Lafayette was a certain Captain 
 or Colonel Thomas, who held a commission from the 
 Confederate Government. He had the aliases of " Zar- 
 vona " and " The French Lady." The latter was given 
 him from the following incident, which illustrates his 
 daring character, the account of which is taken from the 
 " Baltimore American " of July 2, 1861 : 
 
 " The steamer Saint Nicholas was captured in the Po 
 tomac River by a party of secessionists. The steamer 
 left Baltimore, having on board about fifty passengers. 
 Among those who went aboard previous to her departure 
 was a very respectable c French lady, who was heavily 
 veiled, and, pleading indisposition, she was immediately 
 shown to her state-room, where she was kindly cared for 
 by the females on board. There were also a party of 
 about twenty-five men dressed in the garb of mechanics, 
 carrying with them carpenters , tinners , blacksmiths , and 
 other tools. When near Point Lookout, the c French 
 lady appeared on deck, not in crinoline, but in the per 
 son of a stalwart man, who was immediately surrounded 
 
54 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 by the party of mechanics above alluded to. Captain 
 Kirwan of the steamer demanded an explanation, when 
 the lady-man informed him that he designed confiscat 
 ing the steamer and going on a privateering expedition. 
 Finding himself overpowered, Captain Kirwan was com 
 pelled to submit, and the boat was handed over to the 
 man and his crew, who took possession, and proceeded to 
 run the steamer to a point known as * The Cone, on the 
 Virginia shore. Upon landing at that place, the steamer 
 was boarded by a body of about one thousand Virginia 
 troops, when the passengers were landed and allowed to 
 go on their way." 
 
 A short time after, Thomas and eight of his men were 
 recognized as passengers on board the Mary Washington, 
 en route from Fair Haven, Anne Arundel County, to 
 Baltimore. It happened that Captain Kirwan and two 
 of his officers were passengers at the same time, as were 
 also two police-officers who had gone to Fair Haven to 
 arrest another man. The captain of the Mary "Washing 
 ton, on making the discovery, was directed by the 
 police-officers to land at Fort McIIenry. Perceiving 
 this intention, Thomas boldly attempted to overawe the 
 officers. He drew his pistol, and, calling his men to 
 his aid, peremptorily demanded that the boat should 
 proceed up to Baltimore. But the party of officers 
 and passengers against him was too strong, and Thomas 
 was compelled to keep quiet. When the steamer 
 reached Fort McIIenry, the commanding officer was in 
 formed of the capture of Thomas, and sent a guard to 
 receive and confine him. But he had disappeared, and 
 could not be found for over an hour, when he was at 
 last dragged from a bureau-drawer in the ladies cabin. 
 
THE FIRST BATTLE OF BULL RUN. 55 
 
 Being small in stature he had managed thus to conceal 
 himself. 
 
 During his confinement in Fort Lafayette he was 
 constantly making trouble in some way. He once actu 
 ally attempted to escape by throwing himself overboard, 
 although he could not swim, with nothing to depend on 
 but some empty tin cans arranged for floats. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE FIRST BATTLE OF BULL RUN. 
 
 Scott s plan opposed to invasion His proposed campaign down the Missis 
 sippi " On to Richmond ! " An anxious night A panic Order out of 
 chaos. 
 
 IN the early part of secession, General Scott was much 
 opposed to fighting a battle within the seceded States, or 
 to any display of military force which would lead to one. 
 He reasoned that there were many Union and many neu 
 tral people in all the States, who, if they had time, would 
 assert their principles and eventually overrule the more 
 active secessionists. He frequently expressed himself to 
 the President, and other influential men, in these terms : 
 " If you will maintain a strict blockade on the sea-coast, 
 collect your revenues on board cutters at the mouths of 
 the harbors, and send a force down the Mississippi suffi 
 ciently strong to open and keep it free along its course to 
 its mouth, you will thus cut off the luxuries to which the 
 people are accustomed ; and when they feel this pressure, 
 not having been exasperated by attacks made on them 
 
56 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 within their respective States, the Union spirit will assert 
 itself ; those who are on the fence will descend on the 
 Union side, and I will guarantee that in one year from 
 this time all difficulties will be settled. But, if you invade 
 the South at any point, I will guarantee that at the end 
 of a year you will be further from a settlement than you 
 are now." 
 
 The general s plan for the Mississippi was, to have 
 gunboats built for the purpose, and to organize an army 
 of Western volunteers, the whole force to rendezvous at 
 Cairo, Illinois. McClellan was his choice for the com 
 mand ; Rosecrans, and some other " rough-vigor fel 
 lows," as he styled them, to have subordinate com 
 mands. I had often heard him detail this plan, and, 
 on his declaring his intention of corresponding with 
 General McClellan about it, I offered to draft the let 
 ter. I think it no mean compliment that the general 
 should have assented, for he was always in the habit 
 of doing such things himself. How much was left of 
 my draft of the letter may be seen by the copy (Ap 
 pendix D), with the alterations which the general made 
 with his own hand. His erasures and interlineations 
 were made with red ink. 
 
 In answer to the cry, " On to Richmond ! " General 
 Scott used to say that he was familiar with the country 
 to be passed over ; that it was hardly possible for inex 
 perienced troops to make the march. They would have 
 to haul all their supplies with them, for " they would find 
 every house deserted ; not a cow, or a chicken, or an ac 
 cidental pig on the entire route." The bridges would be 
 all broken down, and the marshy banks would prevent 
 their being forded without becoming perfect quagmires. 
 
THE FIRST BATTLE OF BULL BUN. 57 
 
 These delays and discouragements would be too much 
 for undisciplined volunteers. 
 
 But, at last, the pressure for an advance upon Rich 
 mond became so great that the general, in deference to 
 the wishes of higher authority, did all in his power to 
 make preparations which would lead to success. Briga 
 dier-General McDowell had served for some years on 
 General Scott s staff, and was therefore well known to 
 him. McDowell, having been assigned to the command 
 which was eventually to fight the battle of Bull Run, was 
 directed to prepare a plan for a movement toward Manas- 
 sas, with estimates of the force he would need, and for 
 all his supplies. The plan was to include a possible bat 
 tle. While McDowell, with headquarters at Arlington 
 Heights, was organizing and disciplining his regiments, 
 he matured his plans, and made maps to illustrate them. 
 They were repeatedly gone over with General Scott, until 
 they were brought into the best possible shape. Then he 
 was invited to unfold them to the President, in presence 
 of the Cabinet, General Scott and his staff, and others, of 
 whom General Fremont was one. The President received 
 the company in the library of the Executive Mansion. 
 General McDowell spread his map on the table, and 
 demonstrated his plan with a clearness and precision that 
 would have done credit to any West-Pointer at his last 
 annual examination. Criticisms were invited from any 
 one present ; and the President specially asked General 
 Fremont if he found any objection, or could suggest any 
 improvement. !N"ot a word was offered, and the whole 
 scheme was approved. From that time active prepara 
 tions were made for the movements which culminated in 
 the battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861. 
 
58 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 The entire night of that 21st of July was spent by the 
 President and Cabinet, and some military officers, at Gen- 
 eral Scott s quarters. The telegraph-office in the War 
 Department, a short distance off, was in momentary re 
 ceipt of dispatches from the field. At first, the success 
 of the Union arms seemed assured. Then came tidings 
 of a reverse ; then of a panic, and rout. Then followed 
 in quick succession details of the disaster, and rumors, 
 with earnest appeals to guard the capital. I sat near the 
 door of the general s room, to receive and read aloud the 
 messages as they were delivered. At last came one in 
 which the death of Colonel Cameron, brother of the Sec 
 retary of War, was reported. As I read aloud, not know 
 ing what was to follow, I pronounced the words : " Colo 
 nel Cameron " and then perceived that the sentence im 
 mediately came, " was killed." I had just time to stop 
 abruptly, look at the Secretary a moment, and then finish 
 the sentence in a low voice. This was the only prepara 
 tion for the shocking announcement of his brother s death 
 that could be given. 
 
 The following day was for a time a scene of such con 
 fusion and panic as required no ordinary nerve to encoun 
 ter. General Scott was firm and unwavering as a rock. 
 When reports were brought him that the rebels were ad 
 vancing unopposed on Washington, and would soon be 
 on the Long Bridge, the old soldier would calmly look at 
 the informant and reply : " It is impossible, sir ! We are 
 now tasting the first fruits of a war, and learning what a 
 panic is. We must be prepared for all kinds of rumors. 
 Why, sir, we shall soon hear that Jefferson Davis has 
 crossed the Long Bridge at the head of a brigade of ele 
 phants, and is trampling our citizens under foot ! He has 
 
4iVL-H5ITY , J 
 
 JJ 
 
 AL>xn#&^ 
 
 FIRST BATTLE OF BULL BUN. 59 
 
 no brigade of elephants; lie can not by any possibility 
 get a brigade of elephants ! " Thus from our general-in- 
 chief emanated a remedy for panic which soon began to 
 tell. We knew that there were some brigades, the one 
 composed of the regulars, the one commanded by Colonel 
 Keyes, and others, which remained entire, and occupied 
 positions guarding the approaches to Washington. Mean 
 time the general s aides occupied themselves in bringing 
 order out of chaos. Placards were posted in conspicuous 
 places designating rendezvous for the several organiza 
 tions, and commanding all officers and men immediately 
 to repair to them. As men straggled individually, or in 
 squads, into town, they were directed where to go, and 
 rations were provided for them there. Some of the gen 
 eral s staff went round to the hotels, and peremptorily 
 ordered all the officers they found there to join their 
 regiments immediately, on pain of arrest, their names 
 and regiments being taken down. In this way, by night 
 fall things assumed a more orderly shape, and patrols, 
 kept up throughout the day and night, soon suppressed 
 all fear of disorders. For a time, however, there is little 
 doubt that, had a squad of men, mounted on ~black horses* 
 appeared on the Long Bridge, or in the streets of the city, 
 there would have been a stampede worthy of a flock of 
 sheep. 
 
 The discussion of this battle is left to those who as 
 sume to write a strictly military history. There were 
 fruitful elements of failure, however, without attributing 
 blame to any one concerned. Panics will sometimes un 
 accountably seize the bravest veteran troops. What won- 
 
 * The Virginia troop of " Black-horse " had been a bugbear for some 
 weeks. 
 
60 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 der, then, that this great panic should have overtaken bri 
 gades and divisions composed of regiments some of which 
 had not been three weeks in service, and were not suffi 
 ciently drilled to be able to wheel from a flank-march into 
 line without breaking their ranks ; brigades and divisions 
 which had never been manoeuvred as such, and which 
 never saw the officers sent to command them until on the 
 night before, or on the very morning of, the battle ! It is 
 rather a matter of wonder that an army should have done 
 even so well, under such circumstances, as this one did at 
 the outset. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE COMMAND OF THE ARMY. 
 
 General McClellan Discipline of volunteers Scott s choice for general-in- 
 chief His complaint against McClellan McClellan succeeds Scott 
 His tribute to Scott Halleck succeeds McClellan An order bewitched. 
 
 IMMEDIATELY after the battle of Bull Run, General 
 McClellan was summoned to Washington by the Secre 
 tary of War. In compliance with orders from the same 
 source, he assumed his first command near Washington, 
 under the title of the " Division of the Potomac," July 27, 
 1861. On his arrival in Washington he had a long inter 
 view with General Scott at his quarters. I was not pres 
 ent in the room, but waited outside to get a chance for a 
 word with him as he passed out. I had just time to say : 
 " I want to give you a hint about the state of things here. 
 You will find splendid material for soldiers sadly in need 
 of discipline. You will be beset on all sides with appli- 
 
THE COMMAND OF TEE ARMY. 61 
 
 cations for passes, and all sorts of tilings, and if you yield 
 to the pressure your whole time will be taken up at a 
 desk, writing. You can from the outset avoid this ; an 
 other officer can do it as well in your name. The troops 
 want to see their commanding general, and to be often 
 inspected and reviewed by him. Another thing : there is 
 here a fine body of regulars ; I would keep that intact, as a 
 sort of l Old Guard. It may some time save you a battle." 
 He took what I said kindly. Perhaps he never thought of 
 it again, but it is certain that he pursued exactly that 
 course. His splendid military evolutions while organ 
 izing and equipping his army will not soon be forgotten. 
 Some of the volunteer regiments came to Washington 
 admirably provided. There were, especially, two from 
 New Hampshire. They had complete clothing, arms and 
 accoutrements, and tents. Their wagons were arranged 
 like store-rooms, with boxes for their various supplies. 
 They had also very good bands of music. Their religious 
 services were very impressive. The regiments were 
 drawn up in a hollow square, with the chaplain in the 
 middle, and, while the bands played hymns which he gave 
 out, the men sang them. Their rendering of " Old Hun 
 dred " was truly grand. But, with all this excellent ma 
 terial, the want of military instruction was apparent in 
 such incidents as this : It was no unusual thing to see a 
 sentry, when an officer in uniform passed his post, seated 
 on a stone, with his musket between his feet. On the 
 approach of the officer, aware that some complimentary 
 recognition was expected, he would awkwardly raise his 
 hand to his cap, while he continued sitting. General 
 McClellan was not long in changing all this, and in form 
 ing a thoroughly disciplined army. 
 
62 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 McClellan was not General Scott s first choice for 
 general-in-chief of the army, to succeed him on his retire 
 ment. As the time approached when he purposed giving 
 up the command, he frequently expressed anxiety to hear 
 that General Halleck had arrived from California, where 
 he had long been residing. He remarked that he should 
 feel quite easy to turn over bis responsibilities to Halleck 
 as major-general, commanding the army. While General 
 Scott held McClellan in high estimation for some junior 
 command, he preferred Halleck, as being ten years older, 
 and therefore presumably having riper judgment, besides 
 having known accomplishment in theoretical knowledge 
 of military law and practice. 
 
 The very day (July 22, 1861) that the Secretary of 
 War, through the adjutant-general, telegraphed to Mc 
 Clellan, at Beverly, Virginia " Circumstances make your 
 presence here necessary. Charge Rosecrans, or some 
 other general, with your present department, and corne 
 hither without delay" General Scott, in ignorance of 
 that dispatch, telegraphed to McClellan, " Remain in your 
 command, instead of going to the valley of the Shenan- 
 doah." General McClellan naturally felt when he took 
 command of the Army of the Potomac, that he had been 
 put in direct communication with the War Department, 
 and he therefore did not always observe the " channels of 
 correspondence " which were usual. General Scott soon 
 observed this, and, not willing to have his authority ig 
 nored so long as he remained general-in-chief, he gave 
 me an autograph projet of a general order to issue, the 
 last but one that went to the army in his name. It was 
 this: 
 
THE COMMAND OF TEE ARMY. 63 
 
 GENERAL ORDERS, No. 17. 
 
 HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, 
 
 WASHINGTON, September 16, 1861. 
 
 There are irregularities in the correspondence of the 
 army which need prompt correction. It is highly impor 
 tant that junior officers on duty be not permitted to cor 
 respond with the general-in-chief, or other commander, 
 on current official business, except through intermediate 
 commanders ; and the same rule applies to correspond 
 ence with the President direct, or with him through the 
 Secretary of War, unless it be by the special invitation 
 or request of the President. 
 
 By command of Lieutenant-General Scott : 
 
 E. D. TOWNSEND, 
 Assistant Adjutant- General. 
 
 General Scott afterward addressed a more pointed 
 communication to the Secretary of War, in which his 
 feelings as to General McClellan s course, and as to his 
 choice of a successor, are unmistakably set forth : 
 
 HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, 
 
 WASHINGTON, October 4, 1861. 
 
 Hon. S. CAMERON, Secretary of War. 
 
 SIE : You are, I believe, aware that I hailed the arri 
 val here of Major-General McClellan as an event of happy 
 consequence to the country and to the army. Indeed, if 
 I did not call for him, I heartily approved of the sugges 
 tion, and gave it the most cordial support. He, however, 
 had hardly entered upon his new duties, when, encour 
 aged to communicate directly with the President and 
 certain members of the Cabinet, he in a few days for- 
 
64 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 got that he had any intermediate commander, and has 
 now long prided himself in treating me with uniform 
 neglect, running into disobedience of orders of the 
 smaller matters neglects, though, in themselves, grave 
 military offenses. I read and speak in the face of the 
 following facts : 
 
 To suppress irregularity, more conspicuous in Major- 
 General McClellan than in any other officer, I publish the 
 following facts : 
 
 [Here follows General Orders 17, above quoted.] 
 
 With this order fresh in his memory, Major-General 
 McClellan addressed two important communications to 
 the Secretary of War, on respectively the 19th and 20th 
 of the same month, over my head, and how many since 
 to the Secretary, and even to the President direct, I have 
 not inquired, but many, I have no doubt, besides daily 
 oral communications with the same high functionaries, 
 all without my knowledge. 
 
 Second. To correct another class of grave neglects, I 
 the same day caused to be addressed to Major-General 
 McClellan the following order : 
 
 HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, 
 
 WASHINGTON, September 16, 1861. 
 
 To Major-General MCCLELLAN, U. S. Army, command 
 ing the Department of the Potomac : 
 The commanding general of the Army of the Poto 
 mac will cause the position, state, and number of troops 
 under him to be reported at once to general headquar 
 ters, by divisions, brigades, and independent regiments 
 or detachments, which general report will be followed 
 by reports of new troops as they arrive, with the dispo- 
 
THE COMMAND OF THE ARMY. 65 
 
 sitions made of them, together with all the material 
 changes which may take place in said army. 
 By command of Lieutenant-General Scott : 
 
 (Signed) E. D. TOWNSEND, 
 
 Assistant Adjutant- General. 
 
 Eighteen days have now elapsed, and not the slightest 
 response has been shown to either of these orders by Ma 
 jor-General McClellan. Perhaps he will say, in respect 
 to the latter, it has been difficult for him to procure the 
 exact returns of divisions and brigades. But why not have 
 given me proximate returns, such as he so eagerly fur 
 nished the President and certain Secretaries ? Has, then, 
 a senior no corrective power over a junior officer in case 
 of such persistent neglect and disobedience ? 
 
 The remedy by arrest and trial before a court-martial 
 would probably soon cure the evil. But it has been 
 feared that a conflict of authority near the head of the 
 army would be highly encouraging to the enemies and 
 depressing to the friends of the Union. Hence my long 
 forbearance ; and continuing, though but nominally, on 
 duty, I shall try to hold out till the arrival of Major- 
 General Halleck, when, as his presence will give me 
 increased confidence in the safety of the Union, and be 
 ing, as I am, unable to ride in the saddle, or to walk, by 
 reason of dropsy in my feet and legs and paralysis in the 
 small of the back, I shall definitely retire from the com 
 mand of the army. 
 
 I have the honor to remain, with high respect, your 
 most obedient servant, 
 
 WINFIELD SCOTT. 
 
66 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAE. 
 
 Thus the old war-chief to the last asserted his au 
 thority, and illustrated the maxim of " the ruling passion 
 strong in death." 
 
 Meantime, McCleilan went on acquiring more and 
 more popularity as the " young Napoleon of our army." 
 On General Scott s retirement, General Orders, No. 94, of 
 November 1, 1861, announced that "the President is 
 pleased to direct that Major-General George B. McCleilan 
 assume command of the Army of the United States." 
 This constituted him general-in-chief vice Scott. In 
 assuming the command, McCleilan, in General Orders, 
 No. 19, of November 1, 1861, thus gracefully alluded to 
 the retiring lieutenant-general : 
 
 " The army will unite with me in the feeling of re 
 gret that the weight of many years, and the effect of 
 increasing infirmities, contracted and intensified in his 
 country s service, should just now remove from our head 
 the great soldier of our nation the hero who in his youth 
 raised high the reputation of his country on the fields of 
 Canada, which he hallowed with his blood ; who in more 
 mature years proved to the world that American skill 
 and valor could repeat, if not eclipse, the exploits of Cortez 
 in the land of the Montezumas ; whose life has been de 
 voted to the service of his country ; whose whole efforts 
 have been directed to uphold our honor at the smallest 
 sacrifice of life a warrior who scorned the selfish glories 
 of the battle-field when his great abilities as a statesman 
 could be employed more profitably for his country ; a 
 citizen who in his declining years has given to the world 
 the most shining instance of loyalty in disregarding all ties 
 of birth and clinging still to the cause of truth and honor. 
 Such has been the career, such the character, of WINFIELD 
 
THE COMMAND OF THE ARMY. 67 
 
 SCOTT, whom it has long been the delight of the nation 
 to honor, both as a man and a soldier. While we regret 
 his loss, there is one thing we can not regret the bright 
 example he has left for our emulation. Let us all hope 
 and pray that his declining years may be passed in peace 
 and happiness, and that they may be cheered by the suc 
 cess of the country and the cause he has fought for and 
 loved so well. Beyond all that, let us do nothing that 
 can cause him to blush for us ; let no defeat of the army 
 he has so long commanded embitter his last years, but 
 let our victories illuminate the close of a life so grand." 
 General McClellan s command of the whole army was 
 terminated by the " President s "War Order, No. 3," dated 
 " Executive Mansion, Washington, March 11, 1862," as 
 follows : 
 
 "Major-General McClellan having personally taken 
 the field at the head of the Army of the Potomac, until 
 otherwise ordered, he is relieved from the command of 
 the other military departments, he retaining command of 
 the Department of the Potomac." 
 
 The Government now thought it would try its own 
 hand at commanding-in-chief. This lasted until July 11, 
 1862, when the following order issued from the Execu 
 tive Office : 
 
 " Ordered, That Major-General Henry W. Halleck be 
 assigned to command the whole land-forces of the United 
 States, as general-in-chief ; and that he repair to this cap 
 ital so soon as he can with safety to the positions and 
 
 * General Scott died the 29th of May, 1866. He thus lived to fulfill 
 this devout and eloquent prayer. 
 
68 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 operations within the department now under his special 
 charge." 
 
 After the Peninsular campaign, when the Army of the 
 Potomac was withdrawn, and principally merged in Gen 
 eral Pope s army, General McClellan was for a time left 
 without any defined command. On the 2d of Septem 
 ber, 1862, a draft of an order was received from Gen 
 eral Halleck s office in the following form, and was duly 
 issued accordingly : 
 
 GENERAL ORDERS, No. 122. 
 
 WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL S OFFICE, 
 
 WASHINGTON, September 2, 1862. 
 
 By direction of the President, Major-General McClel 
 lan will have command of the fortifications of Washing 
 ton, and of all the troops for the defense of the capital. 
 By order of the Secretary of War : 
 
 , E. D. TOWNSEND, 
 
 Assistant Adjutant- General. 
 
 In this form copies were made, and some of the morn 
 ing papers published the order. Later in the day, a 
 memorandum from General Halleck s office directed that 
 the form of the order be corrected so that it would read 
 as follows : 
 
 GENERAL ORDERS, No. 122. 
 
 WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL S OFFICE, 
 
 WASHINGTON, September 2, 1862. 
 
 Major-Gen eral McClellan wall have command of the 
 fortifications of Washington, and of all the troops for the 
 defense of the capital. 
 
 By command of Major-General Halleck : 
 
 E. D. TOWNSEND, 
 
 Assistant Adjutant- General. 
 
THE COMMAND OF THE ARMY. 69 
 
 The difference in form consisted in omitting allusion 
 to the authority of the President and of the Secretary of 
 War, and substituting that of General-in-Chief Halleck. 
 
 There was probably some supposed political signifi 
 cance attached to this. At any rate, Secretary Stanton, 
 by whose directions the order had already been given to 
 the newspapers for publication, desired me to see that 
 the order in the new form should appear in all the pa 
 pers which had already published it, and that the Wash 
 ington " Evening Star " should be sure to have it in the 
 corrected form. I accordingly saw the editor of the 
 "Evening Star," handed him a copy, communicated to 
 him the Secretary s wish, and cautioned him against the 
 possible contingency of the order having been already set 
 up in its erroneous form from & morning paper. He 
 promised to see to it, and I returned to the department 
 satisfied that no mistake could possibly occur. To my 
 amazement, in the afternoon the Secretary handed me a 
 copy of the " Star," in which was the order in the objec 
 tionable form. Going to the " Star " office, I taxed the 
 editor with not heeding what I had tried to impress upon 
 him. He sent for a copy of the paper, then lying on the 
 counter for sale, and I confess to being somewhat dazed 
 when I there saw the order unmistakably in its right 
 form. I began to think, for the first time, that there 
 must be some truth in the existence of witches. The ex 
 planation was, that the order had been copied from the 
 morning papers, and a very few proof copies of the 
 "Star" had been struck off before the correction was 
 made, which was immediately done when my manuscript 
 was received, and all the main edition of the paper was 
 quite correct. As luck would have it, the few copies of 
 
70 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 first proof fell into the hands of the newsboy who had 
 sold one to the Secretary s messenger ! 
 
 This circumstance illustrates the untiring vigilance 
 which Mr. Stan ton exercised over even comparatively 
 trivial matters under his control. 
 
 CHAPTEK XVIII. 
 
 Object of demonstration on Leesburg Rigorous treatment of General 
 Stone The secret history Colonel Raymond Lee General Stone at 
 Red River Colonel Bailey s engineering Capture and recovery of his 
 vote of thanks. 
 
 IN the fall of 1861, Brigadier-General Charles P. 
 Stone proposed to General Scott to permit him to take a 
 brigade and make a demonstration along the line of the 
 canal toward Harper s Ferry. Extensive flour-mills in 
 Georgetown, upon which we mainly depended for bread- 
 stuffs, were owned by friends of Stone, and from them 
 he learned that the fine wheat-harvest in the Leesburg 
 district could probably be brought into Georgetown, if a 
 show of force were made by the Government, under color 
 of which the farmers might sell their harvest to their 
 usual customers. Stone thought that such a demon 
 stration, besides guarding the canal, might be continued 
 toward Harper s Ferry, so as to co-operate with the col 
 umn opposite that point, in compelling the Confederates 
 to evacuate Harper s Ferry, then held by them. And so 
 it resulted. 
 
BALDS BLUFF RED RIVER. 71 
 
 The disastrous action of Leesburg, or Ball s Bluff, Oc 
 tober 21, 1861, in which Colonel E. D. Baker was killed, 
 has given rise to much controversy. Stone was arrested 
 soon after, and for a long time was kept in close confine 
 ment. Indeed, from that hour bad fortune seemed to 
 persecute him until it broke him up, and forced him out 
 of the service. 
 
 Whatever may be the true military aspect of his case, 
 there must have been some reason, not openly declared, 
 for the rigorous and unusual treatment to which he was 
 so long subjected. Perhaps a clew may be found to it in 
 the following facts : A part of Stone s command was 
 composed of Massachusetts regiments.* Being strongly 
 
 * After the " Ball s Bluff " affair, a reference was made in the papers to 
 the colonel of the Twentieth Massachusetts Regiment, which, being quite 
 characteristic of the man, deserves to be perpetuated. It was as follows : 
 
 " Colonel Raymond Lee and staff were furnished with a skiff to make 
 their escape. The colonel gallantly refused, and gave orders to use it for 
 conveying the wounded across the river. It was filled with wounded, who 
 reached the Maryland shore in safety, and the humane and gallant officer 
 was taken prisoner." 
 
 Colonel Lee was taken to Richmond and confined as a prisoner of war 
 in Libby Prison. A sequel to this incident was given in a Boston paper of 
 July, 1882, and is authentic: 
 
 " On the 10th of November, 1861, General Winder, with his staff, vis 
 ited the officers prison, and read to the prisoners an order from Benjamin, 
 the Confederate States Secretary of War, directing the selection of seven 
 officers of highest rank, to be held as hostages for the officers and crew of 
 the letter of marque Lady Jeff Davis, who had been convicted of piracy 
 in a United States court. Those selected were to be confined in a cell of 
 the common jail, and to be executed, if the officers of the privateer were 
 executed by the United States Government. Slips of paper containing the 
 names of all the officers were placed in a tin tobacco-box, and the fated 
 names were drawn from the box upon command of General Winder by ex- 
 Congressman Ely, who was captured at the first battle of Bull Run, and 
 was confined with the Union officers. General Lee, then Colonel Lee, was 
 
72 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 opposed to slavery, some of the men expected Stone, also 
 a Massachusetts man, to take active part against it. In 
 those early days of the war, the question of the negro 
 status was a very troublesome one. No authority what 
 ever had yet been assumed by the General Government 
 which militated against the Constitution as it then stood. 
 It was deemed of the first importance to treat the border 
 slave States, not in secession, with much caution on this 
 delicate point. They were to be held in the Union by 
 careful policy, as well as by military occupancy. Accord 
 ingly, the orders given the several commanders of our 
 forces were to surrender to their owners any slaves found 
 by their masters in our camps, and claimed by them, pro 
 vided they belonged to States not in rebellion. All who 
 escaped from the rebel States were held to be free, as 
 " contraband " of war. 
 
 It happened, when Stone s forces retreated across the 
 river from Leesburg, that some few colored men came 
 
 one of the c elected, and the slip of paper drawn from the box designating 
 him had on it only the words Colonel Lee. The fate of the officers se 
 lected was not then determined, being contingent upon the action of the 
 United States authorities with regard to the convicted people of the Lady 
 Jeff Davis. This slip of paper with his name upon it was given to Colonel 
 Lee, who indorsed upon the back of it that it was the ballot he drew in the 
 lottery of life and death, and put it in a letter written to his family, which 
 was allowed to be forwarded. 
 
 " On the 14th of November the officers designated as hostages were re 
 moved to the county jail, where they were detained about three months 
 under rather disagreeable conditions. About the middle of February, 1862, 
 the Confederate States Government, having received information that the 
 Lady Jeff Davis people had been remanded as prisoners of war, the host 
 ages were transferred from the jail to the prison assigned to prisoners of 
 war, and on the 22d of that month they were put on board a flag-of-truce 
 boat to be transferred to a United States steamer in neutral waters." 
 
BALDS BLUFF RED RIVER. 73 
 
 over with them. I personally had from two of them the 
 following statement: These men were brothers to an 
 admirable free woman who lived in my family as nurse. 
 The rest of her family belonged to a Mr. Smart, who 
 owned a large mill at Leesburg. The woman, being at 
 the North with my family, sent to ask me to give her 
 two brothers some of her wages, they being then at the 
 house of a relative in Georgetown. I went for the pur 
 pose, saw the men, and asked them to tell me the facts 
 about their coming over the river at the time of Stone s 
 retreat. They said they became mixed up with the troops 
 in their retreat across the river, and hardly knew how 
 they happened to go over ; that General Stone sent for 
 them and told them they were perfectly free to go where 
 they pleased, and that, if they desired, they could be em 
 ployed in the camp. They replied that they did not 
 come over intentionally ; that Mr. Smart was a good mas 
 ter, and allowed them often to work for themselves ; that 
 he had a considerable sum of their money in his keeping ; 
 that their parents, wives, and children were all in Lees- 
 burg, and they wanted to go back to them. General 
 Stone then promised to send them over with a flag of 
 truce he was about to dispatch, and they returned of their 
 own free-will. 
 
 Some of the Massachusetts volunteers, hearing that 
 these men had been sent back, wrote to Governor An 
 drew, complaining that this United States officer was sur 
 rendering fugitive slaves to their masters. Governor 
 Andrew sent orders to his colonels not to permit any 
 slaves who took refuge within their camps to be surren 
 dered. He also wrote a strong remonstrance against such 
 policy by the Government, to the Massachusetts Senator, 
 
74: * ADECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 Sumner. General Stone, having been shown Governor 
 Andrew s instructions to the Massachusetts colonels, wrote 
 to the Adjutant-General of the Army protesting that 
 those regiments, having been mustered into the service 
 of the General Government, and placed under his com 
 mand by lawful authority, could not be permitted to re 
 ceive instructions from the Governor of the State, from 
 whose control they had entirely passed. This letter was 
 rather injudiciously forwarded to Governor Andrew by 
 the adjutant -general, though never intended by the 
 writer for the Governor s eye. Senator Sumner, on re 
 ceipt of the Governor s remonstrance, denounced General 
 Stone on the floor of the Senate. Thereupon, Stone 
 wrote him a strong letter, justifying himself, and remon 
 strating against being thus arraigned in a place where he 
 could not defend himself. This brought a storm about 
 Stone s ears, and there were even many persons who at 
 last became convinced that he was disloyal. The many 
 political friends of Colonel Baker, seriously feeling his 
 loss, were perhaps ready to believe anything to the preju 
 dice of the leader of the ill-fated expedition which cost 
 his life. Stone s rigorous incarceration may have been 
 due to these causes. At all events, he was held without 
 trial, although he repeatedly and earnestly asked for the 
 charges against him, and for an inquiry or trial. 
 
 At length he was released from arrest, though suffered 
 to remain without a command, until in April, 1863, Gen 
 eral Banks, who was commanding an army in the South 
 west, wrote to the general-in-chief, Halleck, urging the 
 pressing need of general officers of experience, and ear 
 nestly requesting that Brigadier-General Charles P. Stone 
 be ordered to report to him immediately. lie added that 
 
BALL S BLUFF RED RIVER. ~75 
 
 he had entire confidence in General Stone s zeal and 
 ability, and would himself be responsible for his con 
 duct. Upon this, Stone was ordered to General Banks. 
 He became his chief of staff, and it is said to be 
 greatly due to his skill and indefatigable exertions that 
 the Red River disaster was not even more serious than 
 it was. 
 
 A fleet of gunboats co-operated with General Banks 
 in his Red River expedition, in May, 1864. Owing to a 
 fall in the water, the boats came near being lost above the 
 falls, at Alexandria, but they were extricated by "the in 
 defatigable exertions of Lieutenant-Colonel Bailey (Fourth 
 Wisconsin Volunteers), acting engineer of the Nineteenth 
 Army Corps, who proposed and built a tree-dam of six 
 hundred feet across the river at the lower falls, which en 
 abled all the vessels to pass in safety the back-water of the 
 Mississippi, reaching Alexandria, and allowed them to 
 pass over the shoals and the obstructions planted by the 
 enemy to a point of safety." 
 
 For this valuable service Colonel Bailey received a 
 vote of thanks by Congress. I had the resolutions ele 
 gantly engrossed on parchment by one of the clerks in 
 the adjutant-general s office, who was an accomplished 
 penman an artist in his way and sent them to Colonel 
 Bailey, in a tin case made for the purpose, with his name 
 conspicuously painted on the outside. It is probable a 
 vessel, by which the case was sent over part of the route, 
 was captured by a rebel cruiser. The receipt of it was 
 not acknowledged by Colonel Bailey. A year afterward 
 a rebel vessel was captured by a United States war- 
 steamer off Cuba. Among the articles found in her 
 was the tin case containing Colonel Bailey s resolutions. 
 
T6 ANECDOTES OF TEE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 It was forwarded to Washington, and again sent on 
 its journey to its rightful owner, with a letter giving 
 an account of its adventures. 
 
 CHAPTEK XIX. 
 
 SERVICE IN THE ADJUTANT-GENERAL^ OFFICE. 
 
 General Scott s retirement Disposal of his staff Detached duty of the 
 adjutant-general Several candidates. 
 
 THE interview between President Lincoln and his 
 Cabinet and General Scott, which took place at the gen 
 eral s quarters, in the afternoon of November 1, 1861, 
 when he retired from active service, under the provisions 
 of a special act of Congress, was one of the most impres 
 sive ever witnessed. (The act and interesting correspond 
 ence relating to the retirement will be found in Appen 
 dix E.) 
 
 The general s military family accompanied him to 
 New York, and bade him farewell on board the steamer 
 in which he embarked for France. 
 
 Some of the staff supposed, from the terms of Presi 
 dent Lincoln s pledge, that they were in some way to be 
 personally attached as a military family to the commander- 
 in-chief of the army and navy. The President, however, 
 fully redeemed his promise to provide for them, by asking 
 what they desired, and granting their requests. Colonel 
 Van Kensselaer was made inspector-general in the regular 
 army, and besides bre vetted brigadier-general. The other 
 aides received appointments as general officers of United 
 
SERVICE IN THE ADJUTANT- GENERAL S OFFICE. 77 
 
 States volunteers, except Colonel "Wright, who was a 
 major of the regular cavalry, and was retained as addi 
 tional aide-de-camp, with rank of colonel, to General Mc- 
 Clellan. I returned somewhat later than the rest of the 
 general s staff, and after they had been provided for, 
 having to collect and forward to Washington the records 
 of army headquarters, which had been left in New York. 
 On reporting to the President, he asked what I desired. 
 I replied that I did not think it right to indicate for what 
 duty I was most required, but was ready for any orders 
 that might be given me. The President remarked that 
 doubtless the chief of my department would suitably as 
 sign me ; so I then went to report to the new general-in- 
 chief, General McClellan, fully expecting to follow Gen 
 erals Cullum and Hamilton, who had gone to join Gen 
 eral Halleck in the Army of the West. When General 
 McClellan directed me to report to Adjutant-General L. 
 Thomas for duty in the office, I could not forbear saying, 
 " General, I have been a long time on duty there, and 
 hoped now to have a turn in the field." The general re 
 plied that my peculiar experience was needed to system 
 atize matters in the office, which had fallen into confu 
 sion. 
 
 The army had suddenly grown from ten thousand to 
 over one hundred thousand, and the business had pro 
 portionally augmented. Several newly appointed officers 
 of the department had gone on duty there for a few 
 weeks, and, before they had time to learn the routine, 
 had been detached to the field. Colonel Garesche than 
 whom no better officer or purer man ever lived had 
 been the senior assistant, and, though he labored inces 
 santly, it was impossible for him to keep up with the 
 
78 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 general business, aided only by inexperienced officers, 
 while he at the same time was in charge of the immense 
 and complicated branch of the military commissions. Ac 
 cordingly, the mails of several days were unopened ; 
 piles of letters, some of which had been acted on and 
 others not, were all mixed together in confusion. The 
 few clerks were struggling on, without system or much 
 concert, to dispose of what pressed most at the moment. 
 The rooms and hall were filled during office hours with 
 volunteers from the front, who came to get sick-leaves, 
 or discharges, each one, in his impatience to go home, 
 clamoring for the earliest attention. It required a week 
 of extra hours work to clear away the wreck and assort 
 the papers. Then the duties of the clerks were arranged 
 so that two would not be doing the same thing while 
 other things were left undone. The military hospitals 
 in and around the city supplied abundance of superior 
 clerks, who had left banks and counting-houses to vol 
 unteer, but whose physique was not equal to their ambi 
 tion for the exposed life of a soldier. So, in a few 
 weeks, matters were in such shape that no business need 
 be neglected. 
 
 Adjutant-General Thomas had a very difficult place to 
 fill. Secretary Cameron relied on him greatly in the 
 management of military affairs, so suddenly and so vastly 
 brought into the most prominent of all functions of the 
 Government. It was at that time thought important that 
 as much eclat as possible should be given to the arrival 
 of volunteer regiments which came to re-enforce the army, 
 and the adjutant-general was called upon to make ad 
 dresses, present flags, etc., at the various camps around 
 the capital. This state of things threw much of the im- 
 
SERVICE IN THE ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE. 79 
 
 mediate conduct of the office upon me as the senior as 
 sistant. 
 
 When the Hon. Edwin M. Stanton became Secretary 
 of War, affairs had settled down to stern work, and glori 
 fying ceased to be such a prominent element in military 
 life. It happened that one day, at about one o clock, 
 Mr. Stanton sent word that he desired to see the adju 
 tant-general. I answered the call, saying : " The adjutant- 
 general has stepped out for a moment ; can I do what 
 you require ? " He replied, " It appears to me he steps 
 out quite often"; and then he handed me a paper he 
 wished attended to. After this he often sent for me in 
 dividually, and at last, in March, 1863, he ordered Gen 
 eral Thomas away to muster out a large body of volun 
 teers at Harrisburg. As soon as he returned from this 
 duty, the Secretary found some other detached service 
 for him. Finally, he sent him to Kentucky, and other 
 States, with a roving commission to organize colored regi 
 ments, and look after abandoned lands and property. He 
 did not come back to the office, and I was thus informally 
 left in charge. This was a most uncertain and conse 
 quently embarrassing position to be placed in, and the 
 only course was to do whatever seemed right, without 
 waiting to ascertain what were the views of the adjutant- 
 general, when he should return. 
 
 The first intimation that this was to be a permanent 
 arrangement was, when one day the Secretary sent for me 
 to be introduced to a certain prominent gentleman, to 
 whom I was requested to administer the oath of office as 
 a brigadier-general of volunteers. The Secretary then re 
 marked, " I wish you to know Colonel Townsend, for you 
 will receive orders from him as adjutant-general." It 
 
80 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 has since transpired that Mr. Stanton was early dissatis 
 fied with General Thomas for some reason, and looked 
 around to find some one suitable to put in his place. He 
 gave situations in the War Office to several persons, prob 
 ably with a view to having them on trial, meanwhile leav 
 ing me in charge of the adjutant-general s office as the 
 senior assistant. It would seem that he was once very near 
 appointing a colonel of the line, who had applied for the 
 place, and had been highly recommended to him. He 
 introduced this officer to me, and instructed me to put 
 one of my juniors in the office, with all his clerks, under 
 his orders, and to give him any other assistance he might 
 call for. Something made me suspect that this was a 
 first step toward giving this colonel of the line full charge 
 over the whole adjutant-general s office. So I waited un 
 til he had withdrawn, when I said : " Mr. Secretary, it is 
 necessary that I should clearly understand what relations 
 Colonel is to bear to my office. He can not law 
 fully exercise any of the functions of the adjutant-gen 
 eral, which are defined by statute. In the personal ab 
 sence of the head of the department, his duties devolve 
 properly upon his next junior, and, as such junior, I can 
 not receive orders from a colonel of the line. The assist 
 ant adjutant-general, whom you have directed to report 
 
 to Colonel , has some of the duties which by law 
 
 are under the adjutant-general ; do you intend that Colo 
 nel shall now have supervision over them ? " The 
 
 Secretary replied curtly that he should require all officers 
 to obey his orders. In answer, I made no question on 
 that point, but said it was necessary, in such an unusual 
 and rather complicated arrangement, that I should fully 
 understand the intent and scope of his orders, and that 
 
SERVICE IN THE AD JUT ANT- GENERAL 8 OFFICE. 81 
 
 he should be informed what their bearing would be. 
 Meanwhile, the Secretary had time to ponder what I had 
 said. He then told me he had brought Colonel - 
 into the War Office to take charge of a class of business 
 that required more attention than I could give it ; that 
 there were claims enough set up against the Government 
 for military supplies, etc., to swamp the Treasury, if the 
 just were not separated from the unjust ; and he expected 
 me and the officers under me to help Colonel - in 
 examining them, in every way we could. To this, of 
 course, I assented, the more readily as that class of cases 
 was quite foreign to my duties. Colonel was sup 
 plied with two or three clerks; his business at once 
 took such a shape that neither he nor I interfered with 
 each other, and we continued for several years in the 
 most harmonious relations. Whatever were the Secre 
 tary s original intentions, the result was perfectly satis 
 factory to me, for I was never superseded, but enjoyed 
 to a gratifying extent the " great War Secretary s " confi 
 dence. 
 
 Eiding with Secretary Stanton in his carriage, at the 
 funeral of General Totten, Chief of Engineers, in April, 
 1864, I alluded to an interview with him on a certain 
 Sunday in July, 1862, before I had really been placed in 
 charge of the adjutant-general s office, when I pleaded 
 with him to let me go from the department to field-ser 
 vice according with my rank. He remembered the cir 
 cumstance, and that he had then complimented me by 
 saying that my long familiarity with the working not 
 only of his department, but of other branches of the 
 Government, was too necessary to him to allow him to 
 comply. He remarked that no reproach could justly at- 
 
82 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 tach to me for the line of duty in which I had been 
 employed ; that no officer had been more laborious from 
 first to last, and that I had successfully met a weight 
 of responsibility which could be appreciated only by a 
 few persons. 
 
 Such commendation ought, perhaps, in reason, to be 
 considered as sufficient justification for having foregone 
 the more ambitious pursuit of fame in a more brilliant 
 but not more useful sphere of professional service ; espe 
 cially as it came from one of the most exacting of public 
 officers. 
 
 CHAPTEE XX. 
 
 JULIUS P. GAKESCHE. 
 
 Killed in battle Official announcement of his death His charities Deco 
 rated by the Pope A priest s eulogium. 
 
 WHILE commanding the Department of the Cumber 
 land, in 1862, General Rosecrans sent an urgent request 
 that Colonel Garesche might be ordered to report to him. 
 Garesche added his own wish to this solicitation, and he 
 was ordered. He arrived in time to be of material assist 
 ance in organizing the army which, after varied fortunes, 
 defeated Bragg at Stone River. In a brief dispatch from 
 that battle-field, General Rosecrans said, "We have to 
 deplore the loss of Lieutenant-Colonel Garesche, whose 
 capacity and gentlemanly deportment had already en 
 deared him to all the officers of this command, and whose 
 gallantry on the field of battle excited their admiration. 
 
 At the outbreak of the rebellion he was the senior 
 
JULIUS P. GARESCHfi. 83 
 
 assistant in the adjutant-general s office. In announcing 
 his death to the officers of his department the adjutant- 
 general said : 
 
 " His ability and untiring industry have left their im 
 press on the elaborate records over which he presided ; 
 and the universal and unfeigned regret at his loss, so 
 freely expressed by all who came in contact with him, is 
 a touching evidence of his value as an officer and his 
 worth as a man. Just and uncompromising in his official 
 conduct, he was yet courteous, obliging, and affable. Pos 
 sessing a chivalric spirit, with a high order of professional 
 attainment, he hastened to embrace the first opportunity 
 given him to enter on a more brilliant sphere of action, 
 and reported to Major-General Rosecrans as his chosen 
 chief of staff, in time to render essential aid in organizing 
 the army with which the field of Murfreesboro was won. 
 At a critical moment, on the 31st of December, when 
 the general, with his staff, dashed forward to restore the 
 tide of battle, which was turning against our arms, f the 
 noble Colonel Garesche was instantly killed by a cannon- 
 ball. 
 
 " What lot can be more enviable to a soldier than his ! 
 Of singularly spotless private character, faithful in the 
 observance of his obligations as a Christian, and devoted 
 in his leisure hours to the exercise of benevolent acts, 
 honored and beloved in his profession, he died as a true 
 hero, and is mourned with a depth and sincerity of grief 
 not often betrayed." 
 
 Garesche was a very devout Roman Catholic, and 
 fully lived up to his professions. There was no end to his 
 unostentatious charities, which he usually performed after 
 his tedious office-hours were over. He started the so- 
 
84 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 ciety of St. Vincent de Paul in Washington, and was one 
 of its most active members, visiting and ministering to 
 the poor and the sick. It is related of him that, at the 
 risk of his own life, he once held in his arms an infant 
 belonging to a poor family, while a priest baptized it, 
 though the child was ill of small-pox. The Pope was in 
 formed of his extraordinary zeal, and sent him a medal 
 of some charitable order. This he always wore on his 
 breast. 
 
 His remains were brought to Washington for inter 
 ment. There they were honored with an imposing fu 
 neral, attended by an immense concourse. The ceremo 
 nies took place at St. Aloysius Church. The presiding 
 priest pronounced an eloquent eulogium upon him, in 
 which he thus described his death : 
 
 " The battle, which had raged furiously, was going 
 against our arms, and all seemed lost. Colonel Garesch6 
 had used almost superhuman efforts to cheer on the 
 troops, and, seeing that they were yielding ground, he re 
 tired for a brief space to some bushes, where he was per 
 ceived kneeling as in earnest prayer. It is believed 
 that he then offered up his own life as a sacrifice, if 
 God would give him a victory. Immediately after, 
 General Rosecrans and himself received the blessed 
 sacrament, from a priest who attended the army as 
 chaplain to the general. Colonel Garesch6 then rushed 
 into the thickest of the fight, and was killed by a can 
 non-ball, which took off his head. Thus he fell, while 
 at that moment the body and blood of his Lord was 
 coursing through his veins." 
 
ARMY OF THE P010MAC COMMANDERS. 85 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 ARMY OF THE POTOMAC COMMANDERS. 
 
 Generous spirit of Burnside and Lincoln Plain language to Hooker Swap 
 ping horses while crossing a river. 
 
 THE battle of Antietam, Maryland, was fought by the 
 Army of the Potomac, under General McClellan, Septem 
 ber 16 and 17, 1862. General Burnside was ordered to 
 relieve General McClellan November 5, 1862. He com 
 manded at the battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 
 1862. In his preliminary report to General Halleck, he 
 explained the reasons why he had moved sooner and on 
 a different plan from what had been indicated by the 
 President, and attributed his want of success to fog and 
 other unexpected causes of delay, which gave the enemy 
 time to concentrate his forces. With singular frankness 
 he says : 
 
 " To the brave officers and soldiers who accomplished 
 the feat of thus recrossing in the face of the enemy, I 
 owe everything ; for the failure in the attack I am re 
 sponsible, as the extreme gallantry, courage, and endur 
 ance shown by them were never exceeded, and would 
 have carried the point had it been possible. 
 
 " The fact that I decided to move from Warrenton on 
 to this line, rather against the opinion of the President, 
 Secretary, and yourself, and that you have left the whole 
 movement in my hands without giving me orders, makes 
 me the more responsible." 
 
 President Lincoln, not to be outdone in generosity, 
 5 
 
86 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 published, from the Executive Mansion, this address to 
 the Army of the Potomac : 
 
 "I have just read your commanding general s pre 
 liminary report of the battle of Fredericksburg. Al 
 though you were not successful, the attempt was not an 
 error, nor the failure other than an accident. The cour 
 age with which you, in an open field, maintained the con 
 test against an intrenched foe, and the consummate skill 
 and success with which you crossed and recrossed the 
 river, in face of the enemy, show that you possess all the 
 qualities of a great army, which will yet give victory to 
 the cause of the country and of popular government. 
 Condoling with the mourners for the dead, and sympa 
 thizing with the severely wounded, I congratulate you 
 that the number of both is comparatively so small. 
 
 " I tender to you, officers and soldiers, the thanks of 
 the nation. ABRAHAM LINCOLN." 
 
 January 25, 1863, the President relieved General 
 Burnside from the command, at his own request, and 
 assigned General Hooker in his stead. Hooker was 
 wounded at Antietam, and was for a time at St. Eliza 
 beth Hospital, near Washington. There were rumors 
 about town, immediately after Antietam, that McClellan 
 was to be removed ; and it was persistently averred that 
 Hooker would succeed him. But Burnside came first, 
 and Hooker relieved Burnside the 26th of January, 1863. 
 
 On that same day the President addressed to General 
 Hooker that singular communication, in which he told 
 him: 
 
 " You are ambitious, which, within reasonable bounds, 
 
ARMY OF THE POTOMAC COMMANDERS. 87 
 
 does good rather than harm ; but I think that, during 
 General Burnside s command of the army, you have taken 
 counsel of your ambition, and thwarted him as much as 
 you could, in which you did a great wrong to the coun 
 try and to a most meritorious and honorable brother offi 
 cer. I have heard, in such way as to believe it, of your 
 recently saying that both the army and the govern 
 ment needed a dictator. Of course it was not for this, 
 but in spite of this, that I have given you the command. 
 Only those generals who gain successes can set up dicta 
 tors. What I now ask of you is military success, and I 
 will risk the dictatorship." 
 
 "When Hooker had made his grand movement across 
 the river to Chancellorsville, by which he put his army 
 between Lee and Richmond, compelling Lee to offer him 
 the chance for a flank attack in his retreat, he issued a 
 short order, saying : 
 
 " It is with heart-felt satisfaction the commanding 
 general announces to the army that the operations of the 
 last three days have determined that our enemy must 
 either ingloriously fly, or come out from behind his de 
 fenses and give us battle on our own ground, where cer 
 tain destruction awaits him." 
 
 Did not this give promise of the "military success" 
 asked by the President? Happening to meet General 
 Totten, Chief of Engineers, the morning after, he told me 
 that he had been depressed by the failure of so many en 
 terprises of late, but Hooker s order had quite put him in 
 heart again. I was a classmate of Hooker s, and knew 
 him too well to participate in General Totten s hopeful 
 ness. 1 remarked that it was certainly a masterly move 
 ment that had placed the Army of the Potomac in its 
 
88 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 present position, but I was afraid Hooker, though brave, 
 and a good corps commander, had not the ready genius 
 to be able to manage an army on the battle-field, against 
 either Jackson, Longstreet, or Lee, singly, and still less 
 against all three together. Alas ! so it happened. 
 
 This first prognostication having been justified by the 
 event, there was good reason for apprehension when it 
 was known that Lee s army was in full march toward 
 Maryland and Pennsylvania, and that Hooker was hasten 
 ing to intercept it. 
 
 On the 27th of June the Secretary desired me to de 
 tail an officer to carry dispatches to the Army of the Poto 
 mac. He was to report at the department at seven o clock 
 in the evening. I thought it well for me to be there 
 also at that time, and was accordingly ready to sign an 
 order, which General Hal leek brought to my room for 
 that purpose. It is a good rule never to sign a paper 
 without looking at its purport, so I read : 
 
 " By direction of the President, Major-General Joseph 
 Hooker is relieved from the command of the Army of the 
 Potomac, and Major-General George G. Meade is ap 
 pointed to the command of that army, and of the troops 
 temporarily assigned to duty with it." 
 
 As he left the room, General Halleck said, " That is 
 a good order, isn t it ? " To which I replied, " This is 
 the first time I have drawn a long breath for several 
 weeks." 
 
 The general who won the great battle of Gettysburg 
 was thus invested with his command while his army was 
 in full march toward the field of battle, and while he 
 was in ignorance of the strength or whereabouts of the 
 different corps composing it. " An exception proves the 
 
PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 89 
 
 rule," they say ; so Mr. Lincoln happily this time made 
 an exception to his rule, " It is a bad plan to swap horses 
 while crossing a river." 
 
 CHAPTEE XXII. 
 
 PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 
 
 A cavalry rifle The nervous traveler and the donkey " There is a man 
 in there ! " 
 
 ONE day, I went to the Executive Office to see the 
 President on some business. There were two other per 
 sons in the room. One was apparently a Western farmer, 
 who had a sort of breech-loading rifle he had invented for 
 cavalry service. Though he was not a mechanic, his gun 
 showed much ingenuity and some originality. He was 
 eager to exhibit it to the President, while the latter was 
 anxious to converse with his other visitor. The Presi 
 dent greeted me in his cheery manner, and said I had 
 come just in time to examine the new invention, and ad 
 vise the man, better than he could, what to do with it. I 
 drew the inventor to the farther side of the room, and 
 heard the explanation of his weapon, and all his story 
 about it. 
 
 It consisted of a common musket-barrel, bent in a 
 curve so as to pass over the shoulder, and thus serve at 
 once as a stock to the rifle and a sling to suspend it by. 
 This part of the rifle was also a magazine which would car 
 ry some twelve or fifteen cartridges. A spiral spring was 
 arranged inside, so that every time a cartridge slid into 
 the chamber from the magazine, another was pressed into 
 
90 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 its place ready for the next loading. At the junction of 
 the barrel with the magazine-stock were the lock and the 
 chamber, which received one cartridge all ready for dis 
 charge. By pressing a small button, a spring was pushed 
 back so that the stock part could be made to turn just far 
 enough to admit of a cartridge sliding from the magazine 
 into the chamber. The communication between the mag 
 azine and chamber was shut off when the stock returned 
 to its place, and the spring connected with the button 
 flew back and fastened it securely. Thus, the rifle hang 
 ing over the shoulder, muzzle down the man s arm pass 
 ing through the curved stock would be instantly loaded, 
 with one hand, by pressing the button, turning the stock 
 long enough for a cartridge to slide from the magazine 
 to the chamber, and then letting it fly back to its place. 
 By raising the piece with the arm on which it was 
 suspended, and pressing it against a brace across the 
 curved stock, which fitted the shoulder, aim could be 
 taken and the trigger pulled. I hardly thought the in 
 vention would stand the test of a certain number of dis 
 charges, as our service arms have to do, and really did not 
 feel willing to be the first to fire it off ; but I listened with 
 much interest to the owner, and then advised him to 
 show it to the chief of ordnance, who was accustomed to 
 examine such things, and who would tell him whether it 
 would answer the purpose. The man bade the President 
 good-day, and went out, so far well pleased. I never 
 heard of his gun again, so it was not adopted. 
 
 After the inventor had gone, and the President had 
 finished his conversation, in a recess by a window, with 
 his other visitor, he related to us one of his characteristic 
 stories. There was a gentleman traveling for his health, 
 
PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 91 
 
 who was suffering greatly from nervousness and want of 
 sleep. While journeying in Egypt, he was terribly an 
 noyed by the braying of a donkey, used in transporting 
 his baggage, which was tied every night near his tent. 
 At last the dragoman told the master of transportation 
 that his donkey must be kept at a distance, where his 
 noise would not disturb their employer. Whereupon the 
 man proceeded to stop the braying by tying a string with 
 a heavy stone attached to the donkey s tail. The donkey 
 immediately dropped his ears, hung his head, and re 
 mained quiet through the night. The next morning, 
 when the stone was taken off, the donkey raised his head, 
 shook his ears, and gave one good, long bray, like Baron 
 Munchausen s trumpet when the frozen tunes thawed 
 out.* I do not remember the application which Mr. 
 Lincoln made of this story. 
 
 An old friend of Mr. Lincoln once related to me 
 another of his stories which shows not a little of his char 
 acter. This gentleman was conversing with the President 
 at a time during the war when things looked very dark. 
 On taking leave, he asked the President what he should 
 say to their friends in Kentucky what cheering news he 
 could give them of him. Mr. Lincoln replied : " That 
 reminds me of a man who prided himself greatly on his 
 game of chess, having seldom been beaten. He heard of 
 a machine, called the Automaton Chess-Player, which 
 was beating every one who played against it. So he 
 went to try his skill with the machine. He lost the first 
 game, so with the second, and the third. Then, rising 
 in astonishment from his seat, he walked around the ma- 
 
 * The baron s marvelous story of the trumpet proves, after all, to have 
 been only a prophetic vision of the modern phonograph. 
 
92 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 chine and looked at it a few minutes. Then, stopping 
 and pointing at it, he exclaimed, i There is a man in there ! 
 Tell my friends," said Mr. Lincoln, drawing himself up 
 to his full height, " there is a man in here ! " 
 
 This was no spirit of bravado. It was to reassure his 
 friends, by showing them that he was not wavering or 
 discouraged, but was determined to rise above every ad 
 verse event, and act his part manfully. It was on such 
 occasions, w T hen a great resolve was uppermost in his 
 mind, that the true majesty of Mr. Lincoln appeared in 
 his face and form. I think Yinnie Ream failed in her 
 statue, representing him as presenting his Emancipation 
 Proclamation to the world, by overlooking this trait. 
 The statue, with head somewhat bowed, and a look as of 
 doubt, does not seem to bring out the stern and lofty sen 
 timent which, at such a moment, his whole presence, 
 head erect, and mouth compressed, would have exhibited ; 
 showing that he realized the full responsibility, and cou 
 rageously assumed it. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 SUNDRY PERSONS. 
 
 Quakers Isaac s mode of warfare A woman in man s clothes A kind 
 Southern woman A secret society " Knights of the Golden Circle " 
 Grenfel Release of Confederate prisoners A Southern clergyman 
 Greetings from the North Chaplains Bounty-jumpers I. C. V. R. 
 
 THE FRIENDS. The draft sometimes brought me in 
 contact with a class of citizens who do not often resort to 
 the War Department of the Government. The law did 
 
SUNDRY PERSONS. 93 
 
 not, at first, absolutely exempt any one on account of re 
 ligious scruples, for it would have been easy to manufac 
 ture such things to order. But, after every draft, Isaac 
 Newton, Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture, 
 who was a Quaker, was sure to usher in a pleasant-looking 
 party of his Friends, to ask the discharge of some rela 
 tives, because of their creed, which was averse to war. 
 They were always reasonable, and quiet in their earnest 
 ness, and seldom failed to effect their object. It some 
 times happened that the young men drafted would be sent 
 to the field before their release could be obtained. There 
 were instances in which they passively underwent stern 
 punishment, obeying everything they were told to do, ex 
 cept to go through any of the forms of using weapons. 
 Some of these cases were so genuine that they were quite 
 touching, and awakened strong sympathy. The difficulty 
 lay in discriminating between those who were Quakers 
 indeed and Quakers by pretense. But whenever the 
 worthy Isaac appeared, with a band of his brothers and 
 sisters, clad in their plain garb, the men never removing 
 their hats, and all addressing one as "thou" and " thee," 
 the cases were always genuine. One of the elder men, 
 who came with a party on this errand, was afterward a 
 member of a Quaker committee in charge of some West 
 ern Indians, under General Grant s plan of parceling the 
 tribes among different religious denominations. This 
 man never failed to drop in for a friendly chat, whenever 
 he was called to Washington on his Indian business. 
 
 Isaac Newton dressed in ordinary citizen s clothes. 
 He was a burly old gentleman, and seemed always in a 
 good humor. Speaking once of scruples about fighting, 
 I asked him if he believed it proper strictly to carry out 
 
94: ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 the letter of Scripture, and under no circumstances to re 
 sist. "Oh, no," said he, "there are other ways of 
 resisting besides fighting." Then he related an incident, 
 where he met a man in a wagon, at a narrow part of the 
 road, and the man, seeing he was a Quaker, refused to 
 turn out for him, but stopped directly in the road. Isaac 
 asked him kindly to turn out, and the man gruffly re 
 fused. Then he said, " Friend, if thou wilt not turn thy 
 horse, I will turn him for thee." So he took the horse s 
 head to turn him, when the man jumped out and ran as 
 if to attack him. On this, Isaac seized him by the arms 
 above the elbow, held him as if in a vice, and quietly 
 said, " Friend, if thou dost resist, I will shake thee." So 
 he gave him a shake as a sample, and the man, perceiving 
 how powerful and resolute the Quaker was, apologized, 
 and turned his horse as far out as he could. " I did not 
 strike him ! " said Isaac. 
 
 A FEMALE SPY. In war-time as in peace, very ludi 
 crous things sometimes happen, as well as things most 
 serious. Among the distinguished individuals confined 
 in the Old Capitol Prison, at Washington, was a young 
 female who was arrested in man s clothes, which it was 
 supposed she had donned as a cloak for her assumed 
 office of spy. She was a good secessionist, at any rate, 
 and had no friends in the city to supply her with appro 
 priate clothing, so she had to remain as she was. It was 
 at last reported to me that she was very much mortified 
 about her raiment, and kept in bed all the time rather 
 than appear in it, after she had been detected. Out of 
 respect to her sex, I mentioned her dilemma to that most 
 worthy, true-hearted Presbyterian divine, Dr. John C. 
 
SUNDRY PERSONS. 95 
 
 Smith, and suggested that his wife might be disposed, as 
 a charity, to visit the little spy, and provide her with fe 
 male apparel. Some time after, the doctor told me that 
 Mrs. Smith had been to see the woman, had found her in 
 bed, and much mortified at her. condition ; but in the 
 course of the interview she had betrayed such a bitter, 
 rebellious spirit, and hatred of the Government, that Mrs. 
 Smith was disgusted with her, and came away declaring 
 she might remain in bed, or wear her male garb until it 
 dropped off, before she would minister to such a temper. 
 I do not know what afterward became of her. 
 
 A REFUGEE. Soon after the close of the war, a mid 
 dle-aged woman, from North Carolina, came to "Washing 
 ton, on her way to Cincinnati. She had two stout, 
 healthy-looking children, a boy and girl. She was loyal 
 throughout the war, and was noted for her kindness to 
 the Union prisoners who were kept at Salisbury. On 
 one occasion, when a party was going by her door, on the 
 way to be exchanged, a poor, weak, emaciated fellow was 
 thrown down by the throng, and trampled upon so that 
 he was taken up nearly dead. This good woman took 
 him into her house, and tenderly nursed him, until in a 
 few days death came to his relief. She then buried him 
 in her own garden, had his grave nicely sodded, and a 
 paling put around it. 
 
 As she could find no means of support in her native 
 State, she was going North, in hopes of getting employ 
 ment. Ascertaining that her resources were exhausted, 
 the Secretary of War gave her some pecuniary aid, and 
 transportation to Ohio. 
 
 It is not improbable that this woman belonged to a 
 
96 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 secret society, which operated in Western North Carolina 
 and East Tennessee, where there were many Union peo 
 ple. The society had forms of initiations, and signs, by 
 which its members recognized each other. Its object in 
 general was to aid and- endeavor to restore the Union. 
 Many soldiers of the Confederate armies worked with it, 
 and quite a number of Union prisoners of war escaped 
 and were concealed and safely guided within the Union 
 lines by its means. It was said that President Lincoln 
 knew of it, and was even initiated as a member. 
 
 GRENFEL. A secret organization, composed of disaf 
 fected persons both in the North and South, existed 
 throughout the war. It went under various names, such 
 as " Knights of the Golden Circle," " Order of American 
 Knights," " Sons of Liberty," etc. Its objects were to 
 aid in every possible way the cause of disunion. It had 
 both a civil and a military organization, under a regular 
 system of government. The fruits of the civil branch 
 were often seen, but, although the military branch was 
 ready at any time to take part, the opportunity did not 
 present itself within the Union lines. Some of its mem 
 bers were officers of the Confederate service. Its plan, 
 constitution, and secret signs became known in 1864, and 
 were discovered through the confessions of members 
 under arrest, through documents, and through other 
 means. In the summer of 1864 a plot was concocted to 
 release over eight thousand Confederate prisoners of war, 
 who were held at Camp Douglas, Chicago, Illinois. 
 After their release, they were to engage in pillaging and 
 burning the city. A considerable number of persons, 
 known to be in active sympathy with the South, were ob- 
 
SUNDRY PERSONS. 97 
 
 served to be in Chicago, about the time of the convention 
 which met there in August. As a precaution, a re-en 
 forcement was sent to the guard at the prison-camp, which 
 thwarted the designs upon it. Afterward, at the time of 
 the election in November, the presence again in the city 
 of noted rebels, and certain positive information which 
 had been gained of the plot, induced the Government to 
 arrest some seven or eight of the leaders and bring them 
 to trial before a military commission. Quite a large 
 amount of arms and ammunition was seized at the time 
 of the arrest. 
 
 Among the persons arrested in November was a Colo 
 nel G-. St. Leger Grenfel, an Englishman, one of those 
 many foreign adventurers who came to this country to 
 take part with one side or the other. The charges on 
 which he was tried were, conspiring, in violation of 
 the laws of war, to release the rebel prisoners of war 
 confined, by authority of the United States, at Camp 
 Douglas, near Chicago, Illinois ; and conspiring, in vio 
 lation of the laws of war, to lay waste and destroy the 
 city of Chicago. He pleaded not guilty, but was con 
 victed, and sentenced to be hanged. The British minister 
 and others interested themselves for him, and strong ef 
 forts were made to get him off entirely. The President 
 commuted his sentence to imprisonment for life, at hard 
 labor, at the Dry Tortugas, Florida, and he was accord 
 ingly sent there. 
 
 Grenfel was a fine-looking man, with the manners of 
 a rather pompous gentleman. He was very bad-tem 
 pered, and disposed to give all the trouble he could. At 
 the Tortugas, his hard labor consisted in the care of a 
 small vegetable-garden, planted for the benefit of the 
 
98 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 prisoners. This lie destroyed by watering with salt water. 
 He abused every indulgence which was vouchsafed to 
 him through the solicitation of friends abroad. At length, 
 he used money sent him, and which he was permitted to 
 receive to ameliorate his condition, in bribing a sentry. 
 One very stormy night in March, 1878, he, with the sen 
 try and three other prisoners, escaped from the island in 
 a small boat. Their departure was soon discovered, and 
 a revenue-cutter, which was lying at the Tortugas, cruised 
 for several days in every direction, to capture them, but 
 without success. The United States consuls at Ha 
 vana and other places on the coast were instructed by 
 telegraph to look out for the fugitives, but they were 
 never after heard of. It is supposed that their craft was 
 swamped in the violent storm, and in that dark night 
 they all perished. About a year after, inquiry was made 
 by Grenfel s relatives in Europe for him, which indicates 
 that he did not return to his own country, and increases 
 the probability that he was drowned. 
 
 About the time of Grenfel s escape, an absurd report 
 was started that the United States Government had been 
 keeping over one thousand Confederate prisoners of war 
 confined at the Dry Tortugas. Inquiries were made of 
 the Government concerning missing relatives supposed 
 to be among those prisoners. The fact is, all Confeder 
 ate prisoners of war were set free by exchange, or on pa 
 role, as soon as fighting had fairly ceased in 1865. 
 
 A SOUTHERN CLERGYMAN. In 1861, before non-inter 
 course between the two sections was rigidly enforced, a 
 certain clergyman of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
 came from Philadelphia, where he had a parish, and called 
 
SUNDRY PERSONS. 99 
 
 upon General Scott, asking a pass to go to Richmond. 
 He said he was a native Virginian, and that he thought, 
 if he returned to Richmond to stay, he might do some 
 good in alleviating the troubles of war, especially among 
 the colored population. The pass was given, and he went 
 South. 
 
 In 1865, after fighting was over, this gentleman came 
 again to Washington, and was introduced to me by a former 
 acquaintance. He spoke of the deep concern which the 
 Southern Episcopalians felt about their future relations 
 with the Church at the North. The war had forced 
 them into an apparent separation, but, now that the 
 causes were removed, what would be exacted of them to 
 secure a reunion ? He had received very many letters 
 from all parts of the Southern States, asking information 
 and advice. 
 
 The General Convention was to sit at Philadelphia, 
 in October of that year. I unhesitatingly replied to the 
 reverend gentleman that there was no manner of doubt 
 that the only thing his Southern brethren had to do was 
 to repair at the proper time to Philadelphia, and quietly 
 take their seats as usual, the bishops in the House of 
 Bishops, and the clerical and lay delegates in their House. 
 I was certain that, if they would go, the only question 
 would be not are you sorry for what you have done, 
 but have you come sure enough to fill your vacant 
 places? I told him they would be received with open 
 arms ; and, in proof of my position, instanced the many 
 strong expressions I had heard from public men, like 
 Messrs. Stanton and Henry Wilson, of a desire that all 
 the people of the South would with alacrity return to a 
 cordial support of the Union, without coercion, or penal- 
 
100 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 ties of any sort. He took leave with many protestations 
 of gratitude, and declared he should go back to his peo 
 ple with my words of encouragement, and urge them 
 to do as I suggested. A few weeks after, I saw him 
 again in Washington, when he presented me with a copy 
 of the address of the Bishop of Virginia to his diocesan 
 convention, in which the bishop recommended the elec 
 tion of delegates to the approaching General Conven 
 tion. He told me that many churchmen at the South 
 had received the assurances I had given him with great 
 satisfaction, and that it had gone far to relieve their 
 anxieties. 
 
 When the General Convention assembled, some few 
 of the Southern churchmen attended, simply as specta 
 tors. Wherever they were recognized they were most 
 cordially received. In the Upper House a bishop dis 
 covered one of his Southern brethren in a pew of the 
 church. After a short, whispered conference with the 
 few nearest him, he rose, went to the pew, seized his old 
 friend by the hand, and insisted that he should accom 
 pany him back to his seat. There he was met by the 
 entire body with unfeigned joy, and urged to take his 
 seat as one of them. 
 
 This session of the General Convention, in 1865, was 
 made memorable by the reunion of all the dioceses of 
 the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. 
 The Kt. Rev. R. H. Wilmer, who had been consecrated 
 under the constitution of the Southern Church during the 
 war, was recognized as of the Episcopate, on his merely 
 signing an equivalent to the usual promise of conformity. 
 The Bishop-elect of Tennessee was consecrated, without 
 the delay of submitting his name to each separate dio- 
 
SUNDRY PFRSONS. 101 
 
 cese; and this was the easy adjustment of all external 
 appearance of division. 
 
 SOME CHAPLAINS. In the plan of organization adopted 
 by authority of the President,* one chaplain was allowed 
 to each regiment of volunteers, to be " appointed by the 
 regimental commander on the vote of the field officers 
 and company commanders on duty with the regiment at 
 the time." There was a provision added that " the 
 chaplain so appointed must be a regularly ordained min 
 ister of some Christian denomination." This last clause 
 was not always properly heeded ; and so it came to pass 
 that, although as a rule army chaplains were fit and ear 
 nest men, some were occasionally invested with the office 
 who had little appreciation of its spirit, and no training 
 in the execution of its duties. 
 
 The uniform prescribed for chaplains was a plain 
 black frock-coat, with standing collar, and one row of 
 nine black buttons ; plain black pantaloons, black felt hat, 
 or army forage-cap, without ornament. On occasions of 
 ceremony, a plain u chapeau-de-bras " was authorized to 
 be worn. 
 
 The exceeding simplicity of this dress did not suit 
 some of the reverend gentlemen, and a deputation called 
 at the office to have it changed. I asked them what they 
 desired. They replied that brass buttons, shoulder-straps, 
 a cap ornament, a sash, and a sword, were necessary to 
 facilitate the performance of their duties, and cause them 
 to be respected. I asked how that dress, especially the 
 sword, would aid them in conducting religious services ? 
 
 * General Orders, No. 15, dated May 4, 1861, legalized by section 3, act 
 of August 6, 1861. 
 
102 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 and how they would use the sword ? They said that when 
 they were officiating at service the sword would be laid 
 aside ; but now, when they entered a hospital, they were 
 not recognized by the patients, who would pay no heed 
 to them, and they wanted to be known as officers having 
 authority. " Oh," said I, " if you should walk to the bed 
 side of some poor, wounded soldier, arrayed in your shin 
 ing buttons and sash and sword, would he not suppose that 
 you were the officer of the day coming to carry him off 
 to the guard-house, and be terribly frightened at the idea ? 
 I rather think if you are known to the men by your good 
 words, kind offices, and gentle sympathy with them in 
 their trials, the plain black dress will secure you more re 
 spect than the showy one." Whether they were satisfied 
 or not, they did not continue the argument. The uniform 
 which had been adopted was actually suggested by a cler 
 gyman, well known for his zeal and devotion to the good 
 cause. With the addition of a little black braid, and a 
 cap ornament, it is that now worn by army chaplains. 
 
 Two venerable men, whose loyalty to the Union de 
 prived them, in their advanced age, of their only support, 
 were cared for by the fostering hand of the United States 
 Government during their remaining years. One was the 
 Kev. Matthias Harris, post-chaplain at Fort Moultrie, who 
 was with Anderson at Sumter. Having lost his place 
 by the evacuation of that post, he was made post chaplain 
 at Fort Foote, Maryland. The other was the Rev. Lem 
 uel Wilmer, who, because he " had never in his life drawn 
 a disloyal breath," was forsaken by his congregation. On 
 learning of his straitened circumstances, the Department 
 created Port Tobacco, Maryland, a chaplain post, and 
 appointed him its chaplain. 
 
SUNDRY PERSONS. 103 
 
 BOUNTY-JUMPERS. A great evil connected with the 
 draft and substitute system for recruiting the army arose 
 from the practice, which at one time prevailed to a large 
 extent, of what was called "bounty-jumping." When 
 volunteering began to fail, after nearly every patriotic 
 able-bodied man had entered the service, the draft was 
 resorted to. But, whenever notice of a draft was about 
 to be published, very considerable bounties were first 
 offered, both by the Government and by States, for vol 
 unteers. Drafted men were also allowed to procure sub 
 stitutes, whom they paid. All the men recruited by 
 volunteering and by draft, or substitute, were collected 
 at large depots * preparatory to being sent to regiments 
 in the field. These men often had large sums of money 
 in their pockets, received in the way of bounties, and it 
 became quite a business with sharpers to disguise them 
 selves, pass an examination at a recruiting rendezvous, 
 receive the bounty or substitute money, desert from the 
 depot, and then repeat the operation over and over again, 
 under other names and disguises. Of course their tricks 
 were soon detected, and numbers were arrested and kept 
 in confinement. Photographs were taken of some of the 
 most noted of these criminals, both at the time of their 
 enlistment, when, clean shaved and furbished, they passed 
 
 * The guards at these draft rendezvous were composed of " veteran 
 reserve " regiments, made up of men who had been disabled in the army, 
 by wounds or otherwise, so as to be unable to bear the hardships of the 
 field and camp, but all quite equal to duty required in a comfortable gar 
 rison. These regiments were at first styled the " Invalid Corps," but an 
 army regulation prescribed that articles of public property condemned by 
 an inspector should be marked with the initials I. C., for " Inspected, Con 
 demned." Therefore, the I. C. (Invalid Corps) regiments had their desig 
 nation changed to V. R. (Veteran Reserve). 
 
104 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 for younger men ; and afterward, when the garnishing 
 had faded, and they were exhibited in their true colors. 
 
 To put an end to bounty-jumping, I devised a plan, 
 in December, 1864, for taking away their money at the 
 depot, depositing it with an army paymaster stationed 
 there for the purpose, and giving them a check-book in 
 which the amount was entered. They could then draw 
 the amount exhibited on the check-book from a paymaster 
 in the field, at their first payment after joining their regi 
 ment. The paymaster who received the money credited 
 the soldier with it on his accounts made to the Treasury, 
 and the one who paid it charged it in his accounts, so that 
 the two accounts were balanced in the settlement at the 
 Treasury. The recruit received his bounty at the recruit 
 ing rendezvous, and was never out of sight of a guard 
 till he reached the depot ; so that he had no chance to con 
 ceal it. Provision was made, under close restrictions, by 
 which he could convey any portion of it to his family if 
 he desired. 
 
 When I first submitted this plan to the Secretary of 
 War, he demurred at adopting it. I set forth the advan 
 tageous features of it, and told him the Treasury officers 
 assented to it, so far as they were concerned. A man 
 who enlisted in good faith would not object to having 
 his bounty safely kept for him till he wanted it ; while a 
 bounty-jumper would not be willing to take the risk of 
 escaping after he had been transported to the army. At 
 last he said, " Well, if you choose to issue the order on 
 your own responsibility, you may, but I will not have 
 any trouble that may arise from it." That was enough ; 
 the order was issued. The Secretary told me afterward 
 that the Governor of one of the States, who had been 
 
GENERAL FRANK P. BLAIR. 1Q5 
 
 most annoyed by bounty-jumpers, had thanked him for 
 it, and characterized it as " the best order that had ema 
 nated from the "War Department." 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 GENERAL FRANK P. BLAIR. 
 How to legalize an illegal order. 
 
 IN 1864 General Frank Blair, who had been serving 
 as a major-general of volunteers, was elected to the House 
 of Representatives. He resigned his commission and took 
 his seat. In the month of April the Secretary of War 
 handed me an order from the President, to be issued, 
 assigning Major-General Blair to duty with the army un 
 der General Sherman ; and directing that some regular 
 officers be ordered to report to him as his staff, and that 
 some civilians be appointed additional aides-de-camp for 
 him. I glanced at the order, and then said : 
 
 "Mr. Secretary, General Blair has resigned, and is 
 now a civilian. He is not a major-general, and is not 
 subject to an order." 
 
 Secretary. Well, what of that ? 
 
 General Townsend. Why, such an order can not be 
 legally issued. 
 
 Secretary. But the President orders it ! 
 
 General T. (seeing something peculiar in the Secre 
 tary s manner). Shall I issue it, then ? 
 
 Secretary. I give you no orders about it ; there is the 
 President s order. 
 
106 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 General T. But what am I to do ? It is not a legal 
 order ; how can I issue it ? 
 
 Secretary. I tell you, I have nothing to say about it. 
 You must use your own discretion. 
 
 General T. Won t you see the President, and explain 
 the facts to him ? 
 
 Secretary. ]STo ! 
 
 General T. "What would you advise me to do, then ? 
 
 Secretary. I give you no advice about it. 
 
 General T. You are between the President and me, 
 and I have to come to you in all cases. 
 
 Secretary. In this case, I give you full authority to 
 "use your own discretion. I have nothing more to say. 
 
 General T. (perceiving that there had probably al 
 ready been a discussion between the President and 
 Secretary). Well, may I see the President about it ? 
 
 Secretary. I tell you I have no orders to give you. 
 You can do what you please. 
 
 Accordingly, I took the order and went over to the 
 Executive Mansion. The President was through with 
 the urgent duties of the day, and was seated with his feet 
 on a chair, a towel round his neck, while his servant was 
 shampooing his head. 
 
 Having been admitted, I said : " Mr. President, the 
 Secretary has handed me this order, to assign General 
 Blair to a command, and authorized me to come and see 
 you about it. I thought you might not be aware that 
 General Blair s resignation having been accepted, he can 
 not be legally ordered to any military duty. He is now, 
 as a civilian, not subject to orders." 
 
 President. Well, I am anxious to have it fixed up 
 some way, so the order can be issued, if you can do it. 
 
GENERAL FRANK P. BLAIR. 107 
 
 General T. There is only one way to do it. If Gen 
 eral Blair will apply to have the acceptance of his res 
 ignation revoked, I can issue an order revoking it, and 
 then assign him to duty. There have been instances of 
 that sort, and I will do it if you give me authority. 
 
 President. I wish you would I wish you would. 
 Just fix it any way you think best. 
 
 I then returned to the department, and wrote a note 
 to General Blair, asking him to call at the adjutant-gen 
 eral s office, on business indicated to me by the President. 
 He came, and I explained the matter to him. He said 
 he was willing to do as the President desired. I then 
 wrote letters for him to sign, asking that his resignation 
 be revoked, and that he be assigned to a command. He 
 signed them, and the order was handed him to report to 
 General William T. Sherman, and to command the Sev 
 enteenth Army Corps. 
 
 In a few days, when it was known that Frank Blair 
 had gone to take a command in the Army of the South, 
 a resolution was passed in the Senate calling upon the 
 President for information whether any officers whose 
 resignations had been accepted had been put on duty; 
 who such officers were, and under what circumstances 
 they had been so assigned. The Secretary of "War then 
 inquired what had been done in General Blair s case. I 
 told him, and said, if he would give me the resolution, I 
 would prepare an answer. So I took it, made copies of 
 the letters General Blair had signed, and of the orders 
 given him, and then cited several instances as precedents 
 where similar action, during many years, had been taken 
 with regular army officers. The Secretary, after examin 
 ing my report very carefully, forwarded it. No more 
 
108 ANECDOTES OF TEE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 was heard about it, except that the Senate passed a reso 
 lution that, thereafter, no officers whose resignations had 
 been duly accepted should be restored to the service with 
 out a new appointment and confirmation by the Senate. 
 
 After this General Blair commanded the Seventeenth 
 Army Corps, in Sherman s army, during the famous 
 Southern campaign and "march to the sea," near the 
 close of the war. No one will say that the President had 
 cause to regret having called him to the army. Had he 
 gone through the routine of again nominating him, and 
 waited for his confirmation, too much valuable time would 
 have been lost at that critical period. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXY. 
 
 A false alarm President Lincoln s narrow escape. 
 
 WHILE the Army of the Potomac was closely press 
 ing on Richmond, in July, 1864, General Lee sought to 
 divert some of its strength by sending a considerable 
 force of cavalry and infantry, under Early, to threaten 
 Washington. Intelligence was received of the raid on 
 the 3d of July, and preparations were at once made for 
 defense. There were but few troops around Washing 
 ton at that time, and they were mostly veteran reserves. 
 But, to meet emergencies, the clerks and employes of the 
 War and some of the civil departments had been for sev 
 eral months organized into regiments, and pretty care- 
 
EARLY S INVASION. 109 
 
 fully drilled. These, and all of the large number of men 
 in the hospitals, who were at all able to hold a musket, 
 went to man the forts. 
 
 One night, when there were indications that an attack 
 would be made, I was on guard at the War Department. 
 At three o clock in the morning, I heard loud cries in 
 the street, sounding nearer and nearer to the department. 
 My first impression was that Early s raiders had broken 
 in and were coming to burn and pillage. As I walked 
 rapidly from my room to the door at the other end of the 
 hall, where the noise appeared to be, I had time to con 
 sider what had better be done under the circumstances. 
 The pass of Thermopylae would have been nothing to 
 this occasion. Instead of a pass, there would have been 
 a door; instead of three hundred defenders, there would 
 have been three. A reconnaissance, however, would bet 
 ter indicate the line and measure of defense. On open 
 ing the door upon the street, a large herd of beef-cattle 
 was seen wending its way to the commissary s corral, and 
 the herders were making the outcry. These cattle had 
 been pastured some miles out in Maryland, and narrowly 
 escaped being captured by Early, Information of his 
 approach was received just in time to save them. 
 
 There had been no stampede in Washington. People 
 did not seem to think there was much danger of a catas 
 trophe. The Confederates felt some of the forts; and 
 two or three houses under the guns of Fort Stevens, on 
 the turnpike-road to Brookville, Maryland, were battered 
 down, to dislodge some of the enemy s sharp-shooters who 
 found shelter there while trying to pick off our gunners. 
 It was related of President Lincoln that he rode out to 
 
 Fort Bteyens while the skirmishing was going on, and, 
 6 
 
110 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 heedless of danger, mounted the parapet to get a good 
 view. While standing there, his tall frame presenting a 
 prominent target, a bullet passed between him and a 
 young lady who was standing by his side, and quite near 
 him. He was then induced to descend under cover. 
 
 General Grant sent Wright s Sixth Corps up to re- 
 enforce the Washington garrison. As soon as it arrived 
 it threw out a line of skirmishers ; and, when the Con 
 federates recognized its well-known badge, they drew 
 off and took their departure, probably conceiving that 
 they had effected the relief of Richmond. They after 
 ward received due attention from Sheridan, who entirely 
 destroyed this part of Lee s army in the Shenandoah 
 Valley. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXVI. 
 
 THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY TROPHIES. 
 
 Sheridan s black horse " To Early, in care of Sheridan " A big scare 
 Lo, they were gone ! 
 
 THE 19th of October, 1864, General Sheridan re 
 ported : 
 
 " My army at Cedar Creek was attacked this morning 
 before daylight, and my left was turned and driven in 
 confusion, with the loss of twenty pieces of artillery. 
 I hastened from Winchester, where I was on my return 
 from Washington, and found the armies between Middle- 
 town and New^town, having been driven back about four 
 miles. I here took the affair in hand and quickly united 
 
THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY TROPHIES. Ill 
 
 the corps, formed a compact line of battle just in time to 
 repulse an attack of the enemy, which was handsomely 
 done at 1 p. M. 
 
 " At 3 P. M., after some changes of the cavalry from 
 the left to the right flank, I attacked with great vigor, 
 driving and routing the enemy, capturing, according to 
 last report, forty-three pieces of artillery and very many 
 prisoners." 
 
 An officer of Massachusetts Volunteers who was pres 
 ent told me he saw General Sheridan when he met his 
 retreating troops. His black horse, by which he was 
 usually recognized, was so completely covered with 
 foam as to appear like an animal with a white skin. 
 This same officer told me that some pieces of artillery 
 were sent from Richmond to the Confederate General 
 Early, each one of which was labeled with his name. 
 After Sheridan s defeat of Early, some wag wrote on the 
 labels to the guns, under Early s name, the words, " Care 
 of General Sheridan." 
 
 General Sheridan sent the artillery captured on this 
 occasion by rail to Washington. The Secretary of War 
 determined to make a public display of these trophies, to 
 give an idea of the magnitude of the victory. He ac 
 cordingly instructed me to have them taken, on their 
 arrival at the railroad depot, to the grounds in front 
 of the War Department, and parked there. The tro 
 phies arrived the 29th of October. An excellent volun 
 teer regiment of artillery, stationed at Camp Barry in the 
 outskirts of the city, had been ordered to receive them 
 and put them in position. The officers of the regiment 
 entered into the spirit of the affair, procured a band of 
 
112 ANECDOTES CF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 music, and marched through the streets with much eclat, 
 followed by the usual crowd. Some time was occupied, 
 after the train arrived, in unloading the cars, and putting 
 the carriages together, some of them being much broken ; 
 and it was after dark when they reached the department. 
 When all the arrangements were made to receive the 
 guns, I rode on horseback to meet the regiment. Hav 
 ing seen every gun and carriage in place, and posted 
 sentinels around them with orders not to permit any 
 one to go near or touch them, I went home. I had 
 hardly reached there, when a messenger arrived saying 
 the Secretary desired to see me, immediately, at the 
 department. Some one had telegraphed to him at his 
 residence that the ammunition-boxes were filled with 
 powder, and he had hastened down in great alarm lest 
 the w r hole department should be blown sky-high. He 
 was much excited. He asked me why I had not dis 
 covered that the boxes contained powder, and why I 
 had not sent the carriages immediately to the arsenal. 
 I replied that I had taken great precautions, which the 
 result showed were effective, to prevent any one from 
 carelessly opening the boxes ; that they were constructed 
 on purpose to carry powder safely on the battle-field, and 
 there was no danger of their exploding unless struck by a 
 shell. I had not anticipated that the boxes would be sent 
 all the way by cars from the place of their capture to 
 Washington, without first having the ammunition re 
 moved ; but, since they had gone thus far without acci 
 dent, there did not now seem to be any cause for alarm. 
 The Secretary s mind was so preoccupied with the idea 
 of danger to the public buildings that it put him in a 
 bad humor. He peremptorily ordered that the trophies 
 
THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY TROPHIES. 113 
 
 should be immediately sent down to the Arsenal for 
 safe-keeping, and that I should see it properly done. 
 A messenger was dispatched for the same regiment to 
 transport the things, and I sat in my office with another 
 officer to await its arrival. Presently in came the depot 
 quartermaster, to whom orders had been sent by the Sec 
 retary to bring some mules with harness, to do the same 
 work. The quartermaster seemed to be in a quandary 
 about what he was required to do. He said he had 
 plenty of mules and wagon-harness, but he did not see 
 how it could be fitted to haul artillery-carriages. I told 
 him the artillery regiment which brought them up would 
 soon come to take them to the Arsenal ; and I did not 
 believe mules and wagon-harness could be of any aid. 
 Meanwhile, the Secretary, having had time to think 
 a little, and recover from his apprehension, since no 
 catastrophe had occurred for two hours, carne into my 
 room in an altered mood. I gave him a chair, and he 
 began chatting pleasantly about indifferent matters. I 
 did not join in the conversation. Presently he asked 
 the quartermaster where his dispatch-boat was. "At the 
 wharf, sir, ready to fire up at a moment s warning." 
 "Well," said the Secretary, "you must get her ready 
 for an excursion down the river, and you and Town- 
 send make up a party and go." Then, turning to me, 
 he asked if I would not like to go. I was angry, and 
 had good reason to be, so I replied, curtly, " I have 
 no time for excursions." The Secretary said nothing 
 more, but soon after went home. It was half-past one 
 at night a cold, drizzling, rainy night before I saw 
 the last remnant of the procession started on its way 
 to its final resting-place. 
 
114: ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 The next day was Sunday. Quite early in the morn 
 ing the President walked out to enjoy the promised view 
 of his trophies. His surprise at not finding them in front 
 of the "War Department was probably equaled by that 
 of a crowd of citizens who had assembled on the same 
 errand, having heard the evening before that the guns 
 were to be on exhibition. 
 
 CIIAPTEE XXVII. 
 
 TRIP TO SAVANNAH. 
 
 A Sunday service A salute at sea Conference with colored ministers 
 Fort Fisher Promoted while asleep. 
 
 GENERAL WILLIAM T. SHERMAN S army occupied Sa 
 vannah December 21, 1864. "One hundred and fifty 
 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about 
 twenty-five thousand bales of cotton," were reported 
 captured. The health of the Secretary of War serious 
 ly demanded the rest which a sea-voyage could best 
 afford; he therefore determined to go to Savannah to 
 confer with General Sherman, and take measures to se 
 cure the large amount of cotton found there. Much of 
 this cotton belonged to the Confederate Government, 
 and was therefore lawful prize to the United States. 
 Arrangements were made for a propeller which had 
 been chartered to convey army supplies from New 
 York to Savannah, to call at Old Point Comfort, Vir 
 ginia, for the Secretary. Quartermaster-General Meigs, 
 Surgeon-General Barnes, and myself accompanied him ; 
 
TRIP TO SAVANNAH. 115 
 
 and Mr. Simeon Draper, of New York, who had held the 
 appointment of Provost-Marshal-General of the War De 
 partment,* joined the party in the propeller from New 
 York. 
 
 We sailed from Old Point Saturday, January 7, 1865. 
 The next day, Secretary Stanton asked General Meigs to 
 read a portion of the Episcopal Church service to our 
 small party. He joined reverently in the service, and 
 afterward commented on a passage of the Scriptures 
 which had been read. 
 
 The next day, as we neared Hilton Head, the steamer 
 James Adger, of the blockading squadron, commanded 
 by Captain (now Bear-Admiral) Thomas H. Patterson, 
 U. S. Navy, made signal for us to hoist our colors. 
 Our captain either did not understand the signal, or 
 at any rate did not heed it, and kept on his course. 
 The Adger then steered for us, and fired a shot across 
 our bow, which of course brought us to, and made us 
 show the Stars and Stripes. Captain Patterson, my 
 relative, having recognized me standing on the deck 
 as I waved my handkerchief to him, sent a boat to ask 
 me aboard his ship. I wrote him a note regretting I 
 could not go, as I was with the Secretary of War, who 
 was aboard of us. Upon this, the Adger stood off, drew 
 her shot, and fired the salute due a Cabinet officer. 
 Probably this is the only instance where a Secretary 
 
 * Mr. Draper was appointed Provost-Marshal-General October 1, 1862. 
 His office was not the same as that afterward held by General Fry under 
 the act of March 3, 1863, but was created by authority of the War Depart 
 ment to supervise and manage the special provost-marshals employed in 
 States to arrest deserters and disloyal persons, seize stolen property of the 
 Government, detect spies, etc. Mr. Draper s appointment was annulled 
 when General Fry was detailed according to law. 
 
116 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 of War was saluted while afloat by a United States 
 ship of war. Mr. Stanton was asleep below when the 
 salute was fired, but when told of it he was much pleased 
 with the incident. 
 
 While we were on the voyage, as I was sitting one 
 day in the cabin, alone with the Secretary, he told me he 
 felt much anxiety about the cotton which had been cap 
 tured at Savannah. He had no doubt attempts would be 
 made to appropriate it. There would be persons who 
 would claim it as their private property, and it would 
 be difficult to discriminate between what was really pri 
 vate and what belonged to the Confederate Government. 
 Then he said he wanted a general officer to command at 
 Savannah, who would see to the safe-keeping and proper 
 disposition of the cotton, and defend the city against mili 
 tary movements to recapture it, which might probably be 
 made after General Sherman s army left. He asked 
 whom I could name for the purpose. I consulted the 
 register, and found plenty of suitable names, but they 
 were either too far off, or in positions where they were 
 much needed. At last I mentioned one general whom I 
 thought suitable, and the most available, though he too 
 had an important command. The Secretary replied : " I 
 can not withdraw him from so critical a command. If I 
 could spare you, I would assign you." I exclaimed, " Me, 
 sir ? " " Yes, you, sir ! " said he. I replied that nothing 
 could be more agreeable to me than to have the assign 
 ment. " But," said he, " I can not do without you where 
 you are." 
 
 After personally examining the stores containing the 
 cotton, hearing private claims to certain lots, indicating 
 the marks to be put on the bales, and what disposition 
 
TRIP TO SAVANNAH. 117 
 
 should be made of them, the Secretary, on consultation 
 with General Sherman, appointed Mr. Draper to have 
 the charge of the cotton, and General John W. Geary, 
 who belonged to Sherman s army, to be left in military 
 command of Savannah when the army marched north 
 ward. 
 
 Among the private claimants of cotton was Lamar, 
 notorious as the man who once landed a cargo of negroes, 
 imported direct from Africa, in the yacht Wanderer, on 
 the shores of the United States. This gentleman at 
 tempted to give much trouble in the disposal of the 
 captured cotton. 
 
 On Thursday, the 12th of January, General Sherman 
 gave the Secretary a grand review of his army. In 
 the evening of that day, by invitation of the Secre 
 tary, twenty colored men, chiefly ministers of different 
 churches, assembled in the Secretary s room, to give 
 him their views concerning the present and future of 
 their people. The minutes of this interview, as taken 
 down at the time by the Secretary s own hand, will 
 be found in Appendix F. I offered to act as amanu 
 ensis, but he declined, and persisted in writing until 
 after midnight. 
 
 We sailed from Savannah Saturday, the 14th, leaving 
 General Meigs and Mr. Draper behind, and spent Sunday 
 at Hilton Head, with General Ruf us Saxton, commanding 
 there, leaving for home that same evening. 
 
 As we neared Fort Fisher, on the 16th of January, all 
 eyes were strained to discover what had been the result 
 of the combined attack of Admiral Porter and General 
 Terry on that place. At first we could discern only 
 a small flag floating over the fort, with no sign of 
 
118 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 cannonading. Our joy can be imagined when the 
 Stars and Stripes became distinguishable. The Secre 
 tary immediately decided to put in, to learn the particu 
 lars of the capture, and congratulate the officers. On 
 our arrival amid the ships, from which the smoke of 
 battle had so recently cleared away, the Secretary com 
 municated with General A. H. Terry, who at once came 
 aboard with his staff. We learned that, at 3 p. M., the 
 15th of January, the troops assaulted the fort, after 
 heavy cannonading by the fleet. " The lighting for 
 the traverses continued till nearly nine o clock, two 
 more of them being carried ; then a portion of Ab 
 bott s brigade drove the enemy from their last remain 
 ing strongholds, and the occupation of the work was 
 complete." After a long conversation, the Secretary 
 directed me to make out letters conferring brevets on 
 General Terry and his staff, which were all subsequently 
 submitted to the Senate and confirmed. The general 
 and his officers had scarcely slept for three days. It 
 was now the middle of the evening, and Captain 
 Adrian Terry, assistant adjutant - general, brother to 
 the general, overpowered with fatigue, fell fast asleep. 
 When the general, as he was about to withdraw, aroused 
 Captain Terry, I slipped into his hand a document in 
 closed in an official envelope. He was yet half asleep, 
 and supposing I was serving a notice of arrest, or some 
 thing, upon him for falling asleep in the Secretary s 
 presence, he was evidently much troubled. When he 
 opened the letter, however, he said, with a smile of 
 gratification, "I do believe I went to sleep a captain, 
 and have awakened a major ! " At this the Secretary 
 and all laughed most heartily. 
 
AMNESTY. 119 
 
 CHAPTEE XXYIIL 
 
 AMNESTY. 
 Proclamation sent through the lines Good fruits " Dixie." 
 
 ON the 8th of December, 1863, President Lincoln is 
 sued a proclamation, to make known " to all persons who 
 have, directly or by implication, participated in the exist 
 ing rebellion, except as hereinafter excepted, that a full 
 pardon is hereby granted to them, and each of them, with 
 restoration of all rights of property, except as to slaves, 
 and in property cases where rights of third parties shall 
 have intervened, and upon the condition that every such 
 person shall take and subscribe an oath, and thencefor 
 ward keep and maintain said oath inviolate ; and which 
 oath shall be registered for permanent preservation, and 
 shall be of the tenor and effect following, to wit : 
 
 " I, , do solemnly swear, in presence of 
 
 Almighty God, that I will henceforth faithfully support, 
 protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, 
 and the union of the States thereunder ; and that I will, 
 in like manner, abide by and faithfully support all acts of 
 Congress passed during the existing rebellion with refer 
 ence to slaves, so long and so far as not repealed, modi 
 fied, or held void by Congress or by decision of the Su 
 preme Court ; and that I will, in like manner, abide by 
 and faithfully support all proclamations of the President, 
 made during the existing rebellion, having reference to 
 slaves, so long and so far as not modified or declared 
 
120 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 void by decision of the Supreme Court. So help me 
 God. " 
 
 The classes excepted from the pardon did not include 
 the officers under the rank of general officers, or the rank 
 and file of the Confederate army, unless they had left the 
 United States army to join the rebels, or had committed 
 certain specified offenses. 
 
 On the 30th of December a dispatch was received 
 from an officer on the Upper Potomac, saying : " Nine 
 deserters from the Yalley just in ... These deserters 
 heard the President s proclamation and required oath 
 with great surprise, and declared, if it was printed and 
 circulated, thousands would come into our lines." 
 
 They were surprised to find the falsity of the state 
 ments as to the humane policy and feeling of President 
 Lincoln s administration, which had been from the begin 
 ning so persistently impressed upon the Southern peo 
 ple, exposed by this proclamation. In accordance with 
 the suggestion in the dispatch, many thousands of copies 
 of the proclamation were printed in convenient form and 
 sent to commanders along the lines, to be distributed as 
 opportunity offered. Large numbers were conveyed 
 through the pickets, and in other ways. The good effect 
 was announced in a dispatch dated January 23, 1864: 
 " Ninety-seven deserters have reported at this post since 
 the 1st of January. The President s amnesty is having 
 good effect. I am scattering it all through the country." 
 
 The following orders were afterward issued, and, to 
 gether with the proclamation, were printed and folded in 
 such small form that they could be easily concealed, and 
 were profusely distributed : 
 
AMNESTY. 121 
 
 GENERAL ORDERS, No. 64. 
 
 WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL S OFFICE, 
 
 WASHINGTON, February 18, 1864. 
 
 REFUGEES AND REBEL DESERTERS. 
 
 Whenever refugees from within the rebel lines, or 
 deserters from the rebel armies, present themselves at 
 United States camps, or military posts, they will be im 
 mediately examined by the provost-marshal, with a view 
 to determine their character and their motive in giving 
 themselves up. If it appear that they are honest in their 
 intention of forever deserting the rebel cause, care will 
 be taken to explain to them that they will not be forced 
 to serve in the United States army against the rebels, nor 
 be kept in confinement. The President s proclamation 
 of December 8, 1863, will be read to them, and, if they 
 so desire, the oath therein prescribed will be administered 
 to them. They will then be questioned as to whether 
 they desire employment from the United States, and, if 
 so, such arrangements as may be expedient will be made 
 by the several army commanders for employing them on 
 Government works within their commands. Those who 
 come to the Army of the Potomac will be forwarded to 
 the military governor of the District of Columbia, at 
 Washington, with reports in their cases, that employment 
 may be given them if desired, or, if not, that they may 
 be sent as far north as Philadelphia. 
 
 By order of the Secretary of War : 
 
 E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General. 
 
 Among the deserters who surrendered was an entire 
 military band, composed of foreigners, who came within 
 the lines, bringing their instruments with them. They 
 
122 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 were sent to Washington, and went up to the War De 
 partment to pay their respects to the Secretary of War. 
 They played several airs for his amusement, and at last 
 asked if there was any particular one he would like to 
 hear. He called for one after another of our national 
 airs, but they knew none of them! "Well," said he, 
 " let us have * Dixie? then ; you probably can play that." 
 So Dixie was rendered with due effect. This band went 
 north, and doubtless found employment as musicians, 
 though they certainly did not seem to possess extraordi 
 nary skill in their art. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 ILLUMINATION FOR THE CAPTURE OF RICHMOND. 
 Magic effect A perverse eagle. 
 
 GENERAL WEITZEL S troops occupied Richmond April 
 3, 1865. As soon as the news arrived at Washington, the 
 Secretary of War gave orders for a grand illumination of 
 all the buildings occupied by his department. He in 
 trusted to me the arrangements for the War Department 
 proper, for Winder s Building on Seventeenth Street, and 
 the entire row of buildings from that to Pennsylvania 
 Avenue, and two more north of the avenue. The Cor 
 coran Art-Gallery, on the corner of President s Square 
 and Seventeenth Street, then in use by the quartermaster- 
 general, was prepared under his direction. All these 
 formed a group of large buildings in close proximity. 
 Two candles were placed in each pane of glass, and a 
 
ILLUMINATION FOR CAPTURE OF RICHMOND. 123 
 
 man provided with matches was stationed at each win 
 dow. Fire-balls were arranged in a row directly in front 
 of the War Department, and men were near to light 
 them. A military band was seated on the balcony over 
 the north door. At a signal sounded with a trumpet on 
 the corner of the street, the band struck up " The Star- 
 spangled Banner," and, as if by magic, the windows of 
 twelve buildings were suddenly ablaze, while columns of 
 red, green, and blue transparent smoke floated over the 
 front of the "War Department. So promptly was each 
 match applied, that spectators wondered what mechanical 
 process like lighting gas-jets by electricity could have 
 been used in this instance. 
 
 Thus far this undertaking was a success. But, after 
 all, there was one failure. The Secretary had conceived 
 the idea of having the word "Richmond" in a scroll, 
 with an eagle clutching it with, his talons, in the act of 
 rising on his outspread wings, painted on a transparency 
 which was to be suspended over the top of the front bal 
 cony. This was allegorically to represent the American 
 eagle capturing the capital of the Confederacy. The 
 painter employed, not being an artist of high culture, 
 thought he would improve on the instructions given him, 
 and, for the sake of more graceful curves, he represented 
 the eagle soaring away with the end of the scroll in his 
 beak. When the Secretary saw the production he was 
 very much displeased, and would not commend the gen 
 eral effect of the illumination ; but there was not time 
 enough, after the transparency was finished, to have 
 another painted. As it was, the public, who remained 
 in ignorance of the intended design, were well satisfied 
 with the entire spectacle. 
 
124 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 For my part, anxiety lest an unfortunate spark should 
 turn my illumination into a most expensive bonfire of in 
 valuable records prevented any enjoyment, until, by per 
 sonally and carefully inspecting every room after the 
 lights were all extinguished, I was assured that every 
 thing was safe. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXX. 
 
 AD INTERIM. 
 
 Mr. Stanton s suspension Not sustained General L. Thomas appointed 
 ad interim Mr. Stanton resists Colloquy A lawyer s ruse " Stand 
 firm ! " Neutral ground Another ad interim A new Secretary. 
 
 ON Monday morning, August 5, 1867, President John 
 son invited Mr. Stanton to resign as Secretary of War. 
 Under the tenure-of-civil-office law, Mr. Stanton de 
 clined. The President, a week after, suspended him, 
 and appointed General Grant, General-in-Chief of the 
 Army, to exercise the functions. This continued until 
 January 13, 1868, when, according to the law, the Senate 
 passed a resolution not sustaining the President s action. 
 The next morning, General Grant came to my office and 
 handed me the key of the Secretary s room, saying : " I 
 am to be found over at my office at army headquarters. 
 I was served with a copy of the Senate resolution last 
 evening." I then went up-stairs and delivered the key 
 of his room to Mr. Stanton. 
 
 On Thursday, February 13, 1868, President Johnson 
 addressed to General Grant a letter, saying he desired 
 Major-General L. Thomas to resume his duties as Adju- 
 
AD INTERIM. 125 
 
 tant-General of the Army. This proved to be a prelimi 
 nary step to another attempt to remove Mr. Stanton from 
 the department. It was intended to bring the question 
 of the constitutionality of the tenure-of-office law before 
 the Supreme Court of the United States, in the course of 
 the controversy which was expected to arise. General 
 Thomas resumed charge of the adjutant-general s office, 
 February 14th, after an absence of nearly five years. He 
 was very kind, and invited me to continue my desk in 
 his room. On the 19th he asked me to look up certain 
 laws relating to the tenure of civil office, saying that the 
 President desired him to examine them. He then told 
 me, in strict confidence, that the President thought of in 
 vesting him with the office of Secretary of War ad inte 
 rim, to supersede Mr. Stanton. On Friday, the 21st, the 
 general came to the room where I was sitting with another 
 officer, and, calling him, they went out together. In a 
 short time they returned, and the general threw a letter 
 on my table, which was the one from the President, ap 
 pointing him Secretary of War ad interim. He told me 
 he had delivered the letter to Mr. Stanton, removing him, 
 and had taken the other officer to be a witness to the in 
 terview ; that, on reading the letter to Mr. Stanton, the 
 latter remarked, "I suppose you will give me time to 
 remove my private papers ! " and that he then asked for 
 a copy of the President s letter of appointment. I made 
 this copy, and the general certified it officially as " Sec 
 retary of War ad interim." When Mr. Stanton received 
 the copy, he said he would consider whether he would 
 recognize it or not. General Thomas seemed to think 
 Mr. Stanton would retire without making any opposition. 
 He said emphatically that he should most certainly, at all 
 
126 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 hazards, take possession of the war-office on the follow 
 ing Monday, which would give Mr. Stanton ample time 
 to vacate, Saturday (February 22d) being a holiday, and 
 Sunday coming right after. He then sent his letter to 
 the President, accepting the appointment. 
 
 On Saturday, February 22d, I went to the War De 
 partment, as usual on holidays, merely for my private 
 letters. The rooms were all locked, and the keys were in 
 Mr. Stanton s possession. He had remained in his own 
 office all night. I went to General Schriver s room, 
 which was directly opposite the Secretary s. At about 
 noon General Thomas entered the building unaccompa 
 nied. He had been all the night at a masked ball with 
 his family, had just sat down to breakfast without taking 
 off his uniform, when he was arrested and summoned be 
 fore Chief-Justice Cartter, of the Supreme Court of the 
 District of Columbia. The arrest was made on a warrant 
 issued upon Mr. Stanton s affidavit that, on a pretended 
 appointment of Secretary of War ad interim, he had 
 endeavored to exercise the authority of the Secretary 
 of War, contrary to the act " regulating the tenure of 
 certain civil offices," passed March 2, 1867. He gave 
 bail in five thousand dollars to appear on the following 
 Wednesday. From the court he proceeded directly to the 
 President s office, and, after consultation with the Presi 
 dent, went to the Secretary s room in the War Depart 
 ment. His arrest had changed his intention of waiting 
 till Monday to demand possession of the office. There 
 were several members of Congress with Mr. Stanton. 
 The general courteously saluted those present, and the 
 following colloquy ensued : 
 
 General Thomas (addressing Mr. Stanton). I am Sec- 
 
AD INTERIM. 127 
 
 retary of War ad interim, and am ordered by the Presi 
 dent of the United States to take charge of this office. 
 
 Mr. Stanton. I order you to repair to your room, and 
 exercise your office as adjutant-general. 
 
 General T. I am Secretary of War ad interim, and 
 I shall not obey your orders ; but I shall obey the order 
 of the President to take charge of this office. 
 
 Mr. S. As Secretary of War, I order you to repair to 
 your office as adjutant-general. 
 
 General T. I shall not do so. 
 
 Mr. S. Then you may stand there, if you please ; but 
 you will attempt to act as Secretary of War at your peril. 
 
 General T. I shall act as Secretary of War. 
 
 There the official interview ended. There was no ex 
 citement in language or manner, but each spoke with 
 quiet determination. There was a short-hand writer 
 present who took down every word. Presently, General 
 Thomas crossed the hall to General Schriver s room both 
 doors had been all the time open. Mr. Stanton, followed 
 only by the stenographer, came in after him. The door 
 of General Schriver s room was then closed. Mr. Stan- 
 ton, resuming the colloquy, said in a laughing tone to 
 General Thomas, " So you claim to be here as Secretary 
 of War, and refuse to obey my orders, do you 1 " Gen 
 eral Thomas replied, seriously : " I do so claim. I shall 
 require the mails of the War Department to be delivered 
 to me, and shall transact all the business of the depart 
 ment." Seeing that the general looked as if he had had 
 no rest the night before, Mr. Stanton then, playfully 
 running his fingers up through the general s hair, as he 
 wearily leaned back in his chair, said, " Well, old fellow, 
 have you had any breakfast this morning ? " " No," said 
 
128 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 Thomas, good-naturedly. " Nor anything to drink ? " 
 " No." " Then you are as badly off as I am, for I have 
 had neither." Mr. Stanton then sent out for some re 
 freshment ; General Thomas related how he had been ar 
 rested just after returning with his children from a ball, 
 before he had time to eat his breakfast, and they had a 
 very pleasant conversation for half an hour. Presently, 
 Mr. Stanton asked General Thomas when he was going 
 to give him the report of an inspection of the national 
 cemeteries which he had lately made. Mr. Stanton said 
 if it was not soon rendered it would be too late to have 
 it printed, and he was anxious to have it go forth as a 
 creditable work of the department. There was apparently 
 no special point to this question, and General Thomas 
 evidently saw none, for he answered pleasantly that he 
 would work at it that night and give it to him. It struck 
 me as a lawyer s ruse to make Thomas acknowledge Stan- 
 ton s authority as Secretary of War, and that Thomas 
 was caught by it. I, some time after, asked Mr. Stanton 
 if that was his design. He made no reply, but looked 
 at me with a mock expression of surprise at my conceiv 
 ing such a thing. 
 
 Before General Thomas left the department, Mr. 
 Stanton handed him a letter forbidding him to give any 
 orders as Secretary of War. The general read and in 
 dorsed it as received on that date, signing the indorse 
 ment as Secretary ad interim ; which Mr. Stanton seeing, 
 he remarked, laughing, " Here you have committed an 
 other offense ! " To this the general assented. He soon 
 after went away for the day. 
 
 The incidents here related seem to indicate that all 
 the steps taken were to place the whole matter in a form 
 
AD INTERIM. 129 
 
 to test, before the highest tribunal, the constitutionality 
 of the tenure-of-office law. There were some persistent 
 reports that it was fully intended that possession of the 
 War Department should be gained by force, if Mr. Stan- 
 ton would not voluntarily retire. General Thomas told 
 me positively that the story of his intention to "kick Mr. 
 Stanton out of the department " had but slight founda 
 tion. He felt no disrespect toward Mr. Stanton, and had 
 too much self-respect to speak of him in such terms. He 
 would not lay a finger on him. He requested me to tell 
 this to Mr. Stanton. The story had its origin in this in 
 cident : He was at a reception given one evening by the 
 President, when a man, who said he was from Newcastle, 
 Delaware, the general s old home, took him by the hand, 
 and told him that his State " had its eye upon him, and 
 expected him to stand firm." The general, smiling, 
 straightened himself and replied, " Am I not standing 
 firm ? " " But," said the other, " are you not going to 
 kick that man out ? " " Oh," said the general, evasively, 
 " some of these days." 
 
 As for Mr. Stanton, who had heard some of the re 
 ports of intended violence, he gave orders, the evening 
 of the 22d, that, if General Thomas should come to take 
 the department by force, no resistance should be made, 
 but that he should be immediately notified of his ap 
 proach. This order was kept secret, because, if known, 
 it might lead to the attempt being made. Mr. Stanton, 
 however, declared he would not have blood shed on his 
 account, and, if an assault on the building were attempted, 
 he would not try to repel it. 
 
 Monday, February 24th, the House of Eepresentatives 
 passed the resolution impeaching President Johnson, by 
 
130 ANECDOTES OF TEE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 a vote of 126 yeas to 42 nays. The report about town 
 on Wednesday, the 26th, was, that General Thomas would 
 appear before Judge Cartter, be surrendered by his bail, 
 and, being committed, would sue out a writ of habeas 
 corpus, to bring his case before the Supreme Court of 
 the United States. This would test the tenure-of-office 
 law. By this course there might result a conflict of ac 
 tion ; for the Senate might impeach the President, while 
 the Supreme Court might sustain General Thomas. 
 When, however, the general appeared before the judge, 
 he was discharged without bail. Thus the attempt to get 
 his case before the Supreme Court was frustrated. If 
 he had afterward been indicted by the grand jury, and 
 tried before the criminal court, and if the President had 
 been adjudged guilty by the Senate, the general would 
 probably have gone to the penitentiary. He came into 
 the office the day after his discharge, and said, " They 
 euchred me again yesterday by discharging me instead of 
 letting me go before the Supreme Court." He was evi 
 dently much dejected, and with reason, considering the 
 difficulties in which he was involved. 
 
 The state of things which ensued was most remarka 
 ble. Of course, the President would have no intercourse 
 with Mr. Stanton. He had also had a serious controversy 
 with General Grant,* the General-in-Chief of the Army, 
 through whom a recently enacted law required that he 
 should issue all orders to the army, and would have noth- 
 
 * The controversy grew out of the surrender of the office of Secretary of 
 War by General Grant when the Senate passed the resolution not sustain 
 ing the President in his first suspension of Mr. Stanton. The President 
 claimed that the general should not have surrendered the office to any one 
 but himself, whereas General Grant had not taken that course. 
 
AD INTERIM. 131 
 
 ing to do with him. General Thomas was asked by the 
 President on the 17th of March to resume his duties as 
 adjutant-general, but declined, lest it should involve the 
 subordinate officers in difficulty, and because he could 
 not recognize Mr. Stanton as Secretary of War. Yet his 
 appointment as Secretary ad interim was not formally 
 revoked. It happened, fortunately, that I had not been 
 seriously involved during all these perplexities. A daily 
 paper stated that I had committed myself by replying 
 that I could not recognize any one but Mr. Stanton when 
 General Thomas had asked me if I would acknowledge 
 him as Secretary of War ad interim. No such conver 
 sation took place between us, and nothing whatever oc 
 curred to require me to take side with either of the con 
 tending parties. Thus I was as the neutral ground from 
 February to the following May, on which the President, 
 Secretary of War, and General of the Army, conducted 
 the affairs of the army. They each sent directly to me 
 the orders they desired to have executed, and by a little 
 tact I managed to avoid any question of jurisdiction or 
 other difficulty. As the Treasury Department continued 
 to honor requisitions signed by Mr. Stanton, everything 
 ran on smoothly as usual in the army. 
 
 On the 16th of May, 1868, the Senate voted on the 
 eleventh of the articles of impeachment. The vote stood 
 35 for, 19 against. The rules required two thirds for 
 conviction, and so Mr. Johnson was acquitted. On the 
 26th of May a vote was taken on the second and third 
 articles, with the same result. These three articles con 
 tained special reference to the removal of Mr. Stanton, 
 and the appointment of General Thomas, in alleged viola 
 tion of the tenure-of -office law. 
 
132 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 At about a quarter to three o clock p. M., the same 
 day (26th), Mr. Stanton s son, who was his private secre 
 tary, brought me a letter in the following terms : 
 
 WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON CITY, 
 
 May 26, 1868. 
 
 GENERAL : You will take charge of the "War Depart 
 ment, and the books and papers, archives, and public 
 property belonging to the same, subject to the disposal 
 and directions of the President. 
 
 EDWIN M. STANTON, 
 
 Sewetary of War. 
 
 Brevet Major- General E. D. TOWNSEND, 
 
 Assistant Adjutant- General. 
 
 In handing me this letter he said he was to take 
 another letter from Mr. Stanton to the President. I 
 asked at what time he would deliver that letter, remark 
 ing that it would be proper for me to see the President 
 immediately after. Mr. Stanton, it seems, changed his 
 first purpose, for in half an hour his son returned, saying 
 his father wished me to deliver the letter to the Presi 
 dent. I went over, and was immediately admitted to 
 the President, who was alone, and handed him Mr. Stan- 
 ton s letter. He invited me to be seated, and conned 
 over the letter for about five minutes, his face wearing 
 an expression of marked displeasure. At last he inquired 
 at what time the War Department had been turned over 
 to me. I replied that the letter was handed me but a few 
 moments before I came to him. Something then prompt 
 ed me to say : " It is right, Mr. President, that I should 
 say I know nothing of the contents of that letter, except 
 by surmise from the tenor of this one which I received 
 at the same time, directing me to take charge of the 
 
AD INTERIM. 133 
 
 War Department." Upon this, his countenance at once 
 changed. He examined and returned my letter, and in 
 a pleasant voice asked the day of the month, which he 
 noted on Mr. Stanton s communication, and then inti 
 mated that he desired nothing further. As I rose to de 
 part, I said, " Have you any orders to give me, sir ? " 
 He replied, "None." Thus I concluded that, as he knew 
 I held the charge of the War Department, subject to his 
 " disposal and direction," he intended it should so remain 
 until he gave me other instructions ; so I put the key of 
 the Secretary s room in my pocket. 
 
 In the evening I went to Mr. Stanton s residence and 
 saw him. He said he could not be expected to make any 
 further sacrifice by contending longer for the possession 
 of the office. He had determined to withdraw at any rate, 
 even if the President had been impeached, and had seized 
 on this as an opportune moment to retire. This confirms 
 my impression that he had, contrary to his own inclina 
 tion, yielded to the arguments * of influential persons in 
 favor of maintaining the contest. His impaired health 
 must have made it peculiarly irksome to him. 
 
 The following is a copy of his letter to the President : 
 
 WAR DEPARTMENT, 
 WASHINGTON CITY, May 26, 1868. 
 
 To the President of the United States. 
 
 SIR: The resolution of the Senate of the United 
 States, of the 21st of February last, declaring that the 
 
 * One of the pressures brought to bear upon him was Senator Sumner s 
 laconic dispatch of February 21st: 
 
 "Hon. E. M. Stanton. Stick. 
 
 "Ever sincerely yours, 
 
 "CHARLES SUMNER." 
 
134: ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 President "has no power to remove the Secretary of 
 War, and desiginate any other officer to perform the 
 duties of that office ad interim" having this day failed 
 to be supported by two thirds of the Senators present 
 and voting on the articles of impeachment preferred 
 against you by the House of Representatives, I have 
 relinquished charge of the War Department, and have 
 left the same, and the books, archives, papers, and prop 
 erty heretofore in my custody, as Secretary of War, in 
 care of brevet Major-General Townsend, the senior 
 assistant adjutant-general, subject to your direction. 
 
 EDWIN M. STANTON, 
 
 Secretary of War. 
 
 The morning after Mr. Stanton s retirement, General 
 Thomas came to my room and asked if I had any keys 
 for him. I replied that I had the keys of the Secre 
 tary s room. On his asking for them, I told him I had 
 the day before reported to the President, and he had 
 tacitly confirmed the orders given me to hold the keys 
 subject to his direction. The general offered to give 
 me an order in writing, which he would sign, by order 
 of the President, as Secretary ad interim, if I desired 
 it. I rather thought that under the circumstances I 
 was as good an ad interim as he, so I replied that, to 
 save any possible difficulty, I should prefer to have the 
 President s own sign manual ; that I would suggest he 
 had better see the President, and, if the latter gave me 
 such instructions, I would cheerfully give him the keys. 
 The general went to see the President, and at the end 
 of two hours returned, saying the President " would 
 not touch the thing." So it was well I did not. 
 
AD INTERIM. 135 
 
 A singular incident happened that afternoon. A sign 
 about three feet long and six inches wide, which was 
 over the door of the reception-room next the Secre 
 tary s, fell to the floor, face down, as if to signify 
 that there was now no Secretary of War, not even an 
 ad interim. 
 
 Things remained in statu quo from the 26th to the 
 29th of May, when I received a visit from the Presi 
 dent s military secretary, who sat a little while asking 
 questions as to what was being done. At about three 
 o clock p. M., he returned, saying the President desired 
 to see me. The President asked in a pleasant manner, 
 "How are you getting on at the War Department?" 
 I said I had not thought it right to attend to any of 
 the business of the War Office, had opened none of 
 the mails, but received them and deposited them in 
 the Secretary s room, the key of which was in my 
 own possession. He said that was right; there might 
 be some business that ought to be transacted, but he 
 hoped something would be done that afternoon or the 
 next morning, and meantime he desired me to continue 
 in the same course. I told him General Thomas had 
 asked me to deliver the keys to him as Secretary ad 
 interim, but I had thought it proper to receive the 
 President s own order first. He replied, with evident 
 pleasure, that I was quite right ; that circumstances 
 had changed since General Thomas s appointment, and 
 he wished me to keep charge of the department for 
 the present. 
 
 General Schofield was confirmed as Secretary of War 
 by the Senate the 30th of May, and on Monday, the 1st 
 of June, the President came to the War Department and 
 
136 ANECDOTES OF TffE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 installed him. He remarked, laughingly, as he entered 
 the Secretary s room, " It is some time since I was in this 
 room before ! " 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 EDWIN M. STANTON. 
 
 "Always tying your shoe " "Some one^ad been drinking" The Secre 
 tary obeying orders Blood enough shed Malicious reports Bap 
 tism Kindly notice. 
 
 MR. STANTON entered upon the duties of Secretary of 
 War with a due appreciation of their difficulties and 
 responsibilities. He was beset by persons who had " axes 
 to grind," and some of them were not scrupulous as to 
 the means of gaining their end. 
 
 He found that a determined will would often alone 
 enable him to surmount obstacles in the way of the pub 
 lic service. This, added to the nervous irritability which 
 infallibly attends overwork, sometimes made him arbi 
 trary and offensive in his manners. But I always found 
 him ready to make amends when in the wrong if not 
 directly by apology, yet by some exceedingly kind act 
 which more than atoned for his hasty words. He con 
 firmed this impression, when about to take final leave of 
 the War Department, by saying to me that the only 
 regret he felt in severing ofijcial relations with the offi 
 cers who, under his administration of the War Depart 
 ment, had so faithfully and intelligently served the 
 country, w T as that, " sometimes when racked in body and 
 mind," he had not been able to control himself, and had 
 
EDWIN M. STANTON. 13 Y 
 
 addressed language to them which he afterward regretted. 
 Indeed, he had often reminded me of the man who had 
 had a hard time in his domestic circle, where he was 
 forced to restrain himself, but, finding some one tying 
 his shoe-string on the door-step, he vented his pent-up 
 passion upon the poor fellow by knocking him over, say 
 ing, "You are always tying your shoe!" This thought 
 often enabled me to refrain from a sharp answer, when 
 it w r ould have done more harm than good. Yet I did 
 not always take an unmerited rebuke quietly. He sent 
 down for me one day to go to his room in the depart 
 ment. I found him alone, pacing the floor. He asked 
 me rather sternly why I had done a certain thing which 
 had but just come to his knowledge. I gave him my 
 reasons. Said he : " You were wrong ; you ought not 
 to have done any such thing." As I differed from him, 
 I made no sort of reply. Then he asked w r hy I had not 
 done something else instead. I told him why, briefly 
 explaining the circumstances. He said, in a milder tone, 
 that he didn t agree with me. To this I made no reply. 
 Then he asked, "Don t you think you were wrong?" 
 I said, very deliberately and positively : " No, Mr. Secre 
 tary, I do not think I was wrong, and, moreover, I may 
 as well add, once for all, that my best judgment and abil 
 ity are uniformly exerted to foresee what may require to 
 be done, and to do it as well as possible. If I fail, it is 
 not from want of endeavor ; and when you find fault, as 
 you sometimes do, it can not quicken me to greater care 
 and exertion, but only makes me indifferent whether I 
 please you or not." He said, quietly, " I rebuke whom 
 I please." "Yes, sir," said I. Having waited some 
 time, and finding he said nothing more, but continued 
 
138 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 walking up and down in deep thought, I asked him if he 
 wished anything further. He said, " No," and I withdrew. 
 Half an hour after, the messenger summoned me to his 
 room again. I thought it quite probable he would do as 
 he did with a former chief of a bureau, who got angry at 
 the way Mr. Stanton spoke to him, and resented it by 
 saying he would allow no man to address to him such 
 language. It was at the beginning of his administration, 
 and the Secretary asserted his authority by ordering the 
 refractory chief to a remote city, and never after allow 
 ing him to return to duty. But I had taken my stand 
 deliberately, and meant to maintain it. The Secretary 
 was still alone, and standing by his high table. Beckon 
 ing to me with his finger in a pleasant way, he put his 
 arm around my shoulder, and drew my head close to his, 
 when he whispered to me a very important secret, which 
 it was not at all necessary I should know. He had 
 weighed all I had said, found I was right, and took this 
 method of showing me extraordinary confidence, by way 
 of acknowledgment. This course, which the Secretary 
 pursued more than once, fully accomplished his generous 
 purpose without subjecting him to a direct confession of 
 wrong, which he thought might weaken his influence. 
 He knew that I well understood it so. In moments of 
 leisure, he would often send for me, and in the most 
 pleasant manner inquire about my business, to inform 
 himself upon what was going on ; and then converse 
 generally on topics requiring consideration. In this way 
 he maintained a sufficient knowledge of things he might 
 have to act upon, and broke in upon the headlong current 
 of events which seemed to cause everything to be done 
 in a hurry. 
 
EDWIN M. STANTON. 139 
 
 Although Mr. Stanton had the reputation of being 
 very stern, he yet enjoyed a pleasantry as well as other 
 people. He once told me that an attempt had been made 
 
 on the life of Judge by sending him an infernal 
 
 machine in the form of a daguerreotype-box. I remarked 
 that murderous attempts seemed rife; the papers had 
 stated that a man tried to kill a certain Senator the day 
 before, but that he had drawn a pistol on the fellow, who 
 escaped. " Oh ! " said the Secretary, " some one in that 
 company had been drinking." I asked if the Senator 
 was given to such a practice ; for I had never then heard 
 of it. " "What practice ? " said the Secretary, with a 
 quizzical look, as if to say, " I did not say he had been 
 drinking." Not to be caught so, I replied immediately, 
 " Of carrying a pistol ! " " Umph ! " said the Secretary, 
 laughing. 
 
 Nor was Mr. Stanton quick to take offense, when he 
 understood that none was intended. There was one day 
 an alarm that the War Department building was on fire. 
 Smoke was distinctly seen issuing through the roof, and 
 for a time it was thought that the building would soon 
 be in flames. Necessary steps were taken to find the 
 location of the fire and extinguish it. But there was no 
 fire, after all. The old chimney was full of crevices ; and, 
 when a larger wood-fire than usual happened to be kin 
 dled in one of the rooms, the smoke issued from the 
 holes, and was diffused through the empty space under 
 the roof, finding its way out between the slates. The 
 room of the disbursing clerk was on the floor where the 
 fire was supposed to be, and very near the place from 
 which smoke was issuing. There was a large sum of 
 money in the safe, and the clerk coolly remained at his 
 
140 ANECDOTES OF TEE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 post to guard it, or, if necessary, be ready to move it. 
 The Secretary, in taking a survey of the operations, 
 opened the door of this room and partly entered. The 
 clerk, not seeing who it was, gruffly ordered him out. 
 " You wish me to go out, do you ? " said the Secretary. 
 " Yes, I do," replied the clerk. Without another word, 
 Mr. Stanton withdrew, and closed the door after him. 
 He never alluded to the matter; though, when the clerk 
 ascertained whom he had so peremptorily ordered out, he 
 naturally felt some apprehension of the Secretary s dis 
 pleasure. The clerk had been faithful to his charge, and 
 that was enough. 
 
 Both Messrs. Stanton and Henry Wilson, as soon as 
 the fighting was over, expressed in my presence the 
 strongest desire that peace and hearty good-will should 
 be restored as soon as possible between the two sections. 
 They believed the whole country would rapidly rise to 
 greater prosperity than ever when this was effected. I 
 shall never forget the expression of Mr. Stanton s face 
 w r hen I took to him for the President s action, just after 
 General Lee s surrender, the proceedings of a general 
 court-martial, sentencing a soldier to be shot for some 
 mutinous or other aggravated offense. When he heard 
 the sentence, and was reminded that it required the Presi 
 dent s own action, Mr. Stanton turned to me, and said : 
 " Is there no way of avoiding the execution of that sen 
 tence ? There has been blood enough shed." The man 
 was not executed. 
 
 The "absurd and malicious tale" that Judge Stan- 
 ton took his own life was forever refuted by the letter 
 of Surgeon-General Barnes and affidavits of William S. 
 Dupee and David Jones. (See Appendix G.) If any- 
 
EDWIN M. STANTON. 
 
 thing more were wanting to confirm me in the persuasion 
 of the falsity of such a story, my own knowledge would 
 suffice. I watched by the body of Edwin M. Stanton the 
 entire night after his death, and could not have failed to 
 know if there had been anything wrong about it. More 
 over, I could never be brought to believe that a man who 
 so often gave utterance to religious convictions as he did 
 in friendly conversations with me could have possibly 
 perverted his mind so as to commit such a deed. Only 
 some three or four years preceding his decease, he invited 
 Generals Barnes and Meigs and myself to be present at 
 his baptism. The ceremony was performed in his cham 
 ber, by the Eev. Dr. Sparrow, his old-time professor 
 at Kenyon College no others, except his family, being 
 present. 
 
 The estimate of Mr. Stanton s standing with the 
 Northern public was kindly and, I think, justly repre 
 sented by the following notice of him, clipped from a 
 daily newspaper: 
 
 STANTON. Since the assassination of Mr. Lin 
 coln, the public heart has been drawn nearer than ever to 
 the Secretary of War. His bulletins from Washington 
 have been eagerly read and widely praised as models of 
 composition. And it is worthy of mention that the Sec 
 retary possesses the full confidence of the nation, no one 
 ever presuming to question any of his statements. Dur 
 ing the dark and terrible hours between the firing of the 
 pistol by the assassin and the death of our good Presi 
 dent, and while the precious life of Mr. Seward hung 
 suspended by a thread, the announcements of the Secre 
 tary were like oil poured upon the troubled waters 
 
142 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 calming public apprehension, and restoring and strength 
 ening confidence. These gentle and kindly offices have 
 given him a place in every good heart." 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 THE COLORED MESSENGERS. 
 Datcher Madison s portrait. 
 
 AT the outbreak of the war, Francis Datcher was one 
 of the messengers of the Secretary s office. It had been 
 the custom for years to employ colored men, as well as 
 whites, in that capacity. Frank Datcher, of the War De 
 partment, Lindley Muse, of the Navy Department, and 
 Brent, of the Second Auditor s office, belong to the list of 
 Uncle Sam s most steady and faithful servants. The vet 
 eran Datcher, while very dignified, possessed less of pom 
 posity, and more of learning, than did the usher at the Ex 
 ecutive Mansion, of long years ago, who, at a reception, 
 announced a Senator and his daughters as " Senator 
 Foote and the Misses Feet ! " Datcher had a parchment 
 on which was engrossed a high testimonial to his charac 
 ter, signed by a long succession of Secretaries on vacating 
 their office. There was but one omission on the list. 
 For some reason Frank had taken a strong dislike to one 
 of the earlier Secretaries, who had so offended him that, 
 like the French cook who dismissed the duke for adding 
 salt to his soup, he would not permit him to affix his 
 signature to the testimonial ! Datcher did not serve long 
 
THE COLORED MESSENGERS. 143 
 
 in the civil war. The vast increase to the labors of his 
 station proved too severe for the old man, and his efforts 
 to keep up to his work as promptly as usual caused his 
 death. 
 
 He was succeeded by another colored man, Frank 
 Madison by name, a good-natured, easy-going personage, 
 who, aided by several active young fellows, did a fair 
 share of running to the Secretary s bell. Frank Batcher 
 was polite and formal in manner; Frank Madison was 
 jovial and always ready for a joke. Secretary Bel- 
 knap began to make a handsome collection of portraits 
 in oil of his predecessors, to decorate the walls of the 
 War-Office. Much interest was felt in this gallery by all 
 the employes, and when a new picture arrived each one 
 went to take a look at it. The older ones had, perhaps, 
 some reminiscence of the earlier Secretaries to relate for 
 the benefit of later comers. Frank Madison ued to 
 come to my room to advise me of each new arrival, and 
 invite me up to see it. One day he came in a great state 
 of excitement, his eyes starting from their sockets, and 
 his head tossed in a manner as lofty as he was capable of. 
 
 Said he : " General ! what do you think ? Mr. " (one 
 
 of the clerks, who was a bit of a wag) " says the Secretary 
 is going to have my portrait taken, to hang in his room 
 long with all the Secretaries ! Won t that be an ho:ior ! 
 I don t know yet who is going to paint me, but I ll come 
 down and tell you, soon as I find out. I think, sir, that 
 is doing a handsome thing don t you, now ? " Frank s 
 credulity was perhaps aided by the fact that portraits of 
 some of the generals of the war had been hung beside 
 the Secretaries. It may be imagined that the respondent 
 had a little difficulty in playing his part of a credulous 
 
144 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 listener. He has been patiently waiting for several years 
 to learn the name of the artist, but is still in ignorance. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 Obstacle to capital-moving Method of keeping records Tracing a cotton 
 claim Tracing a soldier Confederate archives The Alabama. 
 
 THE infinite number and variety of business matters 
 which have been administered upon by various depart 
 ments of the United States Government, since the civil 
 war began, can not be appreciated by those not person 
 ally conversant with such things. I was once urging be 
 fore a. Senate committee the want of afire-proof building 
 to store the records upon which so many millions of dol 
 lars depended, where they would be at once safe and easy 
 of access. One of the committee alluded to the efforts at 
 that time made to bring public opinion up to the point of 
 moving the capital westward. I suggested that one fact 
 did not appear to have been brought into view in that 
 connection : It was, that the wheels of government 
 must be nearly brought to a stand-still for at least a 
 year or more, while the process of moving was going 
 on. The innumerable claims arising from contracts, 
 pensions, and every conceivable account against the 
 Treasury, are determined by documentary evidence, 
 which must be carefully preserved for reference in 
 every case. These papers contain the history of claims, 
 and determine their value. Acres of ground are now 
 
RECORDS OF ADJUTANT-GENERAL S OFFICE. 145 
 
 covered by such records. In order to a change of 
 location, they must all be boxed in parcels that could 
 be handled and transported, and the boxes must be so 
 labeled as to indicate their contents. Meantime, build 
 ings of sufficient capacity must be provided in the new 
 capital to receive them ; and when they arrive there they 
 must be unpacked and systematically arranged. 
 
 Some little estimate of the time which would be con 
 sumed in the packing and transporting, and then un 
 packing and arranging, can be formed by any one who 
 has passed through the public buildings and observed 
 the towering piles of shelves and pigeon-holes, groan 
 ing under the weight of tons of papers. Now, the 
 last estimate for the payment of pensions only one 
 branch of the public service was one hundred mill 
 ion dollars, due in sums of from three to thirty dollars 
 a month. Every claimant for portions of this aggregate 
 amount has on file in Washington papers proving the 
 right to the pension. Besides this, thousands of new 
 claims are constantly presented. But, while the Pen 
 sion-Office is on its journey, almost the entire work 
 upon these cases must be suspended, else wrong pay 
 ments would be made to a frightful extent, in igno 
 rance of what had been already determined about those 
 same claims. 
 
 Nor is this all. The records of the different depart 
 ments are interlaced, as it were, so that information from 
 one is necessary to intelligent action in another. Thus, 
 if the adjutant-general s muster-rolls are not open to 
 the Pension-Office, the latter is paralyzed in its efforts 
 to detect fraudulent claims. 
 
 From this sketch, but a faint conception can be 
 
146 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 formed of the unavoidable suspension of public busi 
 ness which must ensue should the location of the capi 
 tal be changed. This was a new idea to the Senator, 
 and he thought it well worthy of serious considera 
 tion. 
 
 As must be supposed, a very exact but simple system 
 prevails in the filing of papers, so that they can be easily 
 found when required. In the same way that a book has 
 its index, so has a collection of papers. Each paper is 
 folded and indorsed with the date and place of writing, 
 name of writer, a brief analysis of its contents, and the 
 date of its receipt. The several papers are numbered 
 in the order of their receipt within the year. This 
 entire indorsement is copied in a book, and numbered 
 to correspond with the number on the paper. The 
 history of the subject embraced in the paper, as it 
 progresses, is kept by further indorsements upon the 
 paper, and by filing with it all other documents bearing 
 on the subject. Finally, the date when the decision 
 is communicated to the person concerned is noted on 
 the papers. They are then arranged in pigeon-holes, 
 or on shelves, in the order of their numbers, and ac 
 cording to the years of their dates. If the papers should 
 be referred to any one out of the office, a note is made 
 in the index-book, of the entire reference. Should any 
 paper be required years after its receipt, the first re 
 sort is to the index-book which describes it, and the 
 entry there at once reveals the file where it should 
 be, or the reference which was made of it. 
 
 This is simply an outline of the system observed, with 
 variations, in all departments of the Government. In 
 illustration of its effectiveness, two incidents may be men- 
 
RECORDS OF ADJUTANT-GENERALS OFFICE. 
 
 tioned : After the close of the war, a gentleman was try 
 ing to trace some cotton, for which he had a claim, in the 
 Treasury. He was referred to the adjutant-general, to 
 ascertain what had become of certain papers he had 
 submitted a few years before. An entry was found in 
 the index-book, describing the papers, and showing that 
 they had been sent to the officer commanding a military 
 department, with instructions to him to obtain informa 
 tion and report upon them, and that they had not been 
 returned. The gentleman said he had applied to this 
 department commander, who had sent him to the officer 
 commanding the sub-district where the cotton was taken ; 
 he had been to him, and could get no information from 
 either. I asked if they had given him any memoranda, 
 showing that they had ever seen the papers. He replied 
 that both had given him slips, but they afforded him no 
 assistance. He then handed me the slips. The one from 
 the department commander was an exact copy of the en 
 try from the adjutant-general s book, taken from the pa 
 pers themselves, and showing that they had been received 
 on a certain date, and that they had been referred for a 
 report to the sub-district commander. The slip from the 
 latter exhibited the same data, and that the papers had 
 been given for proper action to a certain agent of the 
 Treasury, appointed for the express purpose of attending 
 to cotton claims. I had only to inform the gentleman 
 that this Treasury agent was the person to whom he 
 should look for his papers, and he departed quite satisfied. 
 The other instance of the value of such a system was 
 one where some national pride was involved. In March, 
 1864, an application was made to the Department of 
 State for the discharge of a French citizen, through the 
 
148 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 French legation. The minister had gone away tempo 
 rarily, and left a charge to act for him. The letter in 
 closed a translation of one from the soldier himself to his 
 father, in Paris, representing that he had been arbitrarily 
 taken from his hotel in New York, told he was a soldier, 
 and, having no one to care for him, had been hurried off 
 to a regiment at Morris Island, in South Carolina, with 
 out bounty or pay. He signed himself " A. Cauvet, 3d 
 Regt., Y. II. Y." The father wrote under the same name 
 Cauvet. There was no regiment in the Union service 
 designated by the initials Y. H. Y., but, as the Third Regi- 
 ment of N. H. (New Hampshire) Yolunteers was at Mor 
 ris Island, the muster-rolls of that regiment were carefully 
 examined. No such man, however, appeared there. The 
 regimental commander and several mustering officers 
 were called upon to investigate the case, but for some 
 time a trace could not be found. At last, after several 
 weeks of patient examination, it was found that one 
 Emile Caulat, a Frenchman, had voluntarily offered as a 
 substitute for a drafted man, and had received from him 
 the usual three hundred dollars ; that he had been mus 
 tered in at a place in New Hampshire, instead of being 
 kidnapped in New York as was stated, and had been sent 
 to the Third Regiment of New Hampshire Yolunteers. 
 The man signed his name on enlistments and receipts 
 very distinctly as Emile Caulat. Owing to the delay in 
 finding him, which was due to difference of name and 
 data, Emile Caulat s regiment had meantime been trans 
 ferred to Yirginia, where he was killed in battle. The 
 French charge, hearing this, addressed another communi 
 cation to the Department of State, in which he reflected 
 severely on administrative delays through which the 
 
RECORDS OF AfrJUT ANT-GENERAL" 1 S OFFICE. 149 
 
 French citizen had found death under the United States 
 flag, when he might have been discharged and saved. 
 He also declared his conviction that statements, of which 
 he had been kept in ignorance, showed the truth of the 
 kidnapping charge. 
 
 On receipt of this last communication at the War 
 Department, the Secretary sent to me for the facts. 
 With the file of papers in my hand I gave him from their 
 indorsements the history of the patient investigation that 
 had been made, with the dates when several different 
 officers in New York, New Hampshire, and South Caro 
 lina, had been asked to try to find the man, and the state 
 ments of their efforts, all in detail. The fact was clearly 
 shown to be, that failure to comply with the request of 
 the legation was due to material errors in the data given 
 by it, and that, instead of being kidnapped in New York, 
 Cauvet, if indeed he w r ere identical with the man Caulat, 
 had voluntarily enlisted as a substitute in New Hamp 
 shire. If, however, the identity of the two names were 
 not established, then we had not been able to find Cauvet 
 in the United States service. 
 
 Mr. Stanton was much impressed with the pains that 
 had been taken in this investigation, and with the system 
 of record through which its progress had been so accu 
 rately preserved. In sending the statement in detail to 
 the Department of State, he expressed the hope that the 
 Secretary would not fail to invite the attention of the 
 French legation to the injustice done by its charges 
 against officers whose fidelity and intelligence could not 
 be surpassed by those of any government. It was a 
 merited compliment to the assistant adjutant-general hav 
 ing immediate charge of that branch of business, for this 
 
150 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAS. 
 
 was only one case out of the thousands from which it had 
 been singled at hap-hazard. 
 
 Remembering what large numbers of claims against 
 the Government had arisen from the Mexican War, and 
 what trouble there had been in adjusting them from want 
 of the records made at the time, I asked the Secretary 
 of War to let me issue an order requiring that whenever 
 military posts, departments, etc., were discontinued, all 
 the official record-books and papers belonging to them 
 should be forwarded for file in the adjutant-general s 
 office. Accordingly, such an order was promulgated 
 April 7, 1865.* The third paragraph of the order re 
 quired that "officers who come in command of places 
 captured from the enemy will collect and forward to this 
 office any papers left behind by the rebels which may be 
 of public use or interest." Struck with the importance 
 of this measure, the Secretary immediately telegraphed 
 the last provision to General Halleck, who commanded in 
 Richmond after its capture. Some of the buildings and 
 records of the Confederate capital had been fired at the 
 time of the evacuation ; a large portion, however, were 
 saved. General R. D. Cutts, United States Coast Sur 
 vey, then an aide-de-camp to General Halleck, collected 
 and arranged all that could be found, and sent them, 
 with invoices, to Washington. The invoices indicated 
 from what public department the records were taken, 
 and, being duly certified, they became of signal value as 
 authentic documents, not only in an historical but in a 
 financial point of view. It would be difficult to estimate 
 the amount actually saved to the United States Treasury by 
 
 * In October, 1866, the adjutant-general reported that 3,353 boxes, 
 containing records of 2,165 organizations, had been received. 
 
RECORDS OF ADJUTANT-GENERAL S OFFICE. 151 
 
 the use of these archives. In one single case, judgment 
 for a million dollars had been given a certain firm by an 
 inferior court. This judgment, having been appealed to 
 the United States Supreme Court, was reversed upon 
 evidence subsequently discovered among the Confederate 
 archives. In another instance both Houses of Congress 
 passed a bill to pay a claim of about ninety thousand 
 dollars ; but the President, having seen indisputable evi 
 dence of the claimant s disloyalty, found in the archives, 
 refused to sign the bill, and it was lost. 
 
 The most remarkable case of all was that of the Con 
 federate ram Alabama, which was destroyed off Cher 
 bourg, June 19, 1864, by the United States steamer Kear- 
 sarge, commanded by Captain John A. Winslow. Claims 
 arising from depredations committed by the Alabama, or 
 " 290," as she was sometimes called, were before the High 
 Joint Commission, which assembled in Washington to 
 adjust differences between the United States and Great 
 Britain. Hearing of this, I informed the Secretary of 
 "War that there were in the Archive-Office, certified by 
 General Cutts as having been taken from the Confederate 
 Navy Department in Richmond, drawings, plans, specifi 
 cations, and a contract between the Confederate Navy 
 Department and the Lairds, English ship-builders, for 
 building this identical ram Alabama. Copies of these 
 papers, under the seal of the War Department, were 
 transmitted to the Department of State, and formed an 
 important link in the testimony bearing on the question. 
 
 Whereas, at first much discontent was manifested at 
 the South from a misapprehension as to the purpose of 
 the Government concerning these archives, now that it 
 is ascertained that whatever is of merely historical value 
 
152 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 will be published,* with other documents relating to the 
 war, the Government receives hearty co-operation in its 
 efforts to gather in as many of the same description of 
 papers as it possibly can, in order that the written history 
 of the war may be most complete on both sides. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 A CASE OF CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE. 
 The unknown man Convincing proofs. 
 
 IN the latter part of September, 1866, it was reported 
 to me that an unknown man, laboring under insanity, 
 and without the power of speech, had been found at Tal 
 lahassee, Florida, by the United States troops when they 
 occupied that place. He had been there about fifteen 
 months, and no one knew anything about his history. 
 He was supposed, however, to be a Union soldier. A 
 notice of him having appeared in some Northern papers, 
 several persons applied for permission to visit Tallahassee, 
 in hopes of finding in him a missing relative. With the 
 view of bringing him to a more accessible place, and thus 
 increasing the chances of his being identified, and also in 
 the hope that contact with familiar objects might restore 
 him to reason, I sent orders to have him transferred to 
 
 * " The War of the Rebellion : A Compilation of the Official Records 
 of the Union and Confederate Armies. Prepared, under the Direction of 
 the Secretary of War, by Brevet Lieutenant- Colonel Robert N. Scott, Third 
 United States Artillery, and published pursuant to Act of Congress, ap 
 proved June 16, 1880." 
 
A CASE OF CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE. 153 
 
 the Government Hospital for the Insane, at Washington, 
 under the charge of an intelligent attendant, who might 
 turn to advantage any sign of returning reason. He 
 was admitted there the last of November, 1866. The 
 superintendent of the hospital published personal de 
 scriptions of the man in newspapers at the North, and 
 several persons came to see him. In August, 1867, a 
 Mrs. Houghton, from Ontario County, New York, brought 
 me a note from the superintendent of the hospital, stat 
 ing that Mrs. Houghton had spent some hours with the 
 unknown man, and that she believed him to be her hus 
 band. Dr. Nichols thought she was not mistaken, but 
 was not quite so confident of his identity as she was. He 
 recommended that she and the man should be examined 
 together by some medical officers of the army. Accord 
 ingly, he was sent to the city, and examined by Surgeon- 
 General Barnes, Assistant Surgeon-General Crane, and 
 Dr. Nichols, superintendent of the hospital, Mrs. Hough- 
 ton and myself being present. The result was given in a 
 certificate, signed by the medical gentlemen, that they were 
 satisfied the unknown man was Thomas B. Houghton, 
 late a private soldier in the One Hundred and Fortieth 
 Regiment of New York Volunteers ; and that Elizabeth 
 E. Houghton had fully identified and proved him to be 
 her husband. The same day, Mrs. Houghton made affi 
 davit that her husband, Thomas B., was a private soldier 
 in Company H, One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment, 
 New York Volunteers ; that she had been informed by 
 returned volunteers of the company that he disappeared 
 from his command as the army was advancing to attack 
 Fredericksburg, and that, having been taken sick on the 
 march, he was told to get into the nearest hospital am- 
 
154: ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 bulance, and that he had not been heard of afterward. 
 From several marks she had seen on the person of the 
 unknown, she identified him to be her husband. Mrs. 
 Houghton produced testimonials from respectable people 
 in Ontario County, who were known to parties in Wash 
 ington. The muster-rolls in the adjutant-general s office 
 corroborated Mrs. Houghton s statement. The age and 
 description of Houghton, as given by the muster-rolls, 
 corresponded with the appearance of the unknown man, 
 and with Mrs. Houghton s account of her husband. 
 
 Some of the proofs of identity were certainly most 
 remarkable. It was stated in the newspapers that the 
 unknown man had a singular mole upon his back. Mrs. 
 Houghton, having declared that such was the fact as to 
 her husband, was asked by the doctor to describe it and 
 place her finger on it. She gave an accurate account of 
 its size, shape, and appearance, and touched the spot 
 where the " mother-mark," as she called it, was located 
 on her husband. The doctor insisted that this man s 
 mole was much higher up, but she maintained that her 
 husband s was just where her finger indicated. On un 
 covering the place, she was found to be singularly accu 
 rate. 
 
 No mention had been made in the public prints of 
 scars, but she described one on the forehead under the 
 hair, and one on the foot, both of which were found as she 
 said. Three remarkable scars of different size were found 
 across the upper part of one shin, which had been erro 
 neously supposed to have been caused by a musket-ball, 
 though it was not easily seen how a ball could have passed 
 through the flesh in such a direction without fracturing 
 the bone. Mrs. Houghton had not seen those scars, but. 
 
A CASE OF CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE. 155 
 
 when asked if she recollected any like them, she said that, 
 some years before her husband left home, he was stand 
 ing on a stool and reaching up to take a saw down from 
 a beam in the shed, when the stool slipped and the saw 
 fell across his leg below the knee. She did not remem 
 ber which limb it was, but she knew that scars were left 
 by the wounds. Thus these curious scars on the unknown 
 man were satisfactorily accounted for. The doctors had 
 seen clusters of small scars on the breast and back of the 
 unknown : Mrs. Houghton, w T hen questioned about them, 
 said her husband was once engaged in washing sheep in 
 a river under a hot sun ; that he wore a red flannel shirt, 
 and, when he came home, his neck and chest were cov 
 ered with an eruption ; she dressed the places with cream, 
 but without giving relief ; and he was under a doctor s 
 care for two months before a cure was effected, leaving 
 deep scars as described. General Barnes had known such 
 cases, where poisonous substances in the dye of the red 
 flannel had caused ulceration of the skin when excited by 
 heat. To show the woman s good faith, when her atten 
 tion was directed to some scars on the man s arms, she at 
 once said that there were none such on her husband s, ex 
 cept one where he had been vaccinated. Dr. Nichols, 
 however, stated that these scars were evidently of recent 
 origin. It was a common error among medical men, not 
 specially skilled in cases of insanity, to freely bleed the 
 patients ; and this vicious practice was apt to produce 
 precisely the kind of dementia under which this man was 
 laboring. 
 
 Mrs. Houghton brought with her a lock of her hus 
 band s hair, and a daguerreotype of him taken just before 
 he left home. Examination with a microscope failed to 
 
156 ANECDOTES OF TEE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 detect any difference, in texture or color, between this 
 hair and the man s when they were laid together, except 
 that the latter had a slight sprinkling of gray, which 
 change might easily have occurred in the time he was 
 away from home. 
 
 Mrs. Houghton noticed a want of close resemblance 
 between this man and her husband when his picture was 
 taken, but that could be accounted for by lapse of time, 
 and suffering, as well as change of dress. She said that 
 when the man was looking down she could discover no 
 trace of her husband s expression of countenance, but 
 when his attention was attracted, and he looked up as if 
 to speak, his attitude and expression were familiar. The 
 color of the eyes a singular light blue was common to 
 this man and to the picture. The daguerreotype showed 
 a remarkable taper to the fingers. The thumbs were long 
 and delicately pointed at the ends a most unusual thing 
 among laboring-men. This was also a marked pecul 
 iarity of the unknown man s hand. He had also a habit 
 of twirling one thumb over the other while sitting, as if 
 in meditation. Mrs. Houghton mentioned this as a nota 
 ble custom of her husband. 
 
 Mrs. Houghton said that, from wearing short shoes, 
 her husband s toes were bent under so that he was some 
 times lame in consequence ; examination revealed the 
 same formation in this man. 
 
 No positive conclusion could be drawn from the effect 
 of Mrs. Houghton s presence upon the man. He had 
 some slight degree of intelligence : w r hen told to stand 
 up he comprehended with difficulty, but obeyed ; and he 
 seemed excited by the presence of persons to whom he 
 was unaccustomed. Mrs. Houghton, in conversing with 
 
A CASE OF CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE. 157 
 
 him, had endeavored to elicit some sign of recognition, 
 by telling in brief sentences of his family and friends. 
 He sat by her side passively, but several times looked up 
 quickly and seemed to make an effort to speak. She said 
 that in the morning, after the first night which she passed 
 in the ward, she sat by him, and talked for some little 
 time, and then, wishing him good-by, arose and went 
 toward the door. He promptly got up and followed her, 
 a thing quite unusual. Stopping at the door, she turned, 
 put out her hand, and said, " Come, Thomas, won t you 
 go with me ? " He turned back with his face toward the 
 wall, and trembled violently. She related this circum 
 stance with great emotion, which she exerted herself to 
 suppress, and seemed to think it a proof that he recog 
 nized her. In her subsequent meetings with him he 
 showed less excitement than at first. 
 
 In view of all this remarkable chain of circumstances, 
 it was not a surprise to me, but rather a peculiar gratifica 
 tion, when General Barnes sent me, rather more than a 
 year after, the following copy of a letter from Dr. Nich 
 ols, indicating, as it seemed, beyond a possibility of doubt, 
 that the last link of the chain had been forged : 
 
 GOVERNMENT HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE, 
 
 NEAR WASHINGTON, D. C., January 29, 1869. 
 
 Brevet Major- General J. K. BARNES, Stir geon- General 
 
 U. 8. Army. 
 
 GENERAL : From the deep interest you have mani 
 fested in the case, I feel sure that you will derive as much 
 pleasure from the intelligence as I do in being able to 
 communicate it, that Thomas B. Houghton, late a private 
 in the One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment New York 
 
158 ANECDOTES OF TEE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 Volunteers, spoke on Saturday last, saying, in a distinct 
 but low tone of voice, " Yes, sir" in reply to a leading 
 question in respect to his health, by Dr. Eastman, the 
 physician in immediate charge of him. He spoke some 
 what more freely than he did at first, but still hesitatingly 
 and timidly, and only in brief reply to direct questions. 
 His answers are intelligent, however, and his intelli 
 gence appears to be increasing every day. When asked 
 his name this morning he distinctly replied that it is 
 "Thomas B. Hough ton"; when asked the name of his 
 wife, he shook his head and said, "I don t know, sir" ; 
 and, when asked where he is from, replied, " New York" 
 
 You will recollect the case of late private Houghton 
 as that of the unknown man who was admitted to this 
 hospital November 28, 1866, from the general army hos 
 pital at Tallahassee, Florida, in which he had been under 
 treatment for about fifteen months, having been received 
 as a destitute sick person, and under the supposition that 
 he had been a Union prisoner among the rebels, and who 
 was identified in your office on the 23d of August, 1867, 
 as Thomas B. Houghton, late, etc., husband of Elizabeth 
 E. Houghton, of Ontario County, New York. 
 
 Houghton did not speak while in the Tallahassee hos 
 pital, and has not spoken since he has been under the 
 care of this institution till last Saturday ; and it thus ap 
 pears that he was entirely dumb for a period of three and 
 one half years, and, as he was in a feeble, passive "condi 
 tion, and did not speak when admitted to general hospital, 
 the disuse of his voice probably antedated that period 
 many months. I now intend to address another commu 
 nication to you in relation to this case when its history 
 and result are more fully developed. 
 
A CASE OF CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE. 159 
 
 As the identification of late private Houghton was 
 primarily due to brevet Major-General E. D. Townsend, 
 assistant adjutant-general, who ordered his transfer from 
 Tallahassee to this hospital, where he would be more ac 
 cessible to those in pursuit of lost friends, and who, as 
 you are aware, displayed a deep personal interest in this 
 extraordinary case, I respectfully suggest that he be ap 
 prised of Houghton s improvement, and of the interesting 
 event of his having found his long-lost voice. 
 
 I am, general, very respectfully, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 C. H. NICHOLS, Superintendent, etc. 
 
 Time wore on, and I occasionally heard that our pa 
 tient was progressing favorably. His wife had gone 
 home, preferring to leave him in the Government Hos 
 pital, where he could have far better attendance than she 
 could otherwise procure. He steadily improved, and be 
 gan to converse a little. He was employed at light labor, 
 and grew robust in health. Suddenly, one day, when 
 some one addressed him by the name of Houghton, he 
 laughed and said that was not his name. He gave another 
 name, and, when asked if he did not belong to the One 
 Hundred and Fortieth New York Regiment, he said 
 " No." A few days after, he said, with a peculiar chuckle, 
 that he had never been a Yankee soldier, but had been 
 overseer of a plantation in Georgia, or, as he called it, 
 " a negro-driver." When Dr. Nichols heard this, he ques 
 tioned him at different times, until the man stated that 
 he was a native of Georgia. He gave the town w r here 
 he lived, and the names of persons residing there and 
 elsewhere in the State. He said he had gone into Florida 
 
160 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 on business, and had been drafted into a company of 
 Florida conscripts ; that he lost his mind soon after, and 
 did not remember anything that had since occurred. Dr. 
 Nichols wrote to the persons he named, and from their 
 replies became convinced that the story was true. 
 
 Thus all our circumstantial evidence was completely 
 overturned. When he was quite restored, the man ex 
 pressed a desire to go home to the South, and he was 
 sent accordingly. His answering at first to the name of 
 Houghton may be accounted for by his having been called 
 by that name, and hearing himself spoken of as from 
 New York, for some time after his intelligence began to 
 return. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 ORIGIN OF MILITARY COMMISSIONS. 
 General Scott in Mexico Martial law Lieber s instructions. 
 
 BEFORE General Scott went to Mexico to assume 
 command of the army, he endeavored to procure some 
 provision by the "War Department for trying a class of 
 offenses which he foresaw must arise in the progress of 
 his arms. There was no article of war, or other act of 
 Congress, which would, in the ordinary practice, cover 
 crimes committed by soldiers against Mexican citizens, 
 or by citizens against soldiers of the United States army. 
 The general submitted a projet of his plan in October, 
 1846, but, for some reason, no action was taken upon it. 
 At the very outset of military operations, the general was 
 
ORIGIN OF MILITARY COMMISSIONS. 161 
 
 met at Yera Cruz by just such a necessity as he had an 
 ticipated. To dispose of these cases, he first issued his 
 General Orders, No. 20, dated February 19, 1847, and 
 afterward republished it, with additions, the 17th of Sep 
 tember, 1847, in his General Orders, No. 287 (see Appen 
 dix H). 
 
 A regiment of volunteers was raised in the District 
 of Columbia, the command of which was given to an 
 officer of the army by President Polk. When the army 
 moved on toward the city of Mexico, this regiment was 
 left to garrison Jalapa. Its colonel, as the senior officer, 
 commanded the district around that town. The colonel 
 was much embarrassed by the absence of any tribunal, 
 civil or military, to enforce police regulations in the town. 
 For want of a legal mode of punishment, he caused one 
 of the enlisted men of his regiment to be flogged for 
 some injury done a citizen of the place. This example 
 seemed to have the desired effect, and he had little trouble 
 in his command afterward. When the regiment had re 
 turned to Washington and been disbanded, a civil suit 
 for damages was brought against the colonel in the name 
 of the soldier whom he had punished with stripes. As 
 I had mustered the regiment into service, I was called as 
 a witness to prove that this soldier had been regularly 
 mustered, and that he was stationed at Jalapa at the time 
 of the alleged assault. Messrs. Bradley and Carlisle were 
 the counsel on opposite sides. They questioned me as to 
 the nature of the service in that foreign city, and the laws 
 relating to military discipline in force there. In reply to 
 these questions I stated in substance that the city had 
 been captured from the enemy by United States forces, 
 and was garrisoned by this colonel s regiment ; that the 
 
162 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 colonel had been appointed military governor, and was 
 responsible for the good order and police of the town ; 
 that there were no courts of the country or of the United 
 States there ; that the colonel had not power to assemble 
 a general court-martial to try his men ; and, even if he 
 had, the offense committed by this soldier was not cov 
 ered by the rules and articles of war ; that the command 
 ing general of the army alone had power to institute a 
 military commission which could have tried the soldier 
 for this civil offense, but he was so far off in the enemy s 
 country that it was impracticable to communicate with 
 him. Under these circumstances, the colonel had proba 
 bly judged this summary punishment to be the only and 
 necessary way to make an example which would prevent 
 the prevalence of lawlessness and disorder. On hearing 
 this, the judge said: "I perceive, sir, that you use a term 
 not familiar to this court ; will you please explain to the 
 court what you mean by a military commission ?" To 
 this I replied : " As I understand the matter, when the 
 United States forces landed and took possession of Yera 
 Cruz and the surrounding country, all the civil magis 
 trates fled, and the civil courts of Mexico were suspended. 
 Hence arose, from the existing status of war, the necessity 
 for a tribunal which could adjudicate and punish offenses 
 committed by United States soldiers against citizens or 
 each other, or by citizens against soldiers, or even by 
 Mexican citizens against each other. This class of cases 
 could not be lawfully tried by any military court consti 
 tuted under the rules and articles of war. The foreign 
 territory occupied by the United States forces being, then, 
 practically and of necessity under martial law, General 
 Scott conceived the plan of assembling what he desig- 
 
ORIGIN OF MILITARY COMMISSIONS. 163 
 
 nated ( military commissions, which were composed of a 
 number of officers of the army acting as jurors, and gov 
 erned by the common law of the United States, which 
 followed its armies in their camps, and by this tribunal 
 all such cases, not strictly military in nature, were dis 
 posed of." 
 
 When I had finished, Mr. Carlisle arose and said, 
 " Your Honor may thank the witness for a lucid ex 
 planation of a question which has puzzled the most acute 
 lawyers for two hundred years past." I knew how much 
 controversy there had been over the rights and powers of 
 " martial law," and supposed Mr. Carlisle meant to make 
 a point for his side, by a little sarcasm on the witness. I 
 said then, " I am no lawyer, your Honor, but have en 
 deavored to give you, to the best of my ability, what I 
 suppose to be the true explanation of the matter." 
 
 Since the war of the rebellion, Mr. Bradley, and other 
 lawyers of high authority, have told me I did give the 
 true explanation. Upon this principle, then, which it 
 seems I had rightly apprehended, and which General 
 Scott s General Orders, No. 287, had elucidated, Con 
 gress enacted several laws during the civil war, making 
 military commissions a legal tribunal. They were made 
 use of in many exceedingly important instances, notably 
 for the trial of the conspirators in the murder of Presi 
 dent Lincoln. Washington was a garrisoned town, having 
 in and around it several thousand soldiers, to protect the 
 public officials and the public property. The President 
 was commander-in-chief of the army, and his murder was 
 adjudged to be clearly within the statutes. 
 
 In the codification of the military laws, the only trace 
 left of military commissions is in section 1,343 of the 
 
164 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 Revised Statutes, which provides for the trial of spies 
 before them. A much larger scope of offenses, however, 
 such as murder, robbery, etc., has been added to the list 
 which a general court-martial may try ; and orders No. 
 100, of the year 1863, prepared by Dr. Francis Lieber, 
 LL. D., with much wisdom and learning, containing " In 
 structions for the Government of Armies of the United 
 States in the Field," supplied a great gap in the codes of 
 the world. It is now ingrafted upon the regulations for 
 the army. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXYI. 
 
 MEDALS AND COKPS-BADGES. 
 
 Medals of honor Recommendations "Kearny patch" Red, white and 
 blue Legal recognition Legends Devices. 
 
 MEDALS. As soon as news of the civil war in the 
 United States became known in Europe, many persons 
 who had been officers in foreign armies came to offer 
 their services to the Government. It frequently hap 
 pened that these gentlemen brought letters of introduc 
 tion and testimonials of their military career. Sometimes 
 they came accredited to our Department of State. They 
 usually paid their respects to General Scott, and not un- 
 frequently, on such an occasion, wore their uniform, with 
 all their decorations medals or orders. There were many 
 men in our volunteer service who had served abroad, and 
 it was quite the habit among them to display on their uni 
 forms such marks of distinction if they possessed them. 
 
MEDALS AND CORPS-BADGES. 165 
 
 It is no wonder if they were objects of envy to many of 
 our young aspirants for military glory. 
 
 The experience of the Mexican War, when the honor 
 of a brevet was so often persistently sought for through 
 political influence, sometimes without any special military 
 merit to sustain it, early suggested to me the probability 
 that the same evil in magnified form would arise during 
 the civil war. It was very desirable, therefore, if pos 
 sible, to prevent what afterward actually happened, the 
 destruction of the practical benefit arising from the brevet 
 system. Instead of tardy and sometimes indiscriminate 
 recommendations for brevets, why should not our gener 
 als, when in command of armies in time of war, be clothed 
 with the power of rewarding distinguished acts of bravery, 
 on the instant, by issuing orders conferring a medal for 
 them, such orders to be as soon as possible confirmed and 
 executed by the War Department \ Mistakes would rarely, 
 if ever, be made ; * and the excellent effect of a prompt rec 
 ognition of gallantry in battle is no new thing in history. 
 
 * On one occasion, a commanding general, after a successful battle, sent 
 a number of men, who had captured flags, to present them in person to the 
 Secretary of War. The Secretary received them publicly at the department, 
 and, as each one delivered his trophy, the Secretary pronounced his name, 
 and ordered a medal of honor to be conferred on him. He then gave them 
 collectively the thanks of the department for their distinguished bravery. 
 Among them was a foreigner who bore a small, dirty, torn flag. When he 
 produced it, I observed something in his manner that struck me unfavorably. 
 His truly brave comrades, appreciating the high honor they had fairly won 
 and ashamed of such companionship, exposed his imposture. His flag was 
 originally found in an abandoned camp of the enemy, and had been borne 
 in derision on the bayonets of our men, tossed from one to another, until, 
 weary of the sport, they had cast it into the bushes. This fellow had picked 
 it up, and had the effrontery to come forward as its captor in battle, and to 
 claim a medal for it. He did not get one. 
 
166 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 Impressed with these ideas, I, early in 1861, urged 
 their adoption upon General Scott, and upon the chair 
 man of the Senate Military Committee, the Secretary of 
 War, and others in influence. They objected that it was 
 contrary to the spirit of our institutions to wear decora 
 tions, and therefore the measure would not be popular. 
 I instanced the pride which children feel in wearing 
 medals won at school, and the pains taken by parents to 
 foster it ; and suggested that, if those who won medals 
 did not choose to wear them, they would none the less 
 value them, and so would their descendants after them. 
 Nothing was done in that direction, however, until the 
 12th of July, 1862, when Coagress passed a resolution 
 to award medals of honor to enlisted men, which, by 
 the act of March 3, 1863, was extended to officers also. 
 These medals, although intrinsically of but little value, 
 have been eagerly sought for and highly prized. The 
 main objection to them is the mode of conferring, under 
 which years have sometimes elapsed before sufficiently re 
 liable testimony could be obtained that the claimant was 
 justly entitled to one, according to the terms of the 
 law. 
 
 In my annual report of October 31, 1864, the matter 
 was presented to the notice of the Secretary of War, and 
 of Congress, in these words : 
 
 "The medal of honor is of bronze, of neat device, 
 and is highly prized by those on whom it has been be 
 stowed. Hitherto no medals have been conferred upon 
 commissioned officers, apparently under the idea that at 
 some future day their acts of distinguished bravery would 
 be recognized by brevets. It is believed that, in the 
 
MEDALS AND CORPS-BADGES. 167 
 
 majority of cases, the award of a gold or a silver medal 
 would be quite as acceptable as the brevet, and of more 
 substantial value, especially in the volunteer service. . . . 
 If an act were passed to authorize it, a prompt and grati 
 fying acknowledgment of distinguished services could be 
 made, by publishing a general order awarding to the offi 
 cer the gold medal or the silver medal, with the privi 
 lege of engraving thereon the name and date of the battle 
 in which his gallantry was conspicuous. In case of his 
 again winning distinction, he would be authorized in 
 general orders to add to the inscription upon his medal 
 the name and date of his new exploit. If both gold and 
 silver medals were authorized, there would be no objec 
 tion to the same officer being the recipient of both, if 
 won by meritorious conduct at different times, and differ 
 ent in degree. The system of medals need in no wise 
 interfere with the conferring of brevet rank in cases 
 where such rank might be actually exercised in high com 
 mands, or at the discretion of the President ; but it would 
 relieve the pressure for brevets on the part of the many 
 officers who justly believe they have won a title to some 
 mark of honor, and would avoid the many vexed ques 
 tions likely to arise from the possession of brevet rank 
 by so large a number of officers as can reasonably prefer 
 a claim to reward." 
 
 CORPS-BADGES. As a sort of substitute for medals, 
 the corps-badges have come to be regarded as a proud 
 mark of distinction, and memorial of service in the war. 
 It would be difficult to describe the true sentiment con 
 nected with them in more eloquent language than that 
 used by the commander of the Twenty-fifth Corps, in his 
 
168 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 order announcing the device for his command.* So 
 highly are they valued, that large sums have often been 
 expended on presentation gold and jeweled badges. Yet 
 there seems to be one objection to these badges : there is 
 nothing to prevent their being worn by any man who 
 served, whether meritoriously or not, during the war. 
 Once only, so far as is known, was an attempt made to 
 restrict their use, and that was by resolutions passed at 
 a meeting of officers and enlisted men belonging to the 
 Army of the Cumberland, f 
 
 The adoption of badges appears to have originated in 
 the " Kearny patch." One day, when his brigade was 
 on the march, General Philip Kearny, who was a strict 
 disciplinarian, saw some officers standing under a tree by 
 the road side. Supposing them to be stragglers from his 
 command, he administered to them a rebuke, emphasized 
 by a few expletives. The officers listened in silence, re 
 spectfully standing in the " position of a soldier," until 
 he had finished, when one of them, raising his hand to 
 his cap, quietly suggested that the general had possibly 
 made a mistake, as they none of them belonged to his 
 command. With his usual courtesy Kearny exclaimed : 
 " Pardon me ; I will take steps to know how to recognize 
 my own men hereafter." Immediately on reaching camp, 
 he issued orders that all officers and men of his brigade 
 should wear conspicuously on the front of their caps a 
 round piece of red cloth, to designate them. This became 
 generally known as the " Kearny patch." After the bat 
 tle of Fair Oaks, or Seven Pines, it was observed that the 
 Confederate prisoners universally wore strips of red, blue, 
 
 * See " Badge of the Twenty-fifth Corps," p. 188. 
 
 f See "Badge of the Army of the Cumberland," p. 195. 
 
MEDALS AND CORPS-BADGES. 169 
 
 or white cloth on their caps, which they said were to 
 designate the commands to which they belonged. Gen 
 eral Kearny, in conversation with General Hooker, en 
 thusiastically instanced this as illustrating the utility of 
 his " patch." 
 
 General D. B. Birney, in his General Orders No. 49, 
 dated September 4, 1862, from the headquarters of Kear- 
 ny s division, announced the death of General Philip 
 Kearny. After the usual requirement to wear crape on 
 the left arm for thirty days, the order says : " To still 
 further show our regard for him, and to distinguish his 
 officers as he wished, each officer will continue to wear 
 on his cap a piece of scarlet cloth, or have the top or 
 crown-piece of cap made of scarlet cloth" 
 
 After the " Kearny patch," several army corps, one 
 by one, adopted distinctive badges. The divisions of each 
 corps were indicated by one of the colors red, white, blue, 
 and green and orange, if there were more than three 
 divisions, upon some part of the badges. They were 
 either suspended by the tricolored ribbon, or fastened 
 with a pin. As there were usually three divisions in a 
 corps, the national colors were the ones sure to be repre 
 sented. For the headquarters, some slight modifications 
 were made in the form worn by the divisions. When 
 several army corps were consolidated into an u army," 
 the badge of that army headquarters consisted of a com 
 bination in one of all those of the corps. But it is be 
 lieved that, with the exception of the Army of the Cum 
 berland, the " army-badges " were adopted by societies of 
 the several armies subsequent to the war. The badges 
 were painted on the wagons of the corps, and stenciled 
 on all its articles of public property. 
 
170 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 Corps-badges have now a legal recognition in the Re 
 vised Statutes of the United States : 
 
 " SECTION 1,227. All persons who have served as 
 officers, non-commissioned officers, privates, or other en 
 listed men, in the regular army, volunteer, or militia 
 forces of the United States, during the war of the rebel 
 lion, and have been honorably discharged from the ser 
 vice, or still remain in the same, shall be entitled to wear, 
 on occasions of ceremony, the distinctive army-badge or 
 dered for or adopted by the army corps and division 
 respectively in which they served." 
 
 LEGEND AND DESCRIPTION OF BADGES. To Major- 
 General Joseph Hooker probably belongs the credit of 
 first having issued orders for the adoption of regular corps- 
 badges, to be worn by officers and enlisted men of all the 
 regiments of various corps through the entire Army of the 
 Potomac. Just before the Chancellorsville campaign, on 
 the 21st of March, 1863, he issued a circular prescribing 
 the device for a badge for each corps, " for the purpose 
 of ready recognition of corps and divisions of this army, 
 and to prevent injustice by reports of straggling and mis 
 conduct, through mistake as to their organizations."* 
 They were to be " fastened on the center of the top of 
 the cap." The devices seem to have been arbitrarily 
 chosen, without particular significance. 
 
 In obedience to orders from the War Department, 
 Major-General Meade, in his General Orders, No. 10, of 
 
 * This same phraseology was used in the Orders No. 62, April 26, 1864, 
 announcing the badges of corps in the Department of the Cumberland. 
 
MEDALS AND CORPS-BADGES. 171 
 
 March 24, 1864, consolidated the Second, Fifth, and Sixth 
 Army Corps into two divisions, transferred two divisions 
 of the Third Corps to the Second Corps, and the third 
 Division to the Sixth Corps. In this order he directed 
 that the troops transferred should preserve " their badges 
 and distinctive marks." This was done by combining 
 their old badges with their new ones. 
 
 FIRST CORPS. 
 
 A SPHERE. 
 
 [Circular, Headquarters, Army of the Potomac, March 23, 1861.] 
 SECOND CORPS. 
 
 A TREFOIL. 
 
 [Circular, Headquarters, Army of the Potomac, March 23, 1861.] 
 
172 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 THIRD CORPS. 
 
 A LOZENGE. 
 
 [Circular, Headquarters, Army of the Potomac, March 21, 1863.] 
 FOURTH CORPS. 
 
 AN EQUILATERAL TRIANGLE. 
 
 [General Orders, No. 62, Headquarters, Department of the Cumberland, 
 April 26, 1864.] 
 
 The Fourth Corps, which was commanded by General 
 E. D. Keyes, was discontinued August 1, 1863, before 
 the adoption of this badge. 
 
MEDALS AND CORPS-BADGES. 173 
 
 FIFTH CORPS. 
 
 A MALTESE CROSS. 
 
 [Circular, Headquarters, Army of the Potomac, March 21, 1863.] 
 
 When the Army of the Potomac was reorganized, in 
 March, 1864, and the First Corps was consolidated with 
 the Fifth, the men who were transferred from the old 
 First then combined the badges of the two corps, thus : * 
 
 [General Orders, No. 10, Headquarters, Army of the Potomac, March 24, 
 
 1864.] 
 
 * The author is indebted to Mr. J. W. Kirkley, of the Adjutant-General s 
 Office, for this and other interesting items. 
 
174: 
 
 ANECDOTES OF TEE CIVIL WAR. 
 SIXTH CORPS. 
 
 A GREEK CROSS. 
 
 [Circular, Headquarters, Army of the Potomac, March 21, 1863.] 
 
 The men transferred from the old Third Corps to the 
 Sixth combined the lozenge and cross of the two corps, 
 thus:* 
 
 [General Orders, No. 10, Headquarters, Army of the Potomac, March 24, 
 
 1864.] 
 
 SEVENTH CORPS. 
 
 A CRESCENT ENCIRCLING A STAR. 
 
 [Circular, Headquarters, Department of Arkansas, June 1, 1865.] 
 * The author is indebted to Mr. J. W. Kirkley, of the Adjutant-General s 
 Office, for this and other interesting items. 
 
MEDALS AND CORPS-BADGES. 175 
 
 The Seventh Corps, which served in the Department 
 of Virginia, and was commanded by Major-General John 
 A. Dix, was discontinued August 1, 1863, and was quite 
 different from the Seventh which served in the Depart 
 ment of Arkansas. 
 
 EIGHTH CORPS. 
 
 A STAR WITH SIX RATS. 
 
 [No order issued.] 
 NINTH CORPS. 
 
 A SHIELD WITH THE FIGURE 9 IN THE CENTER, CROSSED WITH A FOUL ANCHOR 
 AND CANNON. 
 
 [General Orders, No. 6, Headquarters, Ninth Corps, April 10, 1864, and 
 General Orders, No. 49, December 23, 1864.] 
 
 This corps served afloat for some time. 
 
176 
 
 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 TENTH CORPS. 
 
 THE TRACE OF A FOUR-BASTIONED FORT. 
 
 [General Orders, No. 18, Headquarters, Tenth Corps, July 25, 1864,] 
 
 This corps was employed in the reduction of forts on 
 the seaboard, and was under General Terry at the cap 
 ture of Fort Fisher, North Carolina. This service sug 
 gested the device. 
 
 ELEVENTH CORPS. 
 
 A CRESCENT. 
 
 [Circular, Headquarters, Army of the Potomac, March 21, 1863.] 
 
MEDALS AND CORPS-BADGES. 177 
 
 TWELFTH CORPS. 
 
 A STAR WITH FIVE RAYS. 
 
 [Circular, Headquarters, Army of the Potomac, March 21, 1863.] 
 
 This corps was consolidated with the Eleventh Corps, 
 to form the Twentieth, April 18, 1864. The Twentieth 
 adopted its badge. 
 
 THIRTEENTH CORPS. 
 (Xo badge adopted.) 
 
 FOURTEENTH CORPS. 
 
 AN ACORN. 
 
 [General Orders, No. 62, Headquarters, Department of the Cumberland, 
 Chattanooga, Tennessee, April 26, 1864.] 
 
 From General Jefferson C. Davis this legend of the 
 Acorn-Badge was received : After the battle of Chicka- 
 mauga, Roser s army made a stand at and around Chat 
 tanooga. Rosecrans s army, owing to exceedingly muddy 
 roads, and the cutting of its lines of communication by 
 the Confederates, had great difficulty in getting supplies. 
 The Fourteenth Corps was encamped near a wood of oak- 
 trees, which were at that time covered with acorns. As 
 the rations fell short, many of the men gathered the 
 acorns and ate them roasted, till at length it was observed 
 that they had become quite an important part of the 
 
178 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 ration, and the men of the corps jestingly called them 
 selves " The Acorn-Boys." Receiving an order about that 
 time which required the adoption of a corps-badge, the 
 acorn was selected by acclamation. 
 
 FIFTEENTH CORPS. 
 
 A MINIATURE CARTRIDGE-BOX, BLACK, SET TRANSVERSELY ON A SQUARE. 
 ABOVE THE CARTRIDGE-BOX PLATE THE MOTTO, " FORTY ROUNDS." 
 
 [General Orders, No. 10, Headquarters, Fifteenth Army Corps, February 
 
 14, 1865.] 
 
 In announcing this badge, Major-General John A. 
 Logan, commanding the Fifteenth Corps, says : " If any 
 corps in the army has a right to take pride in its badge, 
 surely that has which looks back through the long and 
 glorious line [enumerating thirty-five engagements and 
 battles, and scores of minor struggles ] ; the corps 
 which had its birth under Grant and Sherman in the 
 darker days of our struggle ; the corps which will keep 
 on struggling until the death of rebellion." 
 
MEDALS AND CORPS-BADGES. 179 
 
 The device of the badge of the Fifteenth Corps was 
 suggested by the following incident : The Eleventh and 
 Twelfth Corps were transferred from the Army of the 
 Potomac to the Department of the Cumberland. They 
 were better dressed than the other troops of that depart 
 ment, and a little rivalry sprang up between these East 
 ern boys and those who came from the West. The latter 
 spoke of the former as " the men who wore paper shirt- 
 collars, and crescents and stars." Before the Fifteenth 
 Corps had any badge, an Irishman belonging to it went 
 to the river near camp to fill his canteen. There he met 
 a soldier of one of the newly arrived corps, whose badges 
 were the subject of ridicule by his comrades. The latter 
 saluted the Irishman with the query, "What corps do 
 you belong to \ " " The Fifteenth, sure." " Well, then, 
 where is your badge ? " " My badge, is it ? Well " (clap 
 ping his hand on his cartridge-box), " here s my badge ! 
 Forty rounds ! It s the orders to always have forty rounds 
 in our cartridge-box, and we always do." 
 
 SIXTEENTH CORPS. 
 The badge of this corps is sometimes erroneously represented as follows : 
 
 [No order issued.] 
 
180 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 From Colonel J. J. Lyon, Assistant Inspector-General, 
 Sixteenth Corps, the following correct description of the 
 badge is derived : 
 
 " The device is, A CIRCLE, WITH FOUR MINIE-BALLS, 
 
 THE POINTS TOWARD THE CENTER CUT OUT OF IT. The bare 
 
 spaces represent the shape of the balls cut out, and the 
 remainder forms a cross resembling the Maltese, with the 
 lines curved." 
 
 The badge was suspended from a ring attached to the 
 points of two arms of the cross, instead of the center of 
 one arm, to distinguish the device more clearly from 
 the Maltese cross, previously adopted by the Nineteenth 
 Corps. 
 
 It having been determined to assume a badge for the 
 Sixteenth Corps, several of the officers made designs, 
 which, by common consent, were put in a hat, and the 
 one drawn out was accepted. The design contrived by 
 
MEDALS AND CORPS-BADGES. 
 
 181 
 
 brevet Brigadier-General John Hough, assistant adju 
 tant-general of the corps, was drawn out, and received 
 the approval of the corps commander, Major-General A. 
 J. Smith. " The new badge was then and there duly con 
 secrated, adopted, baptized, by the usual ceremonies prac 
 ticed in the army on such momentous occasions,* . . . and 
 named the A. J. Smith Cross," in honor of the first com 
 mander of the corps after a badge was adopted by it. 
 
 General Hough, the author of the design, has given 
 the following account of the rule by which it was con 
 structed : 
 
 " In any circle draw two diameters perpendicular to 
 each other, dividing the circle into four quarters ; bisect 
 the arc of each quarter, and, with the bisecting points as a 
 center, and a radius five sixths of the radius of the origi 
 nal circle, inscribe segments of a circle ; cut out the parts 
 
 * We are not informed what these ceremonies were. Did the spirit of 
 the Widow Cliquot inspire them ? 
 9 
 
182 
 
 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 inclosed between anj two of these segments, and the 
 remainder will be the badge of the Sixteenth Army 
 Corps." 
 
 SEVENTEENTH CORPS. 
 
 AN ARROW. 
 
 [General Orders, No. 1, Headquarters, Seventeenth Corps, March 25, 1865.] 
 
 Major-General Francis P. Blair says in his order : 
 " The badge now used by the corps being similar to one 
 formerly adopted by another corps, the major-general 
 commanding has concluded to adopt, as a distinguishing 
 badge for the command, an arrow. 
 
 "In its swiftness, in its surety of striking where 
 wanted, and in its destructive powers when so intended, 
 it is probably as emblematical of this corps as any design 
 that could be adopted." 
 
 EIGHTEENTH CORPS. 
 
 A CROSS, WITH FOLIATE SIDES. 
 
 [Circular, June 7, 1864, and General Orders, No. 108, of August 25, 1864, 
 Headquarters, Eighteenth Corps.] 
 
MEDALS AND CORPS-BADGES. 183 
 
 NINETEENTH CORPS. 
 
 A FAN-LEAVED CROSS, WITH OCTAGONAL CENTER. 
 
 [General Orders, No. 11, Headquarters, Nineteenth Corps, November 17, 
 
 1864.] 
 
 TWENTIETH CORPS. 
 
 A STAR WITH FIVE RASS, as heretofore worn by the Twelfth Corps. 
 
 [General Orders, No. 62, Headquarters, Department of the Cumberland, 
 April 26, 1864.] 
 
 This corps was formed by consolidating the Eleventh 
 and Twelfth Corps, April 18, 1864. For some time after 
 
184 
 
 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 the consolidation the men of the old Eleventh combined 
 the two badges thus : 
 
 TWENTY-FIRST CORPS. 
 [No badge was ever adopted.] 
 
 TWENTY-SECOND CORPS. 
 
 QUINQUEFOLIATE IN SHAPE, WITH A CIRCLE INSCRIBED IN THE CENTER. 
 
 [No order issued.] 
 
 The signification of this design seems to be a build 
 ing inside defensive works, in allusion to the continued 
 service of the corps in and around Washington. 
 
MEDALS AND CORPS-BADGES. 185 
 
 TWENTY-THIRD CORPS. 
 
 A PLAIN SHIELD. 
 
 [No order issued for its adoption; but Special Orders, No. 21, Head 
 quarters, First Division, Twenty-third Army Corps, near Raleigh, North 
 Carolina, April 16, 1865, directs that " the badges which have just been 
 issued to this command will be worn upon the top of the cap, or left side 
 of the hat."] 
 
 General J. D. Cox has kindly furnished the following 
 information concerning this badge : 
 
 "It was adopted at the beginning of the Atlanta 
 campaign (spring of 1864). There was no legend con 
 nected with it. 
 
 " The Twenty-third Corps had been intimately asso 
 ciated with the Ninth (under Burnside) in the campaign 
 in East Tennessee in 1863, being organized in that year 
 for the purpose of becoming part of Burn side s Army of 
 the Ohio. 
 
 " This association led to our adopting a shield some 
 what similar in form to the badge of the Ninth Corps, 
 but with sufficient marks of distinction. 
 
 " To secure uniformity in the shape and proportions 
 of the badge, the following rules were established for 
 constructing or drawing it, which I draughted, and am 
 therefore able to reproduce : 
 
186 
 
 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 "With the radius AC, strike the curves CB and 
 AB, from the centers A and C respectively. Make AD 
 and C F perpendicular, and one fourth A C in length. 
 Strike the curves D E and E F with radius of one half 
 A C. Make the inner curves parallel to the outer ones. 
 From G, the middle of A B, draw GO in the direction 
 of F , and draw G 7 O in like manner in the direction of 
 D . Complete the radiating bars, and tint the panels red, 
 white, and blue. The border and divisions between the 
 panels are gilt. 
 
 " The above is for corps headquarters, and was dis 
 played on a blue silk banner, with fringed edge. 
 
 " For divisions, all the panels were of one tint : first 
 division, red ; second division, white ; third division, 
 blue. 
 
MEDALS AND CORPS-BADGES. 187 
 
 " For brigades, the flags were of bunting, the shield 
 smaller, of same color as division to which the brigade 
 belonged ; one small shield in upper corner next the staff 
 for first brigade, two small shields for second brigade, 
 and three for third. 
 
 " The same badge was painted on the covers of all 
 wagons and ambulances, etc,, substituting yellow for the 
 gilt border." 
 
 TWENTY-FOURTH CORPS, 
 
 [General Orders, No. 32, Headquarters, Twenty-fourth Corps, March 18, 
 
 1865.] 
 
 This corps was organized late in the war, and was for 
 the most part composed of veterans who had served in 
 other corps. Major-General John Gibbon, in his orders 
 adopting the badge, says : " The symbol selected is one 
 which testifies our affectionate regard for all our brave 
 comrades alike the living and the dead who have 
 braved the perils of this mighty conflict, and our devo 
 tion to the sacred cause a cause which entitles us to the 
 sympathy of every brave and true heart, and the support 
 of every strong and determined hand. 
 
188 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 " The major-general commanding the corps does not 
 doubt that soldiers who have given their strength and 
 blood to the fame of their former badges will unite in 
 rendering the present one even more renowned than 
 those under which they have heretofore marched to 
 battle." 
 
 TWENTY-FIFTH CORPS. 
 
 A SQUARE. 
 
 [Orders, February 20, 1865, Headquarters, Twenty-fifth Corps, Army of the 
 James, Virginia.] 
 
 ./ 
 
 This corps was composed entirely of colored soldiers. 
 It was the first to occupy Richmond, Virginia, April 3, 
 1865. The following is Major-General Godfrey WeitzePs 
 order : 
 
 " In view of the circumstances under which this corps 
 was raised and filled, the peculiar claims of its individual 
 members upon the justice and fair dealing of the preju 
 diced, and the regularity of the conduct of the troops 
 which deserve those equal rights that have hitherto been 
 denied the majority, the commanding general has been 
 induced to adopt the square as the distinctive badge of 
 the Twenty-fifth Army Corps. 
 
 " Wherever danger has been found and glory to be 
 
MEDALS AND CORPS-BADGES. 189 
 
 won, the heroes who have fought for immortality have 
 been distinguished by some emblem to which every vic 
 tory added a new luster. They looked upon their badge 
 with pride, for to it they had given its fame. In the 
 homes of smiling peace it recalled the days of coura 
 geous endurance and the hours of deadly strife, and it 
 solaced the moment of death, for it was a symbol of a 
 life of heroism and self-denial. The poets still sing of 
 the Templar s cross, the i crescent of the Turk, the 
 4 chalice of the hunted Christian, and the white plume 
 of Murat, that crested the wave of valor, sweeping resist- 
 lessly to victory. 
 
 " Soldiers ! to you is given a chance, in this Spring 
 campaign, of making this badge immortal. Let history 
 record that, on the banks of the James, thirty thousaad 
 freemen not only gained their own liberty, but shattered 
 the prejudice of the world, and gave to the land of their 
 birth peace, union, and glory." 
 
 [No order issued.] 
 (This corps was organized in 1864.) 
 
190 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 To Major-General Hancock s courtesy is due the in 
 formation that this badge was designed by his " chief of 
 staff, General C. II. Morgan, and had no special legend 
 or significance attached to it, the object being to have it 
 as distinct and different as possible from other corps 
 badges, so that it might be easily distinguished and rec 
 ognized when worn by troops in campaign." 
 
 It may be thus described : A circle is surrounded by 
 a double wreath of laurel. A wide red band passes ver 
 tically through the center of the circle. Outside the 
 laurel- wreath, rays form a figure with seven sides of con 
 cave curves. Seven hands, springing from the circum 
 ference of the laurel-wreath, grasp spears, the heads of 
 which form the seven points of the external radiated 
 figure. 
 
 SHERIDAN S CAVALRY CORPS. 
 
 Design: "GOLD CROSSED-SABERS, ON A BLUE FIELD, SURROUNDED BY A 
 
 GLORY IN SILVER. 
 
 [No order issued.] 
 (This badge was only worn by commissioned officers.) 
 
MEDALS AND CORPS-BADGES. 
 
 191 
 
 Concerning this badge, Colonel Gerrard Irvine White- 
 head, who served on the staff of the corps, kindly gives 
 the information that, while General Pleasanton com 
 manded the corps, he (Colonel Whitehead) was charged 
 with procuring a badge. He accordingly caused a num 
 ber to be made, but they were not ready for delivery un 
 til the summer of 1864. Meanwhile, General Sheridan 
 came in command, and the corps was " entirely too busy 
 to think about badges." It thus happened that few, if 
 any, were ever worn by the enlisted men. 
 
 WILSON S CAVALRY CORPS. 
 
 A RIFLE, OR CARBINE, FROM WHICH IS SUSPENDED, BY CHAINS, THE RED 
 SWALLOW-TAIL GUIDON OF THE CAVALRY, WITH GILT CROSSED-SABERS UPON IT. 
 
 [No order issued.] 
 
 From Generals J. H. Wilson and Edward Hatch the 
 following facts are derived : The rifle was the badge of 
 
192 
 
 ANECDOTES OF TEE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 the Fifth Division of this corps (formerly First Division 
 of the Army of the Tennessee). The red swallow-tail 
 guidon, with sabers crossed upon it, was the flag of the 
 corps headquarters. The corps badge, a combination of 
 the rifle (or the Spencer carbine, " which was found to be 
 a most efficacious arm ") and the guidon, was adopted by 
 a committee of officers belonging to the corps. 
 
 FRONTIER CAVALRY 
 
 A STUR, WITH CURB-CHAIN, AND CRESCENT AND STAR SUSPENDED. 
 
 [No order issued.] 
 
 This cavalry served in the Seventh Corps in Arkansas. The crescent 
 and star were the badge of Moonlight s division. The shank of the spur 
 was bent, to represent the figure 7 of the corps. 
 
MEDALS AND CORPS-BADGES. 193 
 
 OUSTER S CAVALRY CORPS. 
 
 [No order issued.] 
 
 Mr. Thomas Haslam, of the Adjutant-General s office, 
 gives the following interesting statement : 
 
 Ouster s dashing style, as he rode at the head of his 
 command, whether in the act of charging in real, earnest 
 war, or peacefully marching in review, is as well known 
 as his name. He wore his hair long, and flowing in care 
 less curls about his neck. His collar was open at the 
 front, only loosely confined by a bright-red scarf tied 
 with a sailor-knot. His men, in this, as in their conduct, 
 caught the spirit of their commander, and all wore the 
 red scarf. They could be distinguished at a long distance 
 by this their only badge. 
 
 ENGINEER AND PONTONIER CORPS. 
 
 TWO OARS CROSSED OVER AN ANCHOR, THE TOP OP WHICH IS ENCIRCLED 
 BY A SCROLL SURMOUNTED BY A CASTLE; THE CASTLE BEING THE BADGE OF 
 THE U. S. CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 
 
 [No order issued.] 
 
ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 SIGNAL CORPS. 
 
 TWO FLAGS CROSSED, WITH A FLAMING TORCH BETWEEN THEM. Indicating 
 
 the implements used in signaling, the flags by day and the torch by night. 
 The star on the left flag is red ; the scroll in the right one is blue ; the 
 flame of the torch is red and gilt. 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF WEST VIRGINIA. 
 
 A SPREAD EAGLE. 
 
 [General Orders, No. 2, Headquarters, Department of West Virginia, Jan 
 uary 3, 1865.] 
 
MEDALS AND CORPS-BADGES. 
 DEPARTMENT OF THE CUMBERLAND. 
 
 195 
 
 COMBINATION OF THE FOURTH, FOURTEENTH, AND TWENTIETH CORPS. 
 
 [General Orders, No. 41, Headquarters, Department of the Cumberland, 
 Nashville, Tennessee, June 19, 1865.] 
 
 Major-General George H. Thomas published the pro 
 ceedings of a meeting of the officers and enlisted men of 
 the Army of the Cumberland, held " for the purpose of 
 considering the propriety of adopting a badge to signalize 
 and perpetuate the history of the Army of the Cumber 
 land." 
 
 " It was unanimously agreed to adopt such a badge" ; 
 
196 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 and, " on motion, the following preamble and resolutions 
 were adopted : 
 
 " Whereas, Many of the soldiers of the Army of the 
 Cumberland are about to abandon the profession of arms, 
 and again mingle in the peaceful pursuits of home : 
 
 " Resolved^ That, in parting with each other, we do 
 so with mingled feelings of sorrow, sadness, and pride : 
 sorrow, because friends, bound together by ties formed 
 on many battle-fields, must part ; sadness at turning our 
 backs upon the thousand fresh-made graves of our brave 
 comrades ; and pride, because it has been our good for 
 tune to be numbered among the members of the Army 
 of the Cumberland, and have each done his part in prov 
 ing to the world that republics have the ability to main 
 tain and perpetuate themselves. 
 
 " Resolved, That, in parting, we do, as we have many 
 times done in the face of the enemy, renew our pledges 
 of unending fidelity to each other ; and that, in whatever 
 position of life we may happen to be, we will never per 
 mit our affections to be estranged from those who con 
 tinue to fight our battles, but that we will sustain and 
 defend them at all times and in all proper places. 
 
 " Resolved^ That the following-named persons, and 
 none others, are authorized to wear the badge of the 
 Army of the Cumberland : 
 
 " 1. All soldiers of that army now in service and in 
 good standing. 
 
 " 2. All soldiers who formerly belonged to that army, 
 and have received honorable discharges from the same. 
 
 "Resolved, That any soldier of the Army of the 
 Cumberland who is now entitled to wear the badge of 
 the arrny, who may hereafter be dishonorably dismissed 
 
CONFEDERATE FLAGS. 197 
 
 the service, shall, by such discharge, forfeit the right to 
 wear such badge. 
 
 " Resolved, That we exhort all members of the Army 
 of the Cumberland to discountenance any attempt on the 
 part of unauthorized persons to arrogate to themselves 
 honor to which they are not entitled, by wearing our 
 badge." 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 CONFEDERATE FLAGS. 
 
 Inevitable Stars and Stripes The Southern Cross The Stars and Bars 
 The battle-flag The white flag Its surrender to the Monitor The 
 black flag. 
 
 DURING the war a large number of Confederate flags, 
 captured in battle > were sent to Washington, where they 
 were kept in a room, a few being displayed as samples. 
 They were an object of great interest, constantly visited 
 by sight-seers. Many of these flags also found their way 
 to Capitols of the loyal States, where they were preserved 
 among the mementos of volunteer regiments. It was 
 once suggested that the captured Confederate flags should 
 be deposited at the West Point Military Academy among 
 similar trophies of other wars ; but this was not done, 
 because, while the Government insisted on loyalty to it, 
 it deemed it not proper to perpetuate in the minds of 
 its young soldiers any feeling of exultation on the one 
 side, or of regret on the other, in connection with such 
 objects after the war was all over. 
 
 Doubtless many flags captured from Union troops 
 
198 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 were also preserved by the Confederates. Indeed, some 
 were found at Richmond at the time of its occupation 
 by the Union forces, and sent with the rebel archives to 
 "Washington. There was also found at Richmond a col 
 lection of designs proposed by many persons for the Con 
 federate national flag. Over two hundred devices were 
 submitted, accompanied by letters explaining their sym 
 bolic meaning. It is noticeable that in a very large pro 
 portion of the plans there is some combination of stars, 
 or of stripes, or of both. At first sight it would appear 
 that this showed only an accidental association of ideas, 
 and a want of originality in the designers. This view 
 would naturally be strengthened by the tone of hostility 
 to the Union seen in their newspapers. But the corre 
 spondence on the subject betrays much warm affection 
 for the old flag, and gives undoubted proof that the em 
 blems were intentionally retained, the main object of the 
 authors being to form such a combination of colors, or 
 arrangements of the stars, or stripes, or both, as to avoid 
 fatal mistakes in battle. 
 
 One gentleman wrote, in February, 1861 : " Those 
 stars and stripes which have been so honorably borne to 
 every accessible sea, and have so proudly fluttered to 
 every breeze of the habitable globe, will ever be cher 
 ished and admired by true American hearts. May they 
 ever be the flag of all American republics formed out 
 of the once confederated States the United States of 
 America without marring the beauty of that proud flag 
 as it is, or that chaste blending of the ( red, white, and 
 blue, which makes it the grandest in the world ! 
 
 " If your convention, looking to the formation of a 
 Southern republic, and the adoption of the stars and 
 
CONFEDERATE FLAGS. 199 
 
 stripes for its flag, lias not already devised one, I would 
 respectfully and modestly suggest the substitution of a 
 renowned constellation, < the Southern Cross (both em 
 blematic and suggestive) for the union of stars now in 
 the blue field of the present flag of the United States, 
 and that a star for each State be placed on one of the 
 central stripes, so the stars and stripes may yet be the flag 
 of your new as they were of the old republic." 
 
 In the same month another wrote in relation to a flag 
 for the Southern Confederacy : " I would respectfully 
 suggest that we have one not only plain and of striking 
 contrast in color, but approximating to, yet differing es 
 sentially from, the flag of the United States. This flag 
 we can not but regard as one under which our common 
 country has risen to unexampled prosperity, and under 
 which also some of the most noble achievements of the 
 present age have been accomplished, lifting our national 
 reputation into a truly high and commanding position, 
 and to which proud elevation none certainly have con 
 tributed more than our own native brethren of the sunny 
 South." 
 
 Another, in sending a design, says : " We still have a 
 6 star-spangled banner, which is dear to the people from 
 old associations, and we can afford to let the Yankees 
 keep the stripes. We are entitled to a star-spangled 
 banner, because the best poetry in honor of it was com 
 posed by a Southern man, and the incident which occa 
 sioned its composition occurred on Southern soil, and 
 reflected honor on Southern soldiers." 
 
 One says : " I have taken the liberty to recommend 
 to your attention the manifest propriety of adopting the 
 6 star-spangled banner as the flag of the Southern Con- 
 
200 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAS. 
 
 federacy, changing only the color of the red stripes to 
 blue. That flag is as dear to every true Southern heart 
 as a babe to its mother s affections." 
 
 Another said : " Do retain the l stars and stripes. It 
 belongs to the South as much as to the North. It is not 
 an abolition flag. Colonel Jefferson Davis (now Presi 
 dent Davis) won glory under it in Mexico ; so did the 
 Palmetto Regiment." 
 
 And another : " Let the Yankees keep their ridiculous 
 tune of Yankee Doodle, * but, by all that is sacred, do 
 not let them monopolize the stars and stripes. You have 
 fought well under our glorious banner ; could you tight 
 as well under another ? Never ! Change it, improve it, 
 alter it as you will, but, for Heaven s sake, keep the stars 
 and stripes ! " 
 
 Another says : " I refer to the important feature that 
 your flag, though sufficiently peculiar to give national 
 individuality to the emblem, still possesses the attribute 
 of retaining all the hallowed associations which, both 
 at home and abroad, have for years, in every American 
 breast, clustered around the stars and stripes of a nation 
 once the most glorious the world ever beheld ; and of 
 that nation we ourselves and all the world can not fail to 
 remember that the Southern States were but lately its 
 proudest element, blest in its privileges, blest in its wade- 
 spread fraternal love, and equal in the possession of all 
 its common glories, past, present, and prospective." 
 
 Another : " Pray do no t give up the stars and stripes 
 
 * The Yankees did keep it ; but Mr. Lincoln, when he was serenaded 
 on a certain occasion, being asked what tune he would like to have, called 
 for the Confederate tune, " Dixie," saying, " I believe we have captured 
 that tune, and have a right to it now." 
 
CONFEDERATE FLAGS. 201 
 
 to the North. It is ours as fully as it is theirs. It is 
 hallowed by associations and memories, and is dear to 
 every military and naval officer, every soldier and tar, 
 and every citizen who has seen it float in a foreign land. 
 Keep the stripes, keep the azure field and a star for 
 each sovereignty in the constellation, and then distinguish 
 it by a red cross (the Southern Cross), cutting the stripes 
 at right angles. This is a very important matter. The 
 songs of a nation and its flag have a prodigious moral 
 influence." 
 
 One says : " I don t like the cross. It is significant 
 of Catholic rule, and, besides, had too much to do with 
 the machinery of the dark ages. The old stars must, I 
 think, be abandoned. They belong to night, and, besides, 
 the North will keep them. It is morning with us. The 
 stripes are distinctive, and ought to be preserved ; but let 
 there be seven stripes, one for each of the original States, 
 as the thirteen were for the original States of the old 
 Confederacy. Suppose these stripes be vertical instead 
 of horizontal?" 
 
 At the first session of the Provisional Congress, the 
 committee on a flag and seal made its report, which was 
 more or less shaped by the many expressions of feeling 
 on the subject. The report said : " Whatever attachment 
 may be felt from association for the stars and stripes (an 
 attachment which your committee may be permitted to 
 say they do not all share), it is manifest that, in inaugu 
 rating a new government, we can not with any propriety 
 or without encountering obvious difficulties, retain the 
 flag of the Government from which we have withdrawn. 
 ... As to the glories of the old flag, we must bear in 
 mind that the battles of the Revolution, about which our 
 
202 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 fondest and proudest memories cluster, were not fought 
 beneath its folds ; and, although in more recent times 
 in the War of 1812 and in the war with Mexico the 
 South did win her fair share of glory and shed her full 
 measure of blood under its guidance and in its defense, 
 we think the impartial page of history will preserve and 
 commemorate the fact more imperishably than a mere 
 piece of stupid bunting." 
 
 The design recommended by this committee, and 
 which was adopted by the Provisional Government, was 
 known as the " Stars and Bars." It was thus described : 
 
 " To consist of a red field, with a white space extend 
 ing horizontally through the center, and equal in width 
 to one third the width of the flag ; the red spaces, above 
 and below, to be of the same width as the white ; the 
 union blue extending down through the white space, 
 and stopping at the lower red space ; in the center of the 
 union a circle of white stars corresponding in number 
 with the States in the Confederacy." 
 
 THE STARS AND BARS. 
 
 Blue 
 
 Red 
 
 White 
 
 Red 
 
CONFEDERATE FLAGS. 203 
 
 This was the " stars and stripes," with the same colors, 
 only the stripes were wider, and but three in number ; 
 and the stars were arranged in a circle, as in the old 
 United States national flag before the States of the Union 
 became so numerous. 
 
 Immediately after the Confederate Government took 
 the place of the Southern Provisional Government, the 
 question of adopting another flag was agitated. The 
 joint committee appointed for the purpose offered, in 
 April, 1862, a device, with a report, in which it said : 
 " Nearly all the designs submitted to the committee con 
 tained a combination of stars. This heraldic emblem, 
 however, has been discarded, as a manifestation of our 
 entire and absolute severance from the United States, 
 and a complete annihilation of every sentiment indicat 
 ing the faintest hope of reconstruction." The chairman 
 of the committee said that " it might be a matter of sur 
 prise to those who had always been so enthusiastic on the 
 subject of the beauty of the stars and stripes, that there 
 never was a single star emblazoned on any flag of the old 
 United States. They were nothing but mullets, or imita 
 tions of the rowels of the spurs of the knight, and five- 
 pointed. But the committee had fallen upon those he 
 raldic emblems, and had adopted the device of the great 
 luminary of day before which all stars shall pale and fade 
 into obscurity." 
 
 The " Eichmond Examiner " described this device as 
 " a red field, bestraddled with a long-legged white cross, 
 in the center of which (the cross) there is a blue Norman 
 shield, and in the center of that again a Lord Eosse s tele 
 scope may discover a star of the fifth magnitude, which 
 is intended to represent a sun." The committee intended 
 
204: ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 the rajs of the sun to correspond in number with the 
 States composing the Confederacy. 
 
 This device was not adopted. Yerily, it was hard to 
 get away from the stars and stripes the red, white, and 
 blue. 
 
 Since the first battle of Bull Eun, the Confederate 
 armies had been using a battle-flag the origin of which 
 was thus given by a Southern paper, in March, 1863 : 
 " We have always thought that General Joseph E. John 
 ston settled the question of a national flag when he se 
 lected the blue-spangled saltier upon a red field as his 
 battle-ensign. It may be recollected that the choice was 
 made in consequence of the difficulty that had been seri 
 ously felt, in the first battle of Manassas, in distinguish 
 ing between the Yankee colors and our own, and at a 
 time when the two hostile armies were confronting each 
 other on the plains of Fairfax, with a prospect of a 
 renewal of the bloody fight at any moment. Haste was 
 necessary in the preparation of the flags, and secrecy was 
 also desirable, lest the enemy should discover our change 
 of colors, and provide themselves with counterfeits to be 
 basely used for our own destruction. General Johnston s 
 pattern was thereupon sent to Richmond, and seventy- 
 five ladies from each one of four or five churches were 
 set to work making the battle-flags. Their fair fingers 
 wrought silk and bunting into the prescribed shape and 
 arrangement of colors ; but, despite the injunction of in 
 violable confidence, the device was known the subse 
 quent day all over the capital. How could General John 
 ston expect four or five hundred female tongues to be 
 silent on the subject ? No harm was done by the dis 
 closure, however, and, when next the brave troops of the 
 
CONFEDERATE FLAGS. 
 
 205 
 
 Confederacy went into the fight, those flags were seen 
 dancing in the breeze, the symbol of hope to the defend 
 ers of our country, wherever the fire was the deadliest 
 over the crimson field, borne always aloft where follower 
 and foe might behold it, ever the chosen perch of victory 
 ere the fight was done. Could these gay little pieces of 
 the handiwork of the women of Richmond be collected 
 now, what emotions would not the sight of them awaken, 
 blackened as they are with the smoke of powder, riddled 
 with bullets, many of them stained with the blood, the 
 last drops, that welled up from the heart of a patriot 
 hero!" 
 
 B A TTLE-FLA G. 
 
 A member of the Confederate army wrote : " I was 
 originally in favor of retaining the old flag, that l star- 
 spangled banner at whose very name our hearts were 
 wont to thrill. . . . Then the stars and bars became 
 
 our flag, and waved over the heads of our regiments 
 10 
 
206 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 when we first marched to guard the borders of Yirginia. 
 It retained most of the distinctive features of the old 
 flag, but was thought to differ from it sufficiently ; but 
 the first field of Manassas proved that it was a mistake. 
 The union was the same, the colors were all the same, 
 and when the flags drooped around the staff on that sul 
 try day it was impossible to distinguish them. There 
 was no difficulty, however, when the flags were spread by 
 the breeze, and I see no reason why the stars and bars 
 should not still float above all forts, ships, and arsenals 
 of the Confederacy. But we needed another battle-flag. 
 Glorious Old Joe willed it, and the Southern Cross rose 
 brightly in the bloody field among the constellations of 
 war. It fulfilled all the desiderata of a battle-flag. . . . 
 Since that time it has become historic. Displayed on a 
 hundred stricken fields, it has never been dishonored. . . . 
 Certainly, no soldier desires that Congress should do 
 what the Yankees have never been able to do take that 
 flag from us." 
 
 A general sentiment had by this time arisen in favor 
 of the battle-flag, the only objection made to it being 
 that it could not be reversed as a signal of distress. Gen 
 eral Beauregard wrote, in April, 1863 : " TVhy change our 
 battle-flag, consecrated by the best blood of our country 
 on so many battle-fields ? A good design for the national 
 flag would be the present battle-flag as union- jack, and 
 the rest all white, or all blue." 
 
 This was the design eventually chosen by the Confed 
 erate Congress in May, 1863, and was thus described : 
 
 " The field to be white ; the length double the width 
 of the flag, with the union (now used in the battle-flag) 
 to be a square of two thirds the width of the flag, having 
 
CONFEDERATE FLAGS. 
 
 207 
 
 the ground red, thereon a saltier of blue, bordered with 
 white, and emblazoned with mullets, or five-pointed stars, 
 corresponding in number to that of the Confederate 
 States." 
 
 Still the red, white, and blue, and the inevitable 
 mullets ! 
 
 White 
 
 Great satisfaction was expressed on all sides at the 
 adoption of this new flag. An Atlanta (Georgia) paper 
 said : " The design for a flag for the Confederate States 
 ... is at last decided, and the whole South is satisfied. 
 In the new flag is preserved the battle-flag the inven 
 tion of Beauregard and Johnston an invention which 
 necessity forced upon these Confederate commanders 
 soon after the battle of Manassas. In addition to this, 
 there is nothing but the white flag. 
 
 " Our old flag always awakens unpleasant reminis 
 cences ; it bears too striking a resemblance to the emblem 
 of tyranny, the ( stars and stripes. As it was this resem- 
 
208 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 blance which caused it at first to be adopted, so also it 
 was this that caused it to be rejected. . . . We, therefore, 
 hail our new flag with joy. Every star, every color, is 
 sacred and endeared to our hearts and to the hearts of our 
 whole people. . . . The large predominance of the color, 
 white, can never be mistaken, as alluding to the Christian 
 leniency with which we have treated our enemies at all 
 times ; the red battle-flag will tell a tale of the heroism of 
 our soldiers on which the nations of the earth will hang 
 with breathless attention." 
 
 In November, 1861, an English blockade runner, called 
 the Fingal, succeeded in getting into Savannah with a 
 valuable cargo of arms and ammunition. She was pre 
 vented by the United States vessels from going out again 
 with a cargo of cotton, as was intended ; and finally was 
 changed to an iron-clad vessel of war under the name of 
 the Atlanta. She was deemed by the Confederates to be 
 their strongest iron-clad. 
 
 On the 17th of June, 1863, accompanied by two other 
 steamers, she ran down to Warsaw Sound, to capture the 
 United States monitors Weehawken, Captain John Rodg- 
 ers, and Nahant, Commander John Downes. The two 
 steamers took on board a gay company of ladies from 
 Savannah to witness the combat. These vessels were to 
 tow the monitors, in the event of their capture, in triumph 
 up to Savannah. The new flag was to have been hoisted 
 everywhere in the Confederacy on the coming 4th of 
 July ; but authority was given for its use the first time 
 by the Atlanta in her contest with the two United States 
 monitors. The iron-clad was not proof against the tre 
 mendous shot of the monitors, and in less than half an 
 hour she surrendered to the Weehawken, which had alone 
 
CONFEDERATE FLAGS. 209 
 
 engaged her, the Nahant not even having had time to 
 come into action. The new Confederate flag which she 
 was to inaugurate was sent to Washington and hung as a 
 trophy in the Navy Department at about the same time 
 the law of the Confederate Congress adopting it went into 
 operation. 
 
 At the time of Mr. Jefferson Davis s capture a fresh, 
 handsome silk regimental flag a veritable star-spangled 
 banner was found among his effects. Why he had 
 taken it with him in his flight it is not easy to say ; but 
 he, too, evidently found it very difficult to get away from 
 the stars and stripes ! 
 
 A Union picket one day discovered two Confeder 
 ates having a black flag, with a white disk in the cen 
 ter. He watched them until he saw one go for some 
 water a short distance off, and the flag resting against 
 a tree. With a sudden dash he overpowered the Con 
 federate and carried off the flag. This flag was exhibit 
 ed among the trophies at Washington, and it was amus 
 ing to see the horror with which visitors regarded it, 
 accompanied by such exclamations as "A black flag! 
 So they really did give no quarter! Here is actual 
 proof of it ! " After enjoying their indignation a little 
 while, the attendant would explain that this was one 
 of the system of signal-flags, and was used against a 
 light-tinted sky so as to be distinctly seen, by contrast, 
 at a long distance. 
 
 The smoke of battle is now all cleared away. Again 
 " hallowed associations, . . . both at home and abroad, 
 ... in every American breast, cluster around the stars 
 and stripes " of this nation. And " the Southern States 
 
210 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 . . . are blest in its privileges, blest in its wide-spread 
 fraternal love, and equal in the possession of all its com 
 mon glories, past, present, and prospective." * 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 FOET SUMTEK. 
 
 A pleasure-trip The programme -Fac-simile of Anderson s dispatch 
 The flag-raising Festivities News of the President s death. 
 
 WHEN it became certain that the end of the Confed 
 eracy was near at hand, the United States Government 
 determined to celebrate the anniversary of the fall of 
 Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, by hoisting the Stars 
 and Stripes, with imposing ceremonies, over the ruins of 
 the fort. Major Robert Anderson, United States Army, 
 had evacuated the fort, April 14, 1861, after firing a 
 salute to his flag. His Confederate adversary, Brigadier- 
 General Beauregard, had agreed to this in these courteous 
 terms : " Apprised that you desire the privilege of salut 
 ing your flag on retiring, I cheerfully concede it, in con 
 sideration of the gallantry with which you have defended 
 the place under your charge." And now, on the 14th of 
 April, 1865, Brigadier-General Robert Anderson was to 
 have the honor of raising that identical flag over the ruins 
 of the recaptured fort. 
 
 Secretary Stanton issued orders to that effect, as fol 
 lows : 
 
 * See letter, page 200. 
 
FORT SUMTER. 211 
 
 GENERAL ORDERS, No. 50. 
 
 WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL S OFFICE, 
 
 WASHINGTON, March 27, 1865. 
 
 Ordered: first. That at the hour of noon, on the 
 14th day of April, 1865, brevet Major-General Anderson 
 will raise and plant upon the ruins of Fort Sumter, in 
 Charleston Harbor, the same United States flag which 
 floated over the battlements of that fort during the rebel 
 assault, and which was lowered and saluted by him and 
 the small force of his command when the works were 
 evacuated on the 14th day of April, 1861. 
 
 Second. That the flag, when raised, be saluted by one 
 hundred guns from Fort Sumter, and by a national salute 
 from every fort and rebel battery that fired upon Fort 
 Sumter. 
 
 Third. That suitable ceremonies be had upon the oc 
 casion, under the direction of Major-General William T. 
 Sherman, whose military operations compelled the reb 
 els to evacuate Charleston,* or, in his absence, under the 
 charge of Major-General Q. A. Gillmore, commanding the 
 department. Among the ceremonies will be the delivery 
 of a public address by the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. 
 
 fourth. That the naval forces at Charleston, and their 
 commander on that station, be invited to participate in 
 the ceremonies of the occasion. 
 
 By order of the President of the United States : 
 
 EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. 
 
 Official : 
 E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. 
 
 * General Sherman did not stop, in his march north from Savannah, to 
 make any demonstration against Charleston ; but, as Anderson remarked^ 
 " conquered Charleston by turning his back on it." Sherman s march com 
 pelled its evacuation by the Confederates. 
 
212 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 Invitations were sent to such persons as the Secretary 
 of War designated ; and the splendid steamer Arago, for 
 merly of the line of Havre packets, but chartered by the 
 United States as a transport-ship, was employed to convey 
 the party to Charleston Harbor. She was commanded 
 by that courteous and able seaman, Captain Gadsden. 
 Among the guests were, besides Mr. Beecher and Rev. 
 Dr. Storrs, of Brooklyn, some of the noted orators and 
 prominent abolitionists of the time. 
 
 The Arago sailed from New York April 8th, with 
 such of the company as were there, and touched at Fort 
 Monroe, Old Point Comfort, Virginia, for others who 
 went down from Washington to meet her. The Secre 
 tary sent me in charge of the excursion, leaving to my 
 discretion all details necessary to make it successful. I 
 was much gratified at the notice in one of the newspapers 
 of New York, by a correspondent aboard, that among 
 those who joined the ship at Fort Monroe was General 
 E. D. Townsend, and, " as the representative of the Sec 
 retary of War, General Townsend thenceforth, and with 
 entire acceptance, occupied the position of our host." 
 
 The ship arrived at Hilton Head, South Carolina, on 
 the 12th of April. As there were some days to spare, 
 trips were made to Savannah, Beaufort, and Fort Pulaski. 
 A number of the party went to Mitchelville, where a sort 
 of impromptu town had been established for the " f reed- 
 men," as they began to be styled. At this last place there 
 was abundance of speech-making. Mr. Beecher preferred 
 to remain in quiet at Hilton Head, and employed himself 
 in preparing his address. Finding that there were nu 
 merous pieces of poetry and other effusions offered for a 
 part of the ceremonies, and that many persons were de- 
 
FORT SUMTER. 213 
 
 sirous of actively participating in them, among whom 
 were some who went down in the steamer Oceanus, which 
 they chartered for the trip, I conceived it necessary to 
 form a programme which should strictly Kmit the per 
 formances. General Anderson was greatly in favor of 
 excluding all but the religious feature, but we at last 
 agreed upon one which apparently proved satisfactory to 
 the entire assemblage. While the principal parts were 
 taken by a few, every one had the opportunity of swell 
 ing the grand chorus to the " Star-spangled Banner," and 
 joining in the doxology, to the tune of " Old Hundred." 
 
 Mr. Joseph H. Sears, the editor of " The New South," 
 a paper published at Hilton Head, printed enough copies 
 of the programme for distribution among the company ; 
 and also several copies of Mr. Beecher s address for the 
 representatives of the press. When I asked him for his 
 bill, he replied, in a note : " I regret that our type and 
 presses can do no better work. My excuse is, that the 
 sand, which frequently rises in clouds here and penetrates 
 even to the sacred precincts of our sanctum sanctorum? 
 pays no regard to types or presses, and they soon wear 
 out. 
 
 " Allow me to present this job (excuse a printer s term) 
 to the United States." 
 
 This was Mr. Sears s acceptable contribution to the 
 grand occasion. 
 
 The programme consisted of 
 
 1. A prayer by Eev. Matthias Harris, Chaplain of the 
 United States Army, who, being at the time chaplain at 
 Fort Moultrie, accompanied Major Anderson s command 
 over to Fort Sumter, and made a prayer at the raising of 
 the flag over that fort, December 27, 1860. 
 
214 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 2. Reading of several Psalms, antiphonally, by the 
 Rev. Dr. Storrs and the people. 
 
 3. Reading of the following dispatch from Major 
 Anderson, by brevet Brigadier-General E. D. Townsend :* 
 
 f S.syBALTiC.OFF SANDY" HOOK APRL.E KHTEENTH. TEN THIRTY A.M. .VIA 
 I 
 
 NEWiYORK. 4 HON.S.CAMEROMJ ..SECYiWAR. WASHN? HAV I NC DEFENDED 
 
 ORT.JSUMTER FOR THIRTY FOUR HOURS\ UNTIL THE STARTERS WERE EN 
 
 riRELY BURNED THE MA-IN GATES DESTROYED BY FIREVTHE GORGE WAULS 
 
 SERIOUSLY INJURED.THE MAGAZINE .SURROUNDED BY FLAMES AND ITS 
 
 DOOR CLOSED FROM THE EFFECTS I .OF? HEAT., FOUR BARRELLS AN 
 
 CARTRIDGES OF POWDER ONLY BE INC AVAILABLE AND NQ PROVISIONS! 
 
 REMAINING BUT PORK.I ACCEPTED TERMS OF EVACUATION OFFERED BY, 
 
 [GENERAL BEAUREGARD BEINGiON SAME OFFERED BY HIM ON THE ELEV 
 
 ENTHv 
 
 L 
 
 1NST..PRIOR TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF JHOSTILITIcS ; AND MARCHED 
 
 OOT OF THE FORT SUNDAY AFTERNOON THE FOURTEENTH JNST.WITH 
 
 COLORS.. FLYING, AND DRUMS BE^AT I NG. BR I NG I NG AWAY COMPANY AND 
 
 ( J 
 
 (PRIVATE, PROPERTV AND SALUTINC-MY FLAG WITH FIFTY GUNS.- ROBERT, 
 
 ANDERSON.MAJOR F I R STUART I L LERY". COMMAND I NG 
 
 * I well remember the feeling which came over me while reading this 
 dispatch aloud to General Scott, on its first receipt. It conveyed intelli- 
 
FORT SUMTER. 215 
 
 4. Raising the flag, with salutes, and bands playing 
 national airs. 
 
 5. Singing the " Star-spangled Banner." 
 
 6. Address by the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. 
 
 7. Singing the doxology, to the tune " Old Hundred." 
 
 8. Closing prayer and benediction by Rev. Dr. R. S. 
 Storrs, Jr. 
 
 All things being ready, the company again assembled 
 on board the Arago, and Thursday evening, the 13th of 
 April, she left Hilton Head for Charleston Bar. The 
 next day, Friday (Good Friday !), was so windy, and the 
 sea was so high, that Captain Gadsden was afraid to ven 
 ture on the bar, so he came to anchor outside, and trans 
 ferred his passengers to the small steamer Delaware. The 
 rolling of both vessels made it a hazardous undertaking 
 for the ladies ; but, being safely accomplished, it rather 
 added to the interest of the occasion. 
 
 The fort was found to be a perfect mass of ruins. 
 Hardly any trace of its character, except broken gabions 
 and shattered casemates, was to be seen. " A large plat 
 form, diamond-shaped, covered with myrtle, evergreens, 
 and flowers, had been erected in the center of the parade- 
 ground, with an arched canopy overhead, draped with the 
 American flag, and intermingled with beautiful wreaths 
 
 gence of the first note of war sounded by the South. They had made their 
 choice they could have as much of ij as they wished. It was noticed by 
 my friend Governor Clifford, of Massachusetts, who was present at the 
 ceremonies in 1865, that my voice assumed a tone of quiet defiance en 
 tirely unpremeditated as I read the dispatch again on this occasion, and 
 the association of ideas returned to me. 
 
 The original dispatch was printed by Morse s telegraph, and the rib 
 bon-like strips were pasted on a sheet of paper for better preservation and 
 convenience. This copy is made from a photograph of the original. 
 
216 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 of evergreens and flowers. This platform was for Gen 
 eral Anderson, the orator of the day, and other distin 
 guished visitors, and was the combined taste of six Union 
 ladies of Charleston. On the stage, beside the speaker s 
 stand, was a golden eagle holding a handsome wreath of 
 flowers and evergreens. The flag-staff, about one hun 
 dred and fifty feet high, had been erected immediately 
 in the center of the parade-ground, and the halyards ad 
 justed by three of the crew of the Juniata, who took 
 part in the assault on Fort Sumter, ordered by Admiral 
 Dahlgren, September 9, 1863." * 
 
 Those who could not find room on the platform had a 
 fine view from the parapet, and could distinctly hear, from 
 their more elevated position. 
 
 At the proper time, Major Anderson received the old 
 flag, packed in the Fort Sumter mail-bag, from Sergeant 
 Hart, the soldier of Anderson s command who hauled 
 down the flag. Together, they opened the flag and ad 
 justed the halyards. At this moment some one handed 
 to Anderson a bright wreath of roses, which he fastened 
 to the top of the flag. When all was ready, as soon as he 
 could control his emotion, Anderson said : 
 
 " My friends, and fellow-citizens, and brother soldiers : 
 By the considerate appointment of the Honorable Secre 
 tary of War, I am here to fulfill the cherished wish of my 
 heart through four long, long years of bloody war, to 
 restore to its proper place this dear flag, which floated 
 here during peace, before the first act of this cruel re 
 bellion. 
 
 " I thank God that I have lived to see this day, and 
 to be here to perform this duty to my country. My heart 
 
 * Correspondence of the " Baltimore American." 
 
FORT SUMTER. 217 
 
 is filled with gratitude to that God who has so signally 
 blessed us ; who has given us blessings beyond measure. 
 
 " May all the world proclaim, i Glory to God in the 
 highest ; and on earth peace, good-will toward men. 
 
 At the close of these remarks a hearty " Amen ! " 
 was uttered by many persons standing around. 
 
 Anderson then seized the halyards, Sergeant Hart also 
 passing them through his own hands, while the general s 
 young son, Robert, held on to the end of them. The flag 
 was sent up to the peak by Anderson s own hand. He 
 refused the proffered aid of every one, and seemed deter 
 mined that his own strength alone should restore " this 
 dear flag " to its old place, if it were to be the last effort 
 of his life. The shout which arose, when the halyards 
 were made fast, must be imagined ; it can scarcely be 
 described. Then came the booming of the guns from the 
 fleet, and from half a dozen batteries, and the playing of 
 several bands vying with each other in rendering the 
 national airs. 
 
 Mr. Beecher s address, which followed, was very able 
 and eloquent. As might have been expected, it de 
 nounced the rebellion in strong terms, and exulted in the 
 fruits of liberty to the slave which the contest had secured. 
 But it breathed a spirit of conciliation, which his sermon 
 before his congregation, just prior to his departure from 
 Brooklyn, had foreshadowed. He held the leaders of se 
 cession responsible, yet had no vengeance to execute upon 
 them ; while, for the mass of the people, he had naught 
 but fraternal greeting. At Brooklyn he had said : "If 
 I had my way after the close of fighting, I would not let 
 one drop of blood be spilled, and then I could say to the 
 world that this great civil war has been ended as none 
 
218 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 other ever was. Ought there not to be a terrible spec 
 tacle of retribution i say some. In Mercy s name, has 
 there not been suffering enough ? Is not the penalty al 
 ready paid ? God s vengeance patent enough ? We don t 
 want any more vengeance. I would not expatriate any 
 leaders on the ground of vengeance, for, as they have once 
 misled the people, they might do so again. I would not 
 expatriate and disfranchise them. . . . And more : we 
 wish now to show the South their total misapprehension 
 of our former sentiments. Their cunning politicians have 
 made them believe that we hate them ; but we don t. . . . 
 There are no antagonistic interests between the North and 
 the South. Religion, blood, business, are the same ; and, 
 if there are no social or political reasons for hatred, why 
 should we not be the best of friends ? " 
 
 At Sumter he said : " But for the people misled, for 
 the multitudes drafted and driven into this civil war, let 
 not a trace of animosity remain. The moment their will 
 ing hand drops the musket, and they return to their alle 
 giance, then stretch out your honest right hand to greet 
 them. Recall to them the old days of kindness. Our 
 hearts wait for their redemption. All the resources of a 
 renovated nation shall be applied to rebuild their pros 
 perity and smooth down the furrows of war. . . . We 
 are not seeking our own aggrandizement by impoverish 
 ing the South. Its prosperity is an indispensable element 
 of our own. We have shown, by all that we have suffered 
 in war, how great is our estimate of the importance of 
 the Southern States of this Union ; and we will measure 
 that estimate now, in peace, by still greater exertions for 
 their rebuilding." 
 
 After the ceremonies at the fort, the company went 
 
FORT SUMTER. 219 
 
 up to Charleston, where two or three days were spent in 
 visiting the various parts of the city, and viewing with 
 mournful interest the ravages of fires and of cannonad 
 ing. In the evening of the 14th the fleet was brilliantly 
 illuminated, and fire- works were displayed from the ships 
 and monitors. An entertainment was given by General 
 Gillmore at the Charleston Hotel, at which eloquent 
 speeches were made by General Holt, Hon. W. D. Kelly, 
 of Pennsylvania, Daniel Dougherty, George Thompson, 
 "William Lloyd Garrison, and others. Tributes were paid 
 by all to him who, at about that hour, fell before the 
 hand of an assassin in the nation s capital. 
 
 The Arago sailed for New York Saturday evening, 
 April 15th, Mr. Beecher and some of his immediate party 
 remaining behind. As the ship neared the Capes, several 
 gentlemen requested me to telegraph to the Secretary of 
 War for permission to wind up our delightful excursion 
 by making a trip to Richmond. Richmond was in pos 
 session of United States troops when we left, and we had 
 heard of Lee s surrender just as we were about to land 
 at Fort Sumter. I went below, and was in the act of 
 writing the telegram, to be sent from Old Point Comfort, 
 when some one rushed down the gangway, exclaiming, 
 " The President has been shot by an assassin ! " The 
 news had been received from a vessel which passed us as 
 we were going in between the Capes. Of course, this 
 put an end to all thought of further pleasure excursions, 
 and we made the best of our way back to Washington. 
 
 Mr. Beecher had said in his address on that fatal Good 
 Friday, " We offer to the President of these United 
 States our solemn congratulations that God has sustained 
 his life and health under the unparalleled burdens and 
 
220 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 sufferings of four bloody years, and permitted him to 
 behold this auspicious consummation of that national 
 unity for which he has waited with so much patience and 
 fortitude, and for which he has labored with so much dis 
 interested wisdom." 
 
 And, probably within the same hour in which the 
 awful deed was committed, General Anderson had offered 
 in the festive hall this sentiment : " I beg you, now, that 
 you will join me in drinking the health of another man, 
 whom we all love to honor the man who, when elected 
 President of the United States, was compelled to reach 
 the seat of government without an escort, but a man who 
 now could travel all over our country with millions of 
 hands and hearts to sustain him. I give you the good, 
 the great, the honest man, Abraham Lincoln." 
 
 And this was the sequel : " The President has been 
 shot by an assassin ! " 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 THE FUNEKAL OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 
 
 Unparalleled grief Guard of honor Funeral-train Lying in state 
 Mottoes and floral tributes Imposing demonstrations The veteran 
 Scott " Come home " At the tomb A long farewell. 
 
 THE funeral of Abraham Lincoln ! How can justice 
 be done to the theme ? The obsequies, continued through 
 sixteen days and sixteen nights, of the man whose ruthless 
 taking off called forth the sympathies of people and their 
 rulers in every clime ! The official expressions of horror 
 and grief, received by the United States Government 
 
THE FUNERAL OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 221 
 
 from every known country in the world, alone fill a quarto^ 
 volume of nine hundred and thirty pages. 
 
 As soon as news of the President s death was received, 
 places of business and amusement were closed, houses 
 were draped in mourning, and meetings were held at 
 which resolutions were passed, everywhere. Of all the 
 events of the war, none had produced such general and 
 intense excitement. 
 
 History has no parallel to the outpouring of sorrow 
 which followed the funeral cortege on its route from 
 Washington to Springfield, Illinois. Hundreds of thou 
 sands of men, women, and children, crowded the highways 
 and streets, by day and by night, to do reverence to those 
 mortal remains ; and not a smile or sign of levity was 
 seen among them all. Often would they kneel, as the 
 funeral-car passed them, with heads bowed as if in silent 
 prayer. Many wept in quiet, but none betrayed the 
 slightest mark of unconcern. The shocking deed by 
 which the President had been taken from his people 
 seemed to intensify their love and veneration for his 
 memory. 
 
 The President died at. about half-past seven, the morn 
 ing of April 15, 1865.* His remains lay in state in the 
 East-Room of the Executive Mansion from Tuesday the 
 18th till two o clock Wednesday the 19th, and were viewed 
 by a very large number of citizens. On Wednesday a 
 civic and military procession conducted them to the Capi 
 tol, where they reposed in state in the Rotunda during 
 that day, and till late at night the next. The ceremonies 
 
 * Most of the incidents in this account were recalled to memory by a 
 scrap-book made up of slips from the newspapers of the day, which accu 
 rately described the scenes at each place by which the cortege passed. 
 
222 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 at the Mansion and at the Capitol were of the most im 
 posing character. 
 
 The Secretary of War detailed as a guard of honor to 
 accompany the remains to Springfield 
 
 Brevet Brigadier-General E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant 
 Adjutant-General, to represent the Secretary of War. 
 
 Brigadier-General A. B. EATON, Commissary-General 
 of Subsistence. 
 
 Brevet Major-General J. G. BARNARD, Lieutenant- 
 Colonel of Engineers. 
 
 Brigadier-General G. D. EAMSAY, Ordnance Depart 
 ment. 
 
 Brigadier-General A. P. HOWE, Chief of Artillery. 
 
 Brevet Brigadier-General JAMES A. EKIN, Quarter 
 master s Department. 
 
 Brevet Brigadier-General D. C. McCALLUM, Superin 
 tendent of Military Kailroads. 
 
 Major-General DAVID HUNTER, U. S. Volunteers. 
 
 Brigadier-General J. C. CALDWELL, U. S. Volunteers, 
 and twenty-five picked men, sergeants of the Veteran 
 Reserve Corps, who acted, always, as bearers. 
 
 The Secretary of the Navy completed the list of 
 twelve officers by detailing 
 
 Rear- Admiral CHARLES HENRY DAVIS, Chief of the 
 Bureau of Navigation. 
 
 Captain WILLIAM ROGERS TAYLOR, U. S. Navy, and 
 Major THOMAS Y. FIELD, U. S. Marine Corps. 
 
 At the request of the Secretary of War, Governor 
 John Brough, of Ohio, and John W. Garrett, Esq., Presi 
 dent of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, arranged a 
 time-table and prepared regulations for the movements 
 of the funeral-train. The time for arriving at and depart- 
 
THE FUNERAL OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 223 
 
 ure from each city was thereby fixed. General McCal- 
 lum was given military control of the train ; Captain C. 
 B. Penrose was detailed as commissary ; Captain J. P. 
 Dukehart, the veteran and efficient conductor, accompa 
 nied the train to Springfield. Invitations to take seats 
 in the passenger cars of the train were issued to a few 
 persons, among them the late President s pastor, Rev. 
 Dr. Gurley. Some of these gentlemen accompanied it 
 the whole way ; others joined, and left it, at points along 
 the route. The proper preservation of the body, which 
 had been embalmed, was intrusted to the embalmer and 
 undertaker. 
 
 Two elegant cars were provided, one for the funeral- 
 car, the other for the guard of honor, and six others 
 were attached to the train for the mourners. The funeral- 
 car was heavily draped, within and without, with black, 
 while silver stars and tassels relieved the somber festoons. 
 This car was divided into three parts, a sleeping-apart 
 ment in the center, and a sitting room at each end. The 
 coffin containing the President s remains rested on a bier 
 covered with black drapery, in the room at the rear. The 
 body of his little son Willie, who died in Washington in 
 1862, was placed in the front room, that it might be in 
 terred with his father s in Springfield. 
 
 The President s remains, escorted by a military com 
 mand, and followed by the Cabinet and other distin 
 guished personages, were moved to the Baltimore and 
 Ohio depot, where they were received by the guard of 
 honor. The train started on its mournful journey at 
 eight o clock A. M., Friday, April 21, 1865, preceded by a 
 pilot-engine to guard against accident. 
 
 The depots everywhere were draped in mourning, and 
 
224: ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 many had mottoes conspicuously displayed. In more than 
 one the motto was " Washington the Father, Lincoln the 
 Saviour of the Country." * The cities vied with each 
 other in the elegance with which their buildings, public 
 and private, were draped. Crowds thronged the depots 
 and streets, but there was no jostling, no noise ; all was 
 solemn and sad. 
 
 In every city where the remains were exposed to view, 
 a guard of honor was selected to be present while the 
 crowd passed through the hall. This was a relief to the 
 regular guard, as only two of them at a time had to be 
 present. But there was never a moment throughout the 
 whole journey when at least two of this guard were not 
 by the side of the coffin. No bearers, except the veteran 
 guard, were ever suffered to handle the President s 
 coffin. 
 
 At the Relay House the train was detained a few 
 minutes to permit a party of ladies to lay some beautiful 
 floral tributes upon the bier. This was the first of those 
 tender exhibitions of feeling which were afterward so 
 frequently repeated. 
 
 At Baltimore, where the train arrived at ten o clock 
 A. M., the Governor, Lieutenant-Go vernor, State and city 
 officials were in waiting. An imposing procession was 
 formed. The President s coffin, borne by the guard of 
 Veteran Eeserve sergeants, was placed in a beautiful 
 hearse, and taken to the Rotunda of the Exchange, where 
 a catafalque had been erected immediately under the 
 dome. All around the catafalque were tastefully ar- 
 
 * An elegant medallion, bearing the bust of Washington on one side and 
 of Lincoln on the other, was struck off in gold and in silver, at the Mint in 
 Philadelphia. This was worn as a badge by several of the guard of honor. 
 
THE FUNERAL OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 225 
 
 ranged evergreens, wreaths, calla-lilies, and other choice 
 flowers. The coffin was opened so as to display the face 
 and bust to view, and arrangements were made so that 
 the crowd of citizens, eager for one parting look, could 
 pass through without confusion. 
 
 The schedule required a departure from Baltimore at 
 three o clock p. M. The procession was accordingly re 
 formed in time, and moved to the Northern Central De 
 pot, en route to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 
 
 At York a beautiful wreath was placed on the coffin 
 by some ladies. 
 
 At Harrisburg, which was reached at a little past 
 eight o clock p. M., a driving rain and the darkness of 
 the evening prevented the reception which had been 
 arranged. Slowly through the muddy streets, followed 
 by two of the guard of honor and the faithful ser 
 geants, the hearse wended its way to the Capitol. There 
 the remains were exposed to view until eleven o clock 
 A. M., Saturday the 21st, when a very large procession 
 escorted them to the depot. Guns were fired and bells 
 tolled through the morning, and trains came in from the 
 surrounding country, laden with people who sought to do 
 honor to the occasion. 
 
 Leaving Harrisburg at noon, the train soon reached 
 Middletown, where a large crowd was gathered. The 
 cars passed into the depot under an arch of evergreens, 
 while national flags draped in mourning were fluttering 
 all around. 
 
 At Elizabethtown a large flag was suspended from the 
 depot, to which was affixed the motto, "We mourn a 
 nation s loss." At Mount Joy, and all along the road, 
 large numbers of people were congregated, the country 
 
226 ANECDOTES OF TEE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 people flocking to neighboring towns, or to the line of 
 the railroad. 
 
 At Lancaster the crowd was enormous. The depot 
 was decorated with flags and crape ; and in large letters 
 was the motto : " Abraham Lincoln, the illustrious mar 
 tyr of liberty. The nation mourns his loss. Though 
 dead, he still lives." 
 
 The " Philadelphia Inquirer " said : " At the outskirts 
 we found the force of the Lancaster Iron- Works in line 
 along the road, with uplifted hats, and their buildings 
 draped. They paid their last tribute to the patriot and 
 statesman. Near the track, in many places, we found old 
 men had been carried down in their chairs, and women 
 with infants held out to see the cortege pass, formed at 
 times groups seldom if ever witnessed." 
 
 And so it was with all the towns and villages. Busi 
 ness was stopped, and all the people crowded to see the 
 funeral pass. 
 
 Arriving at Philadelphia at half-past six p. M., a 
 dense crowd received us with every manifestation of 
 grief. With a magnificent escort and procession, the 
 hearse was conducted through Independence Square 
 which was illuminated with calcium-lights to Inde 
 pendence Hall. In that spot, on the 22d of February, 
 1861, Abraham Lincoln had uttered these words : " It 
 was something in the * Declaration of Independence, 
 giving liberty, not only to the people of this country, 
 but hope to the world for all future time. . . . Now, 
 my friends, can the country be saved upon that basis? 
 If it can, I will consider myself one of the happiest 
 men in the world if I can help to save it. But, if this 
 country can not be saved without giving up that prin- 
 
THE FUNERAL OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 227 
 
 ciple, I was about to say, I would rather be assassinated 
 upon this spot than to surrender it." 
 
 And now his lifeless body had come to make that 
 utterance prophecy. 
 
 Words can but faintly portray the elegant taste with 
 which the historic old hall was draped and decorated 
 with floral offerings that hall to whose legends another 
 of intense interest was now added. The skilled pen of 
 the u Inquirer " shall again lend us its aid : 
 
 "A magnificent floral device,* composed of a large 
 wreath of brilliant-colored flowers, and containing a beau 
 tiful shield in the center, also composed of choice flow 
 ers, occupied a prominent position on the lid of the coffin. 
 This wreath bore the following inscription : 
 
 " Presented by the ladies of York, Pennsylvania, to 
 be laid on the body of our lamented President if pos 
 sible. 
 
 " At the head of the coffin was suspended a highly 
 wrought cross, composed of japonicas, with a center con 
 sisting of jet-black exotics. The device contained the 
 following inscription : 
 
 " To the memory of our beloved President, from a 
 few ladies of the United States Sanitary Commission. 
 
 " On the old Independence bell, and near the head of 
 the coffin, rested a large and beautifully made floral an 
 chor, composed of the choicest exotics. This beautiful 
 offering came from the ladies of St. Clement s Church. 
 Four stands, two at the head and two at the foot of the 
 coffin, were draped in black cloth, and contained rich 
 candelabra, with lighted wax-candles. Directly to the 
 
 * Most of the decorations were deposited in the rooms of the Historical 
 Society after the ceremonies were over. 
 
228 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 rear of these were placed three additional stands, also 
 containing candelabras with burning tapers ; and again, 
 another row of four stands, containing candelabras also, 
 brought up the rear, making in all eighteen candelabras 
 and one hundred and eight burning wax-tapers. 
 
 " Between this flood of light, shelving was erected, 
 on which were placed rare vases filled with japonicas, 
 heliotropes, and other rare flowers. These vases were 
 about twenty-five in number. 
 
 " A most delicious perfume stole through every part 
 of the hall, which, added to the soft yet brilliant light of 
 the wax-tapers, the elegant uniforms of the officers on 
 duty, etc., constituted a scene of Oriental magnificence 
 but seldom witnessed. 
 
 " The hall at large was completely shrouded with 
 black cloth, arranged in a very graceful and appropriate 
 manner. The old chandelier that hangs from the center 
 of the room, and which was directly over the coffin of 
 the deceased, was entirely covered, and from it radiated 
 in every direction festoons of black cloth, forming a sort 
 of canopy over the entire room. The walls of the room 
 presented the appearance of having been papered with 
 black. . . . The statue of Washington, at the east end of 
 the room, stood out in bold relief against the background. 
 "Wreaths of immortelles were hung on the black drapery 
 that covered the walls, and were placed about midway 
 between the floor and ceiling. 
 
 " One of the wreaths that lay near the head of the 
 coffin contained a card bearing the following inscription : 
 
 " i Before any great national event I have always had 
 the same dream. I had it the other night. It is of a 
 ship sailing rapidly? 
 
THE FUNERAL OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 229 
 
 " These words were used by Mr. Lincoln in conversa 
 tion not long since. 
 
 " A beautiful wreath was presented on Saturday even 
 ing, containing the following : 
 
 " A lady s gift. Can you find a place ? 
 
 " A balustrade was erected on either side of the coffin, 
 which acted as a barrier to the throng that pressed in to 
 see the remains, and prevented them from approaching 
 too closely to the coffin.* 
 
 " An incident, humble in its character, yet not with 
 out its due effect, took place while the hall was being 
 placed in readiness for the reception of the remains. An 
 old negro woman managed by some means to effect an 
 entrance into the sacred inclosure, and approached the 
 committee of arrangements with a rudely made wreath 
 in her hand, which she requested, with tears in her eyes, 
 might be placed on the coffin of the deceased. The 
 wreath contained the motto : 
 
 " The nation mourns his loss. lie still lives in the 
 hearts of the people. 
 
 " The old woman s heart beat with delight when she 
 was informed that her offering should be placed in an 
 appropriate position. 
 
 " A beautiful full-length portrait of Mr. Lincoln was 
 placed in front of the State -House, and covered with 
 black cloth so closely that the figure alone was exposed 
 to view. A curtain was drawn over the painting, which 
 was thrown aside just as the body was about being taken 
 into Independence Hall, wiien it was brilliantly illumi- 
 
 * There was a desire not unfrequently expressed, and in some cases 
 amounting almost to insanity, to touch the face, as if virtue would flow 
 from the contact. 
 
 11 
 
230 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAS. 
 
 nated. A motto composed of gas-jets, surmounted the 
 portrait, containing the words 
 
 " Rest in peace. " 
 
 It was estimated that over two hundred thousand 
 people passed through Independence Hall between ten 
 o clock Saturday evening and one o clock A. M. Monday. 
 Double lines, extending three miles, were formed of per 
 sons waiting their turn to enter the hall. The entrances 
 were through windows facing Independence Square. In 
 the crowd were hundreds of colored people. One aged 
 colored woman, after gazing a moment at the silent fea 
 tures, threw up her hands, the tears coursing down her 
 cheeks, and exclaimed in audible tones: "O Abraham 
 Lincoln ! he is dead ! he is dead ! " Precisely at mid 
 night, Saturday, three ladies entered the hall and de 
 posited on the coffin a cross of perfectly white flowers, 
 to which a card was fastened with a white ribbon, bear 
 ing this inscription : 
 
 "A tribute to our great and good President, who has 
 fallen a martyr to the cause of human freedom. 
 6 In my hand no price I bring, 
 Simply to thy cross I cling. : 
 
 Although the hour of departure from Philadelphia 
 was so early, the crowd was in no wise diminished. 
 Many mothers held their infants above the heads of the 
 multitude, as if to place it in their power to say in after 
 life, " I saw President Lincoln s funeral." 
 
 At four o clock A.M., the train was on its way for 
 E"ew York. 
 
 At Jersey City admirable arrangements had been 
 made ; and the Secretary of State of New York there 
 received the remains, on behalf of the State. As the 
 
THE FUNERAL OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 231 
 
 hearse moved out of the depot to go on board the ferry 
 boat, a dirge was sung by a chorus of two hundred voices. 
 As the boat entered the dock at New York, guns were 
 tired and bells tolled. The nags of the shipping hung 
 at half-staff. The New York Seventh Regiment that 
 regiment which had given President Lincoln so much 
 relief by its arrival in Washington in April, 1861 now 
 formed the escort for his remains to the City Hall. 
 
 The locality chosen for the body to repose, in the City 
 Hall, was the most convenient for the purpose of any on 
 the whole route. The ascent from the ground-floor to 
 the room of the City Council was by two flights of stone 
 stairs, on one side of the large circular rotunda. There 
 was but one step from the platform at the top of the 
 stairs to the passage, or entry, leading to the Council- 
 chamber. By placing a dais, slightly inclined from head 
 to foot, just within the entry, persons ascending one flight 
 of steps would have a perfect view of the features while 
 crossing the platform to descend by the other flight. Thus, 
 a constant stream of people entered one door, viewed the 
 body without stopping, and left the rotunda by another 
 door. 
 
 The interior of the rotunda was draped from the 
 ground to the cupola ; and an arch of black cloth was 
 formed over the entrance to the Council-room passage, 
 beneath which the dais lay. 
 
 Probably more than half a million souls passed across 
 that platform while the doors remained open. Among 
 them, all classes and conditions of men, women, and 
 children were represented. Of them all, none paid a 
 more sincere homage than did the poor Irishwoman, who, 
 as she hastily passed, laid a small cross of evergreen at 
 
232 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 the foot of the coffin, fervently ejaculating, "God pre 
 serve your soul ! " 
 
 A grand feature of the New York ceremonies was 
 the procession which followed the funeral-car to the depot 
 on its way to Albany, on the afternoon of Tuesday, the 
 25th. It was composed of from fifty to seventy thousand 
 parsons on foot. The " Herald" said : 
 
 ." The procession included not only the military, the 
 firemen, the trades societies, and the benevolent and 
 other associations, but also many citizens who never 
 marched through our streets before in honor of any man, 
 or any occasion. Remarkable upon this account, it was no 
 less remarkable on account of its unanimity all classes, 
 conditions, creeds, and politics joining in it with a com 
 mon, sympathetic impulse. 
 
 " Certainly New York city eclipsed herself upon this 
 occasion, and appropriately represented the universal sen 
 timent of the country. In solemn silence, unbroken by 
 the slightest expression of applause at the drill of the sol 
 diery or by the appearance of various popular men and 
 societies, the mournful pageant moved through miles of 
 magnificent dwellings hung with black; and, when the 
 impressive ceremonies were over, the vast assemblage dis 
 persed so quickly and quietly that in a couple of hours no 
 trace of its existence remained." 
 
 And so the grand procession passed on, minute-guns 
 firing, bells tolling, chimes sounding dirges. There was 
 no standing-place left on the sidewalks, heads were uncov 
 ered, and not so much as a smile was seen. At the win 
 dows of the draped dwellings stood hosts of ladies with 
 handkerchiefs to their eyes ; and not even the children 
 seemed tempted by curiosity to strain for a better view. 
 
THE FUNERAL OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 233 
 
 "When not far from the Hudson Eiver Depot, the 
 coupe of General Scott was descried drawn up by the 
 sidewalk. I immediately alighted, and, after greeting my 
 old commander, conducted his vehicle to a place in the 
 procession. Though pale and feeble, he insisted on 
 walking into the depot, and paying his parting respects 
 to the deceased President. 
 
 The line of the Hudson River road seemed alive 
 with people. At each of the towns by which it passes, 
 the darkness of night was relieved by torches, which 
 revealed the crowds there assembled. At Hudson, where 
 the train arrived at midnight, elaborate preparations had 
 been made. Beneath an arch hung with black and white 
 drapery and evergreen wreaths, was a tableau represent 
 ing a coffin resting upon a dais; a female figure in 
 white, mourning over the coffin ; a soldier standing at 
 one end and a sailor at the other. While a band of 
 young women dressed in white sang a dirge, two others 
 in black entered the funeral-car, placed a beautiful floral 
 device on the President s coffin, then knelt for a moment 
 in silence, and quietly withdrew. This whole scene was 
 one of the most weird ever witnessed, its solemnity being 
 intensified by the somber lights of torches, at that dead 
 hour of night. 
 
 It was long after midnight when the coffin was placed 
 in the State Capitol at Albany. Yet the stream of visit 
 ors began the instant the doors could be thrown open. 
 Governor Fenton and staff received the remains at the 
 depot and escorted them to the Capitol. The city was 
 profusely decorated with mourning. Among the many 
 mottoes displayed from the buildings was an extract 
 from one of Mr. Lincoln s addresses : 
 
234 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR 
 
 " Let us resolve that our martyred dead shall not have 
 died in vain." 
 
 At four o clock p. M., "Wednesday the 26th, the train 
 again started on its journey, and wended its way in the 
 night toward Buffalo, passing through Eochester at 
 about a quarter past three o clock A.M. Ten thousand 
 people were out to receive it. The mayor, common 
 council, military and civic organizations, were in line at 
 the depot. The sounds of martial music and of bells 
 tolling were heard till we were far beyond the depot. 
 
 At Batavia, at a quarter past five A. M., a concourse 
 had assembled, and, during the short stay in the depot 
 there, a choir of male and female voices chanted a requi 
 em, while minute-guns were firing and bells tolling. 
 
 At Herkimer, among the numerous assemblage was a 
 large band of ladies dressed in white, with black sashes, 
 each holding a draped miniature national flag. 
 
 At Little Falls, some ladies laid upon the coffin a 
 large cross and wreath of flowers. 
 
 At Utica, bands played dirges, bells were tolled, and 
 minute-guns fired. 
 
 Arriving at Syracuse near midnight, a hard rain did 
 not deter over thirty thousand people from turning out 
 to witness the passing of the train, with torches and bon 
 fires, bells and cannon. 
 
 At Batavia, ex-President Fill more and several other 
 distinguished citizens from Buffalo came to join the 
 mourners. Arriving at Buffalo at seven o clock A. M., 
 the 27th, an imposing procession escorted the remains 
 to St. James Hall. At this city every arrangement was 
 of the most perfect character. In the hall, a canopy 
 of crape, extending from the floor to the ceiling, was ar- 
 
THE FUNERAL OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 235 
 
 ranged for the reception of the coffin. A brilliant light 
 was thrown upon it from a large chandelier, whose rays 
 dimly lighted the rest of the hall. Just before the coffin 
 was opened, the St. Cecilia Society sang a dirge, while 
 all others present stood around in solemn silence. The 
 Mayor and Council of Rochester came to offer their trib 
 ute of respect. The crowd of visitors, though immense, 
 was perfectly orderly, and cheerfully yielded to the efforts 
 of officers who volunteered for the occasion, and the city 
 police, in preventing undue pressure and confusion. Thus 
 everything passed off without the least accident. Here 
 we first received intelligence of the capture and death of 
 Booth, the assassin. 
 
 As the President s remains went farther westward, 
 where the people more especially claimed him as their 
 own, the intensity of feeling seemed if possible to grow 
 deeper. The night journey of the 27th and 28th was all 
 through torches, bonfires, mourning drapery, mottoes, and 
 solemn music. Leaving Buffalo at ten o clock in the even 
 ing of the 27th, Cleveland was reached at seven o clock 
 the next morning. 
 
 At Cleveland, committees were formed to make every 
 possible arrangement in the most elaborate manner. There 
 being no building thought suitable for the purpose, a su 
 perb canopy, thirty-six feet long, twenty-four broad, and 
 fourteen high, was erected in the Public Square. The 
 roof was supported by pillars, and the ends were open, so as 
 to admit of a large crowd passing in at one end and emerg 
 ing at the other. No device that skill and good taste could 
 conceive was omitted in the construction of this temporary 
 resting-place for the revered remains. It was surmounted 
 by a scroll between two poles, bearing the inscription, 
 
ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 " Extinctus amdbitur idem" For the evening, the struc 
 ture was lighted by gas-jets. The dais was higher at the 
 head than at the foot, so that the remains were in view 
 from the moment of entering the canopy. So great was 
 the influx of persons from the neighboring towns and 
 country, that hundreds were unable to find a resting-place 
 for the night.* 
 
 Solemn religious services, including the singing of 
 hymns, were conducted at the canopy by the Right Rev. 
 C. P. Mcllvaine, Bishop of Ohio. Except that a rain 
 prevailed through the day, nothing occurred to inter 
 fere with the melancholy interest of this most solemn 
 scene. An immense procession conducted the remains, 
 at midnight, between two lines of torch-lights to the 
 depot. 
 
 There was an interesting " special feature about the 
 running of the train from Erie to Cleveland," which was 
 recorded in one of the daily papers. " As far as possible, 
 everything connected with the train was the same as on 
 the occasion of Mr. Lincoln s going East over that road 
 in 1861. The locomotive the William Case was the 
 same. The engineer, William Congden, was dead, and 
 the engine was run by John Benjamin. The fireman, in 
 1861, George Martin, was an engineer, but asked and ob 
 tained the privilege of again acting as fireman on that 
 train. The same conductor, E. D. Page, had control of 
 the train. Superintendent Henry Nottingham, as before, 
 had the complete management." 
 
 The next resting-place was at Columbus, Ohio, where 
 for twelve hours, Saturday, the 29th, streams of people 
 
 * To a gentleman, a stranger to me, who kindly lent me his room at a 
 hotel, I was indebted for fifteen hours unbroken sleep, to bring up arrears. 
 
THE FUNERAL OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 237 
 
 viewed the body lying in state.* Here the rear of the 
 escorting procession was brought up by colored Masons. 
 
 Another night was spent on the way from Columbus 
 to Indianapolis, Indiana, which was reached at seven 
 o clock Sunday morning, the 30th. Of course, every other 
 pursuit was set aside for this great occasion. It was the 
 first Sunday we had spent on the way since leaving Phil 
 adelphia, and never was a Sabbath more hallowed by a 
 universal consent of the people in their demonstration of 
 sincere mourning. 
 
 At midnight the route was resumed for Chicago. 
 While the darkness prevailed, the approach to every town 
 was made apparent by bonfires, torches, and music, while 
 crowds of people formed an almost unbroken line. One 
 of the most effective scenes was at Michigan City, where 
 the train stopped for a few minutes, at half -past eight 
 o clock A. M., the first day of May. A succession of 
 arches, beautifully trimmed with white and black, with 
 evergreens and flowers, and with numerous flags and por 
 traits of the President, was formed over the railway-track. 
 Many mottoes were displayed from different parts of the 
 structure ; among them 
 
 " Abraham Lincoln, the noblest martyr of freedom, 
 sacred thy dust ; hallowed thy resting-place." 
 And- 
 
 " The purposes of the Almighty are perfect, and must 
 prevail." 
 
 * While at Columbus I received a note from a lady, wife of one of the 
 principal citizens, accompanying a little cross made of wild violets. The 
 note said that the writer s little girls had gone to the woods in the early 
 morning and gathered the flowers with which they had wrought the cross. 
 They desired it might be laid on little Willie s coffin, " they felt so sorry 
 for him." 
 
238 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 Near the arches was a group of sixteen maidens dressed 
 in white and black, who sweetly sang " Old Hundred." 
 Another group, in white, surrounded a central figure rep 
 resenting America. They stood upon a platform deco 
 rated with flowers, and each held in her hand a small flag. 
 This was a striking tableau. A party of sixteen ladies, 
 headed by a niece of Speaker Colfax, entered the car and 
 placed flowers on the coffin. 
 
 The train arrived at Chicago at eleven o clock A. M., 
 May 1st. Here the most elaborate preparations had been 
 made. The decorations were profuse and of the most 
 costly description. A magnificent arch spanned the street 
 where the coffin was taken from the car, and under this 
 the body rested while a dirge was sung by a numerous 
 band of ladies dressed in white, with black scarfs. Mean 
 time the grand procession was formed in line, and the 
 march commenced. Nearly every dwelling on Michigan 
 Avenue, which was on the route, was dressed with mourn 
 ing, and many displayed touching mottoes. One gentle 
 man, who had accompanied the train from Washington, 
 telegraphed to have conspicuously placed on the front of 
 his residence 
 
 " Mournfully, tenderly bear him to his rest." 
 He told me these words were suggested by the really 
 tender care with which the Yeteran sergeants always 
 the bearers lifted and carried their charge. 
 
 The rotunda of the court-house was the place cho 
 sen for the remains to lie in state. It was decorated 
 without and within with every possible tasteful com 
 bination of black velvet, white muslin, silver stars and 
 fringe, wreaths of white flowers, and mottoes, such as 
 these : 
 
THE FUNERAL OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 239 
 
 " The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places." 
 And- 
 
 " Illinois clasps to her bosom her slain but glorified 
 son." 
 
 A canopy supported by four pillars was raised over 
 the catafalque, which lay directly under the dome. Nu 
 merous lights were so distributed as to throw their con 
 centrated rays through the drapery upon the coffin. A 
 marble eagle, with flags gracefully festooned around it, 
 stood on a velvet pedestal at the head of the coffin. 
 
 The remains were here displayed from early after 
 noon, all through the night, and until eight o clock the 
 following evening. At intervals a choir sang selections 
 from oratorios, and other choice solemn music. It seemed 
 as if Milwaukee and all the country within many miles 
 of Chicago must have been quite deserted, so great was 
 the concourse at the latter city. 
 
 The cortege left Chicago, the last stopping-place be 
 fore Springfield, at half-past nine o clock p. M. As usual, 
 night was forgotten by the people in their anxiety to 
 show all possible respect for him whom they expected ; 
 and bonfires and torches threw their uncertain light upon 
 mourning emblems which were destined to stand in their 
 places as memorials for weeks to come. At Lockport 
 the motto was seen on one house 
 " Come home." 
 
 It rained at Joliet, and it was midnight ; but, just the 
 same, ten thousand persons were gathered at the depot. 
 Here was an illuminated portrait, with the motto : 
 
 " Champion, defender, and martyr of liberty." 
 The train passed under an arch, while sweet voices sang, 
 " There is rest for thee in heaven." 
 
24:0 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 At Lincoln, a place named for the President, and in 
 which he had felt much interest, an arch was erected over 
 the track, on which was a portrait with the motto : 
 " With malice for none, with charity for all." 
 
 There was not a single place on the whole route where 
 some touching demonstration was not made. 
 
 At last, at nine o clock A. M., Wednesday, May 3d, we 
 reached Springfield, the home of Abraham Lincoln at the 
 time he was elected President of the United States. 
 Those who claimed him as their own would naturally 
 exhaust their powers of contrivance to make this last 
 reception worthy of the deep affection and pride which 
 they entertained for him more than for any other man 
 who ever lived. A large procession, in which were many 
 of the most distinguished men in the land, escorted the 
 body, which was conveyed in a splendid hearse, brought 
 for the purpose from St. Louis, drawn by six black 
 horses. 
 
 In the Representative Hall of the Capitol the cata 
 falque was erected. The handsome building was uniquely 
 draped on the outside, and the decoration of the hall was 
 very handsome. Conspicuous on the walls were seen the 
 mottoes : 
 
 " Sooner than surrender this principle, 
 I would be assassinated on the spot." 
 And- 
 
 " Washington the Father, Lincoln the Saviour." 
 
 Perhaps a more than usual display of grief was ap 
 parent among the multitudes who here visited the re 
 mains. It was truly the hall of mourning. It seemed 
 hard for these, his old-time neighbors and friends, to 
 realize the dreadful fact that he had come back to them 
 
THE FUNERAL OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 241 
 
 in this guise; and still harder that all that was left of 
 him must, in a few brief hours, be closed from their view 
 forever. Springfield had become classic ground. The 
 President s law-office, his old residence, and the one he 
 occupied until his departure for Washington, were freely 
 thrown open to the thousands eager to see the places 
 which had known him, and should know him no more. 
 
 In the morning of Thursday, the 4th of May, the 
 doors of the hall were closed to all save the guard of 
 honor, who stood around while the undertaker and em- 
 balmer renewed some of the trimmings of the coffin, 
 cleansed the dress and face, and reverently sealed the 
 coffin-lid. At this moment a little rose-bud attached to 
 a geranium-leaf, which a woman had dropped upon the 
 body at Buffalo, was found nestling directly over the 
 heart. 
 
 The procession moved at about noon for the beautiful 
 Oak Ridge Cemetery, just outside the city. A fine horse 
 which had belonged to Mr. Lincoln was led immediately 
 behind the hearse. Military and civic organizations had 
 arrived since the morning of the 3d, to swell the pa 
 geant. The ceremonies at the tomb were surpassingly 
 grand and impressive. The vault, of Joliet limestone, 
 was at the foot of a knoll, surrounded by noble trees. 
 The interior of the vault was lined with black velvet, 
 covered with green sprigs of cedar. In the center was 
 a brick foundation, with white-marble top, for the coffin. 
 Little Willie s coffin was deposited near by. A chorus 
 of male voices sang the " Dead March in Saul," as the 
 President s remains were laid to rest. Then began the 
 religious services. First, singing a dirge ; next, reading 
 selections from Scripture, and prayer; then, singing a 
 
242 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 hymn ; then, reading of the President s last inaugural, 
 in which occurs that oft-quoted passage, "With malice 
 toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the 
 right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to 
 finish the work we are in." The choir then sang a dirge ; 
 after which Bishop Simpson, of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, delivered a funeral address. The ceremonies 
 were concluded with another dirge, and then prayer 
 and benediction, by the President s Washington pastor, 
 Rev. Dr. Gurley. 
 
 The door of the vault was then locked and the key 
 confided to Mr. Stuart, of Springfield, who was desig 
 nated by Captain Robert Lincoln to receive it. The 
 guard of honor having thus surrendered their trust, be 
 gan to realize how closely their interest had centered 
 upon this object which, for twelve days and twelve nights, 
 had scarcely for one moment been out of their sight. 
 
 Thus closed this marvelous exhibition of a great na 
 tion s deep grief. It seemed as though for once the 
 spirit of hospitality and of all Christian graces had taken 
 possession of every heart in every place. Not one un 
 toward event can be recalled. Every citizen rivaled his 
 neighbor in making kindly provision for the comfort of 
 the funeral company while in their midst. Unstinted 
 hospitality was not forgotten in the exceeding pains taken 
 with the public displays. Mr. Lincoln, on his way from 
 Springfield to Washington in 1861, had passed through 
 all the cities where now his mortal remains had rested for 
 a few hours on their way home. At the principal places 
 he had had enthusiastic public receptions. There could 
 not now be wanting many sad contrasts in the memories 
 of those who had participated in the first ovations to the 
 
THE FUNERAL OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 243 
 
 new President, and who now remained to behold the last 
 of him on earth. Can there be imagined one item want 
 ing to perfect this grandest of human dramas ? It is en 
 tire ; it is sublime ! 
 
 On the llth of February, 1861, on departing from 
 Springfield, Mr. Lincoln said to his neighbors, gathered 
 to take leave of him : 
 
 " My friends, no one not in my position can appre 
 ciate the sadness I feel at this parting. To this people I 
 owe all that I am. Here I have lived more than a quarter 
 of a century ; here my children were born, and here one 
 of them lies buried. I know not how soon I shall see 
 you again. A duty devolves upon me which is, perhaps, 
 greater than that which has devolved upon any other 
 man since the days of Washington. He never would 
 have succeeded except for the aid of Divine Providence, 
 upon which he at all times relied. I feel that I can not 
 succeed without the same aid which sustained him, and 
 on the same Almighty Being I place my reliance for sup 
 port ; and I hope you, my friends, will all pray that I 
 may receive that Divine assistance without which I can 
 not succeed, but with which success is certain. Again I 
 bid you all an affectionate farewell." 
 
 It was a long a last farewell. Let the world s verdict 
 say, were those prayers answered ? 
 
244 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 CHAPTEK XL. 
 
 THE GKAND REVIEWS. 
 A vast camp War-worn veterans The Bummer Brigade Final discharge. 
 
 THE war was over. The nation was in mourning for 
 its President. The soldiers who had triumphed under 
 him as commander-in-chief were to disperse to their 
 homes and resume the avocations of peace. Following 
 the precedents set by other nations, the United States 
 Government decreed that its armies should pass in re 
 view in the capital they had defended, before the rulers 
 and the distinguished men of the land, that all might 
 unite in lavishing honors upon their heroes of so many 
 hard-fought battles. 
 
 All the corps, as fast as they could be assembled 
 there, were encamped within a radius of four miles from 
 Washington, and the whole country became a vast camp 
 of veterans, still maintaining their discipline, though no 
 note of war would now sound to alarm their sentries, or 
 turn them out to the long roll of the drum. 
 
 A central stand was erected on the broad sidewalk in 
 front of the Executive Mansion. Here were congregated 
 the President and Cabinet, high military officers, and the 
 diplomatic corps. One of the three other stands re 
 ceived Governors of States, members of Congress, and 
 United States judges. The rest were for any persons 
 who could secure places upon them. Pennsylvania Ave 
 nue and other streets along which the processions passed 
 were densely packed, and every window and balcony was 
 occupied by residents and visitors. It was a sight never 
 
THE GRAND REVIEWS. 245 
 
 before witnessed in this country, and perhaps to be never 
 again. Eeviews of large numbers of troops, up to as 
 high as one hundred thousand at a time, had been held 
 as part of the preparatory discipline for battle. But here 
 were the war-worn and generally shabbily-clad veterans, 
 whose battles were finished. Before, on their way to the 
 field, their new and fresh-looking banners were borne with 
 the air of men determined to stand by them to the last. 
 Now, they were brought back torn in shreds by bullets, 
 and dingy with the smoke of war, vastly more prized 
 than ever, and sending to the hearts of spectators a strange 
 thrill of admiration for those men who had fulfilled their 
 silent pledge, and brought back what was left of their 
 colors, enveloped in glorious histories. 
 
 First in the order of reviews, May 23, 1865, came the 
 " Army of the Potomac," headed by Major-General 
 GEORGE G. MEADE,* consisting of MERRITT S cavalry 
 corps, PARKE S Ninth Corps, GRIFFIN S Fifth Corps, and 
 HUMPHREY S Second Corps. 
 
 The appearance of this .army was never finer. The 
 horses of the principal officers had been decorated with 
 garlands by admiring hands. As each general passed, he 
 bowed acknowledgments to the crowds who shouted and 
 waved their handkerchiefs ; and scarcely did a regiment 
 fail to receive at some point a signal token of recognition. 
 
 General WILLIAM T. SHERMAN S army was reviewed 
 May 24th. 
 
 First came General SHERMAN, upon a superb blooded 
 horse, with a heavy wreath about his neck. Then the 
 
 * General GRANT, as General-in-Chief of all the Armies of the United 
 States, occupied a seat on the President s stand. 
 
246 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 right wing, under Major-General LOGAN,* composed of 
 HAZEN S Fifteenth and FRANK BLAIR S Seventeenth 
 Army Corps, constituting the " Army of the Tennessee." 
 Next, the left wing, under Major-General SLOCUM, con 
 sisting of MOWER S Twentieth and J. C. DAVIS S Four 
 teenth Army Corps, constituting the " Army of Georgia." 
 
 The rear of Sherman s army was brought up by the 
 " Bummer Brigade," a humorous yet vivid and truthful 
 representation of one of its characteristics. It consisted 
 of a lot of the smallest donkeys ever seen, mingled with 
 others of larger sizes, led by regular specimens of South 
 ern field -hands, and laden with the spoils of war in the 
 foraging line. There were pots and pans, chickens and 
 grain. On the back of one mule stood a goat, on anoth 
 er a raccoon, and several roosters on others. These seemed 
 to have been preserved as pets from the slaughter, but 
 might fall victims in some woful hour of short rations. 
 
 A marked difference was observed between the men 
 of this and of the " Army of the Potomac." These were 
 "Western men, generally quite young, and taken from 
 farms. The others were older, as a general rule, and of 
 the city type of levies. There had been an impression 
 that Sherman s men, though excellent fighters, were with 
 out much discipline or drill. Agreeable surprise was ex 
 pressed, then, on seeing them march and manoeuvre with 
 as much precision as the best. They probably received 
 a rather more enthusiastic greeting, if possible, than 
 Meade s men, because they were a novelty at the seat of 
 government stranger-guests, as it were. 
 
 Major-General II. G. WRIGHT S Sixth Army Corps 
 
 * General HOWARD had already been detached to become chief of the 
 Freedmen s Bureau. 
 
THE GRAND REVIEWS. 247 
 
 had been detached on a service which prevented its ap 
 pearing with the "Army of the Potomac," to which it 
 belonged. It was therefore reviewed on the Yth of June. 
 This was the corps sent by General Grant from before 
 Richmond to the relief of Washington when threatened 
 by Early in 1864. Its three divisions, under Generals 
 Frank Wheaton, Getty, and Kicketts, were therefore ob 
 jects of special interest on this occasion. The Second 
 Brigade of the Third Division was commanded by brevet 
 Brigadier-General J. WARKEN KEIFER, Speaker of the 
 House of Representatives in the Forty-seventh Congress. 
 
 General Sheridan was not with his cavalry corps in 
 the review. He had been detached with re-enforcements 
 to take command of the army in the Southwest, for the 
 purpose of operating against Kirby Smith. The surren 
 der of that Confederate general, however, took place be 
 fore any serious movements were made against him. He 
 had a well-appointed army, and might have made a good 
 fight ; but the capture of Mr. Davis, and of the forces 
 attempting to cover his escape, put an end to the scheme 
 of moving the capital of the slave confederacy to Texas, 
 and perhaps eventually annexing the upper provinces of 
 Mexico to that and such other States as could be saved. 
 Kirby Smith maintained his forces in hopes that his Presi 
 dent might succeed in joining him with some remnant 
 of the Army of Northern Virginia. This having failed, 
 he could have no object in prolonging the contest. 
 
 Sheridan s new army was too far off to be brought to 
 Washington for review. 
 
 After the armies had been reviewed in Washington, 
 they were transported by the Government to fifty depots 
 near their homes. They had been mustered out of ser- 
 
248 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 vice by officers appointed for the purpose, before they left 
 the field. Their final muster-rolls were boxed up and 
 transported with them, their final payment being made 
 contingent upon their remaining in their ranks, and con 
 ducting themselves in an orderly manner until released. 
 At the depots paymasters awaited them ; and, having been 
 transported and subsisted up to the last moment, they 
 were paid in full, and discharged almost at their very 
 homes. Thus it was that 800,963 men in arms were all 
 released from military restraint and returned to the 
 walks of civil life, within the space of two months, with 
 out a single act of lawlessness being reported. 
 
 It would seem to be superfluous to make any comment 
 on this grand finale to the civil war in the United States 
 a war grand in its proportions, grand in its displays of 
 heroism and endurance, grand in its results. If that war 
 shall, as now seems most probable, prove to have been 
 the cause of a better cemented strength to the Union, 
 future ages will rank it foremost in the great struggles 
 for principles and liberty. 
 
APPENDIX A. 
 
 GENERAL SCOTT S "VIEWS." 
 
 "Views suggested by the Imminent Danger (October 29, 
 1860) of a Disruption of the Union ly the Secession of 
 one or more of the Southern States. 
 
 "To save time, the right of secession may be conceded, 
 and instantly balanced by the correlative right, on the part 
 of the Federal Government, against an interior State or 
 States, to re-establish by force, if necessary, its former 
 continuity of territory. (Paley s Moral and Political Phi 
 losophy, last chapter.) 
 
 "But, break this glorious Union by whatever line or 
 lines that political madness may contrive, and there would 
 be no hope of reuniting the fragments except by the lacera 
 tion and despotism of the sword. To effect such result the 
 intestine wars of our Mexican neighbors would, in compari 
 son with ours, sink into mere child s play. 
 
 " A smaller evil would be to allow the fragments of the 
 great republic to form themselves into new confederacies, 
 probably four. 
 
 "All the lines of demarkation between the new Unions 
 can not be accurately drawn in advance, but many of them 
 approximately may. Thus, looking to natural boundaries 
 and commercial affinities, some of the following frontiers, 
 after many waverings and conflicts, might perhaps become 
 acknowledged and fixed: 
 
 "1. The Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay to the 
 Atlantic. 2. From Maryland, along the crest of the Alle- 
 
250 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 ghany (perhaps the Blue Eidge) range of mountains, to 
 some point in the coast of Florida. 3. The line from, say, 
 the head of the Potomac to the west or northwest, which it 
 will be most difficult to settle. 4. The crest of the Rocky 
 Mountains. 
 
 " The Southeast Confederacy would, in all human prob 
 ability, in less than five years after the rupture, find itself 
 bounded by the first and second lines indicated above the 
 Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico with its capital at, say, 
 Columbia, South Carolina. The country between the sec 
 ond, third, and fourth of those lines would, beyond a doubt, 
 in about the same time, constitute the Northeast Confed 
 eracy, with its capital at Albany. 
 
 " It, at the first thought, will be considered strange that 
 seven slaveholding States and parts of Virginia and Florida 
 should be placed (above) in a new confederacy with Ohio, 
 Indiana, Illinois, etc. But when the overwhelming weight 
 of the great Northwest is taken in connection with the laws 
 of trade, contiguity of territory, and the comparative in 
 difference to free-soil doctrines on the part of Western Vir 
 ginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri, it is evident 
 that but little if any coercion, beyond moral force, would 
 be needed to embrace them ; and I have omitted the temp 
 tation of the un wasted public lands which would fall entire 
 to this confederacy an appanage (well husbanded) suffi 
 cient for many generations. As to Missouri, Arkansas, and 
 Mississippi, they would not stand out a month. Louisiana 
 would coalesce without much solicitation ; and Alabama, 
 with West Florida, would be conquered the first winter, 
 from the absolute need of Pensacola for a naval depot. 
 
 "If I might presume to address the South, and particu 
 larly dear Virginia * being native here and to the manor 
 born I would affectionately ask : Will not your slaves be 
 less secure, and their labor less profitable, under the new 
 
GENERAL SCOTT S "VIEWS." 251 
 
 order of things than under the old ? Could you employ 
 profitably two hundred slaves in all Nebraska, or five hun 
 dred in all New Mexico ?* The right, then, to take them 
 thither would be a barren right. And is it not wise to 
 * Kather bear the ills we have, 
 Than fly to others that we know not of ? 
 
 " The Declaration of Independence proclaims and con 
 secrates the same maxim : Prudence, indeed, will dictate 
 that governments long established should not be changed 
 for light and transient causes. And Paley, too, lays down 
 as a fundamental maxim of statesmanship, ( Never to pur 
 sue national honor as distinct from national interest ; but 
 adds, This rule acknowledges that it is often necessary to 
 assert the honor of a nation for the sake of its interests. 
 
 " The excitement that threatens secession is caused by 
 the near prospect of a Republican s election to the presi 
 dency. From a sense of propriety, as a soldier, I have 
 taken no part in the pending canvass, and, as always here 
 tofore, mean to stay away from the polls. My sympathies, 
 however, are with the Bell and Everett ticket. With Mr. 
 
 * In relation to the practical use of slavery in New Mexico, a singular 
 incident occurred in the spring of 1850, while the compromise measures 
 
 were under discussion. My old friend Major K was stationed in New 
 
 Mexico, and had traveled much through such parts of the Territory as were 
 then accessible. He wrote me to this effect : " I imagine that they are now 
 wrangling in Congress over the question of admitting slaves to this Terri 
 tory. If the truth were known, there are not many square miles where 
 they could exist, in the whole Territory. Its natural conformation easily 
 settles that question." This letter was received near the 7th of March, 
 1850, when Mr. Webster, in his famous speech on the subject, said in effect, 
 " I fancy that, while we are discussing the question of admitting slavery to 
 New Mexico, if the facts were known, the face of the country would, of 
 itself, preclude all possibility of their being employed there." 
 
 I handed to Mr. Seaton an extract from Major K s letter, with its 
 
 date, and called his attention to Mr. Webster s speech. In a day or two, an 
 interesting article on the subject appeared in the "National Intelligencer." 
 
252 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 Lincoln I have had no communication whatever, direct or 
 indirect, and have no recollection of ever having seen his 
 person ; but can not believe any unconstitutional violence, 
 or breach of law, is to be apprehended from his administra 
 tion of the Federal Government. 
 
 " From a knowledge of our Southern population, it is 
 my solemn conviction that there is some danger of an early 
 act of rashness preliminary to secession, viz., the seizure of 
 some or all of the following posts : Forts Jackson and St. 
 Philip, in the Mississippi, below New Orleans, both with 
 out garrisons ; Fort Morgan, below Mobile, without a gar 
 rison ; Forts Pickens and McRee, Pensacola Harbor, with 
 an insufficient garrison for one ; Fort Pulaski, below Sa 
 vannah, without a garrison ; Forts Moultrie and Sumter, 
 Charleston Harbor, the former with an insufficient garri 
 son, and the latter without any ; and Fort Monroe, Hamp 
 ton Roads, without a sufficient garrison. In my opinion, 
 all these works should be immediately so garrisoned as to 
 make any attempt to take any one of them by surprise or 
 coup de main ridiculous. 
 
 " With the army faithful to its allegiance and the navy 
 probably equally so, and with a Federal Executive, for the 
 next twelve months, of firmness and moderation, which the 
 country has a right to expect moderation being an element 
 of power not less ih%& firmness there is good reason to hope 
 that the danger of secession may be made to pass away with 
 out one conflict of arms, one execution, or one arrest for 
 treason. 
 
 " In the mean time it is suggested that exports should 
 remain as free as at present ; all duties, however, on im 
 ports collected (outside of the cities*), as such receipts 
 would be needed for the national debt, invalid pensions, 
 
 * " In forts, or on board ships of war. The great aim and object of 
 this plan was to gain time say eight or ten months to await expected 
 
GENERAL SCOTT S "VIEWS." 253 
 
 etc., and only articles contraband of war be refused admit 
 tance. But even this refusal would be unnecessary, as the 
 foregoing views eschew the idea of invading a seceding State. 
 
 " WINFIELD SCOTT." 
 
 " October 29, I860." 
 
 "Lieutenant-General Scott s respects to the Secretary 
 of War, to say : 
 
 "That a copy of his Views, etc./ was dispatched to 
 the President yesterday, in great haste ; but the copy in 
 tended for the Secretary, better transcribed (herewith), 
 was not in time for the mail. General S. would be happy 
 if the latter could be substituted for the former. 
 
 "It will be seen that the Views only apply to a case 
 of secession that makes a gap in the present Union. The 
 falling off (say) of Texas, or of all the Atlantic States, from 
 the Potomac south, was not within the scope of General 
 S. s provisional remedies. 
 
 "It is his opinion that instructions should be given at 
 once to the commanders of the Barrancas, Forts Moultrie 
 and Monroe, to be on their guard against surprises and 
 coups de main. As to regular approaches, nothing can be 
 said or done, at this time, without volunteers. 
 
 " There is one (regular) company at Boston, one here (at 
 the Narrows), one at Pittsburg, one at Augusta, Georgia, 
 and one at Baton Eouge in all five companies only, within 
 reach,* to garrison or re-enforce the forts mentioned in the 
 Views. 
 
 measures of conciliation on the part of the North, and the subsidence of 
 angry feelings in the opposite quarter." 
 
 * " Within reach " that is to say, so near that they can be reached im 
 mediately. There were other " regular " companies that with a little more 
 time could be reached for the purpose indicated, while, for a greater emer 
 gency, the idea of " volunteers," for " regular approaches," was plainly 
 hinted at. 
 
 12 
 
254 ANECDOTES OF TEE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 "General Scott is all solicitude for the safety of the 
 Union. He is, however, not without hope that all dangers 
 and difficulties will pass away, without leaving a scar or 
 painful recollection behind. 
 
 "The Secretary s most obedient servant, 
 
 "W. S." 
 
 " October 80, I860: 1 
 
 RE-ENFORCING AND HOLDING FORTS. 
 
 "HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, 
 
 " WASHINGTON, December 28, 1860. 
 
 " Lieutenant-General Scott (who has had a bad night, 
 and can scarcely hold up his head this morning) begs to 
 express the hopes to the Secretary of War 1. That orders 
 may not be given for the evacuation of Fort Sumter ; 
 
 2. That one hundred and fifty recruits may instantly be 
 sent from Governor s Island to re-enforce that garrison, 
 with ample supplies of ammunition and subsistence, in 
 cluding fresh vegetables, as potatoes, onions, turnips ; and, 
 
 3. That one or two armed vessels be sent to support the 
 said fort. 
 
 "Lieutenant-General Scott avails himself of this oppor 
 tunity also to express the hope that the recommendations 
 heretofore made by him to the Secretary of War respecting 
 Torts Jackson,* St. Philip,* Morgan, f and Pulaski,J; and 
 particularly in respect to Forts Pickens * and McRee * and 
 the Pensacola Navy- Yard, in connection with the two last- 
 named works, may be reconsidered by the Secretary. 
 
 " Lieutenant-General Scott will further ask the attention 
 of the Secretary to Forts Jefferson || and Taylor, A which 
 
 * At mouth of Mississippi River. * Pensacola Harbor, Florida, 
 
 f Mobile Bay, Alabama. | Dry Tortugas, Florida, 
 
 j Savannah River, Georgia. A Key West, Florida. 
 
GENERAL SCOTT S VIEWS." 255 
 
 are wholly national, being of far greater value even to the 
 most distant points of the Atlantic coast, and to the people 
 on the upper waters of the Missouri, Mississippi, and Ohio 
 Rivers, than to the State of Florida. There is only a feeble 
 company at Key West for the defense of Fort Taylor, and 
 not a soldier in Fort Jefferson to resist a handful of fili 
 busters or a row-boat of pirates ; and the Gulf, soon after 
 the beginning of secession or revolutionary troubles in the 
 adjacent States, will swarm with such nuisances. 
 " Eespectfully submitted to the Secretary of War, 
 
 "WI:NTIELD SCOTT." 
 
 THE WAYWARD SISTERS." 
 
 " WASHINGTON, March 3, 1861. 
 
 " DEAB SIR : Hoping that in a day or two the new 
 President will have happily passed through all personal 
 dangers, and find himself installed an honored successor of 
 the great Washington, with you as the chief of his Cabinet, 
 I beg leave to repeat, in writing, what I have before said 
 to you orally, this supplement to my printed Views (dated 
 in October last) on the highly disordered condition of our 
 (so late) happy and glorious Union. 
 
 " To meet the extraordinary exigencies of the times, it 
 seems to me that I am guilty of no arrogance in limiting 
 the President s field of selection to one of the four plans of 
 procedure subjoined : 
 
 " I. Throw off the old and assume the new designation 
 the Union party ; adopt the conciliatory measures pro 
 posed by Mr. Crittenden, or the Peace Convention, and, my 
 life upon it, we shall have no new case of secession ; but, 
 on the contrary, an early return of many, if not of all 
 the States which have already broken off from the Union. 
 Without some equally benign measure, the remaining 
 
256 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 slaveholding States will probably join the Montgomery 
 Confederacy in less than sixty days ; when this city, being 
 included in a foreign country, would require a permanent 
 garrison of at least thirty-five thousand troops to protect 
 the Government within it. 
 
 " II. Collect the duties on foreign goods outside the 
 ports of which the Government has lost the command, or 
 close such ports by act of Congress, and blockade them. 
 
 "III. Conquer the seceded States by invading armies. 
 No doubt this might be done in two or three years by a 
 young and able general a Wolfe, a Desaix, a Hoche with 
 three hundred thousand disciplined men, estimating a third 
 for garrisons, and the loss of a yet greater number by skir 
 mishes, sieges, battles, and Southern fevers. The destruc 
 tion of life and property on the other side would be frightful, 
 however perfect the moral discipline of the invaders. 
 
 "The conquest completed, at the enormous waste of 
 human life to the North and Northwest, with at least 
 $250,000,000 added thereto, and cui bono? Fifteen devas 
 tated provinces ! not to be brought into.harmony with their 
 conquerors, but to be held for generations by heavy gar 
 risons, at an expense quadruple the net duties or taxes 
 which it would be possible to extort from them, followed 
 by a protector or an emperor. 
 
 " IV. Say to the seceded States, Wayward sisters, depart 
 in peace. 
 
 "In haste, I remain, very truly yours, 
 
 "WINFIELD SCOTT." 
 
 " Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, etc., etc." 
 
PRECAUTIONS AGAINST ATTACK. 257 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 
 PRECAUTIONS AGAINST ATTACK. 
 
 GENERAL ORDERS, No. 4. 
 
 HEADQUARTERS OP THE ARMY, 
 
 WASHINGTON, April 26, 1861. 
 
 I. FROM the known assemblage near this city of numer 
 ous hostile bodies of troops, it is evident that an attack 
 upon it may soon be expected. In such an event, to meet 
 and repel the enemy, it is necessary that some plan of har 
 monious co-operation should be adopted on the part of all 
 the forces, regular and volunteer, present for the defense 
 of the capital that is, for the defense of the Government, 
 the peaceable inhabitants of the city, their property, the 
 public buildings and public archives. 
 
 II. At the first moment of an attack, every regiment, 
 battalion, squadron, and independent company, will prompt 
 ly assemble at its established rendezvous (in or out of the 
 public buildings), ready for battle, and wait for orders. 
 
 III. The pickets (or advanced! guards) will stand fast 
 till driven in by overwhelming forces ; but it is expected 
 that those stationed to defend bridges having every ad 
 vantage of position will not give way till actually pushed 
 by the bayonet. Such obstinacy on the part of pickets so 
 stationed is absolutely necessary, to give time for the troops, 
 in the rear, to assemble at their places of rendezvous. 
 
 IV. All advanced guards and pickets, driven in, will fall 
 back slowly, to delay the advance of the enemy as much as 
 possible, before repairing to their proper rendezvous. 
 
 V. On the happening of an attack, the troops, lodged 
 in the public buildings, and in the navy-yard, will remain 
 for their defense, respectively, unless specially ordered else 
 where ; with the exceptions that the Seventh New York 
 
258 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 Regiment and the Massachusetts Eegiment will march rap 
 idly towards the President s Square for its defense ; and the 
 Rhode Island Regiment (in the Department of the Inte 
 rior), when full, will make a diversion by detachment, to 
 assist in the defense of the General Post-Office Building, if 
 necessary. WINFIELD SCOTT. 
 
 By command : 
 
 E. D. TOW^SEND, Assistant Adjutant- General. 
 
 APPENDIX C. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM SECRETARY OF WAR S REPORT TO THE PRESI 
 DENT, DECEMBER 1, 1862. 
 
 A CHIEF hope of those who set the rebellion on foot 
 was for aid and comfort from disloyal sympathizers in the 
 Northern States, whose efforts were relied upon to divide 
 and distract the people of the North, and prevent them 
 from putting forth their whole strength to preserve the 
 national existence. The call for volunteers and a draft of 
 the militia afforded an occasion for disloyal persons to ac 
 complish their evil purpose by discouraging enlistments, 
 and encouraging opposition to the war and the draft of 
 soldiers to carry it on. 
 
 Anxiety was felt in some States at the probable success 
 of these disloyal practices, and the Government was urged 
 to adopt measures of protection by temporary restraint of 
 those engaged in these hostile acts. To that end provost- 
 marshals were appointed in some of the States, upon the 
 nomination of their Governors, to act under the direction 
 of the State Executive, and the writ of habeas corpus was 
 suspended by your order. By the order of the department 
 arrests were forbidden unless authorized by the State Exec- 
 
EXTRACT FROM SECRETARY OF WAR S REPORT. 259 
 
 utive or by the judge-advocate. Some instances of unau 
 thorized arrests have occurred, but when brought to the 
 notice of the department the parties have been immediately 
 discharged. By a recent order, all persons arrested for 
 discouraging enlistments or for disloyal practices, in States 
 where the quotas of volunteers and militia are filled up, 
 have been released. Other persons, arrested by military 
 commanders and sent from departments where their pres 
 ence was deemed dangerous to the public safety, have been 
 discharged upon parole to be of good behavior and do no act 
 of hostility against the Government of the United States. 
 While military arrests of disloyal persons form the subject 
 of complaint in some States, the discharge of such persons 
 is complained of in other States. It has been the aim of 
 the department to avoid any encroachment upon individual 
 rights, as far as might be consistent with public safety and 
 the preservation of the Government. But reflecting minds 
 will perceive that no greater encouragement can be given 
 to the enemy, no more dangerous act of hostility can be 
 perpetrated in this war, than efforts to prevent recruiting 
 and enlistments for the armies, upon whose strength na 
 tional existence depends. The expectations of the rebel 
 leaders and their sympathizers in loyal States, that the call 
 for volunteers would not be answered and that the draft 
 could not be enforced, have failed, and nothing is left but 
 to clamor at the means by which their hopes were frus 
 trated, and to strive to disarm the Government in future, 
 if, in the chances of war, another occasion for increasing 
 the military force should arise. 
 
260 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 APPENDIX D. 
 
 PLAN OF CAMPAIGN. 
 
 NOTE. The words in the original draft erased by General Scott are 
 here inserted in brackets, and the words substituted or added by him are 
 printed in italics. (See page 56.) 
 
 [Confidential.] 
 
 HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, 
 
 WASHINGTON, May 3, 1861. 
 
 Major- General G. B. MCCLELLAK, commanding, etc. 
 
 SIK : I have read and carefully considered your plan 
 for a campaign, and now send you, confidentially, my own 
 views, supported by certain facts of which you should be 
 advised : 
 
 1. It is the design of the Government to [call for] raise 
 25,000 additional regular troops, and 60,000 volunteers for 
 [two] three years. It will be inexpedient either to rely on 
 the three months volunteers for extensive [military] opera 
 tions, or to put in their hands the best class of arms we 
 have in store. The term of service would expire [before 
 the] ~by the commencement of a regular campaign, and the 
 arms [would] not lost be returned [many of them] mostly 
 in a damaged condition. Hence, I must strongly urge upon 
 you to confine yourself strictly to the quota of three months 
 men called for by the War Department. 
 
 2. [I] We rely greatly on the sure operation of a com 
 plete blockade of the Atlantic and Gulf ports [such as it is 
 designed to enforce] soon to commence. In connection with 
 such blockade, [I] we propose a [strong] powerful move 
 ment down the [Western Rivers] Mississippi to [New Or 
 leans] the ocean, with a cordon of posts at proper points, 
 and [a reoccupation] the capture of Forts Jackson and St. 
 
PLAN OF CAMPAIGN. 261 
 
 Philip ; the object being to clear out and keep open th[e]/s 
 great line[s] of [water] communication [s, and] in connec 
 tion with the strict blockade [above adverted to] of the sea 
 board, so as to envelope the insurgent States, and bring 
 them to terms with less blood-shed than ~by any other plan. 
 For this end I [say] suppose there will be needed from 
 twelve to twenty steam-gunboats, and a sufficient number 
 of steam- transports (say 40) to carry all the personnel* 
 (say 60,000 men) and materiel * of th[is]e expedition. [A 
 part] Most of the gunboats to [go in] be in advance to 
 open the way, and [others] the remainder to follow [and 
 prevent the recapture of posts of the proposed cordon, after 
 the head column has advanced beyond supporting distance] 
 and protect the rear of the expedition. Th[e]i,s army, in 
 which it is not improbable you may [command] be invited 
 to take an important part, should be composed of [the] our 
 best regulars [we can find] for the advance, and of [two] 3 
 years volunteers, all well [appointed] officered, and with 
 [a sufficient supply of subsistence and munitions] 4~k months* 
 of instruction in camps, prior to (say) Nov. 10. In the 
 progress down the Eiver all the enemy s batteries [which 
 may have been planted] on its banks [must be] we of course 
 would turnfed] and capturefd], [and] leaving a sufficient 
 number of posts [must be left] with competent; garrisons to 
 keep the River open [to its mouth] behind the expedition. 
 Finally, it will be necessary that New Orleans [must be] 
 should be strongly occupied and securely held until the 
 present difficulties are composed. 
 
 3. [I come] A word now as to the greatest obstacle[s to 
 be encountered in carrying out] in the way of this plan 
 the great danger now pressing upon us [is] the impa 
 tience of our patriotic and loyal Union friends, [Northern 
 
 * Underlined by the general. 
 
262 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 men, which is forcing them on to] They will urge instant 
 and vigorous action, regardless, I fear, of consequences 
 [We must not now despise the stern lessons of experience. 
 It is more glorious to win a sure success, without a single 
 reverse, by waiting until our plans are matured and our 
 preparations are perfected, than to plunge into the midst 
 of dangers arising from climate, want of discipline, etc., 
 etc., intending by indomitable courage and energy to rise 
 above them all. Impress this] ; that is, unwilling to wait 
 for the slow instruction of (say) 12 or 15 camps ; for the 
 rise of rivers and the return of frosts to kill the virus of 
 malignant fevers, leloiv Memphis. I fear this; but im 
 press right views, on every proper occasion, upon the brave 
 men who are hastening to the support of their Government. 
 Lose no time, while necessary preparations [are making for 
 an expedition] for the great expedition are in progress, in 
 organizing, drilling, and disciplining your [men] 3 months 
 men, many of whom, it is hoped, will be ultimately found 
 enrolled under the call for [two] 3 years volunteers. 
 Should an urgent and immediate occasion arise, mean 
 time, for their services, they will be the more effective. 
 
 I commend these views to your [calm and serious de 
 liberation] consideration, and shall be happy to hear the 
 result [when your opinion is fully made up]. 
 
 With great respect, yours truly, 
 
 WINFIELD SCOTT. 
 
 Major-General GEORGE B. MCCLELLAN, 
 Commanding Ohio Volunteers, 
 Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 
RETIREMENT OF GENERAL SCOTT. 263 
 
 APPENDIX E. 
 
 RETIREMENT OF GENERAL SCOTT. 
 
 Act approved August 3, 1861. 
 
 SECTION" 15. And le it further enacted, That any com 
 missioned officer of the army, or of the marine corps, who 
 shall have served as such for forty consecutive years, may, 
 upon his own application to the President of the United 
 States, be placed upon the list of retired officers, with the 
 pay and emoluments allowed by this act. 
 
 SEC. 16. . . . Provided, That should the brevet lieu 
 tenant-general be retired under this act, it shall be without 
 reduction in his current pay, subsistence, or allowances. 
 
 " HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, 
 
 " WASHINGTON, October 31, 1861. 
 
 " The Hon. S. CAMEKON, Secretary of War. 
 
 " SIR : For more than three years I have been unable, 
 from a hurt, to mount a horse or to walk more than a few 
 paces at a time, and that with much pain. Other and new 
 infirmities, dropsy and vertigo, admonish me that repose 
 of mind and body, with the appliances of surgery and 
 medicine, are necessary to add a little more to a life already 
 protracted much beyond the usual space of man. It is 
 under such circumstances, made doubly painful by the un 
 natural and unjust rebellion now raging in the Southern 
 States of our so lately prosperous and happy Union, that 
 I am compelled to request that my name be placed on the 
 list of army officers retired from active service. As this 
 request is founded on an absolute right, granted by a re 
 cent act of Congress, I am entirely at liberty to say that 
 it is with deep regret that I withdraw myself in these mo 
 mentous times from the orders of a President who has 
 
ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 treated me with much distinguished kindness and courtesy, 
 whom I know upon much personal intercourse to be patri 
 otic, without sectional prejudices ; to be highly conscien 
 tious in the performance of every duty, and of unrivaled 
 activity and perseverance ; and to you, Mr. Secretary, whom 
 I now officially address for the last time, I beg to acknowl 
 edge my many obligations for the uniform high considera 
 tion I have received at your hands, and have the honor to 
 remain, sir, with the highest respect, 
 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 
 SCOTT." 
 
 A special Cabinet council was convened this morning 
 (November 1st) at nine o clock, to take the subject into con 
 sideration. It was decided that General Scott s request, 
 under the circumstances of his advanced age and infirmities, 
 could not be declined. General McClellan was, therefore, 
 with the unanimous agreement of the Cabinet, notified 
 that the command of the army would be devolved upon 
 him.* 
 
 "At four o clock in the afternoon the Cabinet again 
 waited upon the President and attended him to the resi 
 dence of General Scott. Being seated, the President read 
 to the general the following order : 
 
 " On the first day of November, A. D. 1861, upon his 
 own application to the President of the United States, 
 brevet Lieutenant-General Winfield Scott is ordered to be 
 placed, and hereby is placed, upon the list of retired officers 
 of the Army of the United States, without reduction in 
 his current pay, subsistence, or allowance. The American 
 people will hear with sadness and deep emotion that Gen 
 eral Scott has withdrawn from the active control of the 
 army, while the President and unanimous Cabinet express 
 
 * The following account was taken from a daily newspaper. 
 
RETIREMENT OF GENERAL SCOTT. 265 
 
 their own and the nation s sympathy in his personal afflic 
 tion, and their profound sense of the important public 
 services rendered by him to his country during his long 
 and brilliant career, among which will ever be gratefully 
 distinguished his faithful devotion to the Constitution, the 
 Union, and the flag, when assailed by parricidal rebellion. 
 (Signed) "ABRAHAM LINCOLN." 
 
 " General Scott thereupon arose and addressed the 
 Cabinet, who had also risen, as follows : 
 
 " President, this honor overwhelms me. It overpays all 
 the services I have attempted to render to my country. If 
 I had any claims before, they are all obliterated by this ex 
 pression of approval by the President, with the remaining 
 support of his Cabinet. I know the President and his 
 Cabinet well. I know that the country has placed its in 
 terests in this trying crisis in safe keeping. Their counsels 
 are wise, their labors as untiring as they are loyal, and 
 their course is the right one. 
 
 " President, you must excuse me. I am unable to stand 
 longer to give utterance to the feelings of gratitude which 
 oppress me. In my retirement I shall offer up my prayers 
 to God for this Administration and for my country. I shall 
 pray for it with confidence in its success over all enemies, 
 and that speedily." 
 
 " The President then took leave of General Scott, giving 
 him his hand, and saying that he hoped soon to write him 
 a private letter expressive of his gratitude and affection. 
 The President added : 
 
 " General, you will naturally feel a solicitude about the 
 gentlemen of your staff, who have rendered you and their 
 country such faithful service. I have taken that subject 
 into consideration. I understand that they go with you 
 to New York. I shall desire them at their earliest conven- 
 
ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 ience after their return to make their wishes known to me. 
 I desire you now, however, to be satisfied that except the 
 unavoidable privation of your counsel and society, which 
 they have so long enjoyed, the provision which will be made 
 for them will be such as to render their situation as agree 
 able hereafter as it has been heretofore. 
 
 "Each member of the Administration then gave his 
 hand to the veteran, and retired in profound silence. 
 
 "The Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of War 
 accompanied General Scott to New York on the following 
 morning by the early train. 
 
 " The following was the response of the Secretary of War 
 to the letter of General Scott : 
 
 " WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, November 1, 1861. 
 
 " GENERAL : It was my duty to lay before the President 
 your letter of yesterday, asking to be relieved on the recent 
 act of Congress. In separating from you I can not refrain 
 from expressing my deep regret that your health, shattered 
 by long service and repeated wounds, received in your 
 country s defense, should render it necessary for you to re 
 tire from your high position at this momentous period of 
 our history. Although you are not to remain in active 
 service, I yet hope that, while I continue in charge of the 
 department over which I now preside, I shall at times be 
 permitted to avail myself of the benefits of your wise coun 
 sels and sage experience. It has been my good fortune to 
 enjoy a personal acquaintance with you for over thirty years, 
 and the pleasant relations of that long time have been greatly 
 strengthened by your cordial and entire co-operation in all 
 the great questions which have occupied the Department 
 and convulsed the country for the last six months. In 
 parting from you I can only express the hope that a merci 
 ful Providence that has protected you amid so many trials 
 
COLLOQUY WITH COLORED MINISTERS. 267 
 
 will improve your health and continue your life long after 
 the people of the country shall have been restored to their 
 former happiness and prosperity. 
 
 "I am, general, very sincerely, 
 
 " Your friend and servant, 
 " SIMON CAMERON, Secretary of War 
 
 " Lieutenant-General WINFIELD SCOTT, present." 
 
 APPENDIX F. 
 
 COLLOQUY WITH COLORED MINISTERS. 
 
 ON the evening of Thursday, the 12th day of January, 
 1865, the following persons of African descent met, by ap 
 pointment, to hold an interview with EDWIN M. STANTON, 
 Secretary of War, and Major- General SHERMAN, to have a 
 conference upon matters relating to the freedmen of the 
 State of Georgia, to wit : 
 
 1. William J. Campbell, aged fifty-one years, born in 
 Savannah ; slave until 1849, and then liberated by will of 
 his mistress, Mrs. Mary Maxwell ; for ten years pastor of 
 the First Baptist Church of Savannah, numbering about 
 eighteen hundred members ; average congregation nineteen 
 hundred ; the church property belonging to the congrega 
 tion (trustees white) worth eighteen thousand dollars. 
 
 2. John Cox, aged fifty-eight years, born in Savannah ; 
 slave until 1849, when he bought his freedom for eleven hun 
 dred dollars ; pastor of the Second African Baptist Church ; 
 in the ministry fifteen years ; congregation twelve hundred 
 and twenty-two persons ; church property worth ten thou 
 sand dollars, belonging to the congregation. 
 
 3. Ulysses L. Houston, aged forty-one years, born in 
 Grahamsville, South Carolina; slave " until the Union 
 
268 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 army entered Savannah " ; owned by Moses Henderson, 
 Savannah ; and pastor of Third African Baptist Church, 
 congregation numbering four hundred ; church property 
 worth five thousand dollars, belongs to congregation; in 
 the ministry about eight years. 
 
 4. William Bentley, aged seventy-two years, born in 
 Savannah ; slave until twenty-five years of age, when his 
 master, John Waters, emancipated him by will ; pastor of 
 Andrew s Chapel, Methodist Episcopal Church (only one 
 of that denomination in Savannah), congregation number 
 ing three hundred and sixty members ; church property 
 worth about twenty thousand dollars, and is owned by the 
 congregation ; been in the ministry about twenty years ; a 
 member of Georgia Conference. 
 
 5. Charles Bradivell, aged forty years, born in Liberty 
 County, Georgia ; slave until 1851 ; emancipated by will 
 of his master, J. L. Bradwell ; local preacher, in charge of 
 the Methodist Episcopal congregation (Andrew s Chapel) 
 in the absence of the minister ; in the ministry ten years. 
 
 6. William Gaines, aged forty-one years, born in Wills 
 County, Georgia ; slave "until the Union forces freed 
 me " ; owned by Robert Toombs, formerly United States 
 Senator, and his brother, Gabriel Toombs ; local preacher 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church (Andrew s Chapel) ; in 
 the ministry sixteen years. 
 
 7. James Hill, aged fifty-two years, born in Bryan 
 County, Georgia; slave "up to the time the Union army 
 come in " ; owned by H. F. Willings, of Savannah ; in the 
 ministry sixteen years. 
 
 8. Glasgow Taylor, aged seventy-two years, born in 
 Wilkes County, Georgia; slave "until the Union army 
 come " ; owned by A. P. Wetter ; is a local preacher of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church (Andrew s Chapel) ; in the 
 ministry thirty-five years. 
 
COLLOQUY WITH COLORED MINISTERS. 269 
 
 9. Garrison Frazier, aged sixty-seven years, born in 
 Granville County, North Carolina ; slave until eight years 
 ago, when he bought himself and wife, paying one thou 
 sand dollars in gold and silver ; is an ordained minister in 
 the Baptist Church, but, his health failing, has now charge 
 of no congregation ; has been in the ministry thirty-five 
 years. 
 
 10. James Mills, aged fifty-six years, born in Savannah ; 
 free-born, and is a licensed preacher of the First Baptist 
 Church ; has been eight years in the ministry. 
 
 11. Abraham Burke, aged forty-eight years, born in 
 Bryan County, Georgia ; slave until twenty years ago, when 
 he bought himself for eight hundred dollars ; has been in 
 the ministry about ten years. 
 
 12. Arthur War dell, aged forty-four years, born in Lib 
 erty County, Georgia; slave until "freed by the Union 
 army " ; owned by A. A. Solomons, Savannah, and is a 
 licensed minister in the Baptist Church ; has been in the 
 ministry six years. 
 
 13. A lexander Harris, aged forty-seven years, born in 
 Savannah ; free-born ; licensed minister of Third African 
 Baptist Church ; licensed about one month ago. 
 
 14. Andreiv Neal, aged sixty-one years, born in Savan 
 nah ; slave "until the Union army liberated me" ; owned 
 by Mr. William Gibbons, and has been deacon in the Third 
 Baptist Church for ten years. 
 
 15. James Porter, aged thirty- nine years, born in Charles 
 ton, South Carolina ; free-born, his mother having purchased 
 her freedom ; is lay-reader and president of the board of ward 
 ens and vestry of St. Stephen s Protestant Episcopal Colored 
 Church in Savannah ; has been in communion nine years ; 
 the congregation numbers about two hundred persons ; the 
 church property is worth about ten thousand dollars, and is 
 owned by the congregation. 
 
270 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 16. Adolphus Delmotte, aged twenty-eight years, born 
 in Savannah ; free-born ; is a licensed minister of the Mis 
 sionary Baptist Church of Milledgeville, congregation num 
 bering about three or four hundred persons ; has been in 
 the ministry about two years. 
 
 17. Jacob Godfrey, aged fifty-seven years, born in Marion, 
 South Carolina ; slave "until the Union army freed me" ; 
 owned by James E. Godfrey, Methodist preacher, now in 
 the rebel army ; is a class-leader, and steward of Andrew s 
 Chapel since 1836. 
 
 18. John Johnson, aged fifty-one years, born in Bryan 
 County, Georgia; slave "up to the time the Union army 
 came here ; " owned by "W. W. Lincoln, of Savannah ; is 
 class-leader, and treasurer of Andrew s Chapel for sixteen 
 years. 
 
 19. Robert N. Taylor, aged fifty-one years, born in 
 Wilkes County, Georgia; slave "to the time the Union 
 army come " ; was owned by Augustus P. Wetter, Savan 
 nah, and is class-leader in Andrew s Chapel for nine years. 
 
 20. James Lynch, aged twenty-six years, born in Balti 
 more, Maryland ; free-born ; is presiding elder of the Meth 
 odist Episcopal Church, and missionary to the Department 
 of the South ; has been seven years in the ministry, and two 
 years in the South. 
 
 Garrison Frazier being chosen by the persons present 
 to express their common sentiments upon the matters of 
 inquiry, makes answers to inquiries as follows : 
 
 1. State what your understanding is in regard to the 
 acts of Congress, and President Lincoln s proclamation, 
 touching the condition of the colored people in the rebel 
 States. 
 
 Answer. So far as I understand President Lincoln s 
 proclamation to the rebellious States, it is, that if they 
 
COLLOQUY WITH COLORED MINISTERS. 271 
 
 would lay down their arms and submit to the laws of the 
 United States before the 1st of January, 1863, all should 
 be well ; but if they did not, then all the slaves in the rebel 
 States should be free, henceforth and forever : that is what 
 I understood. 
 
 2. State what you understand by slavery, and the free 
 dom that was to be given by the President s Proclamation. 
 
 Answer. Slavery is receiving by irresistible power the 
 work of another man, and not by his consent. The free 
 dom, as I understand it, promised by the proclamation, is 
 taking us from under the yoke of bondage and placing us 
 where we could reap the fruit of our own labor, and take 
 care of ourselves, and assist the Government in maintaining 
 our freedom. 
 
 3. State in what manner you think you can take care 
 of yourselves, and how can you best assist the Government 
 in maintaining your freedom. 
 
 Answer. The way we can best take care of ourselves is 
 to have land, and turn in and till it by our labor that is, 
 by the labor of the women, and children, and old men and 
 we can soon maintain ourselves and have something to 
 spare ; and to assist the Government, the young men should 
 enlist in the service of the Government, and serve in such 
 manner as they may be wanted (the rebels told us that 
 they piled them up and made batteries of them, and sold 
 them to Cuba, but we don t believe that). We want to be 
 placed on land until we are able to buy it and make it our 
 own. 
 
 4. State in what manner you would rather live, whether 
 scattered among the whites, or in colonies by yourselves. 
 
 Answer. I would prefer to live by ourselves, for there 
 is a prejudice against us in the South that will take years 
 to get over ; but I do not know that I can answer for my 
 brethren. 
 
272 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 [Jfr. Lynch says he thinks they should not be sepa 
 rated, but live together. All the other persons present 
 being questioned, one by one, answer that they agree with 
 " brother Frazier."] 
 
 5. Do you think that there is intelligence enough 
 among the slaves of the South to maintain themselves un 
 der the Government of the United States, and the equal 
 protection of its laws, and maintain good and peaceable 
 relations among yourselves and with your neighbors ? 
 
 Answer. I think there is sufficient intelligence among 
 us to do so. 
 
 6. State what is the feeling of the black population of 
 the South toward the Government of the United States ; 
 what is the understanding in respect to the present war, its 
 causes and object, and their disposition to aid either side ; 
 state fully your views. 
 
 Answer. I think you will find there is thousands that 
 are willing to make any sacrifice to assist the Government 
 of the United States, while there is also many that are not 
 willing to take up arms. I do not suppose there is a dozen 
 men that is opposed to the Government. I understand 
 as to the war that the South is the aggressor. President 
 Lincoln was elected President by a majority of the United 
 States, which guaranteed him the right of holding the office 
 and exercising that right over the whole United States. 
 The South, without knowing what he would do, rebelled. 
 The war was commenced by the rebels before he came into 
 the office. The object of the war was not, at first, to give 
 the slaves their freedom, but the sole object of the war was, 
 at first to bring the rebellious States back into the Union, 
 and their loyalty to the laws of the United States. After 
 wards, knowing the value that was set on the slaves by the 
 rebels, the President thought that his proclamation would 
 stimulate them to lay down their arms, reduce them to 
 
COLLOQUY WITH COLORED MINISTERS. 273 
 
 obedience, and help to bring back the rebel States ; and 
 their not doing so has now made the freedom of the slaves 
 a part of the war. It is my opinion that there is not a man 
 in this city that could be started to help the rebels one inch, 
 for that would be suicide. There was two black men left 
 with the rebels, because they had taken an active part for 
 the rebels, and thought something might befall them if 
 they staid behind, but there is not another man. If the 
 prayers that have gone up for the Union army could be read 
 out, you would not get through them these two weeks. 
 
 7. State whether the sentiments you now express are 
 those only of the colored people in the city, or do they ex 
 tend to the colored population through the country, and 
 what are your means of knowing the sentiments of those 
 living in the country ? 
 
 Answer. I think the sentiments are the same among the 
 colored people of the State. My opinion is formed by 
 personal communication in the course of my ministry, and 
 also from the thousands that followed the Union army, 
 leaving their homes and undergoing suffering. I did not 
 think there would t be so many ; the number surpassed my 
 expectation. 
 
 8. If the rebel -leaders were to arm the slaves, what 
 would be its effect ? 
 
 Answer. I think they would fight as long as they were 
 before the bagonet, and just as soon as they could get away 
 they would desert, in my opinion. 
 
 9. What, in your opinion, is the feeling of the colored 
 people about enlisting and serving as soldiers of the United 
 States, and what kind of military service do they prefer ? 
 
 Answer. A large number have gone as soldiers to Port 
 Royal to be drilled and put in the service, and I think 
 there is thousands of the young men that will enlist ; there 
 is something about them that, perhaps, is wrong ; they 
 
274 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 have suffered so long from the rebels, that they want to 
 meet and have a chance with them in the field. Some of 
 them want to shoulder the musket, others want to go into 
 the quartermaster or the commissary s service. 
 
 10. Do you understand the mode of enlistment of col 
 ored persons in the rebel States, by State agents, under the 
 act of Congress ; if yea, state what your understanding is ? 
 
 Answer. My understanding is that colored persons en 
 listed by State agents are enlisted as substitutes, and give 
 credit to the States, and do not swell the army, because 
 every black man enlisted by a State agent leaves a white 
 man at home ; and, also, that larger bounties are given or 
 promised by the State agents than are given by the States. 
 The great object should be to push through this rebellion 
 the shortest way, and there seems to be something wanting 
 in the enlistment by State agents, for it don t strengthen 
 the army, but takes one away for every colored man enlisted. 
 
 11. State what in your opinion is the best way to enlist 
 colored men for soldiers. 
 
 Answer. I think, sir, that all compulsory operations 
 should be put a stop to. The ministers would talk to them, 
 and the young men would enlist. It is my opinion that it 
 would be far better for the State agents to stay at home, and 
 the enlistments to be made for the United States under the 
 direction of General SHERMAN. 
 
 In the absence of General SHERMAN", the following ques 
 tion was asked : 
 
 12. State what is the feeling of the colored people in re 
 gard to General SHERMAN, and how far do they regard his 
 sentiments and actions as friendly to their rights and in 
 terests, or otherwise ? 
 
 Answer. We looked upon General SHERMAN, prior to 
 his arrival, as a man, in the providence of God, specially 
 set apart to accomplish this work, and we unanimously felt 
 
DEATH OF JUSTICE E. M. STAN TON. 275 
 
 inexpressible gratitude to him, looking upon him as a man 
 that should be honored for the faithful performance of his 
 duty. Some of us called upon him immediately upon his 
 arrival, and it is probable he did not meet the Secretary 
 with more courtesy than he met us. His conduct and de 
 portment towards us characterized him as a friend and a 
 gentleman. We have confidence in General SHERMAN", and 
 think that what concerns us could not be under better 
 hands. This is our opinion now from the short acquaint 
 ance and intercourse we have had. 
 
 [Mr. Lynch states that, with his limited acquaintance 
 with General SHERMAN, he is unwilling to express an opin 
 ion. All others present declare their agreement with Mr. 
 Frazier about General SHERMAN.] 
 
 Some conversation upon general subjects relating to 
 General SHERMAN S march then ensued, of which no note 
 was taken. 
 
 APPENDIX G. 
 
 DEATH OF JUSTICE E. M. STANTON. 
 
 From the Boston Herald. 
 
 WASHINGTON, April 21, 1879. 
 
 THE following communication was to-day handed to the 
 Secretary of War by William J. Dupee, who is at this time 
 a messenger in the War Department, and was the private 
 messenger of the late Secretary Stanton. Summaries of 
 the affidavits which accompany the letter are sent you with 
 it. The revival recently of the absurd and malicious tale 
 that Mr. Stanton committed suicide is the occasion of this 
 publication, as well as of a letter from Surgeon-General 
 Barnes, who was Mr. Stanton s physician, and who was 
 
276 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 at his bedside when he died. There was never the least 
 ground for the suicide story, which was the malicious in 
 vention of men who hated him for his devotion to the 
 Union cause, and could find no other way to gratify their 
 baseness than to circulate a tale which could not hurt him, 
 but was intended to annoy and distress his widow and chil 
 dren : 
 
 WASHINGTON, April 21, 1879. 
 To the Hon. Secretary of War. 
 
 SIR : I respectfully ask that the inclosed affidavits of 
 William S. Dupee and David Jones, relating to the manner 
 of the death of the late Edwin M. Stanton, formerly 
 Secretary of War, be admitted to the files of the War De 
 partment. For the first time since the death of Mr. Stan- 
 ton, a permanent character and a responsible name have 
 been lent to a story that found utterance in some obscure 
 newspapers, shortly after his death, that he had committed 
 suicide, and that the fact had been carefully concealed from 
 the public. General Kichard Taylor, of the late Confed 
 erate army, among his " Personal Experiences of the Late 
 War," asserts, with much obscurity of language but equal 
 directness of meaning, that the former Secretary of War 
 died by his own hand. The widow and adult son of Mr. 
 Stanton are both dead, and I therefore feel at liberty to act 
 upon my own view of what is right to be done in refuting 
 the malicious and slanderous tale repeated by General Tay 
 lor. Very respectfully, 
 
 WILLIAM S. DUPEE. 
 
 SYNOPSIS OF AIFIDAYIT OF WILLIAM S. DUPEE. 
 
 Messenger in office of Secretary of War, and has been 
 since 1864 ; much with late Secretary Stanton during his 
 last illness ; mind all the time clear and strong ; disposition 
 
DEATH OF JUSTICE E. M. STANTON. 277 
 
 cheerful, hopeful of recovery ; death, however, a foregone 
 conclusion with members of the household, and surprise 
 that he lasted so long ; after death of Mr. Stanton, and 
 while body still warm, affiant shaved his throat and face 
 and dressed his hair ; no marks of violence on him, nor 
 could any have escaped observation of affiant ; affiant had 
 much intercourse with the family servants, and never saw 
 or heard anything to lend countenance to the story of Mr. 
 Stanton s death by suicide, and when the story first made 
 its appearance, soon after the "death, it was the subject of 
 mingled indignation and ridicule among those who had 
 been about Mr. Stanton at the time of his death. 
 
 The affiant quotes the passage from Dick Taylor s late 
 book, " Destruction and Keconstruction," which has led 
 him to make his affidavit. It is as follows : 
 
 " 1. The War Secretary I did not meet. ... I never 
 saw him. In the end, conscience, long dormant, came as 
 Alecto, and he was not." . . . 
 
 SYNOPSIS OF AFFIDAVIT OF DAVID JONES. 
 
 Lives at No. 1807 T street, Northwest ; was waiter in 
 family of Edwin M. Stanton at the time of his death, and 
 in constant attendance on him till he died ; no signs of 
 weak or wandering mind till a day or so before his death, 
 when the patient was feverish, and his mind would now and 
 then wander for a short time ; after fever appeared, patient 
 was never a moment alone at any time of day or night. (He 
 names six or seven persons who used to relieve him and 
 each other in occasional attendance.) Affiant saw nothing 
 in the appearance of Mr. Stanton to indicate death till 
 almost at the moment of death, and had no idea he was in 
 imminent danger till Surgeon-General Barnes told him to 
 go for Dr. Starkey, minister of the Episcopal Church, about 
 half an hour before death ; when Dr. Starkey arrived, Mr. 
 
278 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 Stanton was conscious and able to speak in a low voice, 
 and so remained till about the moment of death, affiant 
 rubbing him at the time ; affiant assisted in dressing and 
 preparing the body, and is positive there were no marks of 
 violence anywhere ; the corpse was laid out in a front room 
 up-stairs, and for three days was viewed by a great number 
 of personal friends of the deceased ; there is no foundation 
 whatever for story of the suicide. 
 
 LETTER OF SURGEOK-GENERAL BARKES. 
 
 WASHINGTON, D. C., April 16, 1879. 
 The Hon. EDWARD McPHERSO^, Philadelphia. 
 
 DEAR SIR : In reply to your inquiry, the late Mr. Edwin 
 M. Stanton was for many years subject to asthma in a very 
 severe form, and when he retired from the War Department 
 was completely broken down in health. In November, of 
 1869, the " dropsy of cardiac disease " manifested itself 
 (after a very exhausting argument in chambers, in a legal 
 case), and from that time he did not leave his house, rarely 
 his bed. For many days before his death I was with him 
 almost constantly, and at no time was he without most 
 careful attendance by members of his family or nurses. 
 On the night of December 23d the dropsical effusion into 
 pericardium had increased to such an extent and the symp 
 toms were so alarming that the Eev. Dr. Starkey, rector of 
 the Church of the Epiphany, was summoned and read the 
 service appointed for such occasions ; he, with Mrs. Stan- 
 ton, Mr. E. L. Stanton, the three younger children, Miss 
 Bowie, their governess, myself, and several of the servants, 
 were by his bedside until he died, at 4 A. M., December 24, 
 1869. After the pulse became imperceptible at the wrist, 
 I placed a finger on the carotid artery, afterward my hand 
 over his heart, and when its action ceased I announced it 
 to those present. 
 
MILITARY COMMISSIONS. 279 
 
 It is incomprehensible to me how any suspicion or re 
 port of suicide could have originated, except through sheer 
 and intentional malice, as there was not the slightest inci 
 dent before or during his long sickness indicative of such 
 a tendency nor a possibility of such an act. Fully aware 
 of his critical condition, he was calm and composed, not 
 wishing to die, while unterrified at the prospect of death. 
 During the lifetime of his widow and of his son, Mr. E. L. 
 Stanton, I did not feel called upon to make any written 
 contradiction of the infamous and malignant falsehoods 
 you allude to ; but now, in view of your letter of April 14th, 
 and in behalf of Mr. Stanton s minor children, I do most 
 emphatically and unequivocally assert that there is not 
 any foundation whatever for the report that Mr. Edwin M. 
 Stanton died from other than natural causes, or that he at 
 tempted or committed suicide. 
 
 Very respectfully yours, 
 
 JOSEPH K. BARKES, M. D. 
 
 APPENDIX H. 
 
 MILITARY COMMISSIONS. 
 
 October 8, 1846. 
 
 THE within draft of a letter it may be proper to address 
 to each commander of an army now operating against 
 Mexico. I am aware that it presents grave topics for con 
 sideration, which is invited. 
 
 It will be seen that I have endeavored to place all ne 
 cessary limitations on martial law : 1. By restricting it 
 to a foreign hostile country ; 2. To offenses enumerated 
 with some accuracy ; 3, By assimilating councils of war 
 
280 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 to courts-martial ; 4. By restricting punishments to the 
 known laws of some one of the States, etc. 
 
 Respectfully submitted to the consideration of the Sec 
 retary of War. WIKFIELD SCOTT. 
 
 PROJET. 
 
 HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, 
 
 WASHINGTON, October , 1846. 
 
 SIB : It can not but happen that many offenses, not cog 
 nizable by courts-martial, under the " act for establishing 
 rules and articles of war for the government of the armies 
 of the United States," approved April 10, 1806, will be 
 committed by or upon the army under your command 
 while in the enemy s country. I allude to crimes which, if 
 committed in our own organized limits, would, as hereto 
 fore, be referred to the ordinary or civil courts of the land. 
 Cross, p. 107. 
 
 Our land-forces take with them, when on service beyond 
 the limits of the Union, its organized Territories, and the 
 "Indian country," as defined by the first section of the act 
 approved June 30, 1834, no statutory code for the punish 
 ment of offenses, other than the said recited act of 1806, 
 with its amendments. Cross, p. 204. 
 
 Murder, willfully stabbing and maiming, and assault and 
 battery, committed upon any "superior officer," and no one 
 else ; or the drawing and lifting up any weapon against, or 
 the offering of any violence to, such officer (he being in the 
 several cases "in the execution of his duty"} , by any "offi 
 cer or soldier," or other person subject to said articles, are 
 all clearly within the ninth of those articles. Cross, p. 
 208. 
 
 Wanton disturbance of religious worship is made pun 
 ishable by the second article, without reference to place or 
 country. Cross, p. 107. 
 
MILITARY COMMISSIONS. 281 
 
 So are spies (not citizens of the United States), by the 
 second section of the said act of 1806. Cross, p. 123. 
 
 Other capital oifenses against the general safety of the 
 Union and army are expressly referred to courts-martial by 
 the fifty-sixth and fifty-seventh articles. Cross, p. 116. 
 
 The fifty-first and fifty-fifth provide for a few other 
 capital offenses which may be committed abroad ; and the 
 fifty-second abroad or at home, upon persons or property, 
 by individuals of the army ; and the ninety-ninth article re 
 fers numerous non-specified crimes, " not capital," but mere 
 ly " disorders and neglects to the prejudice of good order 
 and military discipline," to courts-martial, whether such 
 oifenses be committed at home or abroad. Cross, pp. 115, 
 116, 123. 
 
 It is evident that the ninety-ninth article, so qualified or 
 limited, can not apply to the numerous omitted offenses in 
 question, many of which, if committed, ought no doubt to 
 be punished with death, or otherwise severely ; for it is 
 enacted in the eighty - seventh that "no person shall be 
 sentenced to suffer death " by general courts-martial, " ex 
 cept in the cases herein expressly mentioned " a limitation 
 which has been universally applied to the commissions of 
 officers also. Cross, p. 120. 
 
 Articles 32, 33, and 54, seem to be limited to the 
 general maintenance of good order at home and abroad, and 
 to the protection of persons and property within the United 
 States. Cross, pp. 112, 115. 
 
 Assassination, willful murder, stabbing, maiming, 
 wounding, assault and battery (except under the strict lim 
 itations of the ninth and fifty-first articles) ; rape, willful 
 destruction of houses, or other private property ; robbery 
 and theft, or plunder and pillage (except in the limited 
 cases under the fifty-second and fifty-fifth articles) ; and 
 desecration of religious edifices, fixtures, and monuments, 
 
282 ANECDOTES OF TEE CIVIL WAE. 
 
 are all, whether committed by or upon the army, at home 
 or abroad, unprovided for by our written military code ; 
 and they are offenses which, of course, could not, in a for 
 eign hostile country, often, if ever, be safely turned over to 
 the courts of such country, whether the offenders belong 
 to the latter or to the army. 
 
 The good of the service, the honor of the United States, 
 and the interests of humanity, demand that the numerous 
 grave offenses omitted, except to a limited extent as above, 
 should not go unpunished because committed in a foreign 
 country, on or by our army. 
 
 The British mutiny act, and articles of war founded 
 thereupon (which had their origin at the Revolution of 
 1688), omit the same offenses, and to the same extent, be 
 cause, as Lord Loughborough (2 H. Blackstone, 98) re 
 marks, "In this country, all the delinquencies of soldiers 
 are not triable, as in most countries of Europe, by mar 
 tial law " (which, he says in the same opinion, had, in 
 the Continental sense, been " totally exploded " from that 
 kingdom since 1688 ; " but, where there are ordinary 
 offenses against the civil peace, they are tried by the com 
 mon-law courts" (and such also has always been done in 
 the United States). 
 
 But when a British army is abroad, in a hostile country, 
 the omissions in the British penal code (the same as in 
 ours, and to the same extent, for our articles of war are 
 borrowed in extenso and with but slight verbal variations 
 therefrom), that army supplies those omissions by the 
 supplemental, unwritten, and undefined code, called martial 
 law. 
 
 This law can have no constitutional, legal, or even ne 
 cessary existence, within the United States. At home, even 
 the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, by Congress, 
 could only lead to the indefinite incarceration of an individ- 
 
MILITARY COMMISSIONS. 283 
 
 ual or individuals who, if further punished at all, could 
 only be so punished through the ordinary or common-law 
 courts of the land. 
 
 But abroad, and in hostile countries, it is believed that 
 the commanders of our armies, like those of Great Britain, 
 may, ex necessitate rei, enforce martial law against any of 
 the grave offenses indicated above, which may be unpro 
 vided for in our statutory code, whether such offenses be 
 committed by persons appertaining to those armies, or by 
 the inhabitants of the hostile country. 
 
 Accordingly, no matter by whom such offenses may be 
 committed in the hostile country occupied by the army 
 under your immediate command, or in which it may be en 
 gaged in military operations, whether by persons appertain 
 ing to that army upon the persons and property of each 
 other, or by such persons upon the persons or property of 
 the inhabitants of the hostile country, or by the latter upon 
 the persons or property of the army and its followers, all 
 such offenses, if against the laws of war, and not provided 
 for in our rules and articles of war, will be duly brought 
 before councils of war and by them tried and sentenced, 
 according to the nature and degree of such offense, and ac 
 cording to the known laws of any one of the States of this 
 Union. 
 
 Every council of war, for the trial of such offenses, will 
 be appointed in the same manner and by the same author 
 ity that appoints courts-martial, whether general, regi 
 mental, or garrison, and will, as far as practicable, be 
 governed by the same limitations, rules, principles, and 
 procedure, including reviews, modifications, meliorations, 
 and approval of sentence. Articles 65, 97. 
 
 The proceedings of councils of war will, of course, be 
 kept in writing, and sent to the adjutant-general s office, 
 as in the case of the proceedings of courts-martial. 
 
284 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 GENERAL ORDERS, No. 28Y. 
 
 HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, 
 NATIONAL PALACE OF MEXICO, September 17, 1847. 
 
 The general-in-chief republishes, with important addi 
 tions, his General Orders, No. 20, of February 19, 1847 
 (declaring martial law), to govern all who may be con 
 cerned : 
 
 1. It is still to be apprehended that many grave offenses 
 not provided for in the act of Congress, "establishing 
 rules and articles for the government of the armies of the 
 United States," approved April 10, 1806, may be again 
 committed by, or upon, individuals of those armies, in 
 Mexico, pending the existing war between the two repub 
 lics. Allusion is here made to offenses, any one of which, 
 if committed within the United States or their organized 
 Territories, would, of course, be tried and severely punished 
 by the ordinary or civil courts of the land. 
 
 2. Assassination, murder, poisoning, rape, or the at 
 tempt to commit either ; malicious stabbing or maiming ; 
 malicious assault and battery ; robbery, theft, the wanton 
 desecration of churches, cemeteries, or other religious edi 
 fices and fixtures ; the interruption of religious ceremonies, 
 and the destruction, except by order of a superior officer, 
 of public or private property are such offenses. 
 
 3. The good of the service, the honor of the United 
 States, and the interests of humanity, imperiously demand 
 that every crime, enumerated above, should be severely 
 punished. 
 
 4. But the written code, as above, commonly called the 
 Rules and Articles of War, does not provide for the pun 
 ishment of one of those crimes, even when committed by 
 individuals of the army upon the persons or property of 
 other individuals of the same, except in the very restricted 
 case in the ninth of those articles ; nor for like outrages, 
 
MILITARY COMMISSIONS. 285 
 
 committed by the same class of individuals, upon the 
 persons or property of a hostile country, except very par 
 tially in the fifty-first, fifty-second, and fifty- fifth articles ; 
 and the same code is absolutely silent as to all injuries 
 which may be inflicted upon individuals of the army, or 
 their- property, against the laws of war, by individuals of a 
 hostile country. 
 
 5. It is evident that the ninety-ninth article, independ 
 ent of any restriction in the eighty-seventh, is wholly nuga 
 tory in reaching any one of those high crimes. 
 
 6. For all the offenses, therefore, enumerated in the 
 second paragraph above, which may be committed abroad 
 in, ty, or upon the army a supplemental code is abso 
 lutely needed. 
 
 7. That unwritten code is martial law, as an addition 
 to the written military code prescribed by Congress in the 
 Rules and Articles of War, and which unwritten code all 
 armies in hostile countries are forced to adopt not only 
 for their own safety, but for the protection of the unoffend 
 ing inhabitants and their property, about the theatres of 
 military operations, against injuries on the part of the 
 army, contrary to the laws of war. 
 
 8. From the same supreme necessity, martial law is 
 hereby declared as a supplemental code in, and about, all 
 cities, towns, camps, posts, hospitals, and other places 
 which may be occupied by any part of the forces of the 
 United States, in Mexico, and in and about all columns, 
 escorts, convoys, guards, and detachments, of the said 
 forces, while engaged in prosecuting the existing war in 
 and against the said republic, and while remaining within 
 the same. 
 
 9. Accordingly, every crime, enumerated in paragraph 
 No. 2 above, whether committed 1. By any inhabitant 
 of Mexico, sojourner or traveler therein, upon the person 
 
286 ANECDOTES OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 or property of any individual of the United States forces, 
 retainer or follower of the same ; 2. By any individual of 
 the said forces, retainer or follower of the same, upon the 
 person or property of any inhabitant of Mexico, sojourner 
 or traveler therein ; or, 3. By any individual of the said 
 forces, retainer or follower of the same, upon the person or 
 property of any other individual of the said forces, retainer 
 or follower of the same shall be duly tried and punished 
 under the said supplemental code. 
 
 10. For this purpose it is ordered that all offenders, in 
 the matters aforesaid, shall be promptly seized, confined, 
 and reported for trial, before military commissions) to be 
 duly appointed as follows : 
 
 11. Every military commission, under this order, will 
 be appointed, governed, and limited, as nearly as practi 
 cable, as prescribed by the sixty-fifth, sixty-sixth, sixty- 
 seventh, and ninety-seventh of the said Eules and Articles 
 of War, and the proceedings of such commissions will be 
 duly recorded in writing, reviewed, revised, disapproved, 
 or approved, and the sentences executed all, as near as 
 may be, as in the cases of the proceedings and sentences of 
 courts-martial : provided, that no military commission shall 
 try any case clearly cognizable by any courts-martial ; and 
 provided, also, that no sentence of a military commission 
 shall be put in execution against any individual belonging 
 to this army, which may not be, according to the nature 
 and degree of the offense, as established by evidence, in 
 conformity with known punishments, in like cases, in some 
 one of the States of the United States of America. 
 
 13. The administration of justice, both in civil and 
 criminal matters, through the ordinary courts of the coun 
 try, shall nowhere, and in no degree, be interrupted by any 
 officer or soldier of the American forces, except 1. In cases 
 
MILITARY COMMISSIONS. 
 
 287 
 
 to which an officer, soldier, agent, servant, or follower of 
 the American army may be a party ; and, 2. In political 
 cases that is, prosecutions against other individuals on the 
 allegations that they have given friendly information, aid, 
 or assistance to the American forces. 
 
 By command of Major-General Scott : 
 
 H. L. SCOTT, 
 Acting Assistant Adjutant -General. 
 
 THE 
 

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