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"GENERAL BUTLER IN NEW ORLEANS.
HISTORY OF THE ADMINISTRATION
OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF
IN THE YEAR 1862
"WITH
AN ACCOUNT OF THE CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS, AND A
SKETCH OF THE PREVIOUS CAREER OF THE
GENERAL, CIVIL AND MILITARY.
By JAMES PAKTON,
AUTHOR OF THE " LIFE AND TIMES OF AARON BURR,' 1 " LIFE OF
ANDREW JACKSON," ETC., ETC.
SIXTH EDITION.
NEW YORK:
MASON BROTHERS, 5 & 1 MERCER STREET.
BOSTON: MASON & HAMLIN. PHILADELPHIA: J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.
LONDON: D. APPLETON & CO., 16 LITTLE BRITAIN.
1864.
cbtO
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863,
By MASON BEOTHEES,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for tha
Southern District of New York.
• • • •• • " •*•
O. A. ALVOED, 8TEEE0TYPER AND PRINTER.
"Whatever they call him, what care I!-
Aristocrat, Democrat, Autocrat, — one
Who can rule and dare not lie." — Maud.
**►..
V 1
^ €*:-
PREFACE
It can not be necessary to apologize for an attempt to relate
the history of the most remarkable episode of the war, respecting
which opinions so violently contradictory are expressed, both at
home and abroad. The vindication of the country itself seems to
require that a policy should, at least, be understood, which the
country has accepted as just, wise, and humane, and which the
enemies of the country, foreign and domestic, denounce as arbi-
trary, savage, and brutal.
It is, however, of the first necessity to state how this book came
to be written, and from what sources its contents have been de-
rived.
In common with the other devotees of the Union and the Flag,
I had watched the proceedings of General Butler in Louisiana
with interest and approval ; and shared also the indignation with
which they regarded the perverse misinterpretation put upon his
measures by the faction which has involved the Southern States in
ruin, and by their " neutral" allies abroad.
Upon the return of General Butler to the North, I wrote to him,
saying that I should like to write an account of his administration
of the Department of the Gulf, as well as a slighter sketch of the
previous military career of a man who, wherever he had been era-
ployed, has shown an ability equal to the occasion ; but that this
could not be done, and ought not to be attempted, without his
consent and co-operation.
To this, the general thus replied :
" I am too much flattered by your request, and will endeavor to
give you every assistance in the direction you mention. My letter
8 PBEFACE.
and order books shall be at your disposal, as well as the official and
unofficial correspondence directed to me. If I can, by personal con-
versation, elucidate many matters wherein otherwise history might
be a perversion of the truth, I will be at your service.
" One thing I beg shall be understood between us, however (as
I have no doubt it would have been without this paragraph), that
while I will furnish you with every possible facility to learn every-
thing done by me in New Orleans and elsewhere, it will be upon
the express condition that you shall report it in precisely the man-
ner you may choose, without the slightest sense of obligation
'aught to extenuate' because of the source from which you derive
the material of your work ; and farther, that no sense of delicacy
of position, in relation to myself, shall interfere with the closest
investigation of every act alleged to have been done or permitted
by me. I will only ask that upon all matters I may have the privi-
lege of presenting to your mind the documentary and other evi-
dences of the fact."
I had not the pleasure of General Butler's personal acquaintance,
but our correspondence ended with my going to Lowell, where I
lived for a considerable time in the general's own house, and re-
ceived from him, from his staff, and from Mrs. Butler, every kind
of aid they could render for the work proposed. We talked ten
hours a day, and lived immersed in the multitudinous papers and
letters relating to the events which have excited so much contro-
versy. The general placed at my disposal the whole of those papers
and letters, besides giving the most valuable verbal elucidations,
and relating many anecdotes previously unrecorded.
Respecting the manner in which the material should be used, he
did not then, and has not since, made a single suggestion of any
kind. He left me perfectly free in every respect. Nor has he seen
a line of the manuscript, nor asked a question about it.
Therefore, while the whole value and the greater part of the
interest of this volume are due to the aid afforded by General
Butler, he is not to be held responsible for anything in it except
his own writings. If I have misunderstood or misinterpreted any
PBEFACE.
event or person, or used the papers injudiciously, at my door let
all the blame be laid, for it is wholly my fault.
And farther : I must explicitly declare, that if I have been led
to form an unfavorable opinion of the conduct of any person men-
tioned in these pages, I did not derive that ill opinion from any
thing said by him. So far as his own conduct is concerned, Gen-
eral Butler is one of the most candid of men ; and he is particularly
so with regard to any of his acts which have brought obloquy upon
him, or which he may himself regret. It is foreign to his nature
to conceal or qualify or justify his own conduct. But with regard
to the conduct of others, and especially of his superiors in the gov-
ernment, he is reticent and charitable. To be plain : I have never
heard him say a word respecting the persons who are supposed to
have thwarted him, or to have been instrumental in his recall,
which might not be repeated in their hearing without giving them
offense.
I have been solicitous to preserve as much as possible of the
remarkable writings of General Butler. He was always at bay in
Louisiana. Assailed by consuls, "neutrals," and traitors, whose
misrepresentations found their way to Washington, he was contin-
ually obliged to defend himself by relating the truth. With what
point, humor, and' cogency he would do this, the public do not
need to be told. Of the three great writers of the war — General
Butler. President Lincoln, and Mr. Wilkes, of the Spirit of the
Times — he had the advantage of a position entirely unique in the
history of warfare, and his writings are instinct both with his own
originality and, the originality of his position. As Mr. Richard
Grant White has observed : " General Butler's orders and official
correspondence at New Orleans, for hitting the nail square upon
the head, and clinching it with a twist of humor, have not been
surpassed by any writings of their kind. By reading them, the
man weary of the grand style, or fretted with the flippancy of the
familiar, may obtain real mental refreshment." These writings,
too, contain the heart of the matter. If the United States is right
in this great contest, the argument of those compositions is sound,
10 PKErACE.
and the measures which they explain were just, if' the United
States is in the wrong, those writings are fallacious, and those
measures were unjustifiable. In word and deed General Butler is,
at least, logical.
I have related, at some length, the civil and military career of
General Butler previous to the capture of New Orleans. This waa
chiefly done, that the reader might judge whether such a man as
General Butler was before he went to New Orleans was likely to
do such things there as the enemies of his country say he did.
It is of the most momentous importance to the future of the
United States, that whatever is written respecting this war should
be written truly. Upon the class of writers it chiefly devolves to
garner up, for our future warning, solace, and instruction, the expe-
rience gained by such an appalling expenditure of life and of the
means of living. Let us leave all lying, all delusion, all boasting,
all unworthy suppressions, to the malignants who know no better.
For us, the truth, though it blast us. We owe it to the heroic
dead, who died that we might more worthily live. We owe it to
the living, who are so anxious and so perplexed, through the in-
completeness of their knowledge. We owe it to the inconceivable
multitude of our brethren and fellow-citizens unborn.
For myself, I can say that every page of this' volume has been
prepared with the single object of conveying to the reader's mind
a correct impression of the facts related.
My grateful acknowledgments are due to Mr. Samuel F. Glenn,
advocate, of New Orleans, who relinquished, in my favor, a project
he had formed of writing a volume on the same subject. He had
made, indeed, some progress in the work, sufficient to render its
relinquishment an act of great generosity. I told him that the
record of an eye-witness would have a value of its own, not to bo
affected by publications of another nature ; but he kindly preferred
to retire from the field, and resume his professional labors in New
Orleans.
New Yobk, October 20, 1863.
CONTENTa
CHAPTER L pack
General Butler before the war 13
CHAPIER II.
In the Charleston Convention 45
CHAPrER III.
Massachusetts ready 59
CHAPTER IV.
Annapolis 75
CHAPTER Y.
Baltimore 100
CHAPTER VI.
Fortress Monroe 120
CHAPTER VII.
Great Bethel. 139
CHAPTER VIII.
Consequences of Great Bethel ... 143
CHAPTER IX.
Recall from Virginia 163
CHAPTER X.
Hatteras 1T6
CHAPTER XI.
Recruiting for special service 179
CHAPTER XII.
Ship Island 195
CHAPTER XIII.
Reduction of the forts 21
CHAPTER XIV.
The Panic in New Orleans 2t
CHAPTER XV.
New Orleans will not surrender SO"
CHAPTER XVI.
Landing in NW Orleans ..- 279
] 2 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XVII. ' r.vnK
1'eeding and employing the poor 300
CHAPTER XVIII.
The woman order 322
CHAPTER XIX.
Execution of Mumford 346
CHAPTER XX.
General Butler and the foreign consuls 354
CHAPTER XXI.
Snorts toward restoration 407
CHAPTER XXII.
The eftvct In Xew Orleans of our losses in Virginia 436
CHAPTER XXIII.
The sheep and the goats 449
CHAPTER XXIV.
The confiscation act 467
CHAPTER XXV.
More of the iron hand 475
CHAPTER XXVI.
The negro question — first difficulties 4t ; 9
CHAPTER XXVII.
General Butler and General Phelps 495
CHAPTER XXVIII.
General Butler arms the free colored men, and finds work for the fugitive slaves 51:5
CHAPTER XXIX.
Representative negro anecdotes 532
CHAPTER XXX.
Military operations 551
CHAPTER XXXI.
Routine of a day in New Orleans 5S6
CHAPTER XXXII.
Recall 593
CHAPTER XXXIII.
At home 613
CHAPTER XXXIV.
8nmmary 625
Appent>ix 631
Isdex ««
GENERAL BUTLER IN NEW ORLEANS,
CHAPTER I.
GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR.
He came of fighting stock. His father's father, Captain Zeph-
aniah Butler, of Woodbury, Connecticut, fought under General
"Wolfe at Quebec, and served in the continental army in the war
of the revolution. A large, old-fashioned powder-horn, covered
with quaint carving, done by this old soldier's own hand and jack-
knife, which was slung at his side when he climbed the hights of
Quebec, and the sword which he wore during the w r ar for indepen-
dence, now hang in the library of General Butler at Lowell, the
relics of an honorable career. The mother of General Butler de-
scends from the Cilleys of New Hampshire, a doughty race of Scotch-
Irish origin ; one of whom fought at the battle of the Boyne on the
wrong side. That valiant Colonel Cilley, who at the battle of
Bennington commanded a company that had never seen a cannon,
and who, to quiet their apprehensions, sat astride of one while
it was discharged, was an ancestor of our general. Mr. Cilley,
member of congress from Maine, who was shot in a memorable
duel, twenty-five years ago, was the general's cousin. Thus the
tide that courses the veins of Benjamin Franklin Butler is com-
posed, in about equal parts, of that blood which we call Anglo-
Saxon, and of that, strenuous fluid which gives such tenacity ana
audacity to the Scotch-Irish. Such a mixture affords promise of a
mitigated Andrew Jackson or of a combative Benjamin Franklin.
The father of General Butler was John Butler, of Deerfield, New
Hampshire; captain of dragoons during the war of 1812 ; a faith-
ful soldier who served for a while under General Jackson at New
14 GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR.
Orleans, and there conceived such love for that tough old hero, as
to name his first boy Andrew Jackson. After the war, he engaged
in the West India trade, sailing sometimes as supercargo, some-
times as merchant, sometimes as captain of the schooner, enjoying
for several years a moderate sufficient prosperity. In politics, a
democrat, of the pure Jeffersonian school ; and this at a time when
in New Hampshire to be a democrat was to live under a social ban.
He was one of the few who gave gallant support to young Isaac
Hill, of the New Hampshire Patriot, the paper which at length
brought the state into democratic line. He was a friend, personal
as well as political, of Isaac Hill, and shared with him the odium
and the fierce joy of those early contests with powerful and arro-
gant federalism. A * hearted' democrat was Captain Butler ; one
whose democracy was part of his religion. In Deerfield, where
he lived, there were but eight democratic voters, who formed a little
brotherhood, apart from their fellow townsmen, shunned by the fed-
eralists as men who would have been dangerous from their princi-
ples if they had not been despicable from their fewness. His boys,
therefore, were born into the ranks of an abhorred but positive and
pugnacious minority — a little spartan band, always battling, never
subdued, never victorious.
In March, 1819, Captain Butler, while lying at one of the West
India Islands with his vessel, died of yellow fever, leaving to the
care of their mother his two boys, Benjamin being then an in-
fant five months old. A large part of his property he had with
him at the time of his death, and little of it ever found its way to
his widow. She was left to rear her boys as best she could, with
slender means of support. But it is in such circumstances that a
New England mother shows the stuff she is made of. Capable,
thrifty, diligent, devoted, Mrs. Butler made the most of her means
and opportunities, and succeeded in giving to one of her boys a
good country education, and helped the other on his way to college,
and to a liberal profession. She lives still, to enjoy in the success
of both of them, the fruit of her self-denying labors and wise
management ; they proud to own that to her they owe whatever
renders them worthy of it, and thanking God that she is near them
to dignify and share their honors and their fortune.
Of late, the world has heard a good deal of that variety of the
human being called the Yankee. Our Southern ex-brethren have
•• • •
GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR. Jo
bestowed much strong language upon him. Mr. Russell, of the
London Times, has given him passing notice. Some orations
have been pronounced upon him, and numberless anecdotes told of
him. He has, also, as usual, had something to say upon the sub-
ject himself; for the Yankee, I regret to say, is somewhat given to
boasting of the qualities and exploits of his race. The various ac-
counts do not harmonize. If Dr. Bellows regards the Yankee as
the consummate man, Jefferson Davis considers him a companion
less desirable than the hyena. It is with the Yankee as with other
noted personages, the more that is printed about them, the more
difficult it becomes to get any knowledge of them. In these cir-
cumstances, it may be edifying to some readers to have a recent
specimen of this curious and renowned people caught and ex-
amined; his growth and formation briefly narrated; his peculi-
arities and capabilities noted. General Butler is a Yankee. He
has traits which are peculiar to himself and to his family ; but in
the great outlines, both of his career and of his character, he shows
himself a Yankee of that type, of which his namesake, Benjamin
Franklin, is the perfect and immortal example. Behold, then, in
the paragraphs following, the process by which a Yankee becomes
the creature we find him in these very days now passing over us.
General Butler was born at Deerfield, an agricultural town of
NewHarupshire, on Guy Faux day, the fifth of November, 1818.
The fatherless boy was small, sickly, tractable, averse to quar-
rels, and happy in having a stout elder brother to take his part.
Reading and writing seem to come by nature in New England, for
few of that country can recollect a time when they had not those
accomplishments. The district school helped him to spelling,
figures, a little geography, and the rudiments of grammar. He
soon caught that passion for reading which seizes some New Eng-
land boys, and sends them roaming and ravaging in their neighbor-
hood for printed paper. His experience was like that of his father's
friend, Isaac Hill, who limped the country round for books, reading
almanacs, newspapers, tracts, " Law's Serious Call," the Bible,
fragments of histories, and all printed things that fell in his way.
The boy hunted for books as some boys hunt for birds'-nests and
early apples ; and, in the great scarcity of the article, read the few
he had so often as to learn large portions of them by heart ; de-
vouring with special eagerness the story of the revolution, and all
16 GENERAL BUTLER BEFOEE THE WAR.
tales of battle and adventure. The Bible was his mother's sufficient
library, and the boy pleased her by committing to memory long
passages ; once, the whole book of Matthew. His memory then,
as always, was something wonderful. He can, at this hour, repeat
more poetry, perhaps, than any other person in the country who
has not made the repeating of poetry a profession. His mother,
observing this gift, and considering the apparent weakness of his
constitution, early conceived the desire of giving him a liberal edu-
cation, cherishing also the fond hope, as New England mothers
would in those days, that her boy would be drawn to enter the
ministry.
One chilly morning in November, 1821, when he was in his
fourth year, half a dozen sharp-eyed Boston gentlemen, Nathan
Appleton being one of them, might have been seen (but were not)
tramping about in the snow near the Falls of the Merrimac. There
was a hamlet near by of five or six houses, and a store, but these
gentlemen wandered along the banks of the river among the rocks
and trees, unobserved, conversing with animation. The result of
that morning's walk and talk was the city of Lowell, now a place
of forty thousand inhabitants, with thirteen millions invested in
cotton and woolen mills, and two hundred thousand dollars a
month paid in wages to operatives. In 1828, when our young
■friend was ten years old, and Lowell was a thriving town of two
thousand inhabitants, his mother removed thither with her boys.
It was a fortunate move for them all. The good mother was
enabled to increase her income by taking a few boarders, and her
book-loving son had better schools to attend, and abundant books
at command. He improved these opportunities, graduating from a
common school to the high school, and, at a later day, preparing for
college at the academy of Exeter in his native state.
As the time approached for his entering college, the question was
anxiously discussed in the family, What college? Probably one
half the boys in the United States, even in those piping times of
peace, had a lurking desire to enter the military academy at West
Point. At present, every boy has such a desire, except those who
prefer the naval school at Newport. Perhaps the boys are right.
In those institutions the fundamental conditions of manly education
are complied with in a respectable degree. There is physical train •
ing ; there is science ; there modern languages have their proper
GEXEEAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAK. 17
place ; there drawing and dancing, riding and fencing are taught ;
there is due suppression of those rooted obstacles to all useful ac-
quisition, Latin and Greek ; there is that sweet and noble thing, so
dear to ingenuous youth, discipline ; there, if anywhere, a rude
cub of a boy can be transformed into that beautiful creature, the
true fighting animal, but the man nowhere out of place — a Gentle-
man ! In them, too, the education that fits a man for life proceeds
simultaneously with that which prepares him for his profession —
schooling and apprenticeship going hand in hand — which is the
only system by which any considerable proportion of the youth of
a country can ever be liberally educated. Would that venerable
Harvard, venerable Yale, Amherst, Williams, Columbia, and the
rest, would heed the lessons the times are teaching us, and place
themselves, by a sweeping revolution, upon a footing worthy of the
age, and prepare to give the education which the youth of the
country are so eager to receive. If existing institutions refuse it, a
hundred West Points will spring into being, and the glory of the
good old colleges will depart for ever.
The boy was decided in favor of West Point. Nor was a cadet-
ship unattainable, in the days of Jackson and Isaac Hill, to the son
of Captain John Butler. But the cautious mother hesitated. She
feared he would forget his religion, and disappoint her dream of
seeing him in the pulpit of a Baptist church. She consulted her
minister upon the subject. He agreed with her, and recommended
Waterville college, in Maine, recently founded by the Baptists,
with a special view to the education of young men for the ministry.
It promised, also, the advantage of a manual labor department, in
which the youth, by working three hours a day, could earn part of
his expenses. At Waterville, moreover, there could be no danger
of the student's neglecting religion, since the great object of the
college was the inculcation of religion, and all the influences of the
place were religious. The president himself was a clergyman,
several of the professors were clergymen. Attendance at church
on Sundays was compulsory, and there was even a fine of ten
cents for every unexcused absence from prayers. With such safe-
guards, what danger could there be to the religious principles in-
stilled into the mind of the young man from his earliest childhood ?
Thus argued the minister. The mother gave heed to his opinions,
and the youth was consigned to Waterville.
13 GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR.
He was a slender lad of sixteen, small of stature, health infirm,
of fair complexion, and hair of reddish brown ; his character con-
spicuously shown in the remarkable form of his head. Over his
eyes an immense development of the perceptive powers, and the
upper forehead retreating almost like that of a flat-head Indian. A
youth of keen vision, fiery, inquisitive, fearless ; nothing yet de-
veloped in him but ardent curiosity to know, and perfect memory
to retain. Phrenologists would find proof of their theory in com-
paring the portrait of the youth with the well-rounded head of the
man mature, his organs developed by a quarter of a century of in-
tense and constant use of them. His purse was most slenderly
furnished. His mother could afford him little help. A good New
Hampshire uncle gave him some assistance now and then, and he
worked his three hours a day in the manual labor department at
chair-making, earning wages ridiculously small. He was compelled
to remain in debt for a considerable part of his college expenses.
Mr. Carlyle observes that the natural history of a hawk written
by a sparrow could not be flattering to the hawk. Nor could it be
just. Sedate and orthodox professors are the natural prey of a
lad like this, born into a minority, trained to the audacious advo-
cacy of unpopular opinions, and accustomed to regard the powers
that be in the light of objects of attack. I fear, therefore, that the
college career of this student, if it should be related by his instruc-
tors, would not present him to us in a favorable light. Perhaps,
there is something in the clerical character and training which, in
some degree, disqualify a man for gaining an ascendency over the
minds of youth. The example of Arnold may be cited against
such an opinion, but Arnold was an exceptional man, in an excep-
tional sphere.
The professors attached to New England colleges present certain
varieties of character and position : — The president, a grave and
awful Doctor of Divinity, highest in place, sometimes lowest in
accomplishment, owing his appointment to his ecclesiastical impor-
tance rather than to his learning ; sometimes the butt of the college,
often deeply loved and venerated. There is the professor renowned
beyond the college walls, its advertisement and boast, not always
highly valued in the class-room. There is the absorbed professor,
book-worm and devotee of his subject, who knows not the name of
the president of the United States, and never heard of Dickens and
GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR. 19
Thackeray. There is the unpopular professor, a prying, meddling
gentleman, keen in the scent of a furtive cigar, prompt to appear
at the moment he is least expected and desired. There is the be-
loved professor, the students' gentle friend and father, whom to
insult or annoy rouses the retributive wrath of the whole class..
There is the professor of doubtful scholarship, often wrong in his
dicta, the tortured victim of the knowing ones, who have explored
the shallows of his mind, and know what questions he cannot
answer. There is the dandy professor, deliverer of flowery ora-
tions, or of sermons trivial and showy. There is the professor who
is writing a book, and gets students of the softer sort to copy for
him. There is the professor who once wrote an article for the
" North American Review," and gives the number containing it to
his favorites. There is the foreign-born professor of immense learn-
ing, not too fond of attending morning prayers, totally unable to
keep order in his class. And there is the lynx-eyed professor, whom
no one attempts to cheat ; and the absent-minded professor, who
sits cogitating his next sermon, regardless of the written transla-
tion, or the forbidden " key."
Waterville was a young college, but it could boast most of these
varieties ; and to as many as there were, our young friend was oc-
casionally an affliction. Most of them were clergymen and theolo-
gians more than they were instructors of youth ; their object being
to make good Baptists as well as good scholars. ^
But the college was of vast benefit to our young friend, as any
college must have been, conducted in the interests of virtue, and
attended by a hundred and seventy-live young men from the simple
and industrious homes of New England ; most of them eager to
improve, and perfectly aware that upon themselves alone depended
the success of their future career. If he was prone to undervalue
some parts of the college course, he made most liberal use of the
college library. He was an omnivorous reader. All the natural
sciences were interesting to him, particularly chemistry; and his
fondness for such studies inclined him long to choose the medical
profession. No student went better prepared to the class-room of
the professor of natural philosophy.
Seduced by his example, there arose a party in the college op-
posed to the regular course of studies, advocates of an unregulated
browse among the books of the library, each student to read only
20 GENERAL BUTLEE BEFOEE TUB WAR.
such subjects as interested him. There was a split in the Literary
Society. Of the retiring body, after immense electioneering, young-
Butler was elected president, and the question was theu debated
with extreme earnestness for several weeks, whether the mind
would fare better by confining itself to the college routine, or by
reading whatever it had appetite for. I know not which party car-
ried the day ; but our friend was foremost in maintaining both by
speech and example, that knowledge was knowledge, however ob-
tained, and that the mind could get most advantage by partaking
of the kind of nutriment it craved. He laid a wager with a noted
plodder of the college, that he would continue for a given term his
desultory reading, and yet beat him in the regular lessons of the
class. The wager was won by an artifice. He did continue his
desultory reading, as well as his desultory wanderings about the
country, but late at night, when all the college slept, he spent some
hours in vigorous cram for the next day's lesson. His memory
was such, that he found it easier to commit to memory such lessons
as "Wayland's Moral Philosophy," than to prepare them in the
usual way. He astonished his plodding friend one day, by repeat-
ing thirteen pages of Wayland, without once hesitating.
He came into collision with his reverend instructors on a point
of college discipline. The fine of ten cents imposed for absence
from prayers, was a serious matter to a young gentleman natu-
rally averse to getting up before daylight, and who earned not
more* than two or three ten cent pieces daily in the chair shop.
But it was not of the fine that he complained. It was a rule of the
college, that the fine should carry with it a loss of standing in class.
This our student esteemed unjust, and he thought he had good rea-
son to complain since, though, upon the whole, a good scholar, he
was always on the point of expulsion from the loss of marks for his
morning delinquency. He took an opportunity, at length, to protest
against this apparent injustice in a highly audacious and character-
istic manner. One of the professors, a distinguished theologian,
preached in the college church, a sermon of the severest Calvinistic
type, in the course of which he maintainedpropositions like these :
1. The Elect, and the Elect alone, will be saved. 2. Of the people
commonly called Christians, probably not more than one in a hun-
dred will be saved. 3. The heathen have a better chance of salva-
tion than the inhabitants of Christian countries who neglect theii
GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR. 21
opportunities. Upon these hints, the young gentleman spake. He
drew up a petition to the faculty, couched in the language of pro-
found respect, asking to be excused from further attendance at
prayers and sermons, on the grounds so ably sustained in the dis-
course of the preceding Sunday. If, he said, the doctrine of that
sermon was sound, of which he would not presume to entertain a
doubt, he was only preparing for himself a future of more exquisite
anguish by attending religious services. He begged to be allowed
to remind the faculty, that the church in which the sermon was
preached, had usually a congregation of six hundred persons, nine
of whom were his revered professors and tutors ; and as only one
in a hundred of ordinary Christians could be saved, three even of
the faculty, good men as all of them were, were inevitably damned.
Could he, a mere student, and not one of the most exemplary, ex-
pect to be saved before his superiors ? Far be from him a thought so
presumptuous. Shakspeare himself had intimated that the lieutenant
cannot expect salvation before his military superior. Nothing re-
mained, therefore, for him but perdition. In this melancholy pos-
ture of aifairs, it became him to beware of hightening his future
torment by listening to the moving eloquence of the pulpit, or
availing himself of any of the privileges of religion. But here he
was met by the college laws, which compelled attendance at chapel
and church; which imposed a pecuniary fine for non-attendance,
and entailed a loss of the honors due to his scholarship. Threatened
thus with damnation in the next world, bankruptcy and disgrace in
this, he implored the merciful consideration of the faculty, and
asked to be excused from all further attendance at prayers and at
church.
This unique petition was drawn with the utmost care, and the
reasoning fully elaborated. Handsomely copied, and folded into
the usual form of important public documents, it was sent to the
president. The faculty did not take the joke. Before the whole
college in chapel assembled, the culprit standing, he was repri-
manded for irreverence. It was rumored at the time, that he nar-
rowly escaped expulsion. He had a friend or two in the faculty
who, perhaps, could forgive the audacity of the petition, for the sake
of its humor.
It must be owned, that the Calvinistic theology in vogue at
Waterville, did not commend itself to the mind of this young man.
22 GENEEAE BUTLEB BEFOEE THE WAR.
He was formed by nature to be an antagonist ; and youth is an
antagonist regardless of remote consequences. At West Point he
would have battled for his hereditary tenets against all who had
questioned them. At Waterville, nothing pleased him better than
to measure logic with the staunchest doctor of them all. It
chanced toward the close of his college course, that the worthy
president of the institution delivered a course of lectures upon
miracles, maintaining these two propositions: 1. If the miracles
are true, the gospel is of Divine origin and authority. 2. The
miracles are true, because the apostles, who must have known
whether they were true or false, proved their belief in their truth
by their martyrdom. At the close of each discourse, the lecturer
invited the class to offer objections. Young Butler seized the op-
portunity with alacrity, and plied the doctor hard with the usual
arguments employed by the heterodox. He did not fail to furnish
himself with a catalogue of martyrs who had died in the defense,
and for the sole sake of dogmas now universally conceded to be
erroneous. All religions, he said, boasted their army of martyrs ;
and martyrdom proved nothing — not even the absolute sincerity of
the martyr. And as to the apostles, Peter notoriously denied his
Lord, Thomas was an avowed skeptic, James and John were slain
to please the Jews, and the last we heard of Paul was, that he was
living in his own hired house, commending the government of Nero.
The debate continued day after day, our youth cramming diligently
for each encounter, always eager for the fray. He chanced to find
in the village a copy of that armory of unbelief, " Taylor's Die-
gesis of the New Testament ;" and from this, he and his comrades
secretly drew missives to let fly at the president after lecture. The
doctor maintained his ground ably and manfully, little thinking that
he was contending, not with a few saucy students, but with the ac-
cumulated skeptical ingenuity of centuries.
All this, I need scarcely say, was mere intellectual exercise and
sport. The youth came out of college as good a Christian as he
went in. Christianity, hardened down into a system of opinions,
has long been an object of criticism ; every young and fearless in-
tellect, during the last century and a half, has tried itself upon it.
Christianity, as a controller of action, as organized Virtue, as the
benign inspirer of motives, as the tamer of the human savage, as the
weekly monitor and rest, rescuer of a whole day in seven from the
GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR. 23
routine of toil, ten years of possible millennium in every unabbre-
viated life — who has ever quarreled with that? I suppose our
student would have heartily subscribed the remark of John Adams,
in one of those delightful letters of his old age to Mr. Jefferson,
upon the materialistic controversy. " You and I," said the old man,
" have as much authority to settle these disputes as Swift, Priestley,
Dupuis, or the Pope ; and if you will agree with me, we will issue
our bull, and enjoin it upon all these gentlemen to be silent, until
they can tell us what matter is, and what spirit is, and, in the mean-
time^ to observe the commandments and the Sermon on the
Mount."
His college course was done. He would have graduated with
honor, if his standing as a scholar had not been lost through his
delinquencies as a rebel. As it was, it was touch-and-go, whether
he could be permitted to graduate at all. He was, however, as-
signed a low place in the graduating class, and bore off as good a
piece of parchment as the best of them. He had outlived his early
preference for the medical profession. In one of his last years at
college, he had witnessed in court a well-contested trial, and as he
marked with admiration the skillful management of the opposing
counsel, and shared the keen excitement of the strife, he said to
himself: " This is the work for me." He left college in debt, and
with health impaired. He weighed but ninety-seven pounds. In
all the world, there was no one to whom he could look for help,
save himself alone.
Yet, in the nick of time, he found a friend who gave him just the
aid he needed most. It was an uncle, captain of a fishing schooner,
one of those kind and brave old sailors of Yankee land, who, for
two hundred years, have roamed the northern seas in quest of some-
thing to keep the pot boiling on the rock-bound shores of Home.
The good-hearted captain observed the pale visage and attenuated
form of his nephew. " Come with me, lad, to the coast of Labra-
dor, and heave a line this summer. I'll give you a bunk in the
cabin, but you must do your duty before the mast, watch and watch,
like a man. I'll warrant you'll come back sound enough in the fall."
Thus, the ancient mariner. The young man went to the coast of
Labrador ; hove a line ; ate the flesh and drank the oil of cod ; came
back, after a four months' cruise, in perfect health, and had not
another sick day in twenty years. His constitution developed into
24 GEXEEAL BUTLEE BEFOEE THE WAE.
the toughest, the most indefatigable compound of brain, nerve and
muscle lately seen in New England. A gift of twenty thousand
dollars had been a paltry boon in comparison with that bestowed
upon him by this worthy uncle.
He returned to Lowell in his twentieth year, and took hold of
life with a vigorous grasp. The law office which he entered as a
student was that of a gentleman who spent most of his time in
Boston, and from whom he received not one word of guidance or
instruction; nor felt the need of one. He read law with all his
might, and began almost immediately to practice a little in the police
courts of Lowell, conducting suits brought by the factory girls
against the mill corporations, and defending petty criminal cases ;
glad enough to earn an occasional two dollar fee. The presiding
justice chanced to be a really learned lawyer and able man, and
thus this small practice was a valuable aid to the student. Small
indeed were his gains, and sore his need. One six months of his
two years' probation, he taught a public school in Lowell, in order
to procure decent clothing; and he taught it well, say his old pupils.
What with his school, his law studies, and his occasional practice,
he worked eighteen hours in the twenty-four.
At this time he joined the City Guard, a company of that Sixth
regiment of Massachusetts militia, so famous in these years for
its bloody march through Baltimore. Always fond of military
pursuits and exercises, he has served in every grade — private, cor-
poral, sergeant, third lieutenant, second lieutenant, first lieutenant,
captain, major, lieutenant-colonel, colonel, and brigadier-general;
making it a point to hold every one of these positions in due suc-
cession. For many years, the drills, parades and annual encampings
of his regiment were the only recreation for which he would find
leisure — much to the wonder of his professional friends, who were
wont, in the old, peaceful times, to banter him severely upon what
seemed to them a rather ridiculous foible. "What a fool you are,"
they would say, "to spend so much time in marching around town
in soldier-clothes!" This young gentleman, however, was one of
those who take hold of life as they find it; not disdaining the duties
of a citizen of a free country, but rejoicing in them, and making
them serve his purposes, as they should. There is a ' set ' in Mas-
sachusetts who hold aloof from the homely, vigorous life around
them, contemplating the world from library windows, and reserving
GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE AVAR. 25
all their sympathies for other and distant civilizations — to their own
infinite and irreparable damage. Our young student-at-law was not,
and could not be one of these. He took much of his knowledge,
not diluted and corrupted by literary decoction, but at the original
sources — in the street, the police court, the school-room, the political
meeting, the parade ground, and grew, at least, robust upon that
fresh, substantial fare.
A trifling incident of these early years marks at once the Yankee
and the man. That every-day wonder of the modern world, a loco-
motive, was then first seen at Lowell. Many of us remember see-
ing our first locomotive, and how we comported ourselves on the
interesting occasion. Our young lawyer behaved thus: In com-
pany with his friend, the engineer, he visited the wondrous engine
at its own house, and spent five hours in studying it, questioning
both it and its master until he understood the why and the where-
fore of every part, and felt competent to navigate the machine to
Boston. This small anecdote contains the essence of old New
England ; which is expressed, also, in one of the country exclama-
tions : " I toant to Jcnoio!"
I thought I had a very pretty story to tell here of the manner in
which our young student-at-law won the affections of the Lowell
mill-girls : How one of the girls brought a suit against a wealthy
corporation of mill-owners for a small sum of disputed wages, and
employed Mr. B. F. Butler to prosecute her claim : How he looked
about the mills of the company to find a piece of property to " at-
tach," of " about the value" of the amount demanded : How he could
not attach the real estate of the company, because that would have
entailed upon him the necessity of giving a bond for an odd mil-
lion or so, which neither he nor his client could do; and how the
same difficulty arose when he proposed to lay the sheriff's paraly-
zing hand upon the looms, or even upon one of them : How he
fixed, at length, upon the water-wheel of the principal mill, and
placed a keeper in charge of the same, to forbid its making a single
revolution until his client was satisfied : How the managers of the
mill were brought to reflection by this maneuver, and hastened to
compromise with the girl; and how the ingenuity and audacity
of the young student called the attention of the whole community
of girls to his talents, and caused him to be employed in all their
20 GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR.
little suits against the mill-owners, and so gave him an excellent
start in his profession.
The story has been told and printed a thousand times, and it is
to this day one of the stock anecdotes of Lowell. General Butler
informs me, however, that the story is totally destitute of truth.
No event at all resembling it has ever occurred in his career.
Moreover, the ruse is a legal impossibility.
In 1840, being then twenty-two years of age, he was admitted to
the bar. An early incident brought him into favor with some of
the mill-owners. There was a strike among his friends and patrons,
the girls ; two or three thousand of whom assembled in a grove
near Lowell, to talk over their grievances and organize for their
redress. They invited the young lawyer to address them, and he
accepted the invitation. It was a unique position for a gentleman
of twenty-two, not wanting in the romantic element, to stand before
an audience of three thousand young ladies, the well-instructed
daughters of New England farmers and mechanics. He gave them
sound advice, such as might have come from an older head. Ad-
mitting the justice of their claims, he showed the improbability of
their obtaining them at a time when labor was abundant, and places
in the mills were sought by more girls than could be employed.
The mill-owners, he said, could, at that time, allow their mills to
stand idle for a considerable period without serious loss — perhaps,
even with advantage ; but could the girls afford to lose any con-
siderable part of a season's wages ? Strikes were always a doubt-
ful, often a desperate measure, and entailed suffering upon the
operatives a thousand times greater than the evils for which they
sought redress. The time might come when a strike would be the
only course left them ; but, at present, he counseled other mea-
sures. He concluded by strongly advising the girls to return to
their work, and endeavor by remonstrance, and, if that failed, by
appeals to the legislature, to procure a shorter day and juster com-
pensation. The girls took his advice and returned to work.
The day's work in the mills was then thirteen hours — a literally
killing period. Thirteen hours a day in a mill means this : inces-
sant activity from five in the morning until nine in the evening the
year round. It means a tired and useless Sunday. It means torpid-
ity or death to all the nobler faculties. It means a white and bloated
face, a diseased and languid body, a premature death. As much as
GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR. 27
to any other man in Massachusetts the subsequent change to eleven
hours was owing to "the girl's lawyer," as we shall see in a moment.
His advice to the girls, at their mass-meeting in the grove, was
well pleasing to the lords of the mill, some of whom, from this
time, gave him occasional employment.
But our young friend remained a democrat — a democrat during
the administration of General Jackson — a democrat in Lowell, sup-
posed to be the creation of that protective tariff which a democratic
majority had reduced and was reducing! It was like living at
Cape Cod and voting against the fishing bounties, or in Louisiana
and opposing the sugar duty. And this particular democrat was a
man without secrets and without guile ; positive, antagonistic and
twenty-two ; a friend and disciple of Isaac Hill, and one who had
seen that little lame hero of democracy assaulted by the huge
Uphain in the streets of Exeter, with feelings not unutterable. In
such odium were his opinions held in Lowell at that time, that he
could not appear at the tavern table in court time without being
tabooed or insulted. The first day of his sitting at dinner with the
bar, the discussion grew so hot that the main business of the occa-
sion was neglected, and he concluded that if he meant to take sus-
tenance at all he must dine elsewhere. He did so for one day; but
feeling that such a course looked like abandoning the field, he re-
turned on the day following, and faced the music to the end of the
session.
His audacity and quickness stood him in good stead at this pe-
riod. One of his first cases being called in court, he said, in the
usual way, " Let notice be given !"
" In what paper ?" asked the aged clerk of the court, a strenuous
whig.
" In the Lowell Advertiser" was the reply ; the Lowell Adver-
tiser being a Jackson paper, never mentioned in a Lowell court ; of
whose mere existence, few there present would confess a knowl-
edge.
"The Lowell Advertiser?" said the clerk, with disdainful non-
chalance, " I don't know such a paper."
" Pray, Mr. Clerk," said the lawyer, " do not interrupt the pro-
ceedings of the court ; for if you begin to tell us what you don't
know, there will be no time for anything else."
He was always prompt with a retort of this kind. So, at a later
a
28 GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR.
day, when he was cross-questioning a witness m not the most re-
spectful manner, and the court interposing, reminded him that the
witness was a professor in Harvard college, he instantly replied ;
" I am aware of it, your honor ; we hung one of them the other
day"
His politics were not, in reality, an obstacle to his success at the
bar, though his friends feared they would be. There are two sides
to every suit ; and as people go to law to win, they are not likely
to overlook an advocate who, besides the ordinary motives to exer-
tion, has the stimulus of political and social antagonism. He won
his way rapidly to a lucrative practice, and with sufficient rapidity,
to an important, leading, conspicuous practice. He was a bold,
diligent, vehement, inexhaustible opponent. He accepted the the-
ory of his profession without limitation or reserve, conceiving it to
be his duty to save or serve his client with not the slightest regard
to the moral aspects of the matter in dispute. That is the concern
of the law-maker and the court ; the advocate's business, in his
opinion, is simply and solely, to serve his client's interests. And if
there should be lawyers at all, this is, beyond question, the correct
theory of the vocation.
In some important particulars, General Butler surpassed all his
contemporaries at the JSTew England bar. His memory was such,
that he could retain the whole of the testimony of the very longest
trial without taking a note. His power of labor seemed unlimited.
In fertility of expedient, and in the lightning quickness of his de-
vices, to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, his equal has sel-
dom lived. To these gifts, add a perseverance that knew no dis-
couragement, "and never accepted defeat while one possibility of
triumph remained. One who saw him much at the bar in former
times, wrote of him three years ago :
" His devices and shifts to obtain an acquittal and release are ab-
solutely endless and innumerable. He is never daunted or baffled
until the sentence is passed and put into execution, and the reprieve,
pardon, or commutation is refused. An indictment must be drawn
with the greatest nicety, or it will not stand his criticism. A ver-
dict of guilty is nothing to him ; it is only the beginning of the case ;
he has fifty exceptions ; a hundred motions in arrest of judgment ;
and after that the habeas corpus and personal replevin. The op-
posing counsel never begins to feel safe until the evidence is all in ;
GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR. 29
for he knows not what new dodges Butler may spring npon him.
He is more fertile in expedients than any man who practices law
among us. His expedients frequently fail, but they are generally plau-
sible enough to bear the test of trial. And faulty and weak as they
oftentimes are, Butler always has confidence in them to the last ;
and when one fails, he invariably tries another. If it were not that
there must be an end to everything, his desperate cases would
never be finished, for there would be no end to his expedients to
obtain his case."
An old friend and fellow-practitioner of General Butler, Mr. J. Q.
A. A. Griffin, of Charlestown, Massachusetts, favors the reader with
some interesting reminiscences of the general's career at the bar :
" General Butler," he remarks, " has the power possessed by but
few men, of attending to several important mental operations at the
same time. An incident will show you my meaning :
"In a trial of a quite important matter, in the year 1860, I was
counsel on the same side with General Butler. It was a busy
season of the year for lawyers like him who always had an over-
flowing docket. The trial began just after his return from the
nomination of Breckinridge. He was to make a report of his doings
to his constituents at Lowell. The meeting was called to be held
at night. Dissatisfaction existed in the party, and the General
therefore must speak with care and consideration. He determined
to write what he was to say. But the court began early and sat
late. He took his seat in court, and while the adverse party ex-
amined their witnesses in chief, he wrote out his speech, appa-
rently absorbed therein. But he cross-examined each witness at
great length, with wonderful thoroughness and acuteness, evincing
a perfect knowledge, not only of what the witness had said in sub-
stance, but when needful, of the phrases in which he had uttered it.
At noon, over our dinner, he read over what he had written and
made such corrections as were needful, which were quite as few,
I thought, as would have been found if the speech had been written
in the quiet of his study. In the afternoon he went through the
same routine, and at night made his speech. This is but an in-
stance. Amid confusion of transactions, where other men became
indecisive, he always saw his way clear. Whatever his occupa-
tions, however intently his mind was employed, it was always safe
to interrupt him by suggestions or inquiries about the matter in
30 GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR.
hand, or anything else, for he could answer on the instant, clearly
and without the slightest confusion, or distraction of his purpose.
" Unexampled success attended his professional efforts, so char-
acterized by shrewdness and zeal. When the war summoned him
from these toils, he had a larger practice than any other man in the
state. I have no doubt, he tried four times more causes, at least,
than any other lawyer, during the ten years preceding the war.
The same qualities which make him efficient in the war, made him
efficient as a lawyer. Fertile in resources and stratagem ; earnest
and zealous to an extraordinary degree ; certain of the integrity of
his client's cause, and not inclined to criticise or inquire whether
it was strictly 'constitutional' or not, but defending the whole
line with a boldness and energy that generally carried court and
jury alike. His ingenuity is exhaustless. If he makes a mistake
in speech or action, it has no sinister effect, for the reason that he
will himself discover and correct the error, before any 'barren spec-
tator' has seized upon it. •
" He is faithful and tenacious to the last degree. There is no
possibility of treachery in his conduct. ' He would not betray the
devil to his fellow.' Every other prominent Massachusetts demo-
crat, when it became profitable to do so, condemned a previous
co alition that had been entered into between them and the free-
soilers after they had taken and consumed its fruits. General But-
ler's political interests strongly urged him to the same dishonor.
But he never hesitated an instant, and uniformly justified the
coalition, and openly defended it in every presence and to the most
unwilling ears. In his personal relations the same traits are obser-
vable. He is quite too ready, I have sometimes thought, to for-
give (he never forgets) injuries, but his memory never fails as to
his friends.
" ' The basis of Napoleon's character,' says Gourgand, ' was a
pleasant humor.' * And a man who jests,' continues Victor Hugo,
1 at important junctures, is on familiar terms with events.'
" A pleasant humor and a lively wit, and their constant exercise,
are the possession and the habit of General Butler. Everybody
has his anecdote of him. Let me refer to one anecdote of him in
this respect, and that shall suffice for the hundreds that I might
recall.
" The general was a member of our house of representatives
GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR. 31
one year, when his party was in a hopeless and impotent minority,
except on such occasions as he contrived to make it efficient by
tactics and stratagems of a technical, parliamentary character. The
speaker was a whig, and a thorough partisan. The whigs were
well drilled and had a leader on the floor of very great capacity,
Mr. Lord, of Salem. During one angry debate, General Butler
attempted to strangle an obnoxious proposal of the majority by
tactics. Accordingly he precipitated upon the chair divers ques-
tions of order and regularity of proceeding, one after the other.
These were debated by Mr. Lord and himself, and then decided by
the speaker uniformly according to the notions advanced by Mr.
Lord. The general bore this for some time without special com-
plaint, contenting himself with raising new questions. At length,
however, he called special attention to the fact that he had been
overruled so many times by the chair, within such a space of time,
and that, as often, not only had the speaker adopted the result of
Mr. Lord's suggestions, but generally had accepted the same words
in which to announce it ; and, said he, ' Mr. speaker, I cannot com-
plain of these rulings. They doubtless seem to the speaker to be
just. I perceive an anxiety on your part to be just to the minority
and to me, by whom at this moment they are represented, for, like
Saul, on the road to Damascus, your constant anxiety seems to be.
Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?'
" No man in America can remember facts, important and unim-
portant, like General Butler. Whatever enters his mind remains
there for ever. And his knowledge, as I have said, is available the
instant it is needed, without confusion or tumult of thought. The
testimony delivered through days of dreary trials, without minutes
or memoranda of any kind, he could recall in fresher and more ac-
curate phrases, remembering always the substance, and generally
all the important expressions, with far more precision than the
other counsel and the court could gather it from their 'writing
books,' wherein they had endeavored to record it. Practice for a
long series of years had so disciplined his mind in this respect that
I think it quite impossible for him to forget. And as he has mingled
constantly with every business and interest of humanity since he
was admitted to the bar, he has become possessed of a marvelous
extent and variety of knowledge respecting the affairs of mankind."
These passages, written by men conversant with the bar ot
32 GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR.
Massachusetts, and who knew him before he had become known to
the nation, are better for our purpose than the observations of later
friends. They illustrate the main position, that General Butler
used all the means known to the law to get his cases, leaving the
whole responsibility of maintaining justice to those who made and
those who administered the laws.
One example of what a writer styles General Butler's legerde-
main. A man in Boston, of respectable connections and some
wealth, being afflicted with a mania for stealing, was, at length,
brought to trial on four indictments ; and a host of lawyers were
assembled, engaged in the case, expecting a long and sharp con-
test. It was hot summer weather ; the judge was old and indo-
lent ; the officers of the court were weary of the session, and anxious
to adjourn. General Butler was counsel for the prisoner. It is a
law in Massachusetts, that the repetition of a crime by the same
offender, within a certain period, shall entail a severer punishment
than the first offense. A third repetition, involves more severity,
and a fourth, still more. According to this law, the prisoner, if
convicted on all four indictments, would be liable to imprisonment
in the penitentiary, for the term of sixty years. As the court was
assembling, General Butler remonstrated with the counsel for the
prosecution, upon the rigor of their proposed proceedings. Surely,
one indictment would answer the ends of justice ; why condemn
the man to imprisonment for life for what was, evidently, more a
disease than a crime ? They agreed, at length, to quash three of
the indictments, on condition that the prisoner should plead guilty
to the one which charged the theft of the greatest amount. The
prisoner was arraigned.
" Are you guilty, or not guilty ?"
" Say guilty, sir," said General Butler, from his place in the bar,
in his most commanding tone.
The man cast a helpless, bewildered look at his counsel, and said
nothing.
" Say guilty, sir," repeated the General, looking into the prison-
er's eyes.
The man, without a will, was compelled to obey, byl c very con-
stitution of his infirm mind.
" Guilty," he faltered, and sunk down into his seat, crushed with
a sense of shame.
GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR. 3i5
" Now, gentlemen," said the counsel for the prisoner, " have I,
or have I not, performed my part of the compact ?"
"You have."
"Then perform yours."
This was done. A JVol. Pros, was duly entered upon the three
indictments. The counsel for the prosecution immediately moved
for sentence.
General Butler then rose, with the other indictment in his hand ?
and pointed out a flaw in it, manifest and fatal. The error con-
sisted in designating the place where the crime was committed.
" Your honor perceives," said the general, " that this court has
no jurisdiction in the matter. I move that the prisoner be dis-
charged from custody."
Ten minutes from that time, the astounded man was walking out
of the court-room free.
The flaw in the indictment, General Butler discovered the mo-
ment after the compact was made. If he had gone to the prisoner,
and spent five minutes in inducing him to consent to the arrange-
ment, the sharp opposing counsel, long accustomed to his tactics,
would have suspected a ruse, and eagerly scanned the indictment.
He relied, therefore, solely on the power which a man, with a will,
has over a man who has none, and so merely commanded the plea
of guilty. The court, it is said, not unwilling to escape a long trial,
laughed at the maneuver, and complimented the successful lawyer
upon the excellent "discipline" which he maintained among his
clients.
This was a case of legal " legerdemain." Many of General But-
ler's triumphs, however, were won after long and perfectly con-
tested struggles, which fully and legitimately tested his strength as
a lawyer. Perhaps, as a set-off to the case just related, I should
give one of the other description.
A son of one of the general's most valued friends made a voyage
to China as a sailor before the mast, and returned with his consti-
tution ruined through the scurvy, his captain having neglected to
supply the ship with the well-known antidotes to that disease, lime
juice and fresh vegetables. A suit for damages was instituted on
the part of the crew against the captain. General Butler was re-
tained to conduct the cause of the sailors, and Mr. Rufus Choate
defended the captain. The trial lasted nineteen working days.
34 GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR.
General Butler's leading positions were : 1. That the captain was
bound to procure fresh vegetables if he could ; and, 2. That he
could. In establishing these two points, he displayed an amount
of learning, ingenuity and tact, seldom equaled at the bar. The
whole of sanitary science and the whole of sanitary law, the nar-
ratives of all navigators and the usages of all navies, reports of
parliamentary commissions and the diaries of philanthropical in-
vestigators, ancient log-books and new treatises of maritime law ;
the testimony of mariners and the opinions of physicians, all were
made tributary to his cause. He exhibited to the jury a large map
of the world, and, taking the log of the ship in his hand, he read
its daily entries, and as he did so, marked on the map the ship's
course, showing plainly to eye of the jury, that on four different
occasions, while the crew were rotting with the scurvy, the ship
passed within a few hours' sail of islands, renowned in all those sea?
for the abundance, the excellence, and the cheapness oi* their vege-
tables. Mr. Choate contested every point with all his skill and
eloquence. The end of the daily session was only the beginning of
General Butler's day's work ; for there were new points to be in-
vestigated, other facts to be discovered, more witnesses to be
hunted up. He rummaged libraries, he pored over encyclopedias
and gazetteers, he ferreted out old sailors, and went into court every
morning with a mass of new material, and followed by a train of
old doctors or old salts to support a position shaken the day before.
In the course of the trial, he had on the witness-stand nearly every
eminent physician in Boston, and nearly every sea-captain and ship-
owner. Justice and General Butler triumphed. The jury gave
damages to the amount of three thousand dollars ; an award which
to-day protects American sailors on every sea.
Such energy and talent as this, could not fail of liberal reward.
After ten years of practice at Lowell, with frequent employment in
Boston courts, General Butler opened an office in Boston, and thence-
forward, in conjunction with a partner in each city, carried on two
distinct establishments. For many years he was punctual at the
depot in Lowell at seven in the morning, summer and winter ; at
Boston soon after eight ; in court at Boston from half past nine till
near five in the afternoon ; back to Lowell, and to dinner at half
past six ; at his office in Lowell from half past seven till midnight,
or later. When the war broke out, he had the most lucrative prac-
GENEBAL BUTLER BEFOBE THE WAR. 35
tice in Isew England — worth, at a moderate estimate, eighteen
thousand dollars a year. At the moment of his leaving for the
scene of war, the list of cases in which he was retained numbered
five hundred. Happily married at an early age to a lady, in whom
are united the accomplishments which please, and the qualities that
inspire esteem, blessed with three affectionate children,he enjoyed
at his beautiful home, on the lofty banks of the tumbling Merri-
mac, a most enviable domestic felicity. At the age of forty, though
he had lived liberally, he was in a condition to retire from business
if he had so chosen.
Such particulars, in an ordinary sketch of a living man, would,
perhaps, be out of place. In the present instance they constitute part
of the case. I hold this opinion : that no man is fit to be entrusted
with public affairs who has not successfully managed his own. And
this other opinion: the fact that a man has conducted his own
affairs with honorable success is a reason for believing that his
management of public affairs has been just and wise.
Mr. Griffin well remarks that a lawyer in great practice as an
advocate has peculiar opportunities of acquiring peculiar knowl-
edge. That famous scurvy case, for example, made him acquainted
with the entire range of sanitary science. A great bank case opens
all the mysteries of finance ; a bridge case the whole art of bridge
building ; a railroad case the law and usages of all railroads. A
few years ago when General Butler served as one of the examiners
at West Point, he put a world of questions to the graduating class
upon subjects connected with the military art, indicating unexpected
specialities of knowledge in the questioner. " But how did you
know anything about that ?" his companions would ask. " Oh, I
once had a case which obliged me to look into it." This answer
was made so often that it became the jocular custom of the com-
mittee, when any knotty point arose in conversation, to ask General
Butler whether he had not had a case involving it. The knowing-
ness and direct manner of this Massachusetts lawyer left such an
impression upon the mind of one of the class, (the lamented Gene-
ral George G. Strong,) that he sought service under him in the war
five years after. This curious speciality of information, particularly
liis intimate knowledge of ships, banks, railroads, sanitary science,
and engineering, was of the utmost value to him and to the country
at a later day.
36 GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR.
And now a few words upon the political career of General But-
ler in Massachusetts. Despite his enormous and incessant labors at
the bar, he was a busy and eager politician. From his twentieth
year he was wont to stump the neighboring towns at election time,
and from the year 1 844, never failed to attend the national conven-
tions of his party. Upon all the questions, both of state and
national politics, which have agitated Massachusetts during the last
twenty years, his record is clear and ineffaceable. Right or wrong,
there is not the slightest difficulty in knowing where he has stood
or stands. He has, in perfection, what the French call "the courage
of opinion;" which a man could not fail to have who has passed his
whole life in a minority, generally a hopeless minority, but a minor-
ity always active, incisive, and inspired with the audacity which
comes of having nothing to lose. I need not remind any American
reader that during the last twenty-five years the democratic party
in Massachusetts has seldom had even a plausible hope of carrying
an election. If ever it has enjoyed a partial triumph, it has been
through the operation of causes which disturbed the main issue,
and enabled the party to combine with factions temporarily severed
from a majority otherwise invincible.
The politics of an American citizen, for many years past, have
been divided into two parts: 1. His position on the questions af-
fected by slavery. 2. His position on questions not affected by
slavery. Let us first glance at General Butler's course on the class
of subjects last named.
As a state politician, then, the record of which lies before me in a
heap of pamphlets, reports, speeches, and proceedings of delibera-
tive bodies, I find his course to have been soundly democratic, a
champion of fair play and equal rights. In that great struggle
which resulted in the passage of the eleven-hour law, he was a can-
didate for the legislature, on the " ten-hour ticket," and fought the
battle with all the vigor and tact which belonged to him. A few
days before the election, as he was seated in his office at Lowell, a
deputation of workingmen came to him, excited and alarmed, with
the news, that a notice had been posted in the mills, to the effect,
that any man who voted the Butler ten-hour ticket would be dis-
charged.
"Get out a hand-bill," said the general, "announcing that I will
address the workingmen to-morrow evening."
GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR. 37
The hall was so crammed with people that the speaker had to be
passed in over the heads of the multitude. He began his speech
with unwonted calmness, amid such breathless silence as falls upon
an assembly when the question in debate concerns their dearest
interests — their honor, and their livelihood. He began by saying
that he was no revolutionist. How could he be in Lowell, where
were invested the earnings of his laborious life, and where the value
of all property depended upon the peaceful labors of the men
before him? Nor would he believe that the notice posted in
the mills was authorized. Some underling had doubtless done
it to propitiate distant masters, misjudging them, misjudging the
workingmen of Lowell. The owners of the mills were men too
wise, too just, or, at least, too prudent, to authorize a measure
which absolutely extinguished government ; which, at once, invited,
justified, and necessitated anarchy. For tyranny less monstrous
than this, men of Massachusetts had cast off their allegiance to the
king of Great Britain, and plunged into the bloody chaos of revo-
lution ; and the directors of the Lowell mills must know that the
sons stood ready, at any moment, to do as their sires had done
before them. But this he would say : If it should prove that the
notice was authorized ; if men should be deprived of the means of
earning their bread for having voted as their consciences directed,
then, woe to Lowell! "The place that knows it shall know it
no more for ever. To my own house, I, with this hand, will first
apply the -torch. I ask but this : give me time to get out my wife
and children. All I have in the world I consecrate to the flames !"
Those who have heard General Butler speak can form an idea of
the tremendous force with which he would utter words like these.
He is a man capable of infinite wrath, and, on this occasion, he was
stirred to the depths of his being. The audience were so power-
fully moved, that a cry arose for the burning of the town that very
night, and there was even the beginning of a movement toward the
doors. But the speaker instantly relapsed into the tone and line
of remark with which he had begun the speech, and concluded
with a solemn appeal to every voter present to vote as his judg-
ment and conscience directed, with a total disregard to personal
consequences.
The next morning the notice was no more seen. The election
nassed peacefully away, and the ten-hour ticket was elected. Two
38 GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE "WAR.
priceless hours were thus rescued from the day of toil, and added
to those which rest and civilize.
The possibility of high civilization to the whole community — the
mere possibility — depends upon these two things : an evening of
leisure, and a Sunday without exhaustion. These two, well im-
proved during a whole lifetime, will put any one of fair capacity in
possession of the best results of civilization, social, moral, intel-
lectual, esthetic. And this is the meaning and aim of democracy —
to secure to all honest people a fair chance to acquire a share of
those things, which give to life its value, its dignity, and its joy.
Justly, therefore, may we class measures which tend to give the
laborer a free evening as democratic.
In the legislature, to which General Butler was twice elected,
once to the assembly, and once to the senate, he led the opposition
to the old banking system, and advocated that which gives perfect
security to the New York bill-holder, and which is often styled
the New York system, recently adopted as a national measure.
He had the courage, too, to report a bill for compensating the
proprietors of the Ursuline convent of Charlestown, destroyed,
twenty years ago, by a mob, and standing now a blackened ruin,
reproaching the commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is said, that
he would have succeeded in getting his bill passed, had not an in-
tervening Sunday given the Calvinistic clergy an opportunity to
bring their artillery to bear upon it. He represented Lowell in the
convention to revise the constitution of Massachusetts, a few years
ago, and took a leading part in its proceedings. With these ex-
ceptions, though he has run for office a hundred times, he has
figured only in the forlorn hope of the minority, climbing toward
the breach in every contest, with as much zeal as though he ex-
pected to reach the citadel.
" But why so long in the minority ? why could he and Massa-
chusetts never get into accord?" This leads us to consider his
position in national politics.
Gentlemen of General Butler's way of thinking upon the one
national question of the last twenty years have been styled "pro-
slavery democrats." This expression, as applied to General Butler,
is calumnious. I can find no utterance of his which justifies it ; but
on the contrary, in his speeches, there is an evidently purposed
avoidance of expressions that could be construed into an approba-
GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR. H9
tion of slavery. The nearest approach to anything like an apology
for the u institution" which appears in his speeches, is the expression
of an opinion, that sudden abolition would be ruin to the master,
and a doubtful good to the slave. On the other hand, there is no
word in condemnation of slavery. There is even an assumption that
with the moral and philanthropic aspects of slavery, we of the north
had nothing to do. He avowed the opinion, that we were bound
to stand by the compromises of the constitution, not in the letter
merely, but in the spirit, and that the spirit of those compromises
bound the government to give slavery a chance in the territories.
I have been curious to inquire of Hunker Democrats in Massa-
chusetts how this subject presented itself to their minds in former
years, so as to lead them to an opinion violently opposed to the
moral feeling of the communities in which they lived. This is the
more puzzling, from the fact that many of the ablest of them had
not the slightest expectation or desire of political position, but
maintained their ground for half a lifetime from the purest convic-
tion. I have read to some of these gentlemen the conversation,
published a year or two since, between Commodore Stuart and Mr.
Calhoun in 1812, of which the following is the material portion :
Mr. Calhoun : "I admit your conclusion in respect to us South-
rons. That we are essentially aristocratic, I cannot deny, but we
can and do yield much to democracy. This is our sectional policy ;
we are, from necessity, thrown upon, and solemnly wedded to that
party, however it may occasionally clash with our feelings for the
conservation of our interests. It is through our affiliation with that
party in the middle and western states that we hold power ; but
when we cease thus to control this nation, through a disjointed
democracy, or any material obstacle in that party which shall tend
to throw us out of that rule and control, we shall then resort to the
dissolution of the Union. The compromises in the constitution,
under the circumstances, were sufficient for our fathers, but under
the altered condition of our country from that period, leave to the
South no resource but dissolution ; for no amendments to the con-
stitution can be reached through a convention of the people under
their three-fourths rule."
Commodore Stuart (laughing incredulously), "Well, Mr. Cal-
houn, ere such can take place, you and I will have been so long ?ion
est., that we can now laugh at its possibility, and leave it with com-
iO GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR.
placency to our children's children, who will then have the watch
on deck."
Here was the southern programme frankly disclosed just fifty
years ago. I have, also, pointed out the constantly aggressive
policy of the southern leaders ; their arrogance, their ceaseless and
violent agitation of the slavery question ; absolutely fore ing it upon
the northern mind, and constantly supplying the abolitionists of the
north with new arguments and new motives. ISTow, the puzzling
question is this : How could men of spirit and discernment, hav-
ing no political aspirations, submit so long to be used by these
people for their purposes, and those purposes bad ?
Perhaps, I can now throw a little light upon this subject.
Even in the errors of honest men there is something of nobleness.
The basis of General Butler's interest in politics, and that of his
hunker friends was, and is an entire and fond belief in the principles
upon which this government was founded, and an intense desire
that the great Experiment should gloriously succeed. Among edu-
cated Americans, there are two kinds of men, namely, democrats
and snobs. The gentlemen, of whom I speak, are democrats.
In the very strength of their attachment to democratic principles,
is to be found the cause of their ignoring the claims upon our con-
sideration of the four million black laborers, who earn an import-
ant part of the country's revenue. They thought that any ques-
tion of their rights was petty in comparison with the mighty stake
of mankind in the union of these states, and the triumph of demo-
cratic institutions. The only danger to the Union, as they thought,
arose from the agitation of questions respecting slavery, and they
strove with all their might to avert or defer it.
Again : The leading democrats of the North were personally
acquainted with the leaders of the South, and knew that they were
prepared to fight for slavery. Republicans were incredulous on
this point, down to the time of the bombardment of Fort Sumter.
They were accustomed to laugh at Mr. Buchanan's terrors as those
of a weak and timorous old man, and to despise the threats of the
southern fire-eaters as the vaporings of demagogues and braggado-
cios. Democrats knew better. They were perfectly aware that
the South was, at all times, ready to take up arms the moment it
should feel really alarmed for the safety of the thing they call their
4 institution.' As Mr. Choate, one day, was about to make a 'union
GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR. 41
saving' speech, his partner and son-in-law, Major Bell, said to
him :
" Don't you think the people are getting tired of this sort of
thing?"
" Yes," said Mr. Choate, " they are perfectly sick of it. They
don't believe the Union in danger. But if they knew the South as
I know it, they would be more frightened than I am."
Such men as Mr. Choate saw the open abyss, and could see be-
yond it — nothing! The spell of the Union once broken, what
could come but chaos ? This terror of an immeasurable danger ;
this dread of a convulsion which, having occurred, no man could
foresee any probable end of any kind ; this look-out upon a sea of
difficulty, of which nothing could be known except that it was
tempest-tossed, and full of all perils ; it was this that made so many
honest patriots shut their eyes, on principle, to the moral aspects
of slavery questions, and impelled them to concede, and concede,
and concede to the slave power. And thus it was, that the very
love of freedom worked to the support of slavery.
At the same time, democrats, though they had some external
familiarity with slaveholders, knew nothing about slavery. They
did not wish to know anything about it. They would not know
anything about it. They shut their ears, on principle, to the cry of
the slave, the pleading of the abolitionist, and the arguments of the
statesmen who strove to keep the giant evil from spreading. How
easily the human mind excludes from itself unwelcome knowledge,
is known to all who have observed the workings of their own minds.
Besides : If the South used the democratic party, the democratic
party used the South. Each was absolutely dependent upon the
other for any constitutional success.
And yet again: Democrats, looking at the subject through
southern eyes, were compelled to consider questions respecting
slavery in a practical manner — as questions affecting the power, the
property, the existence of their friends and others. Men of the
other party contemplated the subject more in the spirit of a moral
essayist ; it did not threaten business or firesides ; it was something
abstract and remote. One party propounded moral truths and
philanthropic sentiments; the other had always the question upper-
most in their minds : " Well, what is to be done about it ?"
I do not suppose that the fear of impending danger was conscious-
42 GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR.
ly present in the mind of General Butler in those years ; but it
doubtless had its influence. A ruling motive with him was a keen
sense of the sacredness of compacts. Add to this a strong, heredi-
tary party spirit, and some willful pleasure in acting with a minority.
In his speeches on the slavery question there is candor, force and
truth ; and their argument is unanswerable, if it be granted that
slavery can have any rights whatever not expressly granted by the
letter of the constitution. There is nothing in them of base sub-
serviency, nothing of insincerity, nothing uncertain, no vote-catch-
ing vagueness.
When the wretched Brooks had committed the assault upon
Charles Sumner in the senate chamber, there were men of Massa-
chusetts who, surpassing the craven baseness of Brooks himself
gave him a supper, and stooped even to sit at the table and help
him to eat it. General Butler, blazing with divine wrath, publicly
denounced the act in Washington in such terms as became a man,
and called upon Mr. Sumner to express his horror and his sympa-
thy. He saw with his own eyes, and felt with his own hands, that
the wounds could only have been given while the senator was bend-
ing low over his desk, absorbed and helpless.
When John Brown, the sublime madman, or else the one sane
man in a nation mad, had done the deed for which unborn pilgrims
will come from afar, to look upon the sod that covers his bones,
General Butler spoke at a meeting held in Lowell, to reassure the
alarmed people of the South. This speech very fairly represents
his habit of thought upon the vexed subject before the war. He
spoke in strong reprobation of northern abolitionists, and southern
fire-eaters, as men equally guilty of inflaming and misleading their
fellow-citizens ; so that, at length, it had come to pass, that neither
section understood the other. "The mistake," said he, "is mu-
tual. We look at the South through the medium of the aboli-
tionist orators — a very distorted picture. The South see us only as
rampant abolitionists, ready to make a foray upon their rights and
property."
"It is," he continued, " the province of such meetings as this, which are
now being holden throughout the North, to correct on our part this picture
of ourselves to our southern brethern, to convince them of the truth, as we
believe and know it — that by far the largest portion of the North are true
in heart and spirit in their devotion to the Union, and in their determination
GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR. 43
to carry out the only principles by which its full benefit can be enjoyed in
the fair, just and honest fulfillment of every constitutional requirement, both
in spirit and in letter, with each slate, and to the whole country.
"And let us not be taunted with ' truckling to the South,' or seeking to
curry favor by so doing. It is not so ; and it is neither correct nor manly so
to state it. Let us fairly appreciate the difference of our position. These
questions, which to us locally are of so little practical consequence as hardly
to call our attention, are to them the very foundations of society — ominous
of rapine, murder, and all the horrors of a servile war, in their practical
application.
" And because the discussions of the question about negro emancipation
do not disquiet us here, we should be blind indeed not to see the wide
difference of such discussions to them, if the results are reduced to practice.
Then may we not, ought we not, who are so little, as to ourselves, practically
interested in this matter, take the first step, if need be, toward allaying their
excitement on this subject ?
""We claim to be in proportion of fifteen millions of freemen to six
millions. Can it fairly be said to be ' truckling,' to hold out to them the
hand of amity upon a cause of real or supposed grievances ? It would not
be so thought amongst belligerent foreign countries. "We are the stronger,
as we consider ourselves. To make overtures of peace to the weaker ought
to be considered our part among friendly states.
"Therefore, I began by saying: 'It is well for us to be gathered here.'
Let us proclaim to all men, that the Union, first and foremost of all the good
gifts of God, must and shall be preserved. That it is a duty we recognize
and will fulfill, to grant to every part of the country its rights as guaranteed
by the constitution, and due by the compact. That we will, and every part
of the country shall, respect those institutions of every other part of tho
country, with which they and we have nothing to do, save to let them alone,
whether they are palatable to us or not.
" "We have the right to form our own domestic institutions as we please,
to our own liking, and not to any other community's liking, and will exer-
cise that right, and under the constitution, must be protected in that right.
Every other state has the same right to please herself in her own institu-
tions, and is not obliged to please us in her selection of them ; and as in
duty, and of right bound to do, we will protect her in that right, whether
we like them or not.
" Thus doing our duty, and claiming our rights, and granting those of
others, as every man will do, who is a just man, and not a thief — must not
the union be perpetual? Let no man mistake upon the matter. This
Union, this republic, the great experiment of equal rights, this power of
self-government by the people, this great instrument of civilization, tho
banding together of the intellectual and political power of those races
44
GENERAL BUTLER BEFORE THE WAR.
which are to civilize the world by their energy of action, is not to fail, and
human progress be set back a thousand years, because of the difference of
opinion as to the supposed rights and interests of a few negroes.
"As well might the peasant expect the Almighty to stay the thunder
storm, which, by its beneficent action, clears the atmosphere of a nation
from pestilence, lest the lightning bolt should in its flash kill his cow. This
Union is strong enough to take care of itself, to protect each and every part
from foreign aggression or internal dissension, to keep everybody in it that
is desirable to have in it, to take in everybody that ought to be in it, and
to keep out everybody that is not wanted in it.
"It is not like a family, because its members must never separate and
divide the homestead. It is not like a partnership, because it contains no
elements or period of dissolution. It is not like a confederation, because it
contains no clause or means by which one or more of its members can with-
'draw. It is either organization or chaos. It is possible that it may crum-
ble into atoms. It cannot be split in fragments. A despotism may be
erected upon its ruins, but little, snarling, imbecile republics can never be
made from its pieces.
" 'It is well, then, to be gathered here.' To pledge each other and the
South, that we are true to each other and to them. To assure them that
we and we alone speak the true voice of the North. That threats of dis-
union will never terrify us into being just to her and ourselves. That the
North shall and will be just to her, because she respects herself as well as
the South. To assure her that we appreciate her difficulties, and sympa-
thize with our southern brethren, because we understand the great ques-
tions which agitate them. To us here they so little enter into our affairs as
to hardly call the attention of any of us who have anything to do, save to
annoy our neighbors. Yet to them they are questions of order or anarchy,
life or death.
" ' It is well, then, to be gathered here.' Again to pledge ourselves to
each other, that whenever occasion demands, we will march as one man to
protect our beloved country from all dismemberment, and to bury the traitor
who shall by overt act attempt it, whether he be a member of the Hartford
convention, aggrieved because of a commercial question, or a South Caro-
linian, aggrieved because of a tariff question, or an abolition incendiary who
seeks civil war and bloodshed at Harper's Ferry.
" That to us no ' star in our glorious banner differeth from another star
in glory,' but all must and shall shine on together in one constellation, to
bless the world with its benign radiance for ever."
Such were the sentiments of General Butler, in February of tho
year for ever memorable to Americans — 1860.
IN THE CHARLESTON CONVENTION. 46
CHAPTER n.
IN THE CHARLESTON CONVENTION.
General Butler was elected a delegate to the democratic con-
vention, held at Charleston, in April, 1860.
He went to Charleston with two strong convictions on his mind.
One was, that concessions to the South had gone as far as the
northern democracy could ever be induced to sustain. The other
was, that the fair nomination of Mr. Douglas, by a national demo-
cratic convention was impossible.
When the convention had been organized, by the election of Mr.
Cushing, of Massachusetts, to the chair, a committee was appoint-
ed of one member from each state, for the purpose of constructing
that most perplexing piece of political joinery, a Platform. In
this committee, General Butler represented the state of Massachu-
setts.
The committee met. May we not say, that in the room which it
occupied began the contention which now desolates large por-
tions of the southern country. What transpired in the committee
room has been related, with exactness and brevity, by General But-
ler himself.
" As a member of the committee," he says,* " I felt that I had
but one course to pursue,and I held that with unwavering tenacity
of purpose. It was to obtain the affirmation of these democratic
principles, laid down at Cincinnati, with which we had outrode the
storm of sectionalism in 1856. * * * *
" With these views, I proposed, in committee, the following reso-
lution :
" '-Resolved, That we, the democracy of the Union, in convention
assembled, hereby declare our affirmance of the democratic resolu-
tioDS unanimously adopted and declared as a platform of principles
at Cincinnati, in the year 1856, without addition or alteration ; bo-
* Speech at Lowell, May 15 1SG0.
46 IN THE CHARLESTON CONVENTION.
lieving that democratic principles are unchangeable in their nature,
when applied to the same subject-matter.'
" After a long and animated discussion, this was rejected by a
vote of seventeen states to sixteen ; young Oregon giving the cast-
ing vote against the Cincinnati platform, to which and the democ-
racy she owed her existence as a sovereign state.
"There was but one additional resolution which, it was pro-
posed, should be added, and that is as follows :
" ' Resolved, That it is the duty of the United States to extend
its protection alike over all its citizens, whether native or natural-
ized.'
" This was to meet the case of the contradictory interpretations
of the rights of foreign-born citizens, when abroad, made by the
State Department. To this I had pledged myself, when the case
arose. It is but just to add, that to this resolution, no opposition
was made. The propositions of a majority of the committee were
then brought forward, and by the same majority of one, were
passed through the committee. They provided, in substance, for a
slave code for the territories, and upon the high seas.
" Upon these two propositions, the committee divided ; sixteen
free states one way, and fifteen slave states, with Oregon and
California, the other ; and the difference was apparently irreconcila-
ble. Without impugning the motives, or too closely criticising
the course of any member of the committee, I saw, or thought I
saw, that this disagreement was rather about men than principles.
It seemed to me, that gentlemen of the extreme South were making
demands which they did not consider it vital to be passed, lest a
ma?i should be nominated distastefid to them, and men from the
JSTorth were willing to make concessions not desired by the South,
and which would not be justified, either by democratic principles
or their northern constituencies, in order to the success of their
favorite candidate.
" Subsequent events showed the correctness of this opinion, be-
cause, after the minority and majority of the committee had sepa-
rated, sixteen to seventeen, and each had retired to make up its
report, and when the sixteen northern states had nothing to do
save to report the Cincinnati platform, pure and simple, then it was
that three gentlemen came into the room where the minority of the
committee were in consultation, and announced themselves as a sub-
IN THE CHARLESTON CONVENTION. 47
committee of a caucus of the friends of Judge Douglas, charged
with a resolution which his friends desired to be reported to the
convention, in order, as the chairman said, ' to help the southern
friends of Judge Douglas.' One member of the committee on
resolutions (General Butler) immediately raised a point of order.
He said that the committee of the convention of the whole democ-
racy, could not act under the dictation of a caucus of anybody's
friends ; that his self-respect would forbid — that the report of the
minority of the committee would lose all moral power, if they
adopted such a resolution thus presented. The point of order of
that member of the committee was overruled, and the caucus reso-
lution was received and adopted in the minority report, almost in
the words in which it was presented and passed in the caucus, as
follows :
" ' Resolved, That all questions in regard to the rights of property
in states or territories, arising under the constitution of the United
States, are judicial in their character ; and the democratic party is
pledged to abide by, and faithfully carry out such determination of
these questions, as has been, or may be made by the Supreme Court
of the United States.'
" This resolution was insisted upon by the committee, as then
constituted, because it would give aid and ground to stand upon at
home to the southern friends of Judge Douglas. Not advocated
on principle, not claimed for the North, but a concession to the
South, which, as the sequel showed, the South neither desired,
would adopt or accept. A piece of expediency, which your dele-
gate would ' neither adhere to nor carry out.'
" To him it seemed quite immaterial whether a slave-code was
made by congress or the decision of the courts. He had seen some
of the most obnoxious laws made by judicial decisions, both in
England and in this country. Indeed, a congressional slave-code
were preferable to one made by a court, because the former could
be denned, and if unjust, could be repealed, while the latter might
be indefinite, shifting to meet the exigency of the case, and only
limited by the partnership, or restrained by the consciences of
judges holding office by a life-tenure, even if they were appointed
like the midnight judges ' of John Adams,' in the last hour of an
expiring administration, upon which the people set the seal of rep-
robation."
48 IN THE CHARLESTON CONVENTION.
So the committee could not agree. General Butler adhered to
his proposal of the Cincinnati platform ; the majority adhered to
their demand for a slave-code for the territories and protection to
the slave trade ; the minority adhered to the resolution framed by
Mr. Douglas, which left all questions relating to slavery in the ter-
ritories to the decision of the Supreme Court. On returning to
the convention, therefore, the committee furnished three reports, one
from the majority, one from the minority, and one from General
Butler ; all agreeing in recommending the Cincinnati platform as a
basis ; all differing as to the nature of the additional " planks."
The majority report proposed four additional resolutions re-
specting slavery :
"1. Resolved, That the democracy of the United States hold these car-
dinal principles on the subject of slavery in the territories: First, That con-
gress has no power to abolish slavery in the territories. Second, That the
territorial legislature has no power to abolish slavery in any territory, nor
to prohibit the introduction of slaves therein, nor any power to exclude
slavery therefrom, nor any power to destroy or impair the right of property
in slaves by any legislation whatever.
" 2. .Resolved, That the enactments of state legislatures to defeat the faith-
ful execution of the fugitive slave law, are hostile in character, subversive
of the constitution, and revolutionary in their effect.
" 3. Resolved, That it is the duty of the federal government to protect,
when necessary, the rights of persons, and property on the high seas, in
the territories, or wherever else its constitutional authority extends. (De-
signed to protect the reopened slave trade.)
"4. Resolved, That the national democracy earnestly recommend the ac-
quisition of the Island of Cuba at the earliest practicable period."
The minority report, introduced by Mr. Payne of Ohio, also pre-
sented the Cincinnati platform, with sundry additions, of which the
following are the important ones :
"1. Resolved, That all questions in regard to the rights of property in
states or territories, arising under the constitution of the United States, are
judicial in their character; and the democratic party is pledged to abide by
and faithfully carry out such determination of these questions as has been
or may be made by the Supreme Court of the United States.
" 2. Resolved, That the democratic party are in favor of the acquisition
of the Island of Cuba, on such terms as shall be honorable to ourselves, and
just to Spain.
IN THE CHARLESTON CONVENTION. 49
" 3. Resolved, That the enactments of state legislatures to defeat the faith-
fal execution of the fugitive slave law, are hostile in character, subversive
of the constitution, and revolutionary in their effect."
General Butler reported the two resolutions given in his narra-
tive.
Such were the three reports. The first was supposed to express
the sentiments of the party who afterward selected Mr. Breckin-
ridge as their candidate. The second Was the Douglas platform.
The third conveyed the sense of northern democrats, who were
aware that the Cincinnati platform conceded all to the South,
that the North could concede. Mr. Douglas perfectly understood
that, and he invented the device of the Supreme Court, to delay or
confuse the issue. Each of the reports was explained and advo-
cated at much length ; the first by Mr. Avery of North Carolina,
the chairman of the committee ; the second by Mr. Payne of Ohio.
Toward the close of the day, General Butler obtained the floor, and
spoke in support of his views to a house crowded and excited be-
yond description, amid interruptions more entertaining to the audi-
ence than helpful to the speaker. His speech was ingenious and
amusing, particularly that part of it which aimed to deprive the
Douglas men of capital borrowed from the Supreme Court. Some
of the personal hits produced prodigious effect.
He began by asking members around him why, if the Cincinnati
platform was so defective, they had given it such enthusiastic in-
dorsement in 1856. "I am told that it maybe subjected to two
interpretations. Will any man here attempt to make a platform
that will not be subject to two or more interpretations ? Why, sir,
when Omniscience sends us the Divine law for our guidance through
life and our hope in death, for 2,000 years almost bands of men
have been engaged in different interpretations of that Divine law,
and they have sealed their honesty of purpose with blood — they
have burned their fellow creatures at the stake as an evidence of
the sincerity of their faith." (Laughter.)
Adverting to the resolution which was evidently designed to
throw the protection of the national flag over the slave trade, he
humorously affected to be ignorant of its real purpose. "Our
carping opponents" said he, " will see in it what I am sure southern
gentlemen do not mean — the reopening of the African slave trade,
50 IN THE CHARLESTON CONTENTION.
and it will be so construed that no man can get rid of the interpre-
tation. It will be proclaimed from every stump, flaunted from every
pulpit, thundered from every lyceum in the North, until we, your
friends — and in no boasting spirit I say, without us you are power
less— the last refuge of the constitutional rights of the South within
the Union arc stricken down powerless for ever ; so that without
farther modification it would be impossible for me to adopt the
majority report."
He proceeded to show the utter nothingness of the minority reso-
lution, referring questions in dispute to the Supreme Court : " Now,
men of the North, suppose that the Supreme Court should decide
upon questions of property arising in the states — and I hope that
there is no danger of their so deciding — that slavery exists in Mas-
sachusetts, and that it was forced upon us by the constitution of the
United States — are you ready to carry out that decision ? You
might have to submit to that, but would you not move at once for
an alteration of that state constitution to prevent such decision tak*
ing effect, and adopt such other remedies as your good judgment
might devise ? You, men of the South, suppose you were foolishly
to go apart from us, and Mr. Seward were to be elected president.
There sit to-day upon the bench of the Supreme Court nine judges,
eight of whom are seventy years old, three of them so debilitated
that they may never take their seats again. What happens?
Without any act of congress, Mr. Seward being president of the
United States, that court is reorganized, and it decides that slavery
nowhere exists by natural law, and that man can hold no property
in man. What are you to do then ? Are you to abide by the
decision ?"
Here, Mr. Reverdy Johnson, of Maryland, made a remark im-
plying that it became the representative of a state which never gav
a democratic majority to be modest in offering advice to a demo
cratic convention. The retort was ready :
" You may taunt me with the fact that I am speaking for poor old
Massachusetts, that has never given a democratic vote since the days
of Jefferson. She did give a democratic vote then. By that vote
the South acquired the rich inheritance of Louisiana, and I see here
from the gulf states men who but for that vote I never would have
had the pleasure of meeting, except as subjects of Napoleon IH.
Then do not taunt me with speaking for a state that can not give an
IN THE CHARLESTON CONVENTION. 51
electoral vote. I feel mortified enough about it. I do not like to
be taunted with it ; I do not think it quite kind in my friend from
Maryland to make the remark he did. I would have thought it
more unkind if my friend from Mississippi had said anything of the
kind, but I thought it especially unkind in my friend from Maryland,
because he violated the well-known maxim in my country, that the
" pot should never call the kettle black." (Laughter.)
Mr. Johnson : " While Maryland obeys the laws of the Union, as
she has ever done and does now, she considers herself equal to all
other states ; but when she refuses to acknowledge even the force
of the constitution, and the laws made in pursuance thereof, she
will then be more modest in the expression of her opinions."
General Butler : " Comparisons are odious, but I say that any
man in Massachusetts can walk up to the polls and vote for anybody
on earth without having his head broken by a cudgel." (Great
laughter.)
Mr. Johnson attempted to reply, but General Butler would not
yield the floor.
" Very well, then," said the Marylander, " have it so."
The speaker continued : " I will say this to the gentleman, that
everything that the democratic party could do in his state has been
nobly done to protect men in their rights. Will he give old Massa-
chusetts the same credit, that everything the democracy of Massa-
chusetts could do to stand by the constitution and the Union, the
rights of his state and my own, has been done without fear, favor,
affection, or hope of reward ? (Applause.) Therefore, I say again,
that I do not like to be told that this platform is only represented
by states which are sure to give electoral votes for the democratic
candidate. Let me call the attention of the gentleman from Mary-
land to the fact, that by the vote from his state the house of repre-
sentatives got a black republican organization. (Applause.) And
my gallant friends from Tennessee — are your skirts quite clear ?
And how stands Kentucky — the dark and bloody battle-ground ?
She has five to five in the house of representatives, is a cipher
there, and if they do not take care, will be a cipher in the electoral
vote. And how stands the old state of North Carolina. Four and
four in the house of representatives. These states I have enumera-
ted were never reliable democratic states, and, therefore, I have
ventured to say, that I have a good right to speak here for the
3
52 IN THE CHARLESTON CC^. ENTION.
gallant states of the North, who have sometimes given, and always
want to give, democratic votes."
General Butler concluded by advising the convention to adopt
his report, and then "nominate some firm, trustworthy, out-and-out,
hard working democrat for president, and go home and elect him."
The convention, after debates that threatened to be endless, fol-
lowed this advice in part. They adopted the report of General
Butler, with non-essential alterations, by a vote of 230 to 40.
Then came the tug of war. The platform completed, it remained
to select a man to stand upon it.
" The whole discussion of the platform," says General Butler, in
the narrative quoted above, " led me to the belief that the difference
was about men, not principles ; and the unfortunate and unjustifiable
secession of eight of the southern states by their delegates, in
whole or in part, justifies the statement. When they went out of
the convention, we had adopted no principles but those to which
every seceding state, and many of the seceding delegates, had
been pledged only four years since. There was in this, therefore,
no disruption, no casus belli, no justification for so serious a step as
the dismemberment of the democratic party, and endangering the
harmony and safety of the Union.
" What then was feared by the seceding states ? Evidently, that
the majority of the convention, composed of northern delegates,
would force the nomination of Judge Douglas, who had given an
interpretation to that platform to which the southern democracy
would not, and, as their delegates claimed, could not agree. They
said, ' You, of the North, have the platform ; and if you will put a
man upon it that has given an interpretation hostile to the South,
then we can not sustain ourselves at home, if we would,' and the
more ardent of the southern men added, c we would not, if we
could.' ,
" That there was this fear of his nomination, was made certain
by the act of Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and
Kentucky, who remained in the convention, but by their delegates
insisted, that if a resolution was not passed, requiring two-thirds of
the whole electoral college to make a nomination, they, too, would
withdraw from the convention ; and thereby the convention must
have been dissolved, as California and Oregon would have gone
with them, leaving only a minority of the states in number, with a
IN THE CHARLESTON CONTENTION. 63
loss of every democratic state. The passage of this resolution
made the nomination of Judge Douglas simply impossible ; and,
although New York cast her thirty-five votes steadily for him
afterward, yet she voted for this rule which would render her
vote for Douglas useless, as it was evident to all that more than
one-third the convention was unalterably opposed to his nomina-
tion.
" I believe there was a majority opposed to him in fact. Grant
that he received upon one ballot a bare majority of the whole vote.
But how was that majority made up ? Simply, by the unit rule,
which stifled minorities in northern states, under instructions. In
New York, there were fifteen votes opposed to Judge Douglas,
from first to last, yet these thirty-five votes were cast for him on
every ballot. In Ohio six votes, in Indiana five votes, and Minne-
sota two votes were opposed to him, yet by that rule cast for him,
so that the majority was more apparent than real. The southern
states generally acting without direct instructions, by a cunningly
devised resolution of the committee on organization, were for the
most part voting separately, so that all of Judge Douglas's strength
in the southern delegations, substantially appeared.
Now, with the South opposed to Judge Douglas, even to the dis-
ruption of the party ; with every democratic free state voting against
him; with two-thirds of the great state of Pennsylvania firmly
against him ; with one-half, nearly, of New York hostile ; New
Jersey divided, and the only state in New England where the de-
mocracy can have much hope, Connecticut, nearly equally balanced,
what was it the part of wisdom for your delegate to do ? Should
he, coming from a state where there was no hope of a democratic
electoral vote, persistently endeavor to force upon the democratic
states a candidate distasteful to them, as shown by those votes, inso-
much that they were ready to sunder all political ties, rather than
submit to his nomination ? Were his preferences and yours for a
given man to be insisted on at all hazards ? He thought not then ;
he thinks not still. ******
" We must accept facts as we find them. A truth is a truth,
however unpalatable. No man can act wisely who disregards facts
and truths in shaping his course, whether in political or other ac-
tions. ' I would,' must always wait upon ' I ought.' For these
reasons before stated, I found Judge Douglas's nomination an im-
54 IN THE CHARLESTON CONVENTION.
possibility, without a disruption of the party and throwing away
all chance of success.
" You may say this is a great misfortune. Be it so. It is a fact
upon which you and I, fellow-democrats, must judge and act. I
found a very large majority of the democratic states unalterably
opposed to him. ' Tis true 'tis a pity, and pity 'tis, 'tis true.' I
found him in a bitter feud with a democratic administration, and
without caring to inquire which is to blame for it, such conflict is
not a help to democratic votes in a closely contested election, es-
pecially when the democracy desire to carry the state of Pennsyl-
vania, where, to say the least, the administration has both prestige
and power.
" I found also that Judge Douglas was in opposition to almost the
entire democratic majority of the senate of the United States. ISTo
matter who is right or who is wrong, this is not a pleasant position
for the candidate of the democratic party. I found him opposed by a
very large majority of the democratic members of the house of repre-
sentatives. It is doubtless all wrong that this should be so, yet so
it is. I have heard that the c sweetest wine makes the sourest vine-
gar,' but I never heard of vinegar sour enough to make sweet wine.
Cold apathy and violent opposition are not the prolific parents of
votes. I found, worse than all for a democratic candidate for the
presidency, that the clerk of the republican house of representatives
was openly quoted as saying that the influential paper, controlled
by him, would either support Douglas or Seward, thus making him-
self, apparently, an unpleasant connecting link between them.
" With these facts before me, and impressing upon me the con-
viction that the nomination of Judge Douglas could not be made
with any hope of safety to the democratic party, what was I to do ?
I will tell you what I did do, and I am afraid it is not what I ought
to have done. Yielding to your preferences, I voted seven times
for Judge Douglas, although my judgment told me that my votes
were worse than useless, as they gave him an appearance of strength
in the convention which I felt he had not in the democratic party.
If this was an error it was your fault.
" I then looked round to throw my vote where, at least, it would
not mislead anybody. I saw a statesman of national fame and
reputation, who had led his regiment to victory at Buena Yista, a
democrat with whom I disagreed in some things, but with whom I
IX THE CHARLESTON CONVENTION. 55
could act in most. Loving his country first, his section next, but
just to all — so that through his endeavors in the senate of the
United States, Massachusetts obtained from the general government
her just dues, deferred for forty years, of hundreds of thousands of
dollars, a feat which none of her agents had ever been able to accom-
plish. Besides, his friends were not pressing his name before the
convention, so that he was not a partisan in the personal strife there
going on. I thought such a man deserved, at least, the poor com-
pliment of a vote from Massachusetts, and therefore I threw my vote
for Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi ; and I claim, at least, that that
vote was guided by intelligence.
" Through a series of fifty-seven ballotings, the voting did not
materially change. Afterward, almost by common consent, an
adjournment was carried, and we are to go to Baltimore, on the
18th of June next, to finish our work."
General Butler went to Baltimore. All possibility of uniting the
party was there prevented by the immovable resolve of the friends
of Mr. Douglas to force his nomination. The convention was again
divided, and General Butler went out with the delegates who had
a determination equally fixed to defeat the nomination of Mr. Doug-
las. The Douglas men nominated their chief for the presidency.
They selected, as a candidate for the second office, Herschell John-
son, of Georgia, an avowed disunionist, and an open advocate of
the slave trade, who, at a public meeting in industrial Philadelphia,
had permitted himself to say, that he thought " it was the best plan
for capital to own its labor." The retiring body nominated for the
presidency, Mr. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, and Mr. Lane, of Ore-
gon, for the vice-presidency. These candidates received from Gen-
eral Butler an energetic, an unwavering support — the only kind of
support he ever gave to anything.
Let us see how the four parties stood in the contest of that year.
The Cincinnati platform of 1856 said: Let the people in each
territory decide, when they form a constitution, whether they will
come into the L^mon as a slave state or as a free state.
But the delay in the admission of Kansas, gave intense interest
to the question, whether slavery could exist in a territory before its
admission.
This was the issue in 1860.
The republican platform said : !NTo, it can not exist. Freedom is
56 IN THE CHARLESTON CONVENTION.
the normal condition of all territory. Slavery can exist only "by local
law. There is no authority anywhere competent to legalize slavery
in a territory of the United States. The Supreme Court can not
do it. Congress can not do it. The territorial legislature can not
do it.
The Douglas platform said : We do not know whether slavery
can exist in a territory or not. There is a difference of opinion
among us upon the subject. The Supreme Court must decide, and
its decision shall be final and binding.
The Breckinridge platform said: Slavery lawfully exists in a
territory the moment a slave-owner enters it with his slaves. The
United States is bound to maintain his right to hold slaves in a ter-
ritory. But when the people of the territory frame a state consti-
tution, they are to decide whether to enter the Union as a slave or
as a free state. If as a slave state, they are to be admitted without
question. If as a free state, the slave owners must retire or emanci-
pate.
The Bell and Everett party, declining to construct a platform,
expressed no opinion upon the question at issue.
Thus, of the four parties in the field, two only had the courage to
look the state of things in the face, and to avow a positive convic-
tion, namely, the republicans and the Breckinridge men. These
two, alone, made platforms upon which an honest voter could intel-
ligently stand. The other parties shirked the issue, and meant to
shirk it. The most pitiable spectacle ever afforded in the politics
of the United States, was the stump wrigglings of Mr. Douglas du-
ring the campaign, when he taxed all his great ingenuity to seem to
say something that should win votes in one section, without
losing votes in the other. Tragical as the end was to him, all
men felt that his disappointment was just, though they would have
gladly seen him recover from the shock, take the bitter lesson to
heart, and join with his old allies in saving the country.
Before leaving Baltimore, the leaders of the Breckinridge party
came to an explicit understanding upon two important points.
First, the northern men received from Mr. Breckinridge and his
southern supporters, not merely the strongest possible declarations
of devotion to the Union and the Constitution, but a particular dis-
avowal and repudiation of the cry then heard all over the South,
that in case of the success of the republican party, the South would
IN THE CHARLESTON CONVENTION. 57
Becede. There is no doubt in the minds of the well-informed, that
Bfljjr. Breckinridge was sincere in these professions, and it is known
that he adhered to the Union, in his heart, down to the time when
war became evidently inevitable. There is reason, too, to believe
that he has since bitterly regretted having abandoned the cause of
his country.
Secondly, the Breckinridge leaders at Baltimore arranged their
programme of future operations. They were aware of the certainty
of their defeat. In all probability, the republicans would come into
power. That party (as the Breckinridge democrats supposed) be-
ing unused to govern, and inheriting immense and unexampled
difficulties, would break down, would quarrel among themselves,
would become ridiculous or offensive, and so prepare the way for
the triumphant return of the democracy to power in 1865. Mr.
Douglas, too, they thought, would destroy himself, as a political
power, by having wantonly broken up his party. The democrats,
then, would adhere to their young and popular candidate, and elect
him; if not in 1864, then in 1868.
Having concluded these arrangements, they separated, to meet in
Washington after the election, and renew the compact, or else to
change it to meet any unexpected issue of the campaign.
On his return to Lowell, General Butler found himself the most
unpopular man in Massachusetts. Not that Massachusetts approved
the course or the character of Mr. Douglas. Not that Massachu-
setts was incapable of appreciating a bold and honest man, who
stood in opposition to her cherished sentiments. It was because
she saw one of her public men acting in conjunction with the party
which seemed to her identified with that which threatened a dis-
ruption to the country if it should be fairly beaten in an election.
The platform of that party was profoundly odious to her. It ap-
peared to her, not merely erroneous, but immoral and monstrous,
and she could not but feel that the northern supporters of it were
guilty of a kind of subserviency that bordered upon baseness. She
did not understand the series of events which would have compelled
Mr. Douglas, if he had been elected, to go to unimagined lengths
in quieting the apprehensions of the South. She could not, in that
time of intense excitement, pause to consider, that if General But-
ler's course was wrong, it was, at least, disinterested and unequivocal.
He was hooted in the streets of Lowell, and a public meeting, at
58 IX THE CHARLESTON CONTENTION.
which he was to give an account of his stewardship, was broken up
by a mob.
A second meeting was called. General Butler then obtained a
hearing, and justified his course in a speech of extraordinary force '
and cogency. He characterized the Douglas ticket as " two-faced,"
designed to win both sections, by deceiving both. " Hurrah for
Johnson! he goes for intervention. Hurrah for Douglas ! he goes for
non-intervention unless the Supreme Court tells him to go the other
way. Hurrah for Johnson ! he goes against popular sovereignty.
Hurrah for Douglas ! he goes for popular sovereignty if the Su-
preme Court will let him ! Hurrah for Johnson ! he is for disun-
ion ! Hurrah for Douglas ! he is for the Union."
He met the charge brought against Mr. Breckinridge of sym-
pathy with southern disunionists. u In a speech, but a day or two
since at Frankfort, in the presence of his life-long friends and po-
litical opponents, who could have gainsayed the declaration if it
were not true, Mr. Breckinridge proudly said : — ' I am an Ameri-
can and a Kentuckian, who never did an act nor cherished a thought
that was not full of devotion to the constitution and the Union.'
Proud words, proudly spoken, and incapable of contradiction. Yet
we, who support this gallant and conservative leader, are called dis-
unionists, and charged with being untrue to democracy. By whom
is this charge made ? By Pierre Soule, an avowed disunionist, in
Louisiana ; by John Forsyth and the ' Atlanta Confederacy,' in
Georgia, which maintains the duty of the South to leave the Union
if Lincoln is elected ; and yet these same men are the foremost of
the southern supporters of Douglas ; by Gaulding, of Georgia, who
is now stumping the state for Douglas, making the same speech
that he made in the convention at Baltimore, where he argued that
non-intervention meant that congress had no power to prevent the
exportation of negroes from Africa, and that the slave trade was
the true popular sovereignty in full expansion.
"Would you believe it, fellow-citizens, this speech was ap-
plauded in the Douglas convention, and that too, by a delegate from
Massachusetts, ay, and from Middlesex county.
" When I left that convention, I declared that I would no longer
sit where the African slave trade, made piracy and felony by the
laws of my country, was openly advocated and applauded. Yet
such, at the South, are the supporters of Douglas."
MASSACHUSETTS READY. 59
General Butler was the Breckinridge candidate for the governor-
ship of Massachusetts. He had been a candidate for the same
office a few years before, and had received the full support of his
party, about 50,000 votes. On this occasion only 6,000 of his
fellow-citizens cast their votes for him ; the whole number of voters
being more than 170,000.
CHAPTER HI.
MASSACHUSETTS EEADY.
Perhaps the commonest mistake made in commenting upon
human actions, is to overrate the understanding, and underrate the
moral worth of the actor. We natter ourselves that we are very
great and very bad beings ; the humiliating truth seems to be, that
we are rather good and extremely little. Mr. Dickens has a char-
acter in one of his novels, who was fond of giving out that he was
born in a ditch, and struggled up from that lowly estate to the po-
sition of a man whose check was good for any number of thousands
of pounds ; but it came out at last, that he was born 'of " poor but
respectable parents," who had given him the rudiments of educa-
tion in the most ordinary and common-place way. The blustering
fool could not face the homely, creditable truth of his origin, and
so invented the nattering lie, that he was the castaway offspring of
a stroller. A vanity of this kind is common to the race. We do
not, as a general thing, purposely deceive ourselves, but it appears
to be universally taken for granted, that man is a tremendous crea-
ture, capable of seeing the end from the beginning, and accustomed
to form plans which contemplate and cause the actual issue. This
delusion, I suppose, is nourished, by our constantly viewing the re-
sults of human ingenuity in vast accumulation. We omit to con-
sider, that it took all the lifetime of man to build the Great Eastern,
and that a new suit of Sunday clothes is the result of the severe
cogitation and laboriously gathered knowledge of all the ingenious
tailors that ever lived, to say nothing of the inventive weavers, cur-
riers, and shoemakers.
3*
30 MASSACHUSETTS READY.
Hence, when a great thing has occurred, like this rebellion of the
slave power against the power which alone could protect it, we are
apt to imagine that it was all deliberately and deeply planned before-
hand. The final history of the war, when it comes to be written,
many years hence, will probably disclose that there was not much
actual planning. The event was of the nature of a conflagration.
There had been, indeed, for thirty years, a most diligent collection
of combustible matter. Every oratorial demagogue had wildly
tossed his bundle of painted sticks upon the heap, and such men as
Calhoun had burrowed through the mass, and inserted some solid-
looking timbers of false doctrine ; and the necessities of despotism
had built a wall around it, so that the fire-apparatus of outside civi-
lization could not be brought to bear. In such circumstances, there
is no great need of plan, when mere destruction is the object. A
few long heads, like John Siidell, with the aid of a few madmen in
Charleston, were competent to apply the requisite number of
matches, and blow upon the 'Ticipient flames. It will probably ap-
pear, that those who have since been most conspicuous in control-
ling the movement, were men who hung back from inaugurating it ;
men who would have preferred to remain in the Union, and who
were as much " carried away'' by the rush of events, as the planters
of North Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana, are known to have
been.
In December, 1860, Mr. Lincoln having been elected, and con-
gress met, General Butler went to Washington, according to the
agreement at Baltimore, in June, to confer with democratic lead-
ers upon the future course of the party. South Carolina had gone
through the form of seceding from the Union, and her three com-
missioners were at the capital, to present to the president the ordi-
nance of secession, and negotiate the terms of separation. Regard-
ing themselves in the light of ambassadors, and expecting a long
negotiation, they had taken a house, which served as the head-
quarters of the malcontents. Excitement and apprehension per-
vaded all circles. General Butler, in visiting his southern friends,
found that most of them considered secession a fact accomplished,
nothing remaining but to arrange the details. Mr. Breckinridge,
however, still steadfast to his pledges, indignant, sorrowful, was
using his influence to bring about a convention of the border states,
which should stand between the two hostile bodies, and compel
MASSACHUSETTS READY. 61
both +o make the concessions supposed to be necessary for the
preservation of the Union. By clay and night, he strove to stem
the torrent of disaffection, and briug the men of the South to reason.
He strove in vain. The movement which he endeavored to effect
was defeated by Virginians, particularly by Mason and Hunter.
Finding his plan impossible, he went about Washington, pale and
haggard, the picture of despair, and sought relief, it is said, where
despairing southern men are too apt to seek it, in the whisky
bottle.
" What does all this mean ?" asked General Butler, of an old
southern democrat, a few hours after his arrival in Washington.
" It means simply what it appears to mean. The Union is dead.
The experiment is finished. The attempt of two connnunities, hav-
ing no interest in common, abhorring one another, to make believe
that they are one nation, has ceased for ever. We shall establish a
sound, homogeneous government, with no discordant elements.
We shall have room for our northern friends. Come with us."
" Have you counted the cost ? Do you really think you can break
up this Union ? Do you think so yourself?"
"I do."
" You are prepared, then, for civil war? You mean to biing this
thing to the issue of arms ?"
" Oh, there will be no war. The North won't fight."
"The North will fight."
"The North won't fight."
"The North will fight."
" The North earit fight. We have friends enough at the North
to prevent it."
" You have friends at the North as long as you remain true to the
constitution. But let me tell you, that the moment it is seen that
you mean to break up the country, the North is a unit against you.
I can answer, at least, for Massachusetts. She is good for ten
thousand men to march, at once, against armed secession."
" Massachusetts is not such a fool. If your state should send ten
thousand men to preserve the Union against southern secession, she
will have to fight twice ten thousand of her own citizens at home
who will oppose the policy."
" No, sir ; when we come from Massachusetts we shall not leave
a single traitor behind, unless he is hanging on a tree."
62 MASSACHUSETTS EEADT.
" Well, we shall see."
" You will see. I know something of the North, and a good deal
about New England, where I was born and have lived forty-two
years. We are pretty quiet there now because we don't believe
that you mean to carry out your threats. We have heard the same
story at every election these twenty years. Our people don't yet
believe you are in earnest. But let me tell you this: As sure as you
attempt to break up this Union, the North will resist the attempt
to its last man and its last dollar. You are as certain to fail as that
there is a God in Heaven. One thing you may do : you may ruin
the southern states, and extinguish your institution of slavery.
From the moment the first gun is fired upon the American flag,
your slaves will not be worth five years' purchase. But as to break-
ing up the country, it can not be done. God and nature, and the
blood of your fathers and mine have made it one ; and one country
it must remain."
And so the war of words went on. The general visited his old
acquaintances, the South Carolina commissioners, and with them he
had similar conversations ; the substance of all being this :
Secessionists : " The North won't fight."
General Butler: "The North will fight."
Secessionists : " If the North fights, its laborers will starve and
overturn the government."
General Butler : " If the South fights, there is an end of slavery."
Secessionists : " Do you mean to say that you yourself would fight
in such a cause ?"
General Butler : " I would ; and, by the grace of God, I will."
The general sat at the table, once more, of Jefferson Davis, for
whom he had voted in the Charleston convention. Mr. Davis, at
that time, appeared still to wish for a compromise and the preserva-
tion of the Union. But he is a politician. He gave in to the sen-
timent, that he owed allegiance, first, to the state of Mississippi ;
secondly, to the United States; which is the same as saying that he
owed no allegiance to the United States at all. So, if a majority
of the legislature of Mississippi should pronounce for secession, he
was bound to abandon that which, for fifty years, he had been
proud to call his " country."
In times like those, every man of originating mind has his scheme.
If in the multitude of counselors there were safety, no country had
MASSACHUSETTS READY. 63
been safer than this country was in December, 1860, when Mr. Bu-
chanan was assailed and confounded with advice from all quarters,
near and remote, from friends and foes. General Butler, too, had
an idea. As a leading member of the party in power, he was en-
titled to be listened to, and he was listened to. Mr. Black, the
legal adviser of the government, had given it as his opinion, that
the proceedings of South Carolina were legally definable as a "riot,"
which the force of the United States could not be lawfully used in
suppressing.
General Butler said to the attorney-general : — " You say that the
government can not use its army and navy to coerce South Carolina
in South Carolina. Very well. I do not agree with you ; but let
the proposition be granted. Now, secession is either a right, or it
is treason. If it is a right, the sooner we know it the better.
If it is treason, then the presenting of the ordinance of seces-
sion is an overt act of treason. These men are coming to the
White House to present the ordinance to the president. Admit
them. Let them present the ordinance. Let the president say to
them : — * Gentlemen, you go hence in the custody of a marshal of
the United States, as prisoners of state, charged with treason
against your country.' Summon a grand jury, here in Washing-
ton. Indict the commissioners. If any of your officers are back-
ward in acting, you have the appointing power ; replace them with
men who feel as men should, at a time like this. Try the commis-
sioners before the Supreme Court, with all the imposing forms and
stately ceremonial which marked the trial of Aaron Burr. I have
some reputation at home as a criminal lawyer, and will stay here
and help the district attorney through the trial without fee or re-
ward. If they are convicted, execute the sentence. If they are
acquitted, you will have done something toward leaving a clear
path for the incoming administration. Time will have been gained ;
but the great advantage will be, that both sides will pause to watch
this high and dignified proceeding ; the passions of men will cool ;
the great points at issue will become clear to all parties ; the mind
of the country will be active while passion and prejudice are
allayed. Meanwhile, if you can not use your army and navy in
Charleston harbor, you can certainly employ them in keeping order
here.' ,
This was General Butler's contribution to the grand sum total of
04 MASSACHUSETTS READY.
advice with which the administration was favored. Mr. Black
seemed inclined to recommend the measure. Mr. Buchanan was of
opinion, that it would cause a fearful agitation, and probably in-
flame the South to the point of beginning hostilities forthwith. Be-
sides, these men claimed to be ambassadors ; and though we could
not admit the claim, still they had voluntarily placed themselves in
our power, and seemed to have a kind of right to be, at least, warn-
ed away, before we could honorably treat them as criminals or ene-
mies. In vain General Butler urg«>d that his object was simply to
get their position denned by a competent tribunal; to ascertain
whether they were, in reality, ambassadors or traitors. His scheme
was that of a bold and steadfast patriot, prepared to go all lengths
for his country. It could not but be rejected by Mr. Buchanan.
General Butler frankly told the commissioners the advice he had
given.
" Why, you would'nt hang us, would you ?" said Mr. On*.
" Ob, no," replied the General ; " not unless you were found
guilty."
Then came the electric news of Major Anderson's " change of
base" from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter; one of those trivial
events which generally occur at times like those to decide the ques-
tion of peace or war. The future historian will probably tell us,
that there was never a moment after that event when a peaceful
solution of the controversy was possible. He will probably show
that it was the skillful use of that incident, at a critical moment,
which enabled the secessionists of Georgia, frustrated till then, to
commit that great state to the support of South Carolina; and
Georgia is the empire state of the cotton South, whose defection in-
volved that of all the cotton states, as if by a law of nature.
The president of the United States had allowed himself to prom-
ise the South Carolina commissioners that no military movement
should occur in Charleston harbor during the negotiation at Wash-
ington. They promptly demanded the return of Major Anderson
to Fort Moultrie. . Floyd supported their demand, Mr. Buchanan
consented. Then the commissioners, finding the president so pliant,
demanded the total withdrawal of the troops from South Carolina,
and Floyd supported them in that modest demand also. While
the president stood hesitating upon the brink of this new infamy,
the enormous frauds in Floyd's department came to light, and his
MASSACHUSETTS READY. 65
influence was at an end. The question of withdrawal being pro-
posed to the cabinet, it was negatived, and the virtuous Floyd re-
lieved his colleagues by resigning. Mr. Holt succeeded him ; the
government stiffened ; the commissioners went home ; and General
Butler, certain now that war was impending, prepared to depart.
He had one last, long interview with the southern leaders, at
which the whole subject was gone over. For three hours he rea-
soned with them, demonstrating the folly of their course, and warn-
ing them of final and disastrous failure. The conversation was
friendly, though warm and earnest on both sides. Again he was
invited to join them, and was offered a share in their enterprise, and
a place in that " sound and homogeneous government" which they
meant to establish. He left them no room to doubt that he
took sides with his country, and that all he had, and all he was,
should be freely risked in that country's cause. Late at night they
separated to know one another no more except as mortal foes.
The next morning, General Butler went to Senator Wilson, of
Massachusetts, an old acquaintance, though long a political oppo-
nent, and told him that the southern leaders meant war, and urged
him to join in advising the governor of their state to prepare the
militia of Massachusetts for taking the field.
At that time, and for some time longer, the southern men were
divided among themselves respecting the best mode of beginning
hostilities. The bolder spirits were for seizing Washington, pre-
venting the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln, and placing Breckinridge,
if he would consent, or some other popular man if he would not, in
the presidential mansion,who should issue a proclamation to the
whole country, and endeavor to rally to his support a sufficient
number of northern democrats to distract and paralyze the loyal
states. That more prudent counsels prevailed was not from any
sense of the turpitude of such treason, but from a conviction that if
anything could rouse the North to armed resistance, it would be
the seizure of the capital. Nothing short of that, thought the se-
cessionists, would induce a money-making, pusillanimous people to
leave their shops and their counting-houses, to save their country
from being broken to pieces and brought to naught. The dream
of these traitors was to destroy their country without fighting ; and
so the scheme of a coup cVetat was discarded. But General Butler
left Washington believing that the bolder course was the one which
00 MASSACHUSETTS READY.
would be adopted. He believed this the more readily, because it
was the course which he would have advised, had he, too, been a
traitor. One thing, however, he considered absolutely certain:
there was going to be a war between Loyalty and Treason ; between
the Slave Power and the Power which had so long protected and
fostered it-
He found the North anxious, but still incredulous. He went to
Governor Andrew, and gave him a full relation of what he had
heard and seen at Washington, and advised him to get the militia
of the state in readiness to move at a day's notice. He suggested
that all the men should be quietly withdrawn from the militia force
who were either unable or unwilling to leave the state for the de-
fense of the capital, and their places supplied with men who could
and would. The governor, though he could scarcely yet believe
that war was impending, adopted the suggestion. About one-half
the men resigned their places in the militia; the vacancies were
quickly filled; and many of the companies, during the winter months,
drilled every evening in the week, except Sundays. General Butler
further advised that two thousand overcoats be made, as the men
were already provided with nearly every requisite for marching, ex-
cept those indispensable garments, which could not be extemporized.
To this suggestion there was sturdy opposition, since it involved
the expenditure of twenty thousand dollars, and that for an exigency
which Massachusetts did not believe was likely to occur. One gen-
tleman, high in office, said that General Butler made the proposal
in the interest of the moths of Boston, which alone would get any
good of the overcoats. Others insinuated that he only wanted a
good contract for the Middlesex "Woolen Mills, in which he was a
large shareholder. The worthy and patriotic governor, however,
strongly recommended the measure, and the overcoats were begun.
The last stitches in the last hundred of them were performed while
the men stood drawn up on the common waiting to strap them to
their knapsacks before getting into the cars for Washington.
Having thus assisted in preparing Massachusetts to march, Gene-
ral Butler resumed his practice at the bar, vibrating between Boston
and Lowell as of old, not without much inward chafing at the hu-
miliating spectacle which the country presented during those dreary,
shameful months. One incident cheered the gloom. One word was
uttered at Washington which spoke the heart of the country. One
MASSACHUSETTS READY. 67
man in the cabinet felt as patriots feel when the flag of thair coun-
try is threatened with dishonor. One order was given which did
not disgrace the government from which it issued. " If any one
ATTEMPTS TO HAUL DOWN THE AMERICAN FLAG SHOOT HIM ON THE
spot!" "When I read it," wrote General Butler to General Dix
long after, "my heart bounded with joy. It was the first bold
stroke in favor of the Union under the past administration." He
had the pleasure of sending to General Dix, from New Orleans,
the identical flag which was the object of the order, and the con-
federate flag which was hoisted in its place; as well as of recom-
mending for promotion the sailor, David Ritchie, who contrived to
snatch both flags from the cutter when traitors abandoned and burnt
her as Captain Farragut's fleet drew near.
The fifteenth of April arrived. Fort Sumter had fallen. The
president's proclamation calling for troops was issued. In the morn-
ing came a telegram to Governor Andrew from Senator Wilson,
asking that twenty companies of Massachusetts militia be instantly
dispatched to defend the seat of government. A few hours after,
the formal requisition arrived from the secretary of war calling for
two full regiments. At quarter before five that afternoon, General
Butler was in court at Boston trying a cause. To him came Colonel
Edward F. Jones, of the Sixth regiment, bearing an order from
Governor Andrew, directing him to muster his command forthwith
in Boston common, in readiness to proceed to Washington. This
regiment was one of General Butler's brigade, its headquarters
being Lowell, twenty-five miles distant, and the companies scattered
over forty miles of country. The general endorsed the order, and
at five Colonel Jones was on the Lowell train. There was a good
deal of swift riding done that night in the region round about
Lowell; and at eleven o'clock on the day following, there was
Colonel Jones with his regiment on Boston common. Not less
prompt were the Third and Eighth regiments, for they began to
arrive in Boston as early as nine, each company lvelcomed at the
dep&t by applauding thousands. The Sixth regiment, it was deter-
mined, should go first, and the governor deemed it best to strengthen
it with two additional companies. "It was nine o'clock, on the
evening of the 16th," reports Adjutant-General Schouler, "before
your excellency decided to attach the commands of Captains Samp-
Bon and Dike to the Sixth regiment. A messenger was dispatched
68 MASSACHUSETTS READY.
to Stoneham, with orders for Captain Dike. He reported to me at
eight o'clock the next morning, that he found Captain Dike at his
house in Stoneham, at two o'clock in the morning, and placed your
excellency's orders in his hands ; that he read them, and said : * Tell
the adjutant-general that I shall be at the state house with my full
company by eleven o'clock to-day.' True to his word, he reported
at the time, and that afternoon, attached to the Sixth, the company
left for Washington. Two days afterward, on the 19th of April,
during that gallant march through Baltimore, which is now a matter
of history, Captain Dike was shot down while leading his company
through the mob. Several of his command were killed and
wounded, and he received a wound in the leg, which will render
him a cripple for life."
The general, too, was going. During the night following the
15th of April, he had been at work with Colonel Jones getting the
Sixth together. On the morning of the 16th, he was in the cars, as
usual, going to Boston, and with him rode Mr. James G. Carney,
of Lowell, president of the Bank of Redemption, in Boston.
" The governor will want money," said the general. " Can not
the Bank of Redemption offer a temporary loan of fifty thousand
dollars to help off the troops ?"
It can, and shall, was the reply, in substance, of the president ;
and in the course of the morning, a note offering the loan was in
the governor's hands.
General Butler went not to court that morning. As yet, no
brigadier had been ordered into service, but there was one brigadier
who was on fire to serve ; one who, from the first summons, had
been resolved to go, and to stay to the end of the fight, whether he
went as private or as lieutenant-general. Farewell the learned plea,
and the big fees that swell the lawyers' bank account ! Farewell
the spirit-stirring speech, the solemn bench, and all the pomp and
circumstance of glorious law! General Butler's occupation was
about to be changed. He telegraphed to Mr. Wilson, asking him
to remind Mr. Cameron, that a brigade required a brigadier ; and
back from Washington came an order calling for a brigade of four
full regiments, to be commanded by a brigadier-general.
That point gained, the next was to induce Governor Andrew io
select the particular brigadier whom General Butler had in his
mind when he dispatched the telegram to Mr. Wilson. There
MASSACHUSETTS READY. 69
were two whose commissions were of older date than his own ;
General Adams and General Pierce ; the former sick, the latter de-
siring the appointment. General Pierce had the advantage of being
a political ally of the governor. On the other hand, General But-
ler had suggested the measures which enabled the troops to take
the field, had got the loan of fifty thousand dollars, had procured
the order for a brigadier. He was, moreover, Benjamin F. Butler,
a gentleman not unknown in Boston, though long veiled from the
general view by a set of obstinately held unpopular political opir-
ions. These considerations, aided, perhaps, by a little wire-pulling,
prevailed; and in the morning of the 17th, at ten o'clock, he re-
ceived the order to take command of the troops.
All that day he worked as few men can work. There were a
thousand things to do ; but there were a thousand willing hearts
and hands to help. The Sixth regiment was off in the afternoon,
addressed before it moved by Governor Andrew and General But-
ler. Two regiments were embarked on board a steamer for Fort-
ress Monroe, then defended by two companies of regular artillery —
a tempting prize for the rebels. Late at night, the General went
home to bid farewell to his family, and prepare for his final de-
parture. The next morning, back again to Boston, accompanied
by his brother, Colonel Andrew Jackson Butler, who chanced to
be on a visit to his ancient home, after eleven years' residence in
California; where, with Broderick and Hooker, he had already
done battle against the slave power, the lamented Broderick having
died in his arms. He served now as a volunteer aid to the General,
and rendered good service on the eventful march. At Boston,
General Butler stopped at his accustomed barber-shop. While he
was under the artist's hands, a soldier of the departed Sixth regi-
ment came in sorrowful, begging to be excused from duty ; saying
that he had left his wife and three children crying.
" I am not the man for you to come to, sir," said the General,
" for I have just done the same," and straightway sent for a police-
man to arrest him as a deserter.
A hurried visit to the steamer bound for Fortress Monroe. All
was in readiness there. Then to the Eighth regiment, in the Com-
mon, which he was to conduct to Washington, by way of Balti-
more ; no intimation of the impending catastrophe to the Sixth
having yet been received. The Eighth marched to the cars, and
70 MASSACHUSETTS EEADY.
rolled away from the depot, followed by the benedictions of assem-
bled Boston ; saluted at every station on the way by excited mul-
titudes. At Springfield, where there was a brief delay to procure
from the armory the means of repairing muskets, the regiment was
joined by a valuable company, under Captain Henry S. Briggs.
Thence, to New York. The Broadway march of the regiment ; their
breakfast at the Metropolitan and Astor ; their push through the
crowd to Jersey City ; the tumultuous welcome in New Jersey ;
the continuous roar of cheers across the state ; the arrival at Phila-
delphia in the afternoon of the memorable nineteenth of April, who
can have forgotten ?
Fearful news met the general and the regiment at the depot.
The Sixth regiment, in its march through Baltimore that afternoon,
had been attacked by the mob, and there had been a conflict, in
which men on both sides had fallen ! So much was fact ; but, as
inevitably happens at such a time, the news came with appalling
exaggerations, which could not be corrected ; for soon the tele-
graph ceased working, the last report being that the bridges at the
Maryland end of the railroad were burning, and that Washington,
threatened with a hostile army, was isolated and defenseless.
Never, since the days when " General Benjamin Franklin" led a
little army of Philadelphians against the Indians after Braddock's
defeat, the Indians ravaging and scalping within sixty miles of the
city, and expected soon to appear on the banks of the Schuylkill, had
Philadelphia been so deeply moved with mingled anger and apprehen-
sion. The first blood shed in a war sends a thrill of rage and horroi
through all hearts, and this blood shed in Baltimore streets, was
that of the countrymen, the neighbors, the relatives of these newly
arrived troops. A thousand wild rumors filled the air, and nothing
was too terrible to be believed. He was the great man of the
group, who had the most incredible story to tell ; and each listener
went his way to relate the tale with additions derived from his own
frenzied imagination.
General Butler's orders directed him to march to Washington by
way of Baltimore. That having become impossible, the day being
far spent, his men fatigued, and the New York Seventh coming, he
marched his regiment to the vacant Girard House for a night's rest,
where hospitable, generous Philadelphia gave them bountiful en-
tertainment, The regiment slept the sleep that tired soldiers know.
MASSACHUSETTS EEADY. 71
For General Butler there was neither sleep nor rest that night,
nor for his fraternal aid-de-camp. There was telegraphing to the
governor of Massachusetts ; there were consultations with Commo-
dore Dupont, commandant of the Navy Yard; there were inter-
views with Mr. Felton, president of the Philadelphia and Baltimore
railroad, a son of Massachusetts, full of patriotic zeal, and prompt
with needful advice and help ; there was poring over maps and
gazetteers. Meanwhile, Colonel A. J. Butler was out in the streets,
buying pickaxes, shovels, tinware, provisions, and all that was
necessary to enable the troops to take the field, to subsist on army
rations, to repair bridges and railroads, and to throw up breast-
works. All Maryland was supposed to be in arms ; but the gen-
eral was going through Maryland.
Before the evening was far advanced, he had determined upon a
plan of operations, and summoned his officers to make them ac-
quainted with it — not to shun responsibility by asking their opin-
ion, nor to waste precious time in discussion. They found upon
his table thirteen revolvers. He explained his design, pointed out
its probable and its possible dangers, and said that, as some might
censure it as rash and reckless, he was resolved to take the sole
responsibility himself. Taking up one of the revolvers, he invited
every officer who was willing to accompany him to signify it by
accepting a pistol. The pistols were all instantly appropriated.
The officers departed, and the general then, in great haste, and
amid ceaseless interruptions, sketched a memorandum of his plan,
to be sent to the governor of Massachusetts after his departure,
that his friends might know, if he should be swallowed up in the
maelstrom of secession, what he had intended to do. Many sen-
tences of this paper betray the circumstances in which they were
written.
"My proposition is to join with Colonel Lefierts of the Seventh
regiment of New York. I propose to take the fifteen hundred
troops to Annapolis, arriving there to-morrow about four o'clock,
and occupy the capital of Maryland, and thus call the state to ac-
count for the death of Massachusetts men, my friends and neigh-
bors. If Colonel Lefferts thinks it more in accordance with the
tenor of his instructions to wait rather than go through Baltimore, I
still propose to march with this regiment. I propose to occupy the
town, and hold it open as a means of communication. I have then
72 MASSACHUSETTS KEADY.
but to advance by a forced march of thirty miles to reach the capi-
tal, in accordance with the orders I at first received, but which sub-
sequent events in my judgment vary in their execution, believing
from the telegraphs that there will be others in great numbers to
aid me. Being accompanied by officers of more experience, who
will be able to direct the affair, I think it will be accomplished.
We have no light batteries ; I have therefore telegraphed to Gover-
nor Andrew to have the Boston Light Battery put on shipboard at
once, to-night, to help me in marching on Washington. In pursu-
ance of this plan, I have detailed Captains Devereux and Briggs,
with their commands, to hold the boat at Havre de Grace.
" Eleven, a. m. Colonel Lefferts has refused to march with me.
I go alone at three o'clock, p. m., to execute this imperfectly writ-*
ten plan. If I succeed, success will justify me. If I fail, purity of
intention will excuse want of judgment or rashness."
The plan was a little changed in the morning, when the rumor
prevailed that the ferry-boat at Havre de Grace had been seized
and barricaded by a large force of rebels. The two companies were
not sent forward. It was determined that the regiment should go
in a body, seize the boat and use it for transporting the troops
to Annapolis.
" I may have to sink or burn your boat," said the general to Mr.
Felton.
" Do so," replied the president, and immediately wrote an order
authorizing its destruction, if necessary.
It had been the design of General Butler, as we have seen, to
leave Philadelphia in the morning train ; but he delayed his depart-
ure in the hope that Colonel Lefferts might be induced to share in
the expedition. The Seventh had arrived at sunrise, and General
Butler made known his plan to Colonel Lefferts, and invited his
co-operation. That officer, suddenly intrusted with the lives (but
the honor also) of nearly a thousand of the flower of the young-
men of New York, was overburdened with a sense of responsi-
bility, and felt it to be his duty to consult his officers. The con-
sultation was long, and, I believe, not harmonious, and the result
was, that the Seventh embarked in the afternoon in a steamboat
at Philadelphia, with the design of going to Washington by the
Potomac river, leaving to the men of Massachusetts the honor and
the danger of opening a path through Maryland. It is impossible
MASSACHUSETTS BEADY. 73
for a New Yorker, looking at it in the light of subsequent events, not
to regret, and keenly regret, the refusal of officers of the favorite
New York regiment to join General Butler in his bold and wise
movement. But they had not the light of subsequent events to
aid them in their deliberations, and they, doubtless, thought that
their first duty was to hasten to the protection of Washington, and
avoid the risk of detention by the way. It happened on this occa-
sion, as in so many others, that the bold course was also the pru-
dent and successful one. The Seventh was obliged, after all, to
take General Butler's road to Washington.
At eleven in the morning of the twentieth of April, the Eighth
Massachusetts regiment moved slowly away from the depot in Broad
street toward Havre de Grace, where the Susquehannah river emp-
ties into the Chesapeake Bay — forty miles from Philadelphia,
sixty-four from Annapolis. General Butler went through each car
explaining the plan of attack, and giving the requisite orders. His
design was to halt the train one mile from Havre de Grace,
advance his two best drilled companies as skirmishers, follow
quickly with the regiment, rush upon the barricades and carry
them at the point of the bayonet, pour headlong into the ferry-
boat, drive out the rebels, get up steam and start for Annapolis.
Having assigned to each company its place in the line, and giv-
en all due explanation to each captain, the general took a seat and
instantly fell asleep.
And now, the bustle being over, upon all those worthy men fell
that seriousness, that solemnity, which comes to those who value
their lives, and whose lives are valuable to others far away, but who
are about, for the first time, to incur mortal peril for a cause which
they feel to be greater and dearer than life. Goethe tells us that
valor can neither be learned nor forgotten. I do not believe it.
Certainly, the first peril does, in some degree, appall the firmest
heart, especially when that peril is quietly approached on the easy
seat of a railway car during a two hours' ride. Scarcely a word
was spoken. Many of the men sat erect, grasping their muskets
firmly, and looking anxiously out of the windows.
One man blenched, and one only. The general was startled from
his sleep by the cry of, " Man overboard !" The train was stopped.
A soldier was seen running across the fields as though pursued by a
mad dog. Mad Panic had seized him, and he had jumped from a
74 MASSACHUSETTS BEADY.
car, incurring ten times the danger from which he strove to escape.
The general started a group of country people in pursuit, offering
them the lawful thirty dollars if they brought the deserter to Havre
de Grace in time. The train moved again ; the incident broke the
sp-41, and the cars were filled with laughter. The man was brought
in. His sergeant's stripe. was torn from his arm, and he was glad
to compound his punishment by serving the regiment in the capacity
of a menial.
At the appointed place, the train was stopped, the regiment
was formed, and marched toward the ferry-boat, skirmishers in
advance. It mustered thirteen officers and seven hundred and
eleven men.*
* EIGHTH EEGIMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS INFANTRY.
FIELD AND STAFF.
Colonel Timothy Munroe, Lynn.
Aftei'wards , Edward W. Hinks, Lynn.
Lieutenant- Colonel Andrew Elwell, Gloucester.
Major Ben. Perley Poore, Newburyport.
Adjutant George Creasey, Newburyport.
Quartermaster E. Alfred Ingalls, Lynn.
Paymaster ..Roland G. Usher, Lynn.
Surgeon Bowman B. Breed, Lynn.
Assistant-Surgeon Warren Tapley, Lynn.
Chaplain Gilbert Haven, Maiden.
Sergeant-Major John Goodwin, jr., Marblehead.
Quartermaster-Sergeant. ..Horace E. Monroe, Lynn.
Drum-Major Samuel Eoads, Marblehead.
Total, Field and Staff 18
COMPANIES AND COMMANDERS.
A,— Newburyport Captain Albert W. Bartlett, Newburyport 80
B,— Marblehead Captain Richard Philips, Marblehead 58
C<— Marblehead Captain Knott V. Martin, Marblehead 63
J),— Lynn Captain George T. Newhall, Lynn 69
E, — Beverly — , Captain Francis E. Porter, Beverly 72
F, — Lynn Captain James Hudson, jr., Lynn 89
Tegroes gave furtive signs of good will, and produced baskets of
cakes for sale. Madame Humor was extremely diligent; there
were bodies of cavalry here, and batteries of artillery there, and
gangs of Plug-TTglies coming from terrible Baltimore. The soldiers
worked away, unmolested by anything more formidable than vague
threats of comma; vengeance.
General Butler received and wrote divers brief epistles in the
ANNAPOLIS. 89
course of the day. Early in the morning he took the liberty of in-
quiring of the master of transportation, whether the rails of the
road had been taken up " for the purpose of hindering the transpor-
tation of the United States militia under my charge to Washington.
An immediate and explicit answer is desired." An immediate and
explicit answer was returned, that the rails had been removed for
the purpose mentioned ; a mob having threatened to destroy the
road if any troops of the United States should pass over it to Wash-
ington. The master of transportation desired to know by what
authority General Butler had taken possession of the property of
the railroad company. The general replied :
" I will answer your inquiry with the same explicitness that you
did mine. My authority is the order of the government. My jus-
tification, the necessity for transportation. Your reparation, the
pledge of the faith of the government."
He also informed the gentleman that a list of the property seized,
and a receipt therefor, had been given to the person found in charge.
A startling rumor prevailed in the morning that the negroes in
the vicinity of Annapolis were about to rise against their masters,
and do something in the St. Domingo style — as per general expec-
tation. The commanding general thought it proper to address to
Governor Hicks the letter which became rather famous in those days :
" I did myself the honor, in my communication of yesterday,
wherein I asked permission to land on the soil of Maryland, to
inform you that the portion of the militia under my command were
armed only against the disturbers of the peace of the state of Mary-
land and of the United States.
" I have understood within the last hour that some apprehension
is entertained of an insurrection of the negro population of this
neighborhood. I am anxious to convince all classes of persons that
the forces under my command are not here in any way to interfere,
or countenance an interference, with the laws of the state. I, there-
fore, am ready to co-operate with your excellency in suppressing most
promptly and efficiently any insurrection against the laws of the state
of Maryland. I beg, therefore, that you announce publicly, that any
portion of the forces under my command is at your excellency's
disposal, to act immediately for the preservation of the peace of this
community."
The governor gave immediate pub icity to this letter, and it is
90 ANNAPOLIS.
said to have had a remarkable effect in quieting the apprehensions
of the people. Many who had fled from their homes returned to
them, and gave aid and comfort to the troops. The governor,
however, was still in a protesting humor. His next communi-
cation to the general was the following :
" Having, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the constitu-
tion of Maryland, summoned the legislature of the state to assemble
on Friday, the 26th instant, and Annapolis being the place in Avhich,
according to law, it must assemble ; and having been credibly in-
formed that you have taken military possession of the Annapolis
and Elk Ridge railroad, I deem it my duty to protest against this
step ; because, without at present assigning any other reason, I am
informed that such occupation of said road will prevent the mem-
bers of the legislature from reaching this city."
To which General Butler replied :
" You are correctly informed that I have taken possession of the
Annapolis and Elk Ridge railroad. It might have escaped your
notice, but at the official meeting which was had, between your
excellency and the mayor of Annapolis and the committee of the
government and myself, as to the landing of my troops, it was ex-
pressly stated, as the reason why I should not land, that my troops
could not pass the railroad, because the company had taken up the
rails, and they were private property. It is difficult to see how it
can be, that if my troops could not pass over the railroad one way,
the members of the legislature could pass the other way. I have
taken possession for the purpose of preventing the execution of the
threats of the mob, as officially represented to me by the master of
transportation of the railroad in this city, ' that if my troops passed
over the railroad, the railroad should be destroyed.'
" If the government of the state had taken possession of the road
in any emergency, I should have long hesitated before entering upon
it ; but as I had the honor to inform your excellency in regard to
another insurrection against the laws of Maryland, I am here armed
to maintain those laws, if your excellency desires, and the peace of
the United States against all disorderly persons whatsoever. I am
endeavoring to save and not to destroy ; to obtain means of trans-
portation, so that I can vacate the capital prior to the sitting of the
legislature, and not be under the painful necessity of incumbering
your beautiful city while the legislature is in session."
ANNAPOLIS. 9 1
All was in readiness for the start before the men slept that night.
The engine had been tried, and found sufficient. A few platform
cars had been discovered. The general in command, issued the
order for the march, in which he endeavored to provide for all
probable events:
" The detachment of the Eighth, under command of Lieutenant-
Colonel Hinks, which has already pushed forward and occupied the
railroad three and one-half miles, will remain at its advance until
joined by two companies of the New York Seventh, which will
take the train now in our possession, and push forward as far as the
track is left uninjured by the mob. These companies will then leave
the cars, and, throwing out proper skirmishers, carefully scour the
country along the line of the road, while the working party of the
Eighth is repairing the track ; taking care, however, not to advance
so fast as not to be in reach of the main body, in case of an attack.
The train of cars will return, and take up the advanced detachment
of the Eighth now holding possession of the deput. These will
again go forward as far as can be done with safety, on account of
the state of the track, when they will leave the train, assist the
party repairing it, and push forward as rapidly as possible, taking
care that the track is put in order for the passage of the train. In
the mean time, the train will return to the depot, and taking on
board such a portion of the baggage as may be proper, will again
go forward. The remaining portions of the Massachusetts and New
York regiments will put themselves on the march, and consolidate
the two regiments as rapidly as possible." Minute directions fol-
low respecting the supply of provisions, the halt of two hours in
the middle of the day, the sacredness of private property, and the
measures to be used, if the troops were attacked.
Early the next morning, the troops were in motion. It was a
bright, warm spring day, the sun gleaming along the line of bayo-
nets, the groves vocal with birds, the air fragrant with blossoms.
The engine driven by Charles Homans, — a soldier with fixed bayonet
on each side of him, — came and went panting through the line of
marching troops. As the sun climbed toward the zenith, the
morning breeze died away, and the air in the deeper cuttings be-
came suffocatingly warm. The working parties, more used to such
a temperature, plied the sledge and the crowbar unflaggingly, but
the daintier New Yorkers reeled under their heavy knapsacks,
92 ANNAPOLIS.
and were glad, at length, to leave them to the charge of Homans.
With all their toil, the regiments could only advance at the rate of
a mile an hour, for the farther they went, the more complete was
the destruction of the road. Bridges had to be repaired, as well as
rails replaced. A shower in the afternoon gave all parties a wel-
come drenching, and left the atmosphere cool and bracing; but
when night closed in, and the moon rose, they were still many miles
from the junction.
" O Gottschalk !" exclaims Winthrop, " what a poetic night
march we then began to play, with our heels and toes on the rail-
road track !"
" It was full-moonlight and the night inexpressibly sweet and
serene. The air was cool, and vivified by the gust and shower of
the afternoon. Fresh spring was in every breath. Our fellows had
forgotten that this morning they were hot and disgusted. Every
one hugged his rifle as if it were the arm of the Girl of his Heart,
and stepped out gayly for the promenade. Tired or foot-sore men,
or even lazy ones, could mount upon the two freight-cars we were
using for artillery-wagons. There were stout arms enough to tow
the whole.
" It was an original kind of march. I suppose a battery of howit-
zers never before found itself mounted upon cars, ready to open fire
at once, and bang away into the offing with shrapnel or into the
bushes with canister. Our line extended a half-mile along the track.
It was beautiful to stand on the bank above a cutting and watch
the files strike from the shadow of a wood into a broad flame of
moonlight, every rifle sparkling up alert as it came forward. A
beautiful sight to see the barrels writing themselves upon the dim-
ness, each a silver flash.
" By-and-by, t Halt !' came, repeated along from the front, com-
pany after company. ' Halt ! a rail gone.'
" From this time on we were constantly interrupted. Not a half-
mile passed without a rail up. Bonnell was always at the front lay-
ing track, and I am proud to say that he accepted me as aid-de-
camp. Other fellows, unknown to me in the dark, gave iiearty
help. The Seventh showed that it could do something else than
drill.
" At one spot, on a high embankment over standing water, the
rail was gone, sunk probably. Here we tried our rails, brought
ANNAPOLIS. 93
from the turn-out. They were too short. We supplemented with
a length of plank from our stores. We rolled our cars carefully-
over. They passed safe. But Homans shook his head. He could
not venture a locomotive on that frail stuff. So we lost the society
of the * J. H. Nicholson/ Next day the Massachusetts commander
called for some one to dive in the pool for the lost rail. Plump into
the water went a little wiry chap and grappled the rail. 5 When I
come up,' says the brave fellow afterward to me, * our officer out
with a twenty-dollar gold piece and wanted me to take it. ' That
a'n't what I come for,' says I. * Take it,' says he, * and share with
the others.' ' That a'n't what they come for,' says I. But I took
a big cold,' the diver continued, ' and I'm condemned hoarse yit,' —
which was the fact.
" Farther on we found a whole length of track torn Up, on both
sides, sleepers and all, and the same thing repeated with alternations
of breaks of single rails. Our howitzer-ropes came into play to
hoist and haul. We were not going to be stopped."
In the afternoon of the day following, the Seventh marched by
the White House, and saluted the President of the United States.
Not an armed foe had been seen by them on the way.
It had been General Butler's intention to accompany the troops
to Washington ; but before they had started the steamer Baltic ar-
rived, loaded with troops from New York, giving abundant em-
ployment to the general and his extemporized staff. Before they
had been disposed of, other vessels arrived, and, on the day fol-
lowing, came an order from General Scott, directing General Butler
to remain at Annapolis, hold the town and the road, and superin-
tend the passage of the troops. Before the week ended, the " de-
partment of Annapolis," embracing the country lying twenty miles
on each side of the railroad, was created, and Brigadier-General
Butler placed in command; with ample powers, extending even to
the suspension of habeas corpus, and the bombardment of Annapo-
lis, if such extreme measures should be necessary for the mainte-
nance of the supremacy of the United States.
During the next ten days, General Butler's unequaled talent for
the dispatch of business, and his unequaled powers of endurance,
were taxed to the uttermost. Troops arrived, thousands in a day.
The harbor was filled with transports. Every traveler from North
or South was personally examined, and his passport indorsed by
94 ANNAPOLIS.
the general in command. Spies were arrested. The legislature of
Maryland was closely watched, and no secret was made of General
Butler's intention to arrest the entire majority if an ordinance of;
secession was passed. It was not known to that body, I presume,
that one of their officers had consigned to General Butler's custody
the Great Seal of the Common wealth, without which no act of theirs
could acquire the validity of law. Such was the fact, however.
In the total inexperience of commanding officers, every detail of the
disembarkation, of the encampments, of the supply, and of the march,
required the supervision of the general. From daylight until mid-
night he labored, keeping chaos at bay. One night as the clock was
striking twelve, when the general, after herculean toils, had- cleared
his office of the last bewildered applicant for advice or orders, and
he was about to trudge wearily to bed, an anxious-looking corre-
spondent of a newspaper came in.
" General," said he, " where am I to sleep to-night ?"
This was, really, too much.
" Sir," said the tired commander of the Department of Annapolis,
" I have done to-day about everything that a man ever did in this
world. But I am not going to turn chambermaid, by Jove !"
And, so saying, he escaped from the room.
We need not linger at Annapolis. General Butler's services
there were duly appreciated by the president, the lieutenant-gen-
eral, Governor Andrew, and the country. One act alone of his
elicited any sign of disapproval ; it was his offer of the troops of
Massachusetts to the governor of Maryland, to aid in suppressing
an insurrection of the slaves. It is proper that we should place on
convenient record here his reasons for that step, with the letter of
Governor Andrew, which called them forth.
goveenob andbew to geneeal butlee.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
Executive Depaetment,
Council Chambee, Boston, April 25, 1861.
Geneeal : I have received, through Mayor Ames, a dispatch transmitted
from Perry ville, detailing the proceedings at Annapolis from the time of
your arrival off that port until the hour when Major Ames left you to re-
turn to Philadelphia. I wish to repeat the assurance of my entire satisfac-
tion with the action you have taken, with a single exception. If I rightly
ANNAPOLIS. 95
understood the telegraphic dispatch, I think that your action in tendering
to Governor Hicks the assistance of our Massachusetts troops to suppress a
threatened servile insurrection among the hostile people of Maryland was
unnecessary. I hope that the fuller dispatches, which are on their way
from you, may show reasons why I should modify my opinion concerning
that particular instance ; but, in general, I think that the matter of servile
insurrection among a community in arms against the Federal Union, is no
longer to be regarded by our troops in a political, but solely in a military
point of view, and is to be contemplated as one of the inherent weaknesses
of the enemy, from the disastrous operations of which we are under no
obligation of a military character to guard them, in order that they may be
enabled to improve the security which our arms would afford, so as to
prosecute with more energy their traitorous attacks upon the Federal gov-
ernment and capital. The mode in which such outbreaks are to be con-
sidered, should depend entirely upon the loyalty or disloyalty of the com-
munity in which they occur, and in the vicinity of Annapolis, I can, on
this occasion, perceive no reason of military policy, why a force summoned
to the defense of the Federal government, at this moment of all others,
should be offered to be diverted from its immediate duty, to help rebels,
who stand with arms in their hands, obstructing its progress toward the
city of "Washington. I entertain no doubt that whenever we shall have an
opportunity to interchange our views personally on this subject, we shall
arrive at entire concordance of opinion. Yours faithfully,
John A. Andrew.
general butler to goveenoe andeew.
Depaetment of Annapolis,
Head-quaeters, Annapolis, May 9, 1861.
To His Excellency John A. Andeew, Governor and Commander-in-Chief:
Sie : — I have delayed replying to your excellency's dispatch of the 25th
April, in my other dispatches, because as it involved only disapprobation
of an act done, couched in the kindest language, I supposed the interest of
the country could not suffer in the delay ; and incessant labor up to the
present moment, has prevented me giving full consideration to the topic.
Temporary illness, which forbids bodily activity, gives me now a moment's
pause.
The telegraph, with more than usual accuracy, had rightly informed your
excellency that I had offered the services of the Massachusetts troops under
my command to aid the authorities of Maryland in suppressing a threatened
slave insurrection. Fortunately for us, all the rumor of such an outbreak
was without substantial foundation. Assuming, as your excellency does,
in your dispatch, that T was carrying on military operations in an enemy's
96 ANNAPOLIS.
country, when a war a Voutrance was to be waged, my act might bo a mat-
ter of discussion. And in that view, acting in the light of the Baltimore
murders, and the apparent hostile position of Maryland, your excellency
might, without mature reflection, have come to the conclusion of disappro-
bation expressed in your dispatch. But the facts, especially as now aided
by their results, will entirely justify my act, and reinstate me in your excel-
lency's good opinion.
True, I landed on the soil of Maryland against the formal protest of its
governor and of the corporate authorities of Annapolis, but without any
armed opposition on their part, and expecting opposition only from insur-
gents assembled in riotous contempt of the laws of the state. Before, by
letter, and at the time of landing, by personal interview, I had informed
Governor Hicks that soldiers of the Union, under my command, were
armed only against the insurgents and disturbers of the peace of Maryland
and of the United States. I received from Governor Hicks assurances of
the loyalty of the state to the Union — assurances which subsequent events
have fully justified. The mayor of Annapolis also informed me that the
city authorities would in no wise oppose me, but that I was in great dan-
ger from the excited and riotoas mobs of Baltimore pouring down upon
me, and in numbers beyond the control of the police. I assured both the
governor and the mayor that I had no fear of a Baltimore or other mob,
and that, supported by the authorities of the state and city, I should
repress all hostile demonstrations against the laws of Maryland and the
United States, and that I would protect both myself and the city of Annap-
olis from any disorderly persons whatsoever. On the morning following
my landing I was informed that the city of Annapolis and environs were
in danger from an insurrection of the slave population, in defiance of the
laws of the state. What was I to do ? I had promised to put down a
white mob and to preserve and enforce the laws against that. Ought I to
allow a black one any preference in a breach of the laws ? I understood
that I was armed against all infractions of the laws, whether by white or
black, and upon that understanding I acted, certainly with promptness and
efficiency. And your excellency's shadow of .olisapprobation, arising from
a misunderstanding of the facts, has caused all the regret I have for that
action. The question seemed to me to be neither military nor political, and
was not to be so treated. It was simply a question of good faith and hon-
esty of purpose. The benign effect of my course was instantly seen. The
good but timid people of Annapolis who had fled from their houses at our
approach, immediately returned ; business resumed its accustomed chan-
nels ; quiet and order prevailed in the city ; confidence took the place of
distrust, friendship of enmity, brotherly kindness of sectional hate, and I
believe to-day there is no city in the Union more loyal than the city of
Annapolis. I think, therefore, I may safely point to the results for my
AJtfNAFOLIS. 97
justification. The vote of the neighboring county of "Washington, a few
days since, for its delegate to the legislature, wherein 4,000 out of 5,000
votes were thrown for a delegate favorable to the Union, is among the
many happy fruits of firmness of purpose, efficiency of action, and integrity
of mission. I believe, indeed, that it will not require a personal inter-
change of views, as suggested in your dispatch, to bring our minds in
accordance ; a simple statement of the facts will suffice.
But I am to act hereafter, it may be, in an enemy's country, among a
servile population, when the question may arise, as it has not yet arisen, as
well in a moral and Christian, as in a political and military point of view,
What shall I do ? Will your excellency bear with me a moment while this
question is discussed ?
I appreciate fully your excellency's suggestion as to the inherent weak-
ness of the rebels, arising from the preponderance of their servile popula-
tion. The question, then, is, In what manner shall we take advantage of
that weakness ? By allowing, and, of course, arming, that population to
rise upon the defenseless women and children of the country, carrying
rapine, arson and murder — all the horrors of San Domingo, a million times
magnified — among those whom we hope to reunite with us as brethren,
many of whom are already so, and all who are worth preserving, will be,
when this horrible madness shall have passed away or be threshed out of
them ? Would your excellency advise the troops under my command to
make war in person upon the defenseless women and children of any part
of the Union, accompanied with brutalities too horrible to be named ? You
will say, "God forbid!" If we may not do so in person, shall we arm
others so to do, over whom we can have no restraint, exercise no control,
and who, when once they have tasted blood, may turn the very arms wo
put in their hands against ourselves, as a part of the oppressing white race ?
The reading of history so familiar to your excellency, will tell you the
bitterest cause of complaint which our fathers had against Great Britain in
the war of the Kevolution, was the arming by the British ministry of the
red man with the tomahawk and the scalping-knife against the women and
children of the colonies, so that the phrase, " May we not use all the means
which God and nature have pnt in our power to subjugate the colonies?"
has passed into a legend^ef infamy against the leader of that ministry who
used it in parliament. Shall history teach us in vain ? Could we justify
ourselves to ourselves, although with arms in our hands, amid the savage
wildness of camp and field, we may have blunted many of the finer moral
sensibilities, in letting loose four millions of worse than savages upon the
homes and hearths of the South? Can we be justified to the Christiau
commuuity of Massachusetts? Would such a course be consonant with the
teachings of our holy religion ? I have a very decided opinion upon the
subject, and if any one desires, as I know your excellency does not, this
08
ANNAPOLIS.
unhappy contest to be prosecuted in that manner, some instrument other
than myself must be found to carry it on. I may not discuss the political
bearings of this topic. "When I went from uuder the shadow of my roof-
tree, I left all politics behind me, to be resumed only when every part of
the Union is loyal to the flag, and the potency of the government through
the ballot-box is established.
Passing the moral and Christian view, let us examine the subject as a
military question. Is not that state already subjugated which requires the
bayonets of those armed in opposition to its rulers, to preserve it from the
horrors of a servile war? As the least experienced of military men, I
would have no doubt of the entire subjugation of a state brought to that
condition. When, therefore — unless I am better advised — any community
in the United States, who have met me in honorable warfare, or even in
the prosecution of a rebellious war in an honorable manner, shall call upon
me for protection against the nameless horrors of a servile insurrection,
they shall have it, and from the moment that call is obeyed, I have no
doubt we shall be friends and not enemies.
The possibility that dishonorable means of defense are to be taken by
the rebels against the government, 1 do not now contemplate. If, as has
been done in a single instance, my men are to be attacked by poison, or as
in another, stricken down by the assassin's knife, and thus murdered, the
community using such weapons may be required to be taught that it holds
within its own border a more potent means for deadly purposes and indis-
criminate slaughter than any which it can administer to us.
Trusting that these views may meet your excellency's approval, I have
the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Benj. F. Butlee.
We all remember how universal the expectation was, at the be-
ginning of the war, that the negroes would everywhere embrace
the opportunity to rise upon their masters, and commit frightful
outrages. That expectation grew out of our general ignorance of
the character and feelings of the southern negro ; and none of us
were so ignorant upon these points as hunker democrats. If they
had some acquaintance with slaveholders, they knew nothing about
slavery, because they would know nothing. It is a propensity of
the human mind, to put away from itself unwelcome truths.
American democrats, I repeat, know nothing of American slavery.
It was pleasant and convenient for them to think, that Mr. Wen-
dell Phillips, Mr. Garrison, Mrs. Stowe, and Mr. Sumner, were per-
sons of a fanatical cast of character, whose calm and very moderate
ANNAPOLIS* 99
exhibitions of slavery were totally beneath consideration— dis-
torted, exaggerated, incredible. It was with the most sincere
astonishment, that General Butler and his hunker staff discovered,
when they stood face to face with slavery, and were obliged to ad-
minister the law of it, and tried to do justice to the black man as
well as to the white, that the worst delineations of slavery ever pre-
sented to the public fell far short of the unimaginable truth * They
were ready to confess their ignorance of that of which they had
been hearing and reading all their lives, and that this ' patriarchal
institution,' for which some of them had pleaded or apologized, was
simply the most hellish thing that ever was in this world.
Nevertheless, there has never been the slightest danger of an in-
surrection of the slaves. The real victim of slavery is the white
man, not the black. Whatever little good there is in the system,
the black man has had ; while most of the evil has fallen to the
white man's share. Under slavery, the black man has deeply suf-
fered and slowly improved ; the white man has ignobly enjoyed
and rapidly degenerated. Three or four, or five generations of ser-
vitude have extirpated whatever of warlike and rebellious energy
the negro may have once possessed ; and, of late years, the Chris-
tian religion, in a rude and tropical form — much feeling and little
knowledge — has exerted a still more subduing influence upon them.
Some more or less correct version of the story of the Cross has be-
come familiar to them all, as well as the sentiments of the Sermon
on the Mount. To no people, of all the suffering sons of men, has
that wondrous tale come home with such power as to these sad and
docile children of Africa. Are not they, too, men of sorrow ? Are
not they, too, acquainted with grief? Have not they, too, to suffer
and be silent? — revenge impossible, forgiveness divinely com-
manded ?
Insurrection ! If a Springfield musket and a Sheffield bowie-
knife were this day placed in every negro hut in the South, and
every master gone to the war, the negroes might use those weap-
ons, but it would be to defend, not to molest, their masters' wives
* " On reading Mrs. Stowe's book, ■ Uncle Tom's Cabin,' I tbonght it to be an overdrawn, highly-
wrought picture of southern life ; but I have seen with my own eyes, and heard with ray own
ears, many things which go beyond her book, as much as her book does beyond an ordinary
school-girl's novel."— Speech of General Butter at the Fiftti Avenue, Hotel, Few York, on hi*
return from New Orleans. Januay 8, 1S63.
5
100 BALTlMOEE.
and children. There is many a negro in the southern states who
does actually stand in the same hind of moral relation to his mas-
ter as that which Jesus Christ bore to the Jews, when he said,
" Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And
not moral relation only ; for the negro often has a clear mental per-
ception of the fact stated. He sometimes stands above his master,
at a hight which the master can neither see nor believe in.
CHAPTER V.
BALTIMORE.
When war breaks out in a country after a long peace, it is nat-
ural that the people should look for guidance first to men who won
distinction in the wars of the past. The history of wars shows us
that this is generally an error, fruitful of disaster. It gave us
Washington, it is true ; but Washington was but forty-four years
of age when he left Philadelphia to take command of the armies of
the revolution; and he had passed the twenty years which had
elapsed since Braddock's defeat, not in the routine of a military
office, but in hunting the fox, and in managing a great estate, which
involved the control of some hundreds of human beings. The al-
most sovereign lord of a little principality, he spent half his days
in the saddle, and was constantly engaged in pursuits somewhat
akin to those of a commander of armies. Neither his mind nor his
blood could stagnate, roaming those extensive fields and forests,
foreseeing, calculating, providing, governing. But the rule usually
holds good, that a war develops its own hero ; the heroes of the
past not proving adequate to the new emergency.
At the beginning of this rebellion, there was an officer at the seat
of government who had been a general in the service of the United
States for forty-nine years. Two generations had been accustomed
to regard him as the ablest of American soldiers ; and for a long
series of years, he had been highest in place, as well as highest in
the confidence of the public. The reputation of a living person has
BALTIMOEE. 101
in it a principle of growth. If a man has done something which so
enters into the history of his nation, that children necessarily be-
come familiar with his name at school, he may sit still for thirty
years, and yet find his reputation growing ; until, by the death of
cotemporaries, it becomes, perhaps, unique and overshadowing.
The haze of antiquity gathers round it, veiling and yet magnifying
the basis of fact upon which it rests. And if, perchance, the an-
cient hero, emerging from the vast, dim halo of his name, presents him-
self to view, in his old age, at the head of a conquering army, thun-
dering at the gates of an enemy's capital, vague reverence is chang-
ed to conscious enthusiasm, and no one doubts that here, indeed, is
the " first captain of the age." When the war began, therefore, and
rumors of an impending attack upon the capital alarmed the coun-
try, the name of Winfield Scott appeared sufficient to allay appre-
hension. It seemed of itself a tower of strength ; it was a rallying
point for the gathering forces of the country ; it gave assurance to
millions of minds that the resources of the nation, so lavishly offer-
ed, would be employed with intelligence and success. If there was
a moment when some men feared that the mania of secession
might seize even him, the fear was quickly dispelled, when he was
seen renewing his oath of allegiance, and responding in unequivocal
language to the cheers of arriving regiments. There he was, the
center of attraction, conspicuous among the conspicuous, apparently
rolling up the whirlwind, and elaborating the storm that was sup-
posed to be about to sweep over the rebellious states resistless.
Fatal delusion !
General Scott was seventy-five years of age. An old wound
partly disabled him. A recent accident had shaken him severely.
He could not mount a horse. He could not walk a mile. The
motion of a carriage soon fatigued him. His vast form was itself a
heavy burden. He required a great deal of sleep. He moved,
thought, and acted slowly. Accustomed for fifty years to the petti-
est details of a small, widely scattered army, he was now suddenly
called upon to organize many armies, and direct their movements
against enemies in the field. A task more difficult than ever Napo-
leon or Wellington performed, was laid upon a man who, in his
best days, would have been signally unequal to it ; for he had not
been gifted by nature with that genius for command which alone
could have formed invincible armies out of masses of loosely organ-
102 BALTIMORE.
ized men, having nothing that belongs to soldiers except arms and
a willingness to use them for the restoration of their country. He
was a man of exact, formal, unpliant mind. Accustomed long to
the first place — accustomed also to that extravagant adulation which
we used to bestow upon conspicuous persons, he was less likely to
suspect his infinite insufficiency.
This was well known, however, to every thinking man familiar
with Washington. Mr. Lincoln was not familiar with Washington.
He, too, had been accustomed to survey General Scott from a great
distance, and he took for granted the correctness of the popular
estimate, which pronounced him the first captain of the age ! Mr.
Cameron, the secretary of war, was totally ignorant of the first
rudiments of the military art ; and he had, too, a painful sense of
his ignorance, which he frequently expressed. Hence, the military
resources of the country were laid, as it were, humbly at the feet
of General Scott, for him to use or misuse according to his good
pleasure.
Baltimore was the ruling topic in those days. Baltimore, still
severed from all its railroad connections with the North, and still
under control of the secession minority. One of the last reporters
who made his way through the city, two or three days after the at-
tack of the mob upon the Sixth Massachusetts, gave a striking
narrative of his adventures, which kept alive the impression that
Baltimore had gone over, as one man, to the side of the rebels, and
meant to resist to the death the passage of Union troops.
" In the streets," he wrote, " of the lower part of the city, there
were immense crowds, warm discussions, and the high pitch of ex-
citement which discussion engenders. The mob — for Baltimore
street was one vast mob — was surging to and fro, uncertain in what
way to move, and apparently without any special purpose. Many
had small secession cards pinned on their coat collars, and not a few
were armed with guns, pistols and knives, of which they made the
most display.
" I found the greatest crowd surging around the telegraph office,
waiting anxiously, of course, for news. The most inquiry was as to
the whereabouts of the New York troops — the most frequent topic,
the probable results of an attempt on the part of the Seventh regi
ment to force a passage through Baltimore. All agreed that the
force could never go through — all agreed that it would make the
BALTI3I0EE. 103
attempt if ordered to do so, and none seemed to entertain a doubt
that it would leave a winrow of the dead bodies of those who as-
sailed it in the streets through which it might attempt to pass.
" I found the police force entirely in sympathy with the seces-
sionists and indisposed to act against the mob. Marshal Kane and
the commissioners do not make any concealment of their proclivi-
ties for the Southern Confederacy. Mayor Brown, upon whom I
called, seemed to be disposed to do his duty — providing he knew
what it was, and could do it safely. He was in a high state of ex-
sitement when I mentioned my name and purpose. He manifested
a disposition to be civil, and to give me information, but was evi-
dently afraid that I was a Northern aggressor, with whom it was
indiscreet for him to be in too close communication. Seeing his
condition, I left him and went out in the crowd to gather public
opinion again."
Wild rumors were afloat. " At one time government had backed
down — then it was going ahead ; Virginia was coming — Virginia
was not coming. The New Yorkers, Pennsylvanians, the Massachu-
setts men and the Rhode Islanders, were at one time marching one
hundred abreast over the state, looking neither to the right nor the
left — at another, no ' d — d Yankee' would dare thus to pollute the
sacred soil of Maryland. One told that Fort McHenry had been
blown up, another that it was going to c shell' the city, a third that
it was only garrisoned by a handful, while a fourth was positive
that at least a force double the full war allotment was within its
walls. There was some talk that the fort would be attacked,
but the opinion that there was a full garrison, having generally
obtained, the attacking part of the programme was postponed.
Though large crowds remained in the streets until morning, no
unusual events transpired. Curiosity to see what was going on ap-
peared to be the prevailing motive with those who were tramping
about. * * *
"About eight o'clock the next morning, the streets began
again to be crowded. The bar-rooms and public resorts were
closed, so that the incentive to precipitate action might not be too
readily accessible. Nevertheless, there was much excitement, and
among the crowds this morning, there were many men from the
country, who carried shot and duck guns, and old-fashioned horse-
pistols, such as the ' Maryland' line might have carried from the
104 BALTIMORE.
first to the present war. The best weapons appeared to be in the
hands of young men — boys of eighteen, with the physique and dress
and style of deportment, cultivated by the 'Hook Boys' and
4 Dead Rabbits' of New York, as villainous looking compounds
of reckless rascality as were ever produced in any community.
"About ten o'clock, a cry was raised that 3,000 Pennsylva-
nia troops were at the Calvert street depot of the Pennsylvania
railroad, and were about to take up their line of march through the
city. With a portion of the crowd, I made my way to the depot
to find it by far the most quiet place in the city. There it was said
that the 3,000 were at Pikesville, about fifteen miles from the city,
and were going to fight their way around the city. The crowd did
not seem disposed to interfere with a movement that required a
preliminary tramp of fifteen miles through a heavy sand. But the
city authorities, however, rapidly organized and armed some three
or four companies and sent them toward Pikesville. Ten of the
Adams express wagons passed up Baltimore, loaded with armed
men. In one or two there were a number of mattresses, as if
wounded men were anticipated. A company of cavalry also started
for Pikesville, I supposed to sustain the infantry that had been ex-
pressed.
" All through the day, the accessions from the country were com-
ing in. Sometimes a squad of infantry, sometimes a troop of horse,
and once a small park of artillery. It was nothing extraordinary to
see a ' solitary horseman' riding in from the counties, with shot-
gun, powder-horn and flask. Some came with provender lashed to
the saddle, prepared to picket out for the night. Boys came witli
their fathers, accoutered apparently with the war sword and holster-
pistols that had done service a century ago. There were strange
contrasts between the stern, solemn bearing of the father, and the
buoyant, excited, enthusiastic expressions of the boy's face. I had
frequent talks with these people, and could not but be impressed
with their devotion and patriotism ; for, mistaken as they were,
they were none the less actuated by the most unselfish spirit of
loyalty. They hardly knew, any of them, for what they had so sud-
denly come to Baltimore. They had a vague idea only, that Mary-
land had been invaded, and that it was the solemn duty of her sons
to protect their soil from the encroachments of an invading force."*
* Jf. T. Daily Times, April 24th, 1861.
BALTIMORE. 105
Upon reading such letters as this, a great cry arose in the North,
for the re-opening of the path to Washington through Baltimore,
even if it should involve the destruction of the rebellious city. The
proceedings of General Butler at Annapolis, and the departure from
Baltimore of the leading spirits of the mob to join the rebel army
in Virginia, quieted the city, and gave the Union men some chance
to make their influence felt. But this change was not immediately
understood at Washington, and General Scott was meditating a
great strategic scheme for the conquest of the city.
His plan, as officially communicated on the 29th of April, to
General Butler, General Patterson, and others who were to co-
operate, were as follows : " I suppose," wrote the lieutenant-gen-
eral, " that a column from this place (Washington) of three thou-
sand men, another from York of three thousand men, a third from
Perryville, or Elkton, by land or water, or both, of three thousand
men, and a fourth from Annapolis, by water, of three thousand men,
might suffice. But it may be, and many persons think it probable^
that Baltimore, before we can get ready, will re-open the communi-
cation through that city, and beyond, each way, for troops, army
supplies, and travelers, voluntarily. When can we be ready for
the movement on Baltimore on this side ? Colonel Mansfield has
satisfied me that we want, at least, ten thousand additional troops
here to give security to the capital; and, as yet, we have less than
ten thousand, including some very indifferent militia from the dis-
trict. With that addition, we will be able, I think, to make the
detachment for Baltimore."
A day or two after the receipt of this letter, General Butler went
to Washington to confer with the general-in-chief. He conversed
with him fully upon the state of affairs. One suggestion offered on
this occasion, by General Butler, has peculiar interest in view of
subsequent events. He was of opinion, with Shakspeare, that the
place to fight the wolf is not at your own front door, but nearer its
own den. Manassas Junction he suggested, not Arlington Heights,
was the place where Washington should first be defended ; and he
offered to march thither with two thousand men, destroy the rail-
road connections with the South, and fortify the position. As there
were then no rebel troops at the Junction, this could have been
done without loss or delay. General Scott negatived the proposal.
The Committee on the Conduct of the War have since character-
106 BALTIMORE.
ized the omission to seize Manassas Junction at this time, as " the
great error of that campaign." " The position at Manassas," add
the Committee, " controlled the railroad communication in all that
section of country. The forces which were opposed to us at the
battle of Bull Run were mostly collected and brought to Manassas
during the months of June and July. The three months' men could
have made the place easily defensible against any force the enemy
could have brought against it ; and it is not at all probable that
the rebel forces would have advanced beyond the line of the Rap-
pahannock had Manassas been occupied by our troops."
General Butler strongly urged his scheme of seizing Manassas,
both in conversation and in writing, to various influential persons.
General Scott's veto was decisive.
The reduction of Baltimore was, however, the chief topic of dis-
cussion between General Butler and the commander-in-chief.
General Scott was still of opinion that some time must elapse be-
fore troops could be spared for the attempt ; but he consented to
General Butler's taking a regiment or two, and holding the Relay
House, a station nine miles from Baltimore. Before leaving on
this expedition, he asked General Scott what were the powers of a
general commanding a department. The reply was, that, except
as limited by specific orders and by military law, his powers were
absolute ; he could do whatever he thought best. Upon receiving
this information, General Butler privately consulted an officer of
engineers, who ascertained for him, by reference to authoritative
maps, that the city of Baltimore was within the Department of
Annapolis, as defined in the order creating it.
Saturday afternoon, May 4th, the Eighth New York, the Sixth
Massachusetts, and Cook's battery of artillery received the wel-
come order to be ready to march by two o'clock the next morning.
General Butler had given a solemn promise to the Sixth, his own
home regiment, which he had joined before his beard was grown,
that they should, one day, if his advice was taken, march again
through Baltimore. His selection of the regiment on this occasion
was the beginning of the fulfillment of that promise. At daylight
on Sunday morning, a train of thirty cars glided from the depot at
Washington ; from which, two hours later, the regiments issued at
the Relay House, where they seized the depot and swarmed over
the adjoining hills, reconnoitering.
BALTIMORE. 107
No enemy was discovered ; there was no formidable enemy at
that time any where near Washington, and there had not been ;
but every man they met had something terrible to tell them of
rebel dragoons hovering near. Cannons were planted on the
heights. Camps were formed, and scouting parties sent out.
Officers were detailed to go through all passing trains and seize
articles contraband of war — such as weapons, powder, and intrench-
ing tools. The general wrote to Washington to know if he might
not arrest certain prominent traitors who lived near — members of
the Carroll family and others. He concluded his first dispatch with
these words : " I find the people here exceedingly friendly, and I
have no doubt that with my present force I could march through
Baltimore. I am the more convinced of this because I learn that,
for several days, many of the armed secessionists have left for Har-
per's Ferry, or have gone forth plundering the country. I trust my
acts will meet your approbation, whatever you may think of my
suggestions."
General Butler remained a week at the Relay House. Large
numbers of friendly people from Baltimore drove out to his camp,
and, with them, some who were not friendly. He became perfectly
well informed of the condition of the city. General Scott wrote
approvingly of his acts, and authorized him to use his discretion in
arresting the disanected, and in seizing contraband articles. He
also informed him that he need not remain at the Relay House
" longer than he deemed his presence there of importance." He did
not.
Incidents occurred in camp at the Relay House, which created,
at the time, a general sensation. A man from Baltimore, lounging
about among the New York soldiers, said to some of them, that
the Baltimore mob was right in attacking the Massachusetts regi-
ment, and would give them a still warmer reception on their return.
Two oificers at once arrested the man. In general orders of the
next morning, General Butler thanked the officers for doing so,
and consigned the culprit to prison at Annapolis. In the same
order, the general alluded to other events in a characteristic
manner.
"Two incidents of the gravest character marked the progress
of yesterday. Charles Leonard, private, Company G, Eighth
regiment of New York, was accidentally killed instantaneously by
108 BALTIMORE.
the discharge of a musket from which he was drawing the charge.
He was buried with all the honors, amidst the gloom and sorrow
■of every United States soldier at this post, and the tender sym-
pathies of many of the loyal inhabitants in our neighborhood. * * *
The first offering of New York of the life of one of her sons upon
the country's altar, his blood mingling on the soil of Maryland with
that of the Massachusetts men murdered at Baltimore, will form a
new bond of union between us and all loyal states, so that without
need of further incentive to our duty, we are spurred on by the
example of the life and death of Leonard.
" The other matter to which the general desires to call the atten-
tion of the troops is this : Wishing to establish the most friendly
relations between you and this neighborhood, the general invited
all venders of supplies to visit our camp, and replenish our some-
what scanty commissariat. But, to his disgust and horror, he finds
well-authenticated evidence that a private in the Sixth regiment
has been poisoned, by means of strychnine administered in the food
brought into the camp by one of these peddlers. I am happy to be
informed that the man is now out of danger. This act will, of
course, render it necessary for me to cut off all purchases from
unauthorized persons.
" Are our few insane enemies among the loyal men of Maryland
prepared to wage war upon us in this manner ? Do they know
the terrible lesson of warfare they are teaching us ? Can it be that
they realize the fact, that we can put an agent, with a word, into
every household, armed with this terrible weapon ? In view of the
terrible consequences of this mode of warfare, if accepted by us
from their teaching, with every sentiment of devotional prayer,
may we not exclaim, ' Father, forgive them ; they know not what
they do !' Certain it is, that any such other attempt, reasonably
authenticated as to the persons committing it, will be followed by
the swiftest, surest, and most condign punishment."
Such events as this could not but confirm the impression upon
the minds of the troops, that they were posted in an enemy's coun-
try. The vigilance of some of the officers was carried to a trouble-
some extreme. One rainy night, the whole body of the troops,
seventeen hundred in number, were called to arms four times by
false alarms. On the last occasion, the general in command ad-
dressed a peculiar reproof to the officer whose inexperience had
BALTIMORE. 109
given the troops so many needless drenchings. This gentleman
being a tailor by trade, the general roared out :
" In God's name, Colonel , where are the other eight ?"
General Butler managed the case of this over-zealous, but wo-
fully ignorant officer with good-natured tact. He opened a way
for his quiet transfer to a clerkship in a custom-house, where he
served his country well.
On the 13th of May, General Butler arrived at the conclusion
that his presence at the Relay House was no longer necessary.
Early in the morning, he telegraphed to General Scott, among
other things, that Baltimore was in the department of Annapolis.
An answer came back from Colonel Schuyler Hamilton, then on the
staff of the lieutenant-general, which certainly could not be con-
strued as forbidding the movement contemplated.
" General Scott desires me to invite your attention to certain guilty
parties in Baltimore, namely, those connected with the guns and
military cloths seized by your troops (at the Relay House), as well
as the baker who furnished supplies of bread for Harper's Feny.
It is probable that you will find them, on inquiry, proper subjects
for seizure and examination. He acknowledges your telegram of
this morning, and is happy to find that Baltimore is within your
department."
Later in the day, arrived a second dispatch from Colonel Hamil-
ton: —
" General Scott desires me to inform you that he has received in-
formation, believed to be reliable, that several tons of gunpowder,
designed for those unlawfully combined against the government,
are stored in a church in Baltimore, in the neighborhood of Cal-
houn street, between Baltimore and Fayette streets. He invites
your attention to the subject."
It is said that General Scott, who required much sleep, and who
was oppressed with a multiplicity of business, did not always scru-
tinize very closely the dispatches sent in his name, when they were
supposed to relate to matters of mere detail. It may be that the
meaning and tendency of these dispatches escaped his attention.
Colonel Hamilton, who had enjoyed the opportunity at Annapolis
of becoming acquainted with the quality of the Massachusetts
brigadier, was, certainly, not inclined to place any obstacles in his
way.
110 BALTIMORE.
At four o'clock in the afternoon of May 13th, the rebel spies at
the Relay House felt sure, that at length, they were about to have
something important to communicate to their employers at Balti-
more. Two trains of cars stood upon the track, both headed
toward Harper's Ferry, both loaded with troops. One was a short
train, with a force of fifty men on board. The other was of im~
mense length. It contained the whole of the Sixth Massachusetts,
some companies of the New York Eighth, and two pieces of artil-
lery, in all nine hundred men. The general's white horse, horses
for the staff and artillery were on the train. When everything was
in readiness, word was brought to the general that two fast Balti-
more trotters were harnessed in a stable near by, which were to
convey the tidings of the movement to Baltimore the moment the
trains had started.
" Let them go," said the general.
The two trains moved slowly toward Harper's Ferry. The fast
nags, at the same moment, were put on the road to Baltimore.
General Butler secretly resolved to give them plenty of time to
reach the city. Except himself and a few members of his staff,
every man in the train was ignorant of his real design.
Two miles from the Relay House, both trains halted a while.
Then the smaller train Vept on 'ts way. It was bound to Fred-
erick, where the troops were ordered to seize the millionaire,
Ross Winans, and the machine then figuring ominously in the
newspapers, or Winans' s steam gun ; a useless rattle-trap, as it
proved. Winans was a thorough-going traitor, and one who, from
his prodigious wealth (fifteen millions, it was thought), could give
his fellow traitors abundant aid and very solid comfort. Already,
he had manufactured five thousand pikes for the use of the Balti-
more mob against the forces summoned by his country to defend its
capital. An arch-traitor, and an old ; gray hairs did what they
could to " make his folly venerable." If ever treason was com-
mitted, he had committed it ; for he had not even the empty excuse
of the passage of an ordinance of secession by the legislature of his
state. General Butler will interpret his orders with exact literal-
ness, if this hoary-headed traitor falls into his hands, while he remains
in command of the department of Annapolis, including the city of
Baltimore.
About six o'clock in the evening, the long train, with its nine
BALTIMORE. Ill
hundred uien, the artillery and the horses, backed slowly past the
Relay House again, and continued backing until it reached the
depot at Baltimore.
A thunder-storm of singular character, extraordinary both for its
violence and its extent, hung over the city, black as midnight. It
was nearly dark when the train arrived. No rain had yet fallen ;
but the whole city was soon enveloped in rushing clouds of dust.
Flashes of lightning, vivid, incessant — peals of thunder, loud and
continuous, gave warning of the coming deluge. The depot was
nearly deserted, and scarcely any one was in the streets. By the
time the troops were formed, it had become dark, except when the
flashes of lightning illumined the scene, as if with a thousand
Drummond lamps. This continuous change, from a blinding glare
of light to darkness the most complete, was so bewildering, that if
the general had not had a guide familiar with the city, he could
scarcely have advanced from the depot. This guide was Mr. Robert
Hare, of Philadelphia, son of the celebrated chemist, who, after
rendering valuable services to the general elsewhere, had joined him
at the Relay House, and now volunteered to pilot him to Federal
Hill.
The word was given, and the troops silently emerged from the
depot ; the general, Mr. Hare, and the staff in the advance. The
orders were, for no man to speak a needless word ; no drums to
beat ; and if a shot was fired from a house, halt, arrest every in-
mate, and destroy the house, leaving not one brick upon another.
When the line had cleared the depot, the storm burst. Such tor-
rents of rain ! Such a ceaseless blaze of lightning ! Such crashes
and volleys of thunder ! At one moment the long line of bayonets,
the ranks of firm white faces, the burnished cannon, the horses and
their riders, the signs upon the houses, and every minutest object,
would flash out of the gloom with a distinctness inconceivable.
The next, a pall of blackest darkness would drop upon the scene.
Not a countenance appeared in any window ; for, so incessant was
the thunder, that the tramp of horses, the tread of the men, the
rumble of the cannon, were not heard ; or if heard for a moment,
not distinguished from the multitudinous noises of the storm. As
the general and his staff gained the summit of Federal Hill, which
rises abruptly from the midst of the town, and turned to look back
upon the troops winding up the steep ascent, a flash of unequaled
112 BALTIMORE.
brilliancy gave such startling splendor to the scene, that an exclam-
ation of wonder and delight broke from every lip. The troops
were formed upon the summit, the cannon were planted, and Balti-
more was their own.
Except a shanty or two, used in peaceful times as a lager-beer
garden, there was no shelter on the hill. The men had to stand
still in the pouring rain, with what patience they could. When
the storm abated, scouts were sent out, who ferreted out a wood-
yard, from which thirty cords of wood were brought ; and soon
the top of the hill presented a cheerful scene and picturesque ; arms
stacked and groups of steaming soldiers standing around fifty blaz-
ing fires, each man revolving irregularly on his axis, trying to get
himself and his blanket dry.
General Butler established his head-quarters in the German shan-
ty. An officer, who had been scouting, came to him there in con-
siderable excitement, and said :
" I am informed, general, that this hill is mined, and that we are
all to be blown up."
" Get a lantern," replied the general, " and you and I will walk
round the base of the hill, and see."
They found, indeed, deep cavities in the side of the hill, but these
proved to be places whence sand had been dug for building. After
a thorough examination, the general said :
" I don't think we shall be blown up ; but if we are, there is one
comfort, it will dry us all."
Returning to his shanty, General Butler, still as wet as water
could make him, set about preparing his proclamation.
At half-past eight in the morning, he received a note from the
mayor, which showed how completely his movements had been con-
cealed by the storm. The note had been written during the pre-
vious evening.
" I have just been informed," wrote the mayor, " that you have
arrived at the Camden Station with a large body of troops under
your command. As the sudden arrival of a force will create much
surprise in the community, I beg to be informed whether you pro-
pose that it shall remain at the Camden Station, so that the police
may be notified, and proper precautions may be taken to prevent
any disturbance of the peace."
The mayor had not long to wait for information. An extra Clip
BALTIMORE. 113
per of the morning, containing General Butler's proclamation,
advised all Baltimore of his intentions. That document read as
follows :
"PROCLAMATION.
"Department of Annapolis,
"Fedekal Hill, Baltimore, May 14, 1861.
" A detachment of the forces of the Federal government, under my com-
mand, have occupied the citv of Baltimore for the purpose, among other
things, of enforcing respect and obedience to the laws, as well of the state,
if requested thereto by the civil authorities, as of the United States laws,
which are being violated within its limits by some malignant and traitorous
men ; and in order to testify the acceptance by the Federal government,
of the fact that the city and all the well-intentioned portion of its inhabi-
tants are loyal to the Union and the Constitution, and are to be so regarded
and treated by all. To the end, therefore, that all misunderstanding of the
purpose of the government may be prevented, and to set at rest all un-
founded, false, and seditious rumors ; to relieve all apprehensions, if any are
felt, by the well-disposed portion of the community, and to make it thor-
oughly understood by all traitors, their aiders and abettors, that rebellious
acts must cease ; I hereby, by the authority vested in me, as commander
of the department of Annapolis, of which Baltimore forms a part, do now
command and make known that no loyal and well-disposed citizen will be
disturbed in his lawful occupation or business ; that private property will
not be interfered with by the men under my command, or allowed to be in-
terfered with by others, except in so far as it may be used to afford aid and
comfort to those in rebellion against the government whether here or else-
where, all of which property, munitions of war, and that fitted to aid and
support the rebellion, will be seized and held subject to confiscation, and,
therefore, all manufacturers of arms and munitions of war are hereby re-
quested to report to me forthwith, so that the lawfulness of their occupation
may be known and understood, and all misconstruction of their doings may
be avoided. No transportation from the city to the rebels of articles fitted
to aid and support troops in the field will be permitted ; and the fact of such
transportation, after the publication of this proclamation, will be taken and
received as proof of illegal intention on the part of the consignors, and will
render the goods liable to seizure and confiscation.
" The government being now ready to receive all such stores and supplies,
arrangements will be made to contract for them immediately to the owners;
and manufacturers of such articles of equipment and clothing, and munitions
of war and provisions, are desired to keep themselves in communication
with the commissary-general, in order that their workshops may be em-
1 14 BALTIMORE.
ployed for loyal purposes, and the artisans of the city resume and carry on
their profitable occupations.
" The acting assistant-quartermaster and commissary of subsistence of
the United States here stationed, has been instructed to proceed and fur-
nish, at fair prices, 40,000 rations for the use of the army of the United
States ; and further supplies will be drawn from the city to the full ex-
tent of its capacity, if the patriotic and loyal men choose so to furnish sup-
plies.
" All assemblages, except the ordinary police, of armed bodies of men,
other than those regularly organized and commissioned by the state of Mary-
land, and acting under the orders of the governor thereof, for drill and
other purposes, are forbidden within the department.
"All officers of the militia of Maryland, having command within the lim-
its of the department, are requested to report through their officers forth-
with to the general in command, so that he may be able to know and dis-
tinguish the regularly commissioned and loyal troops of Maryland, from
armed bodies who may claim to be such.
" The ordinary operations of the corporate government of the city of
Baltimore, and of the civil authorities, will not be interfered with ; but on
the contrary, will be aided by all the power of the commanding general,
upon proper call being made ; and all such authorities are cordially invited
to co-operate with the general in command, to carry out the purposes set
forth in the proclamation, so that the city of Baltimore may be shown to
the country to be what she is in fact, patriotic and loyal to the Union, the
Constitution, and the laws.
"JSTo flag, banner, ensign or device of the so-called Confederate States, or
any of them, will be permitted to be raised or shown in this department ;
and the exhibition of either of them by evil disposed persons will be deem-
ed, and taken to be, evidence of a design to afford aid and comfort to the
enemies of the country. To make it the more apparent that the govern-
ment of the United States far more relies upon the loyalty, patriotism,
and zeal of the good citizens of Baltimore and vicinity, than upon any exhi-
bition of force calculated to intimidate them into that obedience to the laws
which the government doubts not will be paid from inherent respect
and love of order, the commanding general has brought to the city with
him, of the many thousand troops in the immediate neighborhood, which
might be at once concentrated here, scarcely more than an ordinary guard ;
and until it fails him, he will continue to rely upon that loyalty and patriot-
ism of the citizens of Maryland, which have never yet been found wanting
to the government in time of need. The general in command desires to
greet and treat in this part of his department all the citizens thereof as
friends and brothers, having a common purpose, a common loyalty, and a
common country. Any infractions of the laws by the troops under his
BALTIMORE. 115
command, or any disorderly, unsoldierlike conduct, or any interference with
private property, he desires to have immediately reported to him, and
pledges himself that if any soldier so far forgets himself as to break those
laws that he has sworn to defend and enforce, he shall be most rigorously
punished.
" The general believes that if the suggestions and requests contained in
this proclamation are faithfully carried out by the co-operation of all good
and Union-loving citizens, and peace, and quiet, and certainty of future
peace and quiet are thus restored, business will resume its accustomed chan-
nels, trade take the place of dullness and inactivity, efficient labor displace
idleness, and Baltimore will be in fact, what she is entitled to be, in the
front rank of the commercial cities of the nation.
u Given at Baltimore the day and year herein first above written.
"Ben j. F. Butler,
"Brigadier-general commanding department of Annapolis."
Not the slightest disturbance of the peace occurred. The sug-
gestions and requests of the general were observed. There was
plenty of private growling, and some small, furtive exhibitions of
disgust, but nothing that could be called opposition. Contraband
gunpowder, pikes, arms and provisions were seized. The Union
flag was hoisted upon buildings belonging to the United States,
and the flag of treason nowhere appeared. The camp equipage of
the troops was brought in, and camps were formed upon the hill.
Early in the afternoon, General Butler and his staff mounted their
horses, and rode leisurely through the streets to the Gilmore
house, where they dismounted, and strolled into the dining-room
and dined ; after which they remounted, and enjoyed a longer ride
in the streets, meeting no molestation, exciting much muttered re-
mark. General Butler does not mount a horse quite in the style
of a London guardsman. In mounting before the Gilmore house,
across a wide gutter, he had some little difficulty in bestriding his
horse, which, a passing traitor observing, gave rise to the report,
promptly conveyed to Washington, that the general was drunk
that day, in the streets of Baltimore. Such a misfortune is it to
have short legs, with a gutter and a horse to get over. From that
time, the soldiers, in twos and threes, walked freely about the city,
exhilarated, now and then, by a little half-suppressed vituperation
from men, and a ludicrous display of petulance on the part of lovely
woman. Often they were stopped in the streets by Union men,
116 BALTIMORE.
who shook them warmly by the hand, and thanked them for coming
to their deliverance.
There is a limit to the endurance of man. General Butler per-
formed that day, one of his day's work. At night, exhausted to an
extreme, for he had not lain down in forty hours, and racked with
headache, he ventured to go to bed ; leaving orders, however, that
he was to be instantly notified if anything extraordinary occurred.
It perversely happened that many extraordinary things did occur
that night. Some important seizures were made ; some valuable
information was brought in ; many plausible rumors gained a hear-
ing ; and, consequently, the general was disturbed about every half
hour during the night. He rose in the morning unrefreshed, fever-
ish, almost sick. His feelings may be imagined, when, at half-past
eight, he received the following dispatch from the lieutenant-gene-
ral, dated May 14th:
" Sir, — Your hazardous occupation of Baltimore was made without
my knowledge, and, of course, without my approbation. It is a
God-send, that it was without conflict of arms. It is, also, reported,
that you have sent a detachment to Frederick ; but this is impos-
sible. Not a word have I received from you as to either move-
ment. Let me hear from you."
This epistle was not precisely what General Butler thought was
due to an officer who, with nine hundred men, had done what
General Scott was preparing to do with twelve thousand. It was
a damper. It looked like a rebuke for doing his duty too well.
The sick general took it much to heart; not for his own sake mere-
ly ; he could not but augur ill of the conduct of the war if a neat
and triumphant little audacity, like his march into Baltimore, was
to be rewarded with an immediate snub from head-quarters. Being
only a militia brigadier, he did not clearly see how a war was to be
carried on without incurring some slight risk, now and then, of a
conflict of arms.
But there was little time for meditation. There were duties to
be done. For one item, he had Ross Winans a prisoner in Fort
McHenry ; his pikes and steam-gun being also in safe custody, with
other evidence of his treason. He was preparing to try Mr. Wi-
nans by court-martial, and telegraphed to Mr. Cameron, asking him
not to interfere, at least, not to release him, until General Butler
could go to Washington and explain the turpitude of his guilt. It
BALTIMORE. 117
was, and is, the general's opinion, that the summary execution of a
traitor worth fifteen millions, would have been an exhibition of
moral strength on the part of the government, such as the times re-
quired. His guilt was beyond question. If there is, or can be, such
a crime as treason against the United States, this man had com-
mitted it, not in language only, but in overt acts, numerous and
aggravated. Mr. Seward, I need scarcely say, took a different view
of the matter. Winans was released. Why his pikes and his steam-
gun were not returned to him, does not appear. A few months
after, it was found necessary to place him again in confinement.
Nothing would appease General Scott short of the recall of Gen-
eral Butler from Baltimore, and the withdrawal of the troops from
Federal Hill. General Butler was recalled, and General Cadwal-
lader ruled in his stead. The troops were temporarily removed,
and General Butler returned to Washington.
That the president did not concur with the rebuke of General
Scott, was shown by his immediately offering General Butler a com-
mission as major-general, and the command of Fortress Monroe.
That the secretary of war did not concur with it, I infer from a
passage of one of his letters from St. Petersburgh. "I always
said," wrote Mr. Cameron, " that if you had been left at Baltimore,
the rebellion would have been of short duration ;" a remark, the
full significance of which may, one day, become apparent to the
American people. I believe I may say, without improperly using
the papers before me, that more than one member of the cabinet
held the opinion, that General Butler's recall from Baltimore was
solely due to his frustration of the sublime strategic scheme of
taking the city by the simultaneous advance of four columns of
three thousand men each.
The people made known their opinion of General Butler's con-
duct in all the usual ways. On the evening of his arrival in Wash-
ington, he was serenaded, and most abundantly cheered. His
little speech on this occasion was a great hit. The remarkable
feature of it was, that it expressed, without exaggeration, as with-
out suppression, his habitual feeling respecting the war into which
the nation was groping its way. He talked to the crowd just as he
had often talked, and talks to a knot of private friends :
"Fellow-Citizens: — Your cheers for the old commonwealth of Massa-
chusetts are rightly bestowed. Foremost in the ranks of those who fought
1 1 3 BALTIMORE.
for tho liberty of the country in the revolution were the men of Massachu-
setts. It is a historical fact, to which I take pride in now referring, that in
the revolution, Massachusetts sent more men south of Mason and Dixon's
line to fight for the cause of the country, than all the southern colonies put
together ; and in this second war, if war must come, to proclaim the Dec-
laration of Independence anew, and as a necessary consequence, establish
the Union and the constitution, Massachusetts will give, if necessary, every
man in her borders, ay, and woman ! [Cheers.] I trust I may be excused
for speaking thus of Massachusetts ; but I am confident there are many
within the sound of my voice whose hearts beat with proud memories of
the old commonwealth. There is this difference, I will say, between our
southern brothers and ourselves, that while we love our state with the true
love of a son, we love the Union and the country with an equal devo-
tion. [Loud and prolonged applause.] "We place no 'state rights'
before, above, or beyond the Union. [Cheers.] To us our country is first,
because it is our country [three cheers], and our state is next and second,
because she is a part of our country and our state. [Eenewed applause.]
Our oath of allegiance to our country, and our oath of allegiance to our
state, are interwreathed harmoniously, and never come in conflict nor clash.
He who does his duty to the Union, does his duty to the state ; and he who
does his duty to the state does his duty to the Union — ' one inseparable,
now and for ever.' [Renewed applause.] As I look upon this demonstra-
tion of yours, I believe it to be prompted by a love of the common cause,
and our common country — a country so great and good, a government so
kind, so beneficent, that the hand from which we have only felt kindness
is now for the first time raised in chastisement. [Applause.] Many things
in a man's life may be worse than death. So, to a government there may
be many things, such as dishonor and disintegration, worse than the shed-
ding of blood. [Cheers.] Our fathers purchased our liberty and country
for us at an immense cost of treasure and blood, and by the bright heavens
above us, we will not part with them without first paying the original debt,
and the interest to this date ! [Loud cheers.] "We have in our veins the
same blood as they shed ; we have the same power of endurance, the same
love of liberty and law. We will hold as a brother him who stands by the
Union ; we will hold as an enemy him who would strike from its constella-
tion a single star. [Applause.] But, I hear some one say, ' Shall we carry
on this fratricidal war ? Shall we shed our brothers' blood, and meet in
arms our brothers in the South V I would say, ' As our fathers did not
hesitate to strike the mother country in the defense of our rights, so we
should not hesitate to meet the brother as they did the mother.' If this
unholy, this fratricidal war, is forced upon us, I say, ' Woe, woe to them
who have made the necessity. Our hands are clean, our hearts are pure ;
but the Union must be preserved [intense cheering. When silence was
restored, he continued] at all hazard of money, and, if need be, of every
BALTIMORE. 1 I
life this sid.3 the arctic regions. [Cheers.] If the 25,000 northern soldiers
who are here, are cut off, in six weeks 50,000 will take their place ; and if
they die by fever, pestilence, or the sword, a quarter of a million will take
their place, till our army of the reserve will he women with their broom-
sticks, to drive every enemy into the gulf. [Cheers and laughter.] I have
neither fear nor doubt of the issue. I feel only horror and dismay for those
who have made the war. God help them ! we are here for our rights, for
our country, for our flag. Our faces are set south, and there shall be no
footstep backward. [Immense applause.] He is mistaken who supposes
we can be intimidated by threats or cajoled by compromise. The day of
compromise is past.
"The government must be sustained [cheers] ; and when it is sustained,
we shall give everybody in the Union their rights under the constitution, as
we always have, and everybody outside of the Union the steel of the Union,
till they shall come under the Union. [Cheers, and cries of 'good, go
on.'] It is impossible for me to go on speech making ; but if you will go
home to your beds, and the government will let me, I will go south fight-
ing for the Union, and you will follow me."*
A different scene awaited him the next morning in the office of
the lieutenant-general, respecting which it is best to say little. He
bore the lecture for half an hour without replying. But General
Butler's patience under unworthy treatment is capable of being ex-
hausted. It was exhausted on this occasion. Indeed, the specta-
cle of cumbrous inefficiency which the head-quarters of the army
then presented, and continued long to present, was such as to
grieve and alarm every man acquainted with it, who had also an
adequate knowledge of the formidable task to which the country
had addressed itself. I am not ashamed to relate, that General
Butler, on reaching his apartment, was so deeply moved by what
had passed, and by the inferences he could but draw by what had
passed, that he burst into hysteric sobs, which he found himself, for
some minutes, unable to repress. And, what was worse, he had
serious thoughts of declining the proffered promotion, and going
home to resume his practice at the bar. Not that his zeal had
flagged in the cause ; but it seemed doubtful whether, in the cir-
cumstances, a man of enterprise and energy would be allowed to
do anything of moment to promote the cause.
* JT. T. Daily Times.
120 FOETEESS MONEOE.
CHAPTER VI.
EOETEESS MONEOE.
The president had no lecture to bestow upon General Butler ;
but, on the contrary, compliment and congratulation. He urged
him to accept the command of Fortress Monroe, and use the same
energy in retaking Norfolk as he had displayed at Annapolis
and Baltimore. After a day's consideration, the general said he
was willing enough to accept the proffered promotion and the
command of the fortress, if he could have the means of being
useful there. As a base for active operations, Fortress Monroe
was good ; he only objected to it as a convenient tomb for a
troublesome militia general. Could he have four Massachusetts
regiments, two batteries of field artillery, and the other requisites
for a successful advance ? Not that Massachusetts troops were
better than others, only he knew them better, and they him. Yes,
he could have them, and should, and whatever else he needed for
effective action. An active, energetic campaign was precisely the
thing desired and expected of him, and nothing should be wanting
on the part of the government to render such a campaign possible.
This being understood, he joyfully accepted the commission and
the command. General Butler's commission as major-general dates
from May 16th, two days after his thunderous march into Balti-
more. He is now, therefore, in reality, the senior major-general in
the service of the United States. On that day, General McClellan
and General Banks were still in the pay of their respective railroad
companies ; General Dix was at home ; General Fremont was in
Europe, attending to his private affairs.
May 20th, General Butler received orders from General Scott for
his guidance at the scene of his future labors :
"You will proceed," wrote the lieutenant-general, "to Fortress Monroe
and assume the command of that post, when Colonel Dimmick will limit
his command to the regular troops composing a part of its garrison, but
FOETEESS MONEOE. 121
will, by himself and his officers, give such aid in the instruction of the
volunteers as you may direct.
" Besides the present garrison of Fortress Monroe, consisting of such com-
panies of regular artillery, portions of two Massachusetts regiments of
volunteers, and a regiment of Vermont volunteers, nine additional regi-
ments of volunteers from New York may soon be expected there. Only a
small portion, if any, of these can be conveniently quartered or encamped
in the fort, the greater part, if not the whole area of which will be neces-
sary for exercises on the ground. The nine additional regiments must,
therefore, be encamped in the best positions outside of and as near the
fort as may be. For this purpose it is hoped that a pine forest north of
the fort, near the bay, may be found to furnish the necessary ground and
shade for some three thousand men, though somewhat distant from drink-
ing and cooking water. This, as well as feed, it may be necessary to
bring to the camp on wheels. The quartermaster's department has been
instructed to furnish the necessary vehicles, casks, and draft animals. The
war garrison of Fortress Monroe, against a formidable army, provided with
an adequate siege train, is about 2,500 men. You will soon have there, in-
side and out, near three times that number. Assuming 1,500 as a garrison
adequate to resist any probable attack in the next six months, or, at least,
for many days or weeks, you will consider the remainder of the force, un-
der your command, disposable for aggressive purposes and employ it ac-
cordingly.
" In respect to more distant operations, you may expect specific instruc-
tions at a later date. In the mean time, I will direct your attention to the
following objects: 1st. Not to let the enemy erect batteries to annoy For-
tress Monroe ; 2d. To capture any batteries the enemy may have within
a half day's march of you, and which may be reached by land ; 3d. The
same in respect to the enemy's batteries, at or about Oraney Island, though
requiring water craft ; and 4th. To menace and to recapture the navy
yard at Gosport, in order to complete its destruction, with its contents,
except what it may be practicable to bring away in safety. It is expected
that you put yourself into free communication with the commander of the
U. S. naval forces in Hampton Roads, and invite his cordial co-operation
with you in all operations, in whole or in part, by water, and no doubt
he will have received corresponding instructions from the Navy Depart-
ment.
" Boldness in execution is nearly always necessary ; but in planning and
fitting out expeditions or detachments, great circumspection is a virtue. In
important cases, where time clearly permits, be sure to submit your plans
and ask instructions from higher authority.
" Communicate with me often and fully on all matters important to the
122 FOKTKESS MONROE.
May 22a, at eight o'clock in the morning, the guns of the for-
tress saluted General Butler as the commander of the post ; and as
soon as th^ ceremonies of his arrival were over, he proceeded to
look about him, to learn what it was that had fallen to his share.
In the cour; e of the day, he made great progress in the pursuit oi
knowledge.
Fortress Monroe is a sixty-five acre field, with a low, massive
stone wall around it ; big, black guns peering through and over
the top of the wall ; and a mile and a half of canal wound round its
base. Inside, are long barracks, hospitals, a little chapel, trees,
avenues of trees, gardens, parade-grounds, green lawns, gravel
walks ; and, m the midst, surrounded by trees and garden, a solid,
broad, slate-peaked mansion, the residence of the commander of the
post. Old Point Comfort, broadening at the extremity, so as to
form a peninsula, seems made to be the site of a fort, and such
it must remain as long as man wages war. Whoever holds it, and
knows how to use it, is master of Virginia and North Carolina ;
for it either commands or threatens, and can be used so as to con-
trol their navigable rivers, their harbors, and their railroad connec-
tions with the South. The Southern Confederacy, so called, must
have it, or retire to the Gulf. Without it, the Confederacy is noth-
ing ; and the place can only be taken by a naval power superior
to that of the United States, or by treachery. If it had been built
with a prophetic view to the events of the last three years, the site
could not have been better selected for the purposes of the United
States. That it has not been used with all the effect it might have
been, was not the fault of the new commandant, as shall soon be
demonstrated.
The country around it, on the main land, is level ; the soil, as
Winthrop describes it, a fine fertile loam, easily running to dust as
the English air does to fog ; the woods dense and beautiful ; the
roads, miserable cart tracks ; the cattle " scallawags," the people
ditto ; the farm houses dilapidated and mean ; such dens as a
northern drayman would have disdained, and a hod-carrier only
occupied on compulsion. A country settled for two hundred and
thirty years, but not as pleasant, nor as commodious, nor as popu-
lated, nor as civilized, as a county of Minnesota only surveyed ten
years ago. But many of the people, though of incredibly con-
tracted intelligence, were kind and hospitable, and, as events have
FOETEESS MOXEOS. 123
shown, brave and enduring. If life seemed stagnant in that region,
there was in it a latent energy and force, which poor Winthrop did
not suspect, but which, however misdirected, he would have been
among the first to recognize. Life stagnant is not so fatal as life
wasted of its raw material.
This huge fort was one of the hinges of the stable-door which
was shut after the horse had been stolen, in the war of 1812. It
had never been used for warlike purposes, and had been, usually,
garrisoned by a company or two, or three, of regular troops, who
paraded and drilled in its wide expanses with listless punctuality,
and fished in the surrounding waters, or strolled about the adjacent
village. Colonel Dimmick was the commandant of the post when
the war broke out ; a faithful, noble-minded officer, who, with his
one man to eight yards of rampart, kept Virginia from clutching
the prize. Two or three thousand volunteers had since made their
way to the fortress, and were encamped on its grounds.
General Butler soon discovered that of the many things necessary
for the defense of the post, he had a sufficiency of one only, namely,
men. There was not one horse belonging to the garrison ; nor one
cart nor wagon. Provision barrels had to be rolled from the land-
ing to the fort, three-quarters of a mile. There was no well or
spring within the walls of the fortress ; but cisterns only, filled with
rain-water, which had given out the summer before when there
were but four hundred men at the post. Of ammunition, he had
but five thousand rounds, less than a round and a half per man of
the kind suited to the greater number of the muskets brought by
the volunteers. The fort was getting over-crowded with troops,
and more were hourly expected; he would have nine more regi-
ments in a few days. Room must be found for the new comers
outside the walls. He found, too, that he had, in his vicinity, an
active, numerous, increasing enemy, who were busy fortifying
points of land opposite or near the fort ; points essential for his
purposes. The garrison was, in effect, penned up in the peninsula ;
a rebel picket a mile distant ; a rebel flag waving from Hampton
Bridge in sight of the fortress ; rebel forces preparing to hem in the
fortress on every side, as they had done Sumter ; rumor, as usual,
magnifying their numbers tenfold. Colonel Dimmick had been able
to seize and hold the actual property of the government; no more.
Water being the most immediate necessity, General Butler di-
6
121 FOKTEESS MONROE.
rected his attention, first of all, to securing a more trustworthy sup-
ply. Can the artesian well be speedily finished, which was begun
long ago, and then suspended? It could, thought Colonel de
Kussy, of the engineers, who, at once, at the general's request, con-
sulted a contractor on the subject. There was a spring a mile from
the fortress, which furnished 700 gallons a day. Can the water be
conducted to the fortress by a temporary pipe ? It can, reported
the colonel of engineers ; and the general ordered it done. Mean-
while, water from Baltimore, at two cents a gallon. To-morrow,
Colonel Phelps, with his Vermonters, shall cross to Hampton,
reconnoiter the country, and see if there is good camping ground
in that direction ; for the pine forest suggested by General Scott
was reported by Colonel de Russy to be unhealthy as well as
waterless. In a day or two, Commodore Stringham, urged thereto
by General Butler, would have shelled out the rising battery at
Sewall's Point, if he had not been suddenly ordered away to the
blockade of Charleston harbor. Already the general had an eye
upon Newport News, eleven miles to the south, directly upon one
of the roads he meant to take by and by, when the promised means
of offensive warfare arrived. Word was brought that the enemy
had an eye upon it, too; and General Butler determined to be
there before them. That rolling of barrels from the landing would
never do ; on this first day, the general ordered surveys and esti-
mates for a railroad between the wharf and the fortress. The men
were eating hard biscuit : he directed the construction of a new
bake-house, that they might have bread.
The next day, as every one remembers, Colonel Phelps made his
reconnoissance in Hampton and its vicinity — not without a show of
opposition. Upon approaching the bridge over Hampton Creek,
Colonel Phelps perceived that the rebels had set fire to the bridge.
Rushing forward at the double-quick, the men tore off the burning
planks and quickly extinguished the fire ; then marching into the
village, completed their reconnoissance, and performed some evolu-
tions for the edification of the inhabitants. Colonel Phelps met
there several of his old West Point comrades, whom he warned of
the inevitable failure of their bad cause, and advised them to aban-
don it in time. The general himself was soon on the ground, and
took a ride of seven miles in the enemy's country that afternoon,
still eager in the pursuit of knowledge.
F0ETEESS MONEOE. 12 o
One noticeable thing was reported by the troops on their return.
It was, that the negroes, to a man, were the trusting, enthusiastic
friends of the Union soldiers. They were all glee and welcome ;
and Colonel Phelps and his men were the last people in the world
to be backward in responding to their salutations. No one knew
better than he that in every worthy black man and woman in the
South the Union could find a helping friend if it would. By what-
ever free-masonry it was brought about, the negroes received the
impression, that day, that those Vermonters and themselves were
on the same side.
This Colonel Phelps is one of the remarkable figures of the war.
A tall, loose-jointed, stout-hearted, benignant man of fifty, the soul
of honesty and goodness. It had been his fortune, before his retire-
ment from the army, to be stationed for many years in the South.
For the last thirty years, if any one had desired to test, with the ut-
most possible severity, a New Englander's manhood and intelligence,
the way to do it was to make him an officer of the United States
army, and station him in a slave state. If there was any lurk-
ing atom of baseness in him, slavery would be sure to find it
out, and work upon it to the corruption of the entire man. If
there was even defective intelligence or weakness of will, as surely
as he continued to live there, he would, at last, be found to have
yielded to the seducing influence, and to have lost his moral sense :
first enduring, then tolerating, defending, applauding, participating.
For slavery is of such a nature, that it must either debauch or
violently repel the man who is obliged to live long in the hourly con-
templation of it. There can be no medium or moderation. No
man can hate slavery a little, or like it a little. It must either spoil
or madden him if he lives with it long enough. Colonel Phelps
stood the test; but, at the same time, the long dwelling upon
wrongs which he could do nothing to redress, the long contempla-
tion of suffering which he could not stir to relieve, impaired, in some
degree, the healthiness, the balance of his mind. He seemed, at
times, a man of one idea. With such tenderness as his, such quick-
ness and depth of moral feeling, it is a wonder he did not go raving
mad. When the war began, he was at home upon his farm, a man
of wealth for rural Vermont; and now he was at Fortress Monroe,
commanding a regiment of three months' militia ; a very model of
a noble, brave, modest, and righteous warrior, full in the belief that
126 FORTRESS MONROE.
the longed-for time of deliverance had come. It was a strange
coming together, this of the Massachusetts democrat and the Ver-
mont abolitionist — both armed in the same cause. General Butler
felt all the worth of his new friend, and they worked together with
abundant harmony and good-will.
Colonel Phelps's reconnoissance led to the selection of a spot be-
tween Hampton and the fort for an encampment. The next day,
General Butler went in person to Newport News, and, on the fifth
day after taking command of the post, had a competent force at
that vital point, intrenching and fortifying. Meanwhile, in exten-
sive dispatches to head-quarters, he had made known to General
Scott his situation and his wants. He asked for horses, vehicles,
ammunition, field-artillery, and a small force of cavalry. Also (for
attacks upon the enemy's shore batteries), he asked for fifty surf-
boats, " of such construction as the lieutenant-general caused to be
prepared for the landing at Vera Cruz, the efficiency and adapt-
edness of which has passed into history." He asked for the comple-
tion of the artesian well, and the construction of the short railroad.
He justified the occupation of Newport News, on the ground that
it lay close to the obvious highway, by water, to Richmond, upon
which already General Butler had cast a general's eye.
On the evening of the second day after his arrival at the post, the
event occurred which will for ever connect the name of General
Butler with the history of the abolition of slavery in America.
Colonel Phelps's visit to Hampton had thrown the white inhabitants
into such alarm that most of them prepared for flight, and many
left their homes that night, never to see them again. In the confu-
sion three negroes escaped, and, making their way across the
bridges, gave themselves up to a Union picket, saying that their
master, Colonel Mallory, was about to remove them to North Caro-
lina to work upon rebel fortifications there, far away from their
wives and children, who were to be left in Hampton. They were
brought to the fortress, and the circumstance was reported to the
general in the morning. He questioned each of them separately,
and the truth of their story became manifest. He needed laborers.
He was aware that the rebel batteries that were rising around him
were the work chiefly of slaves, without whose assistance they
could not have been erected in time to give him trouble. He
wished to keep these men. The garrison wished them kept. The
FORTRESS MONROE. 127
country would have deplored or resented the sending of them
away. If they had been Colonel Mallory's horses, or Colonel Mal-
lory's spades, or Colonel Mallory's percussion caps, he would have
seized them and used them, without hesitation. Why not property
more valuable for the purposes of the rebellion than any other ?
He pronounced the electric words, " These men are Contraband
of War ; set them at work."
" An epigram," as Winthrop remarks, " abolished slavery in
the United States." The word took ; for it gave the country an
excuse for doing what it was longing to do. Every one remem-
bers how relieved the " conservative" portion of the people felt,
when they found that the slaves could be used on the side of the
Union, without giving Kentucky a new argument against it, Ken-
tucky, at that moment, controlling the policy of the administra-
tion. "The South," said Wendell Phillips, in a recent speech,
" fought to sustain slavery, and the North fought not to have it
hurt. But Butler pronounced that magic word, ' contraband,' and
summoned the negro into the arena. It was a poor word. I do
not know that it is sound law ; but Lord Chatham said, ' nullus
liber homo 9 is coarse Latin, but it is wOrth all the classics. Con-
traband is a bad word, and may be bad law, but it is worth all
the Constitution ; for in a moment of critical emergency it sum-
moned the saving elements into the national arena, and it showed
the government how far the sound fiber of the nation extended."
By the time the three negroes were comfortably at work upon
the new bake-house, General Butler received the following brief
epistle, signed, " J. B. Carey, major-acting, Virginia volunteers :"
" Be pleased to designate some time and place when it will be
agreeable to you to accord me a personal interview."
The general complied with the request. In the afternoon two
groups of horsemen might have been seen approaching one another
on the Hampton road, a mile from the fort. One of these consisted
of General Butler and two of his staff, Major Fay and Captain
Haggerty ; the other, of Major Carey and two or three friends.
Major Carey and General Butler were old political allies, having
acted in concert both at Charleston and at Baltimore — hard-shell
democrats both. After an exchange of courteous salutations, and
the introduction of companions, the conference began. The conver-
sation was, as nearly as can be recalled, in these words :
128 FORTRESS MONROE.
Major Carey : " I have sought this interview, sir, for the pur-
pose of ascertaining upon what principles you intend to conduct
the war in this neighborhood."
The general bowed his willingness to give the information de-
sired.
Major Carey: "I ask, first, whether a passage through the
blockading fleet will be allowed to the families of citizens of
Virginia, who may desire to go north or south to a place of
safety."
General Butler : " The presence of the families of belligerents is
always the best hostage for their good behavior. One of the
objects of the blockade is to prevent the admission of supplies
of provisions into Virginia, while she continues in an attitude
hostile to the government. Reducing the number of consum-
ers would necessarily tend to the postponement of the object in
view. Besides, the passage of vessels through the blockade would
involve an amount of labor, in the way of surveillance, to prevent
abuse, which it would be impossible to perform. I am under the
necessity, therefore, of refusing the privilege."
Major Carey: "Will the passage of families desiring to go
north be permitted ?"
General Butler: "With the exception of an interruption at
Baltimore, which has now been disposed of, the travel of peaceable
citizens through the North has not been hindered ; and as to the in-
ternal line through Virginia, your friends have, for the present, en-
tire control of it. The authorities at Washington can judge better
than I upon this point, and travelers can well go that way in reach-
ing the North."
Major Carey : " I am informed that three negroes, belonging to
Colonel Mallory, have escaped within your lines. I am Colonel
Mallory's agent, and have charge of his property. What do you
intend to do with regard to those negroes ?"
General Butler : " I propose to retain them."
Major Carey : "Do you mean, then, to set aside your constitu-
tional obligations ?"
General Butler : " I mean to abide by the decision of Virginia,
as expressed in her ordinance of secession, passed the day before
yesterday. I am under no constitutional obligations to a foreign
country, which Virginia now claims to be."
FORTRESS MONROE. 129
Major Carey : " But you say, we can't secede, and so you can
not consistently detain the negroes."
General Butler : " But you say, you have seceded, and so you
can not consistently claim them. I shall detain the negroes as con-
traband of war. You are using them upon your batteries. It is
merely a question whether they shall be used for or against the
government. Nevertheless, though I greatly need the labor which
has providentially fallen into my hands, if Colonel Mallory will
come into the fort and take the oath of allegiance to the United
States, he shall have his negroes, and I will endeavor to hire them
from him."
Major Carey : " Colonel Mallory is absent."
The interview here terminated, and each party, with polite fare-
well, went its way.
This was on Friday, May 24. On Sunday morning, eight more
negroes came in, and were received. On Monday morning, forty-
seven more, of all ages; men, women, and children; several whole
families among them. In the afternoon, twelve men, good field
hands, arrived. And they continued to come in daily, in tens,
twenties, thirties, till the number of contrabands in the various
camp? numbered more than nine hundred. A commissioner of
negro affairs was appointed, who taught, fed, and governed them ;
who reported, after several weeks' experience, that they worked
well 2nd cheerfully, required no urging, and perfectly compre-
hended him when he told them that they were as much entitled to
freedom as himself. They were gentle, docile, careful and efficient
laborers ; their demeanor dignified, their conversation always
decent-
General Butler's correspondence with the government on this
subject is not forgotten ; but it is proper that it should be repeated
here. He merely related his interview with Major Carey in his
first letter to General Scott, and asked for instructions. In his
second dispatch, dated May 27th, he referred to the subject again.
" Since I wrote my last," he observed, " the question in regard
to slave property is becoming one of very serious magnitude. The
inhabitants of Virginia are using their negroes in the batteries, and
are preparing to send their women and children south. The es-
capes from them are very numerous, and a squad has come in this
morning, and my pickets are bringiug their women and children.
130 FOETEESS MONEOE.
Of course these can not be dealt with upon the theory on which I
designed to treat the services of able-bodied men and women who
might come within my lines, and of which I gave you a detailed
account in my last dispatch.
" I am in the utmost doubt what to do with this species of prop- {
erty. Up to this time I have had come within my lines men and
women, with their children, entire families, each family belonging
to the same owner. I have, therefore, determined to employ, as I
can do very profitably, the able-bodied persons in the party, issuing
proper food for the support of all, and charging against their ser-
vices the expense of care and sustenance of the non-laborers, keep-
ing a strict and accurate account as well of the services as of the
expenditures, having the worth of the services, and the cost of the
expenditure determined by a board of survey hereafter to be de-
tailed. I know of no other manner in which to dispose of this sub-
ject, and the questions connected therewith. As a matter of prop-
erty, to the insurgents it will be of very great moment, the number
that I now have amounting, as I am informed, to what in good
times would be of the value of $60,000.
" Twelve of these negroes, I am informed, have escaped from the
erection of the batteries on Sewall's Point, which fired on my expe-
dition as it passed by out of range. As a means of offense, there-
fore, in the enemy's hands, these negroes, when able-bodied, are of
great importance. "Without them the batteries could not have been
erected, at least for many weeks. As a military question, it would
seem to be a measure of necessity, and deprives their master of their
services.
" How can this be done ? As a political question, and a question
of humanity, can I receive the services of a father and a mother, and
not take the children ? Of the humanitarian aspect I have no doubt ;
of the political one I have no right to judge. I therefore submit
all this to your better judgment ; and, as these questions have a
political aspect, I have ventured, and I trust I am not wrong in so
doing, to duplicate the parts of my dispatch relating to this subject,
and forward them to the secretary of war."
The secretary replied, May 30th : " Your action in respect to the
negroes who came within your lines, from the service of the rebels,
is approved. The department is sensible of the embarrassments,
which must surround officers conducting military operations in a
FORTRESS MONROE. 131
state, by the laws of which slavery is sanctioned. The govern-
ment can not recognize the rejection by any state of its federal obli-
gation ; resting upon itself, among these federal obligations, how-
ever, no one can be more important than that of suppressing and
dispersing any combination of the former for the purpose of over
throwing its whole constitutional authority. While, therefore, you
will permit no interference, by persons under your command,
with the relations of persons held to service under the laws
of any state, you will on the other hand, so long as any state within
which your military operations are conducted, remain under the
control of such armed combinations, refrain from surrendering to
alleged masters any persons who come within your lines. You
will employ such persons in the services to which they will be best
adapted, keeping an account of the labor by them performed, of
the value of it, and the expenses of their maintenance. The ques-
tion of their final disposition will be reserved for future determina-
tion."
So the matter rested for two months, at the expiration of which
events revived the question. Meanwhile, General Butler was ob-
servant of the conduct and the character of the negroes, and had
divers reflections upon the tendency of the patriarchal institution.
The negroes accepted readily enough their new name of Contra-
bands, without being able to get any one to answer intelligibly
their frequent question, why the white folks called them so.
Many strange scenes occurred in connection with this flight of
the negroes to " Freedom Fort," as they styled it ; for one of which,
perhaps, space may be spared here. It gives us a glimpse into one
of those ancient Virginia homes suddenly desolated by the war.
Major Winthrop, I should premise, had now arrived at the fortress.
He came just in time to take the place of military secretary to the
general commanding, which had been vacant only a day or two, and
was now a happy member of the general's family, winning his rapid
way to all hearts. I mention him here because his comrades remem-
ber how intensely amused he was at the interview about to be de-
scribed. If he had lived a few days longer than he did, he would
probably have told it himself, in his brief, bright, graphic manner.
The office of the general at head-quarters was the place where the
scene occurred.
Enter, an elderly, grave, church-warden looking gentleman, ap-
6*
132 FORTRESS &ONBOS.
parently oppressed with care or grief. He was recognized as a
i respectable farmer of the neighborhood, the owner, so called, of
■thirty or forty negroes, and a farm-house in the dilapidated style
of architecture, which might be named the Virginian Order. Ad-
vancing to the table, he announced his name and business. He said
he had come to ask the officer commanding the post for the return
of one of his negroes — only one ; and he proceeded to relate the
circumstances upon which he based his modest request. But he
told his tale in a manner so measured and woful, revealing such a
curious ignorance of any other world than the little circle of ideas
and persons in which he had moved all his life, with such naive and
comic simplicity, that the hearers found it impossible to take a se-
rious view of his really lamentable situation. He proceeded in
something like these words : —
" I have always treated my negroes kindly. I supposed they loved
me. Last Sunday, I went to church. When I returned from
church, and entered into my house, I called Mary to take off my
coat and hang it up. But Mary did not come. And again I called
Mary in a louder voice, but I received no answer. Then I went
into the room to find Mary, but I found her not. There was no
one in the room. I went into the kitchen. There was no one in
the kitchen. I went into the garden. There was no one in the gar-
den. I went to the negro quarters. There was no one at the ne-
gro quarters. All my negroes had departed, sir, while I was at
the house of God. Then I went back again into my house. And
soon there came to me James, who has been my body-servant for
many years. And I said to James :
" ' James, what has happened ?'
" And James said, ' All the people have gone to the fort.'
" ' While I was gone to the house of God, James V
" And James said, ' Yes, master ; they're all gone.'
" And I said to James, * Why didn't you go too, James ?'
" And James said, ' Master, I'll never leave you.'
" ' Well James,' said I, c as there's nobody to cook, see if you
can get me some cold victuals and some whisky.'
" So James got me some cold victuals, and I ate them with a
heavy heart. And when I had eaten, I said to James :
" ' James, it is of no use for us to stay here. Let us go to your
mistress.'
F0ETEESS MONEOE. 188
" His mistress, sir, had gone away from her home, eleven miles,
fleeing from the dangers of the war.
"'And, so, James,' said I, 'harness the best horse to the cart,
and put into the cart our best bed, and some bacon, and some corn
meal, and, James, some whisky, and we will go onto your mis-
tress.'
" And James did even as I told him, and some few necessaries
besides. And we started. It was a heavy load for the horse. I
trudged along on foot, and James led the horse. It was late at
night, sir, when we arrived, and I said to James :
" ' James, it is of no use to unload the cart to-night. Put the
horse into the barn, and unload the cart in the morning.'
" And James said, ' Yes, master.'
" I met my wife, sir ; I embraced her, and went to bed ; and, not-
withstanding my troubles, I slept soundly. The next morning,
James was gone ! Then I came here, and the first thing I saw,
when I got here, was James peddling cabbages to your men out of
that very cart."
dp to this point, the listeners had managed to keep their counte-
nances under tolerable control. But the climax to the story was
drawled out in a manner so lugubriously comic, that neither the
general nor the staff could longer conceal their laughter. The poor
old gentleman, unconscious of any but the serious aspects of his
case, gave them one sad, reproachful look, and left the fort with-
out uttering another word. He had fallen upon evil times.
General Butler, meanwhile, had been studying the country around
him with a true general's eye. His dispatches to head-quarters
teem with evidence that, inexperienced as he was in the business of
waging war, he comprehended the advantages and opportunities of
his position. The uppermost thought in his mind was, that the
way to Richmond was by the James river — not through the mazes
of Manassas and the wilderness beyond him. Hear him :
May 27, the fourth day of his command : " The advantages of
Newport News are these : There are two springs of veiy pure
water there. The bluff is a fine, healthy situation. It has two
^ood, commodious wharves, to which steamers of any draft of
water may come up at all stages of the tide. It is as near any
point of operation as Fortress Monroe, where we are obliged to
lighten all vessels of draft over ten feet, and have but one wharf.
134 FORTRESS MONROE.
The News, upon which I propose to have a water battery of four
eight-inch guns, commands the ship channel of James river, and a
force there is a perpetual menace to Richmond. My next point
of operation, I propose, shall be Pig Point battery, which is exactly
opposite the News, commanding Nansemond river. Once in com-
mand of that battery, which I believe can easily be turned, I can
then advance along the Nansemond and easily take Suffolk, and
there either hold or destroy the railroad connection both between
Richmond and Norfolk, and between Norfolk and the South.
With a perfect blockade of Elizabeth river, and taking and holding
Suffolk, and perhaps York, Norfolk will be so perfectly hemmed in,
that starvation will cause the surrender, without risking an attack
on the strongly fortified intrenchments around Norfolk, with great
loss, and perhaps defeat. If this plan of operations does not meet
the approbation of the lieutenant-general, I would be glad of his in-
structions specifically. If it is desirable to move on Richmond,
James and York rivers, both thus held, would seem to be the most
eligible routes. I have no co-operation, substantially, by the navy,
the only vessels now here being the Cumberland and the Harriet
Lane ; the former too unwieldy to get near shore to use her bat-
tery ; the other so light in her battery as not to be able to cope
with a single battery of the rebels. I have great need of surf-boats
for sea-coast and river advances, and beg leave to suggest the mat-
ter again to you."
June 4 — eight days later. " I have here, altogether, about six
thousand effective men. I am, as yet, without transportation or
surf-boats, which I must have, in order to make a movement. * *
I am preparing myself, however, to be able to land, by causing ore
regiment, at least, to be drilled in embarking in and landing from
boats. I have also sent up to the mouth of the Susquehannah, to
charter or purchase ten of a kind of boat which, I am informed by
a gentleman connected with the squadron, will be the best possible,
excepting regularly constructed surf-boats, for the purpose of land-
ing troops."
June 6. " The intrenchments at Newport News will have been
completed by the time this report reaches you, and the place is
really very strong. A battery of four eight-inch columbiads will
command the channel of the river upon one side, but still leaves
open the channel on the Nansemond side. On that side, as you will
FORTRESS MONROE. 105
perceive, is Pig Point, upon which the rebels have erected bat-
teries, which they are striving now to finish, mounting seven
guns, thirty-twos and forty-fours. If we were in possession of Pig
Point, the James and Nansemond would be both under our control,
and the services of our blockading vessels might be dispensed with,
which are now required to prevent water communication between
Richmond and Williamsburgh, and between Norfolk and Suffolk.
My proposition is, therefore, to make a combined land and naval
attack upon Pig Point, and endeavor to carry the batteries, both
by turning them, and by direct attack upon the naval force. If we
succeed, then to intrench ourselves there with what speed we
may, and re-establish the battery. But, at the same time, to push
on, with the same flotilla of boats with which we landed, up the
Nansemond, which is navigable for boats, and, I believe, light-
draught steamers, to Suffolk, a distance of twelve miles. When
once there, the commanding general's familiarity with the country'''
(his native region), " or a glance at the map, will show that we are
in possession of all the railroad communication between Richmond,
Petersburgh and Norfolk, and also of the great shore line con-
necting Virginia with North Carolina, via Weldon, by which the
guns taken at the navy yard will be sent south, whenever opera-
tions in that direction demand.
" By going eight and a half miles further by the Jericho Canal,
we enter Drummond Lake, a sheet of water some six miles by four.
From this lake the feeders of the Dismal Swamp Canal may be
cut, and that means of transport cut off. Once at Suffolk, with
three lines of the enemy's communication cut off, Norfolk must fall
with her own weight. Starvation, to be brought on simply by
gathering up the provisions of Princess Anne County, will make
her batteries and the theft of the navy yard guns substantially
valueless, and will save many lives which would be otherwise spent
in their reduction.
" I am not insensible to the disadvantages and difficulties of the
project, the advantages of which I may have painted with too much
couleur de rose.
" I do not recognize as among the most formidable the reduction
of Pig Point battery, as there is plenty of depth of water within
point-blank range, to float the Cumberland; but the battery once
re luced, there must be a pretty active march on Suffolk to prevent
136 F0ETEESS MONEOE.
troublesome fortifications there, which I believe have not yet been
undertaken,
" If I am right in the importance which I attach to this position,
then I must expect all the force of the rebels, both from Norfolk
and Richmond, brought thither by railroad, to be precipitated upon
me, and be prepared to meet it in the open field. Could they do
otherwise ? Norfolk would be hemmed in. Am I able to with-
stand such an attack, between two forces which may act in con-
junction, with the necessary drafts from my forces to keep open the
line of communication by the Nansemond with Newport News,
which would then be the right flank of my base of operations ?
All these questions, much more readily comprehended by the gene-
ral-in-chief than by myself, with the thousand suggestions that will
at once present themselves to his mind, are most respectfully sub-
mitted.
" May I ask for full and explicit instructions upon the matter ?"
This was the scheme. It meant, Begin the war heee. Strike at
Richmond from this point. Sever Virginia from the South, by
darting hence upon her railroad centers. Make war where your
navy can co-operate. Use the means which God and nature have
given you, and which Colonel Dimmick preserved. Don't sit there
in Washington, puttering upon forts and defenses, listening anxious-
ly to the roar from the North, " On to Richmond ;" but give the
enemy something to do elsewhere, far away from your capital and
your sacred things, yet made near to you by your command of the
sea.
General Butler's plans might not have been completely success-
ful ; but if they had been adopted we should have had no Bull
Rim ; and, perhaps, no Merrimac — the true cause of the failure of
the peninsular campaign. Other disasters we might have suffered,
but surely nothing so bad as Bull Run and the Merrimac, the most
costly calamities that ever befell a country.
The reply to General Butler's eager dispatches present to us a
curious study. The reader must make what he can of it. Date,
June 10th :
" Sir, — Your letters of the 1st and 6th instant are received. The
general-in-chief desires me to say in reply, that he highly com-
mends your zeal and activity, which oblige the enemy to strengthen
his camps and posts in your vicinity, and hold him constantly on
FORTRESS MONROE. 107
the alert. The principal value of your movement upon Suffolk is,
that it would be the easiest route to the Gosport Navy Yard, and
the objects (including many ships of war) which our people on the
former occasion left undestroyed. The possession of Norfolk in it-
self is of no importance whilst we blockade Hampton Roads ; but
the destruction of the railroads leading from that city, as far as you
may find it practicable, would be a valuable coercive measure.
The naval commander should aid you in the collection of boats,
and the secretary of war has said that he would cause some eighty
horses to be bought and shipped to you for a light battery."
These were the " full and explicit instructions" for which General
Butler had written. He must have been puzzled to decide whether
the letter was designed to sanction or discourage his enterprise.
Nor was it easy to see what the naval commander could do in the
way of providing the requisite number of boats. If, however, the
words of the commander-in-chief were equivocal, his conduct was
not. No horses were sent, nor battery of field artillery, nor vehicles,
nor cavalry, nor boats. No objection to the railroad, the artesian
well, the bake-house, the intrenched camps; but whatever was
needful for an advance beyond half a day's march was withheld.
Such was the scarcity of horses that the troops were constantly seen
drawing wagon loads of supplies. A reporter writes : " A picture
in the drama of the camp has this moment passed my quarters. It
is a gang of the Massachusetts boys hauling a huge military wagon,
loaded. They have struck up ' The Red, White and Blue.' They
believe in it, and consequently render it with true patriotic inspira-
tion. They pause and give three rousing cheers ; and now they
dash off like firemen, which they are, shouting and thundering along
at a pace that makes the drowsy horses they pass prick up their
ears." To supply the most pressing occasions, General Butler had
nine horses of his own brought from Lowell, and these were all he
had for the public service for more than two months. Another
reporter writes, June 28th : " Among the passengers on board the
steamer to the fortress was Colonel Butler, brother of the general,
who went to Washington last week to get orders for the purchase
of horses, without which not a single step can be made in advance,
simply because the forces here are entirely destitute of the means
of transportation. He got orders and succeeded in buying one
hundred and thirty-five very good horses, mainly in Baltimore,
138 FORTRESS MONROE.
whereupon the government immediately sent up and took one hun-
dred of them for the artillery service at Washington. This was
pretty sharp practice, and gives rise to comment on the inability of
the authorities at the capital to see anything but Washington
worthy of a moment's thought in connection with the present war."
The state of things certainly gave rise to comment, as the replies
of official persons in Washington to General Butler's solicitations,
abundantly show. One gentleman, who was necessarily acquainted
with all that was going on at the seat of government, expressed
himself with remarkable freedom in a letter to our general.
June 8th, " I received your letter and dispatch, and, contrary to
your orders, I read both to the president, under the seal of confi-
dence, however. I have told him that would never let you
have any troops to make any great blow, and I read the dispatch
to show that I understood my man. He intended to treat you as he
did , and as he has always treated those whom he knew would
be effective if he gave them the means, retaining everything in his
own power and under his own immediate control, so as to monop-
olize all the reputation to be made.
" I have been a little afraid lest you might attempt more than
your means justified, under the impression that you would other-
wise disappoint the country. But I am pleased to see that you
have not made this mistake. You must work on patiently till you
feel yourself able to do the work you attempt, and not play into
your enemies' hands, or those of the miserable do-nothings here, by
attempting more than in your cool judgment the force you have can
effect. You will gradually get the means, and then you may make
an effective blow. Unfortunately, indeed, the difficulties increase
as your force increases, if not more rapidly. We have forty thou-
sand men, I believe, and provisions and transportation enough to
take them to Richmond any day, and yet our lines do not extend
five miles into Virginia, where there are not, in my opinion, men
enough *to oppose the march of half the number to Richmond.
Old is at with 20,000 men, and is moving as cau-
tiously toward the Potomac as if the banks were commanded by an
army of Bonaparte's best legions, instead of a mob, composed for the
most part of men who only wait for an opportunity to desert a flag
they detest. This war will last for ever if something does not hap-
pen to unseat old . in the West, with 00,000 men under
GREAT BETHEL. 139
canvas, has not made a movement except let a few regiments march
up the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, at the urgent solicitations of
the people. So we go. Congress will probably catch us without
our having performed any service worthy of the great force we
have under pay."
" I grumble this way all the time, and to every body, in the hope
that I may contribute to push on the column. I am very much in
hopes we shall be pushed into action by the indignation of the peo-
ple, if not by our own sense of what is due to the cause we have
taken in hand."
CHAPTER VII.
GREAT BETHEL.
Whex this letter reached the fortress, General Butler was im-
mersed in the last details of a movement, the result of which was to
show him, and show the country, that sitting in an office arranging
a masterly plan of action is one thing, and the successful execution
of the same is another. His correspondent read the answer to his
letter in the newspapers ; first with exultation, then with bewilder-
ment, lastly with dismay. For the news of Great Bethel came to
us as so much of the news of the war has come ; first, in enormous
flattering lies ; secondly, in exaggerated contradictory rumors of
disaster ; finally, and gradually, in a dim resemblance to the truth.
" Severe engagement near Fortress Monroe — Two hours' fight
at Big Bethel — Terrible mistake of the Seventh and Third regi-
ments — Masked batteries of Rifled Cannon open on our troops —
Twenty-five killed, and one hundred wounded — Withdrawal from
the Field — Renewal of the Battle by General Butler — The Rebel
Batteries Captured, and One Thousand Prisoners taken."
Thus was the disaster first Heralded. Then came news, that our
unfortunate regiments had been hurled upon a battery armed with
thirty pieces of rifled cannon, protected in front by an impassable
creek, from which, after standing " a terrific fire" for an hour and a
half, they had recoiled, with a loss, variously stated, from twenty-
140 GREAT BETHEL.
five to a hundred. Other accounts assured us that our men were
on the point of taking the battery, when an order came from some
unknown source to retire.
The whole truth about Great Bethel does not appear to have
been anywhere published. Mr. Pollard's rebel account is a little
nearer the truth than any other which I have seen; though, of
course, it is distorted by the insanity of hatred common to all our
" Southern brethren."* Our " Southern brethren" excel in the
business of hating through constant practice. Mr. Pollard would
have been a man of honor and truth if he had been reared five de-
grees north of Richmond. As it is, he only escapes being one,
when certain imaginary beings, whom he names Yankees, are the
theme of his vigorous pen.
The affair of Great Bethel happened thus :
The forced inaction of General Butler had the effect of making
the enemy bolder in approaching his lines. They would send par-
ties from Yorktown, who would come down within sight of the
Union pickets near Hampton, and seize both Union men and ne-
groes, conscripting the former, using the latter on their batteries.
Major Winthrop, always on the alert, learned from a contraband,
George Scott by name, that the rebels had established themselves
at two points between Yorktown and the fort, where they had
thrown up intrenchments, and whence they nightly issued, seizing
and plundering. George Scott described the localities with perfect
correctness, and Winthrop himself, accompanied by George repeat-
edly reconnoitered the road leading to them. On one point only
was the negro guide mistaken : he thought the rebels were two
thousand in number; wheieas, when he saw them, five hundred
was about their force. They had eleven or twelve hundred men in
the two Bethels on the day of the action, but not more than five
hundred took part in it ; the rest having arrived, on a run, from
Yorktown while the " battle" was proceeding, and, before they had
recovered breath, it was over.
Major Winthrop reported to General Butler, who resolved to at-
tempt the capture of the two posts. His orders restricted him to
advances of half a day's march. Great Bethel being nine miles
distant, might be considered within the limit.
* "First year of the war. 1 ' New York Edition, p. 77.
GEE AT BETHEL. 141
Now, all was excitement and activity at head-quarters — no one
bo happy as Winthrop, who threw himself, heart and soul, into the
affair. The first rough plan of the expedition, drawn up in his own
hand, lies before me; brief, hasty, colloquial, interlined; resem-
bling the first sketch of an " article" or a story ; such as, doubtless,
he had often dashed upon paper at Staten Island.
PLAN OF ATTACK BY TWO DETACHMENTS UPON LITTLE
BETHEL AND BIG BETHEL.
A regiment or battalion to march from Newport News, and a regiment
to march from Camp Hamilton — Buryea's. Each will be supported by suf-
ficient reserves under arms in camp, and with advanced guards out on the
road of march.
Duryea to push out two pickets at 10 p. m. ; one two and a half miles
beyond Hampton, on the county road, but not so far as to alarm the
enemy. This is important. Second picket half as far as the first. Both
pickets to keep as much out of sight as possible. No one whatever to be
allowed to pass out through their lines. Persons to be allowed to pass in-
ward toward Hampton — unless it appears that they intend to go rounda-
bout and dodge through to the front.
At 12, midnight, Colonel Duryea will march his regiment, with fifteen
rounds cartridges, on the county road towards Little Bethel. Scows will
be provided to ferry them across Hampton Creek. March to be rapid ;
hut not hurried.
A howitzer with canister and shrapnel to go.
A wagon with planks and material to repair the Newmarket Bridge.
Duryea to have the 200 rifles. He will pick the men to whom to intrust
them.
Rocket to be thrown up from Newport News. Notify Commodore Pen-
dergrast of this to prevent general alarm.
Newport News movement to be made somewhat later, as the distance is
less.
If we find the enemy and surprise them, men will fire one volley, if desi-
rable ; not reload, and go ahead with the bayonet.
As the attack is to be by night, or dusk of morning, and in two detach-
ments, our people should have some token, say a white rag (or dirty
white rag) on the left arm.
Perhaps the detachments who are to do the job should be smaller than a
regiment 300 or 500, as the right and left of the attack would be more
easily handled.
If we bag the Little Bethel men, push on to Big Bethel, and similarly
bag them. Burn both the Bethels, or blow up if brick.
142 GEE AT BETHEL.
To protect our rear in case we take the field-pieces, and the enemy
should march his main body (if he has any) to recover them, it would be
well to have a squad of competent artillerists, regular or other, to handle
the captured guns on the retirement of our main body. Also spikes to
spike them, if retaken.
George Scott to have a shooting-iron.
Perhaps Duryea's men would be awkward with a new arm in a night or
early dawn attack, where there will be little marksman duty to perform.
Most of the work will be done with the bayonet, and they are already
handy with the old ones.
" George Scott to have a shooting-iron !" So, the first sugges-
tion of arming a black man in this war came from Theodore Win-
throp. George Scott had a shooting-iron.
This plan, the joint production of the general and his secretary,
was substantially adopted, and orders in accordance therewith were
issued.
The command of the expedition was given to Brigadier-General
,E. W. Pierce, of Massachusetts, a brave and good man, totally
without military experience except upon parade-grounds on train-
ing days. General Butler, as we have before said, was his junior
in the militia of Massachusetts, and had been selected by Governor
Andrew to command the first brigade which left the state, over the
head of General Pierce, who desired to go. It was by way of
atonement to General Pierce for having taken the place which be-
longed by seniority to him, that General Butler assigned him to the
command. The motive was honorable to his feelings as a man.
On Boston Common the act would have been highly becoming and
quite unobjectionable. But, alas ! the theater of action was not
Boston Common.
General Butler has an eye for the man he wants. This was the
first time, and the last time, in his military career, that he has se-
lected an officer for an independent command, for any other reason
but a conviction that he was the best man at hand for the duty to
be done. General Pierce was a brave and good man ; reputed then
to be such ; since proved to be such ; but he was not the best man
at hand for the duty to be done. Out of a good citizen you can make
a good soldier in four months; but a good officer is a creature slowly
produced. Seven years in peace, one year in war, may do it, but
he must have served an apprenticeship, before he is fit to be in-
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GREAT BETHEL. 143
trusted with the lives of men and the honor of a country. The day
before Bethel, General Butler had the brains of a general, the cour-
age of a general, the toughness of a general, the technical knowl-
edge of a general ; but to fit him for independent command, he still
needed some such harsh and bitter experience as now awaited him.
The day after Bethel, he had made a prodigious stride in his mili-
tary education, for he is a man who can take a hint. The whole
secret of war was revealed in the flash and thunder, the disaster
and shame, of that sorry skirmish.
All went well until near the dawn of day, June 10th, when the
forces were to form their junction near Little Bethel. There Colo-
nel Bendix's regiment saw approaching over the crest of a low hill
what seemed, in the magnifying dusk, a body of cavalry. It was
Colonel Townsend's regiment which they saw. Knowing that
General Butler had no cavalry, Colonel Bendix concluded, of course,
that they were a body of mounted rebels. The fatal order was
given to fire, and ten of Colonel Townsend's men fell ; two killed
and eight wounded. The fire was returned in a desultory manner,
without loss to the regiment of Colonel Bendix. Of the confusion
that followed, the double-quick counter-marching, the alarm to
friends and foes, I need not speak. The dawn of day revealed the
error, and then the question arose, whether to advance or to return
to the fortress. A surprise was no longer possible, and the inhabi-
tants of the country concurred in stating the force of the enemy
at four or five thousand, with formidable artillery. Colonel
Duryea had already captured the picket at Little Bethel. The
enemy, therefore, fully warned, must be concentrated at Great
Bethel. Major Winthrop and Lieutenant Butler, both of the com-
manding general's staff, united in most earnestly advising an ad-
vance, and General Pierce gave no reluctant assent. He had sent
back for re-enforcements which were soon on the march to join him.
At half past nine, he had arrived within a mile of the enemy, with
two regiments and four pieces of cannon of small caliber, one of
which was the gun of Lieutenant Greble of the regular artillery.
Two other regiments were approaching. The ground may be
roughly described thus: An oblong piece of open country, sur-
rounded on three sides by woods, General Pierce entering at the
end where there was no wood. The enemy's position was near the
upper end, but behind a strip of wood which concealed it. It
144 GREAT BETHEL.
was, in some slight degree, protected in front by a creek twelve
feet wide and three deep. Their battery consisted of four pieces
of field artillery, one of which becoming disabled through the dis-
arrangement of the trigger-apparatus, was useless. The earth-
works, hastily thrown up in front of the guns, added scarcely any
strength to the position, for they were less than three feet high
on the outside. A boy ten years old could have leaped over them ;
a boy ten years old could have waded the creek. The breastworks
were, in fact, so low that the wheels of the enemy's guns were
embedded in the earth, in order to get the carriages low enough to
be protected. These facts I learn from a Union officer of high rank,
who afterward became familiar with the ground. Behind these
trivial works were five hundred rebel troops, who were re-enforced
while the action was going on with six hundred more from York-
town, thoroughly blown with running. This was the real strength
of the enemy, whom General Pierce firmly believed to consist of
four or five thousand troops strongly posted, and well supplied with
artillery.
General Pierce and his command then stood, at half-past nine,
on the high road leading from Hampton to Yorktown, a mile from
the enemy, whose battery commanded the road. That battery was
so placed that it could have been approached within fifty yards
without the attacking party leaving the woods. Nor was there any
serious obstacle to turning it either on the right or on the left.
This not being immediately perceived, Colonel Duryea and Lieuten-
ant Greble marched along the high road into the enemy's fire, and
soon the cannon balls began to play over their heads, falling far to
the rear. The men gave three cheers and kept on their way.
Soon, however, the enemy fired better, and some men were struck ;
not many, for the total loss of Colonel Duryea's regiment that day
was four killed, and twelve wounded. To these troops, in theii
inexperience, it seemed that work of this kind could not be down
in the programme. They also received the impression that the
enemy's three pieces of cannon were thirty at least, and that, upon
the whole^ this was not the right road to the battery. So they
sidled off into the woods, and there remained waiting for some one
to tell them what to do next. Greble kept on to a point three hun-
dred yards from the enemy, where he planted his gun, and main-
tained a steady and effective fire upon them for an hour and a half.
GliEAT BETHEL. 145
I say effective. It did not kill a rebel ; but it had the effect of keep-
ing them within their works, and giving them the idea that they
were attacked.
After Colonel Duryea had retired to the woods, there was a long
pause in the operations, during which a good plan was matured
for turning the enemy's battery, and getting in behind it. It was
agreed that Colonel Townsend should keep well away to the left,
near the wood, or through the wood, and go on to the Yorktown
road beyond the battery ; then turn down upon it, and dash in.
Colonel Duryea and Colonel Bendix were to march through the
woods on the right, and penetrate to the same road below the bat*
tery, and then rush in upon it simultaneously with Colonel Town-
send. It was an excellent and most feasible scheme, certain of
success if -executed with merely tolerable vigor and resolution.
Colonel Duryea again advanced, this time through the woods. He
went as far as the creek, and concluding it to be impassable by his
" Zouaves," retired a second time, with some trifling loss ; Lieutenant-
Colonel Warren, and a few brave men remaining long enough to
bring away the body and the gun of poor Greble, shot by the ene-
my's last discharge. Meanwhile Colonel Townsend was making
his way far on the other side of the road. He was going straight
to victory ; Major Winthrop among the foremost, full of ardor and
confidence, and the men in good heart. In five minutes more he
would have gained a position on the Yorktown road beyond the
battery, from which they could have marched upon the enemy, as
in an open field. Then occurred a fatal mistake. In the haste of
the start, two companies of the regiment had marched on the other
side of a stone fence ; and, anxious to get forward, were coming
up to the front at some distance from the main body in the open
field. Colonel Townsend seeing these troops, supposed that they
were a body of the enemy coming out to attack him in flank. He
ordered a halt, and then returned to the point of departure to meet
this imaginary foe, Winthrop, as is supposed, did not hear the
order to retire. With a few troops he still pressed on, and when
they halted, still advanced, and reached a spot thirty yards from
the enemy's battery. With one companion, private John M. Jones
of Vermont, he sprang upon a log to get a view of the position,
which he alone that day clearly saw. A ball pierced his brain.
He almost instantly breathed his last. His body being left on the
146
GBEAT BETHEL.
field fell into the hands of the foe. In their opinion, he was the
only man in the Union force who displayed " even an approxima-
tion to courage," .and they gave his remains the honorable burial
due to the body of a hero, and returned his watch and other effects
to his commanding officer.
General Pierce, with the advice of all the colonels except Col
Duryee, gave the order to retire ! and so the " battle" of Great
Bethel ended. Some of the companies retired in tolerable order.
But there was a great deal of panic and precipitation, though the
pursuit was late and languid. The noble Chaplain Winslow and
the brave Lieutenant-Colonel G. K. Warren,* with a few other
firm men, remained behind ; and, all exhausted as they were, drew
the wounded in wagons nine miles, from the scene of the action to
the nearest camp.
Lieutenant-Colonel Warren reports;
" I remained on the ground about an hour after all the force had
left. As Colonel Carr retired, Captain Wilson, of his regiment,
carried off the gun at which Lieutenant Greble had been killed, but
left the limber behind. I withdrew this along with Lieutenant
Greble's body, assisted by Lieutenant Duncan and twelve men of
the ~N. Y. First, and sent it on to join the piece. I remained with
Chaplain Winslow, and a few men of the N. Y. Third, Fifth, and
Seventh, getting the wounded together, whom we put into carts and
wagons, and drew off by hand. There were three or four mortally
wounded and several dead, whom we had to leave from inability to
carry them. I sent several messengers to get assistance ; and as
we moved slowly, finding no one, I pushed ahead as fast as I could
go on foot (having given the animal I rode to a wounded man) . I
overtook none but the worn-out stragglers till I came up to Captain
Kapff, of the N. Y. Seventh, who with seven or eight men stopped,
as also did Captain McNutt of the Second, detailed by Colonel
Carr. They both rendered essential service in checking the advance
of the enemy's horsemen, who finally came on and pursued up to
New Market Bridge.
" The noble conduct of Chaplain Winslow, and the generous-
hearted men who remained behind to help the wounded, deserves
the highest praise ; and the toilsome task which they accomplished
* Since brigadier-general and chief of staff to General Meade — distinguished on many fields,
particularly at the battles in Pennsylvania in June, 1863.
GREAT BETHEL. 14 V
of dragging the rude vehicles, filled with their helpless comrades,
over a weary road of nine miles in their exhausted condition, with
the prospect of an attack every minute, bespeak a goodness of heart
and a bravery never excelled. Besides the wounded and dead left
behind, there were a number of canteens and haversacks, and a few
muskets and bayonets, all of which I think was caused by a mis-
understanding. Our regiment did not think we were going back
more than a few hundred yards to rest a little, out of fire, and then
make another attack. There was no pursuing force, or the least
excuse for precipitancy. No shots were fired at the little party
who carried away the limber of Lieutenant Greble's gun, and the
long while which elapsed without any one appearing in front of the
enemy's lines, would indicate that he was very weak in numbers,
or perhaps had begun to retire. The force which the enemy
brought into action was not, I think, greater than 500 men. His
great advantage over us was artillery protected from our fire. I
still am of the opinion that the position, as we found it, was not
difficult to take with experienced troops, and could have been
turned on our left. The trees protected our approach, and sheltered
us from their battery till we were quite close, and the march in
front was practicable for footmen. We labored under great disad-
vantage in want of experience in firing, and in the exhaustion of
our men from want of sleep, long marching, and hunger.
" The enemy had a rifled gun or two, shooting bolts of about the
caliber of four-pounders, and eight inches long, with soft metal base ;
some of them were hollow, with a Boarman fuse at the point, and
all did not burst. Some of their twelve-pounder shells also failed
to explode. There were probably three to five guns sheltered by
a breastwork, and one or two that were moved around to different
points.
" The breastwork was placed so that the guns enfiladed the little
bridge. The gun placed to sweep the long reach of road before
you came to the bridge was driven away by Lieutenant Greble's
fire, which prevented our loss from being far greater than it was.
The skill and bravery displayed by Lieutenant Greble could not
have been surpassed ; and the fortune which protected him from
the enemy's fire only deserted him at the last moment. The
discharge which killed him was one of the last made by the
enemy's guns. His own guns were never silenced by the enemy's
7
148 CONSEQUENCES OF GBEAT BETHEL.
'
fire, and the occasional pauses were to husband his ammuni-
tion."
The Union loss in killed and permanently disabled was twenty-
five. The rebel loss, one man killed and three wounded. A few
hours after the action, Great Bethel was evacuated. If General
Pierce had withdrawn his men out of fire, and caused them to sit
down and eat their dinner, it is highly probable the enemy would
have retreated ; for they were greatly outnumbered, and were per-
fectly aware that one regiment of steady and experienced troops,
led by a man who knew his business, could have taken them all
prisoners in twenty minutes. For the most part, our men, I am
assured, behaved as well as could have been expected. All they
wanted was commanders who knew what was the right thing to
do, and who would go forward and show them how to do it. One
well-compacted, well-sustained rush from any point of approach,
and the battery had been theirs.
CHAPTER VIIL
m CONSEQUENCES OF GBEAT BETHEL.
Great Bethel was a trifling skirmish ; but, occurring just when it
did, it was a calamity. It was the first shock of arms between the
belligerents, and gave the key-note to at least the overture of the
war — the first campaign. Splendid fighting has since been done,
and a great deal of it. There has, also, been much bad fighting,
many ill-concerted movements, much misconduct on the part of
officers, some shameful flights and panics. It does not appear cer-
tain that we have yet learned to comply with all the fundamental
conditions of successful war. We still seem capable, occasionally,
of starting back in affright from phantoms, instead of marching
forward and preventing phantoms from becoming realities. We
all know what allowances were to be made for these Bethel regi-
ments. We knew how they had left their counting-rooms and
shops for a long frolic at soldiering, with officers who were, per-
CONSEQUENCES OF GEEAT BETHEL. 149
haps, more ignorant of their new profession than if they had never
shone on parade, or distinguished themselves in the drill room.
There is a kind of knowledge which deludes more than total igno-
rance, since it seems to conceal our ignorance from ourselves and
from others.
It was rather surprising than otherwise that the first fighting of
the war was done as well as it was done, since all the influences of
our education and business had long tended to abate that exuber-
ance of spirit, that confidence in our strength, which makes men
mighty to dare and to overcome. The training which diminishes a
man's fighting power is not culture, but effeminacy.
But if we had not learned the true secret of successful warfare,
we are learning it ; we shall learn it. Much creditable fighting has
been done by the Union armies. But, contending as we are with a
desperate foe, our armies must acquire the coherency which is only
obtained by supplying them with officers whose superiority of
knowledge will command the confidence of the men in critical
moments. For many a year to come, perhaps, the elite of the young
men of America will have to be bred to arms as a profession.
The day after Bethel was a sad one at Fortress Monroe. Lieu-
tenant Greble's father was on his way to visit his son, and arrived
cnly to take back his remains to his family, followed by the sorrow
of the whole command. The fate of Winthrop was not yet known ;
he was reported only among the " missing." Before leaving head-
quarters he had borrowed a gun of the general, saying, gayly,
a I may want to take a pop at them." In the course of the morn-
ing, this gun was brought in, with such information as led to the
conclusion that he must have fallen ; perhaps, thrown his life pur-
posely away. During his short residence at head-quarters he had
endeared himself to all hearts ; to none more than to the general
and Mrs. Butler. He was mourned as a brother by those who had
known him but sixteen days.
As Mr. Curtis beautifully says in his fine sketch of his friend's ca-
reer, " Theodore Winthrop's life, like a fire long smoldering, sud-
denly blazed up into a clear bright flame, and vanished. Descended
from John Winthrop and Jonathan Edwards, numbering among
his ancestors seven presidents of Yale College, of which he was him-
self a distinguished graduate, with fine gifts, powerful friends, good
opportunities, he lived thirty-three years vithout finding work that
150
CONSEQUENCES OF GREAT BETHEL.
could absorb and content him, unless it were literature, and for that
he seemed to lack the something — bodily stamina, confidence in his
powers, force of ambition or pressure of necessity — which could
convert his longing into a career. His desk was full of manuscripts,
since rightly valued; but his name was unknown to the public till
he wrote the story of the march of the Seventh regiment. It was
not force of vitality that he wanted. He had been everywhere,
seen everything ; walked over Scotland, Italy, Switzerland ; ridden
over our western plains and deserts. A short, slight, most active
figure. "Often," says Mr. Curtis, "after writing for a few hours
in the morning, he stepped out of doors, and, from pure love of the
fun, leaped and turned summersets upon the grass, before going
up to town. In walking about Staten Island, he constantly stopped
by the roadside fences, and, grasping the highest rail, swung him-
self swiftly and neatly over and back again, resuming the walk and
the talk without delay." Overwork at school and college had
robbed him of that unchecked growth without which there can be
no sustained fullness of endeavor. Unlearning what he had learned
amiss, learning essential things of which the schools had given him
no hint, chasing the world over after health — so passed the years
of his maturity.
To the mother of his dead comrade, General Butler addressed
the following letter:
" Head-quarters Department of Virginia,
"JunelSth, 1861.
" My Dear Madam : — The newspapers have anticipated me in the sorrow-
ful intelligence which I have to communicate. Your son Theodore is no
more. He fell mortally wounded from a rifle shot, at County Bridge. I
have conversed with private John M. Jones, of the ISTorthfield company in
the Vermont regiment, who stood beside Major Winthrop when he fell,
and supported him in his arms.
" Your son's death was in a few moments, without apparent anguish.
After Major Winthrop had delivered the order with which he was charged,
to the commander of the regiment, he took his rifle, and while his guide
held his horse in the woods in the rear, with too daring bravery, went to
the front ; while there, stepping upon a log to get a full view of the force,
he received the fatal shot. His friend, Colonel Wardrop, of Massachusetts,
had loaned him a sword for the occasion, on which his name was marked
in full, so that he was taken by the enemy for the colonel himself.
CONSEQUENCES OF GREAT BETHEL. 151
"Major Winthrop had advanced so close to the parapet, that it was not
thought expedient by those in command to send forward any party to bring
off the body, and thus endanger the lives of others in the attempt to secure
his remains, as the rebels remorselessly fired upon all the small parties that
went forward for the purpose of bringing off their wounded comrades.
" Had your gallant son been alive, I doubt not he would have advised
this course in regard to another. I have assurances from the officer in com-
mand of the rebel forces at County Bridge, that Major Winthrop received
at their hand a respectful and decent burial.
" His personal effects found upon him, will be given up to my flag of
truce, with the exception of his watch, which has been sent to Yorktown,
and which I am assured will be returned through me to yourself.
" I have given thus particularly these sad details, because I know and have
experienced the fond inquiries of a mother's heart respecting her son's acts.
"My dear madam! although a stranger, my tears will flow withyonrs in
grief for the loss of your brave and too gallant son, my true friend and brother.
' k I had not known him long, but his soldierly qualities, his daring cour-
age, his true-hearted friendship, his genuine sympathies, his cultivated
mind, his high moral tone, all combined to so win me to him, that he had
twined himself about my heart with the cords of a brother's love.
" The very expedition which resulted so unfortunately for him, made him
all the more dear to me. Partly suggested by himself, he entered into the
necessary preparations for it with such alacrity, cool judgment, and careful
foresight, in all the details that might render it successful, as gave great
promise of future usefulness in his chosen profession. When, in answer to
his request to be permitted to go with it, I suggested to him that my cor-
respondence was very heavy, and he would be needed at home, he play-
fully replied : ' O general, we will all work extra hours, and make that up
when we get back. The affair can't go on without me, you know.' The
last words I heard him say before his good-night, when we parted, were,
' If anything happens, I have given my mother's address to Mr. Green.'
His last thoughts were with his mother ; his last acts were for his country
and her cause.
" I have used the words ' unfortunate expedition for him !' Nay, not so ;
too fortunate thus to die doing his duty, his whole duty, to his country, as
a hero, and a patriot. Unfortunate to us only who are left to mourn the
loss to ourselves and our country.
u Permit me, madam, in the poor degree I may, to take such a place in
your heart that we may mingle our griefs, as we already do our love and
admiration for him who has only gone before ns to that better world where,
through the ' merits of Him who suffered for us,' we shall all meet together.
" Most sincerely and affectionately,
"Yours, Benj. F. Butlee."
152 CONSEQUENCES OF GEEAT BETHEL.
It may not be improper to add to this just and affecting tribute,
a note addressed by the sister of the deceased officer to Mrs. Butler :
"Staten Island, June 10 th, 1861.
"Dear Mes. Butlek: — I can not let this opportunity pass without ex-
pressing my gratitude to you, and General Butler, for your great kindness
to my dear brother, and for your tenderness to us in our grief. It is a great
comfort to us to know that we have your sympathy ; to know that you
valued Theodore, and appreciated him. We must always feel a warm
friendship for you and yours, with whom he spent the last weeks of his life,
the most eventful, the most useful, and the happiest, perhaps, he had ever
spent. You know in some degree what we have lost, and I trust we shall
one day meet as friends, and talk of things of the deepest interest to us, and
which I am sure are not without interest to you. It does make us stronger
to bear our sorrow, when we think of the cause for which our dear brother
died ; a cause long dear to us all, and now far dearer than ever. I trust our
country will be nobler and worthier than ever of our love, after this dark
hour of trial is past. May she not have, like Rachel, to weep for many
more of her children. Yet truth and freedom can not be too dearly bought,
by blood and tears.
"It is a great satisfaction to us to know from Theodore's letters, that
some of the last acts of his life were kindnesses to an oppressed race, a race
he never forgot, as a part of the Nation whose battle he fought.
" My mother and sisters join with me in affectionate remembrances, and
in the hope of expressing in person at some future time our heartfelt grati-
tude, our interest and friendship for you as well as General Butler, whose
career we watch with warm interest and admiration. Yours affectionately,
"Lauea W. Johnson."
I must not leave this melancholy subject without mentioning the
noble, and, I believe, unique atonement made by General Pierce
for whatever errors he may have committed at Great Bethel. He
served out his term of three months in such extreme sorrow as
almost to threaten his reason. He then enlisted as a private in a
three years regiment, and served for some time in that honorable
lowliness. Appointed, at length, to the command of a regiment,
he served with distinction through the campaign of the peninsula,
where, in one of the battles, he was severely w^ounded.
General Butler, as we all remember, did not escape the censures
of the press on this occasion. He was frequently favored with
comments like the following :
" Men can not be required to stand in front of a rampart, thirty
CONSEQUENCES OF GEEAT BETHEL. 153
feet from the muzzles of mounted guns, loaded with grape, and
canister, and musket-balls, doing nothing. When they are com-
manded to march through fire, and reach the ditch, they must be
provided with the means to cross it, or jump into it, and sticking
their bayonets into the slope of the scarp, form with them ladders
by means of which the more active can mount the parapet. But
before men are sent into a position — recollecting that every ditch
will be swept by a flank fire — they must not only be instructed in
their duties, but supported by a steady fire upon the enemy. Ad-
vantage must be taken of darkness or the weather ; false assaults
must be made in conjunction with the true one, and so supported,
too, that the false attack may, if circumstances favor it, be followed
up and made the real one."
Indeed, the great calamity of Bethel was, that it concealed from
the country for a time the merit of the man who, more than most,
was able to give it the service it needed. The country wanted a
man who could not be scared by phantoms, and whose energy and
talents could keep phantoms from growing into grim realities. The
man was at hand, but imperfectly recognized. A complete success
at Great Bethel, added to the fame of Baltimore and Annapolis,
would have given General Butler a position before the country
which could not have been disregarded. The failure there nearly
cost him a rejection by the senate. He was saved by two votes
only, and that bare majority he owed to the friendly exertions of
that Colonel Baker whose life was squandered at Ball's Bluff.
Colonel Baker had served with his regiment at Fortress Monroe.
An interesting correspondence between General Butler and Colo-
nel Magruder, shows us that the question of the exchange of pris-
oners was not regarded as a difficult one, at that stage of the war,
by either of those officers. Colonel Magruder had been an
acquaintance of General Butler in happier times. They had last
met, I believe, at a ball at Newport :
COLONEL MAGEUDEE TO GENEBAL BUTLEE.
" Head-Quaetees, Yoektown, Viegistia, June 12th, 1861.
"Majoe-Geneeal B. F. Butlee, Commanding Fortress Monroe, &c.
"Sie: — Our people had orders to bring any communications intended
for the commander of the forces at ' County Bridge' or Bethel to this place,
and by a particular route — hence the delay.
154 CONSEQUENCES OF GEE AT BETHEL.
"I understood from Captain Davies, the bearer of the flag, that yon have
four prisoners, to wit: One trooper and three citizens; Messrs. Carter,
"Whiting, Lively and Mariam, the latter three being citizens of Virginia, in
your possession ; and you state that you are desirous to exchange them for
a corresponding number of federal troops, who are prisoners with me. I
accept your offer, so far as the trooper, who was a vidette, in question, ancV
will send to-morrow, at four o'clock in the afternoon, if it will suit your
convenience, a federal soldier in exchange for him. With respect to the
wounded, my first care was to have them attended to. Medical advice and
careful nursing have been provided, and your dead I had buried on the field
of battle, and this was done in sight of the conflagration which was devas-
tating the homes of our citizens.
" The citizens in your possession are men who doubtless defended their
homes against a foe who, to their certain knowledge, had, with or without
the authority of the federal government, destroyed the private property of
their neighbors, breaking up even the pianos of the ladies, and committing
depredations, numberless and of every description. The federal prisoners,
if agreeable to you, will be sent to or near Hampton, by a sergeant, who
will receive the vidette (Carter) who was captured by your troops. I do
not think a more formal proceeding necessary, you having but one pris-
oner, and he not taken in battle.
" If my proposition to deliver one federal prisoner at or near Hampton in
charge of a sergeant, to be exchanged for private Carter, the captured vi-
dette, be accepted, please inform me or the officer in command at Bethel
church, and it shall be done.
" It is scarcely necessary to say that the gentlemen who bear your flag
have been received with every courtesy by our citizens, as well as our-
selves. I have the honor to be,
" Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
"J Bankhead Magetjdee, Colonel Commanding."
geneeal butlee to colonel mageudee.
Head-Quabtees Depaetment of Viegenia,
Foeteess Moneoe, June \2>ih, 1861.
* Colonel J. B. Mageudee, Commanding Forces at Yorktown.
" Sie : — Your favor of June 12, by Captain Davies, with a flag of truce, was
this morning received. I desire first to thank you for the courtesy shown to
the flag and its messengers. I will accept the exchange for private Carter-
The two citizens, Whiting and Lively, were taken with arms in their hands,
one of which was discharged from the house of Whiting upon the column
of our troops when all resistance was useless, and when his attack was sim-
CONSEQtTEtfCES OF GREAT BETHEL. 135
ply assassination, and when no offense had been committed against him.
The house from which this shot was fired, and a building which formed a
part of your outpost are the only conflagrations caused by the troops un-
der my command. And the light of these had ceased hours before your
men ventured out from under their earthworks and ditches, to do us the
courtesy of burying our dead, for which act you have my sincere thanks.
" After our troops returned from the field — hours after — a building was
burned which had furnished our wounded some shelter, and from which we
had removed them, but not by our men. For your kind treatment of any
wounded you may have, please accept my assurance of deep obligation, with
the certainty that at any and every opportunity such courtesy and kindness
will be reciprocated. I am sorry that an officer so distinguished in the ser-
vice of the United States as yourself could for a moment suppose that the
wanton destruction of private property would in any way be authorized or
tolerated by the federal government and its officers, many of whom are your
late associates. Even now, while your letter is being answered, and this is on
its way to you, a most ignominious and severe punishment, in the presence
of all the troops, is being inflicted upon men who had enlisted in the ser-
vice of the United States — not soldiers — for plundering private property.
All private property which would not, by the strictest construction, be con-
sidered contraband of war, as means of feeding and aiding the enemy,
which has been brought within my lines or in any way has come in the pos-
session of my troops and discovered, with the strictest examination has been
taken account of and collected together to be given to those peaceable
citizens who have come forward to make claim for it. A board of survey
has been organized, and has already reported indemnity for the property
of peaceable citizens necessarily destroyed. In order to convince you that
no wrong has been done to private property by any one in authority in the
service of the United States, I do myself the honor to inclose a copy of a
general order from this department, which will sufficiently explain itself.
And the most active measures have been taken rigidly to enforce it, and to
punish violations thereof. That there have been too many sporadic acts of
wrong to private property committed by bad men under my command, I
admit and most sincerely regret, and believe they will in the future be sub-
stantially prevented ; and I mean they shall be repaired in favor of all loyal
citizens so far as lies in my power.
" You have done me the honor to inform me that vidette Carter is not a
prisoner takeu in battle. That is quite true. He was asleep on his post,
and informs me that his three companions left in such haste that they neg-
lected to wake him up. And they being mounted and my men on foot T
the race was a difficult one. If it is not the intention of your authorities
to treat the citizens of Virginia taken in actual conflict with the United
States, as soldiers, in what light shall they be considered ? Please inform
7*
156 CONSEQUENCES OF GREAT BETHEL.
me in what light you regard them. If not soldiers, must they not be as-
sassins ?
"A sergeant of Captain Davies's command will be charged to meet your
sergeant at four o'clock, at the village of Hampton, for the purpose of ex-
change of private Carter.
; ' I need not call your attention to the fact that there will be unauthor-
ized acts of violence committed by those who are not sufficiently under re-
straint of their commanding officers. My men complain that the ambu-
lance having the wounded was fired into by your cavalry. And I am in-
formed that if you have any prisoners, they were taken while engaged in
pious duty to their wounded comrades, and not in battle. It has not oc-
curred to my mind that either firing into the ambulance or capturing per-
sons in charge of the wounded men was an act either authorized, recog-
nized, or sanctioned by any gentleman in command of the forces in Virginia.
Before this unhappy strife, I had not been so accustomed to regard the acts
of my late associate citizens of the United States, and I have seen nothing
in the course of this contest in the acts of those in authority, to lead me to
a different conclusion.
" I have the honor to be, most respectfully, your obedient servant,
"Ben j. F. Butler,
" Major- General Commanding United States Forces."
General Butler learned the lesson first taught by the failure at
Great Bethel, since repeated on so many disastrous fields. That
lesson was, the utter insufficiency of the volunteer system as then
organized, and the absolute necessity of officers morally and profes-
sionally superior to the men under their command. The southern
social system, at least, leads to the selection of officers to whom the
men are accustomed to look up. Our officers, on the contrary,
must have a real superiority, both of knowledge and of character,
in order to bind a regiment into coherency and force. General
Butler had under his command captains, majors and colonels who
owed their election chiefly to their ability to bestow unlimited
drinks. There were drunkards and thieves among them; to say
nothing of those who, from mere ignorance and natural inefficiency,
could maintain over their men no degree whatever of moral or
military ascendancy. The general saw the evil. In a letter to the
secretary of war, June 26 th, he pointed out the partial remedy
which was afterward adopted.
" I desire," he wrote, " to trouble you upon a subject of the last
importance to the organization of our volunteer regiments. Many
CONSEQUENCES OF GREAT BETHEL. 157
of the volunteers, both two and three years men, have chosen their
own company officers, and in some cases their field officers, and
they have been appointed without any proper military examination
before a proper board, according to the plan of organization of the
volunteers. There should be some means by which these officers
can be sifted out.. The efficiency and usefulness of the regiment
depend upon it. To give you an illustration : In one regiment I
have had seven applications for resignation, and seventeen applica-
tions for leave of absence ; some on the most frivolous pretexts, by
every grade of officers under the colonel. I have yielded to many
of these applications, and more readily than I should otherwise
have done, because I was convinced that their absence was of
benefit rather than harm. Still, this absence is a virtual fraud upon
the United States. It seems as if there must be some method other
than a court-martial of ridding the service of these officers, when
there are so many competent men ready, willing, and eager to serve
their country. Ignorance and incompetency are not crimes to be
tried by court martial, while they are great misfortunes to an
officer. As at present the whole matter of the organization is in-
formal, without direct authority of law in its details, may not the
matter be reached by having a board appointed at any given post,
composed of three or five, to whom the competency, efficiency, and
propriety of conduct of a given officer might be submitted ? And
that upon the report of that board, approved by the commander
and the department, the officer be dropped without the disgrace
attending the sentence of a court-martial ?"
Meanwhile, the general labored most earnestly to raise the stand-
ard of discipline in the regiments. The difficulty was great,
amounting, at times, to impossibility. At one time there were
thirty-eight vacancies among the officers of the New York regi-
ments alone. The men, accustomed to active industry, and now
compelled to endure the monotony of a camp, sought excitement in
drink. It was, for some weeks, a puzzle at head-quarters where the
soldiers obtained such abundant supplies of the means of intoxica-
tion. " We used," said General Butler, in his testimony before the
war committee, " to send a picket guard up a mile and a half from
Fortress Monroe. The men would leave perfectly sober, yet every
night when they came back we would have trouble with them on
account of their being drunk. Where they got their liquor from
158 CONSEQUENCES OE GREAT BETHEL.
we could not tell. Night after night, we instituted a rigorous
examination, but it was always the same. The men were examined
over and over again ; their canteens were inspected, and yet we
could find no liquor about them. At last it was observed that they
seemed to hold their guns up very straight, and, upon examination
being made, it was found that every gun-barrel was filled with
whisky ; and it was not always the soldiers who did this."
Further investigation disclosed facts still more distressing. An
eye-witness reports :
" General Butler ascertained that what was professedly the sut-
ler's store of one of the regiments, was but a groggery. Thh he
visited, and stove the heads of some half dozen barrels, and spilled
all the liquor of every sort to be found. He found a book, in which
the account with a single regiment was kept, which disclosed a
state of things truly startling. Scarcely an officer of the regiment
but had an open account, footing up for the single month amounts
ranging from $10 to $1,000. The items charged, and the space of
time within which the liquor was obtained, and, of course, con-
sumed, was truly astonishing, and proved the depth of demoraliza-
tion to which the officers, and, I fear, consequently, the entire regi-
ment, had become reduced. I purposely suppress a narrative of
the scenes of debauchery and violence in the camp at Newport
News, where the regiment has lately been removed, a few evenings
since, resulting in the shooting, if not the death, of a soldier, fired
en by an officer while both were intoxicated.
" General Butler having possessed himself of the book in ques-
tion, went to Newport News yesterday afternoon, having previ-
ously summoned all the commissioned officers of the regiment to
meet him alone on the boat on his arrival. They came as sum-
moned. General Butler told them frankly and pointedly what was
the object of the meeting ; exhibited to them the evidence that was
in his hands of the astonishing amounts of liquor which they as offi-
cers had purchased ; pointed them to the consequences as seen in
the demoralized condition of the regiments ; the late scenes of vio-
lence, the waste of money, the injustice of such conduct toward
New York, after she had been to the expense of giving them a lib-
eral outfit, and, with a princely liberality, was supporting so many
of the families of soldiers and others ; and, more than all, the de-
plorable consequences that must ensue to the cause from such indnl-
CONSEQUENCES OF GKEAT BETHEL. 159
gence. General Butler said there must and should be a stop put to
it. He said he himself was not a total-abstinence man, but he
pledged to the officers he addressed his word of honor as an officer
and a man that, so long as he remained in this department, intoxi-
cating drinks should be banished from his quarters, and that he
would not use them except when medicinally prescribed ; and he
wanted the officers present to give him their pledge that henceforth
this should be the rule of their conduct. As he had determined to
tell no man to go, where he could not say come, so, in this matter,
he required no officer to do that which he would not first do him-
self. General Butler enforced his views and the grounds of the de-
termination he had formed feelingly and forcibly, and the affirm-
ative response was unanimous, with only one exception, he being a
captain, whose resignation Colonel Phelps announced was then in
his hands, and which General Butler instantly accepted.
" This interview over, General Butler directed Captain Davis,
the provost-marshal, and his deputy, W. H.. Wiegel, to proceed to
search every place known to sell liquor, or suspected of being en-
gaged in the traffic, and to destroy the same. Within one hour
between twenty and thirty barrels of whisky, brandy, and other
concoctions were emptied on the ground, amid the cheers of the
soldiers. The proceeding elicited the warmest approbation of the
whole camp, and especially of the men, who, as patrons of the sut-
lers, had been swindled by them. The sutlers themselves, and all
others guilty of having contributed to demoralize the troops, were
taken into custody and brought to the fortress, and will be sent
hence."
General Butler's order on the subject of intoxicating drinks is too
characteristic to be omitted.
"Head-quarters, Department Virginia,
"Fort Monroe, Va., Augmt 2, 1861.
1 General Order, JTo. 22. — The general commanding was informed on
the first day of the month, from the books of an unlicensed liquor dealer
near this post, and by the effect on the officers and soldiers under his com-
mand, that the use of intoxicating liquors prevailed to an alarming extent
among the officers of his command. He had already taken measures to pre-
vent its use among the men, but had presumed that officers and gentlemen
might be trusted ; but he finds that as a rule, in some regiments, that as-
sumption is ill-founded, while there are many honorable exceptions to this
160 CONSEQUENCES OF GREAT BETIIEL.
unhappy state of facts ; yet, for the good of all, some stringent measures
upon the subject are necessary.
" Hereafter, all packages brought into this department for any officer of
whatever grade, will be subjected to the most rigid inspection ; and all spir-
ituous and intoxicating liquors therein will be taken and turned over to the
use of the medical department. Any officer who desires may be present at
the inspection of his own packages.
" !No sale of intoxicating liquor will be allowed in this department, and any
citizen selling will be immediately sent out.
" If any officer finds the use of intoxicating liquor necessary for his health,
or the health of any of his men, a written application to the medical direc-
tor will be answered; and the general is confident that there is a sufficient
store for all necessary purposes.
" The medical director will keep a record of all such applications, the name
of the applicant, date of application, amount and kind of liquor delivered,
to be open at all times for public inspection.
" In view of the alarming increase in the use of this deleterious article, the
general earnestly exhorts all officers and soldiers to use their utmost exer-
tions, both of influence and example, to prevent the wasting effects of this
scourge of all armies.
11 The general commanding does not desire to conceal the fact that he has
been accustomed to the use of wine and liquors in his own quarters, and to fur-
nish them to his friends ; but as he desires never to ask either officers or men
to undergo any privation which he will not share with them, he will not ex-
empt himself from the operation of this order, but will not use it in his own
quarters, as he would discourage its use in the quarters of any other officer.
Amid the many sacrifices of time, property, health and life, which the offi-
cers and soldiers of his command are making in the service of their country,
the general commanding feels confident that this, so slight, but so necessa-
ry a sacrifice of a luxury, and pandering to appetite, will be borne most
cheerfully, now that its evil is seen and appreciated.
" This order will be published by reading it at the head of every battalion,
at their several evening parades.
" By command of
" Majoe-Geneeal Butleb.
" T. J. Haines, A. A. A. General"
The whisky at Fortress Monroe inspired one piece of wit, which
amused the command. This was the time when it was customary
to "administer the oath" to arrested secessionists, and set them
at liberty. A scouting party having brought in a rattlesnake,
t" -.o question arose what should be done with it. A drunken
CONSEQUENCES OP GREAT BETHEL. 161
soldier hiccoughed out: "d — n him, swear him in and let him
go."*
With equal vigor, General Butler made war upon a practice
which no commanding officer has ever been able entirely to sup-
press, that of plundering abandoned houses. The possession of a
chair, a table, a piece of carpet, an old kettle, or even a piece of
plank, adds so much to the comfort of men in camp, that the temp-
tation to help themselves to such articles is sometimes irresistible.
If any man could have prevented plundering, Wellington was that
individual ; but he could not, though he possessed and used the
power to hang offenders on the spot. Subsequent investigation proved
* It also gave rise to the following correspondence:
"Astoria, N. T., July 26, 1861.
"•General B. F. Butler — Sir: Yon are aware of the interest felt by the loyal people of this
country in their army. Men and women are ready to do all in their power to sustain and encour-
age the noble men who have gone forth to defend our country. This very day many of the ladies
of this village have been seen hard at work making up garments and other things for hospital use.
Our ladies here sent a large quantity of articles to Fort Monroe, and have others ready to send. I
doubt not in other places thousands have been similarly employed. This being the case, we feel
that everything affecting the character of our army concerns us. A lady in the village has receiv-
ed a letter from a soldier under your command, a reliable man, who says, one of the officers has
been drunk a week. An, army in which such conduct is tolerated, is of course demoralised. I
felt it my duty as a citizen to inform you of the impression made by such a statement on all who
hear it. Our cause is hopeless if such men are to hold office in our army, or if such conduct does
not receive condign punishment. Most respectfully yours,
■ B. F. Stead, Pastor of the Presbyterian church, Astoria, L. 7."
" Head-quarters, Department op Virginia, July 29, 1861.
" My dear Sir : Y our note received. I am pained by its contents. * A reliable man says that
an officer has been drunk for a week. 1
"I did not appoint this officer. I do not know who he is. I have no means of knowing unless
the ' reliable mart will complain of him to me. I do not l tolerate 1 such conduct. Why did the
people of his county, who must have known that officer's habits, allow him to be commissioned?
Why did this reliable man vote for him ?
"I have established a scrutiny over the packages sent to the men to have them cleared of li-
quor given by misguiding friends: and have taken away to be turned over to hospital as many as
one hundred and five packages of liquor a day from one express company.
" 1 have assumed that the officers chosen and commissioned by the state of New York could be
trusted to receive unopened packages from their friends. If in your judgment they can not be so
usted, please apply to the governor, and upon his suggestion I will have the stores and boxes
«it to New York officers seized and searched.
" No spirituous liquors are permitted to be sold within the lines in my department ; and every
barrel of whisky not under the charge of an officer, when there is reason to believe sales have been
made, has been stove and contents spilled, and the seller sent out of the lines. I have no power
to discharge a drunken or incompetent officer. I can only call a court-martial when charges are
preferred. If I prefer charges 1 can not call a court. I assure you, sir, a court-martial is as un-
wieldy a machine for investigating a certain class of offenses as a council of ministers would be.
I have appeared before both tribunals as advocate, and know how difficult it is to convict in either.
"But, sir, have the charges made, and the reliable man sent as a witness, and I will have the
officer punished if possible. Thanking you for the interest you take in the case,
" I am, most respectfully yours, Benjamin F. Butler."
162 CONSEQUENCES OF GEE AT BETHEL.
that our troops around Fortress Monroe plundered little, consider-
ing their opportunities and their temptation. But that little was
disgraceful enough, and gave rise to much clamor. All that any
man could have done to prevent and punish offenses of this nature
was done by the commanding general.* ISTo man abhorred plunder-
ing more than Colonel Phelps ; but he could not quite prevent it.
Coming in to dinner one day, he saw upon the table a porcelain
dish filled with green peas. He stood for a moment with eyes
fixed upon the suspicious vessel, wrath gathering in his face.
" Take that dish away," said he, in a tone of fierce command fox
so gentle a man.
The alarmed contraband prepared to obey, but ventured to ask
what he should do with the peas.
" Put them into a wash-basin, if you can't find anything better.
But take that dish away, and never let me see it again."
The dish was removed, and Colonel Phelps ordered it to be taken
to the hospital for the use of the sick.
One truth became very clear to General Butler while he held
command in Virginia. It was, that men enlisted for short terms
can not, as a rule, be relied upon for effective service. When the
time of the three months men was half expired, all other feelings
seemed to be merged in the longing for release. Like boys at
school before the holidays, they would cut notches in a stick and
erase one every day ; and, as the time of return home drew nearer,
* The following order on this subject was issued during the first week of General Butler's com-
mand : —
" Head-Quarters, Department of Virginia, May 26, 1861.
"The general in command of this department has learned with pain that there are instances
of depredation on private property, by some persons who have smuggled themselves among the
soldiers under his command. This must not and shall not be. The rights of private property
and of peaceable citizens must be respected. When the exigencies of the service require that
private property be taken for public use, it must be done by proper officers, giving suitable
vouchers therefor. It is made the special duty of every officer in command of any post of troops
on detached service, or in camp, to exercise the utmost vigilance in this behalf, to cause all offend-
ers in the matter of this order to be sent to head-quarters for punishment, and such measure of
justice will then be meted out to them as is due to thieves and plunderers.
" If any corps shall share or aid in receiving such plundered property or offenders, such corps
shall be dealt with in its organization in such a manner as to check such practices.
"This order will be promulgated by being three times read with distinctness to each battalion
at evening parade.
"Any citizen at peace with the United States, despoiled in his person or property by any of the
troops in this department, will confer a favor by promptly reporting the outrage to the nearest
" By order of
"Benj. F. Butler, Major-General Commanding^
RECALL FROM VIRGINIA. 103
they would cut half a notch away at noon. It appeared that short-
term troops are efficient for not more than half their time of en-
listment; after that, the^r hearts are at home, not in their duty.
The general was of opinion, that an army, if possible, should be
enlisted not for any definite term, but for the war ; thus supplying
the men with a most powerful motive for efficient action ; the home-
ward path lying through victory over the enemy.
CHAPTER IX.
RECALL FROM VIRGINIA.
The visitors attracted to the fortress severely taxed the time and
hospitality of the general in command and of the gracious lady who
presided at his table. Senators, representatives, governors, editors,
officers, private persons, crowded that table to the number of thirty
a day. Some enterprising individuals even projected grand excur-
sions to the fortress, threatening it with steamboat loads of pleasure
seekers. An order was issued to prevent such an untimely irrup-
tion, and requiring a special permit to land.
Mr. Russell of the London Times has given us an amusing record
of his visit to the fortress. General Butler went the rounds with
him.
" The day," he reports, " was excessively hot, and many of the
soldiers were lying down in the shade of arbors formed of branches
from the neighboring pine wood, but most of them got up when
they heard the general was coming round. A sentry walked up
and down at the end of the street, and as the general came up to
him he called out ' Halt.' The man stood still. ' I just want to
show you, sir, what scoundrels our government has to deal with
This man belongs to a regiment which has had new clothing recently
served out to it. Look what it is made of.' So saying the general
stuck his fore-finger into the breast of the man's coat, and with a
rapid scratch of his nail tore open the cloth as if it was of blotting
paper. ' Shoddy, sir. Nothing but shoddy. I wish I had these
contractors in the trenches here, and if hard work would not make
RECALL SR0M VIRGINIA.
honest men of them, they'd have enough of it to be examples for
the rest of their fellows.'
" In the course of our rounds we were joined by Colonel Phelps,
who was formerly in the* United States army, and saw service in
Mexico, but retired because he did not approve of the manner in
which promotions were made, and who only took command of a
Massachusetts regiment because he believed he might be instru-
mental in striking a shrewd blow or two in this great battle of
Armageddon — a tall, saturnine, gloomy, angry-eyed, sallow man,
soldier-like too, and one who places old John Brown on a level
with the great martyrs of the Christian world. * * *
" ' Yes, I know them well. I've seen them in the field. I've sat
with them at meals. I've traveled through their country. These
Southern slaveholders are a false, licentious, godless people. Either
we, who obey the laws and fear God, or they, who know no God
except their own will and pleasure, and know no law except their
passions, must rule on this continent : and I believe that Heaven
will help its own in the conflict they have provoked. I grant you
they are brave enough, and desperate too, but, surely justice, truth
and religion, will strengthen a man's arm to strike down those who
have only brute force and a bad cause to support them.' * *
" In the afternoon the boat returned to Fortress Monroe, and
the general invited me to dinner, where I had the pleasure of meet-
ing Mrs. Butler, his staff, and a couple of regimental officers from
the neighboring camp. As it was still early, General Butler pro-
posed a ride to visit the interesting village of Hampton, which lies
some six or seven miles outside the fort, and forms his advance
post. A powerful charger, with a tremendous Mexican saddle,
fine housings, blue and gold-embroidered saddle-cloth, was brought
to the door for your humble servant, and the general mounted
another, which did equal credit to his taste in horseflesh ; but I own
I felt rather uneasy on seeing that he wore a pair of large brass
spurs, strapped over white jean brodequins. He took with him his
aide-de-camp and a couple of orderlies. In the precincts of the fort
outside, a population of contraband negroes has been collected,
whom the general employs in various works about the place, mili-
tary and civil ; but I failed to ascertain that the original scheme c P
a debit and credit account between the value of their labor and tho
cost of their maintenance had been successfully carried out. The
RECALL FROM VIRGINIA. 165
general was proud of them, and they seemed proud of themselves,
saluting him with a ludicrous mixture of awe and familiarity as he
rode past. ' How-do, Massa Butler ? How-do, general ?' accom-
panied by absurd bows and scrapes. ' Just to think,' said the gen-
eral, 'that every one of these fellows represents some 1,000 dollars
at least out of the pockets of the chivalry yonder.' ' Nasty, idle,
dirty beasts,' says one of the staff, sotto voce, ' I wish to Heaven
they were all at the bottom of the Chesapeake. The general insists
on it that they do work, but they are far more trouble than they
are worth.'
"The road towards Hampton traverses a sandy spit, which,
however, is more fertile than would be supposed from the soil
under the horses' hoofs, though it is not in the least degree inter-
esting. A broad creek or river interposed between us and the
town, the bridge over which had been destroyed. Workmen were
busy repairing it, but all the planks had not yet been laid down or
nailed, and in some places the open space between the upright
rafters allowed us to see the dark waters flowing beneath. The
aide said, 1 1 don't think, general, it is safe to cross f but his chief
did not mind him until his horse very nearly crashed through a
plank, and only regained its footing with unbroken legs by marvel-
ous dexterity ; whereupon we dismounted, and, leaving the horses
to be carried over in the ferry-boat, completed the rest of the
transit, not without difficulty. ******
" Most of the shops were closed ; in some the shutters were still
down, and the goods remained displayed in the windows. ' I have
allowed no plundering,' said the general ; * and if I find a fellow
trying to do it, I will hang him as sure as my name is Butler. See
here,' and as he spoke he walked into a large woolen-draper's shop
where bales of cloth were still lying on the shelves, and many arti-
cles, such as are found in a large general store in a country town,
were disposed on the floor or counters ; * they shall not accuse the
men under my command of being robbers.' The boast, however,
was not so well justified in a visit to another house occupied by
some soldiers. ' Well,' said the general, with a smile, * I dare say
you know enough of camps to have found out that chairs and
tables are irresistible ; the men will take them off to their tents,
though they may have to leave them next morning.'
"Having inspected the \, orks — as far I could judge, too extend-
163 RECALL FROM VIRGINIA.
ed, and badly traced — which I say with all deference to the able
young engineer who accompanied us to point out the various
objects of interest — the general returned to the bridge, where we
remounted, and made a tour of the camps of the force intended to
defend Hampton, falling back on Fortress Monroe in case of neces-
sity. Whilst he was riding ventre d terre, which seems to be his
favorite pace, his horse stumbled in the dusty road, and in his effort
to keep his seat the general broke his stirrup-leather, and the pon-
derous brass stirrup fell to the ground ; but, albeit a lawyer, he
neither lost his seat nor his sang froid, and calling out to his
orderly " to pick up his toe-plate," the jean slippers were closely
pressed, spurs and all, to the sides of his steed, and away we went
once more through dust and heat so great that I was by no means
sorry when he pulled up outside a pretty villa, standing in a
garden, which was occupied by Colonel Max Weber, of the Ger-
man Turner regiment, once the property of General Tyler. * *
" The shades of evening were now falling, and as I had been up
before five o'clock in the morning, I was not sorry when General
Butler said, ' Now we will go home to tea, or you will detain the
steamer.' He had arranged before I started that the vessel, which,
in ordinary course, would have returnee, to Baltimore at eight
o'clock, should remain till he sent down word to the captain to go.
" We scampered back to the fort, and judging from the chal-
lenges and vigilance of the sentries, and inlying pickets, I am not
quite so satisfied that the enemy could have surprised the place.
At the tea-table there were no additions to the general's family ;
he therefore spoke without any reserve. Going over the map, he
explained his views in reference to future operations, and showed
cause, with more military acumen than I could have expected from
a gentleman of the long robe, why he believed Fortress Monroe
was the true base of operations against Richmond. * * *
" But whilst the general and I are engaged over our maps and
mint juleps,* time flies, and at last I perceive by the clock that it is
time to go. An aide is sent to stop the boat, but he returns ere I
leave with the news that ' She is gone.' Whereupon the general
sends for the quartermaster, Talmadge, who is out in the camps,
and only arrives in time to receive a severe ' wigging.' It so hap-
pened that I had important papers to send off by the next mail
* This visit occurred befora the promulgation of the liquor order.
-RECALL FROM VIRGINIA. 167
from New York, and the only chance of being able to do so de-
pended on my being in Baltimore next day. General Butler acted
with kindness and promptitude in the matter. 4 1 promised you
should go by the steamer, but the captain has gone off without
orders to leave, for which he shall answer when I see him. Mean-
time it is my business to keep my promise. Captain Talmadge,
you will at once go down and give orders to the most suitable
transport steamer or chartered vessel available, to get up steam at
once, and come up to the wharf for Mr. Russell.' "
A steamer was prepared, the general's promise was kept, and
Mr. Russell reached Washington in time to witness the final prep-
arations for the advance upon Richmond, by way of Manassas.
The battle that ensued ended General Butler's hopes of being
useful at Fortress Monroe. It was on the very day of the battle
of Bull Run that he first received the means of moving a battery of
field artillery, and of completing his preparations for sweeping clear
of armed rebels the Virginia tip of the peninsula, of which Maryland
forms the greater part. Colonel Baker was to command the ex-
pedition. Two days after the retreat came a telegram from Gene-
ral Scott: "Send to this place without fail, in three days, four
regiments and a half of long-term volunteers, including Baker's,
regiment and a half." The troops were sent, and the expedition
was necessarily abandoned.
The news of the great defeat created at the fortress a degree of
consternation almost amounting to panic ; for, at once, the rumor
spread that the victorious enemy were about to descend upon the
fortress, and overwhelm it. General Butler was not alarmed at
this new phantom. One of the first cheering voices that reached
the administration was his. A few hours after reading the news,
he wrote to his friend, the postmaster-general :
" We have heard the sad news from Manassas, but are neither
dismayed nor disheartened. It will have the same good effect
upon the army in general that Big Bethel has had in my division,
to teach us wherein we are weak and they are strong, and how to
apply the remedy to our deficiences. Let not the administration
be disheartened or discouraged. Let no compromises be made, or
wavering be felt. God helping, we will go through to ultimate
assured success. But let us have no more of the silk glove in
carrying on this war. Let these men be considered, what they have
168
KECALL FROM VIEGIXIA.
made themselves, ' our enemies,' and let their property of all kinds,
whenever it can be useful to us, be taken on the land where they
have it, as they take ours upon the sea where we have it. There
seems to me now but one of two ways, either to make an advance
from this place with a sufficient force, or else, leaving a simple
garrison here, to send six thousand men that might be spared on
the other line ; or, still another, to make a descent upon the southern
coast. I am ready and desirous to move forward in either."
In another part of this letter he strongly recommends Colonel
Phelps for promotion : " Although some of the regular officers will,
when applied to, say that he is not in his right mind — the only evi-
dence I have seen of it, is a deep religious enthusiasm upon the
subject of slavery, which, in my judgment, does not unfit him to
fight the battles of the North. As I never had seen him until he
came here, as he differs with me in politics, I have no interest in
the recommendation, save a deliberate judgment for the good of the
cause after two months of trial." He had soon after the pleasure
of "handing to Colonel Phelps the shoulder straps of a brigadier-
general.
" I am as much obliged to you, general," said he, " as though you
had done me a favor."
The withdrawal of so large a number of his best troops, com-
pelled the evacuation of Hampton. He was even advised, and
that, too, by a member of the cabinet, as well as by many officers
high in rank at the post, to abandon Newport News ; but he would
not let go his hold upon a point so important to the future move-
ment which he had advised. The evacuation of Hampton was the
event which called forth his well-known letter to the secretary of
war upon the disposition of the contrabands.
GENEBAL BTJTLEB TO ME. CAMEBON".
" HeAD-QuAETEES, DePABTMEjSTT OF Vibginia,
" Foeteess Moneoe, July 30, 1861.
" Hoi*. Simon Cameeon, Secretary of War :
" Sie : — By an order received on the morning of the 26th July from Major-
General Dix, by a telegraphic order from Lieutenant-General Scott, I was
commanded to forward, of the troops of this department, four regiments
and a half, including Colonel Baker's California regiment, to Washington,
vid Baltimore. This order reached me at 2 o'clock a. m., by special boat
from Baltimore. Believing that it emanated because of some pressing exi-
RECALL FROM VIRGINIA. ItfD
gency for the defense of Washington, I issued my orders before daymeak
for the embarkation of the troops, sending those who were among the very
best regiments I had. In the course of the following day they were all em-
barked for Baltimore, with the exception of some four hundred, for whom
I had not transportation, although I had all the transport force in the hands
of the quartermaster here to aid the bay line of steamers, which, by the
same order from the lieutenant-general, was directed to furnish transpor-
tation. Up to, and at the time of the order, I had been preparing for aft
advance movement, by which I hoped to cripple the resources of the enemy
at Yorktown, and especially by seizing a large quantity of negroes who
were being pressed into their service in building the intrenchments there.
I had five days previously been enabled to mount, for the first time, the
first company of light artillery, which I had been empowered to raise, and
they had but a single rifled cannon, an iron six-pounder. Of course, every-
thing must and did yield to the supposed exigency and the orders. This
ordering away the troops from this department, while it weakened the
posts at Newport News, necessitated the withdrawal of the troops from
Hampton, where I was then throwing up intrenched works to enable me
to hold the town with a small force, while I advanced up the York or James
Kiver. In the village of Hampton there were a large number of negroes,
composed in a great measure of women and children of the men who had
fled thither within my lines for protection, who had escaped from maraud-
ing parties of rebels who had been gathering up able-bodied blacks to aid
them in constructing their batteries on the James and York Eivers. I had
employed the men in Hampton in throwing up intrenchments, and they
were working zealously and efficiently at that duty, saving our soldiers from
that labor under the gleam of the mid-day sun. The women were earning
substantially their own subsistence in washing, marketing, and taking care
of the clothes of the soldiers, and rations were being served out to the men
who worked for the support of the children. But by the evacuation of
Hampton, rendered necessary by the withdrawal of troops, leaving me
scarcely five thousand men outside the fort, including the force at Newport
News, all these black people were obliged to break up their homes at Hamp-
ton, fleeing across the creek within my lines for protection and support.
Indeed, it was a most distressing sight to see these poor creatures, who had
trusted to the protection of the arms of the United States, and who aided
the troops of the United States in their enterprise, to be thus obliged to
flee from their homes, and the homes of their masters who had deserted
them, and become fugitives from fear of the return of the rebel soldiery,
who had threatened to shoot the men who had wrought for us, and to carry
off the women who had served us, to a worse than Egyptian bondage. I
have, therefore, now within the peninsula, this side of Hampton Creek,
nine hundred negroes, three hundred of whom are able-bodied men, thirty
170 RECALL FHOM VIRGINIA.
of whom are men substantially past hard labor, one hundred and seventy-
five women, two hundred and twenty-five children under the age of teu
years, and one hundred and seventy between ten and eighteen years, and
many more coming in. The questions which this state of facts present are
very embarrassing.
" First. What shall be done with them? and, Second. What is their state
and condition ?
" Upon these questions I desire the instructions of the department.
" The first question, however, may perhaps be answered by considering the
last. Are these men, women, and children slaves? Are they free? Is
their condition that of men, women, and children, or of property, or is it a
mixed relation ? What their status was under the constitution and laws, we
all know. What has been the effect of a rebellion and a state of war upon
that status ? When I adopted the theory of treating the able-bodied negro
fit to work in the trenches as property liable to be used in aid of rebellion,
and so contraband of war, that condition of things was in so far met, as I
then and still believe, on a legal and constitutional basis. But now a new
series of questions arise. Passing by women, the children, certainly, can
not be treated on that basis; if property, they must be considered the in-
cumbrance rather than the auxiliary of an army, and, of course, in no pos-
sible legal relation could be treated as contraband. Are they property ?
If they were so, they have been left by their masters and owners, deserted,
thrown away, abandoned, like the wrecked vessel upon the ocean. Their
former possessors and owners have causelessly, traitorously, rebelliously,
and, to carry out the figure, practically abandoned them to be swallowed
up by the winter storm of starvation. If property, do they not become
the property of the salvors? But we, their salvors, do not need and will
not hold such property, and will assume no such ownership : has not,
therefore, all proprietary relation ceased ? Have they not become, there-
upon, men, women, and children ? JSTo longer under ownership of any kind,
the fearful relicts of fugitive masters, have they not by their masters' acts,
and the state of war, assumed the condition, which we hold to be the nor-
mal one, of those made in God's image ? Is not every constitutional, legal,
and moral requirement, as well to the runaway master as their relinquished
slaves, thus answered ? I confess that my own mind is compelled by this
reasoning to look upon them as men and women. If not free born, yet
free, manumitted, sent forth from the hand that held them never to be re-
claimed.
Of course, if this reasoning, thus imperfectly set forth, is correct, my duty
as a humane man is very plain. I should take the same care of these men,
women, and children, houseless, homeless, and unprovided for, as I would
of the same number of men, women, and children, who, for their attach-
ment to the Union, had been driven or allowed to flee from the Confederate
RECALL FROM VIRGINIA. 171
States. I should have no doubt on this question, had I not seen it stated
that an order had been issued by General McDowell in his department, sub-
stantially forbidding all fugitive slaves from coming within his lines, or be-
ing harbored there. Is that order to be enforced in all military depart-
ments? If so, who are to be considered fugitive slaves? Is a slave to be
considered fugitive whose master runs away and leaves him ? Is it forbid-
den to the troops to aid or harbor within their lines the negro children who
are found therein, or is the soldier, when his march has destroyed their
means of subsistence, to allow them to starve because he has driven off the
rebel masters ? Now, shall the commander of a regiment or battalion sit
in judgment upon the question, whether any given black man has fled from
his master, or his master fled from him? Indeed, how are the free born to
be distinguished ? Is one any more or less a fugitive slave because he has
labored upon the rebel intrenchments ? If he has so labored, if I under-
stand it, he is to be harbored. By the reception of which are the rebels
most to be distressed, by taking those who have wrought all their rebel
masters desired, masked their battery, or those who have refused to labor
and left the battery unmasked ?
" I have very decided opinions upon the subject of this order. It does
not become me to criticise it, and I write in no spirit of criticism, but sim-
ply to explain the full difficulties that surround the enforcing it. If the
enforcement of that order becomes the policy of the government, T, as a
soldier, shall be bound to enforce it steadfastly, if not cheerfully. But if
left to my own discretion, as you may have gathered from my reasoning,
I should take a widely different course from that which it indicates.
" In a loyal state, I would put down a servile insurrection. In a state of
rebellion I would confiscate that which was used to oppose my arms, and
take all that property which constituted the wealth of that state, and fur-
nished the means by which the war is prosecuted, beside being the cause
of the war ; and if, in so doing, it should be objected that human beings
were brought to the free enjoyment of life, liberty, and the pursuit of hap-
piness, such objection might not require much consideration.
" Pardon me for addressing the secretary of war directly upon this ques-
tion, as it involves some political considerations as well as propriety of mili-
tary action. I am, sir, your obedient servant,
''Benjamin F. Butler."
ME. CAMEEON TO GENEEAL BTJTLEB.
" Washington, August 8, 1861.
" General : — The important question of the proper disposition to be made
of fugitives from service in the states in insurrection against the federal
government, to which you have again directed my attention, in your letter
b
172 RECATJ, FROM VIRGINIA.
of July 30, has received my most attentive consideration. It is the desire
of the president that all existing rights in all the states be fully respected
and maintained. The war now prosecuted on the part of the federal gov-
ernment is a war for the Union, for the preservation of all the constitu-
tional rights of the states and the citizens of the states in the Union ; hence
no question can arise as to fugitives from service within the states and
territories in which the authority of the Union is fully acknowledged. The
ordinary forms of judicial proceedings must be respected by the military
and civil authorities alike for the enforcement of legal forms. But in the
states wholly or in part under insurrectionary control, where the laws of
the United States are so far opposed and resisted that they can not be effec-
tually enforced, it is obvious that the rights dependent upon the execution
of these laws must temporarily fail ; and it is equally obvious that the rights
dependent on the laws of the states within which military operations are
conducted must necessarily be subordinate to the military exigencies created
by the insurrection, if not wholly forfeited by the treasonable conduct of
the parties claiming them. To this the general rule of the right to service
forms an exception. The act of Congress approved August 6, 1861, de-
clares if persons held to service shall be employed in hostility to the United
States, the right to their services shall be discharged therefrom. It follows
of necessity that no claim can be recognized by the military authority of the
Union to the services of such persons when fugitives.
" A more difficult question is presented in respect to persons escaping from
the service of loyal masters. It is quite apparent that the laws of the state
under which only the services of such fugitives can be claimed must needs
be wholly or almost wholly superseded, as to the remedies, by the insur-
rection and the military measures necessitated by it ; and it is equally ap-
parent that the substitution of military for judicial measures for the enforce-
ment of such claims must be attended by great inconvenience, embarrass-
ments, and injuries. Under these circumstances, it seems quite clear that
the substantial rights of loyal masters are still best protected by receiving
such fugitives, as well as fugitives from disloyal masters, into the service
of the United States and employing them under such organizations and in
such occupations as circumstances may suggest or require. Of course a
record should be kept showing the names and descriptions of the fugitives,
the names and characters, as loyal or disloyal, of the masters, and such
facts as may be necessary to a correct understanding of the circumstancc3
of each case.
" After tranquillity shall have oeen restored upon the return of peace,
congress will doubtless properly provide for all the persons thus received
into the service of the Union, and for a just compensation to loyal masters.
In this way only, it would seem, can the duty and safety of the government
and just rights of all be fully reconciled and harmonized. You will there-
RECALL FROM VIRGINIA. 173
fore consider yourself instructed to govern your future action in respect to
fugitives from service by the premises herein stated, and will report from
time to time, and at least twice in each month, your action in the premises
to this department. You will, however, neither authorize nor permit any
interference by the troops under your command with the servants of peace-
able citizens in a house or field, nor will you in any manner encourage such
servants to leave the lawful service of their masters, nor will you, except in
cases where the public good may seem to require it, prevent the voluntary
return of any fugitive to the service from which he may have escaped.
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
" Simon Cameron, Secretary of War."
Mr. Cameron handled the topic gingerly. The administration
had not yet taken off its gloves.
General Butler's letter pleased most the party most opposed to
the one with which he had been all his life identified. We find
Mr. Lewis Tappan writing to him applaudingly, and the general
replying in a friendly spirit. He wrote to Mr. Tappan, August 10th :
" I have the honor to acknowledge the many kind expressions of
approbation of my acts. I have endeavored to do my duty, follow-
ing the best light I have, and the event must be in the hands of
Him who ordereth all things well. I am of opinion, that it would
not be profitable to the negroes to be sent north. There is plenty
of waste land for them here, and they can be better and more
cheaply cared for here than amid the rigor of our northern winter.
" They are at present, in my judgment, earning the subsistence
furnished them by the United States, and if any benevolent in-
dividual desires to show active sympathy in their behalf, I would
recommend that the committee you suggest, furnish a number of
suits of substantial cheap clothing fit for winter service, for the women
and children. Shoes are especially desirable. I will see that such
clothing is distributed among them according to their necessities.
The clothing for the men will soon be worn out, and as you are
aware, we have no supply. Many of them are now dressed in the
cast-off clothing and uniforms of the soldiers.
" This is all the particular aid, I think, we are in a situation to
receive for them at this time.
" To send them north, amid the stagnation of business, and at a
season when all agricultural operations, except harvesting, are
about to be suspended, to fill our towns with a new influx of
174 RECALL FROM VIRGINIA.
people, where labor is not wanted, while here in Virginia there is
land enough cultivated, and houses enough deserted, amid scenes
to which they are attached, where they may live, would in my
judgment, be unwise.
"If the war continues, they will be safe here. If the war ends,
the wisdom and the care of the government will be exerted for
their protection here or elsewhere. This part of the state is but
little more cultivated than in the days of Powhattan ; and it would
seem hardly prudent to take away from it a class of mostly agri-
cultural laborers, who are fitted to the soil.
" The most of them would not desire to go north, if they can
be assured (as I can assure them) of their safety at the south. I
shall continue to receive and protect all the negroes, especially
women and children, who come to me, as well for reasons of
humanity as for strategical policy, of which it is not now best to
speak."
The southern people, it is worth remarking, had already shown
their sense of General Butler's services to his country. They knew
their enemy. It has been their cue to compliment some of the
generals conspicuous in the service of the United States ; but for
Mm, who first established the rule of employing the courtesies
which mitigate the horrors of war, they have had only vitupera-
tion. They were right in their instinctive perceptions, for he was
also the first to recognize them as enemies incurable, whose destruc-
tion as a power was essential to the restoration of the country.
Few readers can have forgotten the biography of General Butler
which circulated in southern newspapers in these months. It ran
thus:
" He is the son of a negro barber, who, early in the century, did
business on Poydras street, in New Orleans. The son, in early
manhood, emigrated to Liberia, where an indisposition for labor
and some talent turned his attention to the bar, to prepare for
which he repaired to Massachusetts. Having mastered his profes-
sion, he acquired a fondness for theological studies, and became an
active local preacher, the course of his labors early leading him to
New York, where he attracted the notice of Mr. Jacob Barker,
then in the zenith of his fame as financier, and who, discovering
the peculiar abilities in that direction of the young mulatto, sent
him to northern New York to manage a banking institution. There
RECALL FROM VIRGINIA. 175
he divided his time between the counting-house and the court-room,
the prayer-meeting and the printing-office," etc.
This, with a variety of comments, was the southern response to
Annapolis and Baltimore.
The North seemed slower to recognize his services. After the
withdrawal of the four regiments, he found himself in a false posi-
tion at Fortress Monroe, incapable of acting, yet expected by the
country to act. His embarrassment was not diminished by discov-
ering that the intention to remove his troops was known and pub-
lished before the battle of Bull Run, and that they were still
detained at Baltimore inactive.
" As soon," he wrote to Colonel Baker, " as I began to look like
activity, my troops are all taken away. And almost my only
friend and counselor, on whose advice I could rely, is taken away
by name. * * * * What ought I to do under these
circumstances ? I ought not to stay here and be thus abused. Tell
me as a true friend, as I know you are, what ought to be done in
justice to myself. To resign, when the country needs service, is un-
patriotic. To hold office which government believes me unfit for, is
humiliating. To remain here disgraced and thwarted by every
subordinate who is sustained by the head of the department, is un-
bearable."
The government resolved his doubts. A day or two after the
reply to General Butler's contraband letter had been dispatched, he
was removed from the command of the department, and General
Wool appointed in his stead. Whether the two acts had any con-
nection, or whether the removal was a compliance with the sugges-
tions of a leading newspaper, has not been disclosed. " General
Wool," commented the New York Times, " is assigned the com-
mand of Fortress Monroe. So far, so good. The nation was
deeply dissatisfied, not to say indignant, at the fact that one of the
bravest, as well as one of the most skillful and experienced of
American generals, was persistently kept in quiet retreat at Troy,
N. Y., while political brigadiers were fretting away the spirit of
the army by awkward blunderings upon masked batteries." There
had, indeed, been much clamor of this kind, and worse. One gal-
lant colonel, removed from his command for drunkenness, had
caused letters to be published, accusing General Butler of disloy-
alty. Other officers, who had left the service for the service's good,
1 76 HATTERAS.
were not silent, and one or two reporters, who had been ordered
away from the post, still had the use of their pens. Nor had the
public the means of understanding the causes of General Butler's
inactivity. They saw the most important military post in the pos-
session of the United States, apparently well supplied with troops,
contributing nothing to the military strength of the country. The
blame was naturally laid at the door of the general commanding it.
On the eighteenth of August, General Butler gracefully resigned
the command of the department to his successor. In his farewell
order he said : " The general takes leave of the command of the
officers and soldiers of this department with the kindest feelings
toward all, and with the hope that in active service upon the field,
they may soon signalize their bravery and gallant conduct, as they
have shown their patriotism by fortitude under the fatigues of camp
duty. No personal feeling of regret intrudes itself at the change in
the command of the department, by which our cause acquires the
services in the field of the veteran general commanding, in whose
abilities, experience and devotion to the flag, the whole country
places the most implicit reliance, and under whose guidance and
command all of us, and none more than your late commander, are
proud to serve."
He had been in command of the department of Virginia two
months and twenty-seven days.
CHAPTER X.
HATTERAS.
The order which relieved General Butler from command in Vir-
ginia assigned him to no other duty. He was simply ordered to
resign his command to General Wool. Whether he was to remain
at the fortress, or repair to head-quarters, or go home, was left to
conjecture. What should he do? Where should he go? Friends
unanimously advised : c Go home. The government plainly inti-
mates that it does not want you.' The game is lost ; throw up your
HATTERAS. Ill
hand. " No," said he, " whatever I do, I can't go home. That
were the end of my military career, and I am in for the war." It
ended in his asking General Wool for something to do ; and Gen-
eral Wool, who could not but see what efficient service he had ren-
dered at the post, and heartily acknowledged it, gave him the com-
mand of the volunteer troops outside the fortress.* So he vacated
the mansion within the walls, and served where he had been wont
to rule.
A week after, the expedition to reduce the forts at Hatteras Inlet
was on the point of sailing. It was a scheme of the general's own.
A Union prisoner being detained at the inlet, had brought the
requisite information to the fortress many weeks before. He said,
that through that gap in the long sand-island which runs along the
cc?.st of North Carolina, numberless blockade runners found access
to the main land. His report being duly conveyed to head-quarters,
a joint expedition, military and naval, was ordered to take the forts,
destroy them, block up the inlet with sunken stone, and return to
Fortress Monroe. Preparations for this expedition were at full tide
when General Butler was superseded. Nine hundred troops were
detailed to accompany it ; a small corps for a major-general. Gen-
eral Butler volunteered to command them, and General Wool ac-
cepted his offer ; kind friends whispering, " infra dig"
He went. Every one remembers the details of that first cheering
success after the summer of our discontent. It seemed to break
the spell of disaster, and gave encouragement to the country, dispro
portioned to the magnitude of the achievement. General Butler
enjoyed a share of the eclat, which restored much of the public favor
lost at Great Bethel.
Two points of the general's conduct on this occasion, we may
notice before passing on to more stirring scenes. The reader has
not forgotten, that the rebel commander first offered to surrender,
provided the garrison were allowed to retire, and that General But-
* " HEAD-QUARTER3, DEPARTMENT OF VIRGINIA,
"Fortress Monroe, Virginia, August 21, 1861.
"Special Orders, No. 9.
" Major-General B. F. Butler is, hereby placed in command of the volunteer forces in this depart-
ment, exclusive of those at Fort Monroe. His present command at Camps Butler and Hamilton
will include the First, Second, Seventh, Ninth, and Twentieth regiments, the battalion of Massa-
chusetts volunteers, the Union Coast Guard, and the Mounted Rifles.
" C. C. Churchill, Acting Assistant Adjutant- General.
"By command of Major-General Wool."
178 HATTEEAS.
ler refused the terms, demanding unconditional surrender. " The
Adelaide," he reports, " on carrying in the troops, at the moment
my terms of capitulation were under consideration by the enemy,
had grounded upon the bar. * • At the same time, the Harriet
Lane, in attempting to enter the bar had grounded, and remained
fast ; both were under the guns of the fort. By these accidents, a
valuable ship of war, and a transport steamer, with a large portion
of my troops, were within the power of the enemy. I had demand-
ed the strongest terms, which he was considering. He might re-
fuse, and seeing our disadvantage, renew the action. But I deter-
mined to abate not a tittle of what I considered to be due to the
dignity of the government ; nor even to give an official title to the
officer in command of the rebels. Besides, my tug was in the inlet,
and, at least, I could carry on the engagement with my two rifled
six-pounders, well supplied with Sawyer's shell." It was an anx-
ious moment, but his terms were accepted, and the victory was
complete.
One of the guns of the Minnesota was worked during the action
by contrabands from Fortress Monroe. The danger was slight,
for the enemy's balls fell short. But it was observed and freely
acknowledged on all hands, that no gun in the fleet was more
steadily served than theirs, and no men more composed than they
when danger was supposed to be imminent. In action and out of
action their conduct was everything that could be desired.
The other matter which demands a word of explanation, relates
to General Butler's sudden return from Hatteras, which elicited
sundry satirical remarks at the time. He had been ordered not to
hold but to destroy the port. But on surveying the position, he was so
much impressed with the importance of retaining it, that he resolved
to go instantly to Washington and explain his views to the gov-
ernment. He did so, and the government determined to hold the
place. Nor was haste unnecessary, since supplies had been brought
for only five days. The troops must have been immediately with-
drawn or immediately provisioned.
And now again he was without a command. The government
did not know what to do with him, and he did not know what to
do with himself. Recruiting was generally at a stand still, and there
were no troops in the field that had not their full allowance of
major generals. West Point influence was in the ascendant, as
RECRUITING FOR SPECIAL SERVICE. 1*79
surely it ought to be in time of war ; and this lawyer in epaulets
seemed to be rather in the way than otherwise.
CHAPTER XL
RECRUITING FOR SPECIAL SERVICE.
General Butler now recalled the attention of the government
to his scheme for expelling rebel forces from the Virginia penin-
sula, which had been suspended by the sudden transfer of Colonel
Baker and his command from Fortress Monroe. He obtained
authority from the war department to recruit troops in Massachu-
setts for this purpose. Recruiting seemed to be proceeding some-
what languidly in the state, although her quota was yet far from
full ; and it was supposed, that General Butler could strike a vein
of hunker democrats which would yield good results. Not that
hunker democrats had been backward in enlisting; but it was
thought that many of them who still hesitated would rally to the
standard of one who had so often led them in the mimic war of
elections. On going home, however, he found that General Sher-
man was before him in special recruiting, and that to him Gover-
nor Andrew had promised the first regiments that should be com-
pleted. He hastened back to Washington. He had been engaged
to speak in Faneuil Hall, but left a note of excuse, ending with
these words : " That I go for a vigorous prosecution of the war is
best shown by the fact that I am gone." At Washington, a change
of programme. He penned an order, dated Sept. 10th, enlarging
his sphere of operations to all New England, which the secretary
of war signed : —
"Major-General B. F. Butler is hereby authorized to raise, or-
ganize, arm, uniform, and equip a volunteer force for the war, in
the New England states ; not exceeding six (6) regiments of the
maximum standard, of such arms, and in such proportions, and in
such manner as he may judge expedient ; and for this purpose his
orders and requisitions on the quartermaster, ordnance, and other
8*
180 RECRUITING FOR SPECIAL SERVICE.
staff departments of the army, are to be obeyed and answered:
provided the cost of such recruitment, armament, and equipment
does not exceed, in the aggregate, that of like troops, now or here-
after raised, for the service of the United States."
To make assurance doubly sure, he asked the additional sanction
of the president's signature. The cautious president, always punc-
tiliously respectful to state authority, first procured by telegraph
the assent of all the governors of New England, and then signed
the order.
It was upon General Butler's return to New England to raise
these troops, that the collision occurred between himself and the
governor of Massachusetts, which caused so much perplexity to all
the parties concerned. "Without wishing to revive the ill feeling of
a controversy between gentlemen equally devoted to the common
cause, it appears, nevertheless, unavoidable to explain the point of
collision. At first, I was inclined to think that General Butler, in
the impetuosity of his desire to take the field, had given the gover-
nor just cause of offense. Upon a review of the whole case, as
published in divers pamphlets, official and unofficial, it appears
clearly enough, that Governor Andrew was justified in taking of-
fense ; but it is equally clear that no offense was intended by Gene-
ral Butler; and that, hurried as he was, he employed reasonable
means to come to a friendly understanding with the governor.
The case, as I understand it, illustrates the old Spanish maxim, that
when two honest men differ, both are in the right.
Perhaps, there was already a slight soreness in the governor's
mind owing to the publication by General Butler of the corres-
pondence relating to the offer of Massachusetts troops to Governor
Hicks, for the suppression of an insurrection of the slaves. General
Butler published these letters, because the Boston correspondent
of the Tribune had informed the public that Governor Andrew dis-
approved the offer of the troops for such a purpose. The act was
also freely commented upon in the newspapers. A question arose
as to the source of the correspondent's information. General But-
ler emphatically exonerated the governor, but intimated that, per-
haps, some clerk or copyist had betrayed his trust. The private
secretary of the governor, who alone had charge of the governor's
papers, conceived that this intimation was pointed at him, and re>
sented it accordingly. A private secretary, posted as he is close to
RECRUITING FOE SPECIAL SERVICE. 1?1
the ear of his chief, can not but have considerable influence over
him. A private secretary has sometimes been a governor's gover-
nor, a general's general, a prime minister's prime minister. Private
secretaries have ruled empires. It is, at least, not desirable to have
the ill-will of a private secretary if you wish to stand well with his
chief. You might almost as well slight the king's mistress, and
then ask a favor of the king. I do not suppose that the worthy
and patriotic governor of Massachusetts was unduly influenced by
his secretary. But he is a human being, and his secretary felt ag-
grieved at General Butler.
The true cause of the difficulty was the chaos that reigned in the
war department at Washington. Mr. Cameron was a faithful and
most laborious minister ; but probably no man ever existed capa-
ble of really doing the work suddenly accumulated upon the sec-
retary of war by the stupendous scale upon which the military
operations of the government were undertaken. We did not em-
brace the war as the settled business of the country for years, but
as if preparing for two or three enormous raids into an enemy's
country. Hurry, confusion, incoherence, marked all our first pro-
ceedings. Mr. Cameron did what he could ; but much remained
undone ; much was done amiss ; much was necessarily left to sub-
ordinates. There was no time for deliberation ; everything had to
be decided on the instant. In such circumstances, a man must have
the memory of a Butler to avoid giving contradictory orders. It
should be also noted, that General Butler is one of those gentle-
men who can say ISTo, with delightful promptness and unmistakable
emphasis, but to whom it is difficult to say No; and both the
president and the secretary of war were disposed to comply
with the desires of a man w T hose talents and energy they appre-
ciated.
General Sherman, as we have said, was already in Massachusetts
recruiting for Port Royal. Another gentleman had also received
authority from the war department to raise a regiment in Massa-
chusetts. The governor objecting to this special recruiting, re-
monstrated, and the secretary promised, August 28, that no more
such authorizations should be issued. The president, also, Septem-
ber Gth, spoke of " the impossibility of relying upon the states to
respond promptly to regular requisitions for troops, if their recruit-
ing system should be harassed by the competition of individuals
182 EECEUIT1NG FOE SPECIAL SEEVICE.
engaged in recruiting under independent permissions ; but he said
such independent permissions as had hitherto been issued, had been
extorted by the pressure of certain persons, who, if they had been
refused, would have accused the government of rejecting the ser-
vices of so many thousands of imaginary men ; a pressure, of the
persistency of which, no person not subjected to it could conceive.
He said that perhaps he had been in error in granting such inde-
pendent permissions at all, even under this pressure."
Hence, before sanctioning General Butler's scheme of raising six
regiments in New England, the president procured by telegraph
the consent of all the governors.
Now, the point of collision between Governor Andrew and Gen-
eral Butler was this : The governor desired to fill the regiments
already begun before any others were started ; the general was
anxious to open his vein of hunkers at once, and avail himself im-
mediately of his personal popularity. He thought he could enlist
men who would not join regiments already begun ; and he was
right ; for more than a thousand men enlisted under his banner as
soon as it was set up.
When General Butler presented himself at the State House,
September 14th, armed with authority to raise six regiments in
New England, Governor Andrew received him with all his wonted
cordiality, and promised hearty co-operation. He requested, how-
ever, that he would announce no new regiments till General Sher-
man's were filled, which would require another week. The general
consented and went to Maine, where his efforts, promptly seconded
by the governor of that State, were immediately successful. He
returned to Boston, to find that Governor Andrew had caused a
formal order to be published, which forbade new recruiting until
regiments already begun were completed. Two of these incom-
plete regiments he had, indeed, assigned to General Butler, one of
which existed only in skeleton. General Butler fearing delay, and
desiring himself to have a voice in selecting the officers who were
to accompany him, hit upon an expedient to remove the unexpected
obstacle. He flew to Washington, and to General Scott. -Result,
the following order :
" The six New England States will temporarily constitute a sepa-
rate military department, to be called the Department of New Eng-
land. Head-quarters, Boston. Major-General B. F. Butler, United
EECEUITCNG FOE SPECIAL SEEVICE. 183
States Volunteer Service, while engaged in recruiting his division
will command."
Next he went to Mr. Cameron, who signed an order giving half
a month's pay in advance to all troops enlisted by General Butler
for special service.
Surely, thought the general, all is right now. Returning to New
England, he again set to work, published his new powers, adver-
tised for recruits, opened offices, established camps. His activity
was wonderful. One. day we see him addressing a legislature;
the next conferring with a governor ; anon, haranguing the troops,
then, consulting with officers ; now in Vermont, to-morrow in Maine,
the next day in New Hampshire. Men nocked in. In a month he
would have been ready to march but for one powerful opposing in-
fluence, which emanated from the state house at Boston. Governor
Andrew, wedded to his own system, puzzled and indignant at the
contradictory orders from Washington, would not sanction the
proceedings of General Butler, but opposed them by all the means
he could command. Endless perplexity and recrimination followed;
the governor, by telegraph and by letter, remonstrating with the
department of war ; Mr. Cameron standing in torment between two
fires, vainly endeavoring to quiet the governor by real applause
and apparent concession ; the Massachusetts senators mediating ;
the president putting in a conciliatory word now and then ; Gen-
eral Butler keeping steadily to his object of getting the six regi-
ments ready in the shortest possible time, pausing a moment to
dictate a hurried reply to voluminous remonstrance, then rushing
away to a remote camp, always under a full head of steam.
While the unhappy difference was still capable of adjustment,
General Butler asked an interview with the governor, thinking that
a few minutes' frank conversation could hardly fail to bring them
to friendly co-operation. Unhappily, Governor Andrew, being
exceedingly pressed by business, declined the interview, naming no
time when he could accord one. The tongue is an unruly member ;
but the pen, too, is a mischievous implement ; it is a tongue free
from the restraints imposed by the presence of the person ad-
dressed. One of General Butler's letters, couched in most respect-
ful language, gave extreme offense to the governor, through an
error of the copyist. It was written in the third person, and the
governor was designated by the words " His Excellency," which
184 RECRUITING FOR SPECIAL SERVICE.
occurred fourteen times. The person who made the copy sent to
the governor, with perverse uniformity, placed inverted commas
before and after those words, as if to intimate that the author of
the letter used them reluctantly, and only in obedience to a custom.
It looked like an intentional and elaborate affront, and served to
embitter the controversy. When, at length, the general was made
acquainted with the mishap, he was not in a humor to give a com-
plete explanation ; nor, indeed, is it a custom with him to get out
of a scrape by casting blame upon a subordinate.*
Time did not heal the breach. The governor refused to issue
commissions to the officers recommended by General Butler. Many
offensive things were said and done on both sides, and the quarrel
soon escaped from the state house into the newspapers ; from news-
papers into pamphlets. Let us draw a veil over these painful
scenes. A quarrel is divided into two parts. Part first embraces
all that is said and done while both parties keep their temper : part
second, all that is said and done after one or both of the parties
loses it. The first part may be interesting, and even important ;
the second is sound and fury, signifying nothing. Governor An-
drew felt that General Butler was interfering with his prerogative.
General Butler, intent on the work in hand, was exasperated at the
obstacles thrown in his way by Governor Andrew. General But-
ler, who had had bitter experience of subaltern incompetency, was
anxious to secure commissions to men in whom he could confide.
Governor Andrew naturally desired to give commissions to men
in whose fitness he could himself believe. General Butler's friends
were chiefly of the hunker persuasion ; Governor Andrew was
better acquainted with gentlemen of his own party. Both were
honest and zealous servants of their country. Long may both of
them live to serve and honor it.
The six thousand troops were raised. But the delay in Massa-
chusetts deprived General Butler of the execution of his peninsula
scheme, which fell to the lot of General Dix, who well performed it
in November. So General Butler went to Washington to learn
what he was to do with his troops, now that he had them.
For many months the government had been silently preparing for
the recovery of the southern strongholds, which had been seized at
* This explanation of the much-discussed quotation points, I derived from a confidential mem-
ber of General Butlers staiF, the Lite General Strong.
RECRUITING FOR SPECIAL SERVICE. 135
the outbreak of the war, while the last administration was holding
parley with treason at the capital. Commodore Porter was busy
at the Brooklyn Navy Yard with his fleet of bomb-boats. The
navy had been otherwise strengthened, though the day of iron-clads
had not yet dawned in Hampton Roads. Immense provision had
been ordered of the cumbrous material used in sieges. But, as yet,
preparations only had been made ; the points first to be attempted
had not been selected ; the chief attention of the government being
still directed to the increase and organization of the army of the
Potomac, held at bay by the phantom of two hundred thousand
rebels, and endless imaginary masked batteries at Manassas. The
arrival of General Butler at Washington recalled the consideration
of the government to more distant enterprises.
Mobile was then the favorite object, both at the head-quarters of
the army and at the navy department ; and General Butler was
directed to report upon the best rendezvous for an expedition
against Mobile. Maps, charts, gazetteers, encyclopedias, and sea
captains were zealously overhauled. In a day or two, the general
was ready with his report, which named Ship Island as the proper
rendezvous for operations against any point upon the gulf coast.
Ship Island it should be then. To New England the general
quickly returned, and started a regiment or two for the rendezvous
under General Phelps, whose services he had especially asked. Then
to Washington once more, where he found that Mobile was not in
high favor with the ruling member of the cabinet, who thought
Texas a more immediately important object. It was natural that
he should so regard it, as he was compelled by his office to look at
the war in the light shed from foreign correspondence. General
Butler was now ordered to prepare a paper upon Texas, and the
best mode of reannexing it. Nothing loath, he rushed again at
the maps and gazetteers, collaring stray Galvestonians by the way.
An elaborate paper upon Texas was the prompt result of his labors,
a production justly complimented by General McClellan for its lucid
completeness. Texas was in the ascendant. Texas should be re.
annexed ; the French kept out ; the German cotton planters deliv-
ered; the rebels quelled; the blockading squadron released. Home-
ward sped the general to get more of his troops on the way. The
Constitution, which had conveyed General Phelps to Ship Island
and returned, was again loaded with troops. Two thousand men
1S6 RECRUITING FOR SPECIAL SERVICE.
were embarked, and the ship was on the point of sailing, when a
telegram from Washington arrived of singular brevity : —
" Don't Sail. Disembark."
No explanation followed ; nor did General Butler wait long for
one. The next day he was in Washington, in quest of elucidation.
The explanation was simple. Mason and Slidell were in Fort
Warren ; England had demanded their surrender ; war with
England was possible, not improbable. If war were the issue, the
Constitution would be required, not to convey troops to Ship Island,
but to bring back those already there.
Nothing remained for General Butler but to return home, and
wait till the question was decided. He went, but not till he had
avowed his entire conviction that justice and policy united in de-
manding that the rebel emissaries should be retained. He thought
that New England alone, drained as she was of men, would follow
him to Canada, that winter, with fifty thousand troops, and seize
the commanding points before the April sun had let in the English
navy. The country, he thought, was not half awake — had not put
forth half its strength. He felt that in such a quarrel, America
would do as Greece had done when Xerxes led his myriads against
her — every man a soldier, and every soldier a hero. He did not
despair of seeing, first the border states, and then the gulf states,
fired with the old animosity, and joining against the hereditary foe.
Knowing what England had done in the way of violating the flag
of neutrals, he regarded her conduct in this affair as the very sub-
lime of impudence. He boiled with indignation whenever he
thought of it, and he thought of little else during those memorable
weeks.
Fortunately, as most of us think, other counsels prevailed at
Washington, and a blow was struck at the rebellion, by the sur-
render of the men, of more effect than the winning of a great bat-
tle. The restoration of the Union will itself avenge the wrong,
and cut deeper into the power that has misled England than the
loss of many Canadas.
The dispute with the governor continued. It was a question
whether the troops raised by him in Massachusetts, in opposition
to the governor, would be entitled to the aid granted by the legis-
lature to the families of volunteers. The following letter touches
upon this subject :
BECETJITING FOE SPECIAL SEEVICE. 1 ,
u Camp Seward, Pittsfield, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 1862.
"Lieut. Col. Whelpen, Commanding Western Bay State Regiment:
" Colonel : — I have been much gratified with the appearance, discipline
and proficiency of your regiment, as evidenced by the inspection of to-day.
Of the order, quiet, and soldierly conduct of the camp, the commanding
general cannot speak in too much praise.
"Notwithstanding the difficulties of season, opposition and misrepre-
sentation, the progress made would be creditable if no such obstacles had
existed.
" In the matter of the so-called state aid to the families of the volunteers
under your command, I wish to repeat here, most distinctly, the declara-
tion heretofore made to you. I will personally, and from my private
means, guarantee to the family of each soldier the aid which ought to be
furnished to him by his town, to the same extent and amount that the
state would be bound to afford to other enlisted men, from and after this
date, if the same is not paid by the commonwealth to them as to other
Massachusetts soldiers ; and all soldiers enlisting in your regiment may do
so upon the strength of this guarantee.
"I have no doubt upon this subject whatever. The commonwealth will
not permit her soldiers to suffer or be unjustly dealt with, under whose-
soever banner they may enlist.
" The only question that will be asked will be, Are these men in the
service of their country, shedding their blood in defense of its constitution
and laws ? If so, they stand upon an equality with every other man who
is fighting for his country, and will be treated by the state with the same
equal justice, whatever may be the wounded pride or overweening vanity
of any man or set of men.
" I love and revere the justice, the character, the equity, the fame and
name of our glorious old commonwealth too much to doubt of this for a
moment, and will at any time peril whatever I may have of private
fortune, upon the faith engendered by that love and reverence.
" Accept for yourself, personally, and for your officers, my most earnest
thanks for the energetic services which you have rendered in the recruit-
ment of your excellent regiment.
"Most truly your friend,
"Benj. F. Butlek,
" Major- General Commanding."
General Butler was, indeed, most ably seconded by the officers
whom he had selected to accompany him.
Captain Paul R. George, of Lowell, a retired officer of the army,
distinguished in the Mexican war, afterward successful in business,
188 RECRUITING FOR SPECIAL SERVICE.
was Iris quartermaster. To the remarkable talents and long expe-
rience of Captain George, the country owed it, that the expedition
was fitted out with unrivaled completeness and economy, affording
another proof that a man who conducts his own affairs wisely, can
serve the public with the same energetic tact. Captain George for-
sook ease and luxury to aid General Butler, and labored for many
weeks in the details of the equipment with admirable assiduity and
skill. A cabal caused his rejection by the senate before the last de-
tachment sailed, and the general was thus deprived of assistance
upon which he had relied, and which he needed then more than
ever.
General Butler was most fortunate, too, in his chief of staff,
Major George C. StroDg, a graduate of West Point ; one of those
cadets who had marked and liked the ways of the Massachusetts law-
yer, when he served as an examiner of the military academy. He
met the general in Washington — being a lieutenant then upon the
staff of the commander-in-chief, and gladly left all to follow his for-
tunes. His West Point comrades marveled that an officer so
clearly in the way of promotion, high in the confidence of the chief
of the army, should choose to serve under a general not trained to
arms in the highlands of the Hudson river. But there are people
who know a man when they see one. West Point, however, is right
in pluming itself upon its graduates, for no one can deny that most
of the good soldiering done in this war, on either side, has been
done under West Point men. How well General Strong appreci-
ated the merits of the military academy, we may now all see in
his pleasant little book, " Cadet Life at West Point," the author-
ship of which he modestly concealed during his lifetime. But he
was not a West Point bigot.
Happy, too, was General Butler in the aid of Lieutenant Weit-
zel, chief engineer to the expedition, who graduated second in his
class at West Point ; afterward long employed in completing the
forts below New Orleans, acquiring perfect familiarity with the
adjacent country. He, too, reflected honor upon the military acad-
emy, as he has recently done upon the country, by his splendid con-
duct at Port Hudson. General Butler, in common with his whole
command, held the character and talents of Lieutenant Weitzel in
the profoundest esteem.
One of the volunteer aids stands boldly out from the group sur-
RECRUITING FOE SPECIAL SERVICE. 180
rounding the general, Major J. M. Bell, of Boston, a distinguished
member of the bar of New England, son-in-law and partner of the
late Rufus Choate. Major Bell, who had, I believe, retired from
practice, asked his old hunker chieftain, if there was any work for
him to do in the new, mysterious enterprise. General Butler hailed
the olfer with gladness, well knowing the worth and capacity of
him who made it. Major Bell found unexpected work in the south-
ern country, which forced him to furbish his legal weapons, and
keep them exceedingly bright.
Colonel Andrew Jackson Butler, as chief commissary, lent a pow-
erful and a dexterous hand to the equipment of the expedition, till
he, too, was rejected by the senate. Captain Peter Haggerty,
whom we saw going ashore at Annapolis, was still by the general's
side, as aide-de-camp. Lieutenant J. B. Kinsman, another Boston
lawyer, joined at the last moment, for a six weeks' cruise, but
served to the end. We shall meet those gentlemen again, and their
comrades on the general's staff. It is here only requisite to note,
that if the expedition was fitted out with extraordinary dispatch
and thoroughness, it was because General Butler, himself a mighty
achiever, knows how to pick out from the mass of indifferent men
the individuals who have it in them to achieve. This is the supreme,
the ail-including talent of a commander. A little of that talent, the
United States, three years ago, might have paid one thousand miL
lions of dollars for, and yet saved money by the operation.
Mason and Slidell were given up. The troops sailed for Fortress
Monroe. General Butler, early in January, 1862, went to Wash-
ington to conclude the last arrangements, intending to join his
command in Hampton Roads. At the war department mere con-
fusion reigned, for this was the time when Mr. Cameron was going
out, and Mr. Stanton coming in. Nothing could be done ; the
troops remained at Fortress Monroe ; the general was lost to finite
view in the mazes of Washington.
We catch a brief glimpse of him, however, testifying before the
committee on the conduct of the war. No reader can have for-
gotten that the great question then agitating the country was, why
General McClelian, with his army of two hundred thousand men,
had remained inactive for so many months, permitting the blockade
of the Potomac, and allowing the superb weather of November
and December to pass unimproved into the mud and cold of Janu-
190 RECRUITING FOR SPECIAL SERVICE.
ary. The established opinion at head-quarters was, that the rebol
army before Washington numbered about two hundred and forty
thousand men. Upon this point General Butler, from much study
of the various sources of information, had arrived at an opinion
which differed from the one in vogue, and this he communicated
to the committee ; and not the opinion only, but the grounds of
the opinion. He presented an argument on the subject, having
thoroughly got up the case as he had been wont to do for gentle-
men of the jury. Subjecting General Beauregard's report of the
two actions near Manassas to a minute analysis, he showed that the
rebel army at the battle of Bull Run numbered 36,600 men. He
cross-examined those reports, counting first by regiments, secondly
by brigades, and found the results of both calculations the same.
He then computed the quotas of the various rebel states, and con-
cluded that the entire Confederate force on the day of the battle
of Bull Run was about 54,000. He next considered the increase
to the rebel armies since the battle of Bull Run. We, with our
greatly superior means of transportation, with our greater popula-
tion, and the command of the ocean, had been able, by the most
strenuous exertions, to assemble an army before Washington of
little more than 200,000. Could the rebels have got together
half that number in the same time ? It was not probable, it was
scarcely possible. Then the extent of country held by the rebel
army was known, and forbade the supposition entertained at head-
quarters. Upon the whole, he concluded that the armies menacing
Washington consisted of about 70,000 men ; which proved to be
within 5,000 of the truth.
This opinion was vigorously pooh-poohed in the higher circles of
the army, but leading members of the committee were evidently
convinced by it. One officer of high rank, a frequenter of the office
of the general-in-chief, was good enough to say, when General But-
ler had finally departed, that he hoped they had now found a hole
big enough to bury that Yankee general in.
During the delay caused by the change in the department of
war, an almost incredible incident occurred, which strikingly illus-
trates the confusion sometimes arising from having three centers of
military authority — the president, the secretary of war, and the
commander-in-chief. By mere accident General Butler heard one
day that his troops had been sent, two weeks before, from Fortress
RECRUITING FOR SPECIAL SERVICE. 191
Monroe to Port Royal. "What!" he exclaimed, "have I been
played with all this time ?" He discovered, upon inquiry, that
such an order had indeed been issued. He procured an interview
with Mr. Stanton, gave him a history of his proceedings, and asked
an explanation of the order. Mr. Stanton knew nothing about it ;
Mr. Cameron knew nothing about it ; General McClellan knew
nothing about it. Nevertheless, the order in question had really
been sent. Mr. Stanton readily agreed to countermand the order,
provided the troops had not already departed. The general hur-
ried to the telegraph office, where, under a rapid fire of messages,
a still more wonderful fact was disclosed. The mysterious order
had been received in Baltimore by one of General Dix's aids, who
had put it into his pocket, forgotten it, and carried it about with
him two weeks/ From the depths of his pocket it was finally
brought to light. The troops were still at the fortress.
Mr. Stanton soon made himself felt in the dispatch of business.
General Butler obtained an ample hearing, and the threads of his
enterprise were again taken up. One day (about January 10th),
toward the close of a long conference between the general and
the secretary, Mr. Stanton suddenly asked :
" Why can't New Orleans be taken ?"
The question thrilled General Butler to the marrow.
" It can !" he replied.
This was the first time New Orleans had been mentioned in Gen-
eral Butler's hearing, but by no means the first time he had thought
of it. The secretary told him to prepare a programme ; and for
the third time the general dashed at the charts and books. General
McClellan, too, was requested to present an opinion upon the feasi-
bility of the enterprise. He reported that the capture of New Or-
leans would require an army of 50,000 men, and no such number
could be spared. Even Texas, he thought, should be given up for
the present.
But now General Butler, fired with the splendor and daring of
the new project, exerted all the forces of his nature to win for it the
consent of the government. He talked New Orleans to every mem-
ber of the cabinet. In a protracted interview with the president,
lie argued, he urged, he entreated, he convinced. Nobly were his
efforts seconded by Mr. Fox, the assistant secretary of the navy, a
native of Lowell, a schoolmate of General Butler's. His whole
192 RECRUITING FOR SPECIAL SERVICE.
heart was in the scheme. The president spoke, at length, the deci-
sive word, and the general almost reeled from the White House in
the intoxication of his relief and joy. One difficulty still remained,
and that was the tight clutch of General McClellan upon the troops.
At Ship Island there were 2,000 men; on ship-board 2,200 ; ready
in New England, 8,500; total, 12,700. General Butler demanded
a total of 15,000. As the general-in-chief would not hear of sparing
men from Washington, three of the Baltimore regiments were
assigned to the expedition ; and these were the only ones in Gene-
ral Butler's division which could be called drilled. Not one of
his regiments had been in action.
About January 23d, the last impediment was removed, and Gen-
eral Butler went home, for the last time, to superintend the em-
barkation of the rest of the New England troops. The troops
detained so long at Fortress Monroe, were hurried on board the
Constitution, and started for Ship Island. Other transports w T ere
rapidly procured; other regiments dispatched. A month later,
General Butler was again in Washington to receive the final orders ;
the huge steamship Mississippi, loaded with his last troops, lying
in Hampton Roads, waiting only for his coming to put to sea. It
may interest some readers to know, that the total cost of raising
the troops and starting them on their voyage, was about a million
and a half of dollars.
It was not without apprehensions that General Butler approached
the capital on this occasion — there had been so many changes of
programme. But all the departments smiled propitiously, and the
final arrangements were soon completed. A professional spy, who
had practiced his vocation in Virginia too long for him to venture
again within the enemy's lines with much chance of getting out
again, was on his way to New Orleans, having agreed to meet the
general at Ship Island with a full account of the state of affairs in
the crescent city. A thousand dollars, if he succeeds. The depart-
ment of the gulf was created, and General Butler formally placed
in command of the same. The following were the orders of the
commander-in-chief :
" Bead-quahtees of the Aemt,
"February 23d, 1862.
" Major-General B. F. Butler, United States Army :
"General:— You are assigned to the command of the land forces des-
RECRUITING FOE SPECIAL SERVICE. 193
tined to co-operate with the navy in the attack upon New Orleans. You
will use every means to keep the destination a profound secret, even from
your staff officers, with the exception of your chief of staff, and Lieu-
tenant Wietzel, of the engineers.
u The force at your disposal will consist of the first thirteen regiments
named in your memorandum handed to me in person, the Twenty-first In-
diana, Fourth Wisconsin, and Sixth Michigan (old and good regiments
from Baltimore) — these three regiments will await your orders at Fort
Monroe. Two companies of the Twenty-first Indiana are well drilled at
heavy artillery. The cavalry force already en route for Ship Island, will be
sufficient for your purposes. After full consultation with officers well ac-
quainted with the country in which it is proposed to operate, I have ar-
rived at the conclusion that three light batteries fully equipped and one
without horses, will be all that will be necessary.
" This will make your force about 14,400 infantry, 275 cavalry, 580 ar-
tillery, total 15,255 men.
" The commanding general of the department of Key West is authorized
to loan you, temporarily, two regiments ; Fort Pickens can probably give
you another, which will bring your force to nearly 18,000. The object of
your expedition is one of vital importance — the capture of New Orleans.
The route selected is up the Mississippi river, and the first obstacle to be
encountered, perhaps the only one, is in the resistance offered by Forts
St. Philip and Jackson. It is expected that the navy can reduce the works ;
in that case, you will, after their capture, leave a sufficient garrison in them
to render them perfectly secure ; and it is recommended that on the up-
ward passage a few heavy guns and some troop3 be left at the pilot sta-
tion, at the forks of the river, to cover a retreat in the case of a disaster,
the troops and guns will of course be removed as soon as the forts are
captured.
u Should the navy fail to reduce the works, you will land your forces and
siege train, and endeavor to breach the works, silence their fire, and carry
them by assault.
'" The next resistance will be near the English Bend, where there are
some earthen batteries ; here it may be necessary for you to land your
troops, to co-operate with the naval attack, although it is more than proba
b)e that the navy, unassisted, can accomplish the result. If these works are
taken, the city of New Orleans necessarily falls.
u In that event it will probably be best to occupy Algiers with the mass
of your troops, also the eastern bank of the river above the city — it may be
necessary to place some troops in the city to preserve order ; though if
there appears sufficient Union sentiment to control the city, it may be best
for purposes of discipline to keep your men out of the city.
" After obtaining possession of New Orleans, it will be necessary to re-
194 EECRUITING FOR SPECIAL SERVICE.
duce all the works guarding its approaches from the east, and particularly
to gain the ManchacPass.
" Baton Rouge, Berwick Bay, and Fort Livingston will next claim your
attention.
"A feint on Galveston may facilitate the objects we have in view. I
need not call your attention to the necessity of gaining possession of all the
rolling stock you can, on the different railways, and of obtaining control of
the roads themselves. The occupation of Baton Rouge, by a combined
naval and land force, should be accomplished as soon as possible after you
have gained New Orleans; then endeavor to open your communication
with the northern column of the Mississippi, always bearing in mind the
necessity of occupying Jackson, Mississippi, as soon as you can safely do so,
either after or before you have effected the junction. Allow nothing to
divert you from obtaining full possession of all the approaches to New Or-
leans. "When that object is accomplished to its fullest extent, it will be
necessary to make a combined attack on Mobile, in order to gain possession
of the harbor and works, as well as to control the railway terminus at the
city. In regard to this, I will send more detailed instructions, as the opera-
tions of the northern column develop themselves. I may simply state that
the general objects of the expedition are first, the reduction of New Orleans
and all its approaches, then Mobile, and all its defenses, then Pensacola,
Galveston, etc. It is probable that by the time New Orleans is reduced, it
will be in the power of the government to re-enforce the land forces suffi-
ciently to accomplish all these objects; in the mean time you will please
give all the assistance in your power to the army and navy commanders
in your vicinity, never losing sight of the fact that the great object to be
achieved is the capture and firm retention of New Orleans.
" Yery respectfully, your obedient servant,
" Geoege B. McOlellaf,
** Major- General Commanding, &c, <£c."
February 24th was General Butler's last day in Washington.
"Good-by, Mr. President. We shall take New Orleans, or
you'll never see me again."
Mr. Stanton : " The man that takes New Orleans is made a lieu-
tenant-general."
February 25th, at nine in the evening, the steamship Mississippi
sailed from Hampton Roads, with General Butler and his staff, and
fourteen hundred troops on board. Mrs. Butler, the brave and
kind companion of her general in all his campaigns hitherto, was
still at his side on the quarter-deck of the Mississippi. Except him-
self, Major Strong, and Lieutenant Wietzel, no man in the ship,
SHIP ISLAND. 105
and no man on the island to which they were bound, knew the
object of the expedition. Articles and maps had appeared in the
Herald, calculated to lead the enemy to suppose that New Orleans,
if attacked at all, would be attacked from above, not from the gulf.
The northern public were completely in the dark ; no one even
guessed New Orleans.
CHAPTER XII.
SHIP ISLAND.
Ship Island is a long wave of whitest, finest sand, that glistens
in the sun, and drifts before the wind like. New England snow. It
is one of four islands that stretch along ten or twelve miles from
the gulf coast, forming Mississippi sound. It was to one of these
sand islands that the British troops repaired after their failure be-
fore New Orleans in 1815, where they lived for several weeks,
amusing themselves with fishing and play-acting. Ship Island,
seven miles long and three quarters of a mile wide, containing two
square miles of land — the best of the four for a rendezvous — is
sixty-five miles from New Orleans, ninety-five from the mouths of
the Mississippi, fifty from Mobile bay, ten from the nearest point of
the state of Mississippi, of which the island is a part. It lies so
low among the white, tumbling waves, that, when covered with
tents, it looked like a camp floating upon the sea. Land and water
are menacingly blended there. Numberless porpoises, attracted by
the refuse of the camps, floundered all around the shore, which
was lined with a living fringe of sea-gulls, flapping, plunging, div-
ing, and screaming. The waves and the wind seemed to heave
and toss the sand as easily as they did the water. In great storms
the island changes its form ; large portions are severed, others sub-
merged ; new bays and inlets appear. On landing, the voyager
does not so much feel that he has come on shore as that he has
got down over the ship's side to the shifting bottom of the sea.
9
190 SHIP ISLAND.
raised for a moment by the mighty swell of waters, threatening
again to sink and disappear. Terra fir ma, it is not.
It was observed that the first aspect of this island struck death
to the hopes of arriving troops. They faintly strove to cheer their
spirits with jocular allusions to the garden of Eden and to Coney
Island ; and one of General Phelps's men, on lodking over the ship's
side upon the desolate scene of his future home, raised a doleful
laugh by exclaiming, in the language of Watts :
" Lord, what a wretched land is this,
Which yields us no supplies 1"
Appearances, however, were deceptive. The wretched land was
found to yield abundant supplies of commodities and conveniences,
most essential to soldiers. At the western end there is a really
superior harbor, safe in all winds, admitting the largest vessels. At
the eastern extremity groves of pine and stunted oak have succeeded
in establishing themselves, and afford plenty of wood. For fresh
water, it is only necessary to sink a barrel three feet ; it imme-
diately fills with rain water, pure from the natural filter of the
sand. Oysters of excellent quality can be had by wading for them ;
fish abound ; and the woods, strange to relate, furnished the means
of raccoon-hunting. The climate, too, in the winter months, is more
enjoyable than Newport in midsummer, and the bathing not infe-
rior. Nevertheless, it must be owned, that with all these advanta-
ges, Ship Island was never regarded by the troops with high favor ;
they never recovered from the first shock of disappointment.
Before the arrival of General Phelps, in December, 1861, the
island had been the theater of many events. The breaking out of
the rebellion found workmen, in the service of the United States,
building a fort for the defense of the harbor. They soon abandoned
the place, and the rebels immediately landed, burned the houses,
damaged the fort, destroyed the lantern of the light-house, and re-
tired. Then the blockading squadron appeared, captured many
prizes, and nearly stopped the coasting trade between Mobile and
New Orleans. But the coast being clear for a few days, a rebel
force again landed, and proceeded to repair the damage they had
done, mounting heavy guns upon the fort, and erecting extensive
works, Commodore McKean unable to reach them with the guns
of the Massachusetts. In September, alarmed by rumors of a com
SHIP ISLAND. 197
ing expedition, the rebels again abandoned the island; but, in
so doing, were so much accelerated by the vigilant McKean, that,
though they took their guns with them, they left the fort standing,
and the commodore captured a vessel laden with timber, hewn
and cut for the defensive works. From September to December,
Commodore McKean, with a hundred and seventy sailors and
marines, under Lieutenant McKean Buchanan, had held the harbor,
and labored to remount the fort, and complete the works begun by
the enemy ; darting out occasionally, and pouncing upon venture-
some schooners from Mobile, or blockade-runners from Nassau.
Five or six prizes were there when General Phelps hove in sight,
and two light-draft steamers among them, invaluable for landing
troops.
During the next three months the island presented a busy
scene. The huge steamer Constitution landed her little army of
troops, sailed, and returned with more ; General Phelps and Com-
modore McKean striving, meanwhile, to complete the defenses,
and to prepare in all ways for coming events, whatever those
events might be ; neither of them knowing the designs of the gov-
ernment. General Phelps, a strict disciplinarian, assiduously
drilled and reviewed the troops. He signalized his brief tenure of
command by issuing his well-remembered proclamation, which
must be pronounced the most unexpected piece of composition
which the war has elicited. A reporter records, that during the
last days of the voyage of the Constitution, General Phelps was
observed to spend more time than usual in the solitude of his
cabin. " He did not come so promptly as the rest of the officers
to the table, and when he did appear, seemed more occupied with
his own thoughts than with the current of conversation. The
cause of this temporary reticence wa3 explained on the day follow-
ing our arrival at Ship Island. Observing that he was more than
usually busy about some interesting matter, your correspondent, in
the exercise of that watchfulness which is requisite in the reporter,
but, at the same time, with that diffidence not always characteristic
of the profession, seized a favorable moment for putting himself en
rapport with the commander, and ascertained that he was about to
issue a very important paper, defining the animus of the expedition
to the people of the country. General Phelps explained that he
regarded the occasion as a peculiarly fitting one for setting forth,
198 SHIP ISLAND.
in a frank and at the same time a tolerant spirit, the sentiments
which would govern his conduct in prosecuting the war against
rebellion in the southwest. The document was copied in a plain
hand, and on the evening of our arrival in Ship Island Roads, it
was read aloud in the presence of the passengers and officers, who
were convened in the steamer's saloon. On the following morning,
other copies were made, one of which was read to the officers on
board the United States steamer Massachusetts, in the hearing of
several secession prisoners who had been taken on board of the
rebel steamers and other prizes in port."*
The document, it should be observed, was addressed to the
loyal people of the southwest, not to the enemies of the United
States.
PKOCLAMATION.
" Head-quaetees Middlesex Beigade, Ship Island,
"Mississippi, Bee. 4, 1861.
" To the loyal citizens of the Southwest :
" Without any desire of my own, but contrary to my private inclinations,
I again find myself among you as a military officer of the government. A
proper respect for my fellow-countrymen renders it not out of place that I
should make known to you the motives and principles by which my com-
mand will be governed.
"We believe that every state that has been admitted as a slave state
into the Union, since the adoption of the constitution, has been so admitted
in direct violation of that constitution.
" We believe that the slave states which existed, as such, at the adoption
of our constitution, are, by becoming parties to that compact, under the
highest obligations of honor and morality to abolish slavery.
" It is our conviction that monopolies are as destructive, as competition
is conservative, of the principles and vitalities of republican government ;
that slave labor is a monopoly which excludes free labor and competition ;
that slaves are kept in comparative idleness and ease in a fertile half of our
arable national territory, while free wmite laborers, constantly augmenting
in numbers from Europe, are confined to the other half, and are often dis-
tressed by want ; that the free labor of the North has more need of expan-
sion into the southern states, from which it is virtually excluded, than
slavery had into Texas in 1846 ; that free labor is essential to free institu-
tions ; that these institutions are naturally better adapted and more conge-
* Correspondence of the K. T. Daily Times, December 17, 1861.
SHIP ISLAND. 199
nial to the Anglo-Saxon race, than are the despotic tendencies of slavery ;
and, finally, that the dominant political principle of this North American
continent, so long as the Caucasian race continues to flow in upon us from
Europe, must needs be that of free institutions and free government. Any
obstructions to the progress of that form of government in the United States
must inevitably be attended with discord and war.
" Slavery, from the condition of a universally recognized social and moral
evil, has become at length a political institution, demanding political recog-
nition. It demands rights to the exclusion and annihilation of those rights
which are insured to us by the constitution ; and we must choose between
them which we will have, for we can not have both. The constitution was
made for freemen, not for slaves. Slavery, as a social evil, might for a time
be tolerated and endured ; but as a political institution it becomes imperi-
ous and exacting, controlling, like a dread necessity, all whom circumstan-
ces have compelled to live under its sway, hampering their action and thus
impeding our national progress. As a political institution it could exist
as a co-ordinate part only of two forms of governments, viz : the despotic
and the free ; and it could exist under a free government only where public
sentiment, in the most unrestricted exercise of a robust freedom, leading to
extravagance and licentiousness, had swayed the thoughts and habits of the
people beyond the bounds and limits of their own moderate constitutional
provisions. It could exist under a free government only where the people
in a period of unreasonin g extravagance had permitted popular clamor to
overcome public reason, and had attempted the impossibility of setting up
permanently, as a political institution, a social evil which is opposed to
moral law.
" By reverting to the history of the past, we find that one of the movjt
destructive wars on record, that of the French Revolution, was originated
by the attempt to give political character to an institution which was not
susceptible of political character. The church, by being endowed with
political power, with its convents, its schools, its immense landed wealth,
its associations, secret and open, became the ruling power of the state, and
thus occasioned a war of more strife and bloodshed, probably, than any
other war which has desolated the earth.
" Slavery is still less susceptible of political character than was the church.
It is as fit at this moment for the lumber-room of the past, as was in 1793
the monastery, the landed wealth, the exclusive privilege, etc., of the Catholic
Church in France. It behooves us to consider, as a self-governing people,
bred, and reared and practiced in the habits of self-government, whether
we can not, whether we ought not to revolutionize slavery out of existence,
without the necessity of a conflict of arms like that of the French Revo-
lution.
" Indeed, we feel assured, that the moment slavery is abolished, from that
200 SHIP ISLAND.
moment our southern "brethren, every ten of whom have probably seven rel-
atives in the north, would begin to emerge from a hateful delirium. From
that moment, relieved from imaginary terrors, their days become happy, and
their nights peaceable and free from alarm : the aggregate amount of labor,
under the new stimulus of fair competition, becomes greater day by day ;
property rises in value, invigorating influences succeed to stagnation, degen-
eracy and decay ; and union, harmony and peace, to which we have so long
been strangers, become restored, and bind us again in the bonds of friend-
ship and amity, as when we first began our national career, under our glo-
rious government of 1789.
" Why do the leaders of the rebellion seek to change the form of your an-
cient government ? Is it because the growth of the African element of your
population has come at length to render the change necessary ? "Will you
permit the free government under which you have thus far lived, and which
is so well suited for the development of true manhood, to be altered to a nar-
row and belittling despotism, in order to adapt it to the necessities of igno-
rant slaves, and the requirements of their proud and aristocratic owners?
Will the laboring men of the south bend their necks to the same yoke that
is suited to the slave ? We think not. We may safely answer that the time
has not yet arrived when our southern brethren, for the mere sake of keep-
ing Africans in slavery, will abandon their long cherished free institutions,
and enslave themselves.
" It is the conviction of my command, as a part of the national forces of
the United States, that labor— manual labor — is inherently noble ; that it
cannot be systematically degraded by any nation without ruining its peace
happiness and power ; that free labor is the granite basis on which free in-
stitutions must rest ; that it is the right, the capital, the inheritance, the
hope of the poor man everywhere ; that it is especially the right of five
millions of our fellow-countrymen in the slave states, as well as of the four
millions of Africans there, and all our efforts, therefore, however small or
great, whether directed against the interference of governments from
abroad, or against rebellious combinations at home, shall be for free labor.
Our motto and our standard shall be, here and everywhere, and on all occa-
sions, Free Laboe and Workingmen's Eights. It is on this basis, and
this basis alone, that our munificent government, the asylum of the nations,
can be perpetuated and preserved.
"J. W. Phelps,
"Brigadier-General of Volunteers Commanding. ,"
It is a proof of the very great respect entertained for the good
general, that the issue of such a proclamation, in the name oi
the troops, provoked little more than a feeling of astonishment.
There was, it is true, some foolish talk of resigning commissions ;
SHIP ISLAND. 201
and one naval commander relieved his mind by tearing a copy in
pieces and throwing it overboard.
"What," asked General Phelps, on hearing of these adverse
opinions, " did these officers come down here for ? Was it to sac-
rifice their ease, to waste their time, and perhaps to lay down their
lives in a war, simply that a few persons may hold slaves ? I did
not come for any such purpose. I came to fight, and if anybody
is afraid, they had better go home. These people, among whom
we have come, do not ask any favors of us, and I ask none of them.
I did not come here to steal, but to tell them just what I mean
to do."
He declared, further, that his principles were anti-slavery, and he
desired the country to know j.t. He did not, however, wish to harm
his countrymen of the South, but believing as he did that slavery
was the cause of the war, and all other troubles of any moment that
have ever arisen among the American people, he had a right to say
so, and could not see the propriety of longer apologizing for such
a baneful institution. "And as for those officers," continued he,
" who are so fearful that the Union army may do some harm to the
rebels, they had better come forward and let us know which side
they are on."
A copy, it appears, was taken to the Mississippi shore, and hand-
ed to some one found there. It was extensively used in Secessia as
fuel for firing the southern heart. In due time, we are told, it was
translated for the warning of the people of Cuba, who were invited
to compute what would be the value of their slaves if the United
States, known to be covetous of Cuba, should succeed in restoring
its power by the destruction of slavery in the southern states. Gen-
eral Butler, in common with the whole country, read the proclama-
tion of his brigadier with much surprise, but was far from joining
in the hue and cry against it. In transmitting General Phelps's
report to head-quarters, he merely remarked : " I need hardly say
that the issuing of any proclamation, upon such occasion, was
neither suggested nor authorized by me, and most certainly not
such an one. With that exception, I commend the report, and ask
attention to its clear and business-like statements."
General Phelps, with his quaint and kindly ways, and his effi-
ciency as a commanding officer, soon lived down the clamor excited
by his proclamation. The rigor of his rule was alleviated by his
202 SHIP ISLAND.
humorous mode of settling difficulties and administering reproof.
Two bottles of illicit champagne-cider were brought to his tent one
day, and the question occurred what was to be done with the pro-
perty — value three dollars. *
" Orderly," said the general, " strike those bottles together, and
see which is the hardest ; that is the way to dispose of liquor taken
from drunken soldiers."
On another occasion, he called a captain from the line of his regi
ment, and addressed him thus :
"Captain , I find that you are exceedingly attentive to
everything"
The general paused here for a moment, and the captain waited
to hear the conclusion of the compliment. But the general com-
pleted the sentence in an unexpected manner ; " except your duty,"
said he. The captain retired to his place amid the titter of the
regiment.
December, January, and February passed slowly and drearily by.
The island was covered with troops ; the fleet augmented in the
harbor. The troops being inconveniently crowded, General Phelps
sent over a party to the main land to see if there was room and
safety there for a portion of his command. A sudden shower of
canister from a battery near the wharf of Mississippi City was in-
terpreted to mean that, though there might be room enough, there
was not safety. The troops, therefore, were obliged to remain
cooped and huddled together on the small part of the island that
afforded tolerable camping ground. The monotony of their lives,
in these forlorn and restricted circumstances, told upon the spirits
of the men. The resigning fever broke out among the officers, and
" carried off" several victims. At the end of February, when the last
transports arrived, General Phelps learned that the next arrival
would be that of General Butler himself, who might be daily ex-
pected, and then active operations would begin. But the days
passed on, and no general came. Two large steamers were lying
in the harbor, at a daily expense to the government of three thou-
sand dollars. Now, General Phelps is one of those gentlemen who
take the true view of the public money, regarding it as the most
sacred of all money, to be expended with the thoughtful economy
with which an honest guardian expends the slender portion of a
girl bequeathed to his care by a dying friend. Still unacquainted
SHIP ISLAND. 203
with the plans of the government, hearing, too, that General But-
ler had been lost at sea, the costly presence of those steamers dis-
tressed his righteous soul ; and, at length, he ordered them home.
So there were ten thousand men, on a strip of sand, on a hostile
coast, with no great supply of provisions, destitute of any adequate
means either of getting away or of getting supplies. A deep de-
spondency settled upon the troops as the month of March wore on,
and they vainly scanned the horizon for a smoky harbinger of their
expected commander. Fears for his safety received melancholy
confirmation, when a vessel arrived, bringing Brigadier-General
Williams from Hatteras Inlet, for whom the Mississippi was to
have called on her way. For a month, General Phelps waited for
General Butler in painful suspense.
The rumors of disaster to the Mississippi were far from ground-
less. In getting to Ship Island, General Butler had almost as many
adventures as Jason in search of the golden fleece. To him, and to
his staff, who had already encountered so many obstacles in Massa-
chusetts and at "Washington, it seemed now as if gods and men
were contending against their expedition. But they were animated
with desperate resolution, feeling that only some signal achieve-
ment could vindicate their enterprise, and enable them to show
themselves again in Massachusetts without shame. The general
had assumed so much of the responsibility of the expedition, had
borne it along on his own shoulders through so many difficulties,
against so much opposition or lukewarm support, that he felt there
were two alternatives for him, glorious success or a glorious death.
Nor did he suppose for a moment, that the brunt of the affair would
fall upon the wooden ships of the navy. He expected powerful aid
from the navy, but he took it for granted, that the closing and de-
cisive encounter would be with the Confederate army on the
swamps and bayous of the Delta, defended by works supposed by
the enemy to be impregnable. Storming parties, scaling ladders,
siege guns, headlong assaults into the imminent, deadly breach —
these were the means by which he supposed the work was to be
finally done, and this was evidently the impression of the secretary
of war when he spoke of the reward which would be due to the
man who should take New Orleans. '
February 25th, at nine in the evening, the Mississippi steamed
from Hampton Roads, and bore away for Hatteras and General
204 SHIP ISLAND.
Williams. The weather was fine, and the night passed pleasantly.
The morning broke beautifully upon a tranquil sea, and the superb
ship bowled along before a fair wind. Landsmen began to fear
that they should complete the voyage without having experienced
what is so delightful to read about in Byron — a storm at sea. But,
in the afternoon — a change, and such a change. The horizon thick-
ened and drew in ; the wind rose ; and when, at six o'clock, they
were eight miles off Hatteras Inlet, there was no getting in that
night. The ship made for the open sea, and in so doing, ran within
a few feet of perdition, in the form of a shoal, over which the waves
broke into foam. The ship escaped, but not the captain's repu-
tation. The general's faith in his captain was not entire before
this ominous occurrence, but from that moment it was gone, and
he left the deck no more while the danger lasted. The gale in-
creased as the night came on, until at midnight it blew half a hur-
ricane. The vessel being short-handed, there was a rummaging
among the sleeping and sea-sick troops for sailors; numbers of
whom responded to»the call, who rendered good service during
the night — their general awake, ubiquitous. It lulled toward
morning ; and by noon, the wind had ceased. The ship was then
so far from Hatteras, that it was determined to give up General
Williams, and make straight for the gulf. " All felt relieved," re-
marks Major Bell in his itinerary, " and such as had desired to
see a storm at sea, had had their wildest wish fully realized, and
were satisfied."
Again, the magnificent ship went prosperously on her way. The
sea-sick struggled on deck ; the disheartened were reassured ; and
those who had lost confidence in the captain had had their faith in
the general renewed. The night was serene ; the morning fine.
At seven, the ship was off Cape Fear, going at great speed, wind
and steam co-operating ; land in sight ; men in high spirits over
their coffee and biscuit. At half-past eight, when the general and
his staff were at breakfast in the cabin, they heard and felt that
moso terrible of all sounds known to seafaring men, the harsh gra-
ting of the ship's keel upon a shoal. Every one started to his feet,
and hurried to the deck. The sky was clear, the land Avas five
miles distant, a light-house was in sight. The vessel ground
upon the rocks, but still moved. Her course was altered and alter-
ed again ; all points of the compass were tried ; but still she touched.
SHIP ISLAND. 205
Boats were lowered, and soundings were taken in all directions,
without a practicable channel being discovered. The captain, amaz-
ed and confounded, gave the fatal order to let go the bow anchor ;
and the ship, with three sails set, drove upon the fluke, which
pierced the forward compartment, and the water poured in in a
torrent that baffled the utmost exertions of men and pumps. Ben-
jamin Franklin, dead in Christ church burial-ground at Philadel-
phia, saved the ship from filling ; for it was he who first learned
from the Chinese, and suggested to the occidental world, the expe-
dient of building ships with water-tight compartments. In an hour
from the first shock, the good steamer Mississippi was hard and
fast upon Frying Pan Shoals, one compartment filled to the water
line, and the forward berths all afloat. There was no help in the
captain ; he was in such a maze that he could not ascertain from
his books even the state of the tide, whether it was rising or fall-
ing, a question upon which the safety of the ship depended.
The general, in effect, took command of the ship. Major Bell and
Captain R. S. Davis, both volunteer aids, were ordered to look into
the captain's library for the hour of the next high tide. They re-
ported falling water ; high tide at 8 p. m. Signals of distress were
hoisted, guns were fired, efforts were still made to get the ship
afloat. Horsemen were descried on the shore, and fears were en-
tertained that some Confederate vessel, lurking on the coast, might
come out and make an easy capture of a defenseless transport.
Amid the manifold perils of the situation, the troops behaved with
admirable composure, and perfect order was maintained without
effort on the part of the officers. It could scarcely have been other-
wise, for the men saw, during that long and anxious day, Mrs.
Butler, with her attendant, tranquilly hemming streamers on the
quarter-deck, she not suspecting the essential aid she was rendering
the officers in command. The men confessed the next day, that
nothing cheered them so much while they were in peril, as the sight
of Mrs. Butler sitting there, in the sight of them all, calmly plying
her needle. And the danger was indeed most imminent. An ordina-
ry squall would have broken up the ship ; it would have taken days
to land the men in the ship's boats ; and they were upon a hostile
shore. The strain was severest upon the nerves of those who wero
most familiar with a coast noted for the suddenness and violence
of its gales. One man's hair turned white ; one went mad.
206 ship isLAm>.
Toward noon, a steamer hove in sight ; reviving hope in some,
quickening the fears of others. She approached cautiously, as if
doubtful of the character of the grounded ship. The Union flag
was made out flying from her mast-head, but still she hung off in
the distance suspiciously. General Butler sent Major Bell on board,
who discovered that she was the gun-boat Mount Vernon, Com-
mander O. S. Glisson, of the United States navy, blockading Wil-
mington. Captain Glisson, who had, indeed, doubted the character
of the Mississippi, came on board, and placed his vessel at the ser-
vice of General Butler. The sea was still smooth, but tokens of
change being manifest, it was deemed best to transfer Mrs. Butler
and her maid to the Mount Yernon. A hawser was attached to
the Mississippi, and the gun-boat made many fruitless attempts to
drag her from the shoals. Three hundred men were put on board
the Mount Yernon ; shells were thrown overboard ; the troops ran
in masses from bow to stern, and from stern to bow ; the engine
worked at full speed ; but still she would not budge. As the tide
rose, the wind and waves rose also ; it became difficult to transfer
the troops ; and, soon, the huge ship began to roll and strike the
rocks alarmingly. The sun went down, and twilight was deepen-
ing into darkness, the wind still increasing. But soon after seven,
to the inexpressible relief of all on board, she moved forward a
few feet, and then surged ahead into deeper water, and was afloat.
The Mount Yernon went slowly on to show the way, the Missis-
sippi following ; the lead continuing for a whole hour to show but
six inches of water under her keel. The vessel hung down heavily
by the head, the forward compartment being filled, and no one had
a sense of safety until, at midnight, both vessels came to anchor in
the Cape Fear river. " All behaved wonderfully well," Major Bell
records. " The resources of the general seemed inexhaustible ; his
seeming calmness and his clear judgment, in view of the responsi-
bility which the ignorance of the captain left upon him, were won-
derful."
The next morning, after a survey of the damaged vessel, it was
decided to go on to Port Royal for repairs, trusting to the settled
appearance of the weather ; the Mount Yernon to accompany. Mrs.
Butler and the troops returned to the Mississippi, except one gen-
tleman, the chaplain of a regiment, who resigned his commission,
and stuck to the vessel that had a competent captain and no hole in
SHIP ISLAKD. 20 7
her bottom. General Butler was ingenious in expedients to. check
the tendency to resign, which is apt to manifest itself in certain cir-
cumstances ; but he placed no obstacle in the way of the chaplain's
escape. The vessels put to sea in the afternoon. The next day
was Sunday, and prayers were said on the deck of the Mississippi.
The most profound solemnity prevailed in the dense throng of sol-
diers, who literally watched and prayed ; prayed to Heaven and
watched the weather. In the afternoon they were cheered with
the sight of the great fleet blockading Charleston, one of the ves-
sels of which took the place of the Mount Vernon. At sunset, on
the second of March, the Mississippi and her new consort, the Ma-
tanzas, anchored off Hilton Head.
As no adequate transportation for the troops could be had at
Port Royal, nothing remained but to attempt to repair the Missis-
sippi, and this, too, in the absence of a dry dock or other facilities
for handling so large a vessel. The ship was taken to Seabrook
Landing, on Shell Creek, seven miles from Hilton Head, and the
men and stores were removed. The naval oflicers on the station,
Captain Boggs, Captain Renshaw, Captain Boutelle, and others,
conferred with the general, and lent all possible aid to the work in
hand. Plan after plan was proposed, discussed, rejected. Men
and pumps strove in vain to clear the compartment of water. Twice
the leak was plugged from the inside, and twice the water burst
through again, and destroyed in an hour the work of two days and
nights. It can be truly averred, that General Butler's indomitable
resolution and inexhaustible ingenuity were the cause of the final
success ; for long after every one else had despaired, he persisted,
and still suggested new expedients. A sail was at length, with in-
conceivable difficulty, and after many disheartening failures, drawn
over the leak ; the pumps gained upon the water, and as the head
of the vessel rose, the work became more feasible. When the
water had fallen below the leak, a few hours of vigorous exertion
sufficed to stop it, and the naval gentlemen pronounced the vessel
fit for sea.
The troops were re-embarked, and the luckless Mississippi started
for the mouth of the harbor. The captain, disregarding the advice
of the naval officers, who were familiar with the soundings, ran her
aground upon a bed of shells, and there she stuck as fast as upon
Frying Pan Shoals. " It now became painfully evident," remarks
208 SHIP ISLAND.
Major Bell, " that if we ever hoped to get the Mississippi to Ship
Island by water, we must have a new captain." General Butler
yielded to the universal desire, and to his own sense of the neces-
sity of the case ; he ordered a board of inquiry, which report-
ing the captain incompetent, he deposed him and placed him
under arrest in his state-room. "I am grieved," he wrote to
the captain, " to be obliged to this action, for our personal re-
lations have been of the kindest character, and I know yourself
will believe that only the sternest sense of duty would compel me
to it."
Acting-master Sturgis, of the Mount Yernon, took the vacant
place. Under his skillful direction, the ship was once more floated,
but not till the men had been again landed, and all the tugs in port
had done their utmost. March 13th, under a salute of fifteen guns
from the flag-ship, the Mississippi put to sea, still accompanied by
the Matanzas with part of the troops on board.
No more disasters. Seven days of prosperous sailing brought
them in sight of Ship Island, a long camp floating flat upon the
gulf. Dismal scene ! A gale was blowing as the ship steamed
into the harbor, and huge waves were seen rolling up, apparently
among the tents, and no man could tell which was water and which
was land. For two days and more, the gale continued, and the
men, unable to land, looked out upon the island dolefully. It seem-
ed a sorry port to come to after such a voyage. A gloom that
some men who were not easily dismayed could scarcely endure,
much less conceal, fell upon every heart. I have heard General
Butler say, that when he saw what Ship Island was, and learned
that General Phelps had sent away the transports, and thought
of the many chances there were of the failure of supplies, and
how absolutely dependent they all were upon external and dis-
tant resources, his heart, for the first time during the war, died
within him, and it required all the resolution and fortitude he could
command to maintain a decent show of cheerfulness. He was
somewhat debilitated too, at this time, by a return of the disease
contracted some years before, at the National Hotel in Washing-
ton.
On the twenty-fifth of March, just thirty days from Hampton
Roads, the troops were landed. There being no house on the island,
a shanty of charred boards, eighteen feet square, was elected for the
SHIP ISLAND. 209
residence of Mrs. Butler, furniture for which was opportunely pro-
cured from a captured vessel. A vast old-fashioned French bed-
stead half filled the little cabin.
A closer acquaintance with the island did not raise the spirits
of the troops. The heat was intense. Innumerable were the flies.
The general discomfit was extreme ; and to add to the gloom, phan-
toms were not wanting. As the belief gained ground that New
Orleans was the object of the expedition, rumors of the immense
preparations of the enemy to defend the city obtained currency ; the
river was lined with batteries for a hundred miles ; " rams" of fear-
ful magnitude and power had been constructed ; an army of fifty
thousand men were in the field. And soon after General Butler's
arrival, the news reached the island, with enormous exaggerations,
of the foray of the Merrimac among the fleet in Hampton Roads.
Were the iron-clads of New Orleans likely to be less formidable ?
Had we any Monitors to meet them ? If the Wellington heroes
under Pakenham could not take the city when it was defended by
only four thousand militia, badly armed, what was the prospect
now, when all the appliances of modern science had been employed,
and the place was defended by forts, columbiads, cables, a whole
fleet of Merrimacs, and a large army ?*
* New Orleans newspapers were brought over from Biloxi in considerable numbers. Such
paragraphs as the following were found in them : "The Mississippi is fortified so as to be impas-
sable for any hostile fleet or flotilla. Forts Jackaon and St. Philip are armed with one hundred
aDd seventy heavy guns (sixty -three pounders, rifled by Barkley Britton, and received from Eng-
land). The navigation of the river is stopped by a dam of about a quarter of a mile from the
above forts. No flotilla on earth would force that dam in less than two hours, during which it
would be within short and cross range of one hundred and seventy guns of the heaviest caliber,
many of which would be served with red-hot shot, numerous furnaces for which have been erected
in every fort and battery.
" In a day or two we shall have ready two iron-cased floating batteries. The plates are four and
a half inches thick, of the best hammered iron, received from England and France. Each iron-
cased battery will mount twenty sixty-eight pounders, placed so as to skim the water, and striking
the enemy's hull between wind and water. We have an abundant supply of incendiary shells,
cupola furnaces for molten iron, congreve rockets and fire-ships.
" Between New Orleans and the forts there is a constant succession of earthworks. At the Plain
of Chalmette, near Janin's property, there are redoubts, armed with rifled cannon, which have
been found to be effective at five miles range. A ditch thirty feet- wide and twenty deep extends
from the Mississippi to La Cipriore.
"In Forts St. Philip and Jackson, there are three thousand men, of whom a goodly portion are
experienced artillery-men, and gunners who have served in the navy.
"At New Orleans itself we have thirty-two thousand infantry, and as many more quartered in
ihp. immediate neighborhood. In discipline and drill they are far superior to the Yankees. We
have two very able and active generals, who possess our entire confidence, General Mansfield
LovelL and Brigadier-General Buggies. For commodore, we have old Hollins, a Nelson in his
way."— New Orleans Picayune, April 5th, 1S62.
210 SHIP ISLAND.
It happened, however, that the men in command of the joint
expedition were peculiarly insensible to phantoms. General Butiev
was at once immersed in the details of preparation, and rose su-
perior to the prevailing depression. Captain Farragut — the im-
mortal Farrngut — who had arrived within a few days, and taken
command of the fleet, had all an old sailor's contempt for every-
thing that bore the name of ram. From the first, he regarded the
naval part of the enemy's preparations as unworthy of serious con-
sideration. Give Mm wooden ships. He would answer for the
rams and iron-clads — floating caldrons to boil sailors in. He was
for fighting on deck, not in the bottom of a tea-kettle. Wooden
ships were good enough for Nelson, Perry, Lawrence, Decatur ;
and they were good enough for him. The rebels were heartily
welcome to their rams and floating batteries, their railroad-ironed
steamboats, and their fire-rafts of pine knots.
A few hours after General Butler had landed his troops, he was
in consultation with Captain Farragut — Captain Bailey of the navy
being also present, as well as Major Strong and Lieutenant Wietzel.
The plan of operations then adopted was the one which was sub-
stantially carried out, and which resulted in the capture of the
city.
I. Captain Porter, with his fleet of twenty-one bomb-schooners,
should anchor below the two forts, Jackson and St. Philip, and
continue to fire upon them until they were reduced, or until his
ammunition was nearly exhausted. During the bombardment,
Captain Farragut's fleet should remain out of fire, as a reserve,
just below the bomb-vessels. The army, or so much of it as trans-
portation could be found for, should remain at the mouth of the
river, awaiting the issue of the bombardment. If Captain Porter
succeeded in reducing the forts, the army would ascend the river
and garrison them. It would then be apparent, probably, what the
next movement should be.
II. If the bombardment did not reduce or silence the forts, then
Captain Farragut, with his fleet of steamers, would attempt to run
by them. If he succeeded, he proposed to clear the river of the
enemy's fleet, cut off the forts from supplies, and push on at least
far enough to reconnoiter the next obstruction.
III. Captain Farragut having passed the forts, General Butler
would at once take the troops round to the rear of Fort St. Philip,
SHIP ISLAND. 21 1
land them in the swamps there, and attempt to carry the fort by-
assault. The enemy had made no preparations to resist an attack
from that quarter, supposing the swamps impassable. But Lieuten-
ant Wietzel, while completing the fort, had been for two years in
the habit of duck-shooting all over those swamps, and knew every
bay and bayou of them. He assured General Butler that the land-
ing of troops there would be difficult, but not impossible; and
hence this part of the scheme. Both in the formation of the plan
and in its execution the local knowledge and pre-eminent profes-
sional skill of Lieutenant Wietzel were of the utmost value. Few
men contributed more to the reduction of the city than he. There
are few more valuable officers in the service than Greneral Wietzel,
as the country well knows.
IV. The forts being reduced, the land and naval force would
advance toward the city in the manner that should then seem
best.
This was the plan. The next question was : When could they
be ready to begin ? Captain Farragut said he would sail at once
for the mouths of the river, and thought he could be ready to
move thence toward the forts in seven days. General Butler en-
gaged to have six thousand men embarked and prepared in seven
days. He would fill all the steamers he had, and take the re-
mainder of the force in tow in sailing vessels. These arrange-
ments concluded, Captain Farragut and the fleet departed, and
General Butler set to work to do a month's work in seven days
and nights.
He did it. He labored night and day. Having no quartermas-
ter, no priceless Captain George, who was consigned to Lowell
because a senator wanted his place for a relative, General Butler
was seen on the wharf, blending the quartermaster with the major-
general, not disdaining the duty of the stevedore, when the ste-
vedore's duty became the vital one. A hundred Massachusetts
carpenters were detailed to make scaling ladders ; a hundred boat-
men to help to man the thirty boats which were to nose their de-
vious way through the reeds, creeks, pools and sharks in the rear
of Fort St. Philip. The troops were formed into three brigades ;
the first under General Phelps, the second under General Williams,
the third under Colonel Shepley, of the Twelfth Maine. The staff
212 SHIP ISLAND.
was announced.* A court-martial was organized, to bring up ar-
rears of discipline, and a board to examine the new officers. A
blast issued from head-quarters against intoxicating drinks, "the
curse of the army." " Forbidden," added the general, " by every
regulation, prohibited by official authority, condemned by expe-
rience, it still clings to the soldier, although more deadly, in this
climate, than the rifle. All sales, therefore, within this department,
will be punished by instant expulsion of the party offending, if a
civilian, or by court-martial, if an officer or soldier. All intoxicat-
ing liquors kept for sale or to be used as a beverage, will be seized
and destroyed, or confiscated to hospital uses."
On the sixth day, seven regiments and two batteries of artillery
were embarked, ready to sail as soon as the word should come from
Captain Farragut. But high winds and low tides were placing un-
expected obstacles in the way of the fleet, the larger vessels of which
were many days in getting over the bar. General Butler was
obliged to disembark his troops, and await the tardy lightering of
the ships into the river. A tedious fortnight passed before the
fleet was ready, the general vibrating between the island and the
mouths of the river.
A romantic incident occurred during this interval, which led to
a variety of curious adventures. A mischance of war tossed upon
the sand-beach of Ship Island, a beautiful little girl, three years of
* " Head-quaeters, Department of the Gulf, Ship Island, March 20, 1862.
"General Ordees, No. 1.
"Pursuant to General Order No. 20, of February 23, 1862, from the head- quarters of the army,
Major-General B. F. Butler, U. S. Volunteers, assumes command of this department.
His staff is announced as follows:
Major George C. Strong, A. A. General, Ordnance Officer and Chief of Staff.
Captain Jonas H.French, A. D. C and Acting Inspector-General.
Captain Peter Haggerty, Aide-de-Camp.
First Lieutenant W. H. Wiegel, A. D. C.
First Lieutenant J. W. Cushing, Thirty -first Mass. Volunteers, Acting Chief Quartermaster.
First Lieutenant J. E. Eastcrbrook, Thirtieth Mass. Volunteers, Acting Chief Commissary.
Captain George A. Kensel, Chief of Artillery.
First Lieutenant Godfrey Wietzel, Chief Engineer.
First Lieutenant J. C. Palfrey, Assistant Engineer.
First Lieutenant C. N. Turnbull, Chief of Topographical Engineers.
Surgeon Thomas H. Bache, Medical Director.
Major J. M. Bell, Volunteer Aide-de-Camp.
Captain R. S. Davis, Volunteer Aide-de-Camp.
First Lieutenant J. B. Kinsman, "
Second Lieutenant H. C. Clarke, "
" By command of Major-General Butler.
"George C. Strong, A. A. G."
SHIP ISLAND. 213
age, the child of a New Orleans physician, a rebel of noted bitter-
ness. She was voyaging in Mississippi Sound with her parents
and nurse, when the vessel being chased by a gun-boat, foundered,
and all hands took to the boats. The little creature was a pet with
the sailors ; she was among them in the forecastle, when the ves-
sel went down, and they took her with them into the boat, while
the parents and the nurse hurried into another boat with the cap-
tain and mate. The boats were soon separated in the gale, and the
one containing the child was picked up by a cruiser, and brought
to Ship Island. The arrival of the child among the troops, so many
of whom had left children or little sisters at, home, excited a degree
of interest difficult to conceive. She was taken to Mrs. Butler's
shanty, her clothes all wet and torn, and there she was provided
with such clothing as could be hastily made, and otherwise pro-
vided for with the tenderest care. But Ship Island, in such cir-
cumstances, was no fit place for her. She could tell her name, and
seemed to have a lively sense of having a grandfather in New
Orleans, whose name she also knew. The general determined
to send her as far on her way to this grandfather as he could.
Whether her parents had survived the storm no one knew.
A sloop was manned, and Major Strong was directed to convey
her, under a flag of truce, to Biloxi, the nearest point of the oppo-
site shore, and place her in the custody of a magistrate, with money
to pay her expenses to New Orleans. Major Strong performed
this congenial duty. He found at Biloxi a probate of wills, who
was also a justice of the peace, to whom he committed the child,
and gave him a sum of money in gold, sufficient to defray the cost
of her transportation to the city. In the dusk of the evening, the
tide having fallen, the sloop started to return, but grounded on the
bar, a few hundred yards from the shore. Nothing remained but
to wait six hours for the rising of the tide. Soon after dark, a boat
came off with four men, one of whom Major Strong recognized as
a person who had conversed with him in a friendly manner on
shore. This gentleman warned him that he would be attacked by
a large force in the course of the evening, and advised him to sur-
render. Scarcely believing that men could be found base enough
to assail a flag of truce on such an errand as his, Major Strong
nevertheless thought it best to send a boat to the nearest cruiser
for assistance. He had seven men with him. Five of these he sent
SHIP ISLAND.
away in the boat, under Captain Conant, leaving three men and
eight muskets in the sloop. Major Strong was one of those sol-
diers who knew nothing about surrendering ; it formed no part of
his calculations :, he had not studied the subject, and did not admit
it as a branch of the art military. He barricaded the deck of the
sloop, put his eight muskets into position, and extended a stout log
of wood over the side to play the part of a howitzer. His two men
were ordered below, having been first instructed in their role. One
of the men, Macdonald by name, had brought his violin with him,
and kept up a lively performance in the cabin, of national airs
and dancing tunes.
About nine o'clock two large boats, filled with armed men, were
seen approaching from the shore. Voices called out :
" Surrender ! Surrender !"
Major Strong replied: "I am here under a flag of truce, per-
forming an errand of mercy to one of your citizens. If you attempt
to violate the laws of this sacred mission, I will blow you with this
howitzer," laying his hand on the log, " so deep into , that
your commander will find it difficult to produce you at taps."
" We'll see about that," returned a voice.
The boats hauled off as if to consider the matter. They soon ap-
proached again, one on each side.
" Keep those boats on the same side of the sloop," shouted the
Major, " or I'll gink both of you."
The order was obeyed. The boats came together, and lay off at
hailing distance.
" Don't come any nearer," cried Major Strong. " If you have
anything to say to me, send one man."
A man came wading, and halted a few yards from the vessel.
" How many men have you got there ?" asked Major Strong.
" Forty," replied the man. " How many have you ?"
" Well, not many, but enough to defend this vessel."
The major was aware that anything like a boast of his numbers
would confirm the opinion of the magnanimous foe, that he was in
reality defenseless.
While this colloquy was going on, the two men in the hold were
performing an important part. They contrived to make a great
deal of noise, and Macdonald continued his fiddling, Major Strong
frequently calling out :
SHIP ISLAND. 215
" Keep quiet down there, men." " No, don't come on deck yet."
•'All heads below, I say." "Major Jones, look to your men
there forward, and keep those heads below the hatches." " Stop
that fiddling, Macdonald; there'll be time enough to dance by
and by."
The wading hero returned to the boats, which lingered a while,
and then, firing a volley at the sloop, rapidly disappeared, and were
no more seen. A gun-boat soon came to the rescue of the party,
and the facts were duly reported to the general in the morning.
The boiling indignation excited in all minds by the dastardly con-
duct of the Biloxi savages may be imagined. The general instantly
determined to give them a lesson in good manners. At half-past
two that very afternoon, two gun-boats, the Jackson and New Lon-
don, and the transport Lewis, with Colonel Cahill's Ninth Connecti-
cut, and Captain Everett's battery on board, sailed for Biloxi, for the
purpose of conveying that lesson to their benighted minds. Major
Strong commanded the expedition, attended by Captain Jonas H.
French, Lieutenant Turnbull, Captain Conant, Lieutenant Kinsman,
Captain Davis, Captain John Clark, and Lieutenant Biddle.
Soon after four o'clock, the armed steamers anchored off Biloxi,
and the transport Lewis made fast to the wharf. The inhabitants
lined the beach, and one wild son of Mississippi stood on the
wharf, rifle in hand, defying the troops to come on shore. The
men were marshaled on the wharf. Major Strong placed himself
at their head, and gave the word to advance. The wild son of
Mississippi retired. In a few minutes Biloxi was surrounded and
pervaded by Union troops, the people looking sullenly and silently
on. Biloxi was a watering place in other times ; the Mississippi
cotton-planters' Long Branch, now half deserted, dilapidated and for-
lorn. Major Strong found ample quarters in the building which
had served as a summer hotel. Two prisoners were brought in;
one, the valorous Mississippian just mentioned; the other, a four-
footed ass.
" What do you bring that creature here for ?" asked the com-
mander of the force.
" Isn't he a Saypoy secessionist ?" replied the Irishman who had
brought him in.
" Let him run," said the major.
"Very well, sir," said the witty O'Dowd, as he obeyed the
216 SHIP ISLAND.
order. " I think myself we had better not touch the privates till
we catch the commander."
By the time the surrounding country had been well reconnoitered,
night closed in, and further proceedings were deferred till the mor-
row. The troops slept in and around the town. Not a Biloxian
was molested, not a house was plundered or disfigured, not a hen-
roost disturbed, not a garden despoiled. An Irish officer asked a
group, where the blackguards were who had fired into the boat
that brought home the infernal secessionist's darlin' shipwrecked
daughter ; but as he elicited no response, the subject was dropped
for the night. Indeed, the sad, despairing expression of every face,
the evident poverty of the people, the many abandoned houses, and
the utter desolation of the scene, seemed to disarm the resentment
of the troops, and a feeling of pity for the " poor devils" arose in
its stead. The manner in which the caught Mississippian devoured
his rations, led the men to infer that provisions were not abundant
in Biloxi ; which was found to be true, not of Biloxi only, but of
all that coast for hundreds of miles. The people were intense and
vigilant devotees of secession, however. The spy who had been
engaged by General Butler at Washington, six weeks before, had
accomplished his mission so far as to visit New Orleans, and had
come to Biloxi, designing to steal over to Ship Island. But he was
there suspected, closely watched, and finally arrested. He was then
in prison at New Orleans. Not a scrap of paper was found upon
him, but he was still detained on suspicion.
At dawn the next morning, Captain Clark and Lieutenant Kins-
man led a boat chase after a schooner laden with molasses ; but
wind proving a better resource than oars, the schooner escaped.
As the day advanced, the citizens of Biloxi presented themselves at
Major Strong's head-quarters, all avowing themselves secessionists,
none of them justifying the attack on the sloop. The major's
orders were to procure a written apology from the mayor, and
from the commander of the Confederate forces, if any such there
were. The mayor, however, kept out of the way ; and it was not
till his daughter had been politely conducted to head-quarters as
a hostage for his appearance, that he could be found. He gave
the written apology required, alleging that the party who fired
upon the sloop were a mob which he had no force to control. At
sunset, with the band playing and colors flying, Major Strong it-
SHIP ISLAND. 217
embarked the troops, and the fleet steamed westward for Pass
Christian, where a regiment of the enemy was posted, and which
the general's orders authorized him to visit. At ten in the eve-
ning, the steamers anchored off the pass, and the troops slept on
board.
Danger was approaching them while they slept. The thunder
of cannon woke them as the day was dawning ; and before the
troops had rubbed their eyes open, crash came a ten-inch shot
through the transport, perforating the steam-pipe, passing through
the cabin-lights, and out through the smoke-stack. In an instant,
a second shot struck her, which carried away the cook's galley
and part of the wheel-house. Three of the enemy's gun-boats,
their lights all out, had stolen from Lake Borgne upon our little
squadron, and this was their morning salutation. A sharp action
ensued. It was twenty minutes before the Lewis could get steam
enough to move, during which she received three more shots, and
escaped three. But at length she both moved and acted. Fortu-
nately, she had been provided with two rifled cannon, which were
used with so much effect as to materially aid in the repulse of the
enemy. The two gun-boats plied the foe with shot and shell for
more than an hour before they thought proper to seek safety in the
shallows of Lake Borgne. Strange to relate, but one man of the
Union force was wounded, and he slightly — Captain Conant, of
the Thirty-First Massachusetts.
Major Strong executed his purpose. He landed his troops, and
took possession of the town, a sea-side summer resort, frequented
by the people of New Orleans. He dashed upon the camp of the
Confederate regiment, three miles distant, and reached it so quickly
after the flight of the enemy as to find in the colonel's tent an un-
finished dispatch, and the pen with which he was writing it still
wet with ink. The dispatch was designed to inform General
Lovell, commanding at New Orleans, of the descent upon Biloxi
and Pass Christian, and announced the colonel's " desire" to attack
the Union troops " toward evening." The camp was destroyed ;
the public stores in the town were also seized, part of them carried
away, and the rest burnt.
At Pass Christian, the Union officers had their first taste of the
quality and humor of the ladies of the south-west.
"A portion of the women," writes an officer, " stood their ground ;
218 SHIP ISLAND.
Mrs. and Miss Lee were of this number. Mrs. Lee and her husband
keep a hotel, which is known as ' Lee's boarding house.' It is a
snug inn. But Mrs. Lee is a tartar. She told Major Strong, that
' Mr. Lee, although he kept a hotel, was of one of the first families
of Virginia.'
'"I dare say,' replied the Major ; ' there is nothing incompatible
with great qualities in the business he pursues !'
"While this parley was going on, Miss Lee pushed herself through
the front door. She pouted as she passed over the portico, pulling
as she went an unwilling hood over her handsome face, then some-
what disfigured by a frown.
" After the miniature sea and land fights, the officers met again
at Lee's boarding house. Bread and butter, and poor claret, were
the substance of the repast ; Mrs. Lee and her fire-emitting daugh-
ter insisting upon occupying chairs at the table, while Mr. Lee
waited upon the guests and drew the corks. The display of appe-
tite was good. I think every man ate the worth of the gold dollar
which he gave Mrs. Lee, who carefully folded away the hateful Lin-
coln coin in the corner of her dirty apron. It struck me as queer
to see this ' first lady' in clothes which soap could have improved."
Miss Lee could not be appeased. She continued to pout and
frown, and to say rude things to the officers in reply to their polite
banter, when silence or witty retort would have been in better ac-
cord with the lofty claims of her family.
The squadron returned to Ship Island without farther adventure.
General Butler marked his sense of the excellent conduct of the
troops in a general order :
" Of their bravery in the field," he said, " he felt assured ; but
another quality, more trying to the soldier, claims his admiration.
After having been for months subjected to the privations neces-
sarily incident to camp life upon this island, these well-disciplined
soldiers, although for many hours in full possession of two rebel vil-
lages, filled with what to them were most desirable luxuries, ab-
staining from the least unauthorized interference with private prop-
erty, and all molestation of peaceable citizens. This behavior is
worthy of all praise. It robs war of half its horrors — it teaches our
enemies how much they have been misinformed by their designing
leaders, as to the character of our soldiers and the intention of our
government — it gives them a lesson and an example in humanity
REDUCTION OF THE FOBTS. 219
and civilized warfare much needed, however little it may be fol-
lowed. The general commanding commends the action of the men
of this expedition to every soldier in this department. Let it be
imitated by all in the towns and cities we occupy, a living witness
that the United States soldier fights only for the Union, the con-
stitution, and the enforcement of the laws."
Readers will care to know, that the child, the unconscious cause
of these proceedings, was restored to her parents. Her father was
seeking her at Fort Pickens, under a flag of truce, while Major
Strong was conveying her to Biloxi. Her mother, some weeks
later, induced the gentleman to call upon General Butler at New
Orleans, and thank him for his goodness to their offspring.
April 15th, the welcome word came from Captain Farragut, that
all his fleet were over the bar, and reloaded, and that he hoped, the
next day, to move up the river to the vicinity of the forts. He had
made all possible haste ; but the dense, continuous fogs, and the ex-
traordinary lowness of the water had retarded every movement.
On the 1 7th, General Butler was at the mouths of the river with
his six thousand troops ready to co-operate. If the fleet had been
delayed a few days longer, General Butler would have taken Pen-
sacola, which he learned had been left almost defenseless. The
naval commander vetoed the scheme, not anticipating further delay
in operating against the forts.
CHAPTER XHI.
REDUCTION OF THE FOBTS.
The distance from the mouths of the Mississippi to New Orleans
is one hundred and five miles. The two forts are situated at a
bend in the river, seventy-five miles below the city, and thirty from
the place where the river breaks into the passes or mouths. Fort
Jackson, on the western bank, is hidden from the view of the as-
cending voyager by a strip of dense woods, which extends along
the bank to a point eight miles below it ; but Fort St. Philip, on
the eastern shore, lies plainly in sight, because it is placed in th«
10
220 REDUCTION OP THE FOETS.
upper part of the bend, and the ground in front is covered only by
a thick growth of reeds. These forts do not look very formidable
to the unprofessional eye. They do not stand boldly out of the
water, presenting great masses of fine masonry, like those to which
we are accustomed in northern seaports. Fort Jackson is but
twenty-five feet high, and St. Philip nineteen ; and as the ditches
and outer works are neatly sodded, the passing traveler sees little
more than extensive slopes of green, close-shaven grass, and a
low red-brick wall, with many guns mounted on it, and several
piercing it.
But these forts, lying low in the bend of a river half a mile wide
and running four miles an hour, presented an obstacle to an ascend-
ing foe such as, I believe, no fleet had ever been able to overcome.
One poor fort at that bend, half finished and half manned, had
kept a British fleet at bay, in 1815, for nine days; the English
vainly using the same thirteen-inch bombs which were to be em-
ployed in 1862. General Jackson's "Tom Overton," who com-
manded Fort St. Philip on that occasion, was uncle of Thomas
Overton Moore, governor of Louisiana under Jefferson Davis. It
was not till the eighth day that Overton could get one bomb in
position capable of throwing a shell among the enemy, but that
one sent them flying down the river — two bomb vessels, one brig,
one sloop and one schooner. A thousand heavy shells had fallen
about the fort, without impairing its defensive power.* But now
there were two forts in the bend, constructed by professional engi-
neers, at a cost of a million and a quarter of dollars. Fort Jackson,
a five-sided work, of immense strength, mounted seventy-four guns,
fourteen of which were under cover ; and below it was a supple-
mentary battery mounting six. Fort St. Philip was of inferior
strength, mounting forty guns ; but it was protected by distance,
being a few hundred yards higher up the river, and had a strong
battery on each side of it on the river bank. The unmilitary reader
does not take the comfort which uncle Toby found in such words
as bastion, glacis, scarp, counterscarp, fosse, covered-way, curtain,
casemate and barbette. We are informed, however, that the
forts had all these things and more. I have often looked out those
words in the dictionary, and find the sum total of their meaning to
be, that the forts, with their outer works, pointed one hundred and
* Parton's Life of Jackson, ii., 239.
REDUCTION OF THE FORTS. 221
twenty-eight heavy guns upon the river; that fourteen of those
guns could be worked under cover, and that the batteries were
protected by ditches wide and deep, by walls of immense strength,
by bulwarks of earth and sods, and by enfilading howitzers. All
had been done for them which the skill of Beauregard and Weit-
zel could accomplish, working with leisurely deliberation, and
aided by the treasury of the United States. What they had left
undone, the zeal of the Confederates had supplied during many
months of preparation.
They were garrisoned, as it appears, by fifteen hundred men,
commanded by General J. K. Duncan, a recreant Pennsylvanian,
educated at West Point. The commander of St. Philip was Col-
onel Higgins, once an officer of the army of the United States. A
large proportion of the garrisons were men of northern birth, who
had been consigned to the forts because their devotion to the Con-
federate cause was considered questionable. But experience shows
that it is a matter of little consequence by what process men are
got together within the brick walls of a fort or the wooden walls
of a ship, provided they are ably, justly, and firmly commanded.
" An English seventy-four," says Carlyle, " is one of the impossi-
blest entities. A press-gang knocks men down in the streets of
sea-towns, and drags them on board. If the ship were to be strand-
ed, I have heard they would nearly all run ashore and desert."
Nevertheless, while the ship remains at sea, they usually do all that
the various occasions demand. Duncan had a motley, ill-clad, dis-
contented, and rather turbulent garrison, but they stood manfully
to the guns as long as standing to the guns could avail.
The weakness of the forts was the kind of guns with which they
were armed. " All of them," says Lieutenant Weitzel, " were the
old, smooth-bore guns picked up at the different works around the
city, with the exception of about six ten-inch columbiads, and two
one hundred pound rifled guns of their own manufacture, a formi-
dable kind of gun." He is of the opinion that if the forts had
been provided with a full complement of the best modern artillery,
they could not have been reduced or passed by wooden ships.
It was not, however, upon the forts that the enemy wholly relied.
Across the river, from a point just below Fort Jackson, a cable
was stretched, upon which the enemy had expended prodigious
labor. They had first supported it by heavy logs thirty feet long
222
REDUCTION OF THE FOETS.
attached to seven large anchors. But this cable caught the float-
ing trees and timber which, in a few weeks, formed a heaped-up,
Red-river raft, extending half a mile above the cable. The chain
broke at length, and the whole structure, cable, logs, anchor, buoys,
and trees, were swept down by the current toward the gulf. A
lighter cable was then procured from the stores at Pensacola.
Seven or eight schooners, dismasted and filled with logs, were
strongly anchored in a row across the river, and the chain was laid
across each of them and securely fastened round the capstan. At
the end of the cable, on the shore opposite Fort Jackson, a mud
battery was built to drive off parties attempting to sever the bar-
rier. Under this cable the floating timber freely passed ; and there
was an ingenious contrivance near the fort, by which the vessels of
the foe were quickly admitted and the aperture quickly closed.
This cable, because of its signal failure as a means of defense, has
been too lightly regarded. It might have been a formidable obsta-
cle. Our naval officers think that if it had been placed just above
St. Philip, instead of just below Fort Jackson, it could scarcely
have been cut ; because, in that case, the party attempting it
would have had to run the gauntlet of a hundred guns against a
rapid current, remain under the fire of most of them during the
operation, and then descend two miles under the same fire before
reaching the fleet. Placed where it was, however, there was rea-
son to hope that a party could steal silently upon it in the dark-
ness of a foggy night, and work upon it for a considerable time
before being discovered ; and even if discovered, the night fire of
heavy guns might be borne long enough to effect the object ; par-
ticularly as the supporting hulks would afford cover for the boats.
The cable was not ill-planned, but wrongly placed.
Another error appears to have been committed by the enemy, in
not cutting away more of the woods below Fort Jackson. They
removed enough to enable them to bring their guns to bear upon
the channel of the river, but left enough for Captain Porter to
string his bomb-schooners behind along the western shore, around
the bend, completely out of sight. He had no need to see his
object, for his bombs were purposely set to throw the shells high
into the air and down upon the forts like falling meteors ; but their
guns were designed to be sighted and aimed at a visible mark.
The forts were stationary, and their exact position was known ; the
REDUCTION OF THE FORTS. 223
schooners were movable, and could only be hit by chance, unless
they could be seen.
Besides the forts and the cable, the enemy had a fleet of fourteen
or fifteen gun-boats, several of which were iron-clad. ~No one has
thought it worth while to draw up a descriptive catalogue of these
vessels, and none of them ventured far below the cable after Cap-
tain Farragut had got his fleet into the river. The sudden collapse
and total destruction of most of them in the haze and darkness of
an April morning, deprived our men of an opportunity of studying
their construction. The greater number were probably river steam-
boats, strengthened and armed. " The celebrated ram Manassas"
resembled the Merrimac in appearance, but was not a Merrimac in
power or strength. One real Merrimac dashing down headlorg
among our wooden ships, might have given them some damaging
blows — might have driven them out of the river ; but the builders
of " the celebrated ram Manassas" had not a steam frigate to servo
as the basis of their structure, and they knew her too well to trus';
her among Captain Farra gut's steamers. There was also a hugo
thing called the Louisiana, built upon the hull of a dry dock, pro-
pelled by four engines, anc^arrned with sixteen heavy guns. Thw
ponderous engine of war was a main reliance of the enemy, but it
was not finished in time to join in the fray. Fire-rafts and long
river-scows filled with pine knots had been prepared in considera-
ble numbers for the entertainment of the attacking fleet.
In the swamps, a mile and a half from Fort Jackson, two hundred
" sharp-shooters" were stationed, whose chief employment was to
scout along the banks of the river and overhear conversation in the
fleet. It may have been these men who conveyed to General Dun-
can the most prompt and accurate information of every movement
of our ships, and every scheme of movement. Such information
we know that he had. The camp of the scouting sharp-shooters
was not undisturbed during the operations, and many of them de-
serted ; but, probably, enough remained to catch the talk of the
sailors plying their bombs a few yards from the shore.
The confidence of the enemy in their ability to defend the forts
against any possible force — against " the navies of the world" — was
complete. It was long before General Duncan and Colonel Hig-
gins believed that the fleet would do more than reconnoiter the
position, or, perhaps, transfer the blockading station to the head of
224 REDUCTION- OF THE FORTS.
the passes. This of itself would have been an advantage worth
considerable outlay. But their position they firmly believed was
impregnable ; and, perhaps, it was impregnable. Certain it is that
the forts were never taken.
For the reduction of these forts, thus defended and supported,
there was then in the Mississippi the most powerful expedition that
had ever sailed under the flag of the United States. The strength
and composition of the army we have seen ; it consisted of fifteen
thousand troops, most of them men of New England, fully provi-
ded with the means of offensive war, and led by a general endowed
by nature with the ability to command, and trained by education
to assume responsibilities and invent expedients. The fleet con-
sisted of forty-seven armed vessels, of which eight were large and
powerful sloops of war propelled by steam ; seventeen were steam
gun-boats, most of them new, and all heavily armed ; two were sail-
ing vessels, ranking as sloops of war ; and twenty-one were mortar
schooners, each provided with a bomb capable of throwing a shell
weighing two hundred and fifteen pounds to a distance of three
miles. The steam sloops carried from nine to twenty-eight guns
each ; the gun-boats five or six guns each. The whole number of
guns and mortars was about three hundred and ten ; many of the
heaviest caliber, and of the newest construction.
The fleet had been provided with everything which naval men
could suggest as likely to increase its efficiency. We have heard a
great deal concerning the imaginary somnolence of the heads of
the navy department. I suppose this has been because the navy
department has been conducted with such consummate energy and
tact, and with a wonderful uniformity of triumph. We can not
praise enough our generals who have failed, nor censure with too
much severity a department which has known little but success..
Both in fitting out this expedition and in selecting the men to com-
mand it, the department displayed a foresight and ability that
proved sufficient in the day of trial. There were only two mis-
haps : a delay in the arrival of the medical stores, and a scant sup-
ply of coal, owing to the month's detention in getting the ships over
the bar. But General Butler, through the wise abundance provi-
ded by Captain George, was able to lend Captain Farragut a com-
petent supply of surgeons' stores and a thousand tons of coal.
The men in chief command of the fleet had spent their lives in
REDUCTION OF THE FORTS. 225
the navy. Of the sixty-three years that Captain Farragut had lived,
lie had been fifty-two an officer in the navy of the United States.
He was a boy midshipman as far back as the war of 1812, not un-
distinguished then in at least one bloody sea-fight. Though ad-
vanced in years, his heart was young, his frame light and active, his
face and bearing those of a man of middle age. " He was the young-
est man in the fleet," says General Butler ; alert in climbing to the
mast-head, quick in getting into his boat, capable of long-continued,
severe exertion.* A modest, quiet man, doing his duty with the
minimum of show and fuss, using simple words, preferring simple
topics. Above all, he has a firm, brave, honest heart, that can not
be dismayed by phantoms, and knows no fear, except the noble
dread, lest in any way, through fault of his, the fleet intrusted to
his care should disappoint the reasonable expectations of the coun-
try. The language of eulogy is so lavishly employed in these times,
that it has acquired an opprobrious quality. But these things are
literally true of this valiant and noble Tennessean. The country
knows what he has done; but his modest worth, his utter sincerity,
his entire and single-eyed devotion to his duty ; of these there will
be much to tell, when the final record is made up. It is pleasing to
notice in the papers relating to the expedition, how perfect was the
accord between the commander of the fleet, and the commander of
the army. Whatever either could do, during their long connection,
to forward the plans, or enhance the glory of the other, was done
with generous promptitude and fullness.
The month of delay at the mouth of the river had been well
spent. Assistant-engineer Hoyt, of the Richmond, conceived the
happy idea of protecting the boiler and engine of his ship by an
extemporized armor of chain-cable, hung down from the gun-deck
to below the water-line, and fastened by an ingenious system of
bolts and cordage. The engineers of the Brooklyn, Pensacola and
Iroquois employed the same contrivance, which was supposed to
be equivalent to a four-inch plating of iron. The boilers of other
vessels were protected by an interior structure of sand-bags, layers
* Tennesseans arc young at seventy. Tennessee, that central garden-land of the country, com-
bining the advantages of North and South, and better adapted for all human purposes than any
other region on the continent, is singularly favorable to longevity. It abounds in wonderful old
men. Have we not seen this very summer, Majok William B. Lewis, of Nashville (staunch
and true to the Union, of course), walking the streets of New T ork ten hours a day, and carrying
his eighty years with the gayety and ease of a young man t
226 REDUCTION OF THE FORTS.
of cable, bales of bagging, and logs. Howitzers were placed in
the tops of all the sloops, protected by plates of boiler iron, or thick
screens of cordage. Some of the vessels had small anchors at their
yard-arms, to drop down upon the enemy's gun-boats and fire-rafts,
and grapple them. Strong nettings of cordage were drawn under
the rigging, to prevent the cannon-balls, which might be stopped
aloft, from dropping on deck. All the bomb-schooners, and several
of the gun-boats and sloops received a coat of mud-colored paint.
Last of all, to the masts of the greater number of the bomb-vessels
were fastened large branches of trees, which, mingling with the
tree-tops of the sheltering forest, would still more completely con-
ceal them from the enemy. A few of these vessels, which were
designed to be stationed in full view of Fort St. Philip, were
covered with a coating of the reeds which grew on the marshy level
in front of the fort. All hands, under the direction of the engineers,
labored incessantly to increase the offensive and defensive power of
the fleet ; and it was to this month's preliminary work that the
success of the expedition was chiefly owing. Not one precaution
too many was taken ; every expedient was justified by its manifest
utility in the hour of trial. The absence of the chain-plating from
the sides of the flag-ship proved the value of that mode of pro-
tection ; for, at a critical moment, the want of it nearly lost the
ship.
Meanwhile, the gentlemen of the coast-survey, under Mr. F. H.
Gerdes, specially detailed by Professor Bache for the purpose,
were busy in preparing a chart for the guidance of Captain Porter
in stationing his bomb-vessels. This was an indispensable prelimi-
nary, since nearly every bomb was expected to be discharged upon
a computed aim. The map was completed in five days, but not
without difficulty and danger. " Frequently," says Mr. Gerdes,
" the members of the party were compelled to mount their instru-
ments on the chimney-tops of dilapidated houses. In other places
boats were run under overhanging trees on the shore, in which
signal-flags were hoisted, and the angles measured below with sex-
tants. It was very satisfactory, however, that the last measure-
ment determined (leading to the flag-staff on St. Philip) agreed
almost identically with the location given by the coast-survey
several years ago. It seemed to be a regular occupation of the
garrison in the fort, to destroy, during the night-time, the marks
REDUCTION OP THE FOETS. 227
and signals which were left daily by the party ; and for this reason,
Mr. Gerdes caused numbered posts to be set in the river banks,
and screened with grass and reeds so that they could not be found
by the enemy in the dark. From these marks, which were sepa-
rately determined, he was enabled to furnish to Captain Porter the
distances and bearings from almost any point on the river to the
forts, and by the resulting data the commander selected the
positions for his mortar-vessels. * * * Twice Captain Porter
ordered some of the vessels to change their positions when he
found localities that would answer better ; the coast-survey party
furnished the new data required. From the schooners, which were
fastened to the trees on the river-side, none of the works of the
enemy were visible, but the exact station of each vessel, and its
distance and bearings from the forts, had been ascertained from
the chart. The mortars were accordingly charged and pointed,
and the fuses regulated. Thus the bombardment was conducted
entirely upon theoretical principles, and as such, with its results,
presents perhaps a new feature in naval warfare."*
The position of the enemy had been repeatedly reconnoitered.
As early as March 28th, Captain Bell, in the gun-boat Kennebec,
had run up near enough to inspect the cable, and to discover the
out-lying batteries, and to draw a thundering fire from both forts.
On the 6th of April, Captain Farragut himself had a peep at them,
Captain Bell showing the way. " About noon," says one who
accompanied, " we came in sight of the two forts, which could be
seen through the glass to be thronged with rebel officers watching
our movements. As we came within range, a white puff of smoke
floated upward from Fort Jackson, and a hundred-pound rifled shell
screeched through the air, striking the water and exploding only
about a hundred yards in advance of us. Flag-Officer Farragut
and Flag-Captain Bell had meanwhile gone aloft, where they sat
in the cross-trees taking observations. There was another white
puff of smoke, and another monster shot came screeching toward
us. This passed perhaps fifty feet over the heads of the gentlemen
aloft, and struck the water two-thirds across the river. 4 Back
her,' from aloft, and we drift down the river two or three ships'
lengths, and only just in time, a third furious shell striking and
bursting in the water just at the point we had a moment before
* Continental Monthly, May, 1863.
10*
228 REDUCTION OF THE FORTS.
left. A low murmur of applause at this remarkably excellent gun-
nery is drawn from our men as we steam slowly up again. Another
shot falls short, another bursts prematurely (this one from a forty-
two-pound smooth-bore), when \ whiz-z-z-z,' with a fearful sound,
a hundred pound shell passes low down, between our smoke-stack
and mainmast, the wind of its swift passage actually rocking one
of the ship's boats hanging on the side."*
A third reconnoissance was more cheering, since it revealed the
enemy employed in repairing the cable damaged by the rush of a
sudden rise of the river. The sailors of the fleet held the cable in
much contempt.
The last day of preparation is usually the busiest. It was the
17th of April. The fleet had all reached the vicinity of the forts
on the evening previous, and the dawn of the 17th found the ves-
sels anchored in a tempting huddle four miles below Fort Jackson.
The rebels began the fight. As the sun was rising, a flat-boat
piled with wood saturated with tar and turpentine, was fired by
them and cut adrift. A fresh wind was blowing up the river, and
the descent of this magnificent bonfire was slow. Nevertheless, it
came, at length, roaring and blazing by, causing a sudden slipping
of cables and a general anxiety to get out of the way. As it was
supposed to contain something of the torpedo kind, the Mississippi
fired a few shells into it, without effect. A boat from the Iroquois
soon tackled the monster, and, fixing three grappling-irons in the
leeward end, towed it ashore, where it burned itself harmlessly
away. The work of preparation then proceeded. The dressing of
the masts of the mortar-boats was completed, and they looked as
if prepared for a festival instead of a bombardment. In the after-
noon, some of the mortars were towed into position and fired a few
experimental shells, fragments of which were exhibited the next
day at New Orleans. Preparations were made by Captain Porter
for the proper reception of fire-rafts, in case the enemy should
again employ them. All the boats of the mortar-fleet were ordered
to be provided with axes, ropes, and grappling-hooks ; and early in
the evening, the boats were reviewed, furnishing a pretty spectacle
to the rest of the fleet ; nay, a pair of spectacles.
" The boats pulled round the Harriet Lane, the flag-ship of Cap-
tain Porter, in single line, each officer in charge being questioned
* Correspondence of New York Herald, May, 1862.
REDUCTION OP THE FORTS. 229
as he passed, by Commodore Porter, as follows: 'Fire buckets?
axes ? rope ?' A responsive c Ay, ay, sir,' and the commodore
directed — ' Pull around the Mississippi and return to your vessels.'
The Mississippi being a quarter of a mile ahead, the men gave way
sturdily, in order to beat the rival boats. There were not less than
one hundred and fifty boats under review, many of them ten-oared,
and the whole scene reminded me more of a grand regatta than of
anything else.
" An hour after the review, the men had an opportunity to test,
in a practical manner, their means for destroying fire-rafts, and they
proved to be an admirable success. A turgid column of black
smoke, arising from resinous wood, was seen approaching us from
the vicinity of the forts. Signal lights were made, the varied
colors of which produced a beautiful effect upon the foliage of the
river bank, and rendered the darkness intenser by contrast when
they disappeared ; instantly a hundred boats shot out toward the
raft, which now was blazing fiercely and casting a wide zone of
light upon the water. Two or three of the gun-boats then got
under way and steamed boldly toward the unknown thing of terror.
One of them, the Westfield, Captain Renshaw, gallantly opens her
steam-valves, and dashes furiously upon it, making sparks fly and
timbers crash with the force of her blow. Then a stream of water
from her hose plays upon the blazing mass. Now the small boats
lay alongside, coming up helter-skelter, and actively employing
their men. We see everything distinctly in the broad glare — men,
oars, boats, buckets and ropes. The scene looks phantom-like, su-
pernatural ; intensely interesting, inextricably confused. But final-
ly the object is nobly accomplished. The raft, yet fiercely burning,
is taken out of range of the anchored vessels and towed ashore,
where it is slowly consumed. As the boats return they are cheered
by the fleet, and the scene changes to one of darkness and repose,
broken occasionally by tlje -gruff hail of a seaman when a boat,
sent on business from one vessel to another, passes through the
fleet."*
The next morning the bombardment began. At daylight, each
of the small steamers attached to the mortar-fleet took four of the
schooners in tow, and drew them slowly up the river, the bright
green foliage waving above their masts. Fourteen of them were
* Correspondence of the 2few York Dwily Times, May 8, 1862.
230 REDUCTION OF THE POETS.
ranged in line, close together, along the western shore, behind the
forest ; the one in advance being a mile and three-quarters below
Fort Jackson. Six were stationed near the eastern bank, in full
view of both forts, two miles and three-quarters from St. Philip.
The orders were to concentrate the fire upon Fort Jackson, the
nearest to both divisions ; since if that were reduced, St. Philip
must necessarily yield. At nine, before all the mortar-vessels were
in position, Fort Jackson began the conflict, the balls plunging into
the water a hundred yards too short. The gun-boat Owasco, which
had steamed up ahead of the schooners, was the first to reply. In
a few minutes, however, the deep thunder of the first bomb struck
into the overture, and a huge black ball, two hundred and fifteen
pounds of iron and gunpowder, whirled aloft, a mile into the air,
with the " roar of ten thousand humming-tops," and curved with
majestic slowness down into the swamp near the fort, exploding
with a dull, heavy sound. The mortar men were in no haste. For
the first half hour, they fired very slowly, while Captain Porter
was observing the effect of the fire and giving new directions re-
specting the elevations, the length of fuse, and the weight of the
charge of powder. The calculations were made with such nicety
that the changes in the weight of the charge were made by single
ounces, when the whole charge was nearly twenty pounds. The
enemy, too, fired slowly and badly during the first half-hour. By
ten o'clock, however, both sides had ceased to experiment, and had
begun to work.
The scene at this time was in the highest degree exciting and
picturesque. The rigging of the Union fleet, just below the mortar-
vessels, was filled with spectators, from rail to mast-head, who
watched with breathless eagerness the rise and descent of every
shell, and burst into the heartiest cheers when a good shot was
made. Four or five of the gun-boats were moving about in the
middle of the river, between the two divisions of mortars, keep-
ing up a vigorous fire upon the nearer batteries. Both forts were
firing steadily and well, their shots splashing water over the mor-
tar-vessels on the eastern side, and throwing up the soft soil of
the bank high over the masts of those on the western. It is won-
derful how many splendid shots may be made at a distant object
without one hitting it. The balls fell all around the mortar-boats
all day, and only two of them were struck, and they not seriously
IOBTS
an the lower
MISSISSIPPI
. and the position of
N & MORTAR BOATS
FORT
JACKSON
Space, cleared hjJtebeLb
in order -to get iwjobstnuctecLS
range upon approaching rvyidtr
BATTE RY
REDUCTION OF THE FOKTS. 231
injured. Not a man was hurt in the mortar-fleet the first day, ex-
cept those who were sickened by the tremendous concussion which
followed every discharge. The men stood on tip-toe and with open
mouths to lessen the. effect of the stunning sound. But men can
get used to anything. They came, at length, to be able to sleep
upon the deck of the mortar-boats, while the bombs were going off
at the rate of two in a minute. It was exhausting work handling
those huge globes of iron ; and the men, too tired to go below,
would lie down along the forecastle, fall instantly asleep, and never
stir till they were called to duty again.
Men can bear what no other creatures can. As the firing grew
hotter, the very bees in the woods could not endure it, but came in
swarms over the river, and buzzed about the ears of the men in the
rigging of the fleet. It was too much even for the fish in the
river ; large quantities of dead fish floated past, killed by the close
thunder of the guns. Those who looked over the side at this new
wonder did not see any of those sealed bottles of news go bobbing
by, which the Union men in the forts afterward said they had sent
down the river.
When the fire had lasted an hour and a half, the scene was en-
livened by a new feature. " Over the woods, beyond the forts,"
says a highly competent witness, " we can count seven or eight
moving columns of smoke, which indicate that the rebel steamers
are passing about, probably plotting some mischief against us.
Soon one, and then another, and afterward a third, appear in view,
steering toward the forts. Before reaching them, however, the
steamers dash to cover again, and we see that three huge burning
rafts have been set adrift. The swift current sweeps them toward
us ; below they are a brilliant blaze, and rising from the flames is a
spiral, funnel-shaped cloud of grayish black smoke, so dense as to
shut from sight the fort and all else in that direction. Nearer and
nearer these seemingly formidable rafts approach, but they occasion
very little anxiety. We know how to dispose of them. The sail-
ors from the large ships are called out of the rigging, which they
have been permitted to occupy as interested spectators of the bat-
tle, and in a short time boats have the rafts in tow, and they are
landed on the river bank to burn away. We all confess to an ad-
miration of these pyrotechnic displays. They add vastly to the
picturesqueness of our surroundings, and are perfectly harmless.
232 REDUCTION" OF THE FOPwTS.
The brave fellows on the schooners did not relax their fire during
this exciting interlude."*
The day wore on. Noon came and passed. The charm of nov-
elty subsided. At four, General Butler's little steamer, Saxon,
arrived, with the news that the general and his troops were below,
and ready, and that the Monitor bad sunk the Merrimac. Captain
Farragut telegraphed the tidings to the fleet. It had a wonderfully
inspiriting effect.
An hour later, the fleet was further cheered by witnessing an in-
dication that the fire had not been ineffectual. Flames were seen
bursting from Fort Jackson, and the fire of its guns slackened. It
soon became evident that the citadel and the wooden barracks
within the fort were on fire, as the barracks of Fort Sumter had
been when it was defended by Major Anderson. Both forts ceased
firing, and all the evening, till two o'clock the next morning, a mag-
nificent conflagration illumined the scene. At half-past six, Captain
Porter gave the signal to cease firing, and the night passed in si-
lence. After dark, he withdrew the six schooners from their ex-
posed situation on the eastern shore, and stationed them in the line
upon the western side of the river. This appears to have been an
excess of caution, for the most effective shots made during the bom-
bardment came from that division, and none of the vessels had been
disabled. It is not improbable that the bombardment might have
silenced the fort, if that division had been doubled instead of re-
moved. Its transfer to the shelter of the forest on the western
shore, was a great relief to the enemy.
The next morning disappointed those who had indulged hopes
from the burning of the wooden barracks. Fort Jackson was
prompt and vigorous in responding to the fire of the mortars. At
half-past eleven, a rifle-ball crushed completely through one of the
bomb-schooners, and sunk her in twenty minutes, but harming no
man. The Oneida, Captain Lee, was twice hit in the afternoon, as
she Was steaming about in advance ; two gun-carriages were knocked
to pieces, and nine men wounded. The fort, too, suffered so much,
that its fire sensibly slackened long before the day closed. One
shell bursting in the levee had flooded the interior of the fort with
water. Another broke into the officers' mess-room while they were
at dinner, and the ugly thing lay smoking on the ground between
* Nemo York Times, May 8th, 1862.
REDUCTION OF THE FOETS. 233
them and the only door. They sprang away from it into the far-
thest corner of the apartment, and remained clutched together in
awful suspense for half a minute, when the fuse went out without
exploding the shell. Often, when a shell sank twenty feet into the
miry delta near the walls, and exploding there, threw a whole
eruption of black mud into the air, the fort seemed to shake to its
foundations, and to threaten the total submersion of the garrison
deep in the black bowels of the earth. The men, however, were
surprisingly cool after the first day. They discovered that the
bombs were terrible chiefly to the nerves and the imagination;
they could see them coming and get out of the way ; and beyond
dismounting a gun now and then, the shells did no essential harm —
no harm which impaired the defensive power of the fort. The soft
earth of the delta is easily stirred and shaken ; but of all known
substances it offers to cannon-balls the most completely baffling re-
sistance. The fire of the fort often slackened and occasionally
ceased ; but it was only to repair damages, which, however serious
they may have seemed, were, in reality, not considerable.
General Butler and his staff arrived in the afternoon, and had
hospitable welcome on board the flag-ship Hartford. He found
that the faith of the naval men in the efficiency of the bombs had
ebbed away under the monotony of the ineffectual fire of two days.
The cable was looming up, as the ruling topic of conversation.
The cable must be cut; how shall we cut .the cable? After
dark the general and some members of his staff went up the
river in a small boat, to take a look at this inconvenient barrier.
They satisfied an enlightened curiosity without molestation from
the enemy; but on returning were fired upon by one of the
mortar-boats, and narrowly escaped being hit. The cable did
not strike these Yankees as being an obstacle absolutely insur-
mountable.
All night, at long intervals, the mortars played upon the fort,
each of the three divisions taking the duty in turn. A deserter,
a Dan Rice circus performer from Pennsylvania, made his way
through the swamps from Fort Jackson to the fleet, lighted and
guided by the fire of the mortars, often floundering in mire up to
his arm-pits. He could only tell that the fort was well battered by
the bombs. He escaped in the confusion caused by the explosion
of a shell in alarming proximity to the magazine.
234 REDUCTION OF THE FORTS.
The third day of the bombardment presented no new incident to
the outside spectator. The mortar-men were beginning to grumble
at the inaction of the statelier vessels of the fleet, and the officers
commanding those vessels were arriving at the conclusion, that the
work of reducing the fort would, after all, devolve upon them. A
council of captains was held in the cabin of the Hartford. The pre-
vailing opinion was, that the mortar experiment should be fully
tried, and then the running-by attempted. Captain Farragut issued,
in the course of the day, the following order :
" The flag-officer, having heard all the opinions expressed by the
different commanders, is of the opinion that whatever is to be done
will have to be done quickly, or we will again be reduced to a
blockading squadron, without the means of carrying on the bom-
bardment, as we have nearly expended all the shells and fuses and
material for making cartridges. He has always entertained the same
opinions which are expressed by Commodore Porter — that is, that
there are three modes of attack, and the question is, which is the
one to be adopted ? His own opinion is that a combination of two
should be made, viz. : The forts should be run, and when a force is
once above the forts to protect the troops, they should be landed
at quarantine from the gull side, by bringing them through the
bayou ; and then our forces should move up the river, mutually
aiding each other, as it can be done to advantage.
" When, in the opinion of the flag-officer, the propitious time has
arrived, the signal will be made to weigh and advance to the con-
flict. If, in his opinion, at the time of arriving at the respective
positions of the different divisions of the fleet, we have the advan-
tage, he will make the signal for 'close action,' and abide the
result, conquer or to be conquered, drop anchor or keep under
weigh as, in his opinion, is best. Unless the signal above men-
tioned is made, it will be understood that the first order of sail-
ing will be formed after leaving Fort St. Philip, and we will pro-
ceed up the river in accordance with the original opinion ex-
But first, the cable must be cut. It was resolved to attempt it
that very evening. Petards had been brought from the north for
the purpose of blowing up the hulks which supported it, and Mr.
Kroehl, the inventor of the contrivance, was on board the fleet to
superintend the operation. The plan was to throw a petard on
REDUCTION OF THE FOETS. 235
board one of the hulks, and discharge it by an electric spark sent
along a wire from a gun-boat. Captain Bell was detached to con-
duct the daring and difficult enterprise. Two of the gun-boats, the
Pinola and the Itasca, were placed under his command, and they
were to be supported by the Iroquois, the Kennebec and the
Winona.
The night was fortunately dark ; but the current, under the influ-
ence of the recent freshet, ran with unwonted velocity, and a gale
was blowing down the river. At ten, the Pinola and the Itasca
started on their errand, watched as they passed into the darkness
beyond the flag-ship, with an interest which no language can de-
scribe. The success of the expedition, the fate of New Orleans,
was felt to depend upon that night's work. When the two vessels
had gone beyond the line of mortar-schooners, Captain Porter
opened a fire upon the forts, so heavy, so continuous, that the
previous bombardment seemed mere play in comparison with it.
At some moments, eight shells were in the air at once, eight globes
of fire, curving magnificently over the black outline of the forest.
Amid this hurly-burly, the Pinola ran up toward the cable, near
the western shore, almost under the guns of the fort, and approach-
ed one of the hulks. Mr. Kroehl was ready with his petard, and
threw it successfully on board. But as the engine had been stopped
at the same moment, the wind and current instantly carried the
vessel down the stream, and the coil of wire on deck ran out like
the cord of a harpoon when the whale has been struck. Before the
operator could discharge the spark, the wire snapped, and the at-
tempt was a failure ; the Pinola whirling away down the river at
a prodigious rate. Such was the force of the gale and the current,
and such the darkness of the night, that it was half an hour before
the vessel was again under command with her bow toward the
cable.
The Itasca, meanwhile, under Captain Caldwell, had tackled the
next schooner, one near the middle of the river. The Itasca had no
petard ; she trusted to dexterous hands and cold steel. Steaming
up close to the hulk, men sprang on board, lashed the gun-boat se-
curely to her side, and then proceeded, in a groping way, to study
the arrangement of the cable. A rocket shot into the air. They
were discovered. Both forts opened fire; but, protected by the
darkness and the smoke, the gallant men of the Itasca worked in
236 EEDTJCTION OP THE FORTS.
perfect security, not a shot coming near enough to discompose
them. Half an hour sufficed. The cable was severed with sledge
and chisel ; the anchors of the hulks were slipped ; and instantly,
gun-boat and hulk, borne away by wind and tide, swung round to the
eastern shore, and grounded in the mud, under the fire of both forts.
Luckily the hulk had the inside berth ; still, the Itasca was hard
and fast by the forefoot. By this time, however, the Pinola was
at her post once more, and came to the assistance of her consort.
For an hour or more she tugged to get her afloat ; parted two five-
inch hawsers without moving her; but started her at last with
one of eleven inches ; when both vessels came down in triumph
without a scratch.
The success of the enterprise was complete; for after the re-
moval of the central hulk, the current caused the one on each side
of the aperture to swing away, so as to make an opening wide
enough to admit several large ships abreast/ A boat's crew of the
Itasca's men pulled up two nights after into the opening, sounded
the channel, and found no obstruction whatever to the ascent of the
fleet. Well done, Itasca !
The last cheers died away. The bombardment subsided to its
usual nightly average, and the forts were silent. The moon rose.
At two o'clock a fire-raft of immense extent came down before the
north wind and rushing current, blazing, roaring, cracking, and
rolling aloft the densest volumes of smoke. It passed by the mor-
tar-fleet, and whirled past the flag-ship, only fifty feet from her side,
scorching the men on deck, grazed the Scioto, and went on its way
toward the lower divisions of the fleet. But the mortar-men grap-
pled the monster in time, towed it on shore, and put out the fire.
There was little sleep in the fleet that night. The sleepy but
indomitable reporter of the Herald was obliged to fall back upon
the reflection, that, if the expedition was successful, it would be a
fine thing to talk about for the rest of his mortal life. Meanwhile,
the work was rather wearing to a reporter, dozing within a few
yards of a bombarding fleet, and having to tumble up every few
minutes to witness spectacles that had ceased to be interesting. Let
us gratefully note that the gentlemen of the press, connected with
the fleet and the army, served the public with signal fidelity. It is
no joke to prepare, during such a week as this, in such circum-
stances as theirs, a mass of manuscript equivalent to a hundred
REDUCTION OF THE FORTS. 237
pages of foolscap, abounding in passages highly pictorial, and the
whole executed with an evident desire to tell the truth. Would
that these brave and laborious public servants were more justly-
rewarded.
The fourth day of the bombardment passed without incident.
Nearly four thousand shells had been fired, and still the forts
replied with no perceptible diminution of vigor. It was a costly
business, this bombardment ; each shell costing the government not
far from fifty dollars. In the evening the enemy appeared to be
making some attempts to repair the cable, but the fire of the gun-
boats in advance kept them from effecting their purpose. Another
fire-raft at night paled its ineffectual fire under the dexterous hand-
ling of the mortar-men.
The fifth day dawned — April 22d. Captain Farragut had in-
tended that this should be the last of the bombardment ; but it
chanced that two of the gun-boats had been so much injured as to
require the assistance of all the carpenters in the fleet. He deter-
mined, therefore, to wait another day. The morning of the
twenty-fourth, between midnight and daylight, if wind and weather
were not too perverse, was the designated time. The conduct of
the enemy showed, what their officers afterward asserted, that they
were aware of this determination before sunrise on the morning of
the 23d.
The sixth day, the forts were silent. Not one gun was fired by
them from morning till night. The bombardment was languidly
continued. Green-horns said Fort Jackson had been evacuated.
Others thought the enemy were drawing a new cable across the
river above St. Philip. Men at the mast-head of the flag-ship
reported twelve steamers above the forts, with steam up, moving
about briskly. Occasionally one of these came down to the old
cable, as if to reconnoiter, drew the fire of a gun-boat, and away up
the river again. No inference could be drawn from the absence
of a flag from Fort Jackson, for it had hoisted no flag after the first
day. Evidently the rebels were there — were active; but what
they were doing could only be guessed.
We now knew that they were collecting their strength for the
final struggle, in perfect confidence of victory. The general com-
manding in New Orleans wrote that day to General Duncan : "Say
to your officers and men that their heroic fortitude in enduring one
238 REDUCTION OF THE FORTS.
of the most terrific bombardments ever known, and the courage
which they have evinced will surely enable them to crush the
enemy whenever he dares come from under cover. Their gallant
conduct attracts the admiration of all, and will be recorded in his-
tory as splendid examples for patriots and soldiers. Anxious but
confident families and friends are watching them with firm reliance,
based on their gallant exhibition thus far made of indomitable cour-
age and great military skill. The enemy will try your powers of
endurance, but we believe with no better success than already ex-
perienced."
Duncan reported : " Heavy and continued bombardment all
night, and still progressing. No further casualties, except two men
slightly wounded. God is certainly protecting us. We are still
cheerful, and have an abiding faith in our ultimate success. We
are making repairs as best we can. Our barbette guns are still in
working order. Most of them have been disabled at times. The
health of the troops continues good. Twenty-five thousand thir-
teen-inch shells have been fired by the enemy, one thousand of
which fell in the fort. They must soon exhaust themselves ; if not,
we can stand as long as they can."
Not twenty-five thousand shells : five thousand. Not a thousand
inside the fort : only three hundred. The recreant must have pur-
posely exaggerated. He could not but have known better. The
whole number of shells thrown was five thousand five hundred and
thirty-two ; and when Duncan wrote, the grand, final, volcanic
eruption of shells had not taken place.
At sunset, on the evening of the 23d, Captain Farragut had
completed his arrangements for running by. The fleet was in five
divisions. The mortar-boats were to retain the position they had
held during the bombardment, and cover the attack with the most
rapid fire of which they were capable. The six small steamers
attached to the mortar-fleet — the Harriet Lane, Westfield, Owasca,
Clifton, Miami and Jackson, the last named towing the Ports-
mouth — were to engage the water-battery below Fort Jackson, but
not attempt to pass the forts. Captain Farragut, with the three
largest ships, the Hartford, Richmond and Brooklyn, were to ad-
vance upon Fort Jackson. Captain Bailey, second in command,
with the Cayuga, Pensacola, Mississippi, Oneida, Varuna, Katahdin,
Kineo, and Wissahickon, were to proceed along the eastern bank,
REDUCTION OF THE FORTS. 239
and close with Fort St. Philip. Captain Bell, commanding the
third division, which consisted of the Scioto, Iroquois, Pinola,
"Winona, Itasca, and Kennebec, was to advance in the middle of the
river, and push on to the attack of the enemy's fleet above the forts.
As night drew on, these divisions lay in their proper order, ready
for the signal.
The norther had died away. The night was still, and a very
light southerly breeze spread a haze over the river. The occasional
discharge of the bombs, like minute-guns over the dead, seemed
but to deepen the hush and awfulness of the hour. The men went
early to their hammocks, and the officers conversed in the low tone
of men on the eve of battle. Lieutenant Weitzel continued to im-
part to them the benefit of his local and professional knowledge.
He advised them to run in as close as possible to the forts. The
tendency of all men in battle, he said, was to fire too high, and the
gunners of the forts had been for a week firing as high as the guns
could be elevated. Besides, they would naturally expect the ships
to keep at a distance, and would aim for the middle of the river.
The ships, too, would certainly fire over those low forts, unless the
oificers took particular precautions to keep the guns depressed.
General Butler, Lieutenant Weitzel, and the rest of the staff, went
on board the Saxon, leaving the naval officers to their repose.
The general ordered steam to be kept up upon the little steamer,
that he might be in instant readiness to join the army at the head
of the passes, if the fleet should pass the forts.
Men sleep the night before their execution, but not the night be-
fore their trial. There was not much sleeping achieved in the fleet,
though the stillness of death pervaded the ships. " For myself,"
said a reporter, " I could not think of sleep, because of my anxiety
for the success of the momentous undertaking which was soon to
commence. I passed the slow hours in gazing at the dark outlines
of the vessels. A death-like stillness hung over every ship, unre-
lieved by the faintest glimmer of lamp-light. There were no warm
colors in the picture, and its cold, dreary aspect, was suggestive of
any but pleasant thoughts."*
At eleven, a signal from the Itasca announced that all was clear
at the cable. Note, however, that the hulks, all but the one re-
moved by the Itasca, were still in the river. The opening was
* Times.
240 REDUCTION OP THE FOETS.
wide, but, in the darkness of the night, the hulks might prove
troublesome, especially as the smoke of the ascending ships' guns
would roll over them. It was just the night for smoke to settle
down, and, mingling with the fog, hang in an impenetrable mass
over the river ; for the breeze was of the lightest, and the atmos-
phere was heavy. In every respect, the night was favorable for an
enterprise which darkness alone could render possible. The moon
would peep over the horizon at three ; but, by the time she had
risen above the forest, it was hoped that her light would be wel-
come.
At one, all hands were called. Hammocks were stowed. The
last preparations were made. The low hiss of steam was heard at
the boilers. At two o'clock, the signal to weigh anchor ascended
to the peak of the flag-ship. " I had the honor," says the Herald
correspondent, " to hoist the signal with my own hands." He did
himself the honor also to run by with the ship — he and the artist
of Harper's Weekly — gallant fellows both.
Captain Farragut's division, close in to the western bank, was
ready to move at half-past two ; but Captain Bailey, on the eastern
shore, with a more numerous division, was a little slower, and had
some distance to go before getting abreast of Captain Farragut.
At half-past three, the moon slanting a beam upon the swift river,
the night still hazy, the ships began their simultaneous and si-
lent advance. During the first few minutes, the very mortars
held their breath. In the distance, away up near the forts, fires
could be seen, perhaps to light the ships to their destruction.
The fleet advanced against the stream not faster than four miles
an hour. The distance from the starting-place to a point above
the forts beyond the reach of their guns, was about five miles — two
miles to the forts, one mile under their guns, two miles to perfect
safety.
The mortars spoke. Everything had been prepared for the rap-
idest fire possible ; and the men surpassed all their previous exer-
tions. Never less than five of those tremendous shells were in the
air at the same moment ; often seven or eight ; sometimes, as many
as eleven. The thunder, the roar, the crash, the smoke, the glow-
ing bombs circling over the woods on the western bank — this was
the mighty prelude to the opening scene.
The fleet advanced in the appointed three lines, one ship close
SEDUCTION OF THE FOBTS. 241
behind the other. Captain Bailey, on the eastern side, canght the
first fire. His Cayuga had just passed through the opening in the
cable, when both forts discovered him, and opened upon him with
every available gun. The balls flew around the ship ; but the firing
was much too high, and he was seldom hulled. As yet, the Cayuga
was silent, and the rebel gunners, as they afterward said, could
see nothing whatever ; they averred that they aimed no gun that
morning at an object, except when the flash of Union guns gave
them a momentary delusive target. Captain Bailey's division
steamed on three-quarters of a mile under this fire, without firing
a shot in reply, guided on the way by the flashes of St. Philip.
Running in, at length, close under the fort, he gave them broad-
sides of grape and canister as he passed. The Pensacola, the Mis-
sissippi, the Varuna and the rest of the division followed close be-
hind, each delivering broadsides of small shot, and keeping steadily
on in the wake of the Cayuga. All of the division passed the forts
with little material damage, except the sailing Portsmouth, which
could only get up near enough to fire one broadside, and then, los-
ing her tow, became unmanageable and drifted away down the
river.
The middle division, under Captain Bell, was less fortunate, be-
cause it was the middle division. Half of Captain Bell's ships, the
Scioto, the Iroquois, and the Pinola, went handsomely by, under
the most tremendous fire; but the gallant Itasca, when directly
opposite St. Philip, received a cataract of shot, one of which pierced
her boiler, and she dropped helpless down the river. The Winona
recoiled from the same annihilating fire, and retired. The Kenne-
bec was caught in the cable, and when disentangled, lost her way
in the Stygian blackness of the smoke, and returned to her anchor-
age unharmed.
Captain Farragut, meanwhile, was having, to use his own lan-
guage, " a rough time of it." The Hartford advanced to within a
mile and a quarter of Fort Jackson before receiving the attentions
of the foe — Captain Farragut, in the fore-rigging, peering into the
night with his glass — all silent below and aloft. Then the fort
opened upon the ship a fire that was better aimed than that which
had saluted Captain Bailey. The ship was repeatedly struck.
Captain Farragut, anticipating the situation, had taken the precau-
tion to mount two guns upon the forecastle, with which he now
242 REDUCTION OF THE FORTS.
replied to the fire of the enemy, still steaming directly for the fort.
At the distance of half a mile, says the captain, " we sheered off
and gave them such a fire as they never dreamed of in their philos-
ophy." Broadsides of grape and canister drove every man in the
fort under cover ; but the casemate guns were in full play, and the
Hartford was well peppered. The Richmond quickly followed, and
deluged the fort with grape and canister. The Brooklyn, the last
ship of this division, had the ill luck to be caught by one of the
cable hulks, and so lagged behind. How nobly she redeemed her-
self, let Captain Craven relate :
" I extricated my ship from the rafts, her head was turned up
stream, and a few minutes thereafter she was fully butted by the
celebrated ram Manassas. She came butting into our starboard
gangway, first firing from her trap-door when within about ten feet
of the ship, directly toward our smoke-stack — her shot entering
about five feet above the water-line, and lodging in the sand-bags
which protected our steam-drum. I had discovered this queer-
looking gentleman while forcing my way over the barricade lying
close in to the bank, and when he made his appearance the second
time, I was so close to him that he had not an opportunity to get
up his full speed, and his efforts to damage me were completely
frustrated, our chain-armor proving a perfect protection to our sides.
He soon slid off and disappeared in the darkness.
" A few minutes thereafter, being all this while under a raking
fire from Fort Jackson, I was attacked by a large rebel steamer.
Our port broadside, at the short distance of only fifty or sixty yards,
completely finished him, setting him on fire almost instantaneously.
" Still groping my way in the dark, or under the black cloud of
smoke from the fire-raft, I suddenly found myself abreast of St.
Philip, and so close that the leadsman in the starboard chains gave
the soundings ' thirteen feet, sir.' As we could bring all our
guns to bear for a few brief moments, we poured in grape and
canister, and I had the satisfaction of completely silencing that
work before I left it, my men in the tops witnessing, in the flashes
of their bursting shrapnel, the enemy running like sheep for more
comfortable quarters."
Quartermaster James Beck, he adds, stood by the wheel seven
hours after receiving a severe contusion, and would not leave his
post till positively ordered.
REDUCTION OF THE FOETS. 243
Most of the ships had run by, and Captain Farragut, having
escaped Fort Jackson, was advancing toward the other fort, when
a new enemy appeared — the fleet of rebel gun-boats, lying in order
of battle just above St. Philip. Captain Bailey, still leading the
advance in the Cayuga, was in the very midst of them before he
was aware of their presence ; in the midst of them, and so far as
he could see, he was alone. It was a moment of anxiety. The
rebel steamers ran at him, full tilt ; but by skillful steering he con-
trived to avoid their blows, and pouring eleven-inch solid shot into
them, reduced three to surrender before the other ships of his
division came up. " The Varuna and Oneida came dashing in,"
says Captain Bailey, " and soon made a finish of them ;" but not
until the Varuna had gone down in glory to the bottom of the
river, firing as she sank.
"After passing the batteries with the Varuna," says Captain
Boggs, " finding my vessel amid a nest of rebel steamers, I started
ahead, delivering her fire, both starboard and port, at every one
that she passed. The first vessel on her starboard beam that re-
ceived her fire appeared to be crowded with troops. Her boiler
was exploded, and she drifted to the shore. In like manner three
other vessels, one of them a gun-boat, were driven ashore in flames,
and afterward blew up. * * * The Varuna was attacked by
the Morgan, iron-clad about the bow, commanded by Beverly
Kennon, an ex-naval officer. This vessel raked us along the port
gangway, killing four and wounding nine of the crew, butting the
Varuna on the quarter and again on the starboard side. I man-
aged to get three eight-inch shells into her abaft her armor, as also
several shot from the after rifled gun, when she dropped out of
action partially disabled.
" While still engaged with her, another rebel steamer, iron-clad,
with a prow under water, struck us in the port gangway, doing
considerable damage. Our shot glanced from her bow. She
backed off for another blow, and struck again in the same place,
crushing in the side; but, by going ahead fast, the concussion
drew her bow around, and I was able with the port guns to give
her, while close alongside, five eight-inch shells abaft her armor.
This settled her, and drove her ashore in flames.
" Finding the Varuna sinking, I ran her into the bank, let go
the anchor, and tied up to the trees.
11
244 REDUCTION OP THE FORTS.
" During all this time our guns were actively at work crippling
the Morgan, which was making feeble efforts to get up steam.
The fire was kept up until the water was over the gun-truck, when
I turned my attention to getting the wounded and crew out of the
vessel. The Oneida, Captain Lee, seeing the condition of the
Varuna, had rushed to her assistance, but I waved her on, and the
Morgan surrendered to her, the vessel being in flames. I have
since learned that over fifty of her crew were killed and wounded,
and she was set on fire by her commander, who burnt his wounded
with his vessel."
Thus, six of the enemy's fleet fell under the Varuna's fire before
she sank, with colors flying, to the river's bed.
While Captain Farragut was still battling with the forts, pour-
ing broadsides into St. Philip, and receiving the fire of both, a huge
fire-raft suddenly blazed up before him, revealing the ram Manassas
pushing the raft upon the Hartford. In attempting to steer clear
of the raft, the Hartford ran upon the bank, when the raft came
crashing alongside. " In a moment," says Captain Farragut, " the
ship was one blaze all along the port side, half-way up to the main
and mizzen tops. But, thanks to the good organization of the fire
department by Lieutenant Thornton, the flames were extinguished
and at the same time we backed off and got clear of the raft. But
all this time we were pouring the shells into the forts, and they
into us, and every now and then a rebel steamer would get under
our fire and receive our salutation of a broadside. At length the
fire slackened, the smoke cleared off, and w r e saw to our surprise
that we were above the forts, and here and there a rebel gun-boat
on fire. As we came up with them, trying to make their escape,
they were fired into and riddled, so that they ran them on shore ;
and all who could made their escape to the shore. The Missis-
sippi and the Manassas made a set at each other at full speed, and
when they were within forty yards, the ram dodged the Mississippi
and ran on shore, when the latter poured her broadside into her,
knocked away her smoke-stack, and then sent men on board of her ;
but she was deserted and riddled, and after a while she drifted
down the stream full of water. She was the last of the eleven
we destroyed."
In the hurly-burly, Captain Farragut was struck by tho wind of
a passing shot, as he sat in the fore-rigging. Our friend of the
REDUCTION OF THE FOETS. 245
Jlerald mentions that a shot, at the same time, knocked his cabin
to pieces, shattered his effects, and nearly carried off the toilfully
prepared manuscript of the bombardment.
The scene when the fire caught the flag-ship, which was the
crowning moment of the battle, is wholly beyond the imagination
to conceive ; much more beyond the power of words to describe.
I shall not attempt the impossible. The mere noise was an expe-
rience unique to the oldest officers : — Twenty mortars, a hundred
and forty-two guns in the fleet, a hundred and twenty on the forts ;
the crash of splinters, the explosions of boilers and magazines ;
the shouts, the cries, the shrieks of scalded and drowning men.
Add to this the belching flashes of the guns, the blazing raft, the
burning steamboats, the river full of fire. The confined space in
which the action was fought is to be also considered ; and, con-
fined as it was, each ship was fighting its own battle, ignorant of
nearly all that passed beyond its own guns. " The river," says
Captain Farragut, " was too narrow for more than two or three
vessels to act to advantage, but all were so anxious, that my great-
est fear was that we would fire into each other, and Captain Wain-
wright and myself were hollowing ourselves hoarse at the men not
to fire into our ships." The time, too, was wonderfully short. The
forts were passed, and the enemy's fleet destroyed in an hour and
a half after the ships had left their anchorage.
The Cayuga had been struck forty-two times in the melee, to the
great damage of masts and rigging. But Captain Bailey, keeping
on up the river, descried, in the gray light of the dawn, a camp
upon the shore at the quarantine station, five miles above the forts,
the rebel soldiers in full flight. The flight was promptly arrested,
and the officers surrendered the position. The fleet came up, ship
after ship, each received with cheers, each responding with cheers,
as she dropped her anchor in line along the shore. The dead, thirty
in number, were buried. The wounded, of whom there were a hun-
dred and nineteen, were duly cared for. Repairs were made, and
the rigging was spliced ; for Captain Farragut was going on in
quest of other batteries that still blocked the way. Captain Boggs,
hailed by his generous comrades the hero of the morning, being
without a ship, undertook to convey a dispatch round to General
Butler in an open boat through a tortuous bayou. Two gun-boats
were detailed to remain at the quarantine station and co-operate
246 REDUCTION OF THE FOTiTS.
with, the troops in the contemplated landing behind Fort St. Philip.
At eleven in the morning, Captain Farragut gave the signal, and
the fleet stood np the river — so slight was the damage received in
the action. Except the Itasca and the Yaruna, no vessel had re-
ceived sufficient injury to seriously impair her effective force — an
escape that was wholly due to the darkness of the night. In day-
light no wooden ship could have passed those forts ; nor could iron-
clads, if the forts had mounted such guns as the rebels now have at
Charleston.
Of those who witnessed the scenes of this memorable morning,
none looked on with an interest so absorbing and profound as Gen-
eral Butler and a group of his staff officers — Major Strong, Major
Bell, Lieutenant Weitzel, and Lieutenant Kinsman. They were
on board the Saxon, which followed closely in the rear of Captain
Bailey's division, until the shells from the forts, splashing in the
water before and behind the little vessel, warned the general that
he had gone far enough. " We forgot," says Major Bell, " that
Porter's twenty mortar-boats were vomiting from beside us a hor-
rid discharge of shell ; we forgot that we were within the range
of the enemy's and our own guns, and that the shells of both were
falling about us — such was the fascination which lured us on behind
the advancing ships." The Saxon had eight hundred barrels of
powder on board — a fact of which her captain was painfully con-
scious. He was a happy man when the general gave the word to
drop* a little astern. From a point just below the reach of the guns,
the party on the forecastle of the Saxon saw the fleet vanish into the
bend, and heard the tremendous uproar of the fire. " Combine," says
Major Bell, " all you have ever heard of thunder, and add to it all
you have ever seen of lightning, and you have, perhaps, a concep-
tion of the scene." They could not tell what was happening, nor
who was winning. Still more puzzled were they when the fleet
seemed to have passed the forts, and the cannonade, which had
slackened, broke out again with more fury than before. Then the
forts were illumined with fire. Is it a burning ship ? " No," said
Lieutenant Weitzel, " it is too low for that." Portions of the burn-
ing raft, steamboats burning and hissing came by, the river at times
covered with fire. The vessels that failed to get past drifted down,
but could give little information of what had been achieved.
The cannonade subsided at length, and the fiery masses disap-
REDUCTION OF THE FORTS. 247
peared from the river. It was the time of sunrise, but a pall of
smoke huv >g over land and water. It was darker than midnight.
A breeze sprang up, and rolled the smoke from the river. Start-
ling change ! In three minutes the sun of a bright April morning
shone upon the scene. There lay the forts, with the flag of seces-
sion waving from both flag-staffs, hoisted to denote that they were
still unsubdued. But, away up the river, beyond the forts, could
be seen the top-masts of the fleet, dressed in the stars and stripes !
Captain Porter's fleet of steamers were coming rapidly down the
river, propelled by a report that the " celebrated ram Manassas"
was after them. " And sure enough," says Captain Porter, " there
she was, apparently steaming along shore, ready to pounce upon
the apparently defenseless mortar-vessels. Two of our steamers
and some of the mortar-vessels opened fire on her, but I soon dis-
covered that the Manassas could harm no one again, and I ordered
the vessels to save their shot. She was beginning to emit some
smoke from her ports or holes, and was discovered to be on fire
and sinking. Her pipes were all twisted and riddled with shot,
and her hull was also well cut up. She had evidently been used
up by the squadron as they passed along. I tried to save her, as a
curiosity, by getting a hawser around her and securing her to the
bank ; but just after doing so she faintly exploded, her only gun
went off, and emitting flames through her bow port, like some huge
animal, she gave a plunge and disappeared under the water. Next
came a steamer on fire, which appeared to be a vessel of war be-
longing to the rebels ; and after her two others, all burning and
floating down the stream."
This looked like victory. But was it a victory ? The rebel flags
waved defiance still ; and it soon appeared that three of the ene-
my's gun-boats had escaped destruction, one of which was the pon-
derous armed dry-dock, named the Louisiana. True, she was a
phantom — a useless, lumbering, unmanageable hulk. But this was
not suspected. She was supposed to be a steam battery of sixteen
Merrimac power, capable of crushing a poor little row of mortar
boats with one graze of her iron-clad sides.
About seven in the morning, Captain Porter sent a gun-boat to-
ward the forts, with a flag of truce, to demand their surrender.
Five cannon-balls from one of them (the color of the flag not hav-
ing been discerned), gave an intimation of the answer that might bo
248 BEDUCTION OF the forts.
expected. The gun-boat retired, followed soon by a rebel officer
with apologies, who also brought a reply to the summons : No
surrender, the forts will never surrender. The rebel gun-boats
hovered about above the cable, drawing renewal of fire from the
mortar-vessels. But the Louisiana ! Word was brought by a
gun-boat, which had given the rebel messenger a friendly tow up
the stream, that Fort Jackson was transferring heavy guns to the
monster, which, it was thought, would soon be down among the
residue of the fleet. Captain Porter ordered the mortar-vessels to
weigh anchor and hasten down the stream. Towed by the steam-
ers belonging to them, they abandoned the vicinity of the forts,
leaving the enemy to repose, and proceeded to the head of the
passes. Two killed, six wounded, one vessel sunk, four or five
slightly injured, were the losses the mortar-fleet had sustained dur-
ing the bombardment.
General Butler, perceiving now that the time had come for the
army to play its part, borrowed a light-draft steamer from Captain
Porter, and hastened down the river to join his troops.
During the next three days the forts were not molested and fired
not a gun. Dismounted guns were replaced, some repairs were
made, and the garrisons rested from their labors ; their numbers
little diminished by the week's fire, the forts as strong in defensive
power as when the bombardment began. Captain Porter in his
first report remarked: "These forts can hold out still for some
time, and I would suggest that the Monitor and Mystic, if they can
be spared, be sent here without a moment's delay, to settle the
question." There was still a chance then, for General Butler and
his impatient troops, who had been lying a week at the passes,
hearing, when the wind blew down the river, the distant thunder
of the bombardment.
Up anchor, all the transport steamers! The sailing vessels in
tow to remain in the river under General Phelps. General Wil-
liams to command the troops on board the steamers.
Sable Island, twelve miles in the rear of St. Philip, was the ren-
dezvous. Twenty-four hours were lost by the grounding of the bor-
rowed Miami, an ex-ferry-boat, drawing seven feet and a half. Cap-
tain Boggs reached the general with a dispatch from Captain Far-
ragut, having been twenty-six hours in an open boat. "We had a
hot time of it," wrote the flag-officer : " but after being on fire and
EEDUCTION OF THE FOETS. 249
run at by the ram, and attacked by forts and rebel steamers, we
succeeded in getting through, taking all their gun-boats and the
ram to boot." He added that he should " push on" to New Orleans,
leaving the forts to the tender mercies of the general.*
On the 26th of April, the Twenty-sixth Massachusetts under Col-
onel Jones, the same Colonel Jones that led the Sixth Massachu-
setts through Baltimore on the 19th of April, 1861, was crowded on
board the Miami, with companies of the Fourth Wisconsin and
Twenty-first Indiana. Cautiously the little steamer felt her way
in those shallows ; but when the fort was still six miles distant,
she grounded again. The thirty boats were manned and filled with
troops. Guided by Lieutenant Weitzel, and by Captain Everett
of the Sixth Massachusetts battery, who had been out reconnoiter-
ing there during the bombardment, the boats pulled for the swampy
shore. The bayous empty into the gulf at that point with such a
rush of cross-currents, that, at times, it was all the boats could do
to hold their own. Four miles and a half of fierce rowing brought
them into Mannel's canal, which, running like a mill-race, forbade
farther progress by rowing. Soldiers sprang into the water — a
line of soldiers clutching the side of each boat ; and floundering thus
breast-deep in water and mire, and phantom sharks, drew the boats
by main force a mile and a half, to a landing place five miles above
St. Philip. By this laborious process two hundred of the troops
were landed from the Miami in the course of the day, meeting no
* Captain Boggs brought a characteristic note to Captain Porter also :
"Dear Porter: We had a rough time of it, as Boggs will tell you, but, thank God, the number
of killed and wounded was very small, considering. This ship had two killed and eight wounded.
We. destroyed the ram in a single combat between her and the old Mississippi, but the ram back-
ed out when she saw the Mississippi coming at him so rampantly, and he dodged her, and ran on
shore, whereupon Smith put two or three broadsides through him, and knocked him all to pieoos.
The ram pushed a fire-raft on to me, and in trying to avoid it, I ran the ship on shore. He again
pushed the fire-raft on me, and got the ship on fire all along one side. I thought it was all up
with us, but we put it out, and got off again, prooeeding up the river, fighting our way. We
have destroyed all but two of the gun-boats, and these will have to surrender with the forte. I
intend to follow up my success and push for New Orleans, and then come down and attend to
the forts, so you hold them in statu quo until I come back. I think if you send a flag of truoe,
and demand their surrender they will yield, for their intercourse with the city is cut off. We
have cut the wires above the quarantine, and are now going ahead. 1 took three hundred or four
hundred prisoners at quarantine. They surrendered, and I paroled them not to take up arms
again. I could not stop to take care of them. If the general will come up to the Sayou and land
a few men, or as many as he pleases, he will find two of our gun-boats there to protect him from
gun-boats that arc at the forts. I wish to get to the English Turn, where they say they have not
placed a battery yet, but have two above, nearer New Orleans. They will not be idle, and
neither will I. You supported us most nobly. Very truly yours,
"D. G. Farraout."
250 REDUCTION OF THE FOETS.
opposition. Lieutenant Weitzel stationed part of them on the west-
ern bank, part on the eastern. Captain Porter had, meanwhile,
placed some of his mortar-schooners in the bay behind Fort Jack-
son; and thus, on the morning of the 27th, the forts were invested
on every side — up the river, down the river, and in the rear.
That night came the thrilling news that Captain Farra gut's fleet
was at an anchor before New Orleans. General Butler, perceiving
the absolute necessity of light-draft steamers for landing his heavy
guns and ammunition, desiring also to confer with Captain Farra-
gut, left General Williams to continue the landing of the troops —
a work of days — and went up to the city, accompanied by Captain
JBoggs.
The same night, a picket of Union men on the western bank had
a peculiar and joyful experience. A body of rebel troops, two hun-
dred and fifty in number, came out of Fort Jackson, and gave them-
selves up. They said they had fought as long as fighting was of
any use ; but, seeing the forts surrounded, they had resolved not
to be sacrificed upon a point of honor, and therefore had muti-
nied, spiked the up-river guns, and broken away. The forts were
still defensible, however, and could have given the troops a tough
piece of work. But, the next morning, the officers deemed it best
to surrender. Captain Porter, who chanced to be present in the
river, and had the means of reaching the forts by water, negotiated
the surrender, granting conditions more favorable than were neces-
sary. The officers were allowed to retain their side-arms and pri-
vate property, and both officers and men were released on parole.
While the negotiations were proceeding in the cabin of the Harriet
Lane, the huge Louisiana was set on fire by her officers, and set
adrift down the river. She blew up only just in time not to de-
stroy the Union fleet, toward which she was drifting. The explo-
sion was regarded by the army as a commentatory note of exclama-
tion upon the favorable terms conceded to the garrison. Captain
Porter justly placed in close confinement the officers who had done
the dastardly act.
The joy, the curiosity with which the troops entered the forts
and scanned the result of the long fire upon them, may be ima-
gined. St. Philip, beyond one or two slight abrasures, was abso-
lutely uninjured. Respecting the damage done to Fort Jackson,
different opinions have been published. It is important for our
REDUCTION OF THE FOETS. 251
instruction in the art of war that the truth upon this point should
be known and established. The testimony of Lieutenant Weitzel
will settle the question in the mind of every officer of the regular
army. In a report to General Butler, dated May 5th, 1862, Lieu-
tenant Weitzel says :
" The navy passed the works, but did not reduce them. Fort St.
Philip stands, with one or two slight exceptions, to-day without a
scratch. Fort Jackson was subjected to a torrent of thirteen-inch
and eleven-inch shells during a hundred and forty-four hours. To
an inexperienced eye it seems as if this work were badly cut up.
It is as strong to-day as when the first shell was fired at it. The
rebels did not bomb-proof the citadel ; consequently the roof and
furring caught fire. This fire, with subsequent shells, ruined the
walls so much that I am tearing it down and removing the debris
to the outside of the work. Three shot-furnaces and three cisterns
were destroyed. At several points the breast-hight walls were
knocked down. One angle of the magazine on the north side of
the postern was knocked off. Several shells went through the
flank casemate arches (which were not covered with earth), and a
few through the other casemate arches (where two or more struck
in the same place). At several points in the casemates, the thir-
teen-inch shell would penetrate through the earth over the arches,
be stopped by the latter, then explode, and loosen a patch of brick
work in the souffoir of the arch about three feet in diameter and
three-quarters of a brick deep, at its greatest depth.
" To resist an assault, and even regular approaches, it is as strong
to-day as ever it was. I conducted a land force, after the navy had
passed up the river by the way of the gulf, through a bayou and
canal which were familiar to me, to a point on the river about five
miles above the works, and in plain sight of the rebels, but out of
range. The garrison of Fort Jackson seeing themselves completely
surrounded, became demoralized, three hundred mutinied and de-
serted in a body, and were taken by a picket which I had posted
as soon as I landed on the west bank of the river, from Cyprien's
canal to Allen's store. The commanding officer the next day sur-
rendered both works. He had provisions in them for four months,
and ammunition in abundance.
"They had about eighty heavy guns mounted, in all, at Fort
Jackson, and about forty at Fort St. Philip. All of them were the
11*
252 REDUCTION OP THE FORTS.
old guns picked up at the different works around the city, with the
exception of about six ten-inch columbiads, and two one-hundred-
pounder rifled guns (the latter of their own manufacture and quito
a formidable gun). They had done nothing to the lower battery at
Fort Jackson in the way of building the breast-heights and laying
the platforms. Nearly all the platforms are at the works. They
had only six guns in the lower battery at Fort Jackson, only four-
teen guns in casemate at the same fort (all smooth bore). They
had seventeen guns in the upper battery and eighteen in the lower
battery at Fort St. Philip (all the old guns), and only five in the
main work.
"The fleet suffered most from the two batteries at Fort St.
Philip. They being so low the fleet fired over them, and they in
their turn repeatedly hulled the vessels.
" The fire on both sides, as a general thing, was too high. The
fleet followed the advice I gave them, to run in right close, and a
great many of the officers have already thanked me for my advice.
I was with the fleet during the bombardment, giving the flag-officer
and others the benefit of my knowledge of the works, and during
the engagement was on board the armed transport Saxon, in the
bend of the river just opposite Fort Jackson, and had a good view
of the engagement.
" In conclusion I beg leave to say, that you have every reason
to be proud of the works ; and had they had their full armament
(the new one), with the proper amount of shell-guns, that fleet
would never have passed them. The chain was removed two
nights before the attack, without any loss. It was a grand
humbug."
If the splendid daring of Captain Farragut and the fleet deprived
General Butler of his lieutenant-generalship, it is but just to him
and the army to declare, that it was the prompt and unexpected
landing of the troops in the rear of St. Philip that caused the mu-
tiny which led to the surrender. Fighting wins the laurel, and
justly wins it, for fighting is the true and final test of soldierly
merit : but a maneuver which accomplishes results without fight-
ing — that also merits recognition.
THE PANIC IN NEW ORLEANS. 253
CHAPTER XIV.
THE PANIC IN NEW ORLEANS.
New Orleans did not rush headlong into secession in the
Charleston manner. The doctrine, that if Mr. Lincoln was elected
the nation must be broken up, was not popular there during the
canvass of 1860; it was, on the contrary, scouted by the ablest
newspapers, and the influential men. In 1856, the city had given a
majority of its votes to Mr. Fillmore; in 1860, Bell and Everett
were the favorite candidates. Bell, 5,215 ; Douglas, 2,996 ; Breck-
inridge, 2,646 ; Lincoln, 0. The fact was manifest to all reflecting
men, that the two states which derived from the Union the great-
est sum-total of direct pecuniary benefit were Massachusetts and
Louisiana.
The great sugar interest, the Creole sugar-planters, who held the
best of the cultivated parts of the state, stood by the Union last of
all. Thomas J. Durant, an eminent lawyer of New Orleans, one of
the half dozen men of position who have never deserted the cause
of their country, says, in a letter to General Butler:
" The protection and favor which were enjoyed by these men under
the government of the United States, and the benefit they derived
from their possession of the home market for their product, to the
utter exclusion of all foreign competition, was thoroughly under-
stood by them. They are men retaining all the peculiarities of a
French ancestry : not apt in what is called business, yet fond of
gain ; generous, high-spirited, and averse to the active strife of com-
merce as well as of politics. They never concerned themselves too
eagerly in the contests of party, and no equal body of men in the
South looked upon secession with so much reluctance, or were so
unwilling to be dragged into it, as the sugar-planters of Louisiana.
It is true, they at last yielded to the moral epidemic which Gver^
spread the South ; and when the young men, under the excitement
of martial enthusiasm and a mistaken view of the interests of their
section, went to the war, their feelings became, to a certain extent,
254 THE PANIC IN NEW OELEANS.
»
enlisted on the side of the Confederacy. But no prominent officer
in the Confederate army has come from the ranks of the sugar-plant-
ers of Louisiana of French descent, and, indeed, only one from the
sugar-planters at all — Brigadier-General Richard Taylor, son of the
late president of the United States."
The first gun fired in a war, carries conviction to wavering
minds. Every man in the world either is a secessionist, or could
"become one, who holds slaves, or who could hold slaves with an
easy conscience, or who can contemplate the fact with indifference
that slaves are held. In this great controversy, the United States
has not one hearty and perfectly trustworthy adherent on earth,
who is not now an abolitionist. Its actual and possible enemies are
all who do not detest slavery, whether they be called secessionists,
copperheads, or Englishmen.
So the " moral epidemic" spread in New Orleans, and it became
nearly unanimous for secession. If the majority for secession was
small in the city, it sufficed to make secession master. Union men
were banished by law ; Union sentiments suppressed by violence.
I know not whether the horrid tale of the New England school-
mistress stripped naked in Lafayette Square, and tarred and feather-
ed amid the jeers of the mob, is true or false. I presume it is false ;
but the fact remains, that neither man nor woman could utter a
syllable for the Union in New Orleans in the hearing of the public,
and live. A very few persons of pre-eminent standing in the city,
like the noble Durant, and a few old men, who could not give up
their country and the flag they had fought under in the days of
their youth, were tolerated even with ostentation — so firm in the
saddle did secession feel itself.
Even the foreign consuls were devoted secessionists ; all except
Senor Ruiz, the Mexican consul. Reichard, the consul of Prussia,
raised a battalion in the city, and led it to Virginia, where he rose
to the rank of brigadier-general, having left in NeAV Orleans, as
acting-consul, Mr. Kruttsmidt, his partner, who had married a
daughter of the rebel secretary of war. The other consuls, con-
nected with secession by ties of business or matrimony, or both,
were among the most zealous adherents of the Confederate cause.
This is an important fact, when we consider that two-thirds of the
business men were of foreign birth, and a vast proportion of the
whole population were of French, Spanish, and German descent.
THE PANIC m NEW ORLEANS. 255
The double blockade — blockade above and blockade below — ■
struck death to the commerce of New Orleans, a city created and
sustained by commerce alone. How wonderful was that commerce !
The crescent bend of the river upon which the city stands, a wav-
ing line seven miles in extent, used to display the commercial activ-
ity of the place to striking advantage. Cotton ships, eight or ten
deep ; a forest of masts, denser than any but a tropical forest ; steam-
boats in bewildering numbers, miles of them, puffing and hissing,
arriving, departing, and threatening to depart, with great clangor
of bells and scream of whistles ; cotton-bales piled high along the
levee, as far as the eye could reach ; acres and acres covered with
hogsheads of sugar ; endless flotillas of flat-boats, market-boats, and
timber-rafts ; gangs of negroes at work upon every part of the levee,
with loud chorus and outcry ; and a constant crowd of clerks, mer-
chants, sailors, and bandanna-crowned negro women selling coffee,
cakes, and fruit. It was a spectacle without parallel on the globe,
because the whole scene of the city's industry was presented in one
view.
What a change was wrought by the mere announcement of the
blockade! The cotton ships disappeared; the steamboats were
laid away in convenient bayous, or departed up the river to return
no more. The cotton mountains vanished ; the sugar acres were
cleared. The cheerful song of the negroes was seldom heard, and
grass grew on the vacant levee. The commerce of the city was
dead ; and the forces hitherto expended in peaceful and victorious
industry, were wholly given to waging war upon the power which
had called that industry into being, defended It against the invader,
protected and nourished it for sixty years, guiltless of wrong. Th'>.
young men enlisted in the army, compelling the reluctant stevedores,
impressing with violence the foreign born. At the Exchange, books
were opened for the equipment of privateers. For the first six
months there was much running of the blockade, one vessel in three
escaping, and the profit of the third paying for the two lost. Hoi-
lins was busy in getting ready a paltry fleet of armed vessels for
the destruction of the blockaders, and there was rare hammering
upon rams and iron-clad steamboats. Seventeen hundred families
meanwhile were daily supplied at the "free market." Look into one
wholesale grocery store through the following advertisement :
" We give notice to our friends generally, that we have been
25fi THE PANIC IN NEW ORLEANS.
compelled to discontinue the grocery business, particularly for the
reason that we have now no goods for sale, except a little L. F. salt.
Persons ordering goods of us must send the cash to fill the order,
unless they have money to their credit. Four of our partners and
six of our clerks are in the army, and having sold out our stock of
goods on credit, we have no money to buy more to be disposed of
that way."
A word or two upon the "Thugs" of New Orleans, the party
controlling municipal affairs for some years past. New Yorkers are
in a position to understand this matter with very little explanation,
since the local politics of New Orleans and of New York present
the same essential features, the same dire results of the fell principle
of universal suffrage. Martin Van Buren predicted it all forty-two
years ago, when opposing the admission to the polls of every man
out of prison who was twenty-one years of age. He said then,
what we now know to be true, that universal suffrage, in large
commercial cities, would make those cities a dead weight upon the
politics of the states to which they belong ; would repel from local
politics the men who ought to control them ; would consign the
cities to the tender mercies of the Dexterous Spoiler,* who could
only be dethroned by bloody revolution. Is it not so ? Who is
master of certain great cities but Dexterous Spoiler, supported by
the dollars of Head Jew ?
It must be so under universal suffrage. Here we have, say, ten
thousand ignorant voters ; ignorant, many of them, of the very lan-
guage of the country ; ignorant, most of them, of the art of reading
it. These ten thousand are thirsty men, hangers-on of our six or
seven thousand groggeries, the keepers of which are as completely
the minions and servants of Dexterous as though they were in his
pay. New Yorkers know why this is so. Here, then, are sixteen
or seventeen thousand votes to begin with, as capital-stock and
basis of political business. Add to these five thousand of those
lazy, thoughtless men in the carpeted spheres of life, who can never
be induced to vote at all ; some even pluming themselves upon the
fact. So there are twenty thousand votes or more, which Dexter-
ous can, in all cases, and in all weathers, count upon with absolute
certainty. Then there are sundry other thousands who can only
be got to the polls by moving heaven and earth ; which is an ex-
* See Mr. Van Burcn's argument in Part on 1 a Life of Jackson, iii., 129.
THE PANIC IN NEW 0KLEAXS. 257
pensive process, involving unlimited Roman candles and endless
hirings of the Cooper Institute. The majority of these, in most
elections, allow themselves to remain in the scale that weighs down
struggling Decency. In a word, our Dexterous Spoiler, by his pos-
session of the ten thousand votes which a justly restricted suffrage
would exclude, controls the politics of the city. Probably, the mere
exclusion of all voters who can not read would render the politics
of cities manageable in the interests of Decency. In the absence
of all restriction, the Spoiler must bear sway.
As in New York, so in New Orleans ; only worse. The curse
of universal suffrage in New York is mitigated by several circum-
stances, which have hitherto sufficed to keep anarchy at bay.
First, it is still true in New York, that when the issue is distinct
and sole between Decency and Spoliation, and there has been the
due moving of heaven and earth, the party of Decency can always
secure a small majority of the whole number of votes. Secondly,
one evening, about fifteen years ago, New York rowdyism fell,
weltering in blood, in Astor Place, before the fire of the Seventh
regiment. It has known three days of resurrection since, owing to
a combination of causes never likely to be again combined. Third,
New York has had the supreme happiness of rescuing its police
from all control of the Spoiler. The police department has been
taken out of politics, and has daily improved ever since, until
now there is no better police in the world, and no city where the
reign of order is more unbroken — where life and property are
more secure. Again: the alliance between the Spoiler and the
Banker compels the Spoiler to stop short of attempting the mani-
festly anarchic. The Spoiler, too, has his moneys and his usances,
and values the same.
What New York would have been without its small, safe ma-
jority on the side of Decency, without the Astor Place riot, and
without the timidity of Wall street, that New Orleans was, for
many years before the rebellion ; with all evil tendencies acceler-
ated and aggravated by the presence of slavery. New Orleans was
the metropolis of the cotton kingdom, the receptacle of its wealth
and of its refuse, the theater of its display and the pool of its
abominations.
Now, the peculiarity of the cotton kingdom — that which chiefly
distinguishes it from the other kingdoms of the earth, is this : In
258 THE PANIC IN NEW ORLEANS.
other kingdoms wickedness is committed, but is admitted to bo,
wickedness ; it is reprobated and warred upon ; it hides itself,
and is ashamed. But the cotton kingdom distinctly, and in the
hearing of the whole world, adopted wickedness as its portion and
specialty. It did not say, Evil be thou our Good ; but our Evil is
not evil ; it is good, beneficent, and even Divine. In the case of
Cain versus Abel, the cotton kingdom, with the utmost possible
clearness and decision, supported Cain. If the "difficulty" be-
tween the brothers had occurred in the rotunda of the St. Charles
hotel, Public Opinion would have clapped Cain on the back, and call-
ed him a high-spirited, chivalrous young fellow, a worthy son of
one of our first families. It was the unwritten law of New Orleans,
that if one man said to another man an offensive word, the proper
penalty was instant assassination ; which was precisely the princi-
ple upon which Cain acted. In New Orleans, every man carried
about his person the means of executing this law with certainty and
dispatch.
Doctor McCormick, of the United States army, medical director
at New Orleans during General Butler's administration, familiar with
the city in former years, related to me the following anecdote : —
Time — about ten years before secession. Place — the Charity
Hospital at New Orleans, in charge of Doctor McCormick. A
friend from the North visited the doctor at the hospital, and went
the rounds with him one morning. Among the patients were four
men wounded in affrays during the previous evening and night ;
two mortally, whose wounds the doctor dressed. The morning
tour completed, the friends were leaving the building, when they
met a man coming in who had been just stabbed in the eye, in a
street quarrel. The doctor dressed his wound, and again the friends
turned to go. Before reaching the front-door, they met a man
with four balls in his chest, received in an affray. His wounds
were dressed, and the gentlemen then succeeded in making their
escape.
" Doctor," exclaimed the visitor, aghast, " is this common ?"
" Not to this extent," replied the doctor, " not six a day. But
two or three a day is common : that is about the daily average dur-
ing the season."
"Well," said his friend, "this is no place for me. I meant to
stay a week; but I leave New Orleans to-night."
THE PANIC IN NEW ORLEANS. 259
Duels, too. Miss Martineau's " fifteen duels on one Sunday morn-
ing" was probably no exaggeration. Doctor McCormick declared,
that lie has himself witnessed six in one day from a window of the
United States barracks. He has seen men in mortal combat while
driving along a road near the city with his wife ; seen them fight-
ing as he passed ; seen the dead body of one of them as he returned.
" What could the fools find to fight about ?" asks the incredulous
northern reader. Hear a very competent witness :
"Young men meet around the festive board. The wine-cup
passes freely." The climate favors drinking; men can drink three
times the quantity of wine that a northern head can bear. " Con-
versation becomes a confusion of unmeaning words. One declares
that General Lopez was a patriot and martyr to the cause of free-
dom and the world, and another that he was an adventurer, and in
bowing his neck to the garrote, only paid the penalty of his rash-
ness. One avers that Isabella Catholica, mother to the baby prince
of the Asturias, is another Semiramis — worse only — having had
Christian baptism. Another, with equal warmth, contends that this
same queen-mother, patroness of all the bull-fights, and queen of the
Antilles, is a wedded Vestal, more chaste than the icicle which
hangs on Diana's temples, purer than Alpine snows. One cries,
'God save Spain's royal mistress;' and another swears that an
anointed Amazon, who rides a-straddle through the streets, shall
have no vivas from him. A slap in the face ! The rising of the sun
sees them on the battle-field, arrayed all in white. Under the
spreading oaks of Gentilly, they crush the daisies beneath their feet,
and brush the dew from the lilies that brightly blossom there. Is
there none to whisper peace? None. There is a click of the swift
trigger, and a hiss of the leaden death; a spring into the air; a
yell, a groan, a gurgling of the purple life-current ; and it is done !
What now ? Chains and a prison for the slayer ? Neither ; but
honor and laudation for him who has had the bravery to kill."*
" Honor and laudation," says our narrator, await the murderer.
Even so. Let me relate one of Dr. McCormick's duel anecdotes ; he
having witnessed the scenes he described, and assisted at them as
attending surgeon. The events occurred near New Orleans — the
parties well known there, all of them being men of wealth and great
note in the cotton kingdom. Time, 1841.
* New Orleann Delta, June 3d, 1SC8.
260 THE PANIC IN NEW OELEANb.
The principals were Colonel Augustus Alston, a graduate of
West Point, and Colonel Lee Reed ; planters, both ; chief men of
their county; politicians, of course. Long-standing, bitter feud
between the families, aggravated by political aspirations and disap-
pointments ; the whole county sympathizing with one or the other
— eagerly, wildly sympathizing. The quarrel relieved the tedium
of idleness; served instead of morning paper to the men, supplied
the want of new novels to the women. At length, one of the Alston
party, on slight pretext, challenged Reed, which challenge Reed
refused to accept; no man but Alston for his pistol. Another
Alstonian challenge, and yet another, he declined. Then Alston
himself sent a challenge — Alston, the best shot in a state whose citi-
zens cultivated the deadly art with the zeal of saints toiling after
perfection. This challenge Lee instantly accepted. Weapon, the
rifle, hair-trigger, ounce ball. Men to stand at twenty paces, back
to back ; to wheel at the word One ; to fire as soon as they pleased
after the word; the second to continue counting as far as five;
after which, no firing.
Lee was a slow, portly man — a good shot if he could fire in his
own way without this preliminary wheeling. He regarded himself
as a dead man ; he felt that he had no chance whatever of his life
on such terms, not one in a thousand. He bought a coffin and a
shroud, and arranged all his affairs for immediate death. The day
before the duel, his second, a captain in the army, took him out. of
town and gave him a long drill in the wheel-and-fire exercise.
The pupil was inapt — could not get the knack of wheeling. If he
wheeled quickly, his aim was bad ; if he wheeled slowly, there
was no need of his aiming at all, for his antagonist was as ready
with heel as with trigger, from old training at West Point.
" Lee," said the captain, " you must wheel quicker or you've no
chance." Stimulated with this remark, Lee wheeled with velocity,
and fired with such success as to bring down a neighbor riding
along the road.
Lee sent his coffin and shroud to the field. Mrs. Alston accompa-
nied her husband. "I have come," she said, "to see Lee Reed shot."
The men were placed, and the second counted one. In swiftly,
wheeling, the light cape of Alston's coat touched the hair-trigger,
and his ball whistled over Reed's head, who stood amazed, with
rifle half presented. The word two, recalled him to himself; he
THE PANIC IN NEW OELEANS. 261
fired ; and Alston fell pierced through the heart. Mrs. Alston
flew to her fallen husband, and found the ball which had slain him.
In the sight and hearing of all the witnesses of the duel, her dead
husband bleeding at her feet, she lifted up the ball, and with loud
voice and fierce dramatic gesture, swore that that ball should kill
Lee Reed.
Now, observe the conduct of the " chivalry" upon this occasion.
Note the Public Opinion of that community. Were they touched
by Lee's magnificent courage? Were they moved to gentler
thoughts by Alston's just but lamentable end ? The Montagues
and Capulets were reconciled over dead Juliet and Romeo :
" brother Montague, give me thy hand :
This is my daughter's jointure ; for no more
Can I demand."
"N"ot so, the chivalry of the South. In the afternoon, ten of the
Alston party, headed by Willis Alston, brother of the deceased,
drew themselves up, rifle in hand, bowie-knife and pistol in belt,
before the hotel in which the adherents of Reed were assembled
congratulating their chief. They sent in a messenger challenging
ten of the Lee party to come forth and fight them in the public
square. Much parleying ensued, which ended in the refusal of the
Lees to accept the invitation.
A few days after, Lee was seated at the table of the hotel, in
the public dining-room, at which also sat men, ladies and children —
a large number — Dr. McCormick among them. Willis Alston en-
tered, took his stand opposite Lee, drew a pistol, and shot him
through the liver. The wound was not mortal. After some months
of confinement, Lee was well again, and went about as usual, the
bloody-minded Alston still loose among the people. They met at
length in the streets of the town, and Alston shot him again, in-
flicting this time a mortal wound.
Then, there was a hideous farce of a trial. Every man in the
court-room, except two, was armed to the teeth. Those two
were the judge, and the principal witness, Doctor McCormick.
The jurymen all had a rifle at their side in the jury-box — twelve
men, twelve rifles. The prisoner had two enormous horse-pistols
protruding from his vest. The spectators were all armed; the
Lees to prevent a rescue in case of conviction, the Alstons to pro-
262 THE PANIC IN NEW ORLEANS.
tect their man in case of acquittal. The counsel for the accused
admitted that their client had shot the deceased, but contended that
the wound then inflicted was not the cause of his death. Doctor
McCormick was called, and took the stand amid the deepest silence,
the prisoner glaring at him like the wild beast he was.
" Is it your belief that the deceased came to his death from the
wound inflicted by the prisoner at the bar ?"
" I have no belief on the subject," replied the witness. " It is not
a matter of belief, but of fact. I know he did."
That night, the trial not yet concluded, the prisoner deemed it
best to escape from prison. He went to Texas ; met 0*1 a road
there an old enemy, whom he shot dead in his saddle; and on
reaching the next town, boasted of his exploit to the murdered
man's friends and neighbors. Thirty of them seized him, tied him
to a tree, and shot him, all the thirty firing at once, to divide the
responsibility among them. And so the brute's career was fitly
ended.
Nor can we pity the murdered Reed, brave as he was ; for he,
too, was a man of blood. They tell of an early duel of his so in-
credibly savage, that, in comparison with it, General Jackson's little
affair with Charles Dickinson seems the play of boys. Picture it.
Two men standing sixty feet apart, back to back, each armed with
two revolvers and a bowie knife. They are to wheel at the word,
approach one another firing, fire as fast as they choose, advance
as rapidly as they choose. Pistols failing, then the grapple and
the knife. As it was arranged, so it was done. Lee fired his last
charge, but his antagonist was still erect. The men were within
six feet of one another, when Lee, bleeding fast from several wounds,
collected his remaining strength, and threw his pistol, with despe-
rate force in his antagonist's face, and felled him with the blow.
Lee staggered forward, and fell upon him. Drawing his knife, he
was seen feeling for the heart of his enemy, and having found it, he
placed the point of the knife over it and tried to drive it home.
He could not. Then holding the knife with one hand he tried to
raise himself with the other, so as to fall upon the knife, and kill
his adversary by mere gravitation. This amazing spectacle was too
much even for the seconds in a southern duel, one of whom seized
the man by the feet and drew him off*. It was found that his an-
tagonist was dead where he lay ; but Lee recovered to figure in
• THE PANIC IN NEW OKLEASS. 263
another of these savage conflicts, and to die by violence in the
streets.
We may ask, with Dr. McCormick's friend, " Were such things
common in the ' cotton kingdom ?' " The doctor's answer will suf-
fice : " Not to this extent ;" but scenes like these were common ;
and the spirits, the habits, the cast of character, which gave rise to
them, were all but universal. What, then, must New Orleans have
been, the chief city of that kingdom, with a police subject to the
city government, the city government controlled by " Thugs," and
the " Thugs" managed by the Spoiler, in alliance with the money-
changer ?
We return to the morning of April 24 th, on which the Union
fleet ran past the forts.
Never before were the people of New Orleans so confident of a
victorious defense, as when they read in the newspapers of that
morning the brief report of General Duncan, touching the twenty-
five thousand ineffectual shells. Always the city had implicitly
relied on its defenses ; but, after six days of vain bombardment, the
confidence of the people was such that news from below had ceased
to be very interesting, and every one went about his business as
though nothing unusual was going on.
At half-past nine in the morning, late risers still dawdling over
their coffee and Delta, the bell of one- of the churches, which had
been designated as the alarm bell, struck the concerted signal of
alarm — twelve strokes four times repeated. It was the well-known
summons for all armed bodies to assemble at their head-quarters
There was a wild rush to the newspaper bulletin-boards.
" It is repokted that two op the enemy's gun-boats have
succeeded in passing the poets."
This was all that came over the wires before Captain Farragut
cut them ; but it was enough to give New Orleans a dismal pre-
monition of. the coming catastrophe. The troops flew to their re-
spective rendezv ous. The city was filled with rumors. The whole
population was in the streets all day. The bulletin-boards were
besieged, but nothing more could be extracted from them. There
were but twenty-eight hundred Confederate troops in the city ; and
General Lovell, their commander, had gone down to the forts the
day before, and was now galloping back along the levee like a man
riding a steeple-chase. The militia, however, were numerous ; con-
264 THE PANIC IN NEW ORLEANS:
spicuous among them the European Brigade, composed of French,
English and Spanish battalions. A fine regiment of free colored
men was on duty also. But, in the absence of the general, and
the uncertainty of the intelligence, nothing was done or could be
done, but assemble and wait, and increase the general alarm by the
spectacle of masses of troops.
The newspapers of the afternoon could add nothing to the intel-
ligence of the morning. But, at half-past two, General Lovell
arrived, bringing news that the Union fleet had passed the forts,
destroyed the Confederate gun-boats, and was approaching the
city. Then the panic set in. Stores were hastily closed, and many
were abandoned without closing. People left their houses forget-
ting to shut the front-door, and ran about the streets without ap-
parent object. There was a fearful beating of drums, and a run-
ning together of soldiers. Women were seen bonnetless, with pistol
in each hand, crying: "Burn the city. Never mind us. Burn the
city." Officers rode about impressing carts and drays to remove
the cotton from store-houses to the levee for burning. Four mil-
lions of specie were carted from the banks to the railroad stations,
and sent out of the city. The consulates were filled with people,
bringing their valuables to be stored under the protection of foreign
flags. Traitor Twiggs made haste to fly, leaving his swords to the
care of a young lady — the swords voted him by Congress and legis-
lature for services in Mexico. Other conspicuous traitors followed
his prudent example. The authorities, Confederate and municipal,
were at their wit's end. Shall the troops remain and defend the
city, or join the army of Beauregard at Corinth ? It was concluded
to join Beauregard ; at least to get out of the city, beyond the guns
of the fleet, and so save the city from bombardment. Some thou-
sands of the militia, it appears, left with the twenty-eight hundred
Confederate troops, choking the avenues of escape with multitudi-
nous vehicles. Other thousands remained, doffing their uniforms,
exchanging garments even with negroes, and returned to their
homes. The regiment of free colored men would not leave the city
— a fact which was remembered, some months later, to their ad-
vantage.
At such a time could the Thugs be inactive ? To keep them in
check, to save the city from conflagration and plunder, the mayor
cdlcd upon the European brigade, and placed the city under their
THE PANIC IN NEW OBLEANS. 2C5
charge. They accepted the duty, repressed the tumult, and pre-
vented the destruction of the town, threatened alike by frenzied
women and spoliating rowdies.
So passed the afternoon of Thursday, April 24th. I indicate only
the leading features of the scene. The reader must imagine the
rest, if he can. Only those who have seen a large city suddenly
driven mad with apprehension and rage, can form an adequate con-
ception of the confusion, the hurry, the bewilderment, the terror,
the fury, that prevailed. Such denunciations of Duncan, of the
governor of the state, of the general in command ! Such maledic-
tions upon the Yankees ! Such a strife between those who wished
New Orleans to be another Moscow, and those who pleaded for the
homes of fifty thousand women and children ! Such a hunting
down of the few Union men and women, who dared to display
their exultation ! Such a threatening of instant lamp-post, or swifter
pistol bullet, to any who should so much as look at a Yankee with-
out a scowl! Woe, woe, to the man who should give them the
slightest semblance of aid or sympathy ! Hail, yellow fever ! once
the dreaded scourge of New Orleans ; more welcome now than the
breezes of October after a summer of desolation! Come, De-
stroyer ; come, and blast these hated foes of a sublime southern
chivalry ! Come, though we also perish !
During the evening of Thursday, before it was known whether
the batteries at Chalmette could retard the upward progress of the
fleet, the famous burning of cotton and ships began : fifteen thou-
sand bales of cotton on the levee ; twelve or fifteen cotton ships, in
the river ; fifteen or twenty river steamboats ; an unfinished ram
of great magnitude ; the dry-docks ; vast heaps of coal ; vaster
stores of steamboat wood ; miles of steamboat wood ; ship timber ;
board-yards ; whatever was supposed to be of use to Yankees ; all
was set on fire, and the heavens were black with smoke. Hogs-
heads of sugar and barrels of molasses were stove in by hundreds.
Parts of the levee ran molasses. Thousands of negroes and poor
white people were carrying off the sugar in aprons, pails, and
baskets. And, as if this were not enough, the valiant governor
of Louisiana fled away up the river in the swiftest steamboat he
could find, spreading alarm as he went, and issuing proclamations,
calling on the planters to burn every bale of cotton in the state
which the ruthless invaders could reach.
2(36 THE PANIC IN NEW ORLEANS.
" If," said he, " you are resolved to be free ; if you are worthy
of the heroic blood that has come down to you through hallowed
generations ; if you have fixed your undimmed eyes upon the bright-
ness that is spread out before you and your children, and are deter-
mined to shake away for ever all political association with the
venal hordes that now gather like a pestilence about your fair coun-
try; now, my fellow-citizens, is the time to strike." He meant
strike a light ; for he continues thus : " One sparkling, living torch
of fire, for one hour, in manly action upon each other's plantation,
and the eternal seal of southern independence is fired and fixed in
the great heart of the world."
This sublime effusion had its effect, supported as it was by the
presence of the Union fleet in the sacred river. Hence, as we are
officially informed, two hundred and fifty thousand bales of cotton
were consumed, during the next few days, in a region already im-
poverished by the war. Not a pound of this cotton was in danger
of seizure ; it was safer after the fall of the city than before.
About twelve o'clock, the fleet hove in sight of assembled New
Orleans. The seven miles of crescent levee were one living fringe
of human beings, who looked upon the coming ships with inex-
pressible sorrow, shame, and anger. Again the cry arose, burn
the city ; a cry that might have been obeyed but for the known
presence and determination of the European brigade. The people
were given over to a strong delusion, the result of two generations
of De Bow falsehood and Calhoun heresy. That fleet, if they had
but known it, was Deliverance, not Subjugation ; it was to end, not
begin, the reign of terror and of wrong. The time will come when
New Orleans will know this ; when the anniversary of this day will
be celebrated with thankfulness and joy, and statues of Farragut
and Butler will adorn the public places of the city. But before
that time comes, what years of wise and heroic labor ! The fleet
drew near and cast anchor in the stream, the crowd looking on,
some in sullen silence, many uttering yells of execration, a few se-
cretly rejoicing, all deeply moved.
HEW ORLEANS WELL NOT SURRENDER. 26*7
CHAPTER XV.
NEW ORLEANS WILL NOT SURRENDER.
Captain Farragtjt's fleet emerged from the hurly-burly of the
fight on the morning of the 24th, into a beautiful and tranquil
scene. Soon after leaving quarantine, the sugar plantations, with
their villas girdled with pleasant verandas, and surrounded with
trees, each with its village of negro huts near by, appeared on both
sides of the river. The canes were a foot high, and of the bright-
est April green, rendered more vivid by the background of forest
a mile from the river. Except that a white flag or rag was hung
from many of the houses, and, in some instances, a torn and faded
American flag, a relic of better times, there was little to remind the
voyagers that they were in an enemy's country. Here and there a
white man was seen waving a Union flag ; and occasionally a ges-
ture of defiance or contempt was discerned. The negroes who
were working in the fields in great numbers — in gangs of fifty, a
hundred, two hundred — these alone gave an unmistakable welcome
to the ships. They would come running down to the levee in
crowds, hoe in hand, and toss their battered old hats into the air,
and shout, sing and caper in their wild picturesque fashion. Other
gangs, held under stronger control, kept on their work without so
much as looking at the passing vessels, unless it might be that one
or two of them, watching their chance, would wave a hand or hat,
and straight to hoe again.
None of those batteries with which the river was said to be
" lined," were discovered. At three o'clock the ships were off Point
la nache, which had been reported to be impassably fortified. No
guns were there. On the contrary, on a plantation near by thirty
plows were going, and two hundred negroes came to the shore in
the highest glee, to greet the ships. "Hurrah for Abraham," cried
one. At eight o'clock in the evening, at a point eighteen miles be-
low the city, the fleet came to anchor for the night. The city was
not more than half that distance in a straight line, and consequently,
the prodigious volumes of smoke from the burning cotton were
12
263 NEW ORLEANS WILL NOT SURRENDER.
plainly seen, exciting endless speculation in the minds of officers
and crew. Perhaps another Moscow. Who knows? Nothing
is too mad for secesh ; secession itself being madness.
At midnight, an alarm ! Three large fires ahead, concluded to
be fire-rafts. Up anchor, ail! The vessels cruised cautiously
about in the river for an hour or two ; Captain Farragut not caring
to venture higher in an unexplored river, said to be lined with bat-
teries. The fires proved to be stationary ; and when the fleet pass-
ed them the next morning, they were discovered to be three large
cotton ships burning — their blockade-running ended thus for ever.
At Chalmette, Jackson's old battle-ground, now but three miles
below the city, the river really was " lined" with batteries ; i. e.,
there was a battery on each side of the river, each mounting eight
or ten old guns. The signal to engage them was made the moment
they came in sight. The leading ships were twenty minutes under
fire before they could return it ; but then a few broadsides of shell
and grape drove the unsheltered foe from the works, with the loss
of one man in the fleet knocked overboard by the wind of a ball,
and our Herald friend hit with a splinter, but not harmed. " It
was what I call," says Captain Farragut, "one of the little ele-
gancies of the profession — a dash and a victory."
Round the bend at noon, into full view of the vast sweep of the
Crescent City. What a scene ! Fires along the shore farther than
the eye could reach ; the river full of burning vessels ; the levee
lined with madmen, whose yells and defiant gestures showed
plainly enough what kind of welcome awaited the new-comers.
A faint cheer for the Union, it is said, rose from one part of the
levee, answered by a volley of pistol-shots from the by-standers.
As the fleet dropped anchor in the stream, a thunder-storm of
tropical violence burst over the city, which dissolved large masses
of the crowd, and probably reduced, in some degree, the frenzy of
those who remained.
The banks, the stores, all places of business were closed in the
city. The mayor, by formal proclamation, had now invested the
European Brigade, under General Juge, " with the duty of watch-
ing over the public tranquillity ; patrols of whom should be treated
w r ith respect, and obeyed." General Juge and his command saved
the city from plunder and anarchy — probably from universal con-
flagration. Night and day they patrolled the city ; and the gene
^EW ORLEANS WILL NOT SUEEENDEE. 2U9
ral, by personal entreaty and public proclamation, induced some of
the butchers and grocers to open their shops. A fear of starvation
was added to the other horrors of the time ; for the country
people feared to approach the city, and the markets were alarm-
ingly bare of provisions. And then the Confederate currency —
would that be of any value under the rule of the United States ?
" It is as good now as it ever has been," said the mayor, in one of
his half-dozen proclamations, " and there is no reason to reject it ;"
but " those who hold Confederate currency, and wish to part with
it, may have it exchanged for city bills, by applying to the Com-
mittee of Public Safety." Another proclamation called upon those
who had carried off sugar from the levee to bring it back ; another
promised a free market and abundant provisions on Monday;
another desired the provision dealers to re-open their stores ;
another urged the people to be calm, and trust the authorities with
their welfare and their honor.
At one o'clock, the fleet was anchored. The rain was falling in
torrents, but the crowd near the Custom-House was still dense and
fierce, the rain having melted away the softer elements. A boat
put off from the flag-ship — man-of-war's boat, trim and tidy, crew
in fresh tarpaulins and clean shirts, no flag of truce flying. In the
stern sat three oflicers, Captain Bailey, second in command of the
fleet, Lieutenant Perkins, his companion in the errand upon which
he was sent, and Acting-Master Morton in charge of the boat. Just
after the boat put off, a huge thing of a ram Mississippi, pierced
for twenty guns, a kind of monster Merrimac, or fortified Noah's
Ark, came floating down the river past the fleet, wrapped in flames.
At another time the spectacle would have been duly honored by
the fleet, but at that moment every eye was upon Captain Bailey's
boat, nearing the crowd on the levee.
We all remember the greeting bestowed upon this officer. It
was by no means that which a conquered city usually confers upon
the conqueror. Deafening cheers for " Jeff. Davis and the South ;"
thundering groans for " Lincoln and his fleet ;" sudden hustling and
collaring of two or three men who dared cheer for the "old flag."
Captain Bailey and Lieutenant Perkins, however, stepped 01 shore,
and announced their desire to see the mayor of the city. A few
respectable persons in the crowd had the courage to offer to con-
duct them to the City Hall, under whose escort the oflicers starred
270 NEW ORLEANS WILL NOT SURRENDER.
on their perilous journey, followed and surrounded by a yelling, in-
furiated multitude, regardless of the pouring rain. " No violence,"
says a Delta reporter, " was offered to the officers, though certain
persons who were suspected of favoring their flag and cause were
set upon with great fury, and roughly handled. On arriving at the
City Hall, it required the intervention of several citizens to prevent
violence being offered to the rash embassadors of an execrated dy-
nasty and government."
Mayor Monroe is a gentleman of slight form and short stature ;
he was not equal to the exceedingly perplexing situation in which
he found himself. Supported, however, by the presence of several
of the " city fathers," as he styled them, and aided by the talents
of Mr. Soule, he performed his part in the curious interview with
tolerable dignity. While the colloquy proceeded, the City Hall
was surrounded by an ever growing crowd, whose cheers for Jeff.
Davis and groans for " Abe Lincoln" served as loud accompaniment
to the mild discord within the building. Captain Bailey and his
companion were duly presented to the mayor, and courteous salu-
tations were exchanged between them.
" I have been sent," said the captain, " by Captain Farragut,
commanding the United States fleet, to demand the surrender of
the city, and the elevation of the flag of the United States over the
Custom-House, the Mint, the Post-Office, and the City Hall."
" I am not," replied the mayor, " the military commander of the
city. I have no authority to surrender it, and would not do so if I
had. There is a military commander now in the city. I will send
for him to receive and reply to your demand."
A messenger was accordingly dispatched for General Lovell,
who, though he had sent off his troops, remained in the town, a
train waiting with steam up to convey him and his staff to camp.
Polite conversation ensued between the officers and the gentle-
men in the office of the mayor, with fitful yell accompaniment from
the outside crowd. The officers praised with warm sincerity the
stout defense made by the forts, and the headlong valor with which
the rebel fleet had hurled itself against the Union ships. Captain
Bailey regretted the wholesale destruction of property in the city,
and said that Captain Farragut deplored it no less than himself.
To this the mayor replied, not with the courtesy of his monitor,
Mr. Soule, that the property being their owe, the destruction of it
NEW ORLEANS WILL NOT SURRENDER. 271
did not concern outsiders. Captain Bailey remarked that it looked
to him like biting off your nose to spite your face. The mayor in-
timated that he took a different view of the subject.
Cheers from the mob announced the arrival of General Lovell,
who soon entered the office. The officers were presented to him.
" I am General Lovell," said he, " of the army of the Confederate
States, commanding this department."
Whereupon he shook hands with the Union officers. Captain
Bailey repeated the demand with which he had been charged, add-
ing that he was instructed by Captain Farragut to say, that he
had come to protect private property and personal rights, and had
no design to interfere with any private rights, and especially not
with negro property.
General Lovell replied that he would not surrender the city,
nor allow it to be surrendered ; that he was overpowered on the
water by a superior squadron, but that he intended to fight on land
as long as he could muster a soldier ; he had marched all of his
armed men out of the city ; had evacuated it; and if they desired to
shell the town, destroying women and children, they could do so.
T t was to avoid this that he had marched his troops beyond the
city limits, but a large number even of the women of the city
had begged him to remain and defend the city even against shell-
ing. He did not think he would be justified in doing so. He
would therefore retire and leave the city authorities to pursue what
course they should think proper.
Captain Bailey said, that nothing was farther from Captain Far-
ragut's thoughts than to shell a defenseless town filled with women
and children. On the contrary, he had no hostile intentions to-
ward Xew Orleans, and regretted extremely the destruction of
property that had already occurred.
" It was done by my authority sir," interrupted General Lovell.
He might have added that his own cotton was the first to be fired.
It was then concluded that the Union officers should return to
the fleet, and the mayor would lay the matter before the common
council, and report the result to Captain Farragut. Captain Bailey
requested protection during their return to the levee, the crowd
being evidently in no mood to allow their peaceful departure. The
general detailed two of his officers to accompany them, and went
himself to harangue the multitude. Mr. Soule also addressed the
2 72 NEW ORLEANS WILL NOT SURRENDER.
people, counseling moderation and dignity. The naval officers
meanwhile were conducted to the rear of the building, where a car-
riage was procured for them, and they were driven rapidly to their
boat. The crew were infinitely relieved by their arrival, for during
the long period of their absence, the crowd had assailed them with
every epithet of abuse, to which the only possible reply was silence.
The officers stepped on board, and were soon alongside of the flag-
ship, the parting yell of the mob still ringing in their ears. At the
same time General Lovell was making his way to the cars, and was
seen in New Orleans no more.
Captain Farragut was a little amused and very much puzzled at
the singular position in which he found himself. There was nothing
further to be done, however, until he heard from the mayor. All
hands were tired out. New Orleans, too, was exhausted with the
excitement of the last three days. So, both the fleet and the city
enjoyed a night more tranquil than either had known for some
time. " The city was as peaceful and quiet as a country hamlet —
much quieter than in ordinary times," said the Picayune the next
morning.
April 26th, Saturday, at half-past six, a boat from shore reached
the flag-ship, containing the mayor's secretary and chief of police,
bearers of a message from the mayor. The mayor said the common
council would meet at ten that morning, the result of whose deliber-
ations should be promptly submitted to Captain Farragut. The
captain, not relishing the delay, still less the events of yesterday,
sent a letter to the mayor recapitulating those events, and again
stating his determination to respect private rights. " I, therefore,
demand of you," said the flag-officer, " as its representative, the un-
qualified surrender of the city, and that the emblem of the sove-
reignty of the United States be hoisted over the City Hall, Mint
and Custom-House, by meridian this day, and all flags and other
emblems of sovereignty other than that of the United States bo
removed from all the public buildings by that hour. I particularity
request that you shall exercise your authority to quell disturbance: ,
restore order, and call upon all the good people of New Orleans to
return at once to their avocations ; and I particularly demand that no
person shall be molested in person or property for sentiments of loy-
alty to their government. I shall speedily and severely punish any
person or persons who shall commit such outrages as were witnessed
NEW ORLEANS WILL NOT SURRENDER. 273
yesterday, of armed men firing upon helpless women and children
for giving expression to their pleasure at witnessing the ' old flag."'
This demand of Captain Farragut, that the enemy should them-
selves hoist the Union flag, gave the mayor, aided by Mr. Soule, an
opportunity to make an advantageous reply.
The common council met in the course of the morning. Besides
relating the interview with Captain Bailey, the mayor favored the
council with his opinion upon the same. " My own opinion is,"
said he, "that as a civil magistrate, possessed of no military power,
I am incompetent to perform a military act, such as the surrender
of the city to a hostile force ; that it would be proper to say, in re-
ply to a demand of that character, that we are without military
protection, that the troops have withdrawn from the city, that we
are consequently incapable of making any resistance, and that,
therefore, we can offer no obstruction to the occupation of the Mint,
the Custom-House and the Post-Office ; that these are the property
of the Confederate government ; that we have no control over them;
and that all acts involving a transfer of property must be performed
by the invading force — by the enemy themselves ; that we yield to
physical force alone, and that we maintain our allegiance to the
Confederate government. Beyond this, a due respect for our dig-
nity, our rights, and the flag of our country, does not, I think, per-
mit us to go."
Upon receiving this message, the common council unanimously
adopted the following resolutions :
" Whereas, the common council of the city of New Orleans, hav-
ing been advised by the military authorities that the city is inde-
fensible, declare that no resistance will be made to the forces of the
United States ;
" Resolved, That the sentiments expressed in the message of his
honor the mayor to the common council, are in perfect accordance
with the sentiments entertained by the entire population of this
metropolis ; and that the mayor be respectfully requested to act in
the spirit manifested by the message."
• While waiting for the deliberations of the council, Captain Farra-
gut went up the river, seven miles, to Carrollton, where batteries
had been erected to defend the city from an attack from above.
He found them deserted, the guns spiked, and the gun-carriages
burning.
274 NEW ORLEANS WILL NOT SURRENDER.
April 27th, Sunday. — An eventful day; to one unhappy man, a
fatal day. The early morning brought the mayor's reply to Cap-
tain Farragut: "I am no military man, and possess no authority
beyond that of executing the municipal laws of the city of New
Orleans. It would be presumptuous in me to attempt to lead an
army to the field, if I had one at command ; and I know still less
how to surrender an undefended place, held, as this is, at the mercy
of your gunners and your mortars. To surrender such a place
were an idle and unmeaning ceremony. The city is yours by the
power of brutal force, not by my choice or the consent of its in-
habitants. It is for you to determine what will be the fate that
awaits us here. As to hoisting any flag not of our own adoption
and allegiance, let me say to you that the man lives not in our
midst whose hand and heart would not be paralyzed at the mere
thought of such an act ; nor could I find in my entire constituency
so desperate and wretched a renegade as would dare to profane
with his hand the sacred emblem of our aspirations." With more
of similar purport. The substance of the mayor's meaning seemed
to be : " Come on shore and hoist what flags you please. Don't
ask us to do your flag-raising." A rather good reply — in the sub-
stance of it. Slightly impudent, perhaps ; but men who are talk-
ing from behind a bulwark of fifty thousand women and children,
can be impudent if they please.
The commander of the fleet refused to confer farther with the
mayor; but, with regard to the flag-hoisting, determined to take
him at his word. Captain Morris, of the Pensacola, the ship that
lay off the Mint, was ordered to send a party ashore, and hoist the
flag of the United States upon that edifice. At eight in the morn-
ing, the stars and stripes floated over it once more. The officer
commanding the party warned the by-standers that the guns of the
Pensacola would certainly open fire upon the building if any one
should be seen molesting the flag. Without leaving a guard to
protect it, he returned to his ship, and the howitzers in the main-
top of the Pensacola, loaded with grape, were aimed at the flag-
staif, and the guard ordered to fire the moment any one should
attempt to haul down the flag. I think it was an error to leave
the flag unprotected. A company of marines could have kept the
mob at bay ; would have prevented the shameful scenes that fol-
lowed.
XEW ORLEANS WILL NOT SURRENDER. »275
At eleven o'clock, the crews of all the ships were assembled
on deck for prayers : " to render thanks," as the order ran, " to
Almighty God for His great goodness and mercy in permitting us
to pass through the events of the last two days with so little loss
of life and blood." As the clouds threatened rain, the gunner of
the Pensacola, just before taking his place for the ceremony,
removed from the guns the " wafers" by which they are discharged.
One look-out man was left in the main-top, who held the strings of
the howitzers in his hand, and kept a sharp eye upon the flag-staff
of the Mint. The solemn service proceeded for twenty minutes,
with such emotions on the part of those brave men as may be ima-
gined, not related.
A discharge from the howitzers overhead, startled the crew from
their devotions! They rushed to quarters. Every eye sought the
flag-staff of the Mint. Four men were seen on the roof of the build-
ing, who tore down the flag, hurried away with it, and disappeared.
Without orders, by an impulse of the moment, the cords of the
guns all along the broadside were snatched at by eager hands.
Nothing but the chance removal of the wafers saved the city from a
fearful scene of destruction and slaughter. The exasperation of
the fleet at this audacious act, was such that, at the moment, an
order to shell the town would have seemed a natural and proper
one.
New Orleans hailed it with vociferous acclamations. a The names
of the party," said the Picayune of the next morning, " that dis-
tinguished themselves by gallantly tearing down the flag that had
been surreptitiously hoisted, we learn, are W. B. Mumford, who
cut it loose from the flag-staff amid the showier of grape, Lieuten-
ant N. Holmes, Sergeant Burns and James Reed. They deserve
great credit for their patriotic act. New Orleans, in this hour
of adversity, by the calm dignity she displays in the presence
of the enemy, by the proof she gives of her unflinching deter-
mination to sustain to the uttermost the righteous cause for
which she has done so much and made such great sacrifices,
by her serene endurance undismayed of the evil which afflicts
her, and her abiding confidence in the not distant coming of
better and brighter days — of speedy deliverance from the ene-
my's toils — is showing a bright example to her sister cities, and
proving herself, in all respects, worthy of the proud position
12*
276 NEW ORLEANS WILL NOT SURRENDER.
she has achieved. We glory in being a citizen of this great me-
tropolis."
" Calm dignity !" quotha ? The four men having secured their
prize, trailed it in the mud of the streets amid the yells of the mob ;
mounted with it upon a furniture car and paraded it about the city
with fife and drum ; tore it, at last, into shreds, and distributed the
pieces among the crowd. Such was the calm dignity of New Or-
leans. Such the valor of ruffians protected by a rampart of fifty
thousand women and children.
Captain Farragut was equally indignant and embarrassed. Sel-
dom has a naval commander found himself in a position so beset
with contradictions — defied and insulted by a town that lay at his
mercy. A few hours after these events, General Butler arrived to
share the exasperation of the fleet and join in the counsels of its
chief. He advised the captain to threaten the city with bom-
bardment, and to order away the women and children. Captain
Farragut, in part, adopted the measure, and sent a communication
to the mayor warning him of the peril which the city incurred by
such scenes as those of Sunday morning. He informed him of the
danger of drawing from the fleet a destructive fire, by the spon-
taneous action of the men. " The election is with you," he con-
cluded, "but it becomes my duty to notify you to remove the
women and children from the city within forty-eight hours, if I
have rightly understood your determination." The authorities of
the city chose to interpret this note as a formal announcement of a
bombardment at the expiration of the specified period. So, at least,
they represented it to Captain De Clouet, commanding a French
man of war which had just arrived before the city. That officer
thought it his duty to demand a longer time for the removal of the
women and children. "Sent by my government," he wrote to
Captain Farragut, " to protect the persons and property of its citi-
zens, who are here to the number of thirty thousand, I regret to
learn at this moment that you have accorded a delay of forty-eight
hours for the evacuation of the city by the women and children.
I venture to observe to you that this short delay is ridiculous ; and,
in the name of my government, I oppose it. If it is your resolu-
tion to bombard the city, do it; but I wish to state that you will
have to account for the barbarous act to the power which I repre-
sent. In any event, I demand sixty days for the evacuation."
NlBW ORLEANS WILL NOT SURRENDER. 277
Captain Farragut and General Butler had visited Captain De
Clouet on his arrival, and had received from him polite congratula-
tions upon the success of the expedition. It was no fault of his
that Captain Farragut's notification was so egregiously misunder-
stood.
General Butler meanwhile perceiving that light-draft steamers
were not to be had, and that nothing effectual could be done with-
out landing a force in the city, hastened down the river to attempt
the reduction of the forts with such means as he could command.
Before leaving, however, he had the satisfaction of receiving the
spy, engaged at Washington many weeks before, who had escaped
in the confusion, and brought full details of the condition of the
city. Mr. Summers, too, once recorder of New Orleans, fled on
board one of the ships from the violence of a mob in whose hearing
he had declared his attachment to the Union. A lady, also, came
off, and delivered a paper of intelligence and congratulation.
On his way down the river, General Butler met the glad tidings
of the surrender of the forts, and had the pleasure, on the 28th, of
walking over them with Captain Porter among the joyful troops.
Colonel Jones, of the Twenty-sixth Massachusetts, was appointed to
command the garrison, and Lieutenant Weitzel began forthwith to
put the forts in repair. All the rest of the troops were ordered up the
river with the utmost speed. General Phelps was already at the
forts, and the transports from Sable Island were making their way
under General Williams to the mouth of the river.
The nev/s of the surrender of the forts, which reached the fleet
on Monday, relieved Captain Farragut from embarrassment. He
could now afford to wait, if New Orleans could, though the fleet,
still beheld with impatience the flauntings of the rebel flags. Gen-
eral Duncan, that day, harangued the crowd upon the levee, declar-
ing, " with tears in his eyes," that nothing but the mutiny of part
of his command could have induced him to surrender. But for
that, he could and would have held out for months. " He cried
like a child," says one report. The tone of the authorities appeared
to be somewhat lowered by the news. They dared not formally
disclaim the exploit of Mumford and his comrades ; but Captain
Farragut was privately assured that the removal of the flag from
the Mint was the unauthorized act of a few individuals. On the
29th, Captain Bell, with a hundred marines, landed on the levee,
278 NEW ORLEANS WILL NOT SURRENDER.
marched into the city, hauled down the Confederate flag from the
Mint and Custom-House, and hoisted in its stead the flag of the
United States. Captain Bell locked the Custom-House and took the
keys to his ship. These flags remained, though the marines were
withdrawn before evening.
The work of the European Brigade was approaching a conclu-
sion. The portion of it called the British Guard, composed of un-
naturalized Englishmen — unnatural Englishmen, rather — voted at
their armory, a day or two after, to send their weapons, accouter-
ments and uniforms to General Beauregard's army, as a slight token
of their affection for the Confederate States. Some of these u neu-
tral" gentlemen had occasion to regret this step before the month
of May was ended.
There was a general coming up the river, who had the peculiar
ity of feeling toward the rebellion that the rebel leaders felt toward
the government they had betrayed. He hated it. He meant to do
his part toward putting it down by the strong hand, not conciliating
it by insincere palaver. The reader is requested to bear in mind
this peculiarity, for it is the key to the understanding of General
Butler's administration. Consider always that his attachment to
the Union and the flag was of the same intense and uncompro-
mising nature, as the devotion of South Carolinians to the cause of
the Confederacy. His was indeed a nobler devotion, but in mere
warmth and entireness, it resembled the zeal of secessionists. He
meant well to the people of Louisiana ; he did well by them ; but
it was his immovable resolve that the ruling power in Louisiana
henceforth should be the United States, which had bought, de-
fended, protected, and enriched it. Think what secessionists would
have done in ISTew Orleans, if it had remained true to the Union,
and fallen into their hands in the second year of the war. That
General Butler did ; only, with exactest justice, with ideal purity ;
employing all right methods of conciliation ; rigorous only to secure
the main object — the absolute, the unquestioned supremacy of the
United States.
LANDING IN NEW ORLEANS. 2<9
CHAPTER XVI.
LANDING IN NEW ORLEANS.
The troops had a joyful trip up the river among the verdant
sugar-fields, welcomed, as the fleet had been, by capering negroes.
The transport Mississippi, with her old complement of fourteen
hundred men, and Mrs. Butler on the quarter-deck, hove in sight
of the forts at sunset on the last day of April. The forts were cov-
ered all over with blue-coated soldiers, who paused in their investi-
tures to cheer the arriving vessels, and, especially, the Lady who
had borne them company in so many perils. It was an animated
and glorious scene, illumined by the setting sun ; one of those in-
toxicating moments which repay soldiers for months of fatigue
and waiting. The general came on board, and, at midnight, the
transport steamers started for the city. At noon on the 1st of May,
the Mississippi lay alongside the levee at New Orleans.
A crowd rapidly gathered ; but it was by no means as turbulent
or noisy as that which had howled at Captain Bailey five days be-
fore. There were women among them, many of whom appeared to
be nurses carrying children. Mulatto women with baskets of cakes
and oranges were also seen. Voices were frequently heard calling
for " Picayune Butler," who was requested to " show himself," and
" come ashore." The general, who is fond of a joke, requested
Major Strong to ascertain if any of the bands could play the lively
melody to which the mob had called his attention. Unluckily,
none of the bandmasters possessed the music ; so the general was
obliged to forego his joke, and fall back upon Yankee Doodle and
the Star Spangled Banner. Others of the crowd cried: "You'll
never see home again." u Yellow Jack will have you before long."
" Halloo, epaulets, lend us a picayune." With divers other remarks
of a chafing nature, alternating with maledictions.
General Butler waited upon Captain Farragut, and heard a nar-
rative of recent events. The general announced his determination
to land forthwith, and Captain Farragut notified the mayor of this
resolve ; adding that he should hold no farther correspondence with
280 LANDING IN NEW ORLEANS.
the authorities of New Orleans, but gladly yielded the situation to
the commander of the army. Returning to the Mississippi, General
Butler directed the immediate disembarkation of the troops,* and
the operation began about four o'clock in the afternoon. A com-
pany of the Thirty-first Massachusetts landed on the extensive plat-
form raised above the levee for the convenient loading of cotton,
and, forming a line, slowly pressed back the crowd, at the point of
the bayonet, until space enough was obtained for the regiments to
form. When the Thirty-first had all landed, they marched down
the cotton platform to the levee, and along the levee to De Lord
street, where they halted. The Fourth Wisconsin was then dis-
embarked, after which the procession was formed in the order fol-
lowing :
First, as pioneer and guide, marched Lieutenant Henry Weigel,
of Baltimore, aid to the general, who was familiar with the streets
of the city, and now rose from a sick bed to claim the fulfillment
of General Butler's promise that he, and he only, should guide the
troops to the Custom-House.
Next, the drum-corps of the Thirty-first Massachusetts. Behind
these, General Butler and his staff on foot, no horses having yet
been landed, a file of the Thirty-first marching on each side of
them. Then Captain Everett's battery of artillery, with whom
marched Captain Kensel, chief of artillery to the expedition. The
Thirty-first followed, under Colonel O. P. Gooding. Next, General
Williams and his staff", preceded by the fine band of the Fourth
Wisconsin, and followed by that regiment under Colonel Paine.
The same orders were given as on the march into Baltimore : si-
lence ; no notice to be taken of mere words ; if a shot were fired
from a house, halt, arrest inmates, destroy house ; if fired upon from
the crowd, arrest the man if possible, but not fire into the crowd
* "Head-quarters Department of tiie Gulf.
" New Orleans, May 1, 1S62.
"General Order No. 15.
"I. In anticipation of the immediate disembarkation of the troops of this command amid the
temptations and inducements of a large city, all plundering of public or private property, by any
person or persons, is hereby forbidden, under the severest penalties.
"II. No officer or soldier will absent himself from his station without arms or alone, under any
pretext whatever.
"III. The commanders of regiments and companies will be held responsible for the strict exe-
cution of these orders, and that the offenders are brought to punishment
'• By command of Major-General Butleb.
" Geo. C. Strong, A. A. General."
LANDING IN NEW ORLEANS. 281
unless absolutely necessary for self-defense, and then not without
orders.
At five the procession moved, to the music of the Star Spangled
Banner. The crowd surged along the pavements on each side of
the troops, struggling chiefly to get a sight of the general ; crying
out : " Where is the d — d rascal ?" " There he goes, G — d d — n
him !" "I see the d — d old villain !" To which were added such
outcries, as " Shiloh," "Bull Run," "Hurrah for Beauregard;"
u Go home, you d — d Yankees." From some windows, a mild hiss
was bestowed upon the troops, who marched steadily on, looking
neither to the right hand nor to the left. The general, not having
a musical ear, was observed to be chiefly anxious upon the point
of keeping step to the music — a feat that had never become easy
to him, often as he had attempted it in the streets of Lowell. And
so they marched ; along the levee to Poydras street ; Poydras
street to St. Charles street ; past the famous hotel, closed and de-
serted now, though alive with five hundred inmates three days be-
fore; along St. Charles street to Canal street and the Custom-
House — that vast, unfinished, roofless structure, upon which the
United States had expended so many millions, one Beauregard
being engineer.
The troops surrounded the edifice ; Captain Kensel posted his
artillery, so as to command the adjacent streets ; and the general
ordered the Thirty-first to enter and occupy the building. But
Captain Bell had locked the door and put the key into his pocket.
The door was forced, therefore, and by six o'clock, the Thirty-first
was lodged in the second story, making preparations for the even-
ing meal. Strong guards were posted at all needful points. The
general and his staff then returned to the levee, and went on board
the Mississippi for the night. The Twelfth Connecticut, Colonel
Deming, bivouacked upon the levee near the ship, happy to lie down
once more under the stars, after being so long huddled in a trans-
port ship. The evening was warm and serene, and the city was
again as still as a country hamlet. General Phelps came on shore
at twilight, and walked about the city unattended and unmolested.
Nay, he reported that the people whom he had spoken to, answered
his inquiries with politeness, despite his uniform. "You didn't
mention your name ; did you, General ?" asked an officer. " No,"
replied he, laughing ; " no one asked it."
282 LANDING IN NEW OELEANS.
That evening, General Butler having put the finishing touches to
his proclamation, sent two officers of his staff to the office of the
True Delta, to get it printed as a hand-bill. He forbore to de-
mand its insertion in the paper, unwilling to bring upon any one
establishment the odium that its insertion could not but excite. In
all ways, he was for trying the suaviter in moclo, before resort-
ing to the fortiter in re. The officers reached the office at ten,
after the proprietor and editors had gone home. The foreman in
charge replied, that in the absence of the proprietor, the document
could not be printed. The officers returned to the ship, reported,
and received farther orders. At eight the next morning, the same
officers were again at the office of the True Delta, where they
found the chief proprietor, and repeated their request.
No; the True Delta office could not think of printing General
Butler's proclamation.
The officers quietly intimated that, in that case, they would be
under the painful necessity of seizing the office, and using the ma-
terials therein for the purpose of printing it. The proprietor ob-
jected. He said that the selection of his establishment for the
printing of such a manuscript, was invidious and unjust ; it looked
as if the design was to make him and his colleagues obnoxious and
loathsome to their fellow-citizens. " I can not resist," said he, " the
seizure of the office, but, under no circumstances, shall it be used
for the purpose designated, with my approval or consent."
The officers bowed and retired. After two hours' absence, they
returned with a file of soldiers, armed and equipped, who drew up
before the building. Half a dozen of them entered the printing-
office, where they laid aside their weapons of Avar, and took up the
peaceful implements of their trade. The proclamation was soon in
type, and a few copies printed ; enough for the general's immediate
purpose. The proprietor himself testified, in the paper of the next
day, that the troops effected their purpose and retired, " without
offering any offense in language or behavior, or manifesting the
least desire to interfere with the regular business of the office, or to
injure er derange its property." It would have been better if he could
have refrained from other comment. But he did not. He added :
" As this first step of the commander of the federal troops in pos-
session of this city is indicative of a determination, on his part, to
subject us to a supervision utterly subversive of the character of
LANDING IN NEW ORLEANS. 283
fearless patriotism which the True Delta has ever maintained, we
will promise this much, and we will perform it, namely, to suspend
our publication, even if our last crust be sacrificed by the act, rather
than molt one feather of that independence which, in presence of
every discouragement and danger, we have ever made our honest
boast. We have no f; ivors to ask ; we have never asked or desired
any from any party ; and we are prepared to stand or fall with the
fortunes of our adopted Louisiana."
General Butler ordered the suspension of the True Delta until
farther orders. The proprietors, however, yielded to the inevita-
ble, promised compliance with the general's requisitions, and ob-
tained, on the next day, permission to resume the publication of the
paper. It was not, however, till the 6th of May, that the procla-
mation appeared in its columns. The other newspapers took the
hint, and exhibited, in their comments upon passing events, a blend-
ing of the politic with the audacious that was ingenious and amus-
ing, but not always ingenious enough, as General Butler occasionally
reminded them. Editing a secession newspaper in New Orleans
during the next eight months, was an affair which could be de-
scribed as "ticklish;" rather more so, than conducting a journal in
the Orleans interest, under the nose of Louis Bonaparte.
The second day of the occupation of the city was crowded with
events of the highest interest.
The landing of the troops was resumed with the dawn. Colonel
Deming encamped his fine regiment in Lafayette Square in front
of the City Hall. Other regiments were posted in convenient locali-
ties. Troops were landed in Algiers on the opposite bank of the
river, and the railroad terminating there was seized, with its cars
and buildings. General Phelps went up the river several miles in
the Saxon to reconnoiter, and select a site for a camp above the
city. Captain Everett was busy extracting the spikes from the
cannon lying about the Custom-House, and preparing to mount some
of them in it and upon it. He cast an inquiring and interested eye
upon the eight hundred bells — church bells, school bells, plantation
bells, hand bells, cow bells — which had been sent to New Orleans
upon General Beauregard's requisition ; some of which now call the
children of New England to school ; others, factory girls to their
labor ; others, rural congregations to church ; for they were all sold
at auction, sent to the North, and distributed over the country.
284 LANDING IN NEW ORLEANS.
The quartermaster to the expedition had a world of trouble with
the draymen of the city, whom he needed for transporting the tents
and baggage. Not one of them dared, not many of them wished,
to serve him. He was obliged to compel their assistance at the
point of the pistol. Everything seized for the use of the troops, on
this day and on all days, was either paid for when taken, or a re-
ceipt given therefor which was equivalent to gold. The behavior
of the troops was faultless. No resident of New Orleans was
harmed or insulted. None complained of harm or insult. A stran-
ger would have supposed, from the quiet demeanor of the troops
and the arrogant air of the people, that the soldiers were prisoners
in an enemy's town, not conquerors in a captured one. For the
most part, the troops held no intercourse whatever with the inhabi-
tants. It was, indeed, perilous in the extreme, for a resident of the
city to speak to an old friend, if that friend wore the uniform of
the United States. Major Bell mentions that he met several old
acquaintances about the city, but they either gave him the cut di-
rect, or else bestowed a hurried, furtive salutation, and passed rap-
idly on. Another officer reports that on accosting an acquaintance,
the gentleman said, in an anxious undertone, " Don't speak to me,
or I shall have my head blown off."
A gentleman connected with the expedition, but not in uniform,*
tells me that he strolled into a market that morning, and bought a
cup of coffee, for which he gave a gold dollar, and received in change
nineteen dirty car-tickets, part of the established currency of the city.
Quarters were required for the commanding general and his
staff. What could they be but the St. Charles hotel, vacated five
days before by General Lovell ? Major Strong, Colonel French,
and Major Bell, accompanied by Mr. Glenn, formerly a resident of
New Orleans, were dispatched, early in the morning, to make the
preliminary arrangements. They found the building closed. Going
round to the ladies' entrance they gained admission to the famous
rotunda — bar-room and slavemart, scene of countless " difficulties"
and chivalric assassinations. There they met a son of one of the
proprietors, to whom they stated their wishes. He replied, that
both the proprietors were absent ; and as to his giving up the hotel
to General Butler, his head would be shot off before he could reach
the next corner if he should do it. He declared that waiters would
* Mr. Samuel F. Glenn, afterward clerk of the provost-court
LANDING IN NEW OELEANS. 285
not dare to wait upon them, nor cooks to cook for them, nor porters
to carry for them. Moreover, there were no provisions to be had
in the market ; he did not see w T hat could be got for them beyond
army rations. These objections were offered by the young gentle-
man with the utmost politeness of manner. Major Strong observed,
with equal suavity, that he need give himself no concern with
regard to giving op the hotel. In the name of General Butler, they
would venture to take it. And as to the lack of provisions, they
were used to array rations, had found them sufficient, and could
make them do for an indefinite period. With regard to waiters and
cooks, the army of occupation were chiefly men of the Yankee per-
suasion, who were accustomed to wait on themselves, and could do a
little of everything, from cooking upward. The young gentleman
had nothing farther to offer, and so the St. Charles became the
head-quarters of the army. The general arrived in the course of
the morning, and established his office in one of the ladies' parlors.
Mrs. Butler still remained on board the Mississippi.
The three officers and Mr. Glenn next proceeded to the City
Hall, in search of the mayor. They found that public functionary,
after some delay. They informed him, with all possible courtesy,
that General Butler, commanding the department of the Gulf, had
established his head-quarters at the St. Charles hotel, where he
would be happy to confer with the mayor and council of New
Orleans, at two o'clock on that day. The reply of the mayor was
to the effect, that his place of business was at the City Hall, where
any gentleman who had business with him could see him during
office hours. Colonel French politely intimated that that was not
an answer likely to satisfy the commanding general, and expressed
a hope that the mayor, on reflection, would not complicate a state
of affairs, already embarrassing enough, by raising questions of eti-
quette. General Butler was well disposed toward New Orleans
and its authorities ; he merely desired to come to a clear under-
standing with them as to the future government of the city. The
officers retired. The mayor, upon reflection, concluded to wait upon
the general. At two o'clock, accompanied by Mr. Soule and a
considerable party of friends, highly respectable gentlemen of the
city, he sat face to face with General Butler in the ladies' parlor of
the St. Charles.
The interview was destined to be interrupted and abortive. The
283 LANDING IN NEW 0ELEANS.
seizure of the St. Charles hotel appeared to have rekindled the pas-
sions of the populace, who surrounded the building in a dense mass,
filling all the open space adjacent. A cannon was posted at each
of the corners of the building ; a regiment surrounded it ; and the
brave General Williams was in command. But it seemed as if the
quiet demeanor of the troops, since the landing of the evening be-
fore, had been misinterpreted by the mob, who grew fiercer, louder
and bolder, as the day wore on. The mayor and his party had not
been long in the presence of General Butler, when an aide-de-camp
rushed in and said :
" General Williams orders me to say, that he fears he will not be
able to control the mob."
General Butler, in his serenest manner, replied :
" Give my compliments to General Williams, and tell him, if he
finds he can not control the mob, to open upon them with artil-
lery."
The mayor and his friends sprang to their feet in consternation.
"Don't do that, general!" exclaimed the mayor.
" Why not, gentlemen?" said the general. "The mob must be
controlled. We can't have a disturbance in the street."
" Shall I go out and speak to the people ?" asked the mayor.
" Anything you please, gentlemen," replied General Butler. " I
only insist that order be maintained in the public streets."
The mayor and other gentlemen addressed the crowd; and, as
their remarks were enforced by the rumor of General Butler's or-
der, there was a temporary lull in the storm. The crowd remained,
however ; vast, fierce and sullen.
The interview having been resumed, the mayor was proceeding
to descant, in the high-flown rhetoric of the South, upon General
Butler's former advocacy of the rights of the southern states. The
South had looked upon him as its special friend and champion, etc.
" Stop, sir," said the general. " Let me set you right on that
point at once. I was always a friend of southern rights, but an
enemy of southern wrongs."
The conversation was going on in an amicable strain, when
another aid entered the apartment, Lieutenant Kinsman, of General
Butler's staff, who requested a word with the general.
This officer had been sent to the fleet that morning in search of
telegraphic operators. On board the Mississippi (the man-of-war,
LANDING IN NEW 0ELEANS. 287
not the transport steamer), he was accosted by Judge Summers,
who had sought refuge on board the ship, as we have before related.
The unhappy judge, who was anxious to get to the city, requested
Lieutenant Kinsman to take him on shore, and give him adequate
protection against the mob, who, he said, would tear him limb from
limb, if they should catch him alone. The lieutenant, who had left
the city perfectly quiet, was disposed to make light of the danger;
but said he could go on shore with him if he chose, and he would
endeavor to get him safe to the St. Charles. On reaching the levee,
Lieutenant Kinsman impressed a hack into his service, and the two
passengers were started for the hotel. Unluckily, the ex-recorder
is a man of gigantic stature — six feet five, and of corresponding
magnitude ; a man of such pronounced peculiarity of appearance,
that even if he had never sat on the bench and thus become familiar
to the eyes of scoundrels, he must have been known by sight to all
who frequented the streets of the city. He was instantly recog-
nized. A crowd gathered roimd the carriage, hooting, yelling, curs-
ing ; new hundreds rushing in from every street ; for all the men in
the city were idle and abroad. Several times the carriage came to
a stand; but Lieutenant Kinsman, pistol in hand, ordered the driver
to go on, and kept him to his work, until they reached the troops
guarding the hotel, where both succeeded in alighting and entering
the building unharmed.
Judge Summers was thoroughly unnerved, as most men would
have been in the same circumstances. A mob is of all wild beasts
the most cowardly, the most easily managed by a man that is un-
scarable by phantoms. The mob that attacked the Tribune office,
last July, was scattered by the report of one pistol. I saw it done.
Never have I seen the square in front of the building so bare of
people as it was in ten seconds after that solitary pistol was fired.
But a mob is, at the same time, the most terrific thing to look at,
especially if its vulgar and savage eye is fixed upon you, that can
be imagined. Mr. Summers felt unsafe, even in the hotel. " Give
me some protection," said he ; " they'll tear me all to pieces if
they get in here ;" and it looked, at the time, as if the mob would
get in.
Hence it was, that Lieutenant Kinsman interrupted the general,
and asked a word with him.
General Butler came out, and heard the lieutenant's report.
288 LANDING IN NEW OELEANS.
The ex-recorder said there was no place in the St. Charles where
he could be safe.
" "Well, then," said the general, "there's the Custom-House over
yonder ; that will hold you. You can go there, if you choose."
" But how can I get there ? The mob will tear me to pieces."
The general reflected a moment. Then said, assuming all the
"major-general commanding :"
" We may as well settle this question now as at any other time.
Lieutenant Kinsman, take this man over to the Custom-House.
Take what force you require. If any one molests or threatens
yon, arrest him. If a rescue is attempted, fire."
Having said this, he returned to the conference with the mayor,
and Lieutenant Kinsman proceeded to obey the order. He con-
ducted Mr. Summers to a side door, which he opened, and disclosed
to the view of his charge a compact mass of infuriated men, held at
bay by a company of fifty soldiers.
"Don't attempt it," said the judge, recoiling from the sight.
" I must," returned the lieutenant. " The general's orders were
positive. I have no choice but to obey."
The company of soldiers were soon drawn up in two lines, four
feet apart, two men closing the front and two the rear of the
column. In the open space were Lieutenant Kinsman and Mr.
Summers.
" Forward, march !" The column started. The crowd recogni-
zing the giant judge, yelled and boiled around the slowly pushing
column. The active men of the mob were not those within reach
of the soldiers. The nearest men prudently held their peace and
watched their chance. Consequently, no arrests were made until
the column had gone half way to the Custom-House. At that
point stood an omnibus with one man in it, who was urging on the
mob, by voice and gesture, with the violence of frenzy.
" Halt ! Bring out that man !"
Two soldiers sprang into the omnibus, collared the lunatic, drew
him out, and placed him between the lines, where he continued to
yell and gesticulate in the most frantic manner.
" Stop your noise !" thundered the lieutenant.
"I won't," said the man; "my tongue is my own."
" Sergeant , lower your bayonet. If a sound comes out
of that man's mouth, run him through !"
LAXDIXG IX NEW ORI^EANS. 289
The man was silent.
"Forward — march!" The column pushed on again, but very
slowly. After going some distance, the lieutenant perceived that
one man, who had been particularly vociferous, was within clutch-
ing distance.
" Halt — bring in that man," pointing him out.
The man was seized and placed in the column. He continued to
shout, but a lowered bayonet brought him to his senses also. The
column pushed on again, and lodged the judge and the two prison-
ers safely in the impregnable Custom-House, the citadel of New
Orleans. The company marched back, in the same order, through
a crowd " as silent as a funeral," to use the lieutenant's own lan-
guage.
This scene was witnessed from the windows of the St. Charles
by General Butler and his staff, and by the mayor and his friends,
the conference being suspended by common consent. The general
informs me, that the firmness of Lieutenant Kinsman on this occa-
sion, aided by the soldierly steadiness of the troops, and the perfect
coolness of their officers, contributed most essentially to the subju-
gation of the mob of New Orleans. It was never so rampant again.
The company was Captain Paige's of the Thirty-first Massachu-
setts.
The reader perceives how it fared with the conference. The
afternoon wore away amid these interruptions, and it was finally
agreed to postpone farther conversation till the evening, when all
matters in dispute should be thoroughly discussed. By that time
too, copies of the Proclamation would be ready from the True Delta
office. So the mayor and his friends departed.
In the dusk of the evening, a carriage having been with difficulty
procured, General Butler, with a single orderly on the box, drove
to the levee, a distance of three-quarters of a mile, and went on
Doard the transport Mississippi. Mrs. Butler and her maid had
V>assed an anxious day there, ignorant of what was passing in the
city. " Get ready to go on shore," said the general. The trunks
were locked and strapped, and transferred to the carriage. Mrs.
Butler and her attendant took their places, the general followed
them, and the party was driven to the hotel without molestation or
outcry.
There was a curious tea-party that evening in the vast dining-
290 LANDING IN NEW OELEANS.
room of the St. Charles, where hundreds of people had been wont
to consume luxurious fare. At one end of one of the tables sat the
little company, lost in the magnitude of the room — the general, Mrs.
Butler, and two or three members of the staff. The fare was neither
sumptuous nor abundant, and the solitary waiter was not at his ease,
for he was doing an act that was death by the mob law of New
Orleans. The general entertained the company by reading choice
extracts from the anonymous letters which he had received in the
course of the day. " We'll get the better of you yet, old cock-eye,"
remarked one of his nameless correspondents. Another requested
him to wait a month or two, and see what Yellow Jack would do
for him. Another warned him to look out for poison in his food.
Both the General and Mrs. Butler received many epistles of this
nature during the first few weeks, as well as some of a highly eulogis-
tic tenor. Occasionally the general would reply to one of the abu-
sive letters in the manner following :
" Madame : I have received the letter in which you remark upon
my conduct in New Orleans, which I regret does not meet your
approbation. It may interest you to kuow that others view it in
a very different light, and I, therefore, beg to inclose for your
perusal a letter received this day, in which my administration is
commented upon in a strain different from that in which you have
done me the honor to review it. I am, madame," etc.
As the frugal repast in the St. Charles was drawing to a close, a
band on the balcony in front of the building, in full view of the
crowd, struck up the Star Spangled Banner, filling the void im-
mensity of the dining-room with a deafening noise. The band con-
tinued to play during the evening, the crowd standing silent and
sullen.
Our business, however, lies this evening in the ladies' parlor. It
is a spacious, lofty and elegant apartment. On one side, in a large
semi-circle, sat the representatives of New Orleans, the mayor, the
common council, other magnates, and Mr. Pierre Soule, spokesman
and orator of the occasion. Mr. Soule had long been the special
favorite of the Creole population ; popular, also, with all his fellow-
citizens; a kind of pet, or ladies' delight among them; renow T ned,
too, at the bar. New Yorkers may call him, if they please, the
James T. Brady of New Orleans. In appearance, he is not unlike
Napoleon Bonaparte — about the stature, complexion, and general
LANDING LN" NEW ORLEANS. 291
style of Napoleon ; only with an eye of marvelous brilliancy, and
hair worn very long, black as night. A melodious, fluent, grace-
ful, courteous man, formed to take captive the hearts of listening
men and women. Of an independent turn of mind, too ; not too
tractable in the courts ; not one of those who made haste to sever
the ties that had bound them to their country. He appears to
have accepted secession as a fact accomplished, rather than helped
to make it such. In conventions and elsewhere, General Butler
had often met him before to-day, and their intercourse had always
been amicable.
On the opposite side of the room, also in a semi-circle, sat
General Butler and his staff, in full uniform, brushed for the oc-
casion. Readers are familiar with those annihilating caricatures,
which are called photographs of General Butler. In truth, the
general has an imposing presence. Not tall, but of well-developed
form, and fine, massive head ; not graceful in movement, but of
firm, solid aspect ; self-possessed ; not silver-tongued, not fluent, like
Mr. Soule ; on the contrary, he is slow of speech, often hesitates
and labors, can not at once bring down the sledge-hammer squarely
on the anvil ; but down it comes at last with a ring that is remem-
bered. It is only in the heat and tempest of contention, that he
acquires the perfect use of his parts of speech. A lady who may,
for anything I know, have been peeping into the room this even-
ing from some coigne of vantage, compares the two combatants on
this occasion to Richard and Saladin, as described by Scott in the
Talisman; where Saladin, all alertness and grace, cuts the silk
with gleaming, swiftest cimeter, and burly Richard, with pon-
derous broad-sword, which only he could wield, severs the bar of
iron.
General Butler opened the conversation by saying that the object
for which he had requested the attendance of the mayor and coun-
cil, was to explain to them the principles upon which he intended
to govern the department to which he had been assigned, and to
learn from them how far they were disposed to co-operate with him.
He added that he had prepared a proclamation to the people of
New Orleans, which expressed his intentions ; and which he would
now read. After reading it he would be happy to listen to any re-
marks from gentlemen representing the people of the city. Ho
then read the proclamation as follows :
13
292 LANDING IN NEW ORLEANS.
PROCLAMATION OF GENERAL BUTLER.
" Head-qttakteks, Depaktment of the Gulf,
" New Orleans, May 1, 1862.
" The city of New Orleans and its environs, with all its interior and ex-
terior defenses, having surrendered to the combined naval and land forces
of the United states, and being now in the occupation of the forces of the
United States, who have come to restore order, maintain public tranquillity,
and enforce peace and quiet, under the laws and constitution of the United
States, the major-general commanding hereby proclaims the object and
purposes of the government of the United States in thus taking possession
of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana, and the rules and regulations
by which the laws of the United States will be for the present, and doling
the state of war, enforced and maintained, for the plain guidance of all
good citizens of the United States, as well as others who may have hereto-
fore been in rebellion against their authority.
" Thrice before has the city of New Orleans been rescued from the hands
of a foreign government, and still more calamitous domestic insurrection,*
by the money and arms of the United States. It has of late been under
the military control of the rebel forces, and at each time, in the judgment
of the commanders of the military forces holding it, it has been found ne-
cessary to preserve order and maintain quiet by an administration of mar-
tial law. Even during the interim from its evacuation by the rebel soldiers
and its actual possession by the soldiers of the United States, the civil au-
thorities have found it necessary to call for the intervention of an armed
body known as the European Legion, to preserve the public tranquillity.
The commanding general, therefore, will cause the city to be guarded, until
the restoration of the United States authority and his further orders, by
martial law.
u All persons in arms against the United States are required to surrender
themselves, with their arms, equipments, and munitions of war. The body
known as the European Legion, not being understood to be in arms against
the United States, but organized to protect the lives and property of the
citizens, are invited to still co-operate with the forces of the United States
to that end, and, so acting, will not be included in the terms of this order,
but will report to these head-quarters.
" All ensigns, flags, devices, tending to uphold any authority whatever,
save the flags of the United States and those of foreign consulates, must
not be exhibited, but suppressed. The American ensign, the emblem of
* 1st, by purchase in 1803. 2d, by General Wilkinson in 1S07, when the city was supposed to
be threatened by Aaron Burr. 3d, by Ganeral Jackson in 1814.
LANDING IN NEW ORLEANS. 293
the United States, must be treated with the utmost deference and respect
bj all persons, under pain of severe punishment.
"All persons well disposed towards the government of the United States,
who shall renew the oath of allegiance, will receive a safeguard of protec-
tion to their persons and property from the army of the United States, and
the violation of such safeguard will be punishable with death. All persons
still holding allegiance to the Confederate States, will be deemed rebels
against the government of the United States, and regarded and treated as
enemies thereof. All foreigners, not naturalized and claiming allegiance to
their respective governments, and not having made oath of allegiance to
the government of the Confederate States, will be protected in their per-
sons and property, as heretofore, under the laws of the United States. All
persons who may have heretofore given adherence to the supposed govern-
ment of the Confederate States, or been in their service, who shall lay
down or deliver up their arms, return to peaceful occupations, and preserve
quiet and order, holding no farther correspondence nor giving aid and com-
fort to enemies of the United States, will not be disturbed in their per-
sons or property, except so far under the orders of the commanding general
as the exigencies of the public service may render necessary.
" Keepers of all public property, whether state, national, or confederate,
such as collections of art, libraries and museums, as well as all public build-
ings, all munitions of war and armed vessels, will at once make full returns
thereof to these head-quarters. All manufacturers of arms and munitions
of war will report to these head-quarters their kind and places of business.
All the rights of property, of whatever kind, will be held inviolate, subject
only to the laws of the United States. All the inhabitants are enjoined to
pursue their usual avocations. All shops and places of amusement are to
be kept open in the accustomed manner, and services are to be held in the
churches and religious houses, as in times of profound peace.
u Keepers of all public houses and drinking saloons are to report their
names and numbers to the office of the provost-marshal, and they will then
receive a license, and be held responsible for all disorders and disturbances
arising in their respective places.
" Sufficient force will be kept in the city to preserve order and maintain
the laws. The killing of American soldiers by any disorderly person or
mob, is simply assassination and murder, and not war, and will be so re-
garded and punished. The owner of any house in which such murder shall
be committed will be held responsible therefor, and the house be liable to
be destroyed by the military authority. All disorders, disturbances of the
peace, and crimes of an aggravated nature, interfering with the forces or
laws of the United States, will be referred to a military court for trial and
punishment. Other misdemeanors will be subject to the municipal author-
ity, if it desires to act.
2L 1 UUSTDING IN NEW ORLEANS.
" Civil causes between party and party will be referred to the ordinary
tribunals.
" The levy and collection of taxes, save those imposed by the laws of the
United States, are suppressed, except those for keeping in repair and light-
ing the streets, and for sanitary purposes. These are to be collected in the
usual manner.
" The circulation of Confederate bonds, evidences of debt (except notes
in the similitude of bank-notes) issued by the Confederate States, or scrip,
or any trade in the same, is forbidden. It has been represented to the
commanding general by the civil authorities that these Confederate notes,
in the form of bank-notes, in a great measure, are the only substitutes for
money which the people have been allowed to have, and that great distress
would ensue among the poorer classes if the circulation of such notes
should be suppressed. Such circulation, therefore, will be permitted so
long as any one will be inconsiderate enough to receive them, until farther
orders.
" No publication of newspapers, pamphlets, or hand-bills, giving accounts
of the movements of the soldiers of the United States within this depart-
ment, reflecting in any way upon the United States, intended in any way
to influence the public mind against the United States, will be permitted,
and all articles on war news, editorial comments, or correspondence making
comments upon the movements of the armies of the United States, must be
submitted to the examination of an officer, who will be detailed for that
purpose from these head-quarters. The transmission of all communications
by telegraph will be under the charge of an officer detailed from these head-
quarters.
" The armies of the United States came here not to destroy, but to re-
store order out of chaos, to uphold the government and the laws in the
place of the ' passage' of men. To this end, therefore, the efforts of all
well disposed are invited, to have every species of disorder quelled.
" If any soldier of the United States should so far forget his duty or his flag
as to commit outrage upon any person or property, the commanding gen-
eral requests his name to be instantly reported to the provost guard, so that
he may be punished and his wrongful act redressed. The municipal au-
thority, so far as the police of the city and environs are concerned, is to ex-
tend as before indicated, until suspended.
" All assemblages of persons in the streets, either by day or night, tend
to disaster, and are forbidden. The various companies composing the Fire
Department of New Orleans will be permitted to retain their organizations,
and are to report to the provost-marshal, so that they may be known, and
not interfered with in their duties.
" And, finally, it may be sufficient to add, without farther enumeration,
that all the requirements of martial law will be imposed so long as, in the
LANDING IN NEW ORLEANS. 295
judgment of the United States authorities, it may be necessary ; and while it
is desired by these authorities to exercise this government mildly, and after
the usages of the past, it must not be supposed that it will not be rigor-
ously and firmly administered as the occasion calls for it."
" By command of Majob-Genebal Butleb.
"Geo. B. Stbono, A. A. G., Chief of Staff ."
" The sum and substance of the whole," said General Butler, " is
this : I wish to leave the municipal authority in the full exercise
of its accustomed functions. I do not desire to interfere with the
collection of taxes, the government of the police, the lighting and
cleaning of the streets, the sanitary laws, or the administration of
justice. I desire only to govern the military forces of the depart-
ment, and to take cognizance only of offenses committed by or
against them. Representing here the United States, it is my wish
to confine myself solely to the business of sustaining the govern-
ment of the United States against its enemies."
Mr. Soule replied. He said, that his first concern was for the
tranquillity of the city, which, he felt sure, could not be maintained
so long as the federal troops remained within its limits. He
therefore urged and implored General Butler to remove the troops
to the outskirts of the town, where the hourly sight of them would
not irritate a sensitive and high-spirited people. " I know the feel-
ings of the people so well," said he, " that I am sure your soldiers
can have no peace while they remain in our midst." The Proclama-
tion, he added, would give great offense. The people would never
submit. They were not conquered, and could not be expected to be-
have as a conquered people. " Withdraw your troops, general, and
leave the city government to manage its own affairs. If the troops
remain, there will certainly be trouble."
This absurd line of remark — absurd as a reply to the general's
proposals — fired the commander of the department of the gulf. He
spoke, however, in a measured though decisive manner.
"I did not expect," said he, "to hear from Mr. Soule a threat
on this occasion. I have been long accustomed to hear threats from
southern gentlemen in political conventions ; but let me assure gen-
tlemen present, that the time for tactics of that nature has passed
never to return. New Orleans is a conquered city. If not, why
are we here ? How did we get here ? Have you opened your
arms and bid us welcome? Are we here by your consent?
296 LANDING IS NEW OELEANS.
Would you or would you not, expel us if you could? New Orleans
has been conquered by the forces of the United States, and by
the laws of all nations, lies subject to the will of the conquerors.
Nevertheless, I have proposed to leave the municipal government
to the free exercise of all its powers, and I am answered by a
threat."
Mr. Soule* disclaimed the intention to threaten the troops. He
had desired merely to state what, in his opinion, would be the con-
sequences of their remaining.
" Gladly," continued General Butler, " will I take every man of
the army out of New Orleans the very day, the very hour it is
demonstrated to me that the city government can protect me from
insult or danger, if I choose to ride alone from one end of the city
to the other, or accompanied by one gentleman of my staff. Your
inability to govern the insulting, irreligious, unwashed mob in your
midst has been clearly proved by the insults of your rowdies toward
my officers and men this very afternoon, and by the fact that Gen-
eral Lovell was obliged to proclaim martial law while his army oc-
cupied your city, to protect the law abiding citizens from the row-
dies. I do not proclaim martial law against the respectable citizens
of this place, but against the same class that obliged General Wil-
kinson, General Jackson, and General Lovell to declare it. I have
means of knowing more about your city than you think, and I
am aware that at this hour there is an organization here established
for the purpose of assassinating my men by detail ; but I warn you
that if a shot is fired from any house, that house will never again
cover a mortal's head ; and if I can discover the perpetrator of the
deed, the place that now knows him shall know him no more for
ever. I have the power to suppress this unruly element in your
midst, and I mean so to use it, that in a very short period, I shall
be able to ride through the entire city, free from insult and danger,
or else this metropolis of the South shall be a desert, from the Plains
of Chalmette to the outskirts of Carrollton."
Mr. Soule, in reply, delivered an oration, the beauty and grace
of which were admired by all who heard it. I regret that we have
no report of his speech. It was, in part, a defense and eulogy of
New Orleans, and, in part, a secession speech of the usual tenor,
illumined by the rhetoric of an accomplished speaker. He said that
New Orleans contained a smaller proportion of the mob element
LANDING IN NEW OELEANS. 297
than any other city of equal size, and that the proclamation of mar-
tial law by General Lovell was aimed, not at the mob, but at the
Union men and u traitors" in their midst.
The conversation then turned to a topic of immense moment to
the people of the city, the supply of provisions. The general said
he had determined to issue permits to dealers and others, which
should protect them in bringing in provisions from a certain dis-
tance beyond his lines. The awful situation of the poor of the city
should have his immediate attention ; in the mean time, the Con-
federate currency in their hands should be allowed to circulate,
since many of them had nothing else of the nature of money.
After much farther discussion, the general being immovable, the
mayor announced, that the functions of the city government would
be at once suspended, and the general could do with the city as
seemed to him good.
A member of the council promptly interposed, saying, that a
matter of so much importance should not be disposed of until it had
been considered and acted upon by the common council. The
mayor assented. General Butler offered no objection. It was
finally agreed that the council should confer upon the subject the
next morning, and make known the result of their deliberations to
the general in the course of the day. The gentlemen then with-
drew : the crowd in the streets gradually dispersed, and the city
enjoyed a tranquil night.
The next morning, the Proclamation was published ; i. e., hand-
bills, containing it, were freely given to all who would take one.
Two important appointments were also announced : Major Joseph
W. Bell, to be provost-judge, and Colonel Jonas H. French, to be
provost-marshal. Colonel French notified the people, by hand-bill,
that he " assumed the position of provost-marshal, for the purpose
of carrying out such of the provisions of the Proclamation of the
general commanding within this department, as were not left to
municipal action. * * * Particularly does he call attention to
the prohibition against assemblages of persons in the streets ; the
sale of liquor to soldiers ; the necessity for a license on the part of
keepers of public houses, coffee-houses, and drinking saloons ; to
the posting of placards about the streets, giving information con-
cerning the action or movements of rebel troops, and the publish-
ing in the newspapers of notices or resolutions laudatory of the
298 LANDING IN NEW ORLEANS.
enemies of the United States. " The soldiers of this command are
subject, upon the part of some low-minded persons, to insult. This
must stop. Repetition will lead to instant arrest and punishment.
In the performance of his duties the undersigned will, in no de-
gree, trench upon the regularly established police of the city, but
will confine himself simply to the performance of such acts as were
to be assumed by the military authorities of the United States ;
and, in such action, he hopes to meet with the ready co-operation
of all who have the welfare of the city at heart."
At noon, the foreign consuls waited upon General Butler, ac-
companied by General Juge, commanding the European Brigade.
The interview was in the highest degree amicable and courteous.
General Butler explained to the consuls the line of conduct he had
marked out for himself, and related the leading points of his pro-
posal to the mayor and council, whose reply he was then awaiting.
He also assured the consuls, that nothing should be wanting on his
part, to facilitate the discharge of their public duties. His most
earnest desire, he said, was to confine his attention to his military
duty, and leave all public functionaries, domestic and foreign, to the
unrestrained discharge of their vocations. He warmly thanked
General Juge for his eminent services during the last week, ex-
pressed regret that he had disbanded his men, hoped he would re-
organize them, and aid him in maintaining order. The gentlemen
retired, apparently well pleased with what they had heard. They
all shook hands with the general at parting.
A delegation from the common council next appeared, who in-
formed the general that his proposal of the evening before was
accepted. The city government should go on as usual; but they
requested that the troops should be withdrawn from the vicinity of
the City Hall, that the authorities might not seem to be acting un-
der military dictation. This request was granted : the troops were
withdrawn.
The general went farther. He sent a considerable body of troops
under General Phelps to Carrollton, where a permanent camp was
formed. A brigade under General Williams soon went up the
river with Captain Farragut, to take possession of and hold Baton
Rouge. Other troops were posted in the various forts upon the
lakes abandoned by the enemy. Others were at Algiers. The
camps in the squares of the city were broken up. When all the
LANDING IN NEW ORLEANS. 299
troops were posted, there remained in the city, during the first few
weeks, two hundred and fifty men : and these men lodged in the
Custom-House, and served merely as a provost-guard. Mr. Soule,
therefore, had his desire, or nearly so, for the general was fully
resolved to omit no fair means of conciliating the people, and win-
ning them back to their allegiance.
Thus, by the end of the third day, the city was tranquil, and there
seemed a prospect of the two sets of authorities going on peacefully
together, each keeping to its own department ; General Butler gov-
erning the army, and extending the area of conquest ; the mayor
and council ruling the city, aided, if necessary, by General Juge and
his brigade. This was the theory upon which General Butler began
his memorable administration. This was the offer which he sin-
cerely made to the people and government of the city. We shall
discover, in time, whose fault it was that the theory proved so sig-
nally untenable.
The comments of the press of New Orleans upon the new order
of things, were far more favorable to General Butler than could
have been expected. The True Delta frankly admitted the truth of
that part of the Proclamation which gave to the European Brigade
the credit of having preserved the city. " For seven years past,"
said the True Delta, of May 6th, "the world knows that this city,
in all its departments — judicial, legislative and executive — has been
at the absolute disposal of the most godless, brutal, ignorant and
ruthless rufiianism the world has ever heard of since the days of
the great Roman conspirator. By means of a secret organization
emanating from that fecund source of every political infamy, New
England, and named Know Nothingism or ' Sammyism' — from the
boasted exclusive devotion of the fraternity to the United States —
our city, from being the abode of decency, of liberality, generosity
and justice, has become a perfect hell ; the temples of justice are
sanctuaries for crime ; the ministers of the laws, the nominees of
blood-stained, vulgar, ribald caballers; licensed murderers shed
innocent blood on the most public thoroughfares with impunity ;
witnesses of the most atrocious crimes are either spirited away,
bought off, or intimidated from testifying ; perjured associates are
retained to prove alibis, and ready bail is always procurable for the
immediate use of those whom it is not immediately prudent to en-
large otherwise. The electoral system is a farce and a fraud ; the
13*
SOO FEEDING AND EMPLOYING THE POOR.
knife, the slung-shot, the brass knuckles determining, while the
sham is being enacted, who shall occupy and administer the offices
of the municipality and the commonwealth. Can our condition
then surprise any man ? Is it, either, a fair ground for reproach to
the well-disposed, kind-hearted and intelligent fixed population of
"New Orleans, that institutions and offices designed for the safety of
their persons, the security of their property, and maintenance of
their fair repute and unsullied honor, should by a band of conspira-
tors, in possession by force and fraud of the electoral machinery,
be diverted from their legitimate uses and made engines of the most
insupportable oppression ? "We accept the reproach in the Proc-
lamation, as every Louisianian alive to the honor and fair fame of
his state and chief city must accept it, with bowed heads and brows
abashed."
The Bee of May 8th said : " The mayor and municipal authorities
have been allowed to retain their power and privileges in every-
thing unconnected with military affairs. The federal soldiers do
not seem to interfere with the private property of the citizens, and
have done nothing that we are aware of to provoke difficulty. The
usual nightly reports of arrests for vagrancy, assaults, wounding
and killing have unquestionably been diminished. The city is as
tranquil and peaceable as in the most quiet times."
CHAPTER XVII.
FEEDING AND EMPLOYING THE POOR.
New Orleans was in danger of starving. It contained a popu-
lation of, perhaps, one hundred and fifty thousand, for whom there
was in the city about thirty days' supply of provisions, held at prices
beyond the means of all but the rich. A barrel of flour could not
be bought for sixty dollars ; the markets were empty, the provision
stores closed. The trade with Mobile, which had formerly whitened
the lakes and the sound with sails, was cut off. The Texas drovers
had ceased to bring in cattle, and no steamboats from the Red
River country were running. The lake coasts were desolate and
FEEDING AND EMPLOYING THE POOR. 301
half deserted, because the trade with New Orleans had ceased, and
because the locusts of secession had devoured their substance.
New Orleans was thus a starving city in the midst of an impov-
erished country. The river planters, who had been wont to send
marketing to the city, now feared to trust their sloops, their pro-
duce and their slaves, within the lines of an army which they had
been taught to believe was bent on plunder only. A large pro-
portion of the men of New Orleans were away with the Confeder-
ate armies, at Shiloh, in Virginia, and elsewhere, having left wives
and children, mistresses and their offspring, to the public charge.
The city taxes* were a million dollars in arrears ; and the city gov-
ernment, it was soon discovered, was expending its energies and
its ingenuity upon a business more congenial than that of providing
for the poor, namely, that of frustrating and exasperating the com-
mander of the Union army. In a word, fifty thousand human be-
ings in New Orleans saw before them a prospect, not of want, not
of a long struggle with adversity, but of starvation ; and that imme-
diate — to-morrow or the next day ; and General Butler, wielding
the power and resources of the United States, alone could save
them.
To this task he addressed himself; it necessarily had the prece-
dence of all other work during the first few days. If we confine
ourselves to this topic for a short time, so as to show in one view
all that General Butler did for the poor of New Orleans, the reader
will please bear in mind, that the commanding general was by no
means able to confine his attention to it. He had everything to do
at once. The business of the city was dead ; he strove to revive
it. Confidence in the honest intentions of the Union authorities
did not exist ; he endeavored to call it into being. The currency
was deranged ; it was his duty to rectify it. The secessionists were
audaciously diligent ; he had to circumvent and repress them. The
yellow fever season was at hand ; he was resolved to ward it off.
The city government was obstructive and hostile ; it was his busi-
ness to frustrate their endeavors. The negro problem loomed up ;
vast and portentous ; he had to act upon it without delay. The banks
were in disorder ; their affairs demanded his attention. The consu-
lates were so many centers of hostile Operations ; he had to pene-
trate their mysteries. His army was considerable, his field of op-
eration immense ; he could not neglect the chief business of his
302 FEEDING AKD EMPLOYING THE POOR.
mission. All these affairs claimed his immediate attention, and had
it. But though a thousand events may occur simultaneously, it is
not convenient to relate them simultaneously. We shall have
sometimes to disregard the order of time, and pursue one subject
or class of subjects to the end.
General Butler's first measures for the supply of the city were
taken upon the suggestion of the city magnates. The following
orders were promulgated on the third day of the occupation of the
city:
" The commanding general of this department has been informed that
there is now at Mobile a stock of flour purchased by the city of New Or-
leans for the subsistence of its citizens. The suffering condition of the
poor of this city, for the want of this flour, appeals to the humanity of those
having authority on either side. For the purpose of the safe transmission
of this flour to this city, the commanding general orders and directs that a
safe conduct be afforded to a steamboat, to be laden with the same to this
place. This safe conduct shall extend to the entire protection of the boat
in coming, reasonable delay to discharge, and return to Mobile.
" The boat will take no passengers, save the owners and keepers of the
flour, and will be subject to the strict inspection of the harbor-master de-
tailed from these head-quarters, to whom its master will report its arrival.
The faith of the city is pledged for the faithful performance of the require-
ments of this order on the part of the agent of the city authorities, who
will be allowed to pass each way with the boat, giving no intelligence or
aid to the Confederates."
II.
"The president, directors, &c, of the Opelousas railroad are authorized
and required to run their cars over their road for the purpose of bringing
to the city of New Orleans all materials for provisions, marketing, and
supplies of food which may be offered in order to supply the wants of the
city. No passengers other than those having the care of such supplies, as
owners and keepers, are to be permitted to come into the city, and none
other are to leave the city. All other supplies are prohibited transport
over the road either way, except cotton and sugar, which may be safely
brought over the road, and will be purchased at their fair market value by
the United States in specie. The transmission of live stock is especially
enjoined. An agent of the city government will be allowed to pass over
the road either way, stopping at all points, on the faith of a pledge of such
government that he transmits no intelligence and affords no aid to the Con-
FEEDiTSTVj. ATTD EMPLOYING THE POOR. 303
federates. The officer commanding the post having the terminus of such
road within his pickets, will cause a thorough inspection of the cars and
boats for the purpose of farthering this order, and will offer no farther
hindrance so long as this order is in good faith complied with."
III.
"The commanding general of the Department of the Gulf has been in-
formed that live stock, flour, and provisions, purchased for subsistence of
the inhabitants of the city of New Orleans, are now at the junction of the
Red and Mississippi rivers. The suffering condition of the poor of the city,
for want of these supplies, appeals to the humanity of those having author-
ity on either side. For the purpose, therefore, of the safe transmission of
these supplies to the city, the commanding general orders and directs that
a safe conduct he afforded for two steamers, to be laden with provisions,
cattle, and supplies of food, either alive or slaughtered, each day, if so many
choose to come. This safe conduct shall extend to their entire protection
by the forces of the United States during their coming, reasonable delay
for discharge, not exceeding six days, unless in case of accident to their
machinery, and in returning to or near the junction of the Red and Missis-
sippi rivers.
" And safe conduct is farther granted to boats, laden as before stated,
with provisions for New Orleans from any point above the junction of such
rivers, if at any time during which these supplies are needed the forces of
the United States should be at or above such junction.
" These boats will take no passengers save the owners or keepers of the
freight aforesaid, and will be subject to strict inspection by the harbor-
master detailed from these head-quarters, to whom they will report their
arrival.
" The faith of the city is pledged for the faithful execution of the require-
ments of this order on the part of the agent of the city authorities, who
will be allowed to pass with the boats either way, he giving no intelligence
or aid to the Confederates."
For the immediate relief of the poor, General Butler gave from
his own resources a thousand dollars, half in money, half in pro-
visions. His brother, Colonel A. J. Butler, who found himself, by
the action of the senate, without employment in New Orleans,
and having both capital and credit at command, embarked in the
business of bringing cattle from Texas, to the great advantage of
the city and his own considerable profit. The quartermaster's
chest being empty, General Butler placed all the money of his own,
which he could raise, at his disposal. Provisions soon began to
304 FEEDING AND EMPXOYrNG THE POOE.
arrive, but not in the requisite quantities. At the end of a month,
flour had fallen to twenty-four dollars a barrel ; but nearly nine-
teen hundred families were daily fed at the public expense, and
thousands more barely contrived to subsist.
It immediately appeared that every one of the passes and per-
mits issued by the general, in accordance with the orders just
given, was abused, to the aid and comfort of secession. It was
discovered that provisions were secretly sent out of the city
to feed General Lovell's troops. It was ascertained that Charles
Heidsieck, one of the champagne Heidsiecks, had come from Mo-
bile in the provision steamboat, disguised as a bar-keeper, and con-
veyed letters to and from that city; an offense which consigned
him speedily to Fort Jackson. Nor did the city government stir
in the business of providing for tbe poor ; not a dollar was voted,
not a relieving act was- passed. The city was reeking, too, with
the accumulated filth of many weeks, the removal of which would
have afforded employment to many hungry men ; but it w r as suf-
fered to remain, inviting the yellow fever.
General Butler, on the 9th of May, reminded the mayor and
council of the compact between himself and the city authorities
made five days before. " I desire," said he, " to call your atten-
tion to the sanitary condition of your streets. Having assumed,
by the choice of your fellow-citizens and the permission of the
United States authorities, the care of the city of New Orleans in
this behalf, that trust must be faithfully administered. Resolu-
tions and inaction w T ill not do. Active, energetic measures, fully
and promptly executed, are imperatively demanded by the exi-
gencies of the occasion. The present suspension of labor fur-
nishes ample supplies of hungry men, who can be profitably em-
ployed to this end. A tithe of the labor and effort spent upon the
streets and public squares, which was uselessly and inanely wasted
upon idle fortifications, like that about the United States Mint, will
place the city in a condition to insure the health of its inhabitants. It
will not do to shift the responsibility from yourselves to the street
commissioners, from thence to the contractor, and thence to the
sub-contractors, and through all the grades of civic idleness and
neglect of duty. Three days since I called the attention of Mr.
Mayor to this subject, and nothing has been done."
The mayor boldly replied that three hundred extra men had been
FEEDING AND EMPLOYING THE POOK. 305
set to work upon the streets. No such force could be discovered
by the optics of Union officers. Steps may have been taken toward
the employment of men, and even " extra men," in cleaning the city ;
but it is certain that, up to the ninth of May, no street-cleaners
were actually at work. The weather Avas extremely hot, and the
need of purification was manifest and pressing.
On the same day, General Butler issued one of his startling gen-
eral orders, the terms and tone of which were doubtless influenced
by the mayor's audacious reply, as well as by the abuse of the
passes which admitted food to a starving city.
" New Orleans, May 9, 1862.
" The deplorable state of destitution and hunger of the mechanics and
working classes of this city has been brought to the knowledge of the com-
manding general.
" He has yielded to every suggestion made by the city government, and
ordered every method of furnishing food to the people of New Orleans that
government desired. No relief by those officials has yet been afforded.
This hunger does not pinch the wealthy and influential, the leaders of the
rebellion, who have gotten up this war, and are now endeavoring to prose-
cute it, without regard to the starving poor, the workingman, his wife and
child. Unmindful of their suffering fellow-citizens at home, they have
caused or suffered provisions to be carried out of the city for Confederate
service since the occupation by the United States forces.
" Lafayette Square, their home of affluence, was made the depot of stores
and munitions of war for the rebel armies, and not of provisions for their
poor neighbors. Striking hands with the vile, the gambler, the idler, and
the ruffian, they have destroyed the sugar and cotton which might have
been exchanged for food for the industrious and good, and regrated the
price of that which is left, by discrediting the very currency they had fur-
nished, while they eloped with the specie ; as well that stolen from the
United States, as from the banks, the property of the good people of New
Orleans, thus leaving them to ruin and starvation.
"Fugitives from justice many of them, and others, their associates, stay-
ing because too puerile and insignificant to be objects of punishment by the
clement government of the United States.
" They have betrayed their country :
" They have been false to every trust :
"They have shown themselves incapable of defending the state they had
seized upon, although they have forced every poor man's child into their
service as soldiers for that purpose, while they made their sons and ne-
phews officers :
S06 FEEDING AND EMPLOYING THE POOR.
" They can not protect those whom they have ruined, but have left them
to the mercies and assassinations of a chronic mob :
" They will not feed those whom they are starving :
" Mostly without property themselves, they have plundered, stolen, and
destroyed the means of those who had property, leaving children penniless
and old age hopeless.
" Men of Louisiana, workinqmen, property-holders, merchants, and
citizens op the United States, of whatever nation you may have had
birth, how long will you uphold these flagrant wrongs, and, by inaction,
suffer yourselves to be made the serfs of these leaders ?
" The United States have sent land and naval forces here to fight and
subdue rebellious armies in array against her authority. We find, substan-
tially, only fugitive masses, runaway property-burners, a whisky-drinking
mob, and starving citizens with their wives and children. It is our duty to
call back the first, to punish the second, root out the third, feed and pro-
tect the last.
" Keady only for war, we had not prepared ourselves to feed the hungry
and relieve the distressed with provisions. But to the extent possible,
within the power of the commanding general, it shall be done.
" He has captured a quantity of beef and sugar intended for the rebels
in the field. A thousand barrels of these stores will be distributed among
the deserving poor of this city, from whom the rebels had plundered it ;
even although some of the food will go to supply the craving wants of
the wives and children of those now herding at ' Camp Moore' and else-
where, in arms against the United States.
" Captain Join Clark, acting chief commissary of subsistence, will be
charged with the execution of this order, and will give public notice of the
place and manner of distribution, which will be arranged, as far as possi-
ble, so that the unworthy and dissolute will not share its benefits."
Another measure of relief was adopted when the arrival of stores
from New York had delivered the army itself from the danger of
scarcity. The chief commissary was authorized to " sell to families
for consumption, in small quantities, until farther orders, flour and
salt meats, viz. : pork, beef, ham, and bacon, from the stores of the
army, at seven and a half cents per pound for flour and ten cents
for meats. City bank-notes, gold, silver, or treasury notes to be
taken in payment."
The city government still neglecting tho streets, General Butler
conceived the idea of combining the relief of the poor with the puri-
fication of the city. There was nothing upon which he was more
resolved than the disappointment of rebel hopes with regard to the
FEEDING AND EMPLOYING THE POOR. 307
yellow fever. He understood the yellow fever, knew the secret of
its visitations, felt himself equal to a successful contest with it.
June fourth (the mayor of the city being then in a state of suppres-
sion at Fort Jackson, for acts yet to be related), the general
sketched his plan in the following letter to General Shepley and the
common council:
New Orleans, June 4, 1862.
r To the Military Commandant and City Council of New Orleans :
M General Shepley and Gentlemen : — Painful necessity compels some
action in relation to the unemployed and starving poor of New Orleans.
Men willing to labor can not get work by which to support themselves and
families, and are suffering for food.
" Because of the sins of their betrayers, a worse than the primal curse
seems to have fallen upon them. 'In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat
bread until thou return unto the ground.'
" The condition of the streets of the city calls for the promptest action
for a greater cleanliness and more perfect sanitary preparations.
" To relieve, as far as I may be able to do, both difficulties, I propose to
the city government, as follows :
" 1. The city shall employ upon the streets, squares, and unoccupied
lands in the city, a force of men, with proper implements, and under com-
petent direction, to the number of two thousand, for at least thirty work-
ing days, in putting those places in such condition as, with blessing of
Providence, shall insure the health as well of the citizens as of the troops.
" The necessities of military operations will detain in the city a larger
number of those who commonly leave it during the summer, especially wo-
men and children, than are usually resident here during the hot months.
Their health must be cared for by you ; I will care for my troops. The
miasma which sickens the one will harm the other. The epidemic so earn-
estly prayed for by the wicked will hardly sweep away the strong man,
although he may be armed, and leave the weaker woman and child un-
touched.
" 2. That each man of this force be paid by the city from its revenues
fifty cents per day, and a larger sum for skilled labor, for each clay's labor
of ten hours, toward the support of their families, and that in the selection
of laborers, men with families dependent upon them be preferred.
" 3. That the United States shall issue to each laborer so employed, for
each day's work, a full ration for a soldier, containing over fifty ounces of
wholesome food, which, with economy, will support a man and a woman.
" This issue will be fully equal in value, at the present prices of food, to
the sum paid by the city.
308 FEEDING AND EMPLOYING THE POOB.
u 4. That proper muster-rolls be prepared of tlies6 laborers, and details
so arranged, that only those that labor, with their families, shall be fed
from this source.
" 5. No paroled soldier or person who has served in the Confederate
forces shall be employed, unless he takes the oath of allegiance to the Uni-
ted States.
" I shall be glad to arrange the details of this proposal through the aid
of Colonel Shafer, of the quartermaster department, and Colonel Turner,
of the subsistence department, as soon as it has been acted on by you."
General Shepley communicated, this letter to the council, who
readily adopted the plan, and appointed a gentleman to superintend
their share in it. On the part of the United States, General Shep-
ley named Colonel T. B. Thorpe, the well-known author of the "Bee
Hunter," who had received the appointment of city surveyor. The
entire management of the two thousand laborers fell to Colonel
Thorpe, as his colleague refused to take the oath of allegiance to
the United States, which General Butler made a sine qud non. UsTo
man could have done the work better. He waged incessant and
most successful war upon nuisances. He tore away shanties, filled
up hollows, purged the canals, cleaned the streets, repaired the levee,
and kept the city in such perfect cleanliness as extorted praise from
the bitterest foes of his country and his chief. In gangs of twenty-
five, each under an overseer, the street-sweepers pervaded the city.
"It was a reflecting sight," says an eye-witness, "to behold
these men on the highways and by-ways, with their shovels and
brooms ; and it was still more gratifying to notice and to feel the
happy effects of their work. The street cleaning commenced, the
colonel then undertook the distribution of the food to the families
of the laborers, and this was a task of no ordinary magnitude. A
thousand half-starved women, made impatient by days of starvation,
brought in contact and left to struggle at the entrance of some ill-
arranged establishment, for their food and rights, was a formidable
subject of contemplation ; so the colonel organized a distributing
department, and so well managed his plans that the food is being
given out with all the quietness of a popular grocery. To secure
the object of the charity, he had tickets printed that made the de-
livery of the food to the women only ; in this way it was carried
into the family, consumed by the helpless, and not sold by the un-
principled for rum. The moment Colonel Thorpe's name appeared
FEEDING AND EMPLOYING THE POOR. 309
m the papers, he was flooded with letters calling his attention to
nuisances, the people acting voluntarily as street inspectors. By a
judicious distribution of labor, in a few days the change became a
subject of comment, some of the most furious secessionists admit-
ting ' that the federals could clean the streets, if they couldn't do
anything else.' "*
Colonel Thorpe's labors were permanently beneficial to the city
in many ways. The freaks of the Mississippi river constantly
create new land within the city limits. This land, which is
called batture (shoal), requires the labor of man before it is com-
pletely rescued from the domains of the river. It is computed that
Colonel Thorpe's skillfully directed exertions upon the batture ad-
ded to the city a quantity of land worth a million of dollars.
And this leads us to the most remarkable of all the circum-
stances attending General Butler's relief of the poor of New Or-
leans. He not only made it profitable to the city, but he managed
it so as not to add one dollar to the expenditures of his own gov-
ernment. At a. time when thirty-five thousand persons were sup-
ported by the public funds, he could still boast, and with literal
truth, that it cost the United States nothing. " You are the cheap-
est general we have employed," said Mr. Chase, when acknowl-
edging the return of twenty-five thousand dollars in gold, which had
been sent to General Butler's commissary.
The following general order explains the secret :
"New Orleans, Augusts, 1862.
" It appears that the need of relief to the destitute poor of the city re-
quires more extended measures and greater outlay than have yet been made.
" It becomes a question, in justice, upon whom should this burden fall.
" Clearly upon those who have brought this great calamity upon their
fellow-citizens.
"It should not be borne by taxation of the whole municipality, because
the middling and working men have never been heard at tho ballot-box,
unawed by threats and unmenaced by ' Thugs' and paid assassins of con-
spirators against peace and good order. Besides, more than the vote that
was claimed for secession have taken the oath of allegiance to the United
States.
" The United States government does its share when it protects, defends,
and preserves the people in the enjoyment of law, order, and calm quiet.
" Those who have brought upon the city this stagnation of business, this
* Correspondent of New York Times, July 21, 1S62.
310 FEEDING AND EMPLOYING THE POOR.
desolation of the hearth-stone, this starvation of the poor and helpless,
should, as far as they may be able, relieve these distresses.
"There are two classes whom it would seem peculiarly fit should at first
contribute to this end. First, those individuals and corporations who have
aided the rebellion with their means : and second, those who have endeav-
ored to destroy the commercial prosperity of the city, upon which the wel-
fare of its inhabitants depend.
" It is brought to the knowledge of the commanding general that a sub-
scription of twelve hundred and fifty thousand dollars was made by the
corporate bodies, business firms, and persons whose names are set forth in
schedule ' A' annexed to this order, and that sum placed in the hands of an
illegal body known as the ' Committee of Public Safety,' for the treason-
able purpose of defending the city against the government of the United
States, under whose humane rule the city of New Orleans had enjoyed
such unexampled prosperity, that her warehouses were filled with trade of
all nations who came to share her freedom, to take part in the benefits of
her commercial superiority, and thus she was made the representative mart
of the world.
" The stupidity and wastefulness with which this immense sum was spent
was only equaled by the folly which led to its being raised at all. The
subscribers to this fund, by this very act, betray their treasonable designs
and their ability to pay at least a much smaller tax for the relief of their
destitute and starving neighbors.
"Schedule 'B' is a list of cotton brokers, who, claiming to control that
great interest in New Orleans, to which she is so much indebted for her
wealth, published in the newspapers, in October, 1861, a manifesto deliber-
ately advising the planters not to bring their produce to the city, a meas-
ure which brought ruin at the same time upon the producer and the city.
" This act sufficiently testifies the malignity of these traitors, as well to
the government as their neighbors, and it is to be regretted that their abil-
ity to relieve their fellow-citizens is not equal to their facilities for injuring
them.
" In taxing both these classes to relieve the suffering poor of New Or-
leans, yea, even though the needy be the starving wives and children of
those in arms at Eichmond and elsewhere against the United States, it will
be impossible to make a mistake save in having the assessment too easy
and the burden too light.
"It is therefore Oedeeed —
"1st. That the sums in schedules annexed, marked 'A' and 'B,' set
against the names of the several persons, business firms and corporations
herein described, be and hereby are assessed upon each respectively.
"2d. That said sums be paid to Lieutenant David 0. Gr. Field, financial
clerk, at his office in the Oustom-House, on or before Monday, the 11th in-
FEEDING AND EMPLOYING THE POOR. 311
stant, or that the property of the delinquent be forthwith seized and sold at
public auction, to pay the amount, with all necessary charges and expenses,
or the party imprisoned till paid.
" 3d. The money raised by this assessment to be a fund for the purpose
of providing employment and food for the deserving poor people of New
Orleans."
The promised schedules followed. The first contained ninety-five
names, arranged thus :
SCHEDULE A.
List of subscribers to the Million and a Quarter Loan, placed in the hands
of the Committee of Public Safety, for the defense of New Orleans against
the United States, and expended by them some $38,000.
Sums subscribed Sums assessed
to aid treason to relieve the
against the poor by the
United States. United States.
Abat, Generes & Co $210,000 $52,500
Jonathan Montgomery 40,000 10,000
Thos. Sloo, President Sun Insurance Co 50,000 12,500
C. C. Gaines 2,000 500
C. O. Gaines & Co 3,000 750
The sum yielded by this schedule was $312,716.25. The second
schedule, which contained ninety-four names, began thus :
SCHEDULE B.
List of Cotton Brokers of New Orleans who published in the Crescent, in
October last, a card advising planters not to send produce to New Or-
leans, in order to indace foreign intervention in behalf of the rebellion.
Sums assessed to relieve
the starving poor by
the United States.
Hewitt, Norton & Co $500
"West & Villerie 250
S. E. Belknap 100
Brander, Chambliss & Co 500
Lewis & Oglesby 100
The amount of this assessment was $29,200. General Order,
No. 55, placed at the disposal of General Butler, for the support of
the poor of the city, the sum of $341,916.25.
To complete our knowledge of this unique transaction, the fol-
lowing brief documents are requisite :
312 FEEDING AND EMPLOYING THE POOE.
" New Oeleasts, August 7th, 1862.
" Special Oedee, No. 247.
" J. 0. Kicks, D. K. Carroll and A. D. Kelley, having been absent from
the city at the time of drawing up the original card, ' advising planters not
to send produce to New Orleans,' but on their return, having deemed it
advisable to issue a card, placing themselves in the same position, are here-
by taxed in the sum of $500.00 each, in accordance with General Order
No. 55."
" New Obleans, August 6th, 1862.
" Special Oedee, No. 244.
" The city surveyor and street commissioner are authorized to employ
not less than one thousand men (including those now employed), to work
on the streets, wharves and canals. In the selection of these laborers,
married men will have the preference. These men to be paid out of the
employment and relief fund raised by General Order No. 55.
" While this force was paid by taxation of the property of the city, the
commanding general felt authorized to employ it only in the most econom-
ical manner, but it now being employed at the expense of their rebellious
neighbors, the commanding general proposes that they shall be paid the
same sum that was paid them by the same party for work on the for-
tifications, to wit : one dollar and a half for each day's labor.
" The rations, heretofore a gift to these laborers by the United States,
will now be discontinued.
" The order to take effect from and after the first Monday in August,
1862."
The effect produced by a measure so boldly just, upon the minds
of the ruling class of New Orleans, can scarcely be imagined. It
was the more stunning from the fact, that after three months' ex-
perience of General Butler's government, his orders were known to
be the irreversible fiat of irresistible power. Every man who saw
his name on either catalogue, was perfectly aware that the sum an-
nexed thereto must be paid on or before the designated day. Pro-
test he might, but pay he must. Money first ; argument afterward.
The loyal Delta, conducted then by two officers of General Butler's
army, Captain John Clark, formerly of the Hoston Courier, and
Lieutenant-Colonel E. M. Brown, of the Eighth Vermont, discoursed
humorously upon the agitation in the fashionable quarter on the
day the order was promulgated :
"For the first time these many months, the habitues de la
r/rande Rue (Carondelet), woke from their lethargy. Sleek old
FEEDING AND EMPLOYING THE POOR. 313
gentlemen, whose stomachs are distended with turtle, and who
sport ivory-headed canes, and wear on their noses two-eyed glasses
rimmed with gold, came out from their umbrageous seclusions in
Prytania street, Coliseum Place, and other rural portions of the
Garden District, to condole with each other upon the once more
animated flags. At an early hour knots of these aldermanic looking
gentry, with white vests and stiffened shirt collars, had collected in
the vicinity of Colonel Baxter's corner, for the purpose of discuss-
ing the merits of Order No. 55, which was destined to disturb the
equilibrium of many a cash balance, and to cause unwilling fingers
to dive into the depths of plethoric pockets, long undisturbed by
the prying digits of their sumptuous owners. It was interesting
to contemplate the sorrowful visages of this funereal crowd. Some
of them had been taxed hundreds, and some to the tune of thou-
sands ; but all alike bore the solemn aspect of unresisting muttons
led silently to the slaughter. They had made their money easily, to be
sure, but parting with it was like pulling teeth. Some of these men
are worth a million or two ; a few perhaps as much as ten millions
in real estate, stocks, bonds, and expectations ; and others again
are known as poor men, tolerably well to do, worth from three to
five hundred thousand apiece. For these latter to be taxed as high
as a hundred dollars out of the little savings which they had laid
up by means of two and a half per cent, advance on cotton crops,
and two and a half per cent, commissions, and yet other per centa-
ges for brokerage, and stealage, seemed rather hard, at least to
them."
The Delta, however, assured the gentlemen, and with perfect
truth, that lamentations would not do. " The poor must be em-
ployed and fed, and you must disgorge. It will never do to have
it said, that while you lie back on cushioned divans, tasting turtle,
and sipping the wine cup, dressed in fine linen, and rolling in lordly
carriages — that gaunt hunger stalked in the once busy streets, and
poverty flouted its rags for the want of the privilege to work."
There was but one court of appeal in New Orleans, open to a
distressed secessionist — the consulate of the country of which he
could claim to be a citizen. The consuls lent a sympathizing ear to
all complaints, and willingly forwarded them to their ministers at
Washington ; who, in turn, laid them before the secretary of state,
The protest of some of the " neutrals" in New Orleans gave Gen
314 FEEDING AND EMPLOYING THE POOR.
eral Butler the opportunity to vindicate the justice of Order No. 55,
and he performed the task with a master's hand. The following let-
ter will be found to contain important and interesting history, some
curious geography, and much unanswerable argument :
" Head-quarters, Department of the Gulf,
"New Orleans, October, 1862.
" Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of "War :
" Sir : — I have the honor to report the facts and circumstances of my
General Order No. 55, in answer to the complaints of the Prussian and
French legations, as to the enforcement of that order upon certain inhabi-
tants of New Orleans, claimed to be the subjects of these respective govern-
ments.
" Before discussing the speciality and personal relations of the several
complainants, it will be necessary, in a general way, to give an account of the
state of things which I found had existed, and Avas then existing at New
Orleans upon its capture by the federal troops, to show the status of the
several classes upon which General Order No. 55 takes effect.
" In October, 1861, about the time Mason and Slidell left the city upon
their mission to Europe,, to obtain the intervention of foreign powers, great
hopes were entertained by the rebels, that the European governments would
be induced to interfere from want of a supply of cotton. This supply was
being had, to a degree, through the agency of the small vessels shooting out
by the numerous bayous, lagoons and creeks, with which the southern part
of Louisiana is penetrated. They eluded the blockade, and conveyed very
considerable amounts of cotton to Havana and other foreign ports, where
arms and munitions of war were largely imported through the same chan-
nels in exchange. Indeed, as I have before had the honor to inform the de-
partment of state, it was made a condition of the very passes given by
Governor Moore, that a quantity of arms and powder should be returned in
proportion to the cotton shipped.
" The very high prices of the outward as well as the inward cargoes,
made these ventures profitable, although but one in three got through with
safety.
" Nor does the fact, that so considerable quantities of cotton escaped the
blockading force at all impugn the efficiency of the blockading squadron,
when it is taken into consideration, that without using either of the princi-
pal water communications with the city through the 'Rigolets" or the
1 Passes' at the Delta of the river, there' are at least fifty -three distinct outlets
to the gulf from New Orleans by water communication, by light- d ran ah t
vessels. Of course, not a pound of the cotton that went through these
channels found its way north, unless it was purchased at a foreign port.
To prevent even this supply of the European manufactures became an ob-
FEEDING AND EMPLOYING THE POOR. 315
jfict of the greatest interest to the rebels; and prior to October, 1861, all
the principal cotton factors of New Orleans, to the number of about a
hundred, united in an address, signed with their names, to the planters, ad-
vising them not to send their cotton to New Orleans, for the avowed reason
that if it was sent, the cotton would find its way to foreign ports, and fur-
nish the interest ' of Europe and the United States with the product of
which they are most in need, * * * * and thus contribute to the main-
tenance of that quasi neutrality, which European nations have thought
proper to avow.'
" 'This address proving ineffectual to maintain the policy we had deter-
mined upon, and which not only received the sanction of public opinion
here, but which has been so promptly and cheerfully followed by the plant-
ers and factors of the other states of the Confederacy,' the same cotton fac-
tors made a petition to Governor Moore and General Twiggs, to ' devise
means to prevent any shipment of cotton to New Orleans whatever.'
"For answer to this petition, Governor Moore issued a proclamation for-
bidding the bringing of cotton within the limits of the city, under the pen-
alties therein prescribed.
" This action was concurred in by General Twiggs, then in command of
the Confederate forces, and enforced by newspaper articles, published in the
leading journals.
" This was one of the series of offensive measures which were undertaken
by the mercantile community of New Orleans, of which a large portion
were foreigners, and of which the complainant of Order No. 55 formed a
part, in aid of the rebellion.
" The only cotton allowed to be shipped during the autumn and winter
of 1861 and '62, was by permits of Governor Moore, granted upon the ex-
press condition, that at least one-half in value should be returned in arms
and munitions of war. In this traffic, almost the entire mercantile houses
of New Orleans were engaged. Joint-stock companies were formed, shares
issued, vessels bought, cargoes shipped, arms returned, immense profits re-
alized ; and the speculation and trading energy of the whole community
was turned in this direction. It will be borne in mind that quite two-thirds
of the trading community were foreign born, and now claim exemption
from all duties as citizens, and exemption from liabilities for all their acts,
because of being l foreign neutrals.'
" When the expedition which I had the high honor to be intrusted to
command, landed at Ship Island, and seemed to threaten New Orleans, the
most energetic efforts were made by the state and Confederate authorities
for the defense of the city. Nearly the entire foreign population of the city
enrolled itself in companies, battalions, and brigades, representing different
nationalities.
" They were armed, uniformed, and equipped, drilled and maneuvered.
14
316 FEEDING AND EMPLOYING THE POOE.
and reported for service to the Confederate generals. Many of the foreign
officers took the oath of allegiance to the Confederate States. The briga-
dier-general in command of the European Brigade, Paul Juge, File, a natu-
ralized citizen of the United States, but born in France, renounced his
citizenship, and applied to the French government to be restored to his for-
mer citizenship as a native of France, at the very time he held the command
of this foreign legion.
"The Prussian consul, now General Eeichard, of the Confederate army,
of whom we shall have more to say in the course of this report, raised a
battalion of his countrymen, and went to Virginia, where he has been pro-
moted for his gallantry in the rebel service, leaving his commercial partner,
Mr. Kruttschnidt, now acting Prussian consul, who has married the sister of
the rebel secretary of war, to embarrass as much as possible the United
States officers here, by subscriptions to ' city defense funds,' and groundless
complaints to the Prussian minister.
" I have thus endeavored to give a faithful and exact account of the state
of the foreign population of New Orleans, on the fifteenth day of February,
1862.
u In October, 1861, the city had voted to erect a battery out of this
* defense fund.' On the 19th of February, 1862, the city council, by vote,
published and commented upon in the newspapers, placed in the hands of
the Confederate General Lovell, fifty thousand dollars, to be expended by
him in the defenses of the city.
" It will, therefore, clearly appear that all the inhabitants of the city
knew that the city council were raising and expending large sums for war
purposes.
" On the 20th of the same February, the city council raised an extraor-
dinary ' Committee of Public Safety,' from the body of the inhabitants at
large, consisting of sixty members, for the ' purpose of co-operating with
the Confederate and state authorities in devising means for the defense of
the city and its approaches.'
" On the 27th of the same February, the city council adopted a series of
resolutions : —
" 1st. Kecommending the issue of one million dollars of city bonds,
for the purpose of purchasing arms and munitions of war, and to provide
for the successful defense of the city and its approaches.
"2d. To appropriate twenty-five thousand dollars for the purpose of
uniforming and equipping soldiers mustered into the service of the country.
M 3d. Pledging the council to support the families of all soldiers who
shall volunteer for the war.
" On the 3d of March, 1862, the city council authorized the mayor to
issue the bonds of the city for a million of dollars ; and provided that the
chairman of the finance committee might ' pay over the said bonds to the
FEEDING AND EMPLOYING THE TOOB. 317
Committee of Public Safety, appointed by the common council of the city
of New Orleans, as per resolution, No. 8,930, approved 20th of February,
18G2, in such sums as they may require for the purchase of arms and mu
nitions of war, provisions, or to provide any means for the successful
defense of the city and its approaches.'
"And, at the same time, authorized the chairman of the finance com-
mittee ' to pay over $25,000 to troops mustered into the state service, who
should go to the fight at Columbus or elsewhere, under General Beaure-
gard.'
" It was to this fund, in the hands of this extraordinary committee, so
published with its objects and purposes, that the complainants subscribed
their money, and now claim exemption upon the ground of neutrality,
and want of knowledge of the purposes of the fund.
u It will be remembered that all the steps of the raising of the committee
to dispose of this fund were published, and were matters of great public
notoriety. The fact that the bonds were in the hands of such an extraor-
dinary- committee, should have put every prudent person on his guard.
" All the leading secessionists of the city were subscribers to the same
fund.
: 'Will it be pretended for a moment that these persons — bankers, mer-
chants, brokers, who are making this complaint, did not know what this
fund was, and its purposes, to which they were subscribing by thousands
of dollars?
" Did Mr. Rochereau for instance, who had taken an oath to support the
Confederate States, a banker, and then a colonel commanding a body of
troops in the service of the Confederates, never hear for what purpose the
city was raising a million and a quarter in bonds ?
" Take the Prussian consul, who complains for himself and the Mrs. Vo-
gel whom he represents, as an example. Did he know about this fund?
He, a trader, a Jew famed for a bargain, who had married the sister of the
rebel secretary of war, the partner of General Reichard, late Prussian con-
sul, then in command in the Confederate army, who subscribed for himself,
his partner and Mrs. Vogel, the wife of his former partner, thirty thousand
dollars — did he not know what he was doing, when he bought these bonds
of this ' Committee of Public Safety ?'
" On the contrary, it was done to aid the rebellion to which he was
bound by his sympathies, his social relations, his business connections and
marriage ties. But it is said that this subscription is made to the fund for
the sake of the investment. It will appear, however, by a careful examina-
tion, that Mr. Kruttschnidt collected for his principal a note, secured by
mortgage, in anticipation of its being due, in order to purchase twenty-five
thousand dollars of this loan. Without, however, descending into particu-
lars, is the profitableness of the investment to be permitted to be alleged as
318 FEEDING AND EMPLOYING THE POOR.
a sufficient apology for aiding tha rebellion by money and arms ? If so,
all their army contractors, principally Jews, should be held blameless, for
they have made immense fortunes by the war. Indeed, I suppose another
Jew — one Judas— thought his investment in the thirty pieces of silver was
a profitable one, until the penalty of treachery reached him.
u When I took possession of New Orleans, I found the city nearly on
the verge of starvation, but thirty days' provision in it, and the poor utter-
ly without the means of procuring what food there was to be had.
" I endeavored to aid the city government in the work of feeding the
poor ; but I soon found that the very distribution of food was a means
faithlessly used to encourage the rebellion. I was obliged, therefore, to take
the whole matter into my own hands. It became a subject of alarming
importance and gravity. It became necessary to provide from some source
the funds to procure the food. They could not be raised by city taxation,
in the ordinary form. These taxes were in arrears to more than a million
of dollars. Besides, it would be unjust to tax the loyal citizens and hon-
estly neutral foreigner, to provide for a state of things brought about by
the rebels and disloyal foreigners related to them by ties of blood, marriage,
and social relation, who had conspired and labored together to overthrow
the authority of the United States, and establish the very result which was
to be met.
"Farther, in order to have a contribution effective, it must be upon those
who have wealth to answer it.
"There seemed to me no such fit subjects for such taxation as the cotton
brokers who had brought the distress upon the city, by thus paralyzing
commerce, and the subscribers to this loan, who had money to invest for
purposes of war, so advertised and known as above described.
" With these convictions, I issued General Order No. 55, which will ex-
plain itself, and have raised nearly the amount of the tax therein set forth.
" But for what purpose ? Not a dollar has gone in any way to the use of
the United States. I am now employing one thousand poor laborers, as
matter of charity, upon the streets and wharves of the city, from this fund.
I am distributing food to preserve from starvation nine thousand seven
hundred and seven families, containing 'thirty-two thousand four hun-
dred and fifty souls' daily, and this done at an expense of seventy thousand
dollars per month. I am sustaining, at an expense of two thousand dollars
per month, five asylums for widows and orphans. I am aiding the Charity
hospital to the extent of five thousand dollars per month.
" Before their excellencies, the French and Prussian ministers, complain
of my exactions upon foreigners at New Orleans, I desire they would look
at the documents, and consider for a few moments the facts and figures set
forth in the returns and in this report. They will find that out of ten thou-
sand four hundred and ninety families who have been fed from the funds
FEEDING AND EMPLOYING THE POOR. 319
with the raising of which they find fault, less than one-tenth (one thousand
and ten) are Americans ; nine thousand four hundred and eighty are for-
eigners. Of the thirty-two thousand souls, but three thousand are natives.
Besides, the charity at the asylums and hospitals distributed in about
the same proportions as to foreign and native born ; so that of an expendi-
ture of near eighty thousand dollars per month, to employ and feed the
starving poor of New Orleans, seventy- two thousand goes to the foreigners,
whose compatriots loudly complain, and offensively thrust forward their
neutrality, whenever they are called upon to aid their suffering country-
men.
" I should need no extraordinary taxation to feed the poor of New Or-
leans, if the bellies of the foreigners were as actively with the rebels, as are
the heads of those who claim exemption, thus far, from this taxation, made
and used for purposes above set forth, upon the ground of their neutrality ;
among whom I find Rochereau & Co., the senior partner of which firm took
an oath of allegiance to support the constitution of the Confederate States.
" I find also the house of Eeichard & Co., the senior partner of which,
General Reichard, is in the rebel army. I find the junior partner, Mr. Krutt
schnidt, the brother-in-law of Benjamin, the rebel secretary of war, using
all the funds in his hands to purchase arms, and collecting the securities of
his correspondent before they are due, to get funds to loan to the rebel au-
thorities, and now acting Prussian consul here, doing quite as effective ser-
vice to the rebels as bis partner in the field. I find Mme. Vogel, late part
ner in the same house of Reichard & Co., now absent, whose funds are man
aged by that house. I find M. Paesher & Co., bankers, whose clerks and
employes formed a part of the French legion, organized to fight the United
States, and who contributed largely to arm and equip that corps. And a
Mr. Lewis, whose antecedents I have not had time to investigate.
" And these are fair specimens of the neutrality of the foreigners, for
whom the government is called upon to interfere, to prevent their paying
anything toward the Relief Fund for their starving countrymen.
11 If the representatives of the foreign governments will feed their own
starving people, over whom the only protection they extend, so far as I see,
is to tax them all, poor and rich, a dollar and a half each for certificates of
nationality, I will release the foreigners from all the exactions, fines, and
imposts whatever. I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
"Benjamin F. Butler,
" Major- General Commanding.''''
There is the whole case, written out, as all of General Butler's
dispatches were, late at night, after twelve or fifteen hours of intense
exertion. After such a reaper there is scanty gleaning.
Let me add, however, that among the documents relating to the
620 FEEDING AKD EMPLOYING THE POOR.
expedition may be found many little notes, written in an educated,
feminine hand, conveying to General Butler the thanks of " Sister
Emily," "Mother Alphonso," and other Catholic ladies, for the
assistance afforded by him to the orphans, the widows, and the
sick under their charge ; " whose prayers," they add, " will daily
ascend to Heaven in his behalf." During the latter half of his ad-
ministration, the charities of New Orleans were almost wholly sus-
tained from the funds wrung from " neutral" foes by Order No. 55.
The great Charity hospital received, as we have seen, five thousand
a month. To the orphans of St. Elizabeth, when the public funds
ran low, the general gave five hundred dollars of his own money,
besides ordering rations from the public stores at his own charge,
and causing the Confederate notes held by the asylum to be dis-
posed of to the best advantage. A commission was appointed,
after a time, to inquire into the condition and needs of all the asy-
lums, hospital and charity schools in the city, and to report the
amount of aid proper to be allowed to each. The report of the
commission shows, that the rations granted them by General Butler
were all that enabled them to continue their ministrations to the
helpless and the ignorant, the widow, the orphan, and the sick.
I may afford space for a letter addressed by the commanding
general to the Superior of the Sisters of Charity, upon the occasion
of the accidental injury of their edifice during the bombardment of
Donaldsonville. It is not precisely the kind of utterance which we
should naturally expect from a " Beast."
" Head-quaetees, Depaetment of the Gulf,
'* New Oeleans, September 2d, 1862.
" Madame : I h°d no information until the reception of your note, that
so sad a result to the sisters of your command had happened from the bom-
bardmert of Donaldsonville.
11 1 am very, very sorry that Rear- Admiral Farragut was unaware that
he was injuring your establishment by his shells. Any injury must have
been entirely accidental. The destruction of that town became a necessity.
The inhabitants harbored a gang of cowardly guerillas, who committed
every atrocity; amongst others, that of firing upon an unarmed boat crowded
with women and children, going up the coast, returning to their homes,
many of them having been at school at New Orleans.
" It is impossible to allow such acts ; and I am only sorry that the right-
eous punishment meted out to them in this instance, as indeed in all others,
fell quite as heavily upon the innocent and unoffending as upon the guilty.
FEEDING AND EMPLOYING THE POOK. 321
" Xo one can appreciate more fully than myself the holy, self-sacrificing
labors of the sisters of charity. To them our soldiers are daily indebted
for the kindest offices. Sisters of all mankind, they know no nation, no
kindred, neither war nor peace. Their all-pervading charity is like the
boundless love of 'Him who died for all,' whose servants they are, and
whose pure teachings their love illustrates.
" I repeat the expression of my grief, that any harm should have befallen
your society of sisters ; and I cheerfully repair it, as far as I may, in the
manner you suggest, by filling the order you have sent to the city for pro-
visions and medicines.
'' Your sisters in the city will also farther testify to you, that my officers
and soldiers have never failed to do to them all in their power to aid them
in their usefulness, and to lighten the burden of their labors.
"With sentiments of the highest respect, believe me, your friend,
"Benjamin F. Butleb.
" Santa Maria Claea,
" Superior and Sister of Charity.'' 1
The relief afforded by Order No. 55, liberal as it was, did but
alleviate the distresses of the poor. The whole land was stricken.
The frequent marching of armed bodies swept the country of the
scanty produce of a soil deserted by the ablest of its proprietors.
In the city, life was just endurable ; beyond the Union lines, most
of the people were hungry, half naked, and without medicine.
" The condition of the people here," wrote General Butler to
General Halleck, September 1st, " is a very alarming one. They
literally come down to starvation. Not only in the city, but in
the country ; planters who, in peaceful times, would have spent the
summer at Saratoga, are now on their plantations, essentially
without food. Hundreds weekly, by stealth, are coming across
the lake to the city, reporting starvation on the lake shore. I am
distributing, in various ways, about fifty thousand dollars per month
in food, and more is needed. This is to the whites. My commis-
sary is issuing rations to the amount of nearly double the amount
required by the troops. This is to the blacks.
" They are now coming in by hundreds — say thousands — almost
daily. Many of the plantations are deserted along the " coast,"
which, in this country's phrase, means the river, from the city to
Natchez. Crops of sugar-cane are left standing, to waste, which
would make millions of dollars worth of sugar."
Such were some of the fruits of this most disastrous and most
322 THE WOMAN - ORDER.
beneficent of all wars. Such were some of the difficulties with
which the commander of the Department of the Gulf had to con-
tend during the whole period of his administration. Clothed with
pow T ers more than imperial, such were some of the uses to which
those powers were devoted.
The government sustained Order No. 55. In December, the
money derived from it having been exhausted, the measure was
repeated.
" New Orleans, December 9, 1862.
" Under General Order No. 55, current series, from these head-quarters,
au assessment was made upon certain parties who had aided the rebellion,
'to be appropriated to the relief of the starving poor of New Orleans.' "
" The calls upon the fund raised under that order have been frequent
and urgent, and it is now exhausted.
" But the poor of this city have the same, or increased necessities for re-
lief as then, and their calls must be heard ; and it is both fit and proper
that the parties responsible for the present state of affairs should have the
burden of their support.
" Therefore, the parties named in Schedules A and B, of General Order
No. 55, as hereunto annexed, are assessed in like sums, and for the same
purpose, and will make payment to D. 0. G. Field, financial clerk, at his
office, at these head-quarters, on or before Monday, December 15, 1862."
CHAPTER XVm.
THE WOMAN" ORDER.
It concerns the people of the United States to know that seces-
sion, regarded as a spiritual malady, is incurable. Every one knows
this who, by serving on " the frontiers of the rebellion," has been
brought in contact with its leaders. General Rosecrans knows it.
General Grant knows it. General Burnside knows it. General
Butler knows it. True, a large number of Southern men w-ho
have been touched with the epidemic, have recovered or are recov-
ering. But the hundred and fifty thousand men who own the
THE WO MAX ORDER. 323
slaves of the South, who own the best of the lands, who have
always controlled its politics and swayed its drawing-rooms, in
whom the disease is hereditary or original, whom it possesses and
pervades, like the leprosy or the scrofula, or, rather, like the false-
ness of the Stuarts and the imbecility of the Bourbons — these men
will remain, as long as they draw the breath of life, enemies of all
the good meaning which is summed up in the words, United States.
It is from studying the characters of these people that we moderns
may learn why it was that the great Cromwell and his heroes
called the adherents of the mean and cruel Stuarts by the name of
" Malignants." They may be rendered innoxious by destroying
their power, i. e., by abolishing slavery, which is their power ; but,
as to converting them from the error of their minds, that is not
possible.
General Butler was aware of this from the beginning of the
rebellion, and his experience in New Orleans was daily confirma-
tion of his belief. Hence, his attitude toward the ruling class was
warlike, and he strove in all ways to isolate that class, and bring the
majority of the people to see who it was that had brought all this
needless ruin upon their state; and thus to array the majority
against the few. Throwing the whole weight of his power against
the oligarchy, he endeavored to save and conciliate the people,
whom it was the secret design of the leaders to degrade and dis-
franchise. He Avas in New Orleans as a general wielding the power
of his government, and as a democrat representing its principles.
The first month of his administration was signalized by several
warlike acts and utterances, aimed at the Spirit of Secession ; some
of which excited a clamor throughout the whole secession world, on
both continents, echoes of which are still occasionally heard.
The following requires no explanation :
" New Orleans, May 13, 1862.
" It having come to the knowledge of the commanding general that
Friday next is proposed to be observed as a day of fasting and prayer, in
obedience to some supposed proclamation of one Jefferson Davis, in the
several churches of this city, it is ordered that no such observance be
had.
" ' Churches and religious houses are to be kept open as in time of pro-^
found peace,' but no religious exercises are to be had upon the supposed
authority above mentioned."
It*
324 THE WOMAN- ORDER.
This was General Order No. 27. The one next issued, the fa-
mous Order No. 28, which relates to the conduct of some of the
women of New Orleans, can not be dismissed quite so summarily.
One might have expected to find among the women of the South
many abolitionists of the most " radical" description. As upon the
white race the blighting curse of slavery chiefly falls, so the women
of that race suffer the consequences of the system which are the most
degrading and the most painful. It leads their husbands astray, de-
bauches their brothers and their sons, enervates and coarsens their
daughters. The wastefulness of the institution, its bungling stu-
pidity, the heavy and needless burdens it imposes upon house-
keepers, would come home, we should think, to the minds of all
women not wholly incapable of reflection. I am able to state, that
here and there, in the South, even in the cotton states, there are
ladies who feel all the enormity, and comprehend the immense stu-
pidity of slavery. I have heard them avow their abhorrence of it.
One in particular, I remember, on the borders of South Carolina
itself, a mother, glancing covertly at her languid son, and saying in
the low tone of despair :
" You cannot tell me anything about slavery. We women know
what it is, if the men do not."
But it is the law of nature that the men and women of
a community shall be morally equal. If all the women were
made, by miracle, perfectly good, and all the men perfectly bad, in
one generation the moral equality would be restored — the men
vastly improved, the women reduced to the average of human
worth. Consequently, we find the women of the South as much
corrupted by slavery as the men, and not less zealous than the men
in this insolent attempt to rend their country in pieces. In truth,
they are more zealous, since women are naturally more vehement
and enthusiastic than men. The women of New Orleans, too, all
had husbands, sons, brothers, lovers or friends, in the Confederate
army. To blame the women of a community for adhering, with
their whole souls, to a cause for which their husbands, brothers,
sons and lovers are fighting, would be to arraign the laws of nature.
But then there is a choice of methods by which that adherence may
De manifested.
When General Butler was passing through Baltimore, on his
way to New Orleans, he observed the mode in which the Union
THE WOMAN ORDER. 325
soldiers stationed there were accustomed to behave when passing
by ladies who wore the secession flag on their bosoms. The ladies,
on approaching a soldier, would suddenly throw aside their cloaks
or shawls to display the badge of treason. The soldier would re-
tort by lifting the tail of his coat, to show the rebel flag doing duty,
apparently, as a large patch on the seat of his trousers. The general
noted the circumstance well. It occurred to him then that, perhaps,
a more decent way could be contrived to shame the heroines of
secession out of their silly tricks.
The women of New Orleans by no means confined themselves to
the display of minute rebel flags on their persons. They were in-
solently and vulgarly demonstrative. They would leave the side-
walk, on the approach of Union officers, and walk around them into
the middle of the street, with up-turned noses and insulting words.
On passing privates, they would make a great ostentation of draw-
ing away their dresses, as if from the touch of pollution. Secession
colors were conspicuously worn upon the bonnets. If a Union
officer entered a street car, all the ladies in it would frequently
leave the vehicle, with every expression of disgust ; even in church
the same spirit was exhibited — ladies leaving the pews entered
by a Union officer. The female teachers of the public schools
kept their pupils singing rebel songs, and advised the girls to
make manifest their contempt for the soldiers of the Union.
Parties of ladies upon the balconies of houses, would turn their
backs when soldiers were passing by ; while one of them would
run in to the piano, and thump out the Bonny Blue Flag, with the
energy that lovely woman knows how to throw into a performance
of that kind. One woman, a very fine lady, too, swept away her
skirts, on one occasion, with so much violence as to lose her balance,
and she fell into the gutter. The two officers whose proximity had
excited her ire, approached to offer their assistance. She spurned
them from her, saying, that she would rather lie in the gutter than
be helped out by Yankees. She afterward related the circum-
stance to a Union officer, and owned that she had in reality felt
grateful to the officers for their politeness, and added that Order
No. 28 served the women right. The climax of these absurdities
was reached when a beast of a woman spat in the faces of two offi-
cers, who were walking peacefully along the street.
It was this last event which determined General Butler to take
326 THE WOMAN ORDEE.
public notice of the conduct of the women. At first their exhibitions
and affectations of spleen merely amused the objects of them;
who were accustomed to relate them to their comrades as the jokes
of the day. And, so far, no officers or soldiers had done or said
anything in the way of retort. No man in New Orleans had been
wronged, no woman had been treated with disrespect by the
soldiers of the United States. These things were done while Gen-
eral Butler was feeding the poor of the city by thousands ; while
he was working night and day to start and restore the business
of the city; while he was defending the people against the frauds
of great capitalists ; while he was maintaining such order in New
Orleans as it had never known before; while he was maturing
measures designed solely for the benefit of the city ; while he was
testifying in every way, by word and deed, his heartfelt desire to
exert all the great powers intrusted to him for the good of New
Orleans and Louisiana.
It can not be denied that both officers and men became, at length,
very sensitive to these annoyances. Complaints to the general
were frequent. Colonels of regiments requested to be informed
what orders they should give their men on the subject, and the
younger staff officers often asked the general to save them from in-
dignities which they could neither resent nor endure. Why, in-
deed, should he permit his brave and virtuous New England sol-
diers to be insulted by these silly, vulgar creatures, spoiled by
contact with slavery ? And how long could he trust the forbear-
ance of the troops ? These questions he had already considered,
but the extreme difficulty of acting in such an affair with dignity
and effect, had given him pause. But when the report of the spit-
ting was brought to him, he determined to put a stop to such out-
rages before they provoked retaliation.
It has been said, that the false construction put upon General
Order No. 28, by the enemies of the United States, was due to the
carelessness with which it was composed. Mr. Seward, in his con-
versation on the subject with the English charge, " regretted that,
in the haste of composition, a phraseology which could be mistaken
or perverted had been used." The secretary of state was never
more mistaken. The order was penned with the utmost care and
deliberation, and all its probable consequences discussed. The
problem was, how to put an end to the insulting behavior of the
THE "WOMAN ORDER.
women without being obliged to resort to arrests. So far, New
Orleans had been kept down by the mere show and presence of
force ; it was highly desirable, for reasons of humanity as well as
policy, that this should continue to be the case. If the order had
said: Any woman who insults a Union soldier shall be arrested >
committed to the calaboose and fined, — there would have been
women who would have courted the distinction of arrest, to the
great peril of the public tranquillity. If anything at all could have
roused the populace to resist the troops, surely it would have been
the arrest of a well-dressed women, for so popular an act as insult-
ing a soldier of the United States.
It was with the intent to accomplish the object without disturb-
ance, that General Butler worded the order as we find it. The
order was framed upon the model of one which he had read long
ago in an ancient London chronicle.
" Head-quarters, Department of the Gulf,
" New Orleans, May 15, 1862.
" General Order ISTo. 28 :
"As the officers and soldiers of the United States have been subject to re-
peated insults from the women (calling themselves ladies) of New Orleans,
in return for the most scrupulous non-interference and courtesy on our
part, it is ordered that hereafter when any female shall, by word, gesture,
or movement, insult or show contempt for any officer or soldier of the Uni-
ted States, she shall be regarded and held liable to be treated as a woman
of the town plying her avocation."
" By command of Major-General Butler.
"Geo. 0. Strong, A. A. G., Chief of Staff."
That is, she shall be held liable, according to the law of New
Orleans, to be arrested, detained over night in the calaboose,
brought before a magistrate in the morning, and fined five dollars.
When the order had been written, and was about to be con-
signed to irrevocable print, a leading member of the staff (Major
Strong) said to General Butler :
" After all, general, is it not possible that some of the troops
may misunderstand the order? It would be a great scandal if
only one man should act upon it in the wrong way."
" Let us, then," replied the general, " have one case of aggres-
sion on our side. I shall know how to deal with that case, so that
328 THE WOMAN ORDER.
it will never be repeated. So far, all the aggression has been
against us. Here we are, conquerors in a conquered city ; we have
respected every right, tried every means of conciliation, complied
with every reasonable desire ; and yet we can not walk the streets
without being outraged and spit upon by green girls. I do not
fear the troops; but if aggression must be, let it not be all
against ue. v
General Butler was, of course, perfectly aware, as we are, that
if he had expressly commanded his troops to outrage and ravish
every woman who insulted them, those men of New England and
the West would not have thought of obeying him. If one miscre-
ant among them had attempted it, the public opinion of his regi-
ment would have crushed him. Every one who knows the men
of that army feels how r impossible it was that any of them should
practically misinterpret an order of which the proper and innocent
meaning was so palpable.
The order was published. Its success was immediate and per-
fect. Not that the women did not still continue, with the ingenuity
of the sex, to manifest their repugnance to the troops. They
did so. The piano still greeted the passing officer with rebel airs.
The fair countenances of the ladies were still averted, and their
skirts gently held aside. Still the balconies presented a view of
the " back hair" of beauty. If the dear creatures did not leave the
car when an officer entered it, they stirred not to give him room to
sit down, and would not see his polite offer to hand their ticket to
the driver. (No conductors in the street cars of New Orleans.)
It was a fashion to affect sickness at the stomach on such occasions ;
w T hich led the Delta to remark, that the ladies should remember
that but for the presence of the Union forces some of the squeamish
stomachs would have nothing in them. But the outrageous
demonstrations ceased. No more insulting words were uttered ;
and all the affectations of disgust were such as could be easily and
properly borne by officers and men. Gradually even these were
discontinued.
I need not add, that in no instance was the order misunderstood
on the paYt of the troops. No man in the whole world misunder-
stood it who was not glad of any pretext for reviling the sacred
cause for which the United States has been called to contend. So
far from causing the women of New Orleans to be wronged or
THE WOMAN OEDEE. 329
molested, it was that which saved them from the only danger of
molestation to which they were exposed. It threw around them
the protection of law, not tore it away ; and such was the com-
pleteness of its success, that not one arrest under Order No. 28
has ever been made.
General Butler was not long in discovering that the order was
to be made the occasion of a prodigious hue and cry against his ad-
ministration. The puppet mayor of New Orleans was the first to
lift his little voice against it ; which led to important consequences.
It had already become apparent to 1 the general and to the officers
aiding him, that two powers so hostile as the city government of
New Orleans and the commander of the Department of the Gulf
could not co-operate — could not long exist together. The mayor
and common council had violated their compact with the general
in every particular. They had agreed to clean the streets, and had
not done it. They had engaged to enroll two hundred and fifty of
the property-holders of the town to assist in keeping the peace, that
General Butler might safely withdraw his troops. The two hun-
dred and fifty proved to be men of the " Thug" species — the hangers-
on of the City Hall. The European Brigade was to be retained in
service ; the mayor disbanded it. Provisions had been sent out of
the starving city to the hungry camp of General Lovell. Confede-
rate notes, which had fallen to thirty cents, were redeemed by the
city government at par, thus taxing the city one hundred cents to
give thirty to the favorites of the mayor and council ; for the re-
demption was not public and universal, but special and private.
The tone and style of the city government, too, were a perpetual
reiteration of the assertion, so dear to the deluded people of the
eity, that New Orleans had not been conquered — only overcome by
" brute force." Nothing but the general's extreme desire to give
the arrangement of May 4th so fair a trial that the whole world
would hold him guiltless in dissolving it, prevented his seizing upon
the government of the city on the ninth of May.
The following letter from General Butler to the mayor and coun-
cil, will serve to show the state of feeling between them :
" Head-quaetees, Depaetment of the Gulf,
New Oeleans, May 16, 1862.
v To the Mayor and Gentlemen of the City Council of New Orleans :
M In the report of your official action, published in the Bee of the 16th
330 THE WOMAN ORDEK.
instant, I find the following extracted resolutions, with the action of part
of your body thereon, viz :
" 'The following preamble and resolution, offered by Mr. Stith, were read
twice and adopted. The rules being suspended, were, on motion, sent to
the assistant board.
" ' Yeas — Messrs. De Labarre, Forestall, Huckins, Eodin, and Stith — 5.
" ' Whereas, it has come to the knowledge of this council that, for the first
time in the history of this city, a large fleet of the navy of France is about
to visit New Orleans — of which fleet the Catinet, now in our port, is the
pioneer — this council, bearing in grateful remembrance the many ties of
amity and good feeling which uni£e the people of this city with those of
France, to whose paternal protection New Orleans owes its foundation and
early prosperity, and to whom it is especially grateful for the jealousy with
which, in the cession of the state, it guaranteed all the rights of property,
person, and religious freedom of its citizens —
" l Be it resolved, That the freedom and hospitalities of the city of New
Orleans be tendered through the commander of the Catinet to the French
naval fleet during its sojourn in our port; and that a committee of five
of this council be appointed, with the mayor, to make such tender and such
other arrangements as may be necessary to give effect to the same.
" ' Messrs. Stith and Forestall were appointed on the committee mention-
ed in the foregoing resolution.'
" This action is an insult, as well to the United States, as to the friendly
and powerful nation toward whose officers it is directed. The offer of the
freedom of a captured city by the captives would merit letters-patent for
its novelty, were there not doubts of its usefulness as an invention. The
tender of its hospitalities by a government to which police duties and san-
itary regulations only are intrusted, is simply an invitation to the calaboose
or the hospital. The United States authorities are the only ones here capable
of dealing with amicable or unamicable nations, and will see to it that such
acts of courtesy or assistance are extended to any armed vessel of the em-
peror of France as shall testify the national, traditional, and hereditary
feelings of grateful remembrance with which the United States government
and people appreciate the early aid of France, and her many acts of friendly
regard, shown upon so many national and fitting occasions.
"The action of the city council in this behalf must be revised.
" Kespectfully,
" B. F. Btjtlee, Major- General Commanding."
Such heing the temper of the parties, an explosion was to he ex-
pected upon the first occasion. Order No. 28 was the spark
which hlew up the city government.
On the day on which the order appeared in the newspapers, the
E WOMAN ORDEE. 331
mayor sent to General Butler the following letter, which was writ-
ten for him by his secretary, Mr. Duncan, formerly of the Delta :
" State of Louisiana, Mayoralty of New Orleans,
"Way 16, 1862.
"Major-General Benjamin F. Butler, Commanding United States Forces.
" Sir : — Your General Order, No. 28, of date 15th inst., which reads as fol
lows, is of a character so extraordinary and astonishing that I can not, hold-
ing the office of chief magistrate of this city, chargeable with its peace and
dignity, suffer it to be promulgated in our presence without protesting
against the threat it contains, which has already aroused the passions of
our people, and must exasperate them to a degree beyond control. Your
officers and soldiers are permitted, by the terms of this order, to place any
construction they may please upon the conduct of our wives and daughters,
and, upon such construction, to offer them atrocious insults. The peace
of the city and the safety of your officers and soldiers from harm or insult
have, I affirm, been successfully secured to an extent enabling them to
move through our streets almost unnoticed, according to the understanding
and agreement entered into between yourself and the city authorities. I
did not, however, anticipate a war upon women and children, who, so far
as I am aware, have only manifested their displeasure at the occupation of
their city by those whom they believe to be their enemies, and I will never
undertake to be responsible for the peace of New Orleans while such an
edict, which infuriates our citizens, remains in force. To give a license to
the officers and soldiers of your command to commit outrages, such as are
indicated in your qrder, upon defenseless women is. in my judgment, a re-
proach to the civilization, not to say to the Christianity, of the age, in whose
name I make this protest. I am, sir, your obedient servant,
"John T. Monroe, Mayor."
To this General Butler replied with promptness and brevity, and
sent his reply by the hands of the provost-marshal :
" Head-quarters, Department of the Gulf,
"New Orleans, May 16, 1862.
" John T. Monroe, late mayor of the city of New Orleans, is relieved
from all responsibility for the peace of the city, and is suspended from the
exercise of any official functions, and committed to Fort Jackson until far-
ther orders. B. F. Butler, Major- General Commanding.''''
The mayor, however, was indulged with an interview with the
commanding general. He remonstrated against the order for his
imprisonment. The general told him, in reply, that if he could no
longer control the " aroused passions of the people of New Or-
leans," it was highly necessary that he should not only be relieved
332 THE WOMAN OEDEE.
from any further responsibility for the tranquillity of the city, but
be sent himself to a place of safety : which Fort Jackson was.
The letter, added the general, was an insult which no officer, repre-
senting the majesty of the United States in a captured city, ought
to submit to. The mayor, whose courage always oozed away in
the presence of General Butler, declared that he had had no in-
tention to insult the general : he had only intended to vindicate the
honor of the virtuous ladies of New Orleans.
" No vindication is necessary," said General Butler, " because the
order does not contemplate or allude to virtuous women." None
such, he believed, could have meant to insult his officers or men by
word, look, or gesture, and the order was aimed only at those who
had.
Finding the mayor pliant and reasonable, as he always was in the
absence of his supporters, General Butler expounded the order to
him at great length, and with perfect courtesy. The mayor then
declared that he was perfectly satisfied, and asked to be allowed to
withdraw his offensive letter. General Butler, knowing well the
necessity, in all dealings with puppets, of having something to show
in writing, wrote the following words at the end of the mayor's
letter :
" Geneeal Butlee : — This communication having been sent under a mis-
take of fact, and being improper in language, I desire to apologize for the
same, and to withdraw it."
This the mayor signed, and the general relieved him from arrest.
The mayor then departed, and the general hoped he had done with
Order No. 28.
It was very far, however, from the intention of the gentlemen
who had the mayor of New Orleans in charge, to forego their op-
portunity of firing the southern heart. In the evening of the same
16th of May, General Butler received the following note:
"Mayoealty of New Oeleans,
"City Hall, May 16, 1862.
" Major-General Butlee :
" Sie : — Having misunderstood you yesterday in relation to your General
Order No. 28, I wish to withdraw the indorsement I made on the letter
addressed to you yesterday. Please deliver the letter to my secretary, Mr.
Duncan, who will hand you this note. Your obedient servant,
"John T. Moxeoe."
General Butler immediately replied in the following terms :
THE WOaiAlT OEDEE. 333
"Head-quarters, Department of the Gulf,
" New Orleans, May 16, 18G2.
" Sir : — There can be, there has been, no room for the misunderstand-
ing of General Order No. 28.
"No lady will take any notice of a strange gentleman, and a fortiori of
a stranger, in such form as to attract attention. Common women do.
" Therefore, whatever woman, lady or mistress, gentle or simple, who,
by gesture, look or word, insults, shows contempt for, thus attracting to
herself the notice of my officers or soldiers, will be deemed to act as be-
comes her vocation of common woman, and will be liable to be treated ac-
cordingly. This was most fully explained to you at my office.
"I shall not, as I have not, abated a single word of that order; it was
well considered. If obeyed, it will protect the true and modest woman from
all possible insult. The others will take care of themselves.
u You can publish your letter, if you publish this note, and your apology.
"Respectfully, Benjamin F. Butler,
" Major- General Commanding.
"John T. Monroe, Mayor of New Orleans."
To this the mayor replied by sending to the general a copy of
his first letter. General Butler summoned him again to head-
quarters; he came accompanied by his secretary, Duncan. In the
presence of the general his courage failed him again, and he de-
clared that he did not wish to send the offensive letter if he could
publish what the general had said to him yesterday, that Order No.
28 did not refer to all the ladies of New Orleans. With even an
excess of patience, the general replied, that to prevent all possi-
bility of misunderstanding he would put in writing at the bottom
of a copy of the order a statement in accordance with the mayor's
desires, which he would be at liberty to publish. So he wrote :
" You may say that this order refers to those women who have shown
contempt for and insulted my soldiers, by words, gestures, and movements,
in their presence. B. F. Butler."
Duncan asked the insertion of the word " only" after " women."
The general assented to this also ; when the mayor and his secre-
tary retired, taking the documents with them. Again General
Butler indulged the hope that the affair was satisfactorily adjusted.
Far from it. The next morning, which was Sunday, the mayor and
a large party of his friends presented themselves at the private parlor
of the general. The mayor said that he had come for the purpose of
withdrawing his apology. General Butler replied that Sunday
334 THE WOMAN ORDER.
was not a business day with him, but if the Mayor desired to with-
draw his apology, and would place himself, on Monday morning,
in the chair in which he had sat when he signed it, he should have
a full opportunity to do so. The general added, that he would be
glad to see him the next morning, and as many friends as he chose
to bring with him.
Meanwhile, information had been brought to head-quarters of a
conspiracy among the paroled rebel prisoners in New Orleans, to
procure arms and force their way beyond the Union lines and
join General Lovell. Six of them had been arrested. The con-
spirators, it appeared, had called themselves the Monroe Guard,
after the mayor, from whom they expected substantial aid — had
probably received substantial aid already. The general was re-
solved to make short work with the mayor at their next interview.
On Monday morning the mayor presented himself at head-quar-
ters, accompanied by his chief of police, a lieutenant of police, his
private secretary, one of the city judges, and several others of his
special backers ; seven or eight persons in all. General Butler did
not wait for the attack of this imposing force, but opened upon them
as soon as they were in position. He made a clear and forcible
statement of the many ways in which the city government had
failed to observe the compact of May 4th. He told them that while
he had been employing all the resources of his mind and of his posi-
tion to keep the poor of the city from starving, the whole power
and means of the city authorities had been expended in supporting
the Confederate cause — by sending provisions to Lovell's camp, by
contributing money for the maintenance of Confederate agents in
the city, and by placing every obstacle in the way of the purifica-
tion of the streets. He announced the discovery of the conspiracy
among the paroled prisoners, the sentence of six of them to death ;
and discoursed upon the significance of the naming of the corps
after the mayor. All this conflict of authority and of moral influ-
ence must cease, and cease at once. He had resolved to have no
more of " this weathercock business."
After a long interview, he brought the matter to a very simple
and direct issue. He saw before him the men who had inspired
and upheld the mayor in his unnatural and unwilling contumacy.
To each of them he addressed a question, the answer to which
would fix his political position and indicate his future course :
THE WOMAi* OKDEK. tf35
"Judge Kennedy, do yon sanction the mayor's letter in its sub-
stance and effect ?"
Answer : " I sustain no insulting expression in this letter. The
construction which the letter puts upon the order is the construc-
tion put upon it in this city generally. If I had been in the mayor's
place, I should have claimed a modification, or an announcement of
its intended construction."
General Butler : " Do you not believe the letter insulting ? Do
you aid and abet the mayor ? Do you sustain the mayor in reit-
erating the letter ?"
Kennedy : " I can not answer. I will answer neither yes nor no,
for the simple reason that it will not cover the position I take. I
would not, in any communication with General Butler, use insult-
ing language myself."
The question was then proposed to the other gentlemen in turn.
Chief of Police : " I do sustain the mayor."
Lieutenant of Police : u I have not given the letter a thought. I
have never read the letter before."
Mr. Harris : The same answer.
Mr. Whann : "I do not sustain or repudiate the letter, as I know
nothing about it."
Mr. Pettigrew : " I sustain the mayor."
Mr. Duncan confessed to having " assisted in the composition of
the letter."
General Butler then ordered the committal to Fort Jackson of the
late mayor, the chief of police, Judge Kennedy and Mr. Duncan.
The others were dismissed. The mayor, finally wished to .know if
his apology would be considered withdrawn. General Butler as-
sured him that when the letter and the apology were published,
the withdrawal of the apology should be distinctly stated.
The mayor was afterward removed to Fort Pickens. The offer was
always open to him to take the oath and return home. Some of his
friends, it is said, prevailed upon him, at length, to return home on
that hard, condition ; and General Butler consenting, his wife went
to Fort Pickens after him. The officer who accompanied her
chanced to hand the mayor a newspaper which contained a positive
announcement that France had recognized the Confederacy. The
worthy mayor instantly changed his mind, refused to take the oath,
and permitted a faithful spouse to depart without him.
336 THE WOMAN OKDER.
The mayor being deposed, the executive part of the city govern
ment was at once suspended, and the business of governing New
Orleans devolved upon the military commandant, General G. F.
Shepley, of Maine. The woman order, however, merely hastened
an event which the expiration of the mayor's term of office would
have effected in a few days ; for General Butler had already deter-
mined that no man should again be elected to office in New Orleanx
who had not taken the oath of allegiance to his country's govern
ment.
The day after the scene just related, General Shepley issued the
following
"NOTICE.
" Head-qttaetees, Militaey Commandant of New Oeleans,
" Custom-House, May 20, 1862.
" In the absence of the late mayor of New Orleans, by order of Major-
General B. F. Butler, commanding the Department of the Gulf, the mill
tary commandant of New Orleans will, for the present, and until such time
as the citizens of New Orleans shall elect a loyal citizen of New Orleans
and of the United States as mayor of the city, discharge the functions
which have hitherto appertained to that office.
M He assures the peaceable citizens of New Orleans, that he will afford
the most ample protection to their persons and property, and their honor.
" No officer or soldier of the United States army will be permitted to
insult or annoy any peaceable citizen, or in any way to invade his personal
rights, or rights of property.
"No citizen will be permitted to insult or interfere with any officer or
soldier in the discharge of his duty.
" No person hereafter will denounce or threaten with personal violence
any citizen of the United States for the expression of Union and loyal senti-
ments. The punishment for these offenses will be speedy and effectual.
" The functions of the chief of police wil. be exercised by Captain Jonas H.
French, provost-marshal, to whom all police-officers will report immediate-
ly. He is intrusted with the duty of organizing the police force of the city,
and 'will continue in office those found to be trustworthy, honest, and loyal.
" The several recorders are hereby suspended from the discharge of the
functions of their offices, and Major Joseph M. Bell, provost judge, will
hear and determine all complaints for the violation of the peace and good
order of the city, of its ordinances or of the laws of the United States.
" The laws and general ordinances of the city of New Orleans, excepting
such as may be inconsistent with the constitution and laws of the United
States, or with any general order issued by the commanding general of this
department, or with this order, are hereby continued in force.
THE WOMAN OBDEB. 337
u All contracts and engagements heretofore legally entered in by the city
of New Orleans, or under the authority thereof, subject to the limitations
of the foregoing paragraph, shall be held inviolate, and faithfully carried out.
" It is expected, and will be required, that all contractors shall continue
to perform the duties and obligations resting upon them by contracts now
in force, and all such parties will be held to rigid accountability.
" The military commandant desires the co-operation of all good citizens
to enable him to carry out the duties assumed.
" He invites, and will speedily ask, the aid of a number of citizens of re-
spectability and character, to aid in the department of the city finances, as
well as in what pertains to the health, lighting, paving, cleansing, drainage,
wharves, levees, and generally, all municipal affairs not excepted from civil
control by the proclamation of the commanding general, or by this order ;
and in the mean time, all officers now charged with such functions, are re-
tained in their respective employments until farther orders.
" In all questions of the construction and interpretation of the laws per-
taining to the city and its government, and of the ordinances thereof, the
military commandant will seek the guidance of a professional man of known
probity and intelligence.
"The military commandant will be most happy to receive from any citi-
zen of New Orleans written or oral suggestions, touching the welfare and
good government thereof.
" In conclusion, the military commandant assures the entire population
of the city, that the restoration of the authority of the United States is the
re-establishment of peace, order and morality ; safety to life, liberty and
property under the law, and a guarantee of the future prosperity and glory
of the crescent city, under the protection of the American government and
constitution.
" To promote these ends, his own most strenuous efforts will be unceas-
ingly devoted, and to their consummation, he earnestly invites the co-opera-
tion of his fellow-citizens of New Orleans.
" G. F. Sheplet, Military Commandant of Xeio Orleans.
"Edwin Ilsley, A. A. A. G."
General Shepley proceeded with vigor to organize the govern-
ment. Colonel French advertised for five hundred policemen.
Judicious appointments were made in every department, and the
municipal revolution was accomplished without disturbance. Among
General Shepley' s first orders we notice the following :
"general orders.
"Office Military Commandant of New Orleans,
" City Hall, May 28, 1862.
" Hereafter in the churches in the city of New Orleans, prayers will not
338 THE WOMAN OBDEK.
be offered up for the destruction of the Union or constitution of the
United States, for the success of rebel armies, for the Confederate States,
so called, or any officers of the same, civil or military, in their official
capacity.
"While protection will be afforded to all churches, religious houses,
and establishments, and religious ' services are to be held as in times of
profound peace,' this protection will not be allowed to be perverted to
the upholding of treason or advocacy of it in any form.
" Where thus perverted, it will be withdrawn.
" G. F. Shepley, Military Commandant."
This order was complied with only in the letter. Thenceforward,
in reaching that part of the service where prayers were accustomed
to be offered for Jefferson Davis, the minister would say : " Let us
now spend a few moments in silent prayer."
After suppressing the city government, it seemed to General
Butler unjust and unwise to permit that potent instigator and di-
rector of treason, Mr. Pierre Soule, to remain in the city. It was
he who had assisted in the composition of the mayor's insolent let-
ter to Captain Farragut. It was he who had countenanced, per-
haps caused, the burning of the cotton. It was he who was the
moral support of the contumacy of secession in New Orleans.
Upon him secession chiefly relied to give it voice and effect.
General Butler was clearly of opinion that to render New Orleans
a dead thing to secession, it was indispensable to send away a man
so powerful to nourish hostility to the Union. Captain Conant
accomplished the arrest with his usual tact, and Mr. Soule, after
ample time to arrange his private business, was consigned to
Fort Warren, in Boston harbor. General Butler, some time after-
ward, requested the government to release the prisoner on his
parole not to return to New Orleans, nor commit or advise any
act hostile to the United States, which was done.
Few men have had a more varied career than Pierre Soule. A
native of France — a Paris lawyer — a Paris journalist — a fugitive to
the West Indies — an emigrant to New Orleans — a lawyer there of
brilliant position — a senator of the United States — a minister to
Madrid, where he wounded the French embassador in a duel — a
member of the Ostend Cuba-coveting conference — a lawyer again in
New Orleans — a Unionist — a rebel — a prisoner of state.
Before taking leave of the woman order and its consequences, it
THE WOMAN ORDEB. 339
is proper to notice the use made of it by the enemies of the United
States. The screech which arose from all parts of Secessia fur-
nishes another proof that this rebellion, which was begun in false-
hood, has been sustained by falsehood alone. I will give here a
few of the rebel comments.
The following " appeal" appeared in most of the southern pa-
pers :
" An Appeal to eveet Southern Soldiee. — We turn to you in mute
agony ! Behold our wrongs ! Fathers ! husbands ! brothers ! sons ! we
know these bitter, burning wrongs will be fully avenged — never did south-
ern women appeal in vain for protection from insult ! But, for the sake of
your sisters throughout the south, with tears we implore you not to sur-
render your cities, ' in consideration of the defenseless women and chil-
dren!' Do not leave your women to the mercy of this merciless foe!
Would it not have been better for New Orleans to have been laid in ruins,
and we buried up beneath the mass, than that we should be subjected to
these untold sufferings ? Is life so precious a boon that, for the preserva-
tion of it, no sacrifice is too great ? Ah, no ! ah, no ! Kather let us die
with you, oh, our fathers ! Rather, like Virginius, plunge your own swords
into our breasts, saying, ' This is all we can give our daughters.'
11 The Daughters of New Orleans.
"New Orleans, May 24, 1862."
The governor of Louisiana discoursed upon the inviting topic in
an address to the people.
" History records instances of cities sacked, and inhuman atrocities com-
mitted upon the women of a conquered town, but in no instance, in modern
times, at least, without the brutal ravishers suffering condign punishment
from the hands of their own commanders. It was reserved for a federal
general to invite his soldiers to the perpetration of outrages, at the mention
of which the blood recoils in horror — to quicken the impulse of their sen-
sual instincts by the suggestion of transparent excuses for their gratifica-
tion, and to add to an infamy already well merited those crowning titles of
a panderer to lust and a desecrator of virtue.
" Organize, then, quickly and efficiently. If your enemy attempt to pro-
ceed into the interior, let his pathway be marked by his blood. It is your
homes that you have to defend. It is the jewel of your hearths, the chas-
tity of your women, you have to guard. Let that thought animate your
breasts, nerve your arms, quicken your energies, and inspire your resolu-
tion. Strike home to the heart of your foe the blow that rids your country
of his presence. If needs be, let his blood moisten your own grav*. I*
15
340 THE WOMAN OEDEE.
will rise up before your children as a perpetual memento of a race whom it
will teach to hate now and evermore."
A fair and indignant Georgian wrote to one of the newspapers
of Savannah :
" Editor of the Republican — Seeing your spirited notice in this morning's
paper, of the offer of a noble Mississippian to give a reward of $10,000 for
the infamous Butler's head, can you not suggest, through your valuable
journal, the propriety of every woman in our Confederacy contributing her
mite to triple the sum, for a consummation dear to the insulted honor of
our countrywomen, one and all ?
" Eespectfully, A Savannah Woman.
" Savannah, June 10, 1862."
Mr. Paul H. Hayne, a very worthy young gentleman and poet
of Charleston, was " carried away" by the tide of feeling, and
achieved a poem that is only ludicrous when we consider the real
character of the event which called it forth.
BUTLER'S PROCLAMATION".
BY PAXIL H. HATNE.
"It is ordered that hereafter, when any female shall, by word, gesture,
or movement, insult or show contempt for any officer or soldier of the Uni-
ted States, she shall be regarded and held liable to be treated as a woman of
the town plying her avocation." — Butler's Order at New Orleans"
" At ! drop the treacherous mask ! throw by
The cloak which veiled thine instincts fell ;
Stand forth, thou base, incarnate Lie,
Stamped with the signet brand of hell ;
At last we view thee as thou art,
A trickster with a demon's heart.
" O soldiers, husbands, brothers, sires !
Think that each stalwart blow ye give
Shall quench the rage of lustful fires,
And bid your glorious women live
Pure from a wrong whose tainted breath
Were fouler than the foulest death.
THE WOMAN ORDER. 341
" Yes ! but there's one icho shall not die
In oattle harness / One for whom
Lurks in the darkness silently
Another and a sterner doom !
A warrior's end should crown the brave —
For him, swift cord ! and felon grave !
" As loathsome, charnel vapors melt,
Swept by invisible winds to naught,
So, may this fiend of lust and guilt
Die like nightmare's hideous thought !
Naught left to mark the mother's name,
Save — immortality of shame!"
It pleased the English friends of the Confederacy, to place upon
Order No. 28, the same preposterous construction. For them,
however, there was this excuse : they had read " Napier's History
of the Peninsular War." They knew how savages in red coats had
been wont to conduct themselves in captured cities, and naturally
concluded that patriots in blue would follow their example. But it
is difficult to believe in the sincerity of noble lords and members
of the house of commons, when they adopted and echoed back the
rebel screech. We hesitate to think that men intrusted with the
government of a great country can be so easily taken in.
Lord Palmerston. — u I am quite prepared to say, that I think no man could
have read the proclamation to which our attention has been drawn, with-
out a feeling of the deepest indignation — (cheers from both sides of the
house) — a proclamation to which I do not scruple to attach the epithet in-
famous. (Renewed cheering.) Sir, an Englishman must blush to think
that such an act has been committed by one belonging to the Anglo-Saxon
race. (Cheers.) If it had come from some barbarous race that was not
within the pale of civilization, one might have regretted it, but might not
have been surprised ; but that such an order should have been promulgated
by a soldier — (cheers) — by one who had raised himself to the rank of gen-
eral, is a subject undoubtedly of not less astonishment than pain. (Cheers.)
Sir, I can not bring myself to believe but that the government of the United
States, whenever they had notice of this order, must, of their own accord,
have stamped it with their censure and condemnation."
Punch, too, whose laugh was always humane and just, till the
342 THE WOMAN OEDEE.
slaveholders of the southern states rose in arms against all that
Englishmen used to hold dear, had his little song on the subject :
" Haynau's lash tore woman's back,
When she riz his dander.
Butler, by his edict black,
Stumps that famed commander.
Wreaking upon maid and dame
Savagery subtler :
None but Nena Sahib name
Along with General Butler.
Yankee doodle, doodle doo,
Yankee doodle dandy ;
Butler is a rare Yahoo,
As brave as Sepoy Pandy."
These perverse and ridiculous passages may serve as encourage-
ment to public men who are called to act in novel and difficult
circumstances. They show the emptiness and harmlessness of
partisan clamor when it is aimed against a measure which is wise,
humane and right. General Butler could not have been quite in-
different to vituperation like this — no man could have been. He
took no public notice of it at the time, having more important
affairs upon his hands ; but, among his private letters, there is one
which briefly vindicates the order.
" I am as jealous," he wrote, " of the good opinion of my friends
as I am careless of the slanders of my enemies, and your kind ex-
pressions with regard to Order No. 28 lead me to say a word to
you on the subject.
" That it could ever have been so misconceived as it has been by
some portions of the northern press, is wonderful, and would lead
me to exclaim, with the Jew, c Oh ! Father Abraham, what these
Christians are, whose own hard dealings teach them suspect the
thoughts of others V
" What was the state of things to which the woman order ap-
plied ?
" We were two thousand five hundred men, in a city seven
miles long by two to four wide, of a hundred and fifty thousand in-
habitants, all hostile, bitter, defiant, explosive ; standing literally
oa a magazine, a spark only needed for destruction. The devil
THE WOMAN OEDER. 343
had entered the hearts of the women of this town (you know
seven of them chose Mary Magdalene for a residence) to stir up
strife in every way possible. Every opprobrious epithet, every
insulting gesture, was made by these be-jeweled, crinolined and
laced creatures, calling themselves ladies, toward my soldiers and
officers, from the windows of houses and in the streets. How long
do you suppose our flesh and blood could have stood this without
retort ? That would have led to disturbances and riot, from which
we must have cleared the streets with artillery — and then a howl
that we had murdered these fine women. I had arrested the men
who had hurrahed for Beauregard. Could I arrest the women ?
No. What was to be done ? No order could be made save one
which would execute itself. With anxious care, I thought I had
hit upon this : ' Women who insult my soldiers are to be regarded
and treated as common women, plying their vocation.'
" Pray, how do you treat a common woman plying her vocation
in the streets? You pass her by unheeded. She can not insult
you. As a gentleman, you can and will take no notice of her. If
she speaks, her words are not opprobrious. It is only when she
becomes a continuous and positive nuisance, that you call a watch-
man and give her in charge to him.
" But some of the northern editors seem to think that whenever
one meets such a woman, we must stop her, talk with her, insult
her, hold dalliance with her, and so from their own conduct they
construed my order.
" The editor of the Boston Courier may so deal with common
women, and out of the abundance of his heart his mouth may speak.
But so do not I.
" Why, these she-adders of New Orleans themselves were at once
tamed into propriety of conduct by the order, and from that day
no woman has either insulted or annoyed any live soldier or officer,
and of a certainty no soldier has insulted any woman.
" When I passed through Baltimore on the 23d of February last,
members of my staff were insulted by the gestures of the ladies (?)
there. Not so in New Orleans. * * *
" I can only say that I would issue the order again under like
circumstances."
Among the women of New Orleans there were some who knew
how to maintain, and even assert, their fidelity to the Confederate
344 THE WOMAN OEDEE.
cause, without forgetting the courtesy due to officers of the United
States who were simply doing their duty. To such General Butler
and his staff were as complaisant as their duty permitted. The
case of Mrs. Slocomb and her daughter Mrs*. Urquhart, may be
cited in illustration. These ladies applied for a pass to enable them
to go to their country house, but stated with courteous frankness,
that they could not take the oath of allegiance to the United States.
At the beginning of the war, they said, they had desired the pres-
ervation of the Union ; but now all their male friends and connec-
tions were in the Confederate army ; one of them had lost a son,
the other a brother, in the service ; and they were now unalterably
devoted to the cause, which they deemed just, noble, and holy.
General Butler said to them, that he would make an exception to
his rule and grant them the pass, if they would give up their spa-
cious town house for the use of the United States during their ab-
sence, as he required such a house for his head-quarters. Mrs. Slo-
comb hesitated. With tears in her eyes, she said that her house
was endeared to her by a thousand tender associations, and was
now dearer to her than ever. She did not see how she could give
it up.
The general said, that he " experienced peculiar pleasure in meet-
ing ladies who, while they were enemies to his country, were yet
so frank, so truthful and devoted, and remarked that if New Or-
leans had been defended by an army of such women as Mrs. Urqu-
hart, he believed the Union army would have had considerable
trouble in capturing the city. In regard to their house he assured
them that, although he had the power to take it, yet without their
permission it should not be occupied, nor a brick of it be molested,
unless indeed, the city was ravaged by yellow fever, in which case
he might be obliged to take every house suitable for hospital pur-
poses ; and he added, if I can find any other reason for making you
an exception to my rule prohibiting passes to any who refuse to
take the oath, I will do it."
Happily, he found such a reason. A day or two after, he wrote
to the ladies : " I have the pleasure to inform you, that my necessi-
ties, which caused the request for permission to use your house dur-
ing your absence this summer, have been relieved. I have taken
the house of General Twiggs, late of the United States Army, for
quarters. Inclined never on slight causes to use the power intrust-
THE WOMAN ORDER. 845
ed to me to grieve even sentiments only entitled to respect from
the courage and ladylike propriety of manner in which they were
avowed ; it is gratifying to be enabled to yield to the appeal you
made for favor and protection by the United States. Yours shall
be the solitary exception to the general rule adopted, that they who
ask protection must take upon themselves corresponding obliga-
tions or do an equal favor to the government. I have an aged
mother at home, who, like you, might request the inviolability of
hearthstone and roof tree from the presence of a stranger. For
her sake you shall have the pass you ask, which is sent herewith.
As I did myself the honor to say personally, you may leave the city
with no fear that your house will be interfered with by any exer-
cise of military right; but will be safe under the laws of the United
States. Trusting that the inexorable logic of events will convict
you of wrong toward your country, when all else has failed, I re-
main," etc.
Mrs. Slocomb acknowledged the favor : " Permit me to return
my sincere thanks for the special permit to leave, which you have
so kindly granted to myself and family, as also for the protection
promised to my property. Knowing that we have no claim for any
exception in our favor, this generous act calls loudly upon our grate-
ful hearts, and hereafter, while praying earnestly for the cause we
love so much, we shall never forget the liberality with which our
request has been granted by one whose power here reminds us
painfully that our enemies are more magnanimous than our citizens
are brave."
Another instance. Mrs. Beauregard, the wife of the Confederate
general, and her mother, were residing in the mansion of Slidell,
the rebel emissary to France, who had lent it to them during his
absence. This house being sequestered, Lieutenant Kinsman went
to take possession, not knowing by whom it was occupied. Those
distinguished and amiable ladies received the officer with dignity
and politeness. He reported the fact of their occupation of the
house to the commanding general, who immediately ordered that
they should be allowed to reside in it undisturbed. There they re-
mained, honored equally by the Union officers and by the people
of the city.
EXECUTION OP MUMEORD.
CHAPTER XIX.
EXECUTION OF MUMEORD.
The crime for which Mumford suffered death has been already-
related. If in the act of tearing down the flag of his country, he
had fallen dead upon the roof of the Mint, from the fire of the
howitzers in the main-top of the Pensacola, no one could have
charged aught against those who had the honor of that flag in
charge. His offense was two-fold : he insulted the flag of his coun-
try, and endangered the lives of innocent fellow-citizens by drawing
the fire of the fleet. His life was justly forfeited to the United
States and to New Orleans. His life, moreover, was not a valuable
one ; he was one of those who live by preying upon society, not by
serving it. He was a professional gambler. Rather a fine-look-
ing man, tall, black-bearded ; age forty-two.
After the occupation of the city by the troops, he still appeared
in the streets, bold, reckless and defiant, one of the heroes of the
populace. He was seen even in front of the St. Charles hotel, re-
lating his exploit to a circle of admirers, boasting of it, daring the
Union authorities to molest him. He did this once too often. He
was arrested and tried by a military commission, who condemned
him to death, and General Butler approved the sentence, and or-
dered its execution.
Special Oedee No. 10.
"New Oeleans, June 5, 1862.
" William B. Mumford, a citizen of New Orleans, having been convict
ed before the military commission of treason and an overt act thereof, in
tearing down the United States flag from a public building of the United
States, for the purpose of inciting other evil-minded persons to farther resis-
tance to the laws and arms of the United States, after said flag was placed
there by Commodore Farragut, of the United States navy,
"It is ordered that he be executed, according to the sentence of the said
military commission, on Saturday, June 7th instant, between the hours of
8 a. if. and 12 m., under the direction of the provost-marshal of the district
of New Orleans ; and for so doing, this shall be his sufficient warrant."
During his trial and after his condemnation, he showed neither
fear nor contrition; evidently expected a commutation of his sen-
EXECUTION OF MUMFORD. 347
tence, not believing that General Butler would dare execute it.
His friends, the Thugs and gamblers of the city, openly defied the
general ; resolved, in council assembled, not to petition for his par-
don ; bound themselves to assassinate General Butler if Mumford
were hanged. These things were duly reported to the general by
his detective police, and were a common topic of conversation in
the city. It was the almost universal belief that the condemned
man would be brought to the gallows and there reprieved — accord-
ing to the cruel blank-cartridge mode of weak governments.
While the friends of Mumford were thus building up a wall be-
tween him and the chance of pardon, the case was further com-
plicated by the arrest and condemnation of the six paroled prisoners,
part of the Monroe Guard, who had conspired to break away to
the rebel camp. Their sentence also, the general approved :
Geneeal Oedee No. 36.
"New Oeleans, May 31, 1862.
" Abraham McLane, Daniel Doyle, Edward C. Smith, Patrick Kane,
George L. Williams, and Wm. Stanley, all enlisted men in the forces of the
supposed Confederate States, captured at the surrender of Forts St. Philip
and Jackson, have violated their parole of honor, under which they, as pris-
oners of war, were permitted to return to their homes, instead of heing
confined in prison, as have the unfortunates of the United States soldiers,
who, falling into the hands of the rebel chiefs, have languished for months
in the closest durance.
"Warned by their officers that they must not do this thing, they deliber-
ately organized themselves in military array — chose themselves and com-
rades officers, relying, as they averred, upon promises of prominent citizens
of New Orleans for a supply of arms and equipments. They named them-
selves the Monroe Life Guard, in honor of the late mayor of New Orleans.
u They conspired together, and arranged the manner in which they might
force the pickets of the United States, and thus join the enemy at Corinth.
"Tried before an impartial military commission — fully heard in their de-
fense — these facts appeared beyond doubt or contradiction, and they were
convicted.
" There is no known pledge more sacred — there is no military offense
whose punishment is better defined or more deserved. To this crime but
one punishment has ever been assigned by any nation — Death.
" This sentence has been approved by the commanding general. To the
end that all others may take warning — that solemn obligations may be pre-
served — that war may not lose all honorable ties — that clemency may not
be abused, and that justice be done :
15*
348 EXECUTION OF MUMFOED.
"It is ordered that Abraham McLane, Daniel Doyle, Edward C. Smith,
Patrick Kane, George L. Williams, and William Stanley be shot to death,
under the direction of the provost-marshal, immediately after reveille, on
Wednesday, the 4th day of June next ; and for so doing, this shall be the
provost-marshal's sufficient warrant."
Here were seven men under sentence of death at the same time
— seven human lives hanging upon the word of one man. General
Butler is not a person of the philanthropical or humanitarian cast of
character ; which is compatible with strange hardness of heart to-
ward individuals. Nor is he unaware of the frightful cruelty to
society of pardoning men justly condemned. He is abundantly
capable of preferring the good of the many to the convenience of
one, and turning a deaf ear to the entreaties of a criminal, when, on
the other hand, stands a wronged community asking protection,
or an outraged country demanding justice upon its mortal foes.
The fluid that courses his veins is blood, not milk and water.
Nevertheless, he has the feelings that belong to a human being,
and these seven forfeited lives hang heavy upon his heart.
In the case of Mumford he had no misgivings. He was able to
endure the harrowing spectacle of the man's wife and three chil-
dren falling upon their knees before him, begging the life of husband
and father, and yet keep firmly to a just resolve. He was able to
resist the tears and entreaties of his own tender-hearted wife, whose
judgment he respected, to whose judgment he often deferred. Far
more easily was he able to defy and scorn the threat enings of an
impious clan of gamblers and ruffians. Mumford must die. That
was the deliberate and changeless fiat of his best judgment.
Nor was he easily induced to alter his determination with regard
to the six paroled prisoners. The events of the war had constantly
deepened in his mind a sense of the general cruelty of pardons. He
could not but think that the Union armies would not have lost a
hundred thousand men by desertion, if, from the beginning, the just
penalty of death had been inexorably inflicted ; no, nor one thou-
sand ; perhaps not one hundred. He had imbibed a horror of all
those loose, irresolute, chicken-hearted modes of proceeding, which
have cost the country such incalculable suffering and blood. It is
instinctive in such a man to know that, in this world, the kindest,
as well as the wisest of all things, is the rigid observance of just
EXECUTION OF MUMFOKD. 349
iaw, the exact and prompt infliction of just penalty. So, between
his sense of what was due to those six men, and his anxious con-
sideration of extenuating circumstances, he lived many distracted
days and nights. He could neither eat nor sleep.
The pressure upon him was intense, as it always is upon men
whose word can save lives. Every body pleaded for them. His
own officers besieged his ears for pardon. The officers of the
condemned besought it. Union men of the city implored it.
And at night, when the world was shut out, there was still a
voice to repeat the arguments of the day. The six prisoners
were poor, simple, ignorant souls. One of them had said, when
arraigned before the commission, that he did not understand any-
thing about this paroling.
" Paroling," said he, " is for officers and gentlemen : we are not
gentlemen."
It is probable that this remark saved the lives of them all,
for it suggested the line of argument and the kind of consideration
which, probably, had most to do with changing the general's re-
solve. " We are not gentlemen," — an admission which no north-
ern prisoner would be likely to make. At the south those words
really have a meaning ; the poor people there feel a difference of
rank between themselves and the lords of the plantation, and recog-
nize a lower grade of personal obligation. A gentleman must keep
his word ; we poor people may get away if we can.
The earnest petition of those stanch Unionists, Mr. J. A. Rosier
and Mr. T. J. Durant, had great weight with the general also.
"These men," wrote they, "are justly liable to the condign
punishment which the military law metes out to so grave and hein-
ous an offense. But a powerful government never diminishes its
strength by acts of clemency and mercy. "No doubt, General, these
men were partly driven by want, partly deluded, and have long-
been so ; superior minds have heretofore given them false impres-
sions, and they have been acting under such views as have at last
brought them to the threshold of the grave. Unknown to us, even
from report, prior to their trial and condemnation, we see in them
only men and brethren who have erred and are in danger. Gene-
ral, the event has just shown that these men are unable to resist the
force of the government, or elude its vigilance and the fidelity of
its officers. They are subdued and powerless. Their case excites
EXECUTION OF MUMFOEP.
our commiseration, and that of hundreds of others. We ask you
to have mercy upon them. At the present moment the government
needs no excessive rigor to enforce obedience or command respect.
Pardon their offense. The act will restore them to sobriety of
reason and to useful employment. It will fill them with gratitude
to you and to the powerful government you represent. It will de-
monstrate the mildness of its authority, and convince our fellow-
citizens that mercy and clemency, no less than force and strength,
are essential attributes of the power you represent. General, re-
ceive this prayer for life, in the spirit which dictates it — an earnest
and heartfelt desire to promote reconciliation and peace."
To this letter, which was received the day before the one
named for the execution, General Butler replied :
" Your communication has received, as it deserved, most serious
consideration. The representations of gentlemen of your known
probity, intelligence, high social position, and thorough acquaint-
ance with the character, temper, habits of thought and motives of
action of the people of New Orleans, ought to have great and de-
termining weight with me, a stranger among you, called upon to
act promptly under the best light I may in matters affecting the
administration of justice. In addition, your well-known and fully
appreciated unswerving attachment to the government of the Uni-
ted States, renders it certain that nothing but the best interests of
the country could have influenced your opinion.
" Of the justice which calls for the death of these men I can have
no doubt. The mercy it would be to others, in like cases tempted
to offend, to have the terrible example of the punishment to which
these misguided men are sentenced, is the only matter left for dis-
cussion.
" Upon this question you who have suffered for the Union, wh^
have stood by it in evil and in good report — you who have lived
and are hereafter to live in this city as your home, when all are
gathered again under the flag which has been so foully outraged,
and to whose wrongs these men's lives are forfeit — you who, I have
heard, exerted your talents to save the lives of Union men in the
hour of their peril, ought to have a determining weight when your
opinions have been deliberately formed. You ask for these nen's
lives. You shall have them. You say that the clemency of th-'* gov-
ernment is best for the cause we all have at heart. Be it so» You
EXECUTION OF MTJMFORD. 351
are likely to be better informed upon this than I am. I have no
wish to do anything but that which will show the men of Louisi-
ana how great a good they were tempted to throw away when
they were led to raise their hands against the constitution and laws
of the United States.
" If this example of mercy is lost upon those in the same situa-
tion, swift justice can overtake others in like manner offending."
The men were reprieved, and consigned to Ship Island " during
the pleasure of the president of the United States." This was on
the fourth of June. Mumford was to die on the seventh.
The scaffold was erected in front of the Mint, near the scene of
his crime. To the last minute General Butler was earnestly im-
plored to spare him. The venerable Dr. Mercer, a man of eighty
honorable years, once the familiar friend and frequent host of Henry
Clay, a gentleman of boundless generosity and benevolence, the
patron of all that redeemed New Orleans, came to head-quarters an
hour before the execution, to ask for Mumford's life.
"Give me this man's life, General," said he, while the tears rolled
down his aged cheeks. " It is but a scratch of your pen."
" True," replied the general. " But a scratch of my pen could
burn New Orleans. I could as soon do the one act as the other. I
think one would be as wrong as the other."
In truth, the reprieve of the six had rendered the saving of Mum-
ford impossible. That act of mercy, like all the rest of General
Butler's acts in New Orleans, was utterly misinterpreted by the
people, who attributed it to weakness and cowardice. It was, and
is, the conviction of the best informed officers and Union citizens
then in New Orleans, that upon the question of hanging or sparing
Mumford depended the final suppression or the continued turbu-
lence of the mob of the city. Mumford hanged, the mob was sub-
dued. Mumford spared, the mob remained to be quelled by final
grape and canister. There was absolutely needed for the peace-
ful government of the city, a certainty that General Butler dared
hang a rebel.
Mumford met his doom with the composure with which bad men
usually die. He said that " the offense for which he was condemned
was committed under excitement, and he did not consider he was
suffering justly. He conjured all who heard him to act justly to all
men ; to rear their children properly ; and when they met death
352 EXECUTION OP MUMFORD.
they would meet it firmly. He was prepared to die ; and as ho
had never wronged any one, lie hoped to receive mercy."
"The unconscious is the alone complete," says the German poet.
It is only good people who, on the approach of death, are dis-
mayed and ashamed at reviewing their lives — comparing what
might have been with w T hat has been.
An immense concourse beheld the execution. The turbulent
spirits of New Orleans drew the proper inferences from the scene.
Every one concerned in the administration of justice in the city
felt a certain confidence, before unfelt, in their ability to rule the
city without violence. Every soldier felt safer ; and the friends of
the Union had an assurance that, at length, they w r ere really on the
stronger side. Order reigned in Warsaw.
The name of Mumford, if we may believe Confederate newspa-
pers, was immediately added to the "roll" of martyrs to the cause of
liberty. The fugitive governor of Louisiana, from some safe retreat
up the river, fulminated a proclamation about this time, in which'
he commented upon the death of Mumford in the style of eloquence
familiar to the readers of De Bow r, s Review — a curious mixture of
Patrick Henry and Bedlam.
" The loss of New Orleans," said he, " and the opening of the
Mississippi, which will soon follow, have greatly increased our dan-
ger, and deprived us of many resources for defense. With less
means, we have more to do than before. Every weapon we have,
and all that our skillful mechanics can make, will be needed. Let
every citizen be an armed sentinel, to give warning of any approach
of the insolent foe. Let all our river banks swarm with armed pa-
triots, to teach the hated invader that the rifle will be his only wel-
come on his errands of plunder and destruction. Wherever he
dares to raise the hated emblem of tyranny, tear it down, and rend
it in tatters.
" The noble heroism of the patriot Mumford, has placed his name
high on the list of our martyred sons. When the federal navy
reached New Orleans, a squad of marines was sent on shore,
who hoisted their flag on the Mint. The city was not occupied by
the United States troops, nor had they reached there. The place
was not in their possession. William B. Mumford pulled down the
detested symbol with his own hands, and for that was condemned
to be hung by General Butler after his arrival. Brought in full
EXECUTION OF MUMFORD. 353
view of the scaffold, his murderers hoped to appall his heroic soul,
by the exhibition of the implements of ignominious death. "With
the evidence of their determination to consummate their brutal pur-
pose before his eyes, they offered him life on the condition that he
would abjure his country, and swear allegiance to her foe. He
spurned the offer. Scorning to stain his soul with such foul dis-
honor, he met his fate courageously, and has transmitted to his
countrymen a fresh example of what men will do and dare when
under the inspiration of fervid patriotism. I shall not forget the
outrage of his murder, nor shall it pass unatoned.
" I am not introducing any new regulations for the conduct of
our citizens, but am only placing before them those that every
nation at war recognizes as necessary and proper to be enforced.
It is needless, therefore, to say that they will not be relaxed. On
the contrary, I am but awaiting the assistance and presence of the
general appointed to the department, to inaugurate the most effect-
ual method for their enforcement. It is well to repeat them :
" Trading with the enemy is prohibited under all circumstances.
" Traveling to and from New Orleans and other places occupied
by the enemy is forbidden. All passengers will be arrested.
" Citizens going to those places, and returning with the enemy's
usual passport, will be arrested.
" Conscripts or militia-men, having in possession such passports,
and seeking to shun duty, under the pretext of a parole, shall be
treated as public enemies. No such papers will be held as sufficient
excuse for inaction by any citizen.
" The utmost vigilance must be used by officers and citizens in
the detection of spies and salaried informers, and their apprehension
promptly effected.
" Tories must suffer the fate that every betrayer of his country
deserves.
u Confederate notes shall be received and used as the currency
of the country.
" River steamboats must, in no case, be permitted to be captured.
Burn them when they can not be saved.
" Provisions may be conveyed to New Orleans only in charge of
officers, and under the precautionary regulations governing commu-
nication between belligerents.
" The loss of New Orleans, bitter humiliation as it was to Louisi-
354 GENERAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS.
anians, has not created despondency, nor shaken our abiding faith
in our success. Not to the eye of the enthusiastic patriot alone, who
might be expected to color events with his hopes, but to the more
impassioned gaze of the statesman that success was certain from
the beginning. It is only the timid, the unreflecting, and the prop
erty owner, who thinks more of his possessions than his country,
that will succumb to the depressing influences of disaster. The
great heart of the people has swelled with more intense aspirations
for the cause the more it seemed to totter. Their confidence is
well founded. The possession by the enemy of our seaboard and
main water-courses ought to have been foreseen by us. His over-
whelming naval force necessarily accomplished the same results
attained by the British with the same force in their war of subjuga-
tion. The final result will be the same," etc., etc.
CHAPTER XX.
GENERAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS.
" Whatever else may be said of business in New Orleans," re-
marked the humorous Delta, " one thing is certain, consuls are
lower."
Consuls were very high indeed during the first few weeks of the
occupation of the city. Their position in New Orleans had been
one of first-rate importance during the rebellion ; for it was chiefly
through the foreign capitalists of the city that the Confederacy
had been supplied with arms and munitions of war, and it had
been the congenial office of the consuls to afford them aid and pro
tection in that lucrative business. They forgot that they were
only consuls. They forgot the United States. Often communi-
cating directly with the cabinet ministers of their countries, always
flattered and made much of by the supporters of the rebellion, ex-
pecting with the most perfect confidence the triumph of secession,
representing powers every one of which desired or counted upon
GENERAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS. 355
its success, they assumed the tone of embassadors ; they courted
the power which they assumed would finally rule in New Orleans,
and held in contempt or aversion the one to which they were
accredited.
These gentlemen gave General Butler more trouble, caused him
more hard work, than any other class in New Orleans. They
opposed every measure of his Avhich could be supposed to bear
upon any man of foreign origin. Mr. Seward was overrun with
their protests, complaints and petitions. If the secretary of the
treasury approved the commander of the Department of the Gulf
as the cheapest of generals, the secretary of state found him much
the most troublesome. The correspondence relating to this single
subject would fill two or three volumes as large as this.
A collision between the foreign consuls and General Butler
almost necessarily involved a difference between General Butler
and Mr. Seward. The two men are moral antipodes. Mr. Seward
has too little, General Butler has enough, of the spirit of warfare.
Mr. Seward, by the constitution of his mind and the habits of
thirty years, is a conciliator, one who shrinks from the final ordeal,
who is reluctant to face the last consequences, skillful to postpone,
explain away, and " make things pleasant." General Butler, on
the contrary, rejoices in a clear issue, goes straight to the point,
uses language that bears but one meaning, and "takes the responsi-
bility" as naturally as he takes his breakfast. Mr. Seward so
dreaded the approach of the war, that he was more than willing to
make concessions which would pass the final, the inevitable con-
flict over to the next generation. General Butler picked up the
glove with a feeling akin to exultation, and adopted war as the
business of the country and his own, desiring no pause till the
controversy was settled absolutely and for ever. Mr. Seward re-
garded the southern oligarchy as erring fellow-citizens, who could
be won back to their allegiance. General Butler regarded them as
traitors, utterly incapable of conversion, who could be rendered
harmless only by being made powerless. Mr. Seward, as the head
of the foreign department, felt that all his duties were subordinate
to the one cardinal, central object of his policy, the maintenance
of peace with foreign nations while the rebellion showed front.
General Butler, always breasting the foremost wave of the rebel-
lion, could not be very sensitive to the gentle murmurs of Mr.
356 GENERAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS.
Seward's reception-room. The men were subject to two opposite,
antagonistic magnetisms. General Butler was John Heenan peg-
ging away at Sayers, thinking of nothing but getting in fair
blows. Mr. Seward was the distressed bottle-holder who wanted
Heenan to win, but thought Sayers too good a fellow to be
smashed.
Hence we find that when the foreign ministers brought their com-
plaints to the department of state, Mr. Seward generally, and at
once, took it for granted that General Butler was wrong. He
could do no other way, without insincerity. The men are so es-
sentially antagonistic, that no really characteristic act of either
could fail to excite in the other an instinctive disapproval.
Similar remarks apply to Mr. Reverdy Johnson, of Maryland,
the eminent and very able lawyer who was sent by Mr. Seward
to New Orleans to investigate the consular imbroglio. In the
Charleston Convention of 1860, he said that "under almost any con-
ceivable circumstances, Maryland will acknowledge her rights as a
southern state, and will vote with the people of the South." He
spoke then from his heart. If, in 1862, he thought secession a
mistake and a crime, in all other particulars he was in accord with
his southern friends. His heart and mind, his friends and habits,
were southern. In New Orleans he associated almost exclusively
with secessionists — who felt, who avowed, who boasted that he
was their friend. Granting that he had the most honorable in-
tentions (I am sure he had no other), it was not in human nature
that he should judge justly between General Butler and the rebels
of New Orleans. Nor can we doubt that he was sent to New
Orleans, and knew that he was sent, to comply with the demands
of foreign powers, if it could be done without concessions too pal-
pably humiliating.
Here is the point: every one knows the difference that may
exist between a law case as presented in the law papers, and the
known facts of the case. A merchant, for example, finds it con-
venient to "make over" his property to a friend. The papers show
that he has not a dollar in the world, while the fact is, that he pos-
sesses a quarter of a million. Every one in the court may know
the fact; yet the papers carry the day. A bank may find it
advantageous to seem to possess no coin. Any lawyer can suggest
a mode by which this can be done, and a judge in ordinary times
GENERAL BFTLEE AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS. "57
might be obliged to decide in accordance with the documents.
What General Butler would have liked was a commissioner who
would have sought out the hidden fact, not one who was content
with the paper case. But Mr. Seward was chiefly concerned to
keep the peace with foreign powers, to deprive them not merely of
all cause of complaint, but of all pretext. Far be it from me to
presume to say that he was wrong. " One at a time" is a good rule,
when a nation has a war on its hands. His course may have been
justified by necessity.
It is impossible to detail here all the points of collision between
General Butler and the foreign consuls. The more important cases
were the following :
Case of the British Guard.
The British Guard consisted of fifty or sixty Englishmen, old
residents of New Orleans, many of them men of large property
and extensive business. On returning to their armory, late in the
evening, after the disbanding of the Foreign Legion, they had held a
formal meeting, at which it was voted to send their arms, accouter-
ments, and uniforms to the camp of General Beauregard. On
learning this, a few days after the occupation of the city, General
Butler sent for Captain Burrows, the commander of the company,
who confessed the fact. The general then directed him to order
his company to leave New Orleans within twenty-four hours ; and
declared his intention to arrest and confine in Fort Jackson any
who should fail to obey the order. The violation of the law of
neutrality had been clear and indefensible. These men had enjoyed
for many years the protection of the United States government,
under which they acquired wealth and distinction, and then em-
braced the first opportunity that had offered to give material aid
to its enemies. Captain Burrows could only object that part of
the company had been absent from the meeting, and it would be
unfair to punish the innocent with the guilty. General Butler as-
sented, and ordered those of the company who had not partici-
pated in the offense, to appear before him with their arms and
uniforms, the rest to obey the previous order.
The acting British consul, Mr. George Coppell, hastened to inter-
358 GENERAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS.
pose. He could not deny that the act charged against his country-
men was a violation of the law; but he said they had done it with "no
idea of wrong or harm." He enlarged upon the inconvenience it
would be to those highly respectable gentlemen to leave the city,
where their affairs were extensive and important. In fact, it would
not be even "possible" for some of them to leave ; and if General
Butler should persist, it would be the duty of the consul to solemnly
protest against the " verbal order of questionable legality, the en-
forcement of which would infringe the rights of British subjects
residing in New Orleans."
The general replied by recounting the facts with the exactness of
a lawyer. " These people," he added, " thought it of consequence
that Beauregard should have- sixty more uniforms and rifles. I
think it of the same consequence that he should have sixty more
of these faithless men, who may fill them if they choose. I intend
this order to be strictly enforced. I am content for the present to
suffer open enemies to remain in the city of their nativity ; but law-
defying and treacherous alien enemies shall not. I welcome all
neutrals and foreigners who have kept aloof from these troubles
which have been brought upon the city, and will, to the extent of
my power, protect them and their property. They shall have the
same hospitable and just treatment they have always received at
the hands of the United States government. They will see, how-
ever, for themselves, that it is for the interest of all to have the un-
worthy among them rooted out ; because the acts of such bring sus-
picion upon all. All the facts above set forth can easily be substan-
tiated, and indeed, are all evasively admitted in your note by the
very apology made for them. That apology says, that these men,
when they took this action — sent these arms and munitions of war
to Beauregard — ' did it with no idea of wrong or harm.' I do not
understand this. Can it be that such men, of age to enroll themselves
as a military body, did not know that it was wrong to supply the
enemies of the United States with arms ? If so, I think they should
be absent from the city long enough to learn so much international
law; or do you mean to say, knowing their social proclivities,
and the lateness of the hour when the vote was taken, therefore
they were not responsible ? There is another difficulty, however, in
those people taking any protection under the British flag. The com-
pany received a charter or commission, or some form of rebel au-
GENERAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS. 359
thorization from the governor of Louisiana, and one of them, whom
I have under arrest, accompanied him to the rebel camp. There is
still another difficulty. I am informed and believe that a majority
of them have made declarations of their intentions to become citi-
zens of the United States, and of the supposed Confederate States,
and have taken the proper and improper oaths of allegiance to
effect that purpose." o
The orcter was executed. Every member of the company (for
none of them could produce his arms or uniform) fled from the city,
except the captain and one other. These two found themselves
prisoners at Fort Jackson. Mr. Coppell related the case to Lord
Lyons, who laid it before Mr. Seward. The secretary of state
admitted the illegality of the act committed by the British Guard ;
but, in effect, recommended Captain Burrows and his friend to the
mercy of the commanding general, and advised their release. Ac-
cordingly, after several weeks' detention, they were set at liberty.
General Butler, justly offended at the tone and substance of Mr.
CoppelPs remonstrance, intimated to that gentleman that, though
be signed himself "Her Britannic Majesty's Acting Consul," he had
exhibited no proof of his right to that honorable designation. " The
respect," said General Butler, " which I feel for that government
leads me to err, if at all, upon the side of recognition of your claims,
and those of its officers ; but I take leave to call your attention to
the fact that you subscribed yourself ' Her Britannic Majesty's Act-
ing Consul,' and that I have received no official information of any
right you may have so to act, except your acts alone, and pardon
me if I err in saying, that your acts in that capacity, which have
come to my knowledge, have not been of such character as to induce
the belief on my part, that you rightfully represent that noble gov-
ernment."
It happened that Mr. Coppell could not produce the regular
documents. As he continued to interfere with General Butler's
measures, and that too, in the style of a resident unfriendly minister,
the general had the pleasure of refusing to recognize him, and be
remained without official character until he could procure from
Washington the necessary proofs of his appointment.
360 GE1STEEAL BUTLER AUT) THE FOREIGN CONSULS.
Case of Charles Heidsieck.
This individual, it appears, was the head of the great French
house of dealers in Heidsieck champagne. He was a native and
citizen of France, but had come to the southern states to look after
his delinquent creditors, and had resided, for some time, at Mobile.
He entered his name upon the books of the Dick Keys and the
Natchez, steamboats permitted by General Butler to convey pro-
visions to New Orleans, as bar-tender ; made five trips in that dis-
guise, and brought to and from Mobile a very large quantity of
letters, several of which, containing treasonable information, were
sent to Washington by General Butler. As Heidsieck was depart-
ing for Fort Jackson, he called on his consul for help. " I have
the honor," he wrote, " to ask you to see what you have to do for
me in this matter, having come and left this city under a flag of
truce." What the consul concluded he had to do for him we shall
see in a moment. After several months' imprisonment at Fort
Jackson and Fort Pickens, he was released by orders from Wash-
ington. He then forwarded to the government a memorial, in the
French manner, asking reparation for his detention. This impu-
dent claim from a man who had only escaped the ignominious death
of a spy by the clemency of the government, elicited from General
Butler an amusing narrative of the case, which the evidence before
me at this moment proves to be true in every particular.
" Let us," remarks the general, " in the light of the facts, examine Heid-
sieck's claims and pretensions. Of a very respectable social position, he
claims to have engaged as a bar-tender on the steamer 'Dick Keys,' whose
former bar-tender was conveniently sick, for the purpose and object of get-
ting his letters from the consulate at New Orleans, and for the purpose of
making money by the sale of his wines on board the boat during her trips.
Now, a bar-tender at the South is one of the most menial employments,
and is usually, on board steamers, intrusted to a negro steward. Is it likely
that Heidsieck, without a controlling motive, would make one voyage from
Mobile to New Orleans in that capacity? Is not a gentleman disguised
when he takes upon himself such an employment ? Is it an answer to say,
that his full name was on the shipping articles, and by that he was to bo
recognized when ' bar-tender" 1 was, as he admits, affixed to it ? If we had
found the name of ' Augustus Caesar,' which might have been the name of
the forrr.'or black bar-tender whose place Heidsieck took, upon the shipping
GENEEAL BUTLEE AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS. 361
articles, should we have looked for and expected to find the Eoman em-
peror ?
''The motive for undertaking this menial occupation, as Heidsieck al-
leges, was to get his letters from the consulate. "Why not send for them?
If the military authorities would not let them go with his messenger, then
he had no right to come in disguise and fetch them. But admit, for the
sake of the argument, that his desire to get his correspondence was a suffi-
cient motive for Heidsieck to take one such trip as bar-tender, why make
five during a space of more than two months ?
" To this he answers that the profits of the sales of his wines as bar-ten-
der on board the boat, were not to be despised. But he admits that the
boat could and did carry no passengers. To whom then was the wine to
be sold, as he says that the boat was kept under strict surveillance. * * *
Besides which, he admits that he spent his time between trips in the city
of New Orleans. Indeed, what need of a bar-tender on board of that boat
at all, especially one who was to be paid by the sale of wine ? Is it pos-
sible that the crew of a small steamboat at the South drink enough of even
so poor a wine as ' Heidsieck's champagne,' as to make it profitable for a
gentleman to spend his time selling it as a menial? Again, if the bar-ten-
der of the steamer ' Dick Keys' was sick, and the captain was willing to
make such a bargain for such a bar-tender, how is it that when the ' Dick
Keys' went out of the employment of carrying flour between Mobile and
New Orleans, that the ' Natchez' which was employed in her stead, should
also have a sick bar-tender and a captain who should be willing to make so
remarkable a contract, as to give passage, board, and lodging where the
cost of living was extremely heavy, to gentlemen to sell liquor to his own
crew, as he could have no other customers ? Still farther, after these boats
were stopped by the United States authorities, because of the corrupt in-
telligence conveyed by them, Heidsieck was again found going to New Or-
leans, under the pretense of carrying dispatches to the French consul
there, he having no business whatever in the city. "Why not send the dis-
patches by Mr. Greenwood, the city agent ? He was kind enough to take
Heidsieck, dispatches and all, upon his schooner gratis ; would he not have
taken the dispatches alone?
" The facts with regard to Heidsieck may be stated in a word. I learned
that intelligence was being conveyed to New Orleans and Mobile for the
rebels. I believed the city agent to be trustworthy. There was no chan-
nel except the employes of the boat, no passengers being allowed. I
caused an inquiry to be made, and found Heidsieck on board in disguise,
and that he spent all his time, between trips, in this city. Before I had
the facts reported to me, he had gone to Mobile with the last trip of the
eteamer. It may be assumed I was glad to see him, when he returned, in
his true character of 'bearer of dispatches.' I arrested him as a spy — I
362 GENERAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS.
confined him as a spy — I should have tried him as a spy, and hanged him
upon conviction as a spy, if I had not been interfered with by the govern-
ment at Washington.
u He had, when arrested, a canvas wrapper, of the size of a peck measure,
firmly bound up with cords, covering letters from the French, Swiss, Span-
ish, Prussian, and Belgian consuls, also a great number of letters to private
persons, mostly rebels, or worse, intermeddling foreigners, containing con-
traband intelligence. A portion of these letters were forwarded to the
honorable secretary of state, in December last, by me. To show the utter
falsity of Heidsieck's narrative, let me advert to his statement, that he stole
away a paper which, he says, ' I recognized as the envelope of my dis-
patches; the envelope, by the folds, to which the remnant of the seals
still adhered, which could alone give to M. De Mejan the correct idea of
the bulk of the dispatches.' It will be recollected that it has already been
stated by me that the letters were inclosed in a canvas wrapper, tied up
with cord, which Heidsieck, in his memorial, represents me as being en-
gaged for some minutes in ' cutting and breaking.' How then could any
paper show the size of the package? I sent Heidsieck to Fort Jackson,
which was, at that time, the only military prison in my department, and
where confinements were usually made. Immediately after his arrest, the
French consul notified me that he had referred the matter to his minister
at Washington, and I accordingly sent my dispatch to the secretary of
state, and rested in taking measures for the trial until I received instruc-
tions from the government.
" A number of French residents of New Orleans, however, petitioned
me as an act of grace to release Heidsieck, and allow him to go to Europe,
to remain during the war. I finally consented, and gave orders for his
release upon that condition, as an act of clemency. For this order his
friends were very grateful, and so expressed themselves both by letter and
in person. This parole was declined by Heidsieck, although I supposed
the application had been made by his consent and his procurement. Per-
haps, however, this refusal may be explained by the fact stated in his me-
morial, that the French consul, two days afterward, started for Washington
* on my account.'
" It will be seen, in all points, Heidsieck claims that all suspicion should
be diverted from himself as to his neutrality, because he was acting in con-
cert with the Count Mejan, the French consul at New Orleans ; but it will
not escape recollection that M. Mejan's own propriety of conduct and neu-
trality has, by subsequent revelations, been shown to have been worse than
doubtful — the repository of almost a half million of specie loaned by the
Bank of New Orleans to the Confederate government, for the purpose of
purchasing army clothing, and receiving a commission for his agency.
Count Mejan has been, very properly, recalled by his government, and can
GENEKAL BUTLEK AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS. 363
hardly, by his character, cover the suspected acts of Heidsieck traveling
between rebel cities in the guise of a bar-tender.
" Heidsieck was removed, with the other prisoners, to Fort Pickens, in
August, because I was informed of a threatened attack by the rebels upon
Fort Jackson, and I did not deem it proper that prisoners should either be
exposed to the hazard of combat, or embarrass the defenders of the fort by
their presence.
" Heidsieck's complaint as to his treatment during his confinement must
be unfounded, because there was never any restriction, save in the matter
of intoxicating liquors, upon prisoners and their friends furnishing any
and everything desired by them for comfort or convenience ; and his own
memorial does not claim that any representations by him, or any other
prisoner, were ever, made to me on the subject, as indeed there were not.
" His complaint, that he was obliged to ' cook for his own mess,' will
hardly excite much sympathy. I am unable to see the hardship to one who
has, by his own confession, turned bar-keeper for a living, cooking his own
food.
" His complaint that he could not write to his wife, because the officer,
admitted by him to be 'a perfect gentleman,' who was to examine his let-
ter, was too young to be trusted with the delicate revelations of a husband
to his wife, who was three thousand miles away, is too absurd for com-
ment.
" I received the order from the commanding general of the army, to re-
lease Heidsieck upon his giving his parole not to visit the Confederate States,
which was transmitted in the usual course of business, and he accepted the
condition, which only differed from the one offered by me in this, that by
mine he was to go to Europe.
"He now desires reparation for his confinement. Let Heidsieck be or-
dered back into confinement ; let a court-martial of impartial officers at
New Orleans be ordered to try him as a spy, with a competent judge advo-
cate ; and if he is acquitted, I pledge myself to the extent of my private
means, to make good to him all he has suffered, provided his government
will agree, that if found guilty, he shall be hanged, as he ought to be, with-
out any intervention on its part.
" If Heidsieck had not been taken out of my hands by the action of my
government, I should have ordered him before a court for trial, and I be-
lieve he would have suffered for his crimes against the country that had
given him the protection of its laws."
So much for Charles Heidsieck, bar-tender and dealer in cham-
pagne. We come now to an affair that made more noise in the
world.
16
3G4- GENERAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS.
Seizure of $800,000 in Silver.
To justify the seizure of this mass of coin, it is not necessary to
prove that it constituted part of the cash capital of the Confederate
government, or that it was secreted for the purpose of defrauding
the creditors of the Citizens' Bank, from the vaults of which it was
so suddenly removed before the occupation of the city. It is only
necessary to show that there existed strong grounds of suspicion
with regard to it. The silver was not confiscated, it was merely
seized and held for adjudication. The rebel government, at the
beginning of the war, had not been content merely to seize and
hold the coin in the mint and sub-treasury of the United States ;
but had appropriated the same to its own purposes. The subjects
of that government had not merely postponed the payment of the
two or three hundred millions which they owed northern mer-
chants and manufacturers ; but had first repudiated the debts, and
then proceeded to place it for ever beyond their power to pay them ;
to say nothing of the universal confiscation of property in the South
which belonged to northern men. This silver, on the contrary,
was seized and detained, merely that the extremely suspicious cir-
cumstances of its concealment might be investigated.
Let me remark, first, that the mysterious transfer of the silver,
in the quiet of a Sunday morning, from the Citizens' Bank to the
Dutch consulate, was condemned, at the time of the transfer, by
the True Delta, a secession paper; and condemned on grounds
shown, in 1863, to be just. " If we are correctly informed," said the
True Delta of April 26th, "the coin which has taken wings from
the Citizens' Bank is transferred to Dutch hands to discharge in-
debtedness in Holland not yet for some time due, and for which the
bank advancing the specie is no more responsible than is any other
living institution in this place. Were it otherwise, however, were
the debt its own, we can not see the propriety at a time like this,
to deplete its vaults to anticipate a debt, or to pay a foreign cred-
itor preferentially." It thus appears that the transaction, though
imperfectly understood, made upon the honest mind of John Ma-
ginnis, editor of the True Delta, precisely the same impression that
it made upon General Butler.
A few days after the landing of the troops, a negro informed
GENERAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSTJXS. 3(55
Lieutenant Kinsman that an immense number of kegs of silver had
been taken to the store of a Frenchman named Conturie, a liquor
dealer, and secreted in a large vault ; in testimony whereof the
negro produced a Bible in which he had made some hieroglyphic
entry of the fact, with a view^ to its being communicated to the
Union general w^hen he should arrive. Farther inquiry substantia-
ting the negro's story, General Butler sent Captain Shipley of the
Thirtieth Massachusetts, with a file of six or eight soldiers, to ex-
amine the office of M. Conturie, who proved to be the consul of the
Netherlands. At two in the afternoon of May 10th, Captain Shipley
presented himself at the consulate. It appeared to be an insurance
office, though the consular flag of the Netherlands was flying over
the door. M. Conturie was found, and Captain Shipley, with
marked courtesy, informed him of the object of his visit, adding,
that he was ordered to prevent the departure of person or property
from the building. M. Conturie, with needless vehemence, and in
a style that savored of the dramatic, said :
" I am the consul of the Netherlands. This is the office of my
consulate. I protest against any such violation of it."
He solemnly declared, and many times declared, that the part of
the building occupied by him contained nothing but the property
belonging or appertaining to the consulate, or to himself as an
individual. He positively refused to allow the vault or the office
to be searched. After some farther conversation with Captain
Shipley, he wrote a note to the Count Mejan, consul-general of
France, which he requested might be sent to that personage, as he
wished to consult w r ith him. Very naturally ; for the Count Mejan
was more deeply involved in the secretion of coin than M. Conturie.
Captain Shipley promised to send the note to the French consul,
provided it was approved at head-quarters. To head-quarters he
accordingly repaired, leaving Conturie a prisoner in his consulate.
The general decided that M. Conturie's note should not be for-
warded to the French consul, whom the affair did in no way con-
cern. Captain Shipley reappeared at the Dutch consulate, com-
municated his intention to search the premises, and demanded of
Conturie the key of his vault. The consul refused to deliver it.
" Then I shall be obliged to force the door," said the captain.
" With regard to that, you will do as you please," said Conturie,
who again protested against the violation of his office and flag.
366 GENEEAL BUTLEE AND THE F0EEIGN CONSULS.
As Captain Shipley had not the means of forcing the vault, he
was again compelled to return to head-quarters. As he turned to
go, the consul said :
" Sir, am I to understand that my consular office is taken pos-
session of, and myself am arrested by you ; and that, too, by order
of Major-General Butler ?"
" Yes, sir," replied Captain Shipley.
General Butler, upon receiving the captain's report, sent him
back to the consulate, accompanied by Lieutenant Kinsman, of his
staff, an officer peculiarly well fitted for extracting a key from a
contumacious consul — a gentleman perfectly capable of the suaviter
in modo, but equally versed in the fortiter in re. To the consul,
Lieutenant Kinsman politely said :
" Sir, I wish to look into your vault ?"
The consul replied : " It contains only my private effects, and
the property of the consulate."
Lieutenant Kinsman : " Sir, I wish to look into your vault.
Give me the key."
Mr. Conturie : u I will not."
Lieutenant Kinsman to officers : " Search the office. Break
open, if need be, the doors of the vault."
Mr. Conturie, rising : " I, Amedie Conturie, Consul of the Nether-
lands, protest against any occupation or search of my office ; and
this I do in the name of my government. The name of my consu-
late is over the door, and my flag floats over my head. If I cede,
it is to force alone."
The search began. Conturie then said, it would be of no use to
search the office, for the key of the vault was upon his own person.
Lieutenant Kinsman to officers : " Search this man."
Captain Shipley and Lieutenant Whitcomb, approached "this man"
to obey the order.
Lieutenant Kinsman : " Search the fellow thoroughly. Strip
him. Take off his coat, his stockings. Search even the soles of
his shoes."
M. Conturie : " You call me fellow ! That word is never applied
to a gentleman, far less to a foreign consul, acting in his consular
capacity, as I am now. I ask you to remember that you used that
word."
Lieutenant Kinsman : " Certainly ; fellow is the name I applied
GENERAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS. 367
to you. I don't care, if you are the consul of Jerusalem ; I am
going to look into your vault."
One of the officers took a key from the coat-pocket of the consul,
which proved not to be the one required. Conturie then made a
slight movement, which plainly said, that the pocket to look into,
was a certain one in his pantaloons. The silent hint was taken.
The key was found. The vault was opened ; and, lo ! a cord and
a half of kegs of silver coin, marked " Hope & Co." The kegs
were one hundred and sixty in number, each containing five thou-
sand Mexican dollars. Many other articles were found in the
vault — tin boxes, containing bonds of the cities of New Orleans
and Mobile, the consul's exequatur and other papers belonging to
him. Certain dies, bank-plates, and engraving tools of the Citizens'
Bank, were also discovered. A subsequent search brought to light
plates of the Confederate treasury notes, and some of the paper
upon which the notes were usually printed. Such were the articles
which the veracious Conturie declared were the property of his con-
sulate and of himself.
The consul was released early in the evening. The next day, the
silver, three wagon loads, and all the other articles found in the
vault, were removed to the Mint, and the office was vacated by
the troops. The Confederate plates were forwarded to Washing-
ton, where they now are ; the rest of the property was held, subject
to the disposal of the government.
M. Conturie immediately drew up a narrative of what had oc
curred, suppressing his declarations, so emphatic, so oft repeated,
that the vault contained nothing but his own and consular prop-
erty, and complaining bitterly of Lieutenant Kinsman's strong
language and stronger measures. This he sent to General Butler,
who thus replied :
" Your communication of the 1 Oth instant is received. The
nature of the property found concealed beneath your consular
flag — the specie, dies, and plates of the Citizens' Bank of New
Orleans — under a claim that it was private property, which claim
is now admitted to be groundless, shows you have merited, so
far as I can judge, the treatment you have received, even if a
little rough. Having prostituted your flag to a base purpose, you
could not hope to have it respected so debased."
May 12th. — Every consul in New Orleans, except the Mexican, to
368 GENEEAL BUTLEK AND THE EOEEIGN CONSULS.
the number of nineteen, joined in protesting against " the indig-
nity," " the severe ill-usage," and the " imprisonment for several
hours," to which the sacred person of M. Conturie had been sub-
jected.
General Butler replied :
" Messes. : I have the protest which you have thought it proper
to make in regard to the action of my officers toward the consul of
the Netherlands, which action I approve and sustain. I am grieved
that, without investigation of the facts, you, Messrs., should have
thought it your duty to take action in the matter. The fact will
appear to be, and easily to be demonstrated at the proper time,
that the flag of the Netherlands was made to cover and conceal
property of an incorporated company of Louisiana, secreted under
it from the operation of the laws of the United States. That the
supposed fact that the consul had under the flag only the property
of Hope & Co., citizens of the Netherlands, is untrue. He had
other property which could not by law be his property, or the
property of Hope & Co. ; of this I have abundant proof in my own
hands. No person can excel me in the respect which I shall pay to
the flags of all nations, and to the consulate authority, even while
I do not recognize many claims made under them; but I wish it
most distinctly understood that, in order to be respected, the con-
sul, his office, and the use of his flag, must each and all be respect
able."
M. Conturie's next step was, of course, to submit the case to
Mr. Yan Limburg, the minister of the Netherlands at Washington,
who, in turn, laid it before Mr. Seward, with all the exaggerations
of Conturie's own narrative. Mr. Yan Limburg is a very respect-
able and most* learned gentleman. It is pleasing to notice with
what joyful alacrity he embraced the opportunity of writing long
and erudite dispatches, such as has rarely fallen to the lot of a
minister of the Netherlands residing at Washington. The ponder-
ous dispatches with which this worthy gentleman kept Mr. Seward
busy during the summer of 1862, are they not attached to the
president's message, from page 625 to page 652 ? They are there,
with all their Latin quotations considerately translated. " Justicia,
regnorum fundamentum (justice is the foundation of kingdoms)."
To describe these dispatches it is only necessary to say, that they
are precisely such as Dominie Samson would have written, had he
GENERAL BUTLEE AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS. 30 9
been minister of the Netherlands in the year 1862, at the city of
Washington.
Mr. Seward, in reply to Mr. Van Limburg's first dispatch, said,
that he thought the consul had done wrong, but not so wrong as
to justify the roughness of Lieutenant Kinsman. " It appears,"
said the secretary of state, " beyond dispute, that the person of the
consul was unnecessarily and rudely searched ; that certain papers,
which incontestably were archives of the consulate, were seized
and removed, and that they are still withheld from him ; and that
he was not only denied the privilege of conferring with a friendly
colleague, but was addressed in very discourteous and disrespectful
language. In these proceedings the military agents assumed func-
tions which belonged exclusively to the department of state, acting
under the direction of the president. Their conduct was a violation
of the law of nations, and of the comity due from this country to a
friendly foreign state. The government disapproves of these pro-
ceedings, and also the sanction which was given to them by Major-
General Butler, and expresses its regret that the misconduct thus
censured has occurred."
This is a curious passage. It appears to say, that only the sec-
retary of state, acting under the authority of the president, has the
right to put his hand into a consul's pocket, and take out a key.
Lieutenant Kinsman, one day in Washington, asked Mr. Seward
what was the next thing to do after Conturie refused to give
up the key ? The secretary did not answer the question. It cer-
tainly was a puzzler.
Mr. Seward farther informed Mr. Van Limburg, that the president
had appointed a military governor of Louisiana, General Shepley,
" who has been instructed to pay due respect to all consular rights
and privileges, and a commissioner will at once proceed to New
Orleans to investigate the transaction which has been detailed, and
take evidence concerning the title of the specie, and bonds, and
other property in question, with a view to a disposition of the same,
according to international law and justice. You are invited to
designate any proper person to join such commissioner, and attend
his investigations. This government holds itself responsible for
the money and the bonds in question, to deliver them up to the
consul, or to Hope & Co., if they shall appear to belong to them.
The consular commission and exequatur, together with all the pri-
370 GENERAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS.
vate papers, will be immediately returned to M. Conturie, and ho
will be allowed to resume, and, for the present, exercise his official
functions. Should the facts, when ascertained, justify a represent-
ation to you of misconduct on his part, it will in due time be made,
with the confidence that the subject will receive just consideration
by a government with which the United States have lived in amity
for so many years."
Mr. Van Limburg declined joining in the investigation. The
United States, he said, must investigate the actions of its servants.
For him to take part in it, would be to acknowledge that General
Butler's conduct was possibly right. Besides, no seals had been
placed upon the kegs and boxes, and these contained the very evi-
dence of the consul's innocence. " It is for Major-General Butler
to prove what he alleges. Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui
negat (the burden of the proof lies upon him who asserts, not upon
him who denies), says the Pandects. It is not for me, it is not for
our consul, to prove that he is innocent. Prima facie the money
delivered by the ' Citizen's Bank' to the agent of the house of
Hope & Co., to be transmitted to that house, or to be deposited
with the consul of the Netherlands, is a legitimate money legiti
mately transferred. I could not, without having received the
orders of the government of the king, participate in any manner in
an investigation which would tend to investigate that which I could
not put in doubt — the good faith of the agent of the house of
Hope & Co., the moral impossibility that that honorable house
should lend itself to any culpable underplot, the good faith of the
consul of the Netherlands. Quilibet prmsumiter Justus donee
ywobitur contrarium (every one is to be presumed honest until the
contrary is proven), saith the ancient universal rule of justice."
If any charge is made against the consul, we will investigate that.
And if General Butler is guilty of the acts charged by Conturie,
we expect his — in fact — removal. Meantime, what is the status of
M. Conturie ? Is he consul, or is he not ?
Mr. Seward had informed the minister, that M. Conturie would
be " allowed" to resume his functions at once, before the affair had
been investigated. The minister demanded that he should be
" invited^ to do so. Mr. Seward replied : " I have no objection to
your writing to the consul that it is the president's expectation
that he will resume and continue in the discharge of his official
GENERAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS. 3 71
functions tratil there shall be farther occasion for him to relinquish
them." The minister rejoined : — " I regret, sir, not to be able to
accept that formula without submitting it to the judgment of the
government of the king." The minister more than carried his
point ; for we find Mr. Seward writing to him, soon after, that,
" simultaneously icith the appointment of Mr. Johnson as commis-
s£o?*er, Major-General Butler was relieved of his functions as military-
governor of New Orleans, and Brigadier-General Shepley was ap-
pointed military governor of that city ; the military authorities
were at the same time directed to invite M. Conturie to resume
his consular functions."
True, the appointment of a military governor was a mere diplo-
matic fiction, which did not in the slightest degree affect General
Butler's position or power. In the view of the world, however, he
was both censured and degraded ; and that too, upon the extrava-
gant, unsupported testimony of a foreign consul, whose conduct
the secretary of state himself had censured. The public was not
informed, as General Butler was informed by a member of the
cabinet, that General Shepley was selected for the military gover-
norship, because he was supposed to be the most acceptable officer
to General Butler, who had already made him the military gover-
nor of the city.
To those who believe that the first duty of a government is to
stand by its faithful servants, this mode of " backing" General But-
ler in his difficult position, will not commend itself. Whether Gen-
eral Butler's course had been right or wrong, was a question upon
which there could have been two opinions; and Mr. Reverdy
Johnson was sent to New Orleans to ascertain which of those
opinions was correct. There could be but one opinion respecting
the conduct of the consul of the Netherlands, who had lent the pro-
tection of his flag to property designed to support the credit of
the armed foes of the power to which he was accredited. I can
not conceive what there was in the position of the Dutch minister,
or of the power he represented, to justify this unquestioning haste
to concede everything which they thought proper to demand.
The commissioner selected to go to New Orleans, and investi-
gate the consular imbroglio, arrived early in June, and was ready
to begin his inquiries on the tenth. General Butler received Mr.
Johnson with every courtesy, invited him to reside at head-quarters,
872 GENERAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS.
and did all that in him lay to facilitate his investigations. Mr #
Johnson was equally polite, though he declined the general's invita.
tion with regard to his residence. He spent six weeks in investi-
gating the several cases of collision, between General Butler and
the consuls. >l
It appeared that on the 24th of February, 1862, the Citizens'
Bank of ISTew Orleans had conceived the idea of suddenly getting
rid of a great part of its coin. With regard to the eight hundred
thousand dollars deposited in the vault of M. Conturie, the follow-
ing resolutions were shown to Mr. Johnson on the books of the
bank :
" Whereas, the present rate of exchange on Europe would entail a ruinous
loss in this bank for such suras as are due semi-annually in Amsterdam for
the interest on the state bonds.
"Be it therefore resolved, That the President be and is hereby authorized
to make a special deposit of eight hundred thousand dollars ($800,000) in
Mexican dollars in the hands of Messrs. Hope & Co., of Amsterdam, Holland,
agents of the bond-holders in Europe, through their authorized agent, Ed-
mund J. Forstall, Esq., for the purpose of providing for the interest on said
bonds.
u Be it further resolved, That such portions of the above sum as may be re-
quired from time to time to pay the interest accruing on the state bonds
shall be so applied by Messrs. Hope & Co., provided, however, that the bank
shall have the option of redeeming an equivalent amount in coin by approved
sterling exchange to the satisfaction of the agents of Messrs. Hope & Co. ;
and provided farther, that in the event of the blockade of this port not be-
ing raised in time to allow of the shipment of the said coin, then the said
Edmund J. Forstall will arrange with Messrs. Hope & Co. for the necessa-
ry advances to protect the credit of the state and of the bank until such
time as the coin can go forward to liquidate said debt ; but no commission
shall be allowed for such shipment of coin or any other expenses, except
those actually incurred ; and on the resumption of specie payment by this
bank this trust to cease and the balance of coin to be returned to the bank."
The papers farther showed, that on the 12th of April, the agent
of Messrs. Hope & Co., " with a view to their better security in
such times of excitement, deemed it his duty to withdraw the said
sum of eight hundred thousand dollars, already marked and pre-
pared for shipment, say, one hundred and sixty kegs, Hope & Co.,
containing five thousand dollars each, and to place the same under
GEXEEAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS. 373
the protection of the consul of the Netherlands, Amadie Conturie,
Esq., for which he held his receipt."
It also appeared, that two days after the removal of this large
sum, the bank sold other coin amounting to seven hundred and six-
teen thousand one hundred and ninety-six dollars, to the French bank-
ers, Messrs. Dupasseur & Co., which they paid for in drafts upon
bankers in Paris and Havre. This coin was deposited in the French
consulate, where it was seized by General Butler, and where, for
the moment, we will leave it.
Now, what did these strange transactions mean ? The paper case
was plain enough, and Mr. Johnson thought it his duty to decide ac-
cording to the papers, and give up all the coin, and all the articles
found with it, except the plates of the Confederate treasury notes.
But the decision, though it satisfied the secretary of state, does not
even appease the curiosity of a disinterested reader. Surely there
was ground for suspicion here. The attempted transfer of so large
an amount of coin to Europe, from the chief city of the rebel gov-
ernment, at a time when all legitimate commerce had ceased, was
certainly a matter demanding the attention of the commanding
general.
Mr. For st all, the New Orleans agent of Hope & Co., in a letter
to that eminent house, written three days after the seizure of the
coin, gives a history of the affair :
"New Orleans, May 13, 1862.
" Gentlemen : — On 1st March last T wrote Messrs. Baring Brothers & Co.
as follows :
" ' Should there be a necessity, I shall place under the protection of the
respective consuls all bonds and papers belonging to you, Messrs. Hope &
Co., and other friends. I shall try and protect the cash assets of the two
banks whose capitals have been furnished by Europe.'
" The great apprehension at that time, in the event of the fall of New
Orleans, was not the action of the federal government, which, until then,
on similar events, had left private property undisturbed, but the destruction
of property and sacking of the banks by the rabble out of a mixed popula-
tion of nearly two hundred thousand, pending the consequent delays of an
abrupt and violent change of government ; and the event proved that such
apprehension was not idle, for after the destruction and robbery of an im-
mense amount of property on our wharves and some of our front stores
and warehouses, a general plunder of the city would have taken place by
374 GENERAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS.
the rabble after the retreat of the Confederate troops, but for the armed
interference, night and day, of the French and foreign brigades for nearly
six days, when the federal troops took charge of the city with a sufficient
force to maintain order.
" The position of the Citizens' Bank on the 24th February last, as per
inclosed report of the board of currency, was as follows :
CASH RESPONSIBILITIES.
"Circulation, $2,084,380
"Individual deposits, returnable in gold to depositors up to
September 16, 1861, when the banks were ordered by the
government of the Confederacy to suspend specie payment,
say about 1,200,000
" Deposits in Confederate notes, and returnable in Confeder-
ates on hand 4,354,755
" Total $5,554,755
CASH ASSETS.
" Gold and silver $4,025,932
" The bond-holders you represent 4 yet hold bonds of the Citizens' Bank for
$4,430,666.66. Deeply impressed with the danger threatening New Or-
leans after the fall of the Tennessee forts, and of the disastrous consequen-
ces that might follow its capture, with so heavy an amount of gold and
silver centering in the vaults of our banks, and a rabble which for a time,
however short, might be uncontrollable, and considering the interest of
your bond-holders in as much danger as that of the stockholders, I deemed
it my duty to call upon Mr. Denegre, so far back as the middle of February
last, urging him to prepare for the worst, and then used every exertion to
induce the president to dispose of his coin at once in the following manner,
to wit :
" 1st. To pay in full the circulation of the bank, amounting on
24th February last to about $2,084,380
"2d. To pay the depositors up to the 16th September last,
when the bank suspended specie payment, and who had left
their deposits, which Mr. Denegre said would require about 1,200,000
$3,284,380
" This would have reduced the cash assets of the bank to about $800,000
in silver, without any responsibility save to the holders of the bonds, which,
GENERAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS. 375
as things have turned out, would have been a most enviable position, with
its large and well-protected 'portefeuille,' including a very large surplus,
and its valuable banking privileges unimpaired, ready for active operations
on the reopening of trade. Unfortunately, this course did not meet with
the views of Mr. Denegre, but finding that he had coin on hand to meet
the circulation and deposits of the bank, and a surplus of about $800,000
in silver, he proposed to place in my hands, on your account, for the pur-
pose of meeting the interest on the bonds as maturing, the said sum of
$800,000, which, he said, would otherwise remain dormant until a resump-
tion of business, whilst, so used, it would sustain the credit of the bank in
Europe, by showing that, even if the war lasted another year, and under
fill the difficulties of the present times, it had the means of paying the in-
terest on its bonds as maturing, and had provided for the same in kind.
Of course, consultation with you was out of the question, and I had to re-
fer to your power of attorney, at the time when you considered the interest
of the bond-holders you represent jeoparded, to guide me in the present
instance ; and, after mature consideration, I came to the conclusion that
it was my duty to accept the deposit in your behalf, tendered by the Citi-
zens' Bank, as advised in my letter of the 1st April last, copy of which is
inclosed.
" And now allow me to refer you to the inclosed copy of a letter which I
addressed Major-General Butler on the 11th instant, and which was handed
him personally by my friend, Kendal Hunt, Esq., at 10 o'clock a. m. It
contained a plain statement of facts, and a demand for the $800,000 forci-
bly taken from the vaults of the consul of the Netherlands. I have no
answer as yet, and I may be arrested at any moment, as he said he could
see fraud in every part of the document. We continue under the rule of
martial law.
" It may be well to remark here that when M. Conturie learned that the
French consul could not accommodate him, he hired the old vaults of the
Orleans Bank, on Canal street, and the same square as the Citizens' Bank,
the front being occupied by an insurance company, whose president used
the front vault for his papers and books. When the money was brought,
Mr. Denegre, who was laboring under the idea of a run upon the banks by
the rabble, having received an anonymous letter to that effect, fancying, it
appears, that the best hiding-place for the steel-plates of the bank was
those same vaults, sent them there, attaching no other importance to this
matter than that of protecting these plates, which, had they fallen in bad
hands, might have given a good deal of trouble to the bank and public, and
caused heavy losses. - These plates, for $5 and $10, I believe, engraved and
prepared before the secession, are in accordance with the charter of the
Citizens' Bank and under the authority of the state of Louisiana. This is
the property, I understand, alluded to by General Butler in his answer to
076 GENEBAL BUTLEE AND THE FOEEIGN CONSULS.
the protest of the foreign consuls, and which no consul should have cover-
ed. Eeally and truly, I do not believe M. Conturie knew anything about
it. As for my part, I did not. In the whole of this matter M. Conturie
has shown all the energy and dignity that could be desired from the repre-
sentative of a nation. I am, respectfully,
"EDM. J. FOESTALL.
" Messrs. Hope & Co., Amsterdam."
It thus appears that the solicitude professed by the bank for
the interests of Hope & Co., was not shared by the agent of Hope
& Co., who strongly advised another disposition of the silver, and
accepted it with reluctance and doubt. It also appears that the
office claimed by Conturie as the consulate of the Netherlands, was
nothing but a vault, hired by him for the sole purpose of hiding the
coin. Mr. Forstall's letter farther shows, that the explanation of
the transfer of the coin, which Mr. Johnson read upon the books
of the bank, was a fiction.
I believe this is all the light I am able to throw upon the trans-
action. One more fact, however, should be stated. It was not
true, as the True Delta intimated, that the Citizens' Bank had no
particular interest in sustaining the credit of the state bonds.
Those bonds bore the indorsement of the bank, and constituted the
basis of its capital. The explanation given by the editor of the
True Delta, of the transfer of the coin, may, however, be the correct
one. The Citizens' Bank, probably, deemed it more important to
have a powerful friend in Europe than to secure its creditors at
home. If this is the true view, then justice and patriotism appear
to have required that the silver should have been replaced in the
vault of the bank, not restored to the agent of Hope & Co. The
money having been consigned to Europe, the bank has since gone
into liquidation.
In the same spirit, Mr. Johnson decided upon the coin deposit-
ed with the French consul by the same bank.
"The bank." he says in his report, " in addition to the deposit of $800,000
with the agent of Messrs. Hope & Co., needed other credits in Europe.
Their principal business was the dealing in foreign exchange, and, to enable
them to do this, it was necessary to have a large credit abroad. To effect
this object they made this negotiation with Messrs. Dupasseur & Co., known
to be perfectly responsible merchants of New Orleans, to wit : to purchase
from them bills at certain rates on Paris for the amount of $716,196, and
GENEBAL BUTLEE AND THE FOEEIGN CONSULS. 377
to pay for the same in coin. The bills wore not to be accepted until the
drawees were advised of the shipment of the coin by Dupasseur & Co.
The bills were drawn, delivered to the bank, and the coin handed over to
Count Mejan, the French consul, to be retained until shipped. They were
remitted by the bank to their correspondents abroad for acceptance, but
have not been accepted because the coin has not been sent on.
" Things remained in this condition when Major-General Butler requested
the consul to retain the coin, which he has ever since done.
" On these facts the only question is, have the United States a right to
the fund? That the transaction was one of perfect good faith is evident
from the depositions referred to. It was a mere business matter, in which
the parties had a clear right to engage. That the bank at the time owned
the coin was not denied. ISFor was it questioned that the agreement was
entered into and was being carried out when the major-general intervened.
The United States can have no interest in the coin, except upon the ground
of forfeiture, and for that there was not at the time, nor is there now, the
slightest pretense. If it be alleged, as a matter of suspicion (the proof is
all the other way), that the purpose of the bank was to place so much of
its funds beyond the control of the United States, that, if true, would be no
cause of forfeiture, there being no law, state or congressional, to prohibit
it. If it be alleged, that the purpose was to place the fund in Europe for
the advantage of the rebels, the answer is, there is not only no proof of the
fact, but the proof actually before me wholly conflicts with it."
This is Mr. Johnson's explanation of a transaction which, to in-
experienced minds, certainly wears the appearance of being ficti-
tious, or worse. Perhaps some light may be thrown upon it by
the relation of a later affair in which the consul of France was en-
gaged.
Detection and Removal of the French Consul.
In September, 1862, Mr. Sandford, our minister at Brussels,
wrote home that the Confederate agents in Europe were seriously
embarrassed by the non-arrival of a large amount of coin from New
Orleans. Notes had been renewed ; purveyors of cloth could not
be paid ; and Confederate affairs generally were at a dead lock.
" But," he added, " assurances are now given that the money is in
the hands of the French consul, and would be shortly received."
A copy of this interesting letter was forwarded to General But-
ler, with directions to investigate. General Butler has a knack at
investigating, and he performed this pleasing duty with an energy,
S78 GENERAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS.
skill, promptitude, and success rarely equaled. His report upon
the subject was so irresistibly conclusive, that the French govern-
ment felt compelled to recall a too assiduous, an imprudently faith-
ful servant. I can not do the reader a better service than by trans-
cribing this report. The supporting documents must necessarily
be omitted, but to show their nature, I retain General Butler's refer-
ences to them.
" Head-qttaetees, Department of the Gtjle,
" New Orleans, Md. 13, 1862 v
'' To Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War :
" Sir : — I received the communication of the war department inclosing a
copy of a letter from the state department, directing my attention to the
statement made by Mr. Sandford, our minister resident at Brussels, a copy
of which I inclose for the better understanding of the present communica-
tion. In obedience to its directions I set about making inquiries through
my secret police, and finding it a matter of very grave import as affecting
the relations of the French consul here, I undertook a personal examination
of the subject. The facts as substantiated by the documentary and other
testimony, hereto appended, are substantially these :
" The firm of Ed. Gautherin & Co., composed of Ed. Gantlierin and Al-
fred and Jules Lemore, doing business in New Orleans, was also concerned
in a house at Havre, S. A. Lemore & Co. Jules and Alfred Lemore, the
partners in New Orleans, were also partners in that house. Gautherin &
Co. were at first employed in buying tobacco for the French government,
afterward they were concerned in shipping cotton in joint account. They
represent themselves to be agents of Baron Villers, the contractor for
French army clothing,
" On the 29th day of July, 1861, as will appear from the copy of a con-
tract with the Confederate government, herewith inclosed, and marked X,
the original of which is in my possession, Gautherin & Co. agreed to fur-
nish the Confederates with a large amount of cloths for uniforms, which
are the cloths spoken of in the communication of Mr. Sandford. About the
first of April, of this year, a cargo of the goods was shipped to Havana, and
from thence to Matamoras, under charge of the senior partner of the house
of Edward Gautherin & Co., now in Europe.
"That cloth was smuggled across to Brownsville, and delivered to Cap-
tain Shankey, quartermaster . and agent of the Confederate government.
The original invoice and receipt are hereto annexed, marked E and F. Be-
tween the 14th and the 24th of April, the day the fleet passed the forts, Mr.
J. B. D. De Bow, produce loan-agent of the Confederate States, made ap-
plication to the ' Bank of Yew Orleans' for a loan of four hundred and five
GEXEEAL BTTTLEE AND THE FOEEIGN CONSULS. 379
thousand dollars in coin without interest, as will appear by the communica-
tion hereto annexed, marked 0. This proposition was acceded to by the
bank, upon a pledge, made by Payne, Huntington & Co., the 4 junior partner
of which firm was president of the bank, of cotton to be delivered on the
plantations in Louisiana and Mississippi. The contract is hereto annexed,
and marked D.
" This transaction was not entered into in good faith, as is confessed by
the testimony of the acting president, Mr. Davis, taken from his own lips,
in short hand, a copy of which is hereto annexed, marked O.
"But the transaction was a contrivance by which the specie might ~be got
out of the bank. Specie to this amount was placed in the hands of the
French consul with his full knowledge of the intent of the transaction, and
a receipt was given by him to hold it in trust for the Bank of New Orleans.
At the same time, a pretended sale of the remainder of the specie in bank,
amounting to four hundred thousand dollars for sterling, was made by the
bank, and that sum was also placed in the hands of the French consul.*
These two sums, amounting to eight hundred thousand dollars, made sub-
stantially the whole specie capital of the bank. This is shown by the con-
fession of the only director of the bank who has not run away into the
Confederacy, Mr. Harroll, a copy of whose statement is hereto annexed,
marked K.
" Matters stood in this condition at the time the city of New Orleans was
taken possession of by us. Upon my assurance to the bank, that if they
would return their specie, they should be protected, the pretended sale for
sterling exchange was annulled, and the French consul sent back the money,
and the bank received into its vaults four hundred thousand dollars.
"In regard to the four hundred and five thousand dollars, the French
consul became uneasy, and moved upon the bank to get at his receipt given
to the Bank of New Orleans, and gave a new receipt, running directly to
Gautherin & Co.
" At this point of time, I ordered all the specie in the hands of the French
consul to be sequestered and held until affairs could be investigated.
"Reverdy Johnson, on commission of the state department, came down
here, and without investigation, and without knowing anything of the trans-
actions, and without even inquiring of me about them, made such repre-
sentations to the department of state, that I was ordered to release the
French consul from his promise not to deliver up any specie held in his
hands without informing me, which order I obeyed.
" In the mean time, Gautherin & Co. had succeeded in delivering their
goods to the Confederate States agents, and called upon the bank to get
their money, which had been deposited in the hands of the French consul.
* 1 need hardly call the readers attention to the similarity of this "contrivance'" forgetting rid
of specie to that employed hy the Citizens 1 Bank.
380 GENERAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS.
This delivery had not been completed at Brownsville until 22d June; and
some time in the last of July, the bank, through its officers, gave up its re-
ceipts, which were destroyed, and took a receipt which was dated back to
the 16th of April, directly from Gautherin & Co.. so that the French con-
sul's name would not appear in the transaction.
" These facts are established by the testimony of Mr. Belly, the cashier
of the bank, which is written out and signed, and sworn to by him, a copy
of which is annexed, marked O P. The money was sent on board the
Spanish man-of-war Blasco de G-aray, which left this port in September
last, and has now returned, and has been carried to Havana, and thence
shipped to New York. All this has been done with the knowledge and
consent of the consul of France.
" You will see by the letter of Mr. Sandford the difficulties which the
Confederates had of getting more goods, on account of the non-payment of
the first bill. Another cargo is now in Havana, not to be delivered, of
course, until the first is paid for. By this wrongful, illegal, and inimical
interference of the French consul, aided by the Spanish ship-of-war, the
money has gone forward, so that the holders of the goods will be ready to
ship the remainder for the benefit of the Confederate army. A more fla-
grant violation of international law and national courtesy on the part of a
consular agent, can not be imagined.
" Before I proceeded upon the investigation, not knowing the extent to
which the French consul was implicated, I called upon him, and after show-
ing him a letter from the commanding general of the army, in which I was
directed to cultivate the most friendly relations with him, I read him a let-
ter from our minister at Brussels, and told him I should desire his friendly
aid in making the investigation, and then asked him if he knew anything
of the transaction spoken of in the letter of Mr. Sandford, or if any money
had been deposited with him for any such purpose. He in the most em-
phatic manner assured me that he knew nothing of any such transaction.
He only knew that there was a French house of the name of Gautherin &
Co. in New Orleans, and declared that.no money had ever been deposited
with him for any such purpose. I then informed him that it would become
my duty to arrest and question Alfred and Jules Lemore, the resident part-
ners of the French house. I did so, and they denied all such transaction,
or refused to answer, lest they should ' criminate themselves.' But, in the
mean time, I had possessed myself of their books and papers, and found two
accounts, translations of which I inclose, marked B A, which show the
whole transaction ; and which also show that one Kossuth, a clerk of the
French consul, whose name appears in the account, received $528.92 as a
fee for keeping the money within the French consulate ; that a douceur w99
to enter or leave it. In five days the man died. Every article in
his room was burnt or buried. His attendant was quarantined.
The house, the block, the quarter of the city, was fumigated,
cleansed, and whitewashed. Every precaution which the skill of
the doctors could devise and the authority of the general enforce
was employed. No one caught the disease. This single case,
brought from Nassau, was ail the yellow fever known in New
Orleans during the season of 1862.
It is of the highest importance to the future of Louisiana that the
means employed by General Butler to preserve the health of the
city should be known. Sanitary science, as the reader is aware,
was a familiar subject with him before he began his military career.
His researches led him to adopt the theory that the yellow fever
is indigenous in no region where there is frost every winter. There
is frost every winter in every part of the United States. He, there-
fore, concluded that the yellow fever is not a disease native to our
soil, but is always brought from a tropical port. The gulf coasts
generate, it is true, the malaria which serves as a medium for the
most calamitous spread of the disease ; but the deadly poison which
issues in the yellow fever is brought from abroad. The magazine
is ready, but the foreign spark is indispensable. He relied chiefly,
therefore, upon a quarantine ; and this he enforced with such rig-
orous impartiality, that the state department was inundated with
complaints, reclamations, and protests, and the ear of the public
was assailed with charges of favoritism and corruption. But he
never relaxed his clutch upon the throat of the Mississippi. " My
orders," he wrote on one occasion, " are imperative and distinct to
my health- officers, to subject all vessels coming from infected ports
to such a quarantine as shall insure safety from disease. Whether
one day or one hundred is necessary for the purpose, it will be
done. It wlil be done if it is necessary to take the vessel to pieces
to do it, so long as the United States has the physical power to en-
force it. I have submitted to the judgment of my very competent
surgeon at the quarantine the question of the length of time and
the action to be taken to insure safety. I have by no order inter-
fered with his discretion. If he thinks ten days sufficient in a
given case, be it so ; if forty in another, be it so ; if one hundred in
another, it shall be so."
And so it was, as the volumes of documents unanswerably show.
400 GENERAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS.
The consular complaints had at length the usual fortunate effect
of extorting from General Butler one of those clear and interesting
statements of fact, of which the reader has already been favored
with several specimens. In this masterly paper, he gives a history
of his expedients for keeping away the yellow fever, and replies to
the numberless accusations of partiality, which had been, and still
are brought against him. It was the case of the Cardenas, a Span-
ish ship, plying between Havana and New Orleans, which he was
requested by the secretary of war to elucidate, and which called
forth the following important narrative :
""When New Orleans was captured," wrote the general, October 1st, "it
was found in the utmost possible filthy condition, because of the trouble-
some times. The contractors upon all the streets and canals had utterly
neglected to comply with their contracts for cleaning and purifying the
streets, and the filth was indescribable.
" In view of this most alarming sanitary condition of the city, and tho
approach of the epidemic season, after consultation with the most eminent
local physicians, who would give advice (some refusing to give any opinion
with the apparent hope that the pestilence would do what their rebel arms
could not, drive us out), and acting with the advice of my medical staff, I
took the most energetic measures to purify the city itself from the possi-
bility of engendering disease. Believing at the same time that the yellow
fever was no more indigenous to ISTew Orleans than the sugar cane, but must
be imparted or propagated as that is by cuttings, and that a firmly admin-
istered quarantine, guided by science and honesty of purpose, discriminat-
ing as regards cargoes and cleanliness of ships, would effectually keep out
the scourge of the city, the prayed for ally of the rebellion, I ordered
quarantine to be enforced with these discriminations, not ' a procrustean
period of quarantine to all.' A vessel loaded with hides and wool, the ab-
sorbants of the malaria, with a filthy hold reeking with dead and putrid
organic matter, loaded at an infected port with infected hands, sown thick
with the seeds of disease, only waiting for time and the warm sun to de-
velop them into a plague, was not put on an equality as to time with a
steamer for passengers, kept clean and sweet as a mercantile necessity to
procure business, laden with flour, tight casks of salted provisions and
round shot and shell, which would not be likely either to absorb or gene-
rate contagion.
" Again, the length of time in which a ship and cargo had been exposed
to the danger of contagion had much to do with the quarantine. A ship
belonging to an infected port, loaded there with the product or the manu-
facture of that port, her crew acclimated and therefore indifferent to san-
GENERAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS. 401
itary regulations and appliances, required to be kept under quarantine
longer, to watch the probable development of disease, and to await the op-
eration of purification, than a vessel loaded at a northern port, where the
frost insured health in this regard, and which had merely touched at a port
afflicted with yellow fever, and held communication with the shore under
the restriction imposed by the fears of unacclimated officers and crew.
"These and kindred considerations which will readily suggest themselves
to your mind, were the controlling guide to the very intelligent medical
officers who were in charge at quarantine, as they were to my own mind
upon the necessity and length of detention. We determined, however, to
err, if at all, upon the safe side, remembering ever the far greater import-
ance of the lives of a large city and an army committed to our charge,
than the possible damage to any commercial adventure from detention.
"I need not assure you, sir, that the question of 'nationality' never en-
tered into our thought in the exercise of our judgment and power, except
in one possible relation.
" We could not help looking with a little less care to, and holding under
advisement a little less time, a vessel of a nation proverbial for the neatness
of their ships, as compared with one which enjoyed an unenviable reputa-
tion the other way. With these theories, and upon these bases, have the
quarantine and health laws been administered at New Orleans, up to the
first day of October.
" I can point with a reasonably justified pride to the results as an explana-
tion and a vindication of my acts and administration in this particular.
Pardon me, if I add, that I claim for this triumph of science, integrity, firm-
ness, and skill of my medical staff, by which thousands of lives have been
saved, and by far the most dreaded foe driven from the city of New Or-
leans, as much credit, as if by the disposition of my troops we had won a
victory over the less deadly but hardly less implacable enemy in a conflict
of arms.
11 Up to this date, there has been no malignant, or epidemical, or virulent
fevers or diseases in New Orleans, and its mortality returns show it to be
the most healthy city in the United States. In one regiment, the Thir-
teenth Connecticut, a thousand strong, quartered in the Custom-House
since the loth of May, but one man was lost during the months of July and
August.
" His excellency, Mr. Tarsara, the Spanish minister, is most grievously
misinformed when he says to the secretary of state, that the salubrity of
New Orleans is no better than that of the island of Cuba.
" Our quarantine has been more perfect than the blockade. We have
had serious cases of fever at the quarantine, only seventy-five miles from
us, and but a single one at New Orleans, and this one at once justifies and
illustrates our sanitary laws.
4:02 GENERAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS.
"The United States steamship 'Ida,' having only touched at Hassan, and
no disease having been reported as existing there at the time of her depart-
ure, was permitted to pass up by the health-officer after fumigation and
other precautions. The day after her arrival in the city, one of her passen-
gers on shore was taken sick and on the sixth day died ; an unmistakable
case of malignant yellow fever. The most strenuous measures were taken,
to isolate the disease. Everything that touched or was about the diseased
man was buried; acclimated persons only were allowed to do the last sad
offices. The house in which he died was most thoroughly purified, and by
the blessing of ' Him who holdeth all things in the hollow of his hand,' the
pestilence was stayed.
" The steamer was ordered at once below, where she is undergoing quar-
antine. Even while I write this, the English consul reports the British
brig ' Volunteer' to me at the mouth of the river, out of provisions, her
officers and crew, including the captain, dead or sick with fever, and prays
for assistance; and a telegraphic message sends from the quarantine my
health-officer on board with medical supplies and other aid.
"I have thus given to the department a full explanation of the com-
plaints involved in my administration of the quarantine laws. Upon the
other branches of the inquiry relative to the Spanish steamer ' Cardenas,' I
am most happy to report :
"As to the Spanish 'Cardenas,' let me observe, that she did not come to
me in such manner as to demand the highest degree of courtesy or respect.
The ' Cardenas' left Havana on the 31st of May, after epidemic yellow fever
had made its appearance, bringing many passengers, a large portion of
whom were rebels who had been in Havana buying arms and munitions of
war for the Confederates, having on board to bring her up the river two
pilots who had successfully conducted vessels through the blockade.
" She ran past the forts without stopping, which was permitted because
she was mistaken for the U. S. steamer ' Connecticut,' then hourly ex-
pected, which mistake caused the ' Connecticut' to be fired at when she
made her appearance, and attempted to go by without reporting.
" The ' Cardenas' then loitered up the river till near night, and without
coming up to the usual place of landing, or reporting to the harbor-master,
came alongside a wharf some three miles below the usual places of steam-
boat landing, and put on shore all her passengers without passports being
examined, or any report to any person, so that many obnoxious persons
escaped into the city, and the provost-marshal has never been able to ascer-
tain the character of all her passengers.
" Will it be pretended that any captain of a Spanish steamer is so igno-
rant as not to know that such conduct is in the highest degree improper in
landing passengers at a military post.
"Mr. Tarsara says well, 'that no difficulty was made about landing the
GENEEAL BTJTLEE AXD THE FOBEIGN COXSTJLS. 403
passengers from the steamer.' True, because they and their baggage were
surreptitiously landed miles below the usual landing-place, without the
knowledge of any person friendly to the United States, but evidently with
the knowledge of the secessionists, because the captain says, in his protest,
that ' crowds invaded the vessel as soon as she made the wharf.'
" She was ordered back to quarantine ; but many frivolous excuses and
delays were interposed by her officers until a most peremptory order, ac-
companied by a threat, was given, which she obeyed.
" After a proper quarantine, the 'Cardenas' came up — not of thirty days,
but one precisely such as was thought sufficient. I do not understand Mr.
Tarsara's notions about reciprocity in quarantine. He seems to insist that
if we require a long quarantine at New Orleans, the governor-general of
Cuba will require an equally long one at Havana. But what need of quar-
antines at all against epidemic yellow fever in its most virulent form ?
"What possible reciprocity of quarantine could there be between Iceland and
Vera Cruz ? I have endeavored to make quarantine a sensible, not a use-
less regulation.
" It is complained, however, that the U. S. steamship ' Roanoke' suffered
a shorter detention at quarantine than the ' Cardenas,' and that she sailed
from Havana on the day after.
" This is an uncandid way of stating the fact. The ' Roanoke' sailed
from New York, went into the harbor at Havana, stayed there less than
twenty-four hours, and held little or no communication with the shore.
Her captain reported her at the quarantine station as direct from New York.
" Was there any reason for so long a quarantine for her as for a vessel
loaded at Havana ?
M When the ' Roanoke' was about to sail for New York on her return
from New Orleans, a large number of Spanish persons were desirous of
taking passage in her for Havana, and engaged passage accordingly. Upon
application to the Spanish consul for a bill of health, as the purser of the
' Roanoke' informed me, the consul or vice-consul told him that as ' I had
quarantined the ' Cardenas,' the consul would not give the 'Roanoke' a
bill of health, but would report that New Orleans was afflicted with epi-
demic fever unless I would permit the ' Cardenas' to come up, and if so a
clean bill of health would be given.'
"The effect of and motive for this conduct was obvious. If the 'Roan-
oke' went to Havana and carried her passengers, she would take away this
business from the ' Cardenas.' If she carried such a bill of health as to put
her in quarantine at Havana, no New York passengers would saii 1 in her,
so that she must lose one or the other lot of passengers.
" This seemed to me so unjust that I sent for the consul for an explana-
tion. I understood his explanations to be exactly what the purser of the
' Roanoke' informed me had been given him.
JNERAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS.
"It is proper here to remark that I have since been assured by the
Spanish consul, for whom I really entertain high respect, that this conver-
sation was misunderstood by all parties, neither understanding the other's
language.
" I told the consul at that interview, that any retaliation upon the
' Roanoke' for any supposed wrong done by me to the ' Cardenas' ought
not to be, and could not be permitted; 'that if he slandered the health of
the city of New Orleans, by giving any report that epidemic yellow fever
existed here, when he knew it not to be the fact, preventing trade and com-
merce coming to this port by such false report, that I would certainly send
him out of the city to Havana, and report his conduct to the captain-gen-
eral, as the nearest Spanish authority;' and, in that event, this I would
most assuredly have done. I told him, that the bill of health of the ' Roan-
oke' must be such as was required by the laws and his instructions, pre-
cisely as if nothing had been done to the ' Cardenas.'
" To this (as he was interpreted to me to say) the consul replied, that he
would not give a clean bill of health to the ' Roanoke,' because it was now
past the first of June, and whatever might be the health of the city in fact,
he must report it unhealthy. Farther, that if I still held the ' Cardenas'
under quarantine, he would write to the captain-general of Cuba, not to
send any more vessels here.
" To that I replied, that he should give my compliments to the captain-
general, and say that, until the yellow fever season was over, he could
do me and the city no greater favor than to prevent vessels from coming
here.
" I then put in writing, and handed the consul my claim, that he should
give a bill of health to the Roanoke required by the laws and regulations
of his government, regardless of my treatment of the ' Cardenas.'
"The interview here ended. The bill of health, however, which was
given to the Roanoke, was such (although the city was perfectly healthy)
that her officers did not dare to sail to Havana, lest they should be held to
quarantine there, in a city where the small-pox and yellow fever were both
raging. She was in consequence obliged to discharge her Havana passen-
gers, and pay back the passage money.
" I take leave here to observe upon a remark o f Mr. Tarsara, the Spanish
minister, ' that I had not the authority to send out of my lines the Spanish
consul,' for so gross a dereliction of duty : in the first place, that I should
have done it, if the occasion had called ; and that secondly, I know of no
law, national or municipal, that requires the commander of a captured city>
occupied as a military post, to keep any person in it, consul or other, who
is deliberately working to render the place untenable, by keeping away sup-
plies of provisions from it through false reports.
" I wish, however, again to repeat, that subsequent conversations, through
GENERAL BUTLER AXD THE FOREIGN CONSULS. 405
a more intelligent interpreter in his understanding of English, has convinced
me that the consul's remarks were misinterpreted and mistaken by me, as
mine were by him. These subsequent explanations have, I believe, estab-
lished the most cordial relations between us. I have also learned that I
have done Mr. Oallijon an injustice in another respect, in supposing him, as
I was informed, to be a Spanish merchant. Such I am now convinced is
not the case ; but that he is a soldier, who has won honorable distinction
in the wars of his country.
"In Mr. Tarsara's letter of complaint, it is alleged that I have permitted
the French brigantine 'Marie Felicia,' and the English schooner 'Virginia
Antoinette,' and other vessels, to come up without the same length of
quarantine as the ' Cardenas.' These facts, it is said, will convict me of
capricious discrimination against Spain in favor of other European nations.
There is no reason given why I should be possessed of feelings which
would lead me thus to discriminate. Indeed, if I permitted my indignation
and sense of wrong as regards the manner in which my government has
been treated by other nations to influence my official action, I assure you
Spain would not be the nation toward which these feelings would most
actively operate. On the contrary, I have felt that the conduct of Spain
has been most friendly, especially taking in view the wrong done her by
some of the citizens of the United States in the invasion of Cuba. No
rebel privateers have fitted out from her ports. I have not known that any
of her islands have been made arsenals and naval depots for the Confed-
eracy, and 1 have yet to be informed of any discrimination made by her be-
tween our armed vessels and those of the enemy. I have ventured to say
thus much because, in weighing one's acts, motives are specially to be
looked at.
" Perhaps, however, the two cases of the ' Marie Felicia' and the ' Vir-
ginia Antoinette' deserve a word of comment, as they illustrate the animus
with which our quarantine has been conducted.
" The ' Marie' having an acclimated crew, having been loaded at Havre,
and only touched at Havana without landing, was detained only long
enough to examine her present condition as to health, presuming that she
contained no latent disease or malaria which develops itself by time. The
' Virginia' having only touched at Havana, was without passengers, and
laden wholly with loose salt, a powerful disinfectant itself. One might as
Weil quarantine a barrel of chloride of lime. And yet permitting this
schooner to come up after twenty days' absence from the infected port, is
brought forward as evidence of a 'capricious discrimination against the
Spanish government.'
" Mr. Tarsara, in his communication of the 28th of June, wishes the secre-
tary to require me ' to treat the consuls of foreign nations with more con-
sideration ; and that I must refrain from expressions which are not suited to
406 GENERAL BUTLER AND THE FOREIGN CONSULS.
give security to trade or maintain friendly relations between the authorities
of the Island and those of the United States.'
" It will be seen by examination of the letter of the commander of the
'Blasco de Garay,' hereto annexed, under date of August 13th, that he
complains that my acts do not come up to my professions of friendship and
the courtesies of my language. I have, therefore, appended all of the more
important of my correspondence with the Spanish authorities here, so that
the department may see whether, either in the manner or matter of that
correspondence, there is anything which should be a casus belli between
two otherwise friendly nations.
"That I answered somewhat sharply the letter of the captain of the
'Blasco de Garay,' who seized the occasion in replying to a note, wherein
I offered him assistance and courtesy, to read me a lecture on my duties, I
admit. I thought, and still think, I was justified in so doing.
"A nation may be friendly and its consul quite the reverse, as witness
the late Prussian consul, who is now a general in the rebel army, for which
he recruited a battalion of his countrymen.
" When, therefore, I find a consul aiding the rebels, I must treat him as
a rebel ; and the exceptions are very few indeed among the consuls here.
Bound up with the rebels by marriage and social relations, most of the
consular offices are only asylums where rebels are harbored and rebellion
fostered.
" Before I close this report, which pressure of public duties more urgent
has delayed till the departure of the mail on the 6th of October, allow me
to repeat that, with the blessing of God, to whom our most devout thanks
are daily due for His goodness, the fell scourge, the yellow fever, has been
kept from my command and the city of New Orleans till now, when all
danger is past, by the firm administration of sanitary and quarantine regu-
lations, in spite of complaints and difficulties ; and if my acts need it, I
point to the results as an unanswerable vindication."
Here, I believe, we may take leave of the consuls for a while.
As time wore on, they came to understand the altered conditions
of their tenure of office. They learned that there really was in the
world such a power as the United States. They changed their opin-
ion, too, of the man who represented that power in Xew Orleans ;
and during the latter half of General Butler's administration, his
intercourse with them was generally of the most friendly and agree-
able character.
EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION. 407
CHAPTER XXL
EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION.
To revive the business of New Orleans and cause its stagnant
life to flow again in its ordinary channels, was among the first
endeavors of General Butler after reducing the city to order and
providing for its subsistence. It was necessary, at first, to compel
the opening of retail stores, by the threat of a fine of a hundred
dollars a day for keeping them closed. Mechanics refused to work
for the United States. Certain repairs upon the light steamers,
essential to the supply of the troops, could only be got done by the
threat of Fort Jackson. One burly contractor was imprisoned and
kept upon bread and water till he consented to undertake a piece
of work of urgent necessity. The cabmen and draymen, as we
have seen, required to be cajoled or impressed. This state of feel-
ing, however, soon passed away. It was half affectation, half
terror — the men only needed such a show of compulsion as would
serve them as an excuse to their comrades. The ordinary business
of the city soon went on as it had before the capture. The rail-
roads were set running as far as the Union lines extended.
" Will it pay to run it ?" the general would ask.
"Yes."
" Then go ahead."
So the people trafficked, and rode, and passed their days as
they had been wont to do while under the sway of Mayor Monroe,
General Lovell, and Mr. Soule. Perfect order generally prevailed.
The general walked and rode about the city with a single attend-
ant, by day and by night. A child could have carried a purse in
its hand from Carrollton to Chalmette without risk of molestation.
The commerce of the city could not be revived before the open-
ing the port. In one of his earliest dispatches, General Butler
advised that measure, as well as a general amnesty for all past
political offenses. The planters, however, were distrustful, and
feared to place their sugar within reach of the Union authorities.
To remove then- apprehensions, the following general order was
ifc^ued :
408 EFFORTS TOWAED EESTOEATION.
" New Oeleaxs, May 4, 1862.
"The commanding general of the department having been informed that
rebellions, lying and desperate men have represented, and are now repre-
senting, to the honest planters and good people of the state of Louisiana,
that the United States government, by its forces, have come here to confis-
cate and destroy their crops of cotton and sugar, it is hereby ordered to be
made known, by publication in all the newspapers of this city, that all car-
goes of cotton and sugar shall receive the safe conduct of the forces of the
United States, and the boats bringing them from beyond the lines of the
United States forces, may be allowed to return in safety, after a reasonable
delay, if their owners so desire ; provided, they bring no passengers except
the owners and managers of said boat, and of the property so conveyed, and
no other merchandise except provisions, of which such boats are requested
to bring a full supply, for the benefit of the poor of this city."
In anticipation of the opening of the port to northern trade, and
in order to convince the holders of produce that New Orleans was
already a safe market, the general determined, at once, to com-
mence the purchase and exportation of sugar on government ac-
count. What merchants would call a "brilliant operation" was
the result of his endeavors. Lying at the levee he had a large
fleet of transports, which, by the terms of their charters, he was
bound to send home in ballast. There is no ballast to be had in
New Orleans at any time, and none nearer than the white sand of
Ship Island, five days' sail and thirty hours' steam from the city.
There was sugar enough on the levee to ballast all the vessels, at
an immense saving to the government, to say nothing of the profit
to be realized in the sale of the sugar at the North. He determined
to buy enough sugar for the purpose.
To show the wisdom of this measure, take the case of the
steamer Mississippi, hired at the rate of fifteen hundred dollars a
day. " She must have," explained the general, " two hundred and
fifty tons of ballast. To go to Ship Island and have sand brought
alongside in small boats, will take at least ten days ; to discharge the
same and haul it away, will take four more. Thus, it will cost the
government twenty-one thousand dollars to ballast and discharge
the ship with sand, to say nothing of the cost of taking the sand away,
or the average delays of getting it, if it storms at Ship Island. Now,
if I can get some merchant to ship four hundred hogsheads of su-
gar in the Mississippi as ballast, which can be received in two days
EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION. 409
almost at the wharf where she lies, and discharged in two more,
the government will save fifteen thousand dollars by the difference,
even if it gets nothing for freight. But, by employing a party to
get the ballast, see to its shipment, and take charge of the business,
as a ship's broker, and agreeing to let him have all he can get over
a given sum — say five dollars per hogshead for his trouble and ex-
penses of lading — the government in the case given will save two
thousand dollars more — four hundred hogsheads, at five dollars —
say, in all, seventeen thousand dollars."
It was difficult to start the affair from want of money. The gov-
ernment had no money then in New Orleans, and the general had
none. By the pledge of the whole of his private fortune ($150,-
000), he borrowed of Jacob Barker, the well-known banker, one
hundred thousand dollars in gold, and with this sum at command,
he proceeded to purchase. Merchants were also permitted to send
forward sugar as ballast, on paying to the government a moderate
freight. The details of this transaction were ably arranged by the
general's brother, a shrewd and experienced man of business, who
was allowed a commission for his trouble. The affair succeeded to
admiration. The ships were all ballasted with sugar. The govern-
ment took the sugar bought by the general's own money, and re-
paid him the amount expended ; the whole advantage of the oper-
ation accruing to the United States. The sole result to General But-
ler was a great deal of trouble, and, at a later period, a great deal
of calumny. The owners of some of the transports conceived the
idea that the freight should be paid to them, or at least a part of it.
General Butler opposed their claims, and the dispute was pro-
tracted through several months. The captains of the vessels, I am
told, still rest under the impression that in some mysterious way
the general gained an immense sum by this export of sugar. Mr.
Chase knows better. He, if no one else, was abundantly satisfied
with the transaction.
Having touched upon the subject of the calumnies so assiduously
circulated with regard to the administration of General Butler in
New Orleans, it may, perhaps, be as well to add here the little that
remains to be said on that edifying subject.
First, let me adduce another little operation which has been con-
strued to his disadvantage. I refer to a small quantity of cotton
sent home from Ship Island by General Butler, which chanced to
410 EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION.
arrive a short time before the papers that explained the transac-
tion.
° This cotton," wrote General Butler to the quartermaster-gen-
eral, " was captured by the navy on board a small schooner, which
it would have been unsafe to send to sea. I needed the schooner as
a lighter, and took her from the navy. What should be done with
the cotton ? A transport was going home empty — it would cost
the United States nothing to transport it. To whom should I send
it ? To my quartermaster at Boston ? But I supposed him on the
way here. Owing to the delays of the expedition, I found all the
quartermaster's men and artisans on the island, whose services were
indispensable, almost in a state of mutiny for want of pay. There
was not a dollar of government funds on the island. I had seventy-
five dollars of my own. The sutler had money he would lend on
my draft on my private banker. I borrowed on such draft about
four thousand dollars, quite equal to the value of the cotton as I
received it, and with the money I paid the government debts to the
laborers, so that their wives and children would not starve. In
order that my draft should be paid, I sent the cotton to my cor-
respondent at Boston, with directions to sell it, pay the draft out
of the proceeds, and hold the rest, if any, subject to my order ; so
that, upon the account stated, I might settle with the government.
What was done ? The government seized the cotton without a
word of explanation to me, kept it until it had depreciated ten
per cent., and allowed my draft to be dishonored ; and it had to be
paid out of the little fund I left at home for the support of my
children in my absence."
Subsequent explanations completely satisfied the government,
and the money was refunded.
As these two transactions were the only ones of a commercial
nature in which General Butler engaged while commanding the
Department of the Gulf, and the only ones, I believe, in which he
was ever concerned, the reader now has before him the entire basis
of the huge superstructure of calumny raised by the malign persis-
tence of rebels and their allies. Both of these transactions were
solely designed to aid the work in hand, to remove unexpected ob-
stacles, to anticipate measures which the government must instantly
have ordered had it been near the scene of action.
But, as Mi\ Toodles remarks, and repeats, " he had a brother."
EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION. 411
It is true, he had a brother. He has a brother, alive and flourish
ing at this moment in New York, enjoying, I trust, the fortune
gained by him in New Orleans during General Butler's admin
istration.
When the port was opened in June, the condition of affairs was
such that no man in business, with either capital or credit at com-
mand, could fail to make money with almost unexampled rapidity.
Turpentine in New Orleans was a drug at three dollars ; in New
York, it was in demand at thirty-eight. Sugar in New Orleans
was worth three cents a pound ; in New York, six. Flour, in New
Y ork, six dollars a barrel ; New Orleans, twenty-four. Dry goods
in New York were selling at rates not greatly in advance of prices
before the war ; in New Orleans, every article in the trade was
scarce and dear. The rates of exchange were such as to afford an
additional profit of fifteen per cent, on all transactions between the
two ports. In such a state of affairs, the most useful class of. per
sons are those whom ignorance and envy stigmatize as speculators.
It is they who quickly restore the commercial equilibrium, who
raise the value of commodities in one port and reduce it in the
other, who give New York sugar and turpentine which are useless
in Xew Orleans, and supply New Orleans with the means of pro-
curing commodities essential to comfort and health. The general's
brother was one of the lucky men who chanced to be in business
at New Orleans at the critical moment. An able man of business,
with an experience of, thirty years, with considerable capital and
more credit, he engaged in this lucrative commerce with all the
means and credit he could command. His gains were large ; not
as large as those of some other men ; but large enough to satisfy a
reasonable ambition. He neither had nor needed any advantages
which were not enjoyed by other merchants. The anomalous state
of things was his sufficient opportunity. A merchant u? half his
talent could not have failed to increase his capital with a rapidity
altogether exceptional. Later in the year, came the confiscations
of rebel property, with frequent sales at auction of valuable com-
modities. Of this business, too, he had an ample share — just the
share his means and talents entitled him to. No more and no less.
It is impossible to prove a negative. Any one can make a vague
charge of corruption, but no man can demonstrate it to be false. I
can, therefore, only say, with reference to these intangible accusa
18
412 EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION.
tions, that I have now spent the greater part of a year surrounded
by the papers, printed and manuscript, relating to General Butler's
administration of the Department of the Gulf; I have become, by
repeated perusal, as familiar with those papers as a lawyer does with
the documents of his greatest case ; I have conversed almost daily
with the gentlemen of stainless name and lineage who were in the
closest intimacy with him during the whole period of his adminis-
tration, such as the heroic, lamented Strong, beau-ideal of gentle-
man and soldier, such as Major Bell, another name for uprightness ;
T have listened attentively to all who had a tale to tell against Gen-
eral Butler, and have read the articles adverse to him that have
appeared in the papers, and tried, in all ways, to get hold of some
one charge definite enough for investigation ; and the result of all
this conversation and inquiry has been to produce in my mind
the utmost possible completeness of conviction that General But-
ler's administration was as pure as it was able. Everywhere in his
dispatches I find truth and candor — no suppression, no half-truths,
nothing designed to convey an impression at variance with the
truth. I find that men loved him in proportion to their own loy-
alty and truth. I find his enemies, both there and here, to be ene-
mies of their country and of human rights. All the testimony,
including especially that of his foes, points to one conclusion — that
he was a wise, humane, and honest ruler of a most perverse genera-
tion.
Corruption there was in New Orleans, as one notorious in-
dividual can testify, who found himself in the" penitentiary one day,
sentenced to twenty-one years at hard labor for peculating the
property of the government. Power was abused in New Orleans,
as power always is by whomsoever it is wielded. But it was not
abused with the knowledge or consent of the commanding general,
nor were the evil-doers shielded by him from the just penalty either
of crime or of error. His rule in Louisiana was greatly just and
greatly wise. It was the harsh conflict of two antagonistic civ-
ilizations, both imperfect, one fatally so. It was the sudden set-
ting up of the rule of justice in a community which had almost lost
the tradition of a just rule. It was a bringing of the inflation, the
arrogance, the meanness, and the falsehood engendered by slavery,
to the test of Yankee common sense and Yankee common law.
From such a conflict there must needs arise a great outcry. Some-
EFF0ETS TOWAED EESTOEATION. 413
body must be hurt. Every creature that is hurt, cries out in the
language natural to it. The natural language of an " original
secessionist," damaged in a conflict with justice and good sense, and,
at the same time, deprived of bowie-knife and pistol, is calumny of
the man by whom that justice and good sense are brought to bear
upon his pretensions. Falsehood is the element in which those
unhappy people live, move, and have their being.
Every honest man who served under General Butler at New
Orleans, and was in a position to observe his conduct, would, I be-
lieve, most heartily subscribe to the language employed by Colonel
S. H. Stafford (1st La. N. G.), when refuting one of the vague, in-
coherent slanders to which I have referred. Colonel Stafford was
deputy provost-marshal of New Orleans, but acted independently
of his chief, and communicated directly with the general. " Li
all my intercourse with General Butler," he writes, " which, in my
position, was to a great extent confidential, I am bound to say, that
I never saw anything that was not upright, faithful, and honest ;
and had he been corrupt, I believe I would have seen the signs of
it. I am proud to have served under him, and devoutly wish he
was still my commander. I believe that any man that ever served
under him, who does not feel the same, is influenced in his feeling
and opinion by what he may himself have suffered under the inflic-
tion of some just condemnation."
But to resume. In one particular, General Butler's designs with
regard to the commerce of New Orleans were baffled. He could
not get cotton in any considerable quantity, although it was a con-
stant object of his endeavors. The reason, as given him by well-
informed Louisianians, was this : About one-half of the planters had
burned their cotton, and these men would not permit their less
enthusiastic neighbors to reap the advantage of their prudence. A
little cotton was procured from Mobile, by exchanging one bale
of cotton for one sack of salt, and a little more was brought from
Texas by special arrangement. It can not be said, however, that
the world's supply of this commodity was much increased by the
capture of New Orleans. Perhaps, two or three thousand bales
may have been procured in all.
The currency of New Orleans was in a condition deplorably
chaotic. Omnibus tickets, car tickets, shinplasters and Confederate
notes, the last named depreciated seventy per cent, by the fall
414 EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION.
of the city, were the chief medium of exchange. The coin had
been removed from the vaults of the banks to a place within the
Confederate lines, except that part of it which was deposited
in the consulates. In compliance with the entreaties of Mr. Soule,
and with the obvious necessities of the situation, General Butler
had permitted the temporary circulation of Confederate notes ; but
as this concession was known to be but temporary, it did not ma-
terially enhance the value of that spurious currency. The banks
had been growing rich upon the traffic in Confederate paper,
bought at a discount, paid out at par. When most other invest-
ments were unproductive, bank shares had yielded large dividends.
Until September, 1861, as many readers remember, the banks of
New Orleans had held aloof from the practical support of the Con-
federacy, had refused to suspend specie payments, and had trans-
acted only a legitimate business. At that time, however, a threat
of " harsh measures" from the Richmond government gave to some
of the banks the pretext which they coveted for abandoning the
honest course, and the rest were compelled to follow the bad exam-
ple. Thenceforward, business in Louisiana was done in Confede-
rate notes, and the paper of the banks was Httle seen in circulation.
The consequences of the sudden depreciation of those notes may
be readily imagined. As the offer of the city to redeem the notes
was not fulfilled, they remained almost the sole medium of exchange
in the hands of the people.
Such a state of things obviously demanded the prompt interfe-
rence of the commanding general. The series of bold, original and
masterly measures by which General Butler, in the course of a few
weeks, gave to New Orleans a currency as sound and convenient
as that of New York and Boston, merits the reader's particular
attention.
There was one redeeming fact in the financial condition of the
city to serve as a fulcrum to the general's lever. Most of the banks
(all of them but three) were solvent and strong. True, their coin
was gone, but it was not supposed to be lost. Granting the coin
to be safe, the banks were able to redeem their circulation, and
safely afford the city the currency it needed. It required ail the
general's intimate knowledge of banking, and all the force of his
will, to bring the banks to perform this duty ; but after a struggle
against manifest destiny, they all submitted.
EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION. 415
The banks, I may premise, were anxious respecting the safety of
their coin. After a conference with the general on the subject, an
important favor was asked him in writing by two gentlemen repre-
senting the banking interest. " We understood you to say," wrote
these gentlemen, May 13th, "that you were disposed to reaffirm
the declaration made in your first proclamation, that private prop-
erty of all kinds should be respected. You added that if the treas-
ure withdrawn by the banks should be restored to their vaults,
you would not only abstain from interference, but that you would
give it safe conduct, and use all your power individually, as well as of
the forces of the United States under your command, for its protec-
tion ; that the question as to the proper time of the resumption of
specie payments should be left entirely to the judgment and discre-
tion of the banks themselves, with the understanding on your part
and ours that the coin should be held in good faith for the protec-
tion of the bill-holders and depositors. On their part the banks
promised to act with scrupulous good faith to carry out their un-
derstanding with you ; that is, to restore a sound currency as soon
as possible, and to provide for the resumption of regular business
as soon as the exigencies of our trade require it. You are aware
that a large portion of the coin of the banks is beyond their control,
and that we can only promise to use our best exertions for its re-
turn. Should we fail, we will immediately advise you of the fact.
In the mean time, we request of you the favor to give us the author-
ity to bring back the treasure within your lines, with the safe con-
duct of the same from that point to this city."
The general's reply was as follows :
' 1 Head-qttaeteks, Depaetment of the Gulf,
u New Orleans, May 14, 18G2.
" Messieurs : — I have given very careful consideration to the matter of
the communication handed me through you from the banks of the city.
"With a slight variation, to which 1 call your attention, you were correct in
your understanding of the interview had by me with the banks. Specie or
bullion in coin or ingots, is entitled to the same protection as other property
under the same uses, and will be so protected by the United States forces
under my command.
" If, therefore, the banks bring back their specie which they have so un-
advisedly carried away, it shall have safe conduct through my lines, and be
fully protected here so long as it is used in good faith to make good the ob-
ligations of the banks to their creditors by bills and deposit.
4lfi EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION.
"Now, as in the present disturbed state of the public mind, specie, if
paid out, would be at once hoarded, I am content to leave the time of re-
demption of their bills to the good judgment of the banks themselves, gov-
erned in it by the analogy of the laws of the state and the fullest good faith.
Indeed, the exercise of that on both sides relieves every difficulty, and ends
at once all negotiations.
" In order that there may be no misunderstanding, it must be observed
that I by no means mean to pledge myself that the banks, like other per-
sons, shall not return to the United States authorities all the property of
the United States which they may have received. I come to retake, repos-
sess, and occupy, all and singular, the property of the United States of what-
ever name and nature. Farther than that I shall not go, save upon the
most urgent military necessity, under which right every citizen holds all
his possessions. But as any claim which the United States may have
against the banks can easily be enforced against the personal as well as the
property of the corporations, such claims need not enter into this discus-
sion in such form. Therefore, as in good faith safe conducts may be need-
ed for agents of banks to go and return with the property, and for no other
purpose whatever, such safe conducts will be granted for a limited but rea-
sonable period of time.
" Personal illness has caused the slight delay which has attended this
reply. I have the honor to be, your most obedient servant,
" (Signed), Benj. F. Butlee, Major- General Commanding.
"Messieurs William N". Mercee, J. M. Lepatee, Committee.''''
No safe conducts were required for the treasure. Memminger,
the secretary of the rebel treasury, refused to give it up. " The
coin of the banks of New Orleans," he wrote, July 6th, " was
seized by the government to prevent it falling into the hands of the
public enemy. It has been deposited in a place of security, under
charge of the government ; and it is not intended to interfere with
the rights of property in the banks farther than to insure its safe
custody. They may proceed to conduct their business in the Con-
federate States upon this deposit, just as though it were in their
own vaults."
The banks then endeavored to get both governments to consent
to their sending the coin to Europe during the war ; and General
Butler rather favored the scheme, provided a European government
would take it in charge. The plan failed, however, to gain appro-
val ; and the general consented to permit the banks to do business
upon the basis of the absent coin, "just as though it was in their
EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION. 417
own vaults." Unless he had done this, his whole scheme of reform-
ing the currency must have failed.
General Butler's first financial measure was to suppress the Con-
federate notes. At the beginning of the third week of the occupa-
tion of the city, the following general order appeared: —
"New Orleans, May 16, 1862.
"I. It is hereby ordered that neither the city of New Orleans, nor the
banks thereof, exchange their notes, bills, or obligations for Confederate
notes, bills, or bonds, nor issue any bill, note, or obligation payable in Con-
federate notes.
" II. On the 27th day of May inst., all circulation of, or trade in, Con-
federate notes and bills will cease within this department ; and all sales or
transfers of property made on or after that day, in consideration of such
notes or bills, directly or indirectly, will be void, and the property confis-
cated to the United States, one-fourth thereof to go to the informer."
Great was the agitation in bank parties upon the day this order
was promulgated. At once the question arose, Who is to bear the
loss, the banks or the public? The banks had no doubts upon
the subject. The newspapers of the next morning contained a long
string of short advertisements, which agreeably diversified the
usual uniformity of the advertising columns. The following may
serve as specimens :
" All parties having deposits of Confederate notes with us are hereby
notified to withdraw them prior to the 27th inst. Such balances as may not
be withdrawn will be considered at the risk of the owners, and held sub-
ject to their order."
" Jtjdson & Co., corner of Camp and Canal streets."
" Banking House of Sam'l Smith & Co.,
"New Orleans, May 19, 1862.
" All persons having deposited Confederate notes in this banking-house
are notified to withdraw them before the 27th inst. Such balances as may
not then be withdrawn will be considered at the risk of the owners."
"Sam'l Smith & Co."
" Bank of America,
" New Orleans, May 19, 1862.
"All persons having deposits of Confederate notes in this bank are noti-
•3:18 EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION.
fied to withdraw them by the 25th inst. Such balances as may not then bo
withdrawn will be considered at the risk of the owners.
" 0. Cavaeoc, Cashier pro tern."
"Merchants' Bank,
"New Oeleans, May 19, 1862.
" This bank is prepared to pay balances in Confederate notes, which must
be drawn before the 27th inst.
" War S. Mount, Cashier:'
"Union Bank of Louisiana,
"New Orleans, May 17, 1862.
" Notice. — All persons having deposits of Confederate notes in this bank
are notified to withdraw them prior to the 27th inst. Such balances as may
not be withdrawn will be considered at the risk of the owners.
" Geo. A. Feeeet, Cashier"
The "banks, therefore, were resolved to throw the entire mass of
the Confederate currency upon the impoverished people. They had
introduced that currency, grown rich upon it, received it at par ;
and now, when it was nearly worthless, they designed to escape
the entire loss of the depreciation. Every one outside of the banks
was in consternation. The people knew not what to do. If they with-
drew their deposits, they would receive sundry pieces of valueless
printed paper. If they did not, the deposits were "at their own
risk" — a phrase of fearful import at such a time. What rendered
the course of the banks the more exasperating was the fact, that a
great and wealthy corporation, professing an entire faith in the ulti-
mate triumph of the Confederacy, could afford to hold Confederate
paper, while a poor trader in New Orleans would be ruined by
the suspension of his little capital.
The anger of General Butler was kindled. He, the " enemy,"
was striving night and day to save the people of New Orleans from
starvation, and restore the business of the city to life. They, the
fellow-citizens of those people, thought only of saving their ill-
gotten wealth. In the course of the day upon which the bank
advertisements appeared, he penned his famous General Order
No. 30, which was published in the papers of the following
morning :
EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION. 419
"New Orleans, May 19, 1862.
" It is represented to the commanding general that great distress, priva-
tion, suffering, hunger and even starvation has been brought upon the peo-
ple of New Orleans and vicinage by the course taken by the banks and
dealers in currency.
" He has been urged to take measures to provide, as far as may be, for
the relief of the citizens, so that the loss may fall, in part, at least, on those
who have caused and ought to bear it.
" The general sees with regret that the banks and bankers causelessly
suspended specie payments in September last, in contravention of the laws
of the state and of the United States. Having done so, they introduced
Confederate notes as currency, which they bought at a discount, in place
of their own bills, receiving them on deposit, paying them out for their dis-
counts, and collecting their customers' notes and drafts in them as money,
sometimes even against their will, thus giving these notes credit and a wide
general circulation, so that they were substituted in the hands of the mid-
dling men, the poor and unwary, as currency, in place of that provided by
the constitution and laws of the country, or of any valuable equivalent.
" The banks and bankers now endeavor to take advantage of the re-estab-
lishment of the authority of the United States here, to throw the deprecia-
tion and loss from this worthless stuff of their creation and fostering upon
their creditors, depositors and bill-holders.
" They refuse to receive these bills while they pay them over their coun-
ters.
" They require their depositors to take them.
"They change the obligation of contracts by stamping their bills, 're-
deemable in Confederate notes.'
" They have invested the savings of labor and the pittance of the widow
in this paper.
u They sent away or hid their specie, so that the people could have noth-
ing but these notes, which they now depreciate — with which to buy bread.
" All other property has become nearly valueless from the calamities of
this iniquitous and unjust war begun by rebellious guns, turned on the flag
of our prosperous and happy country floating over Fort Sumter. Saved
from the general ruin by the system of financiering, bank stocks alone are
now selling at great premiums in the market, while the stockholders have
received large dividends.
" To equalize, as far as may be, this general loss ; to have it fall, at least
in part, where it ought to lie ; to enable the people of this city and vicinage
to have a currency which shall at least be a semblance to that which the
wisdom of the constitution provides for all citizens of the United States, it
is therefore
" Ordered: 1. That the several incorporated banks pay out no more Con-
18*
420 EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION.
federate notes to their depositors or creditors, but that all deposits be paid
in the bills of the bank, United States treasury notes, gold or silver.
"II. That all private bankers, receiving deposits, pay out to their deposi-
tors only the current bills of city banks, or United States treasury notes,
gold or silver.
"III. That the savings banks pay to their depositors or creditors only
gold, silver, or United States treasury notes, current bills of city banks, or
their own bills, to an amount not exceeding one-third of their deposits, and
of denomination not less than one dollar, which they are authorized to issue
and for the redemption of which their assets shall be held liable.
" IV. The incorporated banks are authorized to issue bills of a less de-
nomination than five dollars, but not less than one dollar, anything in their
charters to the contrary notwithstanding, and are authorized to receive Con-
federate notes for any of their bills until the 27th day of May inst.
" V. That all persons and firms having issued small notes or ' shinplas-
ters,' so called, are required to redeem them on presentation at their places
of business, between the hours of 9. a. m. and 3 p. m., either in gold, silver,
United States treasury notes, or current bills of city banks, under penalty
of confiscation of their property and sale thereof, for the purpose of redemp-
tion of the notes so issued, or imprisonment for a term of hard labor.
" VI. Private bankers may issue notes of denominations not less than one
nor more than ten dollars, to two-thirds of the amount of specie which they
show to a commissioner appointed from these head-quarters, in their vaults,
actually kept there for the purpose of redemption of such notes."
So the game of the banks was " blocked." The relief afforded
to the people by the publication of this order was such, that, as a
secessionist remarked to one of the general's staff, it was equivalent
to a reinforcement of twenty thousand men to the Union army.
Union men in New Orleans say, that nothing but the continual
bad news from General McClellan's army in the peninsula pre-
vented this measure from causing an open and general manifesta-
tion of Union feeling among the respectable traders of the city.
But the impression could not be removed from the minds of the
people, while such intelligence kept coming, that the stay of the
army would be but short ; and every man feared to commit him-
self to a course that would invite the vengeance of the returning
Confederates.
All the banks submitted in silence, except one — the Bank of
Louisiana. I think I must afford space for the following curious
correspondence that passed between that institution and General
Butler :
EFFOETS TOWAED EESTO RATION. 421
THE BANK TO GENERAL BTJTLEE.
"No. 148 Canal Street, May 21, 1862.
" Sie : — The Board of Directors of the Bank of Louisiana held a special
meeting this morning, in order to take into consideration your Order No.
SO. The meeting was full, with the exception of a single member; for all
were impressed with the gravity of the question about to be submitted.
•' The result of their deliberation was the adoption of certain resolutions,
which I have now the honor to submit to you.
11 At the same time I Avas instructed to make a few observations in ex-
planation of their course, and especially to disclaim and disavow the justice
of any imputation affecting their rectitude, integrity or honor. Asa proof
of their confidence in their disinterestedness, they invite the most searching
examination of all their books, including the minutes of their proceedings,
and of every act of their administration, even their private accounts with
the bank, by any competent person whom you may select for that purpose ;
and they are willing to abide the result, either as officials or as individuals.
" In the discharge of their difficult and delicate duties, knowing and feel
ing that their intentions were pure and upright, they have an abiding con-
fidence of their exculpation from the influence of all sordid or selfish
motives.
"If required, I will wait on you and afford every explanation in my
power.
" I have the honor, &c, &c,
" TV. Newton Meecee, President pro tern.
"Major-General Butler, U. 8. A., &c.
" Note. — Of the capital stock of the bank — 28,000 shares — the directors
own about one-tenth. To the bank they owe nothing."
RESOLUTIONS OF THE DIRECTORS.
"Bank of Louisiana, May 21, 1862.
" As this bank is unable to comply with the conditions, and act under the
restrictions imposed upon it by Order No. 30, issued by General Butler, and
as imputations have been cast upon the conduct and characters of its di-
rectors,
" Therefore, Resolved, unanimously, That General Butler be invited to
appoint some competent person, in whom he has confidence, to examine
thoroughly the condition of this bank since its suspension of specie pay-
ments, as well as the action of its directors since the 1st day of September
last.
" That the cashier be instructed to give to General Butler's agent, if one
be appointed, every facility for such an examination of all its books, papers,
422 EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION.
vaults, desks and drawers, and to afford him every information touching
the administration of this bank during the period already mentioned, to-
gether with an inspection of the private accounts of the directors.
" That, in the mean time, till General Butler's final determination he as-
certained, the operations of the bank must necessarily be suspended, as it
has in its possession none of its own issue and only a very small amount
of coin.
"I certify that the action above mentioned was held this morning by
the Bank of Louisiana.
"W. Newton Meecee, President pro tern.
"New Oeleans. May 21, 1862."
geneeal butler to the bank.
Head-quarters, Department of the Gulf,
"New Orleans, May 22, 1862.
" W. Newton Meeoeb, Esq., President of the Bank of Louisiana :
" Sie : — I have received your communication, covering the unanimous
action of the directors of the Bank of Louisiana. To their request, that 1
would appoint a commission to examine the affairs of the bank, I can not
accede. With the mismanagement, or the contrary of the bank, I have
nothing to do, except so far as either affects the interest of the United
States.
" The assigned reason for the call for this examination, that ' the integ-
rity and good faith of the directors have been impugned,' will not move
me, if it refer to General Order No. 30, which speaks of acts and facts, not
motives.
" Your note says, that the directors own but one-tenth of the capital
stock of the bank. Without consulting the owners of the other nine-tenths—
nearly three millions of dollars — this one-tenth took this immense weahh
from its legal place of deposit, and sent it flying over the country in company
with fugitive property burners, among the masses of a disorganized, retreat-
ing, and starving army, whence it is more than likely never to return.
Again ; the time it would take to make an investigation, which would show
the good management, to say nothing of the purity of motive of such a trans-
action, can not be spared by any officer of my command. Ex uno disce
ovines.
" The directors of the bank of Louisiana have all seen General Order No.
»S0, and have acted upon it as a corporation. So your note shows.
" They will now advise themselves whether they will act in accordance
with its requirements upon their corporate and individual peril, and inform
me, within six hours after the receipt of this, of their determination.
"I have the honor to be, respectfully, your obedient servant,
"B. F. Btttlee."
EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION. 423
THE BANK TO GENEBAL BTTTLEB.
"Bane of Louisiana,
"New Obleans, May 22, 1862.
" To Major-General B. F. Btttlee, Commanding Department of the Gulf : —
"Sir: — I have received your communication of this day in answer to my
letter accompanying the proceedings of the directors of this bank.
" The board of directors were immediately summoned to a special meet-
ing ; and as you leave no alternative but compliance with your mandate,
they will conform to Order No. 30.
" Eespectfully, your obedient servant,
" W. Newton Meeceb, President pro tem"
The bank, however, was still disposed to be contumacious. Mr.
Durand had deposited in the bank Confederate notes, when Con-
federate notes were money ; lie demanded the amount of his de-
posit in something that was money then — the notes of the bank,
for example. The bank, " to make a case," refused, and Mr. Du-
rand brought suit in the provost court, where Major Bell decided
in his favor, and ordered the bank to comply with his demand.
The bank appealed from this decision to the general commanding,
who sustained the judgment of the court. Law papers are not
generally considered to be very entertaining ; but General Butler's
decision in this case will be found an exception to the rule :
" Head-qttaetees, Depaetment of the Gulf,
" New Orleans, La., June, 1862.
" In the matter of the appeal of W. N. Mercer, president, and Auguste
Montreuil, cashier, of the Bank of Louisiana, defendants, from the judg-
ment of the provost court, upon the complaint of A. Durand, complainant.
u This is an application by the defendants representing the bank, made
to the general commanding, asking him to revise and set aside the judg-
ment of the provost court, made in favor of the plaintiff, Durand.
" It is based upon the legal theory, that over all matters within garrison,
camp, and perhaps geographical military department, wherein martial
law has been declared, the power of the commanding general is absolute ;
and that, looking at him as the representative of the martial power of the
government here, all applications for redress must be made when any
wrong is supposed to have been done.
" This view being sound, so far as I can see, I have, with the best thought
possible under the circumstances, re-examined the case and the reasons as-
signed for the appeal.
" Error is claimed on two grounds : first, that the provost court had no
424 EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION.
jurisdiction of the cause ; and second, that the judgment was not in accord-
ance with the law which should govern its decision.
" The argument assumes that law to be General Order No. 30, and does
not dispute the authority which made or the effect of that order, but con-
tents itself with endeavoring to construe the order.
" The objection to the jurisdiction of the court is put upon two grounds :
first, that the provost court has not jurisdiction of the subject-matter ; sec-
ond, that the proper parties were not before it, so as to enable it to act
with regard to the rights of those who were not summoned in the case.
" It is said that this question, being one of a right of property, can not be
entertained by a court which only acts to punish the infractions of military
orders and police regulations.
" A technical answer to this objection, which is in the nature of a plea
to the jurisdiction, would be that it does not appear that this plea was put
in till after the hearing upon the merits. It is a familiar rule that a party
shall not be allowed to go into court and have a hearing on his case, take
the chances of a decision in his favor, and then, if adverse, repudiate the
court before which he has appeared, and to whose judgment he has sub-
mitted his cause. This rule has been held very strictly, both as to jurisdic-
tion over the subject-matter and the parties. But in a court where no
technical rules are allowed to work injustice, a technical answer is not suf-
ficient.
" Of what, then, do the defendants complain ? The bank says the court
has made an order which takes away the property of the bank, and gives it
to another, and that the court has no power so to act. But is that so ? Is
it not the commanding general's order which does that of which complaint
is made ? The bank nowhere complains that the general has not the pow-
er to make such an order, if in his judgment it become a military necessity,
and that some order on the subject-matter was so, is shown by the fact
that the first question put to him, upon entering the city, was — what cur-
rency would be provided for the people, to save them from starvation and
bread-riots ? It has passed into history that he permitted a vicious currency
as a medium of circulation for the purpose of meeting this exigency.
" Again, it will be remembered that the bank now claims that it is ex-
empted from the effects of this order, because, \>y order of another military
commander in September last (there was no civil law for it), it was obliged
to suspend specie payment, against its will, and substitute Confederate notes
for its daily currency, instead of its own bills. This order was submitted
to, if not with joy, at least not under protest, so far as I am informed.
" The order, as well as the law of the land, then, is that the bank shall
pay its depositors in gold, silver coin, and United States treasury notes, or
its own bills. A citizen complains that this order of the commanding
general has not been obeyed, to his prejudice.
EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION. 425
"For what, then, is a provost court, in military phrase, constituted?
Confessedly, to inquire into, determine, and punish the infraction of mili-
tary orders.
" To do tiiis, the court must act in rem as well as in personam. A famil-
iar example would he, if the commanding general orders all arms to be
given up, and some citizen neglects or refuses to obey, would it not be
within the jurisdiction of a provost court, although its judgment should act
upon a right of property involving millions of dollars' worth of muskets ?
" If the act brought before the court, therefore, is alleged to be an in-
fraction of a military order, it is determinable in a military court. Again,
it is said that the court has not jurisdiction because the stockholders of the
bank were not summoned in and made parties, and that their rights and
interests will be affected by the decision. This is all true. But did the
learned counsel for the bank ever hear of a suit against a bank, in any
court, where the stockholders were summoned in, unless it was sought to
charge them individually, which is not the case here ? A corporation acts
through its authorized agents, and is bound by their acts, and is to be
charged upon notice to them. This objection of want of sufficient power
in the president and directors of the Bank of Louisiana to pay the deposit
of Mr. Dnrand in their own bills, which is only changing the form of in-
debtedness from a depositor to a bill-holder, under the order of the provost
court, without the consent of their stockholders, would provoke a smile in
a less serious discussion, when we remember that this same board of direc-
tors, without asking leave of their stockholders, against law and right, put
three million dollars of its bullion out of their hands and out of the state,
whence they will probably never see it again.
" I am of opinion that these objections to the jurisdiction of the court
are untenable.
" The other objection, as to the merits of the decision, can, it seems to
me, be disposed of in a word. If the order is a proper one, it must be
obeyed. Its propriety can not be discussed by me. It is admitted that
Dnrand is a depositor in the bank of what the bank chose to take as
money — treated as money — credited to him as money — nay, forced upon
the community as money. He has not been paid his deposit. The bank
should pay him in specie. The decision, following the letter of the order,
is that the bank may give him their own bills instead of money. Of that
decision the bank has no cause to complain. Durand is now the creditor
of the bank as a depositor. The decision makes him their creditor as a
bill-holder. In equity they have nothing to complain of — he may have,
because he does not get his gold, to which by the laws of banking, laws of
the state and the United States, he is entitled.
M He does not seek to reverse the decision. Let it stand.
"Benj. F. Butlee, Major- General Commanding."
426 EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION.
Confederate notes disappeared from circulation. Bank-notes
and green-backs took their place. A few weeks later, the omnibus
tickets and shinplasters were replaced by small notes issued by
Governor Shepley and the city government. Thus, the currency
of the city was completely restored.
General Butler required from the banks a monthly report of
their transactions and their condition. Two of them, which he
ascertained to be hopelessly insolvent, he ordered to be closed and
to go into liquidation. Another, which was weak, he caused to be
strengthened. His later intercourse with the officers of the banks,
was more amicable than at first. They were surprised to find that
a major-general of volunteers was as much at home in their own
province as if he had spent his life in a banking-house.
An anecdote from the Delta will serve to show how the general's
order secured the rights of enemies as well as friends:
"Among the rebel prisoners taken the other day was an officer,
whom we shall call Captain Johnson. He, before going to the war.
had deposited three hundred dollars in the Bank of Commerce.
Upon his return to the city upon parole, he called at the bank to
inquire about his funds. After much fumbling, it was admitted
that he had deposited the sum named.
"'Well,' said he, 'I want it.'
* * "Thereupon he was reminded that he had made his deposit
in Confederate notes.
" ' Very true,' he replied, ' but at that time Confederate notes
were current and valuable.'
" ' Oh,' muttered the banker, ' I must give it to you in the cur-
rency in which you deposited.'
" 'But,' said the captain, 'Confederate notes are worthless now.'
" The banker was firm, and the captain retired. He called the
next day and renewed his demand for his money. He was told, as
before, that he must take Confederate notes.
" ' I suppose I must,' observed the Confederate captain.
" The banker paused, and then inquired : ' But what can you do
with Confederate notes ? They are worthless here, and it is against
the law to pass them.'
'"That's just what I have been telling you,' said the captain;
"but since you wifl not give me anything else, I presume I had
better take Confederate notes.'
EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION. 42)
"'Yes, yes, yes, yes,' nervously spluttered the banker; 'but
what can you do with Confederate notes ?'
" ' Well,' replied Johnson, ' I will tell you squarely what I will
do. I will take them to General Butler and try to get gold for
them.'
" Upon this, the banker counted out three hundred dollars in
United States treasury notes, and Captain Johnson retired."
Some stern retributory measures remained to be enforced against
the banks of New Orleans. The following general order was is-
sued early in June :
"New Oeleans, June 6, 1862.
"Any person who has in his possession, or subject to his control, any
property of any kind or description whatever, of the so-called Confederate
States, or who has secreted or concealed, or aided in the concealment of
such property, who shall not, within three days from the publication of this
order, give full information of the same, in writing, at the head-quarters of
the military commandant, in the Custom-House, to the assistant military
commandant, Godfrey Weitzel, shall be liable to imprisonment and to have
his property confiscated."
This order, being interpreted, signified (among other things), that
whatever sums of money might be standing upon the books of the
banks in the name of the rebel government, were now the property of
the United States ; which property the banks would please prepare
to surrender. The order was promptly obeyed. That this measure
may be completely understood, I will present here the response of
one of the banks to the order, and the general's characteristic reply
to the same.
the citizens' bank to genebal bijtlee.
"Citizens' Bank of Louisiana,
"New Oeleans, June 11, 1862.
"Major-General B. F. Btjtlek, commanding at New Orleans :
" Geneeal : — In obedience to your General Order No. 40, 1 beg to inform
you that on the first of May last, there was to the credit of the treasurer
of the Confederate States in this bank the sum of $219,090.94 ; and also on
special account the farther sum of $12,465 ; and this bank holding a larger
amount in the notes of the Confederate treasury, an equivalent amount in
said treasury notes has been set aside, and is now held by the bank, to offset
the above stated amount, and which notes I will return as the property of
the Confederate States under your order.
428 EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION.
" Also, one small tin box, marked ' Oonf. States District Court.'
" The following named parties have also to their credit on deposit these
sums, viz:
J. M. Huger, Confederate States Eeceiver, $106,812.60
72,084.90
1,120.00
16,026.52
6,814.57
476.30
G. W. Ward, " "
J. C. Manning, " "
Major M. L. Smith, " "
Major Macklin, " "
Major Eeichard, " "
" As the deposits by the receivers were made in this bank by virtue of
an order of the Confederate court, in accordance with the act of congress,
they were to that extent compulsory on the receivers as well as on the
banks. To have refused to comply with the mandate of that court, might
have brought both parties into conflict with the constituted authorities for
the time being.
" All the above-mentioned deposits were made in the currency of the
Confederate government by its appointed officers.
" Had the bank resumed specie payment or become bankrupt in the mean
time, those depositors would have had no claim to the coin or to a pro rata
distribution of the other assets of the bank. They could only have claimed
the currency deposited by them, and hence it may be classed in reality as
special deposits of Confederate funds, payable in same, in accordance with
the contracts and understanding at the time. Under these circumstances,
the bank appeals to General Butler's sense of equity and justice to allow
these deposits to be paid to whom it may concern in the same currency in
which they were received.
" Some time during the month of November last, an order of sequestra-
tion was issued to the marshals of the Confederate States to take charge of
the assets of the Bank of Kentucky, then held by this Bank in the usual
course of business.
"The assets have never been removed from the bank, yet still are nomi-
nally beyond its control.
" I therefore respectfully request from the commanding general an
order to refund to the Kentucky bank, the owners of said assets, that
the accounts may be made out accordingly and a due return forwarded to
them.
" The banks were informed of the seizure of their assets at the time,
and one of them, the Bank of Kentucky, had a resident agent here at that
time.
" "With great respect,
" Your obedient servant,
"James D. Denegke, President"
EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION. 429
general butler to the citizens' bank,
" Head-qttabteks, Department of the Gtjlf,
"New Orleans, June lBth, 1862.
"The return of the Citizens' Bank of New Orleans to General Order
No. 40, has been carefully examined, and the various claims set up by the
bank to the funds in its hands weighed.
" The report finds that there is to the credit of the Confederate States
$210,090.9-1.
" This of course is due in presenti from the bank. The bank claims that
it holds an equal amount of Confederate treasury notes, and desires to set
off these notes against the amount so due and payable.
" This can net be permitted. Many answers might be suggested to the
claim. One or two are sufficient.
" Confederate States treasury notes are not due till six months after the
conclusion of a treaty of peace between the Confederate States and the
United States. When that time comes it will be in season to set off suet,
claims. Again : The United States being entitled to the credits due the Con-
federate States in the bank, that amount must be paid in money or valuable
property.
" I can not recognize the Confederate notes as either money or property.
The bank having done so by receiving them, issuing their banking upon
them, loaning upon them, thus giving them credit to the injury of the United
States, is estopped to deny their value.
" The ' tin box' belonging to an officer of the supposed Confederate States,
being a special deposit, will be handed over (to me) in bulk, whether it9
contents are more or less valuable.
" The bank is responsible only for safe custody. The several deposits of
the officers of the supposed Confederate States were received in the usual
course of business ; were, doubtless, some of them, perhaps largely, received
in Confederate notes ; but, for the reason above stated, can only be paid to
the United States in its own constitutional currency. These are in no sense
of language ' special deposits.'
" They were held in general account, went into the funds of the bank,
were paid out in the discounts of the bank, and if called upon to-day for the
identical notes put into the bank, which is the only idea of a special deposit,
the bank would be utterly unable to produce them.
"As well might my private banker, with whom I have deposited my
neighbor's check or draft as money, which has been received as money, and
paid out as money, months afterward, when my neighbor has become bank-
rupt, buy up other of his checks and drafts at discount, and pay them to
me instead of money, upon the ground that I had made a special deposit.
u The respectability of the source from which the claim of the bank pro-
ceeds alone saves it from ridicule.
430 EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION.
H The United States can in no form recognize any of the sequestrations 01
confiscations of the supposed Confederate States; therefore, the account*
with the Bank of Kentucky will be made up, and all its property will be
paid over and delivered, as if such atttempted confiscation had never been
made.
" The result is, therefore, upon the showing of the bank by its return,
that there is due and payable to the Confederate States, and therefore, now
to be paid to the United States, the sums following : —
Confederate States treasurer's account $219,090.94
" " special accounts 12,465.00
Deposits by officers
J. M. Huger, receiver 106,812.60
G. M. Ward " 72,084.90
J. C. Manning " 1,120.00
$411,573.44
M. L. Smith 16,026.52
S. Macklin " 6,814.57
Eeichard " 497.30
Total $434,911.83
u This is the legal result to which the mind must arrive in this discus-
sion.
"But there are other considerations which may apply to the first item of
the account.
" Only the notes of the Confederate States were deposited by the treasurer
in the bank, and, by the order of the ruling authority then here, the bank
was obliged to receive them.
" In equity and good conscience, the Confederate States could call for
nothing more than they had compelled the bank to take.
" The United States succeed to the rights of the Confederate States, and
should only take that which the Confederate States ought to take.
" But the United States, not taking or recognizing Confederate notes, can
only leave them with the bank, to be held by it hereafter in special deposit,
as so much worthless paper.
" Therefore, I must direct all the items but the first to be paid to my
order for the United States, in gold, silver, or United States treasury notes
at once. The first item of $219,090.94, I will refer to the home govern-
ment for adjudication ; and, in the mean time, the bank must hold, as a
special deposit, the amount of Confederate treasury notes above mentioned,
and a like amount of bullion to await the decision.
"Benjamin F. Butler,
" Major- General Commanding."
.EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION. 431
A few days after, General Butler had the pleasure of sending to
Mr. Chase the sum of 8245,700, the amount of Confederate funds
given up by the several banks. " This," remarked the general, " will
make a fund upon which those whose property has been confiscated
may have claim." The "home government" took its time over the
item of $219,090.94. The matter had not been decided when
General Butler left the Department.
Another act of justice remained to be done by the banks and
other dividend-paying corporations of New Orleans. Witness the
following order :
* New Obleaxs, July 9, 1862.
" All dividends, interests, coupons, stock-certificates, and accruing inter-
est, due any or payable by any incorporated or joint-stock company, to any
citizen of the United States ; and any notes, dues, claims, and accounts of
any such citizen, due from any such company, or any private person or com-
pany within this department, which have heretofore been retained under
any supposed order, authority, act of sequestration, garnishee process, or in
any way emanating under the supposed Confederate States, or the state of
Louisiana, since the fraudulent ordinance of secession, are hereby ordered to
be paid and delivered respectively to the lawful owners thereof, or their
duly authorized agents."
This order restored to many citizens of the northern states a
portion of their annual income which they had long ago given up
as lost. Nor was this all. The mercantile debts were extracted
from such of the debtors as had not squandered all their property.
The papers before me show that there was an active business done,
at this time, in compelling the payment of sums due to northern
creditors. The ingenious devices of the repudiators to avoid or
postpone the agony of disgorging, were numerous and sometimes
successful. The usual issue of the struggle, however, was a short,
sharp order from the general : Pay instanter, or be sold up ! The
individual, I observe, who repudiated a debt of $20,000 to General
Anderson, of Fort Sumter celebrity, was one of those upon whose
property General Butler laid his retributive hand.
Direct efforts were systematically made, during the whole period
of General Butler's rule, to promote Union feeling. Union clubs
were encouraged. The "Union Ladies' Association" for clothing
the children of volunteers, held frequent meetings. The fourth of
432 EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION.
July was celebrated with all possible eclat. There were numerous
flag-raisings. Union meetings were often held, addressed by the
orators both of the army and of the city. The general caused to
be cut deep into the granite base of the statue of General Jackson,
the motto originally designed to adorn it :
" The Union — it Must and Shall be Preserved."
Much good was done by these efforts. Seed was sown which
might have borne glorious fruit when the success of the Union
arms had given the Union men of the city an assurance of safety.
New Orleans, during the administration of General Butler, pos-
sessed, for the first time in its history, a court of justice in which it
was possible for justice to be done. A code of law which excludes
from the witness-box the very class who are the most likely to be
the witnesses of crime, and against whom the greatest number of
crimes are committed, banishes justice from the land in which it
exists. One of Major Bell's first decisions in the provost court
placed white men and black men upon an equality before the law.
A hunker democrat did this glorious thing ! A negro was called to
the witness-stand.
" I object," said the counsel for the prisoner ; "by the laws of
Louisiana a negro can not testify against a white man."
" Has Louisiana gone out of the Union ?" asked Major Bell, with
that imperturbable gravity of his, that veils his keen sense of
humor.
" Yes," said the lawyer.
" "Well, then," said the judge, " she took her laws with her.
Let the Man be Sworn!"
Immortal words ! From that moment dates the renovation of
Louisiana !
Again. Henry Dominique, a free man of color, was arrested for
not having free papers. The prisoner could only protest that he
was a free man. The court decided, that every man must be pre
sumed to be free until the contrary was shown. Dominique was
discharged.
Major Bell's court was among the lions of the town. During a
considerable part of General Butler's stay, he administered all the
justice that was done in New Orleans, according to the forms of a
court. He decided all cases, from a street broil to questions of
EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION. 433
constitutional law, from petty larency to high treason, from matri-
monial squabbles to suits for divorce. He would dispose of fifteen
cases in thirty minutes. An hour was a long trial. He was pes-
tered, at first, with malicious suits, to avenge injuries committed
before the capture of the. city — a kind of case that sometimes re-
sulted in penalties to both parties ; often er in a prompt dismissal
of both from the court. Suits of the most frivolous character were
brought before him. One morning, two women presented them-
selves, each to prefer a complaint against the other.
" Stand there," said he to one of them. " Stand there," to the
other. " Now both speak at once, and talk for five minutes."
Two torrents of vituperation poured from the two mouths. The
judge kept his eye upon his watch, and at the end of the time, said :
" Now, both of you go home and behave yourselves."
The women departed with evident satisfaction ; they had relieved
their minds.
Some of the cases demanded an intimate knowledge of local law.
For example : Major Bell observed a colored woman hanging
about his office for several successive days, in evident distress of
mind. He asked her, one day, what she wanted. She said that
all her goods had been seized by her landlord for rent, though she
had paid the rent and had his receipt. It was another tenant of
the same house, she said, who was delinquent, and had moved
away in the night, leaving her goods liable to seizure. The landlord
being summoned, admitted the truth of the woman's story, and
pointed out the old statute which gave landlords the right to seize
any property in his house for unpaid rent. Major Bell read this
astonishing statute, and was compelled to admit that the landlord
had the law on his side. He remonstrated with him, however, and
pointed out the cruel injustice which he had committed in seizing
the property of an honest woman. The man was surly, and said
that all he wanted was the law. The law gave him the goods and
he meant to keep them. Major Bell was posed. He scratched his
wise-looking head. Suddenly, he had an idea.
" Are you a free woman?" he asked the complainant.
" No," said she, " I belong to ."
" Sir," said the judge to the landlord, " another statute requires
the written consent of the owner before a tenement can be let to a
slave. Produce it."
434 EFFORTS TOWAED RESTORATION.
The man had forgotten this statute. He could not produce the
document.
"Take your choice," said Major Bell; "either give hack the
woman's property or pay the fine."
The man preferred to restore the goods, and the poor washer-
woman was saved from ruin.
" Master," said she, with the eloquence of perfect gratitude, " if
you get the yellow fever, send for me, and I'll come and take care
of you."
Among the many able men who surrounded General Butler, no
one labored more assiduously or more effectively in the service of
the people of New Orleans than Major Bell. He had to ransack all
books and all the by-ways of his memory for law and precedent to
guide him in his novel situation. French law, Spanish law, admi-
ralty law, the slave code, state law, municipal law, common law,
were all laid under contribution ; and when these failed to meet the
case, he drew upon the ample resources of his own common sense.
I should add, that during his midsummer absence from the city, his
seat was worthily filled by Lieutenant-Colonel Kinsman, the Lieu-
tenant Kinsman of previous pages. Both of these officers were much
indebted to the local and legal knowledge of the clerk of the pro-
vost court, Mr. Samuel F. Glenn, formerly a member of the bar of
New r Orleans.
A government needs a government organ. During the month
of May, several of the newspapers of New Orleans were suspended
by orders from head-quarters. They published the most extrava-
gant rumors of federal disasters, and closed their columns against
the true intelligence. Their comments hovered upon the verge of
treason, and, not unfrequently, passed beyond the verge. A sud-
den order to suspend would bring them to a sense of the anoma-
lous situation ; they would promise submission ; and were generally
allowed to resume publication in a day or two.*
* " Head-quarters, Department of the Gcxp,
" New Orleans, Sept. 5th, 1S62.
"It haring been made to appear that the suppression of the '•Estafette du Sud," 1 French news-
paper, will work distress among the employes of the office who are faultless, and the proprie-
tors having assured the United States authorities that nothing shall be published that is offensive
or inimical, or in any way reflecting upon the United States or its authorities, — the publication,
upon this pledge, is permitted to be resumed at the instance of the acting French consul, M.
Fauconnett.
" By order of Majob-G-eneeaj, Butj^eb.
"A. F. i'GFFEB, Ueutenant and A. D. G"
EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION. 435
One of these newspapers, the Delta, noted for the virulence of
its treason, was otherwise treated. The office was seized, and per-
manently held. Two officers, experienced in the conduct of news-
papers, Captain John Clark, of Boston, and Lieutenant-Colonel E.
M. Brown, of the Eighth Vermont, were detailed to edit the pa-
per in the interest of the United States. The first number of the
regenerated Delta appeared on the 24th of May, 1862, and it con-
tinued under the same direction until the 8th of February, 1863.
It was conducted with very great ability and spirit. Besides the
labor of the editors, it had the advantage of occasional contribu-
tions from Major Bell and other officers; the commanding general
himself frequently giving it the aid of his suggestions. Several
ladies of New Orleans contributed. One of them, Mrs. Taylor, who
adopted the signature of "Nellie," wrote many lively satirical
sketches, which greatly amused the readers of the paper, besides
calling forth the exertions of other ladies of similar character. In
one feature the Delta differed strikingly from the ordinary newspa-
pers of the South. Your true southerner, your "original secession-
ist," is a very serious personage. Vanity of the intenser sort is a
serious foible ; proud ignorance is serious ; cruelty is serious ; one-
idea is serious. There is no joke in your true southerner ; and as a
consequence, his newspaper is generally a grave and heavy thing,
enlivened only by vituperation and ferocity. The sport-impulse
comes of an excess of strength. The man of true humor is so much
the master of his subject that he can play with it, as the strong man
of the circus plays with cannon-balls. The regenerated Delta was
one of the most humorous of newspapers. Almost every issue had
its good joke, and a great many of its jocular paragraphs were
exceedingly happy hits.
Allusion has been made to the secession songs ano secession
sentiments taught to the children of the public schools. The
schools were dismissed for the summer vacation two weeks earlier
than usual, and during the interval the school system was re-
organized on the model of that of Boston. A bureau of educa-
tion and a superintendent of public schools were appointed — good
Union men, all. The old teachers were dismissed, and a corps,
true to their country, selected in their stead. School-books tainted
with treason and pro-slavery were banished, and were replaced by
such as are used in northern schools — Union song-books not being
10
436 EFFECT OF THE FAILURE IN VIRGINIA.
forgotten. The new system worked well, and continues, to this
day, to diffuse sound knowledge and correct sentiments among the
people of New Orleans.
Such were some of the measures of the commanding general, de-
signed to restore Louisiana to a degree of its former prosperity
and good feeling. They were as successful as the circumstances of
the time permitted. The levee showed some signs of commercial
activity. The money distributed by the army gave life to the
retail trade. The poorer classes were won back to a love for the
power which protected and sustained them. The original seces-
sionists were, are, and will ever be, there and everywhere, the
bitter foes of the United States; but, among those who had re-
luctantly accepted secession because they supposed it inevitable,
the general and the Union gained hosts of friends, who remain
to this day, in spite of •much discouragement, loyal to the gov-
ernment.
CHAPTER XXn.
THE EFFECT IN NEW ORLEANS OF OUR LOSSES IN VIRGINIA.
The Union army in the Department of the Gulf consisted of
about fourteen thousand men, and the disasters in Virginia, which
increased a hundred-fold the difficulty of holding New Orleans,
forbade the re-enforcement of that army. Ship Island, Fort Jackson,
Fort St. Philip, Baton Rouge, posts Upon the lakes and elsewhere,
required strong garrisons, which reduced the effective men in and
near the city to a number inadequate to a successful defense of the
place against such an attack as might be expected. General Butler
was perfectly aware that the recovery of the city was an object
which the rebels had distinctly proposed to themselves. It was the
real aim of all that series of movements of which the attack upon
Baton Rouge, by Breckinridge, was the most conspicuous. The
general's excellent spy system brought him this information, and
most of his own measures were more or less influenced by it.
EFFECT OF THE FAILURE IN VIRGINIA. 437
One powerful iron-clad ram could have cleared the river in an
hour of the Union fleet. That done, the city might have fallen
before the well-concerted attack of a force such as the rebels were
known to be able to assemble. They could not have held the city
long ; but they might have taken it, and held it long enough to
do infinite mischief; or they might have necessitated its destruc-
tion.
The temper of the secessionists in New Orleans was the worst
possible. Liars are generally credulous. At least, they are easily
made to believe lies, though they find it so difficult to receive the
truth. The news from Virginia would have sufficed to neutralize,
for a time, the general's best measures, even if it had come with-
out exaggerations. But news from Virginia uniformly came first
through rebel sources by telegraph, while the truth arrived only
after a long sea voyage. To show the effect of this inflammatory
intelligence, take one incident as related by an officer of General
Butler's staff:
"As a result of this continuous report of national defeats before
Richmond, St. Charles street, near the hotel, was yesterday (July
10th) the scene of violence and threatening trouble. A young woman
dressed in white and of handsome personal appearance, about 10
o'clock, passed by the hotel, wearing a secession badge. She finally
insulted one of our soldiers, and was arrested by a policeman, who
attempted to take her to the mayor's office. As a matter of
course, there was instantly a scene of confusion, as she had selected
the time when she would find the most obnoxious secessionists
parading the vicinity. Upon reaching the building next to the
Bank of Orleans, she theatrically appealed to the crowd for pro-
tection, and the next moment the policeman was knocked down,
and a shot was fired out of the store, and wounded the soldier
assisting the civil officer. Thereupon a hundred- persons, returned
soldiers of Beauregard's army, cried murder, and one of the
national officers at the same moment fired at the assassin who
wounded the soldier. In the confusion the murderers escaped, but
the woman, together with some of her most prominent sym-
pathizers, were conveyed before General Shepley at the City Hall.
Upon being brought into the presence of General Shepley, she
commenced the utterance of threats and abuse, and, further, took
out of her bosom innumerable bits of paper, on which were written
438 EFFECT OF THE FAILURE IN VIRGINIA.
insulting epithets, addressed to the United States authorities, and
one by one thrust them into General Shepley's hand. After some
few questions she was put into a carriage and conveyed to General
Butler's head-quarters, where she was recognized as the mistress
of a gambler and murderer, now, by General Butler's orders, con-
fined at Fort Jackson, but nominally passing as the wife of one
John H. Larue."
There was every reason to believe that this was a concerted
scene between the woman and the crowd. General Butler sent for
her husband, who, on being asked his occupation, replied that he
"played cards for a living." The general disposed of the case
thus :
" John H. Larue, being by his own confession a vagrant, a person
without visible means of support, and one who gets his living by
playing cards, is committed to the parish prison until farther
orders. Anna Larue, his wife, having been found in the public
streets, wearing a Confederate flag upon her person, in order to
incite a riot, which act has already resulted in a breach of the
peace, and danger to the life of a soldier of the United Sates, is
sent to Ship Island till farther orders. She is to be kept separate
and apart from the other women confined there."
The hideous events attending the funeral of Lieutenant De Kay,
of General Williams's staff*, showed the true quality of the " original
secessionists ;" showed, at once, their cowardice, their meanness,
and their ferocity; and proved the necessity for those strong
measures by which the secessionists of the city were deprived
of their power to co-operate with their friends beyond the Union
lines.
Lieutenant De Kay, summoned from his studies in Europe by
the peril of his country, was on board a gun-boat descending the
Mississippi, when it was fired into by guerillas. He received twelve
buck-shots in his body. He lingered a month in New Orleans, en-
during his sufferings with heroic cheerfuhiess, content to die for his
country. He expired on the 27th of June, mourned by the whole
army. General Butler was at Baton Rouge on the day of the
funeral, and his absence emboldened the baser rebels, who seized
the opportunity to insult the funeral cortege with laughter and op-
probrious outcries. Women again appeared in the streets wearing
Confederate colors. The notorious Mrs. Philips, formerly a member
EFFECT OF THE FAILURE IN VIRGINIA. 439
of Mr. Buchanan's boudoir cabinet, banished from Washington as
an ally of traitors, saluted the procession with ostentatious laughter
from the balcony of her house. Many other women took pains to
exhibit their exultation. A bookseller placed in the window of
his store a skeleton labeled " Chickahominy." Another miscreant
exhibited, in a club-room and elsewhere, a cross which he said was
made of a Yankee's bone. When the procession arrived at the
church, the galleries were found filled with a rabble of filthy scoun-
drels, the " dregs of the city," whose demeanor was in keeping with
that of their instigators out-of-doors. No minister appeared to
conduct the last ceremonies. Dr. Leacock, the pastor of the church,
a weak, vacillating man, had promised to officiate, but had been in-
duced to break his promise by the persuasions of members of his
church ; and other arrangements for the ceremony had to be hastily
made amid the sneers and exultation of the crowd.
The scenes of that afternoon were so profoundly disgusting, so
exasperating to the long-suffering troops, that, probably, no other
body of men ever assembled in arms would have had the self-con-
trol to bear them in silence.* They did bear them in silence. Not
a resentful word, still less a resentful act escaped them. It proba-
bly occurred to most of the troops that General Butler was ex-
pected home on the following day ; and to him they knew they
could safely commit the vindication of outraged decency.
The general, meanwhile, had been enjoying a pleasant excursion
* The following, from the pen of Lieutenant (now General) Godfrey Weitzel, appeared in the
Delta the next morning :
"To the Editor op tub Delta. — This afternoon the funeral of De Kay was held. A young
officer of the United States army was huried, who, in every respect, was the peer of any young
man in the South. We who knew, loved and admired him. He was fatally wounded a month
ago while defending a cause in which he took the sword as honestly, with as high toned feelings
of duty, as any man now fighting for the South. He left his studies in Europe to espouse this
cause, because he honestly and sincerely believed it to be his duty. He was wounded, but how?
From behind a bush, with buck-shot tired from a gun, probably by a man who would not have
dared to meet him openly. He lingers a month. Not a word of complaint or reproach passed
his lip. Always happy and cheerful even unto his last moment We requested yesterday the
use of a house of God, in which to show to his mortal remains our respect. It is granted, but
how? After moving through collections of street cars, crowded with ladies wearing secession
badges, and passively smiling and cheerful crowds studiously collected to insult the dead, we
arrived at the house of the Lord. We find it thrown open like a stable, as if by military compul-
sion. We enter, and find the galleries and the most prominent places occupied bv a rabble and
negroes— a collection such as never defiled a church before.
"Gentlemen and ladies of New Orleans and of the South, there was no chivalry in this.
" G. W eitzel, Lieutenant U. & Engineers.
"ITew Okleaxs, June 28, 1S62."
440 EFFECT OF THE FAILURE IN VIRGINIA.
up the river, and was returning well pleased with what he had
seen and heard at the capital of the state. " I have been agreeably
disappointed," he wrote to the secretary of war, " in the feeling at
Baton Rouge. There is a longing for the restoration of the old
state of things under the Union, which is gratifying. I had a visit
from a dozen or more of the gentlemen of Baton Rouge, and vicinity,
representing some five or six millions of property, and had conver-
sation with them upon the new system of partisan rangers just now
inaugurated, i. " General Butler, you may put every ball of that pistol through
my brain, but I will never sign that paper."
" Captain Davis, make out an order to the provost-marshal, to
hang this man at daybreak to-morrow. In the mean time, let him
have any priest he chooses to send for. Gentlemen, I am going to
dinner."
Before the general had reached his quarters, an orderly came
running up.
" General, he has signed."
" Well, keep him in the guard-house all night, and let him go in
the morning."
A conspiracy to assassinate General Butler was detected early
in June. The proofs were sufficient to warrant the arrest of four
abandoned characters. The general, content with the discovery
and frustration of the plot, forbore to prosecute the men, and
agreed to pardon the ringleader on condition of his leaving the
city. The general did this in compliance with the entreaties of his
aged father, who had fought under General Jackson, in the war of
1812, and had remained true to his country.
These incidents may suffice to show the disposition of the seces-
sionists of New Orleans, inflamed by the news from Virginia, in-
creased in number by the partial dissolution of Beauregard's army,
and encouraged to expect an attempt to drive the Union army
from the soil of Louisiana.
Hence the justification of those measures, about to be related,
which reduced the secession party in New Orleans to a state of
" subjugation," the most complete. Before entering upon those
EFFECT OF THE FAILURE IX VIRGINIA. 445
measures, it will be proper to show that not the rebels only felt the
weight of General Butler's iron hand. Offenses committed by ad-
herents of the Union against the people of the city, were visited
with punishment as prompt and rigorous as any which were perpe-
trated against the country and the flag.
It was in connection with the searches for concealed property
of the Confederate government, under the general order of June
Oth, that the tragical events occurred to which I allude, and which
were among the most notable of General Butler's administra-
tion. No one was allowed to enter a house for the purpose of
searching, without a written order from General Butler, General
Shepley, or Colonel French. For several days the searches pro-
ceeded quietly enough, without exciting remark. But about the
middle of June, complaints came pouring into head-quarters of par-
lies entering houses for the ostensible purpose of searching for Con-
federate arms, who carried off valuable private property, such as
money and jewels. The detection of these villains was remarkably
prompt.
On the 12th of June, at noon, a complaint was brought to Gen-
eral Butler of a most audacious and flagrant outrage of this kind.
A cab drove up to a house in Toulouse street, from which issued
two men, who entered the house and presented to the inmates
an order to search for arms, signed, apparently, by General
Butler. Two men remained in the cab while the search proceeded.
The two who entered the house, and rummaged its closets and
drawers, behaved to the family with great politeness, expressing
their regret at having been ordered upon so unpleasant a duty, and
declaring their desire to perform that duty with as little inconven-
ience to the inmates of the house as possible. Upon retiring, they
were so good as to leave a certificate to this effect :
" J. William Henry, First-Lieutenant of the Eighteenth Massachu-
setts volunteers, has searched the premises No. 93 Toulouse street,
and find, to the best of my judgment, that all the people who live
there are loyal. Please examine no more.
" J. William Henry."
After the departure of these urbane and considerate gentlemen,
the lady of the house found that they had carried with them eight-
446 EFFECT OF THE FAILURE TN" VIRGINIA.
een hundred and eighty dollars, a gold watch, and a breastpin.
Another sum of over eight thousand dollars they had overlooked.
There was but one clue to the discovery of these men. They had
ridden to the house in cab No. 50, which had remained before the
door during the search, and in which the searchers had departed.
The driver of cab No. 50, who was immediately brought before
the general, was required to relate the history of his doings during
the previous night. In the course of the afternoon, the coffee-house
to which he had last conveyed his passengers, was surrounded, and
every man in it was brought before the general. There were four
of them. General Butler never forgets a face that he has onne
seen. After looking at the men a moment, he asked one of them :
" Where have I seen you ?"
"In Boston."
"Where in Boston?"
" In the Municipal Court."
" For what offense were you tried before that court ?"
"Burglary."
"Did you join any regiment?"
"Yes."
"Which?"
" The Thirtieth Massachusetts."
" Why are you not with your regiment ?"
" I was discharged."
"What for?"
" Disease."
" Well, you ought to be hanged any how, for you have robbed
before, and been convicted."
"Don't do it, general, and I'll tell you all about it."
" Well, make a clean breast of it, then."
The man confessed. He said that he was one of an organized
gang, who had been entering houses for several nights and plun-
dering. The particular offense committed in Toulouse street was
brought home, on the spot, to two others of the arrested men, who
confessed their guilt. A considerable part of the stolen money
was recovered and restored. Three more of the gang were arrested
by Colonel Stafford's detectives on the following day. General
Butler disposed of these flagrant cases in the two special orders
following :
EFFECT OF THE FAILURE IN VIRGINIA. 4 -! 7
"New Orleans, June 13, 1862.
" William M. Clary, late second officer of the United States steam
transport Saxon, and Stanislaus Roy, of New Orleans, on the night of the
11th of June inst., having forged a pretended authority of the major-gene-
ral commanding, being armed, in company with other evil disposed persons,
under false names, and in a pretended uniform of the soldiers of the United
Blates, entered the house of a peaceable citizen, No. 93 Toulouse street,
about the hour of eleven o'clock in the nighttime, and there, in a pretended
search for arms and treasonable correspondence, by virtue of such forged
authority, plundered said house and stole therefrom eighteen hundred and
eighty-five dollars in current bank-notes, one gold watch and chain, and
one bosom pin.
"This outrage was reported to the commanding general at twelve o'clock
a. m. on the 12th of June instant, and by his order Clary and Roy were
detected and arrested on the same day, and brought before the command-
ing general at one o'clock of this day, and Avhere it appeared by incontro-
vertible evidence that the facts above stated were true, and all material
parts thereof were voluntarily confessed by Clary and Roy.
" It farther appeared that Clary and Roy had before this occasion visited
other houses of peaceable citizens in the night time, for like purposes and
under like false pretenses.
" ' Brass knuckles,' burglars' keys, and a portion of the stolen property
and other property stolen from other parties, were found upon the person
of Roy, and in his lodgings.
" Whereupon, after a full hearing of the defense of said Clary and Roy, and
due consideration of the evidence, it was ordered by the commanding gene-
ral that Wm. M. Clary and Stanislaus Roy, for their offenses, be punished
by being hanged by the neck until they are dead, and this sentence be
executed upon them and each of them, between the hours of eight o'clock
a. m. and twelve m. on Monday, the 16th of June inst, at or near the
parish prison, in the city of New Orleans.
M The provost-marshal will cause said sentence to be executed, and for
so doing this order will be sufficient warrant."
" New Orleans, June 15, 1862.
"Theodore Lieb, of New Orleans, George William Crage, late first offi-
cer of the ship City of New York, and Frank Newton, late private of the
Thirteenth regiment Connecticut volunteers, having, upon their own con-
fession and clear proof, after a full hearing, been convicted of being members
of a gang of thieves, consisting of seven or more, of which William M.
Clary and Stanislaus Roy, mentioned in Special Order No. 98, and now
under sentence of death, were principals, bound together by an oath or
obligation, engaged by merms of a forged authority and false uniforms, in
448 EFFECT OF THE FAILUEE TN" VIRGINIA.
robbing the houses of divers peaceable citizens of their moneys, watches,
jewelry and valuables, under pretense of searching for arms and articles
of war, must suffer the proper penalty.
u . At least eight houses, as appears by their confession, were plundered
by three or more of the gang, while others were watching without, at
various times, and a large amount of property carried off, a large portion
of which has since been recovered.
K The heinousness of this offense, heightened by the contempt and dis-
grace brought upon the uniform, authority and flag of the United States
by their fraudulent acts, in making it cover their nefarious practices, ren-
ders them peculiarly the subjects of prompt and condign punishment.
" It is therefore ordered that George William Crage and Frank Newton
(for the offenses aforesaid) be hanged by the neck until they and each of
them be dead, and that this sentence be executed upon them at or near the
parish prison, in the city of New Orleans, on Monday, the 16th day of
June instant, between the hours of six a. m. and twelve m., under the direc-
tion of the provost-marshal ; and for so doing this shall be sufficient war-
rant.
" Theodore Lieb, being a youth of eighteen years only, in consideration
of his tender years, has his punishment commuted to confinement at hard
labor on the fortifications at Ship Island, or the nearest military post,
during the pleasure of the president of the United States."
Thus, the crime was committed on the 11th, detected on the
12th, two of the criminals were tried on the 13th, two more on
the 15th, and the whole ordered to be executed on the 16th. The
man whose confession led to the conviction of the offenders was
sentenced to five years' imprisonment at hard labor. Two or three
other less guilty participants were sentenced to six months at Ship
Island with ball and chain.
Those who observed the mingled nonchalance and severity of
General Butler's demeanor during those four days, may naturally
have concluded that it cost him no great exertion of will to hang
these criminals. In reality, it caused him the severest internal con-
flict of his whole life. During the excitement of the detection and
trial, there was, indeed, no room for any emotions but disgust at
the crime and exultation at his success in discovering the perpetra-
tors. It was far different on the Sunday preceding the day of exe-
cution, when the men lay at his mercy in prison, when the wives
of tw r o of them came imploring for mercy, when the distant families
of the other two were brought to his knowledge, and when the
THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS. 449
softer hearted of his own military family pleaded for a commuta-
tion of the sentence. Mrs. Butler was at the North for the sum-
mer. Alone that night, the general paced his room, considering
and reconsidering the case. He could not find a door of escape for
these men. He had executed a citizen of New Orleans for an
offense against the flag of his country; how could he pardon a
crime committed by Union men against the citizens of New
Orleans, a crime involving several distinct offenses of the deepest
dye ? His duty was clear, but he could not sleep. He paced his
room till the dawn of day.
The men were executed in the morning ; all but one of them
confessing their guilt. To one of the families thus left destitute,
the general gave a sew T ing-machine, by which they were enabled to
earn a subsistence.
The effect of this prompt and rigorous justice was most salutary
upon the minds of both parties in New Orleans; and its effect
would have been as manifest as it was real,, but for the disturbing
influence of the terrible tidings from Virginia ; in the presence of
which the wisdom of an archangel would have failed to give confi-
dence to the loyal people of Louisiana, or win to the Union cause
any considerable number of the party for secession.
CHAPTER XXm.
THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS.
We may now proceed to consider the iron-handed measures of
the commanding general, which were designed to isolate the seces-
sionists, and render them innoxious.
Crowds were forbidden to assemble, and public meetings, unless
expressly authorized. The police were ordered to disperse all
street-gatherings of a greater number of persons than three.
In the sixth week of the occupation of the city, General Butler
began the long series of measures, by which the sheep were sepa-
rated from the goats ; by which the attitude of every inhabitant of
4 DO THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS.
New Orleans toward the government of the United States was as-
certained and recorded. The people might be politically divided
thus : Union men ; rebels ; foreigners friendly to the United States ;
foreigners sympathizing with the Confederates ; soldiers from Beau-
regard's army inclined to submission ; soldiers from Beauregard's
army not inclined to submission. These soldiers, who numbered
several thousands, were required to come forward and define their
position, and either take the oath of allegiance, or surrender them-
selves prisoners of war ; in which latter case, they would be admitted
to parole until regularly exchanged, or if they preferred it, remain in
confinement. In this way, the name, standing, residence, and politi-
cal sympathies of this concourse of men were placed on record,
and the general was enabled to know where they were to be found,
and what he had to expect from them in time of danger.
His next step was to decree, that no authority of any kind should
be exercised in New Orleans by traitors, and that no favors should
be granted to traitors by the United States, except the mere pro-
tection from personal violence secured by the police. The follow-
ing general order was designed to secure these objects :
"New Oeleans, June 10, 1862.
"Geneeal Oedee No. 41.
" The constitution and laws of the United States require that all military,
civil, judicial, executive and legislative officers of the United States, and of
the several states, shall take a,n oath to support the constitution and laws.
If a person desires to serve the United States, or to receive special profit
from a protection from the United States, he should take upon himself the
corresponding obligations. This oath will not be, as it has never been,
forced upon any. It is too sacred an obligation, too exalted in its tenure,
and brings with it too many benefits and privileges, to be profaned by un-
willing lip service. It enables its recipient to say, 'I am an American citi-
zen,' the highest title known, save that of him w r ho can say with St. Paul,
'I was free born,' and have never renounced that freedom.
"Judges, justices, sheriffs, attorneys, notaries, and all officers. of the law
whatever, and all persons who have ever been, or who have ever claimed
to be, citizens of the United States in this department, who therefore exer-
cise any office, hold any place of trust or calling whatever which calls for
the doing of any legal act whatever, or for the doing of any act, judicial or
administrative, which shall or may affect any other person than the actor,
must take and subscribe the following oath : ' I do solemnly swear (or
affirm) that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the United States of
America, and will support the constitution thereof.' All acts, doings, deeds,
THE SHEEP A:NT> THE GOATS. 451
instruments, records or certificates, certified or attested by, and transactions
done, performed, or made by any of the persons above described, from and
after the 15th day of June inst., who shall not have taken and subscribed
such oath, are void and of no effect.
"It having become necessary, in the judgment of the commanding gen-
eral, as a ' public exigency,' to distinguish those who ar& well disposed to-
ward the government of the United States, from those who still hold alle-
giance to the Confederate States, and ample time having been given to all
citizens for reflection upon this subject, and full protection to person and
property of every law-abiding citizen having been afforded, according to
the terms of the proclamation of May 1st :
" Be it further ordered, That all persons ever heretofore citizens of the
United States, asking or receiving any favor, protection, privilege, passport,
or to have money paid them, property, or other valuable thing whatever
delivered to them, or any benefit of the power of the United States extend-
ed to them, except protection from personal violence, must take and sub
scribe the oath above specified, before their request can be heard, or any act
done in their favor by any officer of the United States within this depart-
ment. And for this purpose all persons shall be deemed to have been citi-
zens of the United States who shall have been residents therein for the
space of five years and upward, and if foreign born, shall not have claimed
and received a protection of their government, duly signed and registered
by the proper officer, more than sixty days previous to the publication of
this order.
"It having come to the knowledge of the commanding general that
many persons resident within this department have heretofore been aiding
rebellion by furnishing arms and munitions of war, running the blockade,
giving information, concealing property, and abetting by other ways, the
so-called Confederate States, in violation of the laws of neutrality imposed
upon them by their sovereigns, as well as the laws of the United States, and
that a less number are still so engaged ; it is therefore ordered, that all for-
eigners claiming any of the privileges of an American citizen, or protection
or favor from the government of the United States (except protection from
personal violence), shall previously take and subscribe an oath in the form
following :
" I, , do solemnly swear, or affirm, that so long as my govern-
ment remains at peace with the Umted States, I will do no act, or consent
that any be done, or conceal any that has been or is about to be done, that
shall be done, that shall aid or comfort any of the enemies or opposers of
the United States whatever.
" (Signed),
"Subject of -."
" At the City Hall, at the provost court, at the provost-marshal's office,
£52 THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS.
and at the several police stations, books will be opened, and a proper officer
will be present to administer the proper oaths to any person desiring to take
the same, and to witness the subscription of the same by the party taking
it. Such officer will furnish to each person so taking and subscribing, a
certificate in form following :
" Department of the Gulf, New Orleans, 1862.
" has taken and subscribed the oath required by General Order
No. 41, for a of
"(Signed), ."
General orders issued at New Orleans usually produced consid-
erable stir among the parties interested ; but none of them caused
so much excitement and such universal alarm as this. If the citizens
were astounded, the foreigners were puzzled. N"o one was obliged
to take the oath ; but what would happen to those who did not
take it ? The office-holders, however, could entertain no doubts re-
specting their fate, and all of them who adhered still to the Rich-
mond government at once resigned their places. The residue of
the city government was dissolved, and the military commandant
reigned alone over New Orleans. One of the city officials, I ob-
serve from divers documents, made a parting dive into the city
treasury, but he was caught in the act, and compelled to let go his
booty.
General Shepley issued the following order relative to the gov-
ernment of the city :
" Head-quaetees Militaey Commandant,
"New Oeleans, City Hall, June 27, 1862.
" The legislative power of the city of New Orleans has heretofore been
vested by law, in a board of aldermen and a board of assistant aldermen,
who together formed the common council of the city. This power is now
suspended. The seats of the aldermen and assistant aldermen have all been
vacated ; one class of them by the expiration of their term of office, and the
remainder by their neglect to take the oath of allegiance to the United
States, as required by General Order No. 41 of the commanding general of
this department.
"Believing that the inconvenience incident to a temporary suspension
of legislative power will be slight compared with the evils which have here-
tofore been consequent on excessive and frequently corrupt legislation, these
vacancies will not be filled until such time as there shall be a sufficient num-
ber of the citizens of New Orleans loyal to their country and their constitu-
tion to entitle them to resume the right of self-government.
THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS. 453
u So much of the executive power of the city as has heretofore been vest-
ed in the mayor, will, for the present, be exercised by the military com-
mandant of New Orleans.
"A 'bureau of finance' is hereby constituted, composed of a board of
three persons, one of whom shall be the chairman of the board, to be ap-
pointed by the military commandant, with such clerks as may from time to
time be found necessary, and may be appointed by the chairman of the
board, subject to the approval of the military commandant. The duties of
said bureau shall be the same as those which — under the act approved
March 20, 1856, and under other laws constituting the charter of said city
of New Orleans, and under the ordinances of the city now in force — have
been attributed to the several committees on finance, fire, police, judi-
ciary, claims, education, and health, in the board of aldermen and in the
board of assistant aldermen of the common council of New Orleans. The
offices of said bureau shall be in the City Hall.
a A * bureau of streets and landings,' consisting of three persons, one of
whom shall be chairman, is hereby constituted. The duties of said bureau
shall be the same which, under the charters, laws and ordinances of the city
of New Orleans, have been appropriated to the several committees on streets
and landings, workhouses and prisons, and house of refuge, in the board of
aldermen and board of assistant aldermen. The office of said bureau
shall be in the City Hall, and the chairman shall appoint, subject to the ap-
proval of the military commandant, the necessary clerks, whose compensa-
tion will be fixed by the bureau, subject to the same approval.
" The following named persons will constitute the bureau of finance : E.
H. Durell, chairman; D. S. Dewees, Stoddart Howell.
" The following named persons will constitute the bureau of streets and
landings: Julian Neville, chairman; Edward Ames, Benjamin Campbell.
" By order. G. F. Sheplet,
" Military Commandant of New Orleans.
" Approved and ordered. B. F. Butler,
"Major- General Commanding Department of the Gulf 1
The consuls, as usual, had something to say to the general upon
the new topic. " If General Butler rides up Canal street," said the
Delta, " the consuls are sure to come in a body, and ' protest' that
he did not ride down. If he smokes a pipe in the morning, he is
sure to have a deputation in the evening, asking why he did not
smoke a cigar. If he drinks coffee, they will send some rude mes-
senger with a note asking, in the name of some tottering dynasty,
why he did not drink tea." The consuls did not gain much glory
in this new contest with the general.
454 THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS.
THE CONSULS TO GENEEAL BTTTLEE.
"New Oeleans, June — , 1862.
"To Major-General B. F. Butlee, Commanding Department of the Gulf:
" Geneeal : — The undersigned, foreign consuls, accredited to the United
States, have the honor to represent that General Order No. 41, under date
of 10th instant, contains certain clauses against which they deem it their
duty to protest, not only in order to comply with their obligations as repre-
sentatives of their respective governments, now at peace and in friendly
relations with the United States, but also to protect, by all possible means,
such of their fellow-citizens as may be morally or materially injured by the
execution of an order which they consider as contrary both to that justice
which they have a right to expect at the hands of the government of the
United States, and to the laws of nations.
" The ' Order' contains two oaths : one, applicable both to the native
born and to such foreigners as have not claimed and received a protection
from their government, &c. ; the second applicable, it would seem, to such
foreigners as may have claimed and received the above protection : thus,
unnaturalized foreigners are divided into two categories, a distinction which
the undersigned can not admit.
" The ' Order' says that the required ' oath will not be, as it has never
been, forced upon any;' that 'it is too sacred an obligation, too exalted in
its tenure, and brings with it too many benefits and privileges, to be pro-
faned by unwilling lip-service ;' that ' all persons shall be deemed to have
been citizens of the United States who shall have been resident therein for
the space of five years and upward, and, if foreign born, shall not have
claimed and received a protection of their government, duly signed and
registered by the proper officer, more than sixty days previous to the publi-
cation of this order.'
" Whence it follows that foreigners are placed on the same footing with
the native born and naturalized citizens, and in the alternative either of be-
ing deprived of their means of existence or forced implicitly to take the re-
quired oath, if they wish to ask and do receive ' any favor, protection, privi-
lege, passport, or to have money paid them, property or other valuable
thing whatever delivered to them, or any benefit of the power of the United
States extended to them, except protection from personal violence.'
" Now, of course, when a foreigner does not wish to submit to the laws
of the country of which he is a resident, he is invariably and every where at
liberty to leave that country. But here he does not even enjoy that privi-
lege; for to leave he must procure a passport, to obtain which he must
take an oath that he is unwilling to take ; and yet that oath ' is so sacred
and so exalted in its tenure that it must not be profaned by unwilling lip-
THE SHEEP A2sD THE GOATS. 455
M It is true that the ' Order' excepts those foreigners who claimed and re-
ceived the protection of their government more than sixty days previous to
its publication; but this exception is merely nominal, because the very
great majority of foreigners never had any cause hitherto, in this country,
to ask, and therefore to receive, ' a protection of their government.' Be-
sides, this exception implies an interference with the interior administration
of foreign governments — an act contrary to the laws of nations. Whether
the foreign residents have or have not complied with the laws and edicts
of their own governments is a matter between them and their consuls, and
the undersigned deny the right of any foreign power to meddle with, and
still less to enforce, the laws of their respective countries, as far as their
fellow-citizens are concerned. When a consul extends the high protection
of his government to such of his countrymen as are neither naturalized nor
charged with any breach of the laws of the country in which they reside,
he is to be supported by a friendly government ; for it is a law in all civil-
ized countries, that if foreigners must submit to the laws of the country in
which they reside, they, and a fortiori their consuls, must, in exchange of
that respect for those laws, receive due protection, that protection, in fact,
which the foreigners have invariably enjoyed in this country up to the
present time. Now, foreigners are deprived of that protection unless they
become citizens of the United States; and this is done without a warning
and in opposition to the laws of the United States concerning the mode in
which foreigners may become citizens of this country. The undersigned
must remark that a just law can have no retroactive action, and can be en-
forced only from the day of its promulgation, while the. order requires that
acts should have been done, the necessity of which was unforeseen, especial-
ly in this country.
" The required oath is contrary not only to the rights, duty and dignity
of foreigners, who are all 'free born,' but also to the dignity of the govern-
ment of the United States, and even to the spirit of the order itself.
u l. Because it virtually forces a certain class of foreigners, in order to
save their property, to swear 'true faith and allegiance' to the United
States, and thereby to ' renounce and abjure' that true faith and allegiance
which they owe to their own country only, while naturalization is and can
be but an act of free will; and because it is disgraceful for any 'free man'
to do, through motives of material interest, those moral acts which are re-
pugnant to his conscience.
"If the order merely required the English oath of 'allegiance,' it might
be argued, according to the definition given by Blackstone (I., p. 370), that
said oath signifies only the submission of foreigners to the police laws of
the country in which they reside ; but the oath, as worded in the ' order,
is a virtual act of naturalization. A citizen of the United States might
take the oath, although Art. 6 of the Federal Constitution and the act o(
456 THE SHEEP ANT> THE GOATS.
Congress of June 1, 1789, do not require as much. But no consideration
can compel a foreigner to take such an oath.
"2. Because, if according to the order the 'highest title known was real-
ly that of an American citizen,' it would be the very reason why it should
be sought after and not imposed upon the unwilling, whether openly or
impliedly.
"3. Because, while the order advocates the ' neutrality imposed upon
foreigners by their sovereigns,' it virtually tends to violate that neutrality,
not by forcing them openly to take up arms and bravely shed their blood
in defense even of a cause that is not their own, but by enjoining upon
them, if they wish to redeem their property, to descend to the level of spies
and denunciators for the benefit of the United States.
" The undersigned will close by remarking that their countrymen, since
the beginning of this war, have been neutral. As such they can not be con-
sidered and treated as a conquered population. The conquered may ba
submitted to exceptional laws ; but neutral foreigners have a right to be
treated as they have always been by the government of the United States.
" We have the honor to be, General, your most obedient servants,
" Juan Callejon, Consul de Espafia.
" Ch. Mejan, French Consul.
" Jos. Deynoodt, Consul of Belgium.
" M. W. Benachi, Greek Consul.
" Joseph Lanata, Consul of Italy.
" B. Teryaghi, Vice-Consul.
• " Ad. Piaget, Swiss Consul."
A little bird whispered in the ear of General Butler that the
author of this letter was Mr. George Coppell, whose papers had
not yet arrived, and whose signature, therefore, did not appear.
general butler to the consuls.
" Head-quarters, Department of the Gulf,
"New Orleans, La., June 16, 1862.
" Gentlemen : — Your protest against General Order No. 41 has been re-
ceived.
" It appears more like a labored argument, in which the imagination has
been drawn on for the facts to support it. "Were it not that some of the
idiomatic expressions of the document show that it was composed by some
one born in the English tongue, I should have supposed that many of the
misconceptions of the purport of the order, which appear in the protest,
arose from an imperfect acquaintance with the peculiarities of our language.
" As it is, I am obliged to believe that the faithlessness of the English-
THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS. 451
man who transmitted the order to you and wrote the protest, will account
for the misapprehensions under which you labor in regard to its terms.
" The order prescribes —
" 1. A form of oath to be taken by those who claim to be citizens of the
United States, and those only who desire to hold office, civil or military,
under the laws of the United States, or who desire some act to be done in
their favor by the officers of the United States in this department, other
than protection from personal violence, which is afforded to all.
" With that oath, of course, the alien has nothing to do.
"But there is a large class of foreign born persons here who, by their
acts, have lost their nationalities.
"Familiar examples of that class are those subjects of France who, in
contravention of the ''Code Civile? have, without authorization by the
emperor, joined themselves to a military organization of a foreign state
(a* affilierait d une corporation militaire etrangdre), or received milita-
ry commissions (fonctions publiques, conferees par un gouvernement etran-
ger) from the governor thereof, or who have left France without intention
of returning (sans esprit de retour), or, as in the case of the Greek consul,
have taken the office of opener and examiner of letters in the post-office of
the Confederate States, or the Prussian consul, who is still leading a re-
cruited body of his countrymen in the rebel army.
" As many of such aliens had been naturalized, and many of the bad
men among them had concealed the fact of their naturalization, it became
necessary, in order to meet the case of these bad men, to prescribe some
rule by which those foreign born who might not be entitled to the protec-
tion of their several governments, or had heretofore become naturalized
citizens of the United States, might be distinguished from those foreigners
who were still to be treated as neutrals.
" This rule must be a comprehensive one and one easily to be understood,
because it was for the guidance of subordinate officers, who should be call-
ed upon to administer the proper oath.
" Therefore, it was provided that all who had resided here five years — a
length of time which would seem to be sufficient evidence that they had
not the intention of returning (esprit de retour), and who should not have,
in that time, claimed certificate of nationality, called commonly a 'pro-
tection' of their government, should, for this purpose, be deemed prima
facie, of course, American citizens, and should, if they desired any favor
or protection of the government, save from violence, take the oath of alle-
giance. But it is complained that the order farther provides that they must
have received that ' protection' sixty days previous to the date of the order
so as to have the ' protection' avail them.
" The reason of this limitation was that, as some of the consuls had gone
to the rebel army, and some of the consuls had been aiding the rebellion
458 THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS.
here, and as ' protections 1 had been given by some of the consuls to those who
were not entitled to them, for the purpose of enabling the holders to evade
the blockade, it was necessary to make some limitations to secure good faith.
" Indeed, gentlemen, you will remember that all rules and regulations are
made to restrain bad men, and not the good.
" For instance, if I allowed the ' protections' given now to avail for this
purpose, that Prussian consul might give them to the whole of his militia
company that live to get back ; and they might come, claiming to be neutrals,
as did that British Guard who sent their arms and equipments to Beauregard.
" The naturalization laws of the United States were in abeyance for want
of United States courts here. Their provisions permitted all foreigners
who had resided here five years and not claimed protection of their govern-
ment, who felt disposed to avail themselves of them, to become entitled
to the high privileges of an American citizen, which so many foreign-
ers value so greatly that they leave their own prosperous, peaceful, and
happy countries to come and live here, even although allowed to enjoy
those privileges in a limited degree only. So greatly do they compliment
us upon our laws that they prefer to, and insist upon, stopping here, even
at the risk of being exposed to the chances of our intestine war, which
chances they seem willing to take, in preference to living in peace at home,
under laws enacted by their own sovereigns. But it is said that, unless for-
eigners take the oath of allegiance, they will not be allowed a ' passport.'
" This is an entire mistake, and probably comes from confounding a 'pass'
through my lines, which I grant or withhold for military reasons, with a
'passport,' which must be given a foreigner by his own government.
" The order refuses all ' passports' to American citizens who do not take
the oath of allegiance ; but it nowhere meddles with the ' passports' of for-
eigners, with which I have uothing to do.
" There is nothing compulsory about this order.
" If a foreigner desires the privileges which the military government of
this department accords to American citizens, let him take the oath of alle-
giance ; but that does not naturalize him. If he does not wish to do so,
but chooses to be an honest neutral, then let him not take the oath of alle-
giance, but the other oath set forth in the order.
" If he chooses to do neither, but simply to remain here with protection
from personal violence, a privilege he has not enjoyed in this city for many
years until now, let him be quiet, live on, keep away from his consul, and
be happy. For honest alien neutrals another oath was provided, which, in
my judgment, contains nothing but Avhat an honest and honorable neutral
will do and maintain, and, of course, only that which he will promise to do.
" But it is said that this oath compels every 'foreigner to descend to the
level of spies and denunciators for the benefit of the United States.'
" There is no possible just construction of language which will give any
THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS. 459
such interpretation to the order. This mistake arises from a misconception
of the meaning of the word 'conceal,' so false, so gross, so unjust and illit-
erate, that in the Englishman who penned the protest sent to me it must
have been intentional, but an error into which those not born and reared
in the idioms of our language might easily have fallen.
u The oath requires him who takes it not to ' conceal' any wrong that
has been, or is about to be done, in aid or comfort of the enemies of the
United States.
u It has been read and translated to you as if it required you to reveal all
such acts. ' Conceal' is a verb active in our language ; ' concealment' is an
act done, not a thing suffered by, the ' concealers.'
"Let me illustrate this difference of meaning:
" If I am passing about and see a thief picking the pocket of my neigh-
bor, and I say nothing about it unless called upon by a proper tribunal,
that is not ' concealment' of the theft ; but if I throw my cloak over the
thief to screen him from the police-officer while he does it, I then ' conceal'
the theft. Again, if I know that my neighbor is about to join the rebel army,
and I go about my usual business, I do not ' conceal' the fact ; but if, upon
being inquired of by the proper authority as to where my neighbor is about to
go, I say that he is going to sea, I then ' conceal' his acts and intentions.
" Now, if any citizen or foreigner means to ' conceal' rebellious or traitor-
ous acts against the United States, in the sense above given, it will be much
more for his personal comfort that he gets out of this department at once.
"Indeed, gentlemen, if any subject of a foreign state does not like our
laws, or the administration of them, he has an immediate, effectual, and ap-
propriate remedy in his own hands, alike pleasant to him and to us ; and
that is, not to annoy his consul with complaints of those laws or the ad-
ministration of them, or his consul wearying the authorities with verbose
protests, but simply to go home — ' stay not on the order of his going,
but go at once.' Such a person came here without our invitation ; he will
be parted with without our regrets.
" But he must not have committed crimes against our laws, and then ex-
pect to be allowed to go home to escape the punishment of thcso crimes.
" I must beg, gentlemen, that no more argumentative protests against
my orders be sent to me by yon as a body. If any consul has anything to
offer for my consideration, he will easily learn the proper mode of present-
ing it. It is no part of your duties or your rights.
" I have, gentlemen, the honor to be your obedient servant,
"Bexj. F. Butler, Major- General Commanding.
" Messrs. Ch. Mejan, French Consul ; Jttax Callejon, Consul de Espa-
na ; Jos. Deyxoodt, Consul of Belgium ; M. W. Bexachi, Greek Consul ;
Joseph Laxata, Consul of Italy ; B. Tejjyaghi, Vice-Consul ; Ad. Piaget,
Swiss Consul."
20
4C0 THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS.
Mr. Coppell had a word to say in his own name :
me. coppell to geneeal btttlee.
"Bkitish Consulate,
"New Oeleans, La., June 14, 1862.
" Sie : — I beg to inform you that great doubt exists in the minds of British
subjects, who, under the provisions of your Order No. 41, are called upon
to subscribe the oaths therein set forth, as to the consequences of compli-
ance with the behests of that order.
" I would therefore respectfully request that you will inform me whether
the oath prescribed in the first instance is intended, or, in your understand-
ing, can be construed to affect the natural allegiance they owe to the gov-
ernment of their nativity.
u Objections have also been very generally urged against the oath pre-
scribed to duly registered aliens, on the ground that it imposes on them
(in words, at least) the office of spy, and forces them to acts inconsistent
with the ordinary obligations of probity, honor and neutrality.
" Hoping that I may receive such explanations as may obviate the diffi-
culties suggested, I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
" Geoege Coppell,
" Her Britannic Majesty's Acting Consul."
eeplt feom head-qttaetees.
" Head-qttaetees, Depaetment of the Gulf,
" New Oeleans, La., June 14, 1862.
" Sie : — I am directed by the major-general commanding to inform you
that no answer is to be given to the note of George Coppell, Esq., of this
date, until his credentials and pretensions are recognized by his own gov-
ernment and the government of the United States. All attempts at official
action on Mr. Coppell's part must cease. His credentials have been sought
for, but not exhibited. I have the honor to be
" Your obedient servant,
"P. Haggeett,
" Captain and Assistant Adjutant- General."
Mr. Coppell, however, received another answer. To complete
the discomfiture of the consuls, General Butler employed one of
his very happiest expedients — a measure at once so just and so
witty, as to extort grim laughter and sulky approval from the
sourest rebels. The following general order appeared three days
after the date of the general's reply to the consuls :
THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS. 4G1
" Xew Orleans, June 19, 1862.
"General Order No. 42.
" The commanding general has received information that certain of the
foreign residents in this department, notwithstanding the explanations of
the terms of the oath prescribed in General Order No. 41, contained in his
reply to the foreign consuls, have still scruples about taking that oath.
"Anxious to relieve the consciences of all who honestly entertain doubts
upon this matter, and not to embarrass any, especially neutrals, by his
necessary military orders, the commanding general hereby revises General
Order No. 41, so far as to permit any foreign subject, at his election, to take
and subscribe the following oath, instead of the oath as set forth :
" I, , do solemnly swear that I will, to the best of my ability,
support, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States. So help
me God!
" [Traduction.]
" Je, , jure solennellement, autant qu'il sera en moi, de soutenir,
de maintenir, et de defendre la constitution des Etats-Unis. Que Dieu me
soit en aide !
" The general is sure that no foreign subject can object to this oath, as it
is in the very words of the oath taken by every officer of the European
brigade, prescribed more than a year ago in ' Les reglements de la Legion
Frangaise, formee a la Nouvelle Orleans, le 26 d'Avril, 1881,' as will be seen
by the extract below (page 22), and claimed as an act of the strictest neu-
trality by the officers taking it, and, for more than a year, has passed by all
the foreign consuls — so far as he is informed — without protest.
"Serment que doivent preter tous les officiers de la 'Legion Francaise. 1
" State of Louisiana, Parish of Orleans.
"I, , do solemnly swear that I will, to the best of ability, dis-
charge the duties of of the French Legion, and that I will sup-
port, protect, and defend the constitution of the state and of the Confederate
States. So help me God !
" Sworn to and subscribed before me.
" [Traduction.]
"Etat de la Louisiane, Paroisse d'Orleans.
" Je, , jure solennellement de remplir, autant qu'il sera en moi,
les devoirs de de la Legion Frangaise, et je promets de soutenir,
de maintenir et de defendre la constitution de l'Etat et celle des Etats Con-
federes. Que Dieu me soit en aide !
" Assermente et signe devant moi."
I think this must be pronounced the neatest hit of the kind on
record.
462 THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS.
The oath-taking, mean while, went vigorously on. On the 7th
of xiugust, Colonel French had the pleasure of reporting that the
oath prescribed to citizens had been taken by 11,723 persons;
the foreign neutrals' oath, by 2,499 persons ; and that 4,933 pri-
vates and 211 officers of the Confederate army had given the
required parole.
This was the more gratifying from the fact, that the social influ-
ence of the city was all employed against the taking of the oath.
Ladies refused to receive gentlemen who were known to have
taken it. Gentlemen were notified to leave their boarding-houses
who had thus avowed their attachment to the Union. Books were
kept, by noted secessionists, in which the names of such were re-
corded for future vengeance. Men who were accused of having
taken the oath thought it necessary, in some instances, to resent
the charge as a calumny.* Others who had recently taken it,
* A perfectly well-informed officer related the following incidents :
" Holt's drinking- saloon was one of the most fashionable in the city. The proprietor, the son
of the famous New York hotel-keeper of that name, kept fast horses, a fashionable private resi-
dence, and received his income by the hundred dollars a day. In an evil hour secession seized
upon the land, and Holt was induced to issue shinplasters. His reputation for wealth and
business profits made them popular, and inducements were held out for immense issues.
Gradually, however, business fell off, and Holt, when General Butler ordered that personal
paper money should be redeemed by bank-notes, found it impossible to comply with the procla-
mation, and this inability was increased by the faci that he had taken the oath of allegiance, and
his regular customers refused, therefore, to be comforted at his house. The finale was that Hoifc
was sold out, and his establishment, repainted and restocked, opened under the auspices of one
John Hawkins. To give the place the due amount of eclat, Captain Clark, of the Delta, know-
ing that it was against the law for any one to sell liquor in the city, unless by a person who had
taken the oath of allegiance and obtained a license, caused it to be published that at last our citi-
zens were blessed with a 'Union drinking-saloon,' and at the same time invited all persons who
loved the stars and stripes to patronize this new establishment.
"This flattering notice fell upon John Hawkins as a thunderbolt ; he frantically rushed over
to the newspaper office and protested that he was a rebel, and that he relied upon his secession
friends for patronage ; he declared that he was a ruined man unless something was done to im-
mediately purge his fair fame of any taint of loyalty to his native land. Captain Clark, who
fully appreciated the unfortunate publican's feelings, and with the spirit and liberality of a
chivalrous editor, offered his columns for an explanation, which offer resulted in the publication
of the following card :
"'Hawkins House.
♦'• ' To the Editor oftlie New Orleans Delta :
" 'The editorial statement in your journal of this morning, to the effect that I have taken tho
oath of allegiance, is a fabrication. John Hawkins.
'"New Orleans, July 17, 1862.'
" Secessia was delighted ; John's friends crowded his precincts all day, and drank to John's
health, and at John's expense. The dawn of the following morning promised a brilliant future;
but, alas! Deputy provost-marshal Colonel Stafford, whose business it is to see that public
drinking-house keepers have taken the oath of allegiance, sent after Mr. Hawkins, and asked him
what right ha had to keep a shop opeu without a license, and farther inquired if John did not
THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS. 463
boasted that they had done so only to secure the temporary ad-
vantages attached to the act, and avowed their readiness to take
as many oaths as Picayune Butler thought it necessary to impose ;
as no faith was to be kept with Yankees. All these things were
noted by General Butler, who " bided his time."
Another of the general's precautionary measures, was the dis-
arming of New Orleans. The city was full of arms. Nearly every
house, of any pretensions, contained some, and. nearly every well-
dressed man carried a weapon of some kind. At first, the general
had no intention of depriving private persons of their arms, since
he had assured the public, in his proclamation, that private property
should be respected. Under the general order, commanding the
disclosure and surrender of Confederate property, a considerable
quantity of arms and munitions of war were seized ; but the most
virulent of the rebels were still allowed the inestimable privilege of
carrying a pocketful of revolvers, and a bowie-knife parallel to the
back bone. The event which led to the universal disarming of the
city was this : In August, on the bloody field of Baton Rouge, were
found dead and wounded citizens of Baton Rouge, wearing still
their usual arms, who, on the very evening before the attack, had
mingled familiarly with the officers of the Union army, and who, on
the approach of Breckinridge, had hastened to join his troops, and
to engage in the conflict. Lieutenant Weitzel reported this sig-
nificant fact to General Butler, who immediately determined to
compel the surrender of every private weapon in New Orleans.
The requisite orders were issued; arms in great quantities were
brought in and safely deposited ; for all of which receipts were given.
The French consul objected, of course. His protest had only the
effect of adding one more to General Butler's amusing consular
letters.
the french consul to lieutenant weitzel.
" Feench Consulate at New Orleans,
"New Orleans, August 12, 1862.
" Sie : — The new order of the day, which has been published this morn-
ing, and by which you require that all and whatever arms which may be
know that he omld not get a license unless he took oath to be a good citizen under the national
government. This interference on the part of General Butler and his subordinates with the un-
alienable rights of Secessia has, of course, thrown a new brand of discord into the community, and
the fearful catastrophe seems impending, that will compel the habitues of the fashionable drink-
ing-saloons to have the slow poison dealt out by loyal citizens."
464 THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS.
in the possession of the people of this city, must be delivered up, has caused
the most serious alarm among the French subjects of New Orleans.
" Foreigners, sir, and particularly Frenchmen, have, notwithstanding the
accusations brought against some of them by certain persons, sacrificed
everything to maintain, during the actual conflict, the neutrality imposed
upon them.
"When arms were delivered them by the municipal authorities, they only
used them to maintain order and defend personal property ; and those arms
have since been almost all returned.
"And it now appears, according to the tenor of your order of to-day,
that French subjects, as well as citizens, are required to surrender their
personal arms, which could only be used in self-defense.
"For some time past, unmistakable signs have manifested themselves
among the servile population of the city and surrounding country, of their
intention to break the bonds which bind them to their masters, and many
persons apprehend an actual revolt.
" It is these signs, this prospect of finding ourselves completely unarmed,
in the presence of a population from which the greatest excesses are feared,
that we are above all things justly alarmed ; for the result of such a state
of things would fall on all alike who were left without the means of self-
defense.
" It is not denied that the protection of the United States government
would be extended to them in such an event, but that protection could not
be effective at all times and in all places, nor provide against those internal
enemies, whose unrestrained language and manners are constantly increas-
ing, and who are but partially kept in subjection by the conviction that
their masters are armed.
"I submit to you, sir, these observations, with the request that you take
them into consideration.
"Please accept, sir, the assurance of my high esteem.
" The Consul of France,
" Count Mejan.
"Lieutenant Weitzel, U. S. Engineers, and Assistant Military Com-
mandant of New Orleans."
general butler to the french consul.
" Head-quarters, Department of the Gulf,
" Few Orleans, August 14, 1862.
"Sir: — Your official note to Lieutenant Weitzel has been forwarded
to me.
" I see no just cause of complaint against the order requiring the arms
of private citizens to be given up. It is the usual course pursued in cities
THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS. 4i>5
similarly situated to this, even without any exterior force in the neigh-
borhood.
"You will observe that it will not do to trust to mere professions of neu-
trality. I trust most of your countrymen are in good faith neutral ; but it
is unfortunately true that some of them are not. This causes the good, of
necessity, to suffer for the acts of the bad.
" I take leave to call your attention to the fact, that the United States
forces gave every immunity to Monsieur Bonnegrass, who claimed to bt
the French consul at Baton Eouge ; allowed him to keep his arms, and re-
lied upon his neutrality ; but his son was taken prisoner on the battle-field
in arms against us.
" You will also do me the favor to remember that very few of the French
subjects here have taken the oath of neutrality, which was offered to, but
not required of them, by my Order No. 41, although all the officers of the
French Legion had, with your knowledge and assent, taken the oath to
support the constitution of the Confederate States. Thus you see I have
no guarantee for the good faith of bad men.
"I do not understand how it is that arms are altered in their effective-
ness by being ' personal property,' nor do I see how arms which will serve
for personal defense (' qui ne peuvent servir que pour leur defense person-
nelle'), can not be as effectually used for offensive warfare.
u Of the disquiet of which you say there are signs manifesting them-
selves among the black population, from a desire to break their bonds,
(' certaines dispositions a, rompre les liens qui les attachent a leurs maitres'),
I have been a not inattentive observer, without' wonder, because it would
seem natural, when their masters had set them the example of rebellion
against constituted authorities, that the negroes, being an imitative race,
should do likewise.
" But surely the representative of the emperor, who does not tolerate
slavery in France, does not desire his countrymen to be armed for the pur-
pose of preventing the negroes from breaking their bonds.
" Let me assure you that the protection of the United States against vio-
lence, either by negroes or white men, whether citizens or foreign, will
continue to be as perfect as it has been since our advent here ; and far
more so, manifesting itself at all moments and everywhere (' tous les in-
stants et partout'), than any improvised citizens' organization can be.
"Whenever the inhabitants of this city will, by a public and united act,
show both their loyalty and neutrality, I shall be glad of their aid to keep
the peace, and indeed to restore the city to them. Till that time, however,
I must require the arms of all the inhabitants, white and black, to be
under my control. I have the honor to be, your obedient servant,
"Benj. F. Butlek, Major- General Commanding.
" To Count Mejax, French Consul."
466 THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS.
To secure the surrender of arms still secreted, the following
stringent general order was issued :
"New Orleans, August 16, 1882.
" Ordered, That after Tuesday, 19th inst., there be paid for information
leading to the discovery of weapons not held under a written permit from
the United States authorities, but retained and concealed by the keeper*
thereof, the sums following :
For each serviceable gun, musket or rifle $ 10
" revolver 7
" pistol 5
" sabre or officer's sword 5
" dirk, dagger, bowie-knife or sword-cane 3
" Said arms to be confiscated, and the keeper so concealing them to be
punished by imprisonment.
" The crime being an overt act of rebellion against the authority of the
United States, whether by a citizen or an alien, works a forfeiture of the
property of the offender, and, therefore, every slave giving information that
shall discover the concealed arms of his or her master, shall be held to be
emancipated.
" II. As the United States authorities have disarmed the inhabitants of
the parish of Orleans, and as some fearful citizens seem to think it neces
sary that they should have arms to protect themselves from violence, it is
ordered,
"That hereafter, the offenses of robbery by violence or aggravates
assault that ought to be replied by the use of deadly weapons, burglaries
rapes and murders, whether committed by blacks or whites, will be, on con
viction, punished by death."
Union men, known and tried, were permitted to keep their arms
To one or two old soldiers of the war of 1812, the privilege was
accorded of retaining the weapons once honorably borne in the ser-
vice of their country. Many weapons were, doubtless, still secre-
ted ; but, for all purposes of co-operation with an attacking force,
New Orleans was disarmed. The whole number of surrendered
weapons was about six thousand.
THE CONFISCATION ACT. 467
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE CONFISCATION ACT.
The act of Congress confiscating the property of rebellious citi-
zens was approved July 17th.
Before the passage of the act, General Butler had taken the
liberty to " sequester" the estates of those two notorious traitors,
General Twiggs and John Slidell, both of whom possessed large
property in New Orleans. These estates he held for the adjudica-
tion of the government, and, in the mean time, selected the spacious
mansion of General Twiggs for his own residence and that of a
portion of his staff. Among the papers found in this house were
certain letters which tended to show that Twiggs had sought the
command in Texas with a view to the betrayal of his trust, a crime
only once paralleled in the history of the country. Twiggs fled
from New Orleans on the approach of the fleet, conscious that
such turpitude as his could not fail to meet its just retribution. He
died soon after, but not before he had heard that the flag of his be-
trayed country floated over his residence as the head-quarters of
the army of occupation .
Three swords, presented to him for his gallantry in Mexico, one
by Congress, one by the state of Georgia, his native state, one by
Augusta, his native city, were left behind in the custody of a
young lady, and fell into the hands of General Butler. The young
lady claimed them as her own. She said that General Twiggs had
given them to her on new-year's day, with a box of family silver,
alleging as a reason for this strange gift the recent death of a be-
loved niece to whom he had previously bequeathed them. Three
facts were elicited which induced the general to set aside her claim.
One was, that Twiggs had brought the articles to the young lady's
residence, not on new-year's day, but at the moment of his flight
from the city. Another was, that she had never mentioned so ex-
traordinary a present to any member of her family — as appeared
on the separate examination of each. Another was, that General
Twisrgs had left with the articles the document following: "I
20*
408 THE CONFISCATION ACT.
leave my swords to Miss Rowena Florence, and box of silver.
New Orleans, April 25, 1862. D. E. Twiggs :" which was hastily
written in the carriage at the door.
General Butler ventured to disbelieve Miss Rowena Florence,
and sent the swords to the president of the United States. He
suggested that the one presented by congress should be given to
some officer distinguished in the war ; that the one given by the
state of Georgia, should be deposited at the military academy at
West Point, with a suitable inscription, as a warning to the cadets ;
and that the third should be placed in the patent office as a me-
mento of the folly of such an " invention " as secession. In for-
warding the swords to congress, the president remarked, that if
either of them were presented to an officer of the army, " General
Butler is entitled to the first consideration."
The sword voted by Kentucky to General Zachary Taylor, was
rescued by General Butler from disloyal hands in New Orleans.
He sent it to the son of the late president — Brigadier-General Jo-
seph Taylor of the Union army.
The confiscation act, it will be remembered, divided rebels into
two classes. The property of one class was to be confiscated at
' once, or as soon as it fell into the possession of the United States ;
the property of the other class was to be confiscated after sixty
days' warning. The first class consisted of all military and naval
officers commanding rebels in arms ; the president, vice president,
judges, members of congress, cabinet ministers, foreign emissaries,
and other agents of the Confederate States ; the governors and
judges of seceded states ; in short, all who hold office under the
Confederate government, or under the government of a seceded
state, as well as citizens of loyal states who gave aid and comfort
to the rebellion. The second class included the great mass of the
privates in the Confederate army and navy, and all unofficial abet-
tors of the rebellion. The property of these last was to be de-
clared confiscated sixty days after the date of the president's proc-
lamation warning them to lay down their arms and return to their
allegiance. As this proclamation was issued on the 25th of Julv
the days of grace expired on the 23d of September.
With this explanation, the reader will understand the object of
the following general order, and will be able to imagine its effect
upon the secessionists of New Orleans :
THE CONFISCATION ACT. 469
";New Orleans, Sept. 13, 1862.
" As in the course of ten days it may become necessary to distinguish the
disloyal from the loyal citizens and honest neutral foreigners residing in
this department :
" It is ordered, That each neutral foreigner, resident in this department,
shall present himself, with the evidence of his nationality, to the nearest
provost-marshal for registration of himself and his family.
"This registration shall include the following particulars:
" The country of birth.
u The length of time the person has resided within the United States.
" The names of his family.
" The present place of residence, by street, number or other description.
" The occupation.
"The date of protection or certificate of nationality, which shall be in-
dorsed by the passport-clerk, 'registered,' with date of register.
" All false or simulated claims of foreign allegiance, by native or natural-
ized citizens, will be severely punished."
This premonition of coming retribution called attention anew to
the clause of the confiscation act which declared all conveyances of
property made after the expiration of the sixty days to be void.
Instantly there began such a universal transferring of property as
no city had ever before seen. Property was given away ; proper-
ty was sold for next to nothing ; all the known expedients for get-
ting rid of property were employed ; until it seemed probable that
by the 23d of September, not a rebel in New Orleans w T ould be
found to possess anything whatever, and the entire wealth of the
city would be held by that portion of the people who had taken the
oath of allegiance, or by parties at a great distance, and inaccessi-
ble, or by minors and women. General Butler determined to use
his autocratic authority to put a stop to these fictitious transfers.
The following general order accomplished this purpose.
"iSTEW Orleans, Sept. 1862.
"I. All transfers of property, or rights of property, real, mixed, personal
or incorporeal, except necessary food, medicine and clothing, either by
way of sale, gift, pledge, payment, lease or loan, by an inhabitant of this
department, who has not returned to his or her allegiance to the United
States (having once been a citizen thereof), are forbidden and void, and
the person transferring and the person receiving shall be punished by fine
or imprisonment, or both.
" II. All registers of the transfer of certificates of stock or shares in any
470 THE CONFISCATION ACT.
incorporated or joint-stock company or association, in which any inhabitant
of this department, who has not returned to his or her allegiance to the
United States (having once been a citizen thereof), has any interest, are
forbidden, and the clerk or other officer making or recording tne transfer
will be held equally guilty with the transferrer."
And more. Some wise men of New Orleans, foreseeing the evil,
had long ago reduced themselves to fictitious beggary. The de-
cisions of Mr. Reverdy Johnson, sustained by the government, had
given rise to the impression that papers made out in the forms of
law, would be permitted to nullify an act of Congress, as well as
set at naught the decrees of General Butler. Many men of wealth
had acted upon this impression, " making over " valuable estates to
others, for considerations that were ridiculously small. General
Butler seized and " sequestered" some property thus transferred,
holding it for the government to decide upon the legality of such
proceedings. One noted case of this kind he selected as a test,
and submitted it to the secretary of state. The dispatch in which
the particulars were detailed, shall be presented here, for the light
it throws upon the state of things in New Orleans and the peculiar
difficulties of General Butler's position. It is fair to guess that
this dispatch had something to do with General Bntler's recall from
the Department of the Gulf, — a measure which was not suggested
by the president.
general butler to mr. seward.
"Head-quarters, Department of the Gulf,
"New Orleans, September 19, 1862.
" Hon. "William H. Seward, Secretary of State :
" Sir : — I have the honor to report to you the following facts :
" 0. McDonald Fago, a British subject, resident many years in New Or-
leans, is about to make claim to the property of Wright & Allen in New
Orleans, which has been taken possession of by the United States authori-
ties here under the following state of facts :
" Wright & Allen are cotton-brokers, who claim to have property outside
of New Orleans of two millions of dollars. They are most rabid rebels,
and were of those who published a card advising the planters not to send
forward their crop of cotton for the purpose of inducing foreign intervention.
" Soon after wo came to New Orleans, they mortgaged their real estate
here, consisting of a house, for $60,000, to planters in the state of Arkansas,
and then sold the equity, together with their furniture, for $5,000 to Mr.
Fago ; paying about four thousand five hundred dollars per annum interest
THE COISTISCATICXN- ACT. 4*71
on the property, and to receive nothing. His only payment, however, was
by his own note in twelve months, which was sent to their friend, the
planter in Arkansas.
" Wright & Allen were then openly boasting that they would not take
the oath of allegiance to the United States, and were encouraging others to
refuse and stand by secession. In order to divest themselves of the last
vestige of visible property upon which the confiscation act could take effect,
having given to the widow of their deceased partner, an Irish woman, a
note or notes for three thousand five hundred dollars, they then sell her
their plate for that amount, and then have it shipped under another name
to Liverpool.
"• A large number of others are following their example ; and, indeed,
all the property of New Orleans is changing hands into those of foreigners
and women, to avoid the consequences of the confiscation act.
" Believing all this to be deplorable, I have resolved to make this a test
case, and have seized this property, and intend to hold it where it is until
the matter can be submitted to the courts.
u Mr. Fago has sent to Washington to have this property given up as a
test case. If the course of authority here is interfered with in this case, it
will be next to impossible to maintain order in this city. This Mr. Fago
has first had a large amount of sugar, belonging to an aid of Governor
Moore, given up to him by the decision of Eeverdy Johnson. Emboldened
by this experiment he proposes to try once more. If successful, I should
prefer that the government would get some one else to hold New Orleans
instead of myself. Indeed, sir, I beg leave to add, that another such com-
missioner as Mr. Johnson sent to New Orleans would render the city un-
tenable. The town itself got into such a state while Mr. Johnson was
here, that he confessed to me that he could hardly sleep from nervousness
from fear of a rising, and hurried away, hardly completing his work, as
soon as he heard Baton Rouge was about to be attacked.
" The result of his mission here has caused it to be understood that I am
not supported by the government; that I am soon to be relieved; that all
my acts are to be overhauled, and that a rebel may do anything he pleases
in the city, as the worst may be a few days' imprisonment, when my sue-
cessor will come and he will be released.
" To such an extent has this thing gone, that inmates of the parish prison,
sent there for grand larceny, robbery, &c, in humble imitation of the for-
eign consuls, have agreed together to send an agent to Washington to ask
for a commissioner to investigate charges made by these thieves against
the provost-marshal, by whose vigilance they were detected.
- " Alexander the coppersmith, by his cry, • Great is Diana of the Ephe-
sians' (' the institution of slavery is in danger'), did me much harm in
Louisiana, from the effects of which lam just recovering; and the only
472 THE CONFISCATION ACT.
fear I now have is, that if the last accounts are true, Mr. Johnson will have
so much more nervous apprehension for his personal safety in Baltimore
than he had in New Orleans, that he will want to come back here, now the
yellow fever season is over, as to a place of security.*
" I have done myself the honor to make this detail of the case at length
to the state department, so that all the facts are before it upon which I act.
The inferences from those facts must, from the nature of testimony, be left
to my judgment until the courts can act authoritatively in the matter.
" Another reason why I have detailed the facts is, that in the reports of
Mr. Johnson furnished to the consuls to be read here, every fact is re-
pressed which would form a shadow of justification for my acts, and ex
parte affidavits of parties accused by me of fraudulent transfers of large
amounts of property are the r-ole basis of the report.
u True. by that report more than three-quarters of a million of specie
is placed in the hands of one Forstall, a rebel, a leading member of the
' Southern Independent Association,' a league wherein each member bound
himself by a horrid and impious oath ' to resist unto death itself all attempts
to restore the Union.' A confrere of Pierre Soule in the committee of the
city which destroyed more than ten millions of property by fire, to prevent
its coming into the hands of the United States authorities, when the fleet
passed the forts.
" I beg of you, sir, to consider that I mention the characteristics of this
report, not in any tone of complaint of the state department. If it is neces-
sary to suppress facts, to impugn the motives and disown the acts of a
commanding officer of the army in the field, or to publish to those plotting
the destruction of the republic, that lie has had control of public affairs in
New Orleans taken from him and transferred to a subordinate, because of
the harshness of his administration, as was done in the dispatch to the
minister of the Netherlands, even if the fact is not true, I bow to the
mandate of ' state necessity' without a murmur. I have made larger sacri-
fices than this for my country, and am prepared for still greater, if need be,
but I only wish to make them when they will be useful, and therefore
have painted the effect of the commission, report, and dispatch upon a tur-
bulent, rebellious, uneasy, excitable, vindictive, brutalized, half foreign
population, maddened by exaggerated reports of the actions of their fellows,
the fall of the national capital, the invasion of the North, and excited to
insubordination by the double hope, that either by the success of the arms
of their brethren, or the interference of the national executive in their be-
half, they shall soon be released from the only government which has ever
held the city in quiet order, or unplundering peace. Awaiting instructions,
" I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
"Benjamin F. Butler, Major- General Commanding.' 1 ''
* The retel army was then In Maryland.
THE CONFISCATION ACT. 473
This letter clearly marks the point of divergence between the
two modes of dealing with the rebellion. As the reports of Mr.
Johnston and the correspondence of Mr. Seward with Mr. Van Lim-
burgh have been published, it is but fair that this dispatch should
be also printed. Whether the confiscation act was a politic or an
impolitic measure is a question upon which honest and patriotic
men may differ — do differ. But the act having been passed and
approved, there can be no doubt that the duty of commanding
generals was to give it real effect — not allow the government to be
defrauded by the hasty manufacture of fictitious legal papers.
General Butler continued his preparations for enforcing the con-
fiscation act. The day after the expiration of the sixty days' grace,
the following general order was issued :
" New Oeleans, September 24, 1862.
" All persons, male or female, within this department, of the age of
eighteen years and upward, who have ever been citizens of the United
States, and have not renewed their allegiance before this date to the United
States, or who now hold or pretend any allegiance or sympathy with the
so-called Confederate States, are ordered to report themselves, on or before
the first day of October next, to the nearest provost-marshal, with a de-
scriptive list of all their property and rights of property, both real, personal
and mixed, made out and signed by themselves respectively, with the same
particularity as for taxation. They shall also report their place of residence
by number, street, or other proper description, and their occupation, which
registry shall be signed by themselves, and each shall receive a certificate
from the marshal of registration as claiming to be an enemy of the United
States.
u Any persons, of those described in this order, neglecting so to register
themselves, shall be subject to fine, or imprisonment at hard labor, or both,
and all his or her property confiscated, by order, as punishment for such
neglect.
" On the first day of October next, every householder shall return to the
provost-marshal nearest him, a list of each inmate in his or her house, of
the age of eighteen years or upward, which list shall contain the following
particulars : The name, sex, age and occupation of each inmate, whether a
registered alien, one who has taken the oath of allegiance to the United
States, a registered enemy of the United States, or one who has neglected
to register himself or herself, either as an alien, a loyal citizen, or a register-
ed enemy. All householders neglecting to make such returns, or making a
false return, shall be punished by fine, or imprisonment with hard labor, or
both.
474 THE CONFISCATION ACT.
" Each policeman will, within his beat, be held responsible that every
householder failing to make such return, within three days from the first of
October, is reported to the provost-marshal ; and five dollars for such
neglect, for every day in which it is not reported, will be deducted from
such policeman's pay, and he shall be dismissed. And a like sum for con-
viction of any householder not making his or her return shall be paid to the
policeman reporting such householder.
"Every person who shall, in good faith, renew his or her allegiance to
the United States previous to the first day of October next, and shall re-
main truly loyal, will be recommended to the president for pardon of his or
her previous offenses."
This order led to a run on the oath offices. It was " understood'*
among the secessionists that an oath given to Yankees for the pur-
pose of retaining property was a mere form of words not binding
upon the consciences of the chivalric sons of the South. A very
large number of persons, it is thought, acted upon this opinion ;
for while the offices appointed for receiving the oaths were throng-
ed and surrounded by eager multitudes of oath-takers, the number
of " registered enemies" was less than four thousand. " People,"
said the Delta, " who take the oath of allegiance, and afterward
say, with a sneer, ' it did not go farther than there' (pointing to
their throat), should bear in mind that if it is kept in that posi-
tion, and they conduct themselves accordingly, there is great
danger of its choking them some fine morning."
Before General Butler left the department, sixty thousand of its
inhabitants had taken the oath of allegiance to the government of
the United States.
The rebel General Jeff. Thompson, who was in command near
the Union lines, contrived to get in a word on this subject :
" PoNcnATOULA, La., September 28th,
" Sunday, 8 o'clock a. m.
"Major-General B. E. Butler, TJ. S. A., New Orleans, La. :
" [Per Underground Telegraph.]
" General : — We thank you for General Order No. 76. It will answer us
for a precedent at New Orleans, St. Louis, Louisville, Baltimore, Washing-
ton, each of which we will have in a few days. We were undetermined
how to act. Please ' pile it on.'
"Yours respectfully, Jefferson Thompson,
" Brigadier- General S. C, commanding Southern Line"
THE CONFISCATION ACT. 475
If the general could regard this epistle as a joke, there were
other correspondents whose communications caused him real dis-
tress. The venerable and benevolent Dr. Mercer, for example, a
gentleman for whom General Butler, in common with the whole
army, entertained the most sincere respect, addressed him upon the
subject of General Order No. 76.
" You have probably inferred, from our various conversations, that
I have not taken an oath of allegiance to the Confederate States,
nor have been a member of any society or public body in New
Orleans, or elsewhere in the confederacy ; and that since your
arrival here, I have maintained a strict neutrality. In pursuance
of your Order No. 76, I will make a faithful return, substantially,
if not minutely accurate, of all my property here, except about
$3,000, the greater part of which is in gold, that I have reserved
for an emergency. I mention this to you now to avoid misapprehen-
sion. Your order referred to exempts only those who have taken
the oath of allegiance ; but I can not think you intend to include
those in my situation as claiming to be 'enemies of the United
States.' Such an interpretation is, in my opinion, at variance with
the act of congress, as well as with the proclamation of President
Lincoln."
General Butler replied :
" In my judgment, there can be no such thing as neutrality by a
citizen of the United States in this contest for the life of the gov-
ernment. As an officer, I can not recognize such neutrality. * He
that is not for us is against us.'
" All good citizens are called upon to lend their influence to the
United States ; all that do not do so, are the enemies of the United
States ; the line is to be distinctly and broadly drawn. Every
citizen must find himself on one side or the other of that line, and
can claim no other position than that of a friend or an enemy of
the United States.
" While I am sorry to be obliged to differ from you in your con
struction of the act of congress and the proclamation of the presi
dent, I cannot permit any reservation of property from the list,
or exemption of persons from the requirement of Order No. 76.
It may be, and, I trust, is quite true, that' by no act of yours have
you rendered yourself liable to the confiscation of your property
under the act and proclamation ; but that is for the military or
476
THE CONFISCATION ACT.
other courts (to decide). You, however, will advise yourself, with
your usual care and caution, what may be the effect, now that you
are solemnly called upon to declare yourself in favor of the govern-
ment, of contumaciously refusing to renew your allegiance to it,
thereby inducing, from your example, others of your fellow-citizens
to remain in the same opposition. I am glad to acknowledge your
long and upright life as a man, your former services as an officer
of the government, and the high respect I entertain for your per-
sonal character and moral worth ; but I am dealing with your duty
as a citizen of the U nited States. All these noble qualities, as well
as your high social condition, render your example all the more in-
fluential and pernicious ; and, I grieve to add, in my opinion, more
dangerous to the interests of the United States than if, a younger
man, you had shouldered your musket and marched to the field in
the army of rebellion."
Dr. Mercer was, therefore, compelled to choose a position on one
side or the other of the " broad line." He did not take the oath
of allegiance, but preferred to enroll himself among the registered
enemies of his country. After the departure of General Butler, he
escaped to New York, where he has since resided.
General Butler proceeded in the work recommended by Jeff.
Thompson, of " piling it on," taking the material from the " piles"
of the friends and comrades of that humorous officer. Another of
his raking general orders appeared in October, which sensibly re-
duced the income of many conspicuous abettors of the rebellion.
" New Oeleans, October 17, 1862.
"All persons holding powers of attorney or letters of authorization from,
or who are merely acting for, or tenants of, or intrusted with any moneys,
goods, wares, property or merchandise, real, personal or mixed, of any per-
son now in the service of the so-called Confederate States, or any person
not known by such agent, tenant or trustee to be a loyal citizen of the
United States, or a bona fide neutral subject of a foreign government, will
retain in their own hand, until farther orders, all such moneys, goods,
wares, merchandise and property, and make an accurate return of the same
to David C. G. Field, Esq., the financial clerk of this department, upon oath,
on or before the first day of November next. Every such agent, tenant or
trustee failing to make true return, or shall pay over or deliver any such
moneys, goods, wares, merchandise and property to, or for the use, directly
or indirectly, of any person not known by him to be a loyal citizen of the
United States, without an order from these head-quarters, will be held per-
MORE OF THE IRON HAND. 477
sonally responsible for the amount so neglected to be returned, paid over or
delivered. All rents due or to become due by tenants of property belong-
ing to persons not known to be loyal citizens of the United States, will be
paid as they become due, to D. 0. G-. Field, Esq., financial clerk of the de-
partment."
To complete the reader's knowledge of this subject, it is only
necessary to add that, early in December, all registered enemies
who desired to leave New Orleans, not to return, were permitted
to do so. Several hundreds availed themselves of this permission,
much to the relief of the party for the Union.
It was these stern and rigorously executed measures which com-
pleted the subjugation of the secessionists of New Orleans, and
deprived them of all power to co-operate with treason beyond the
Union lines. It was these measures which alone could have pre-
pared the way for the sincere return of Louisiana to the Union,
the first requisite to which was the suppression of the small party
which had traitorously taken the state out of the Union. To com-
plete the regeneration of the state, it was necessary to foster the
self-respect, protect the interests, maintain the rights, and raise in
the scale of civilization that vast majority of the people of Louisi-
ana, white and black, bond and free, whose interests and the
interests of the United States are identical. This great and diffi-
cult work General Butler was permitted only to begin. The back-
woodsman was called from his fields when the forests had been
cleared, the swamps drained, the noxious creatures driven away, and
all the rough, wild work done. There would have been a harvest
in the following year, if the same energetic and fertile mind had
continued to wield the resources of the land.
CHAPTER XXV.
MORE OP THE IRON HAND.
Certain of the Episcopal clergy of New Orleans felt the rigor
of General Butler's rule. The clergy of New Orleans were seces-
sionists, of course. Any Christian minister capable of voluntarily
living in the South during the last twenty years, or any one who
473 MOKE OF THE IRON HAND.
was permitted to live there, must have been a person prepared to
forsake all and follow slavery. This was the condition of their ex-
ercising the clerical office in the cotton kingdom, and when the
time came they complied with that condition.
One " eminent divine" of New Orleans, it is said, was heard to
remark, that strong as was his belief in special providential dis-
pensations, that faith would receive a severe, perhaps a fatal shock,
if the yellow fever did not become epidemic in New Orleans that
summer.
When the confiscation act was about to be enforced, General
Butler had a controversy with Dr. Leacock, the Episcopal clergy-
man who promised to read the burial service over Lieutenant De
Kay, and broke his promise. This gentleman was of English birth,
but had long resided in New Orleans, and, I believe, had become
a citizen of the United States ; at least, he expressly disclaimed the
protection of British law. Dr. Leacock, it appears, now desired
exemption from the decrees which tended to separate the friends
from the enemies of the Union, and which denied all favor and
privileges to those who openly adhered to the Confederate cause.
He claimed to be a friend of the Union — in fact, a Union man.
Still, he was not prepared to take the oath of allegiance. Now,
this man, in November, 1860, had preached a sermon in favor of
secession, which so exactly chimed in with the feelings of the seces-
sionists, that four editions of it were printed and sold, to the num-
ber of 30,000 copies. The sermon was the usual silly tirade
against " the abolitionists," " the savage fanatics of the North," the
deadly enemies of a noble southern chivalry. It contained, also,
the regulation paragraphs upon John Brown and his " band of as-
sassins," and the "infidel preachers" who had "stimulated" them to
fall upon a poor, innocent, unsuspecting, persecuted, patient, long-
suffering southern people. The concluding paragraph of this ser-
mon was the following :
"Now, in justice to myself, I must be permitted to make a remark
before I close. But a few weeks ago I counseled you, from this
place, to avoid all precipitate action ; but at the same time to take
determined action — such action only as you thought you could take
with the conscious support of reason and religion. I give that coun-
sel still. But I am one of you. I feel as a southerner. Southern
honor is my honor — southern degradation is my degradation. Let
MOKE OF THE IEO^ HAND. 479
no man mistake my meaning or call my words idle. As a south-
erner, then, I will speak, and I give it as my firm and unhesitating
belief, that nothing is now left us but secession. I do not like the
word, but it is the only one to express my meaning. We do not
secede — our enemies have seceded. "We are on the constitution —
our enemies are not on the constitution ; and our language should
be, if you will not go with us, we will not go with you. You may
form for yourselves a constitution ; but we will administer among
ourselves the constitution which our fathers have left us. This
should be our language and solemn determination. Such action
our honor demands ; such action will save the Union, if anything
can. We have yet friends left us in the North, but they can not
act for us till we have acted for ourselves ; and it would be as pusil-
lanimous in us to desert our friends as to cower before our enemies.
To advance, is to secure our rights ; to recede, is to lay our fortunes,
our honor, our liberty, under the feet of our enemies. I know that
the consequences of such a course, unless guided by discretion, are
perilous. But, peril our fortunes, peril our lives, come what will,
let us never peril our liberty and our honor. I am willing, at
the call of my honor and my liberty, to die a freeman ; but I'll
never, no, never, live a slave ; and the alternative now presented
by our enemies is secession or slavery. Let it be liberty or
death !"
General Butler ventured to adduce this sermon as evidence of its
author's enmity to the Union. Dr. Leacock's reply revealed an
astounding moral obliquity.
DE. LEACOOK TO OENEEAL BTTTLEE.
" September 26, 1862.
" Major-General Butler :
" Sir: — I have not the sermon in manuscript to which, in your note of
yesterday, you refer. It was taken down during its delivery by a reporter
unknown to me, but, being called away from the church before it was con-
cluded, he requested the manuscript, that he might not, as he said, give a
wrong report of my views. It was given, but never returned. I send,
however, a printed copy of it with this remark : that the last section, which
I have circumscribed in pencil, was not delivered from the pulpit, as my
whole congregation can testify ; and that the publisher was immediately
required by me, in the presence of several gentlemen, to state this fact, that
it might be omitted in any future publication.
480 MOKE OF THE IRON HAND.
" There is no man that desires more heartily than myself the restoration
of this Union, as it was before the present controversy arose. In evidence
of this fact, I send you another sermon, which was delivered a few weeks
after the one in print; and as you will find great difficulty in reading it,
I will transcribe the closing paragraph, to which I desire to refer you, as
expressive of what I felt then, and of what I feel now.
" ' The destruction of our Union ! Oh, there is not a spot on the civilized
globe that would not lament the destruction of our Union. The wail with
which the fathers in Egypt pierced the air on the death of their first-born,
is ready to burst forth from our bosoms if this dire event should happen.
I speak for myself. There are those among us who may be indifferent to
it. Bat the nations around us will consider it a world-wide misfortune.
The discontented and aspiring, the exile and the adventurer, all seek its
borders, and are at once elevated in the scale of being — enjoying a freer air,
a fresher nature. It is the land of the aspirations and dreams of the poor
and oppressed of other countries. Even tyrants who hate it, would not see
it fall, because they know not how soon they may have to fly to it for
refuge. Let the fanatics of the North consider this, and know that they owe
it to the world, as well as to the South, to heal the wounds they have in-
flicted, and restore harmony and happiness to our country.
" 'The Union, the Union destroyed! Our hearts can scarcely bear the
thought, much more the weight of such a visitation. Yet where is the mac
to arrest its downward progress ? North, south, east, west, where is the
man ? There is none to answer ; there is none to be found. Then, Lord,
we come to Thee. Save us, we perish ! Say to the troubled spirits of men,
be still, that there may be a calm — a calm for deliberate, just, devout con-
sideration to heal the wounds that have been inflicted, and to restore peace
and brotherly love to our Union, the Union which has been bequeathed us,
the Union of equal rights and equal protection. O Lord, save this Union ! '
" These are still my feelings — I have never held any other — I have never
avowed any other. And I mention this with the alone intention that I
should not be misunderstood. I desire to be known as I am. My position
demands that I should speak what I believe to be the truth. I have done
this, and I leave all consequences with God. Please return me the manu-
script.
" I am, sir, respectfully,
" TV. T. Leacock."
General Butler, not desiring farther correspondence with this
reverend person, caused Captain Puffer to ask him whether he
had published any recantation or disavowal of the secession para-
graph of his sermon, or whether any one else had done so for him.
He replied : " I do not know. I only know that I requested the
MOKE OF THE IRON HAND. 481
reporter, both in person and by letter, to omit the last paragraph,
because I did not give utterance to it." It thus appeared that this
Union man had stood by and seen tens of thousands of copies of a
sermon advising the dismemberment of the Union, and had enjoyed
the popularity attached to the utterance of such advice, without
deeming it worth while to inform the public that the passage had
never been delivered, and did not express his mature opinion.
Those who can believe in such Unionism may also be able to be-
lieve that the sermon quoted in the doctor's letter was delivered
after the published one, which every man in his congregation must
have read.
On the day apCR which he had replied to Captain Puffer's ques-
tion, he Bought to re-open a correspondence directly with General
Butler. Something was in the mind of this tender-conscienced
priest. He now became the accuser of General Butler, and warned
him of the error of his ways.
DE. LEACOCK TO GEjSTEEAL BTJTLEE.
" September 29, 1862.
"Major- General JButlee, &c, &c, &c. :
" My deae Sie : — I desire to speak affectionately, but candidly, to you,
and I beseech you to hear me patiently.
"General Butler, 'You are eating up God's people, as it were bread.'
You have possessed them with such fear, that they are rushing, innocent
and weak women, most unwarrantably, guiltless and timid men, most in-
gloriously, are rushing to their destruction, through fear of being deprived
of their substance or of their personal liberty.
" You are playing a dangerous game with public morals — you are com-
mitting desperate havoc with the consciences of God's people. Thou-
sands have perjured themselves — thousands are rushing to perjure them-
selves in the sight of Almighty God, by bringing themselves under oath to
do what they intend not to do, what they will not do, and what you know
they neither intend to do nor will do. All this you have seen, and yet you
have not raised your voice to check the ruinous deception practiced on the
community by your organ, the Delta.
"The law under which you act does not call for this universal wicked-
ness ; but if it did, you should not, as a man professing Christianity, obey it,
because obedience to human law ceases where transgression to the Divine
law is involved ; and who will not say the Divine law is not transgressed,
is not openly defied, and that by you, when God is set at naught by num-
bers only to avoid the terrors of your will. I say your will, not the will
482 MORE OF THE IRON HAND.
of the law, for the law is more merciful than you; it exacts of s&incd
offenders only what you exact indiscriminately of all. You elevate your
will above the law for people to bow down and obey; and in their obedi-
ence they deny God, and rush into the arms of Satan — and whose is the
Bin?
"My dear General Butler, I beseech you in God's name to pause and con-
sider your course. I know you desire to serve your country ; but in your
efforts to serve your country you must not forget that you are a man, and,
therefore, should deal mercifully with your fellow-man, as you would have
God to deal mercifully with you; we are nowhere commanded to love our
country, but we are everywhere commanded to love our fellow-men ; and,
therefore, in dealing with our fellow-men in connection with our country,
you should not deal with such undue severity, nor place him in a condition
to risk his salvation for the glorification of saying, or of hearing it said,
that you have done good to your country — and where is the good ? not one
in ten, that has taken the oath, are you willing to trust.
"It is with pain and grief that I say all this ; but I must be true to my
God, and my conscience ; when I see my people rushing thus headlong to
destruction, I must speak ; though all hell stared me in the face, I must speak —
silence is my destruction ; for hear the word of the Lord — l Son of man, I
have made thee a watchman over the house of Israel ; therefore hear the
word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the
wicked, Thou shalt surely die, and thou givest him not warning, nor speak-
est to warn the wicked from his wicked way to save his life, the same wicked
man shall die in his iniquity ; but his blood will I require at thine hand.'
" General Butler — God has given you great talents — few are blessed with
such — and my prayer to God is, that you may use those talents to his glory ;
but to do this, you must take a very different course to that which you are
now pursuing. I pray you, pardon the liberty I have taken ; but I have
great sympathy for you, and I can not restrain this evidence of my love for
your soul.
"May God give you grace to see your error, and to sustain you in the
proper discharge of your arduous and manifold duties.
" I am, my dear sir, with great sincerity, your obedient servant,
" W. T. Leacock."
No answer, I believe, was made to this communication. A few
days after, an event occurred which brought General Butler into
such direct collision with the Episcopal clergy, that New Orleans
was not considered by the general large enough to contain both
parties in the controversy.
On a Sunday morning, early in October, Major Strong entered
the office of the general in plain clothes, and said :
MOEE OF THE IRON HAND. 483
"I havn't been able to go to church since we came to New
Orleans. This morning I am going."
He crossed the street, and took a front seat in the Episcopal church
of Dr. Goodrich, opposite the mansion of General Twiggs. He
joined in the exercises with the earnestness which was natural to
his devout mind, until the clergyman reached that part of the ser-
vice where the prayer for the president of the United States occurs.
That prayer was omitted, and the minister invited the congregation
to spend a few moments in silent prayer. The young officer had
not previously heard of this mode of evading, at once, the require-
ments of the church, and the orders of the commanding general.
He rose in his place and said :
" Stop, sir. It is my duty to bring these exercises to a close. I
came here for the purpose, and the sole purpose, of worshiping
God ; but inasmuch as your minister has seen fit to omit invoking
a blessing, as our church service requires, upon the president of the
United States, I propose to close the services. This house will be
shut within ten minutes."
The clergyman, astounded, began to remonstrate.
" This is no time for discussion, sir," said the major.
The minister was speechless and indignant. The ladies flashed
wrath upon the officer, who stood motionless with folded arms.
The men scowled at him. The minister soon pronounced the bene-
diction, the congregation dispersed, and Major Strong retired to
report the circumstances' at head-quarters.
This brought the matter to a crisis. General Butler sent for the
Episcopal clergymen, Dr. Leacock, Dr. Goodrich, Dr. Fulton, and
others, who were all accustomed to omit the prayer for the presi-
dent, and pray in silence for the triumph of treason. The general
patiently and courteously argued the point with them at great
length, quoting Bible, rubrics and history with his wonted fluency.
They replied that, in omitting the prayer, they were only obeying
the orders of the Right Reverend Major-General Polk, their eccle-
siastical superior. The general denied the authority of that mili-
tary prelate to change the liturgy, and contended that the omission
of the prayer, in the peculiar circumstances of the time and place,
was an overt act of treason. Obedience to the powers that be, he
said, was the peculiar aim and boast of the Episcopal church ; and
no one could doubt that the dominant power in New Orleans was
£1
484 MORE OF THE IRON HAND.
the president of the United States. And even granting that the
president was a usurper, that would be only one reason more for
praying for him. The Union forces had not come to New Orleans
for a temporary purpose ; they meant to stay. There was no power
on the continent or oif the continent that could expel them. This
praying for Davis must stop at some time ; why not now ? Be-
sides, the clergy of the Episcopal church had taken upon themselves
the most solemn vows to obey the canons and rubrics of the church,
and their omission of part of the liturgy was of the nature of per-
"But, General," said Dr. Leacock, "your insisting upon the tak-
ing of the oath of allegiance is causing half of my church-members
to perjure themselves."
" Well," replied the general, " if that is the result of your nine
years' preaching ; if your people will commit perjury so freely, the
sooner you leave your pulpit the better."
After further conversation, Dr. Leacock asked :
" Well, General, are you going to shut up the churches ?"
" No, sir, I am more likely to shut up the ministers."
The clergymen showing no disposition to yield, General Butler
ended the interview by stating his ultimatum : " Read the prayer
for the president, omit the silent act of devotion, or leave New
Orleans prisoners of state for Fort Lafayette."
After consultation with one another and with their people, after
endless vacillation on the part of Dr. Leacock, three of the clergy-
men, Dr. Leacock, Dr. Goodrich and Mr. Fulton, decided not to
read the prayer for the president. Captain Puffer was detailed to
conduct them to New York, and they sailed in the next transport.
On the voyage, Captain Puffer informs me, Dr. Goodrich, a benevo-
lent, venerable man, read prayers to the returning troops, and did
not omit the prayer for the president. He ministered to the sick
and dying, and won the sincere regard of all on board. Three
weeks after their arrival, all the state prisoners were released, and
they returned to New Orleans. General Banks demanded the oath
of allegiance as a condition of their landing. They declined the
condition, and returned to New York.
General Strong chanced to meet Dr. Goodrich, one day, at the
St. Nicholas Hotel. They looked at each other for a moment in
some embarrassment, neither knowing what were the feelings of
MOEE OF THE IEON HAND. 485
the other. A smile overspread the benevolent countenance of the
doctor. General Strong offered his hand, which Dr. Goodrich ac-
cepted, and the two men laughed heartily at the odd encounter.
" You did that well," said the clergyman, " since you had made
up your mind to do it ; but why didn't you come to me privately
and give me notice ?"
General Strong explained the circumstances, and they continued
to converse amicably.
On the Sunday after the departure of the clergymen from New
Orleans, their churches were open as usual, but the exercises were
conducted by chaplains of the Union army, who read the service
without abridgment. Not many of the auditors were of the seces-
sionist persuasion. Church going, however, became a more frequent
practice among officers and men after this purging of the pulpits,
and, consequently, the places of the absent members were not all
vacant.
The pass-office at head-quarters presented the most distressing
illustrations of the iron-handed rule to which Louisiana was neces-
sarily subjected. Within the Union lines there was comparative
plenty ; beyond them there was desolation and want. Food, cloth-
ing and medicines were to be had in New Orleans by all who could
pay for them ; and to such as could not they were given. Across
the lakes, and above the camp of General Phelps, at Carrollton, and
in the region lying on the western side of the river, food was scarce
in the extreme, clothing was scarcer, and the stock of medicines had
long been exhausted. There were parents in the city who had
starving children or sick children in the enemy's country, only a
few miles distant. There were people in New Orleans whose aged
parents, just beyond the lines, were suffering for the necessaries of
life. There were others whose near relations, people of substance
and respectability, were going half naked, or were dying for want
of medicines. On the other hand, there were hundreds of secession-
ists in the city, whose constant aim, whose sole employment was,
to devise means of smuggling supplies across the lines to the camps
of rebel soldiery.
The pressure, therefore, upon the commanding general for passes
to go beyond the Union lines, was great and continuous. There
were a hundred applications a day. Women came to head-quarters
imploring permission to take a little clothing, medicine and food to
486 MORE OF THE IRON HAND.
their perishing children, calling all the saints to witness the truth
of their story and the honesty of their intentions. A large major-
ity of the applicants were women, who assailed the tender hearts
of the general and his staff with tears, entreaties and protesta-
tions.
During the first weeks, General Butler himself heard the appli-
cants, and decided upon their claims. But as this business involved
a great deal of questioning, cross-questioning and examination of
papers, he was compelled, at length, to establish a member of his
staff in an outer office at head-quarters, whose duty it was to sift
from the mass of suitors the few whose story seemed credible and
to warrant the indulgence of a pass. These were reported to the
general, who then decided upon their application. Captain A. F.
Puffer, of Boston, was the officer selected for this duty. When he
left the city to conduct the three clergymen northward, his place
was filled by Lieutenant Frederick Martin, of New York. These
young officers held a post which severely taxed their patience,
their firmness and their sagacity. I might add their integrity,
also, if the integrity of an honorable soldier could ever be severely
tried. " I was so often offered money for a pass," said Captain
Puffer, " that, at last, I ceased to be indignant, and would merely
say to the orderly in attendance, as a matter of business, i Show
this woman out.' He was once offered three thousand dollars for
a pass, the money to be paid before it was procured.
From the first, nine in ten of the applications were refused.
Every one at head-quarters was aware that the indulgence was
almost certain to be abused in some instances, and that the only
safe course was to make the lines impassable. But many of the
cases were so movingly piteous, the agony of the applicants seemed
so real and so great, that it was not in human nature to shut the
door inexorably upon them. Every possible precaution was taken
to prevent the conveyance of contraband articles, or articles in con-
traband quantities. Every box and package was minutely exam-
ined ; every departing boat was searched. A list was required of
everything allowed to be taken, and the applicant pledged his
honor that he would take nothing else, nor apply the articles to
any but the specified use.
It soon appeared, however, that nearly every pass that was
granted was abused. It soon appeared that a secessionist con-
MORE OF Til 12 IRON HAND. . 487
sidered it no more dishonorable to lie to a Union officer than Jews
once deemed it a sin to lie to a Christian. Here would come
a woman, having the appearance and manners of a lady, begging
with tears and sobs for permission to convey to her starving
children across the lake just one barrel of flour, that they might
have at least the means of sustaining life. She would bring friends
and papers in great numbers to testify to the truth of her story.
After many days, the pass would be granted ; and the detective
officer, upon probing the barrel with a probe of extra length, would
find a pound or two of quinine in the middle. A trunk of clothes
would be found to have a false bottom stuffed with contraband
articles. A barrel of potatoes would serve to hide some thousands
of percussion-caps. Letters, too, giving contraband information,
were frequently discovered concealed in the boats.
Every detection, of course, increased the stringency of the pass-
office. In August, the rebels began to seize boats that ventured
within their lines, with a view to collect a flotilla for operations
against the city. Then, at length, was adopted the inflexible
rule, that no passes should be granted. The adoption of the rule,
however, did not lessen the number of applicants, nor diminish
their importunity. " I was plied," says Captain Puffer, " with
every conceivable story of heart-rending woe and misery, which
the general, in consequence of the fact that in almost every instance
where he had yielded to such importunities, his confidence had
been abused by the carrying of supplies and information to the
rebel army, had ordered me invariably to refuse. Ordinarily, I
succeeded in steeling my heart against these urgent entreaties;
but occasionally some story, peculiarly harrowing in its details,
seemed to demand a special effort in behalf of the applicant, and
I would go to the general, and, in the desperation of my cause,
exclaim :
" General, you must see some of these people. I know, if you
would only hear their stories, you would give them passes."
"You are entirely correct, captain," he would reply. "I am
sure I should ; and that is precisely why I want you to see them
for me."
" And with this very doubtful satisfaction I would return to my
desk, convinced that sensibility in a man who was allowed no dis-
cretion in its exercise, was an entirely useless attribute, and that in
488 MORE OF THE IRON HAND.
future, I would set my face as a flint against every appeal to my
feelings."*
Two incidents of the pass-office, related to me by Lieutenant
Martin, will place this matter distinctly before the reader's mind.
One Mrs. L. haunted the office for three weeks, pleading with
tears for her starving children, to whom she wished to convey a
little food. She had shown some kindness to Union troops on one
occasion, when they were passing her house, and this was remem-
bered in her favor. A pass was given her to go to St. Johns and
return. Something led a detective officer to examine her boat with
unusual thoroughness. He found that " false hips" had been built
out upon her sides, which were filled with commodities outrage-
ously contraband. The woman had deceived every one. Her sim-
ulation of a mother's agony and tears, sustained, too, for three
weeks, was so perfect, that no one could doubt the reality of her
emotions. Yet she was a professional smuggler.
Some weeks later, a lady applied to Lieutenant Martin for a simi-
lar permit. Her children, too, were starving, almost within sight
of their mother ; and, alas ! this was a genuine case. Her children
were starving. She was a lady in every sense of the word, and
she convinced the lieutenant of the perfect truth of her story at the
first interview. But he could only inform her, that no passes were
then issued, and that any application to the general on her behalf
would be useless. She came every day for a month, always hoping
for a relaxation of the rule. At length, the young officer was so
deeply moved by her distress, that he promised to disobey orders
so far as to lay her case before the general, and she might come
the next day to learn the result. She came. Lieutenant Martin had
the anguish of telling her that her application was necessarily re-
fused, as her boat was certain to be seized if she crossed the lake.
She turned pale as death, and fell senseless to the floor. She was
carried to the nearest physician. In half an hour she revived — a
raving maniac. She has never known a gleam of reason to this
day.
* Atlantic Monthly, July, 1SG3.
THE NEGRO QUESTION — FIRST DIFFICULTIES. 4S9
CHAPTER XXYI.
THE NEGRO QUESTION — FIRST DIFFICULTIES.
Louisiana has a population of about six hundred thousand. Be-
fore the war, there was a slight excess of whites over slaves, but
when the Union troops landed at New Orleans, there was one slave
in the state to every white person. Many of the parishes contain
twice as many slaves as whites ; some, three times as many ; a few,
four times as many; one has nine hundred white inhabitants to
nearly nine thousand slaves. The marching of a Union column
into one of those sugar parishes, was like thrusting a walking-stick
into an ant-hill — the negroes swarmed about the troops, every sol-
dier's gun and knapsack carried by a black man, exulting in the
service. For, in some way, this great multitude of bondmen had
derived the impression that part of the errand of these troops was
to set them free.
The population of New Orleans was about one hundred and
fifty thousand, of whom eighteen thousand were slaves and ten
thousand free colored. The class last named is the result of that
universal licentiousness which exists, necessarily, in every commu-
nity where the number of slaves is large. In New Orleans, that
licentiousness was systematized, and partook, in some degree, of
the character of matrimony. The connections formed with the quad-
roons and octoroons were often permanent enough for the rearing
of large families, some of whom obtained their freedom from the
affection of their father-master, and received the education he would
have bestowed upon legitimate offspring. The class of free colored,
therefore, includes a considerable number of wealthy, instructed,
able, and estimable persons. They have been styled by competent
observers, the richest class in New Orleans; many having in-
herited large estates, and many carrying on lucrative business.
One of them entertained General Butler at a banquet of seven
courses, served on silver.
The secret, darling desire of this class is to rank as human beings
in their native city ; or, as the giver of the grand banquet expressed
490 THE NEGRO QUESTION FIRST DIFFICULTIES.
it, " No matter where I fight ; I only wish to spend what I have,
and fight as long as I can, if only my boy may stand in the street
equal to a white boy when the war is over."
It is difficult for an inhabitant of the North to know how far such
men as he were from the likelihood of ever enjoying the equality
he craved. There was at the North a general, mild prejudice
against color, before the late riots in New York expelled the last
vestige of it from the heart of every decent human being. But,
at the South, the prejudice is so complete that the people are not
aware of its existence ; they fondle and pet their favorite slaves,
and let their children play with black children as with dogs and
cats. The slightest taint of black blood in the superbest man, in
the loveliest woman, one all radiant with golden curls and a blonde
complexion, perfect in manners and abounding in the best fruits of
culture, suffices to damn them to an eternal exclusion from the
companionship of the people with whom they would naturally asso-
ciate. The most- striking illustration of the intensity of this abhor-
rence of African blood is the well-known fact, that a white wife in
New Orleans is not generally jealous of her husband's slave mis-
tress ; and is frequently capable of consoling herself by the reflec-
tion that the other family, in the next street, are worth a hundred
dollars each on the day of their birth, and increase in value a hun-
dred dollars a year during the first fifteen years of their lives. She
does not recognize in the mother of those children a being that
could, in any sense of the word, be a rival of a woman in whose
veins flowed no African blood that was discoverable. The slave
mistress, also, relieved the sickly white wife of the burden of child-
bearing. This is southern prejudice against color. The prejudice
that prevailed at the North, before the recent scenes revealed to
every one its hellish nature, was base enough, and was strongest in
the basest ; but it was a trivial matter compared with the uncon-
scious completeness of aversion that is observable in the true
southerner — the " original secessionist."
There were a great many loose negroes about New Orleans when
the troops landed, slaves of masters in the rebel army left to shift
for themselves. A still larger number hired their time from their
masters, and demonstrated that they could take care of themselves,
besides contributing from sixty cents to a dollar and a half a day to
the maintenance of another family.
THE NEGRO QUESTION FIRST DIFFICULTIES. 491
"These colored girls," said a new-comer one day to a Union
officer, " whom I see selling bouquets, nuts, oranges, cakes, candies,
and small wares, on the street corners, must save a great deal of
money."
" These people," was the reply, " are merely the agents of their
white masters and mistresses, who grow their flowers and oranges,
make the bouquets, pies and candies, and send their slaves to sell
them in the streets. If she is an apple or a violet short, the balance
is struck on her back. Many of the people of New Orleans live,
and have lived for years, in this way."
It is obvious to the most unreflecting person, that the negro
question at New Orleans could not be disposed of, as at Fortress
Monroe, by an epigram. Fortress Monroe was a Union island in a
secession sea. The number of slaves in the vicinity was not great ;
only nine hundred in all found their way to Freedom Fort ; and
every laborer who came in was one laborer lost to the rebel batter-
ies. The duty of the commanding general was clear the moment
the " epigram" occurred to his mind. But, in Louisiana, any con-
siderable disturbance of the relations of labor to capital would have
been a revolution far more revolutionary than any merely political
change ever was. Suppose, for example, that all slaves coming into a
Union camp had been received and maintained, as they were at the
fortress. General Butler would have had upon his hands, in a
month, in addition to the thirty thousand destitute whites, not less
than fifty thousand blacks, for whom he would have had to provide
food, shelter, clothing and employment ; while the plantations from
which the city was supplied with daily food would have lain waste.
The Fortress Monroe experience was, evidently, of no avail in
dealing with the negro question at New Orleans.
The instructions given by General McClellan to General
Butler were silent on this most perplexing subject. General But-
ler, however, had instructions with regard to it. On leaving
Washington he was verbally informed by the president, that the
government was not yet prepared to announce a negro policy.
They were anxiously considering the subject, and hoped, ere long,
to arrive at conclusions. Meanwhile, he must " get along" with
the negro question the best way he could ; endeavor to avoid
raising insoluble problems and sharply defined issues ; and try to
manage so that neither abolitionists nor "conservatives" would find
21*
492 THE NEGRO QUESTION FIRST DIFFICULTIES.
in his acts occasions for clamor. This, however, only for a short
time. The moment the administration were prepared to announce
a general policy with regard to the negroes, all generals command-
ing departments would be notified, and required to pursue the same
system.
This sounded reasonably enough at Washington. It wore a very
different aspect when it had to be applied to the state of things in
Louisiana.
The difficulty began on the day after the landing of the troops,
and became every day more formidable. Some negroes came into
the St. Charles hotel, penetrated to the quarters of staff-officers, and
gave information which proved to be reliable. Great numbers soon
nocked into the Custom-House, pervading the numberless apart-
ments and passages of that extensive edifice, all testifying the most
fervent good- will toward the Union troops, all asking to be allowed
to serve them. Wherever there was a Union post, negroes made
their appearance — at Fort St. Philip, Fort Jackson, Carrollton,
Algiers, Baton Rouge, and elsewhere.
A new article of war forbade the return of these fugitives to
their masters. What was to be done with them ? Their labor in
the city was not wanted ; there was a superabundance of white
laborers. If they were entertained and encouraged, what was to
prevent an overwhelming irruption of blacks into every post ? The
whole negro population was in such a ferment, that only a slight
misstep on the part of the commanding general would have sufficed
to reduce society to chaos.
In these circumstances, the wise, the great, the splendid thing to
do, was to declare all the slaves in Louisiana free, and put them all
upon wages, leaving questions of compensation to loyal masters to
be settled afterward. General Butler was capable of writing a
general order that would have achieved this sublime revolution
with speedy advantage to every white and every black in the state.
It was possible, it was feasible. It was, of all conceivable solutions
of the problem, the most easy, the most simple, the most expedi-
tious, the least costly, the least dangerous. But even if the general
had not been restrained by instructions, this course was excluded
even from consideration by the arrival of news, on the 9th of May,
that General Hunter's proclamation of freedom to the slaves of
South Carolina had been revoked by the president.
THE NEGRO QUESTION FIRST DIFFICULTIES. 493
He was, therefore, shut up to this one course : To preserve, for
the present, the status in quo, minus as much of the cruelty and
wrong of it as it might be in the power of the Union officers to
prevent. To use Mr. Lincoln's expression, he was obliged " to run
the machine as he found it," with such slight and temporary repairs
and modifications as could be hastily made. This was the policy
adopted. It was never announced, but it was the principle acted upon.
Hence the negroes were not encouraged to come in to the Union
posts. As many as were required for public and private service
were employed, each officer being allowed one as a servant. Seve-
ral were assigned to the hospitals. General Butler himself was
served by " General Twiggs's William." After some days had
elapsed, negroes were no longer harbored in the Custom-House,
and orders were issued that no more should be admitted within
the Union lines, or into the Union camps.
But negroes, as we have seen, were placed on an equality with
white men before the law, and allowed to testify against a white
man in court. The whipping-houses were quietly abolished, and
the jailers notified that no more human brings must be brought to
the jails to be whipped. One of these jailers ventured to advertise,
a few weeks after the capture of the city, that the "law of Louisi-
ana for the correction of slaves would be enforced as heretofore."
The attention of the general was called to this announcement, and
Colonel Stafford was ordered to inquire into it. It was found
that one slave had been brought in and whipped that morning ;
but there the fell business stopped. Whatever cruelty was com-
mitted in New Orleans upon the slaves, was done in secret ; no
traffic in torture was allowed ; and every slave who asked redress
for cruelties inflicted, and could give reasonable proof of the 'truth
of his story, had redress — had it promptly and fully. Major Bell
judged such cases as he would have judged similar ones in Boston.
General Butler never refused a black man admittance to his pres-
ence by day or by night, and never failed to do him justice when
justice was possible. The orders were, that whoever else might be
excluded from head-quarters, no negro should ever be. One con-
sequence was, that the general had a spy in every house, behind
every rebel's chair as he sat at table. Another consequence was,
that every slave in New Orleans had, at all times, a protector from
cruelty in the commanding general.
494 THE NEGRO QUESTION FIRST DIFFICULTIES.
The mere diminution of the slaves' awful revenue of torture was
an unspeakable boon to them. Those hunkers used to hug the
delusion, in the old party contests, that kindness was the rule and
cruelty the rare exception, in the treatment of the slaves. As if
despotism could be sustained by anything but cruelty! They
found that cruelty was the rule, and that such exceptional kindness
as is shown to favorite slaves, greatly increases the sum-total of
their lifetime's misery. Slavery is all cruelty.* It was much to only
lessen the vast, the incalculable, the inconceivable amount of agony
inflicted by the lash alone. Probably one whipping of thirty -nine
lashes with the infernal cowhide inflicts more anguish than a
respectable Massachusetts hunker has to endure during his whole
life. What an instantaneous change of sentiment on present politi-
cal issues would occur, all over the country, if thirty-nine arguments
of that nature were addressed to the devotees of slavery who, what-
ever may be the metal of their heads, are not copper-backed.
Some planters who had not the means of supporting their slaves,
or of employing them profitably, obliged them to go within the
Union lines, trusting to reclaim them in better times. This prac-
tice was stopped by declaring all such slaves emancipated, and giv-
ing them free papers. Several slaves were also emancipated who
had been treated with extreme cruelty by their masters. The "star
car" system was abolished. Colored people were formerly allowed
to ride only in the street cars that were marked with a black star.
General Butler required the admission of decent colored people into
all the public vehicles. Some of the police regulations with regard
to the slaves were still enforced ; the rule requiring them to be at
home by nine o'clock in the evening, for example.
* Dr. Wesley Humphrey writes from Corinth, Mississippi, May 25, 1863:
"I have been selected as the surgeon of the regiment of African descent, now forming here (not
all black by any means), and during the past week had occasion to examine about seven hundred
men in a nude state, preparatory to their being mustered into the United States service, and I
then saw evidences of abuse and maltreatment perfectly horrifying to relate, and must be seen to
fully understand the abuse to which they have been subjected. I think I am safe in saying that at
least one-half of that number bore evidence of having been severely whipped and maltreated in
various ways ; some were stabbed with a knife ; others shot through the limbs ; some pounded with
clubs, until their bones were broken. One man told me he had received for a trifling offense two
thousand lashes; and, upon examination, I found seventy -five scars on his back and limbs, that
rose above the skin the size of your finger, saying nothing of the smaller ones. Others had the
cords of their legs cut (ham strings, as they call them), to prevent their running off; and some
were shot in resenting such insults. These were witnessed by the colonel, J M. Alexander, lieu-
tenant-colonel, major, &.c, of the regiment"
GENERAL BUTLER AND GENERAL PHELPS. 495
Such wore some of the measures by which General Butler strove
to " get along" with this hideous anomaly, while the president was
feeling his way to a general policy, and waiting for the ripening of
public opinion. General Butler, like the president himself, stood
between two fires. One set of Unionists in New Orleans kept say-
ing to him, as I read in their letters, now before me :
Return all fugitives to their masters ; show, by word and deed ,
that your sole object is the restoration of the old state of things ;
and Louisiana will return to the Union "in a month."
Another party said : " No ; the original secessionists are incu-
rable ; destroy their power by abolishing slavery ; crush that in-
solent faction utterly ; and Louisiana will hoist the old flag with
enthusiasm."
He could do neither of these things. An article of war forbade
the first ; the revocation of General Hunter's proclamation forbade
the second. His struggle, meanwhile, to " get along" with a difficul-
ty that would not wait for the tardy action of the government,
brought him into painful and lamentable collision with General
Phelps, which resulted in the country's losing the services of that
noble soldier.
CHAPTER XXVII.
GENERAL BUTLER AND GENERAL PHELPS.
General Phelps was in command at Carrollton, seven miles
above the city, the post of honor in the defensive cordon around
New Orleans. " I found myself," he remarks, " in the midst of a
slave region, where the institution existed in all its pride and
gloom, and where its victims needed no inducement from me to
seek the protection of our flag — that flag, which now, after a long
interval, gleamed once more amid the darkling scene, like the ef-
fusion of morning light. Fugitives began to throng to our lines in
large numbers. Some came loaded with chains and barbarous
irons ; some bleeding with bird-shot wounds ; many had been
deeply scored with lashes, and all complained of tho extinction of
496 GENERAL BUTLER AND GENERAL PHELPS.
their moral rights. They had originally come chiefly from Mary-
land, Virginia, and North Carolina, and were generally religious
persons, who had been accustomed to better treatment than that
which they experienced there."
General Butler was aware of this influx of fugitives ; but, in
obedience to the temporary policy enjoined upon him by the gov-
ernment, he took no notice of the fact. The vehement desire of
General Phelps was, not merely to welcome and harbor the fugi-
tives, but form them into military companies and drill them into ser-
viceable soldiers. He was grieved, therefore, when, on the 12th of
May, General Butler requested him to place his able-bodied negroes
under the direction of two planters of the vicinity, that they might
be employed in closing a break in the levee above Carrollton, which
threatened a disastrous inundation. " You will see," wrote Gen-
eral Butler, u the need of giving them every aid in your power to
save and protect the levee, even to returning their own negroes
and adding others, if need be, to their force. This is outside of the
question of returning negroes. You should send your own sol-
diers, let alone allowing the men who are protecting us all from
the Mississippi to have the workmen who are accustomed to this
service."
General Phelps did not " see" the need of sending back his fugi-
tives. A positive order settled the question on the 23d of May :
" In view of the disaster which might occur to us, in case a crevass6
should occur above our lines, I have concluded to send a force of
one hundred laborers, in charge of a guard, to attend to raising and
guarding the levee above your lines. You will also place every able-
bodied contraband within your camp in charge of Captain Page,
the officer of this guard, to assist in this work." This was better,
thought General Phelps, than consigning the negroes to the custody
and direction of their former masters. The order was obeyed, of
course.
Meanwhile, General Butler was besieged with complaints of the
harboring of fugitives in General Phelps's camp. All the complain-
ants professed to be Union men ; some of them were such ; and most
of them were the producers of vegetables for the New Orleans mar-
ket. Besides, the harboring of the negroes involved the necessity
of their maintenance, and invited the entire negro population to fly
to the refuge of Union posts. It seemed to General Butler neces-
GENERAL BUTLER AND GENERAL PHELPS. 497
sary to check the irruption before it became unmanageable. The
following order was therefore issued :
" New Orleans, Mmj 23, 1862.
" General : — You will cause all unemployed persons, black and white,
to be excluded from your lines.
" You will not permit either black or white persons to pass your lines,
not officers and soldiers or belonging to the navy of the United States, with-
out a pass from these head-quarters, except they are brought in under
guard as captured persons, with information, and those to be examined
and detained as prisoners of war, if they have been in arms against the
United States, or dismissed and sent away at once, as the case maybe.
This does not apply to boats passing up the river without landing within
the lines.
" Provision dealers and marketmen are to be allowed to pass in with
provisions and their wares, but not to remain over night.
"Persons having had their permanent residence within your lines
before the occupation of our troops, are not to be considered unemployed
persons.
" Your officers have reported a large number of servants. Every officer
so reported employing servants will have the allowance for servants de-
ducted from his pay-roll.
" Eespectfully, your obedient servant,
"B. F. BUTLEE.
u Brig.-Gen. Phelps, Commanding Camp Parapet"
General Phelps was struck with horror at this command. The
fugitives, however, were removed to a point just above the lines,
where they found partial shelter, and lived on the bounty of the
soldiers, who generously shared with them their rations. An event
occurred on the 12 th of June, which brought on the crisis. On
the morning of that day the negroes numbered seventy-five ; but,
within the next twenty-four hours, the number was doubled.
" The first installment," reported Major Peck, the officer of the
day, " were sent by a man named La Blanche, from the other side
of the river, on the night of the 13th, he giving them their choice,
according to their statement, of leaving before sundown, or receiv-
ing fifty lashes each. Many of them desire to return to their mas-
ter, but are prevented by fear of harsh treatment. They are of all
ages and physical conditions — a number of infants in arms, many
young children, robust men and women, and a large number of
lame, old, and infirm of both sexes. The rest of them came in
4 OS GENERAL BUTLER AND GENERAL PHELPS.
singly and in small parties from various points up the river within
a hundred miles. They brought with them boxes, bedding and
luggage of all sorts, which lie strewn upon the levee and the open
spaces around the picket. The women and children, and some
feeble ones who needed shelter, were permitted to occupy a de-
serted house just outside the lines. They are quite destitute of
provisions, many having eaten nothing for days, except what our
soldiers have given them from their own rations. In accordance
with orders already issued, the guard was instructed to permit
none of them to enter the lines. As each ' officer of the day' will
be called upon successively to deal with the matter, I take the lib-
erty to suggest whether some farther regulation in reference to
these unfortunate persons is not necessary to enable him to do his
duty intelligently, as well as for the very apparent additional rea-
sons, that the congregation of such large numbers in our immediate
vicinity affords inviting opportunity for mischief to ourselves, and
also, that unless supplied with the means of sustaining life by the
benevolence of the military authorities, or of the citizens (which is
scarcely supposable), they must shortly be reduced to suffering and
starvation, in the very sight of the overflowing store-houses of the
government."
General Phelps could endure this state of things no longer. He
now wrote a paper on the subject for the president's own eye,
which is one of the most pathetic, eloquent, and convincing pieces
of composition which the war has produced ; a paper which anti-
cipated, by many months, both the policy of the government, and
the march of public opinion. Public opinion has now coma up to
it. The policy of the government is now the policy recommended
by it. It will now be read with profound approval and hearty ad-
miration, mad as it seemed to many only sixteen months ago :
" Camp Paeapet, neae Caeeolltox, La., June 16, 1862.
" Oapt. E. S. Davis, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General, New Orleans, La. :
" Sie : — I inclose herewith, for the information of the major-general
commanding the department, a report of Major Peck, officer of the day,
concerning a large number of negroes, of both sexes and all ages, who are
lying near our pickets, with bag and baggage, as if they had already com-
menced an exodus. Many of these negroes have been sent away from one
of the neighboring sugar plantations by their owner, a Mr. Babilliard La
GENERAL BUTLER AND GENERAL PHELPS. 499
Blanche, who tells them, I am informed, that ' the Yankees are king here
now, and that they must go to their king for food and shelter.'
" They are of that four millions of our colored subjects who have no
king or chief, nor in fact any government that can secure to them the simplest
natural rights. They can not even be entered into treaty stipulations with
and deported to the east, as our Indian tribes have been to the west. They
have no right to the mediation of a justice of the peace or jury between
them and chains and lashes. They have no right to wages for their labor :
no right to the Sabbath ; no right to the institution of marriage ; no right
to letters or to self-defense. A small class of owners, rendered unfeeling,
and even unconscious and unreflecting by habit, and a large part of them
ignorant and vicious, stand between them and their government, destroy-
ing its sovereignty. This government has not the power even to regulate
the number of lashes that its subjects may receive. It can not say that
they shall receive thirty-nine instead of forty. To a large and growing
class of its subjects it can secure neither justice, moderation, nor the advan-
tages of Christian religion ; and if it can not protect all its subjects, it can
protect none, either black or white.
"It is nearly a hundred years since our people first declared to the nations
of the world that all men are born free ; and still we have not made our
declaration good. Highly revolutionary measures have since then been
adopted by the admission of Missouri and the annexation of Texas in favor of
slavery by the barest majorities of votes, while the highly conservative vote
of two-thirds has at length been attained against slavery, and still slavery
exists — even, moreover, although two-thirds of the blood in the veins of
our slaves is fast becoming from our own race. If we wait for a larger vote,
or until our slaves' blood becomes more consanguined still with our own, the
danger of a violent revolution, over which we can have no control, must be-
come more imminent every day. By a course of undecided action, deter-
mined by no policy but the vague will of a war-distracted people, we run
the risk of precipitating that very revolutionary violence which we seem
seeking to avoid.
" Let us regard for a moment the elements of such a revolution.
"Many of the slaves here have been sold away from the border states as
a punishment, being too refractory to be dealt with there in the face of thr,
civilization of the North. They come here with the knowledge of the
Christian religion, with its germs planted and expanding, as it were, in the
dark, rich, soil of their African nature, with a feeling of relationship with
the families from which they came, and with a sense of unmerited banish-
ment as culprits, all which tends to bring upon them a greater severity of
treatment and a corresponding disinclination ' to receive punishment.'
They are far superior beings to their ancestors, who were brought from
Africa two generations ago, and who occasionally rebelled against compara-
500 GENERAL BUTLER AND GENERAL PHELPS.
tively less severe punishment than is inflicted now. While rising in the
scale of Christian beings, their treatment is being rendered more severe than
ever. The whip, the chains, the stocks, and imprisonment are no mere fancies
here ; they are used to any extent to which the imagination of civilized
man may reach. Many of them are as intelligent as their masters, and far
more moral, for while the slave appeals to the moral law as his vindication,
clinging to it as to the very horns of the altar of his safety and his hope,
the master seldom hesitates to wrest him from it with violence and con-
tempt. The slave, it is true, bears no resentment ; he asks for no punish-
ment for his master; he simply claims justice for himself; and it is this
feature of his condition that promises more terror to the retribution when
it comes. Even now the whites stand accursed by their oppression of
humanity, being subject to a degree of confusion, chaos, and enslave-
ment to error and wrong, which northern society could not credit or
comprehend.
"Added to the four millions of the colored race whose disaffection is in-
creasing even more rapidly than their number, there are at least four millions
more of the white race whose growing miseries will naturally seek compan-
ionship with those of the blacks. This latter portion of southern society has
its representatives, who swing from the scaffold with the same desperate
coolness, though from a directly different cause, as that which was mani-
fested by John Brown. The traitor Mumford, who swung the other day
for trampling on the national flag, had been rendered placid and indifferent
in his desperation by a government that either could not or would not
secure to its subjects the blessings of liberty which that flag imports. The
South cries for justice from the government as well as the North, though
in a proud and resentful spirit; and in what manner is that justice to be
obtained ? Is it to be secured by that wretched resource of a set of profli-
gate politicians, called ' reconstruction V No, it is to be obtained by the
abolition of slavery, and by no other course.
" It is vain to deny that the slave system of labor is giving shape to the
government of the society where it exists, and that that government is not
republican, either in form or spirit. It was through this system that the
leading conspirators have sought to fasten upon the people an aristocracy
or a despotism ; and it is not sufficient that they should be merely defeated
in their object, and the country be rid of their rebellion ; for by our consti-
tution we are imperatively obliged to sustain the state against the ambi-
tion of unprincipled leaders, and secure to them the republican form of
government. We have positive duties to perform, and should hence adopt
and pursue a positive, decided policy. We have services to render to cer-
tain states which they can not perform for themselves. We are in an emer-
gency which the framers of the constitution might easily have foreseen,
and for which they have amply provided.
GENERAL BUTLER AND GENERAL PHELPS. 501
" It is clear that the public good requires slavery to be abolished; but in
what manner is it to be done ? The mere quiet operation of congressional
law can not deal with slavery as in its former status before the war, because
the spirit of law is right reason, and there is no reason in slavery. A sys-
tem so unreasonable as slavery can not be regulated by reason. We can
hardly expect the several states to adopt laws or measures against their
own immediate interests. We have seen that they will rather find argu-
ments for crime than seek measures for abolishing or modifying slavery.
But there is one principle which is fully recognized as a necessity in condi-
tions like ours, and that is that the public safety is the supreme law of the
state, and that amid the clash of arms the laws of peace are silent. It is
then for our president, the commander-in-chief of our armies, to declare
the abolition of slavery, leaving it to the wisdom of congress to adopt meas-
ures to meet the consequences. This is the usual course pursued by a
general or by a military power. That power gives orders affecting compli-
cated interests and millions of property, leaving it to the other functions of
government to adjust and regulate the effects produced. Let the president
abolish slavery, and it would be an easy matter for congress, through a
well regulated system of apprenticeship, to adopt safe measures for effect-
ing a gradual transition from slavery to freedom.
" The existing system of labor in Louisiana is unsuited to the age ; and
by the intrusion of the national forces it seems falling to pieces. It is a
system of mutual jealousy and suspicion between the master and the man —
a system of violence, immorality and vice. The fugitive negro tells us that
our presence renders his condition worse with his master than it was be-
fore, and that we offer no alleviation in return. The system is impolitic,
because it offers but one stimulant to labor and effort, viz. : the lash, when
another, viz. : money, might be added with good effect. Fear, and the other
low and bad qualities of the slave, are appealed to, but never the good.
The relation, therefore, between capital and labor, which ought to be gen-
erous and confiding, is darkling, suspicious, unkindly, full of reproachful
threats, and without concord or peace. This condition of things renders
the interests of society a prey to politicians. Politics cease to be practical
or useful.
"The questions that ought to have been discussed in the late extraordi-
nary convention of Louisiana, are: First, What ought the state of Louisi-
ana to do to adapt her ancient system of labor to the present advanced
spirit of the age ? And Second, How can the state be assisted by the gen-
eral government in effecting the change? But instead of this, the only
question before that body was how to vindicate slavery by flogging the
Yankees!
" Compromises hereafter are not to be made with politicians, but with
sturdy labor and the right to work. The interests of workinginen resent
502 GENERAL BUTLER AND GENERAL PHELPS.
political trifling. Our political education, shaped almost entirely to the in-
terest of slavery, has been false and vicious in the extreme, and it must be
corrected with as much suddenness, almost, as that with which Salem
witchcraft came to its end. The only question that remains to decide is
how the change shall take place.
u We are not without examples and precedents in the history of the past.
The enfranchisement of the people of Europe has been, and is still going
on, through the instrumentality of military service ; and by this means our
slaves might be raised in the scale of civilization and prepared for freedom.
Fifty regiments might be raised among them at once, which could be em-
ployed in this climate to preserve order, and thus prevent the necessity of
retrenching our liberties, as we should do by a large army exclusively of
whites. For it is evident that a considerable army of whites would give
stringency to our government, while an army, partly of blacks, would natu-
rally operate in favor of freedom and against those influences which at
present most endanger our liberties. At the end of five years they could
be sent to Africa, and their places filled with new enlistments.
" There is no practical evidence against the effects of immediate abolition,
even if there is not in its favor. I have witnessed the sudden abolition of
flogging at will in the army, and of legalized flogging in the navy, against
the prejudice-warped judgments of both, and, from the beneficial effects
there, I have nothing to fear from the immediate abolition of slavery. I
fear, rather, the violent consequences from a continuance of the evil. But
should such an act devastate the whole state of Louisiana, and render the
whole soil here but the mere passage-way of the fruits of the enterprise and
industry of the Northwest, it would be better for the country at large than
it is now as the seat of disaffection and rebellion.
"When it is remembered that not a word is found in our constitution
sanctioning the buying and selling of human beings, a shameless act which
renders our country the disgrace of Christendom, and worse, in this respect,
even than Africa herself, we should have less dread of seeing the degrading
traffic stopped at once and for ever. Half wages are already virtually
paid for slave labor in the system of tasks which, in an unwilling spirit of
compromise, most of the slave states have already been compelled to adopt-
At the end of five years of apprenticeship, or of fifteen at farthest, full
wages could be paid to the enfranchised negro race, to the double advan-
tage of both master and man. This is just ; for we now hold the slaves of
Louisiana by the same tenure that the state can alone claim them, viz. : by
the original right of conquest. We have so far conquered them that a proc-
lamation setting them free, coupled with offers of protection, would devas-
tate every plantation in the state.
" In conclusion, I may state that Mr. La Blanche is, as I am informed, a
descendant from one of the oldest families of Louisiana. He is wealthy and
GlSMEKAu M7TLER AND GENERAL PHELPS. 503
a man of standing, and his act in sending away his negroes to our lines,
■with their clothes and furniture, appears to indicate the convictions of his
own mind as to the proper logical consequences and deductions that should
follow from the present relative status of the two contending parties. He
seems to be convinced that the proper result of the conflict is the manumis-
sion of the slave, and he may be safely regarded in this respect as a repre-
sentative man of the state. I so regard him myself, and thus do I interpret
his action, although my camp now contains some of the highest symbols of
secessionism, which have been taken by a party of the Seventh Vermont
volunteers from his residence.
''Meantime his slaves, old and young, little ones and all, are suffering
from exposure and uncertainty as to their future condition. Driven away
by their master, with threats of violence if they return, and with no deci-
ded welcome or reception from us, what is to be their lot ? Considerations
of humanity are pressing for an immediate solution of their difficulties ; and
they are but a small portion of their race who have sought, and are still
seeking, our pickets and our military stations, declaring that they can not
and will not any longer serve their masters, and that all they want is work
and protection from us. In such a state of things, the question occurs as
to my own action in the case. I can not return them to their masters, who
not unfrequently come in search of them, for I am, fortunately, prohibited
by an article of war from doing that, even if my own nature did not revolt
at it. I can not receive them, for I have neither work, shelter, nor the
means or plan of transporting them to Hayti, or of making suitable arrange-
ments with their masters until they can be provided for.
"It is evident that some plan, some policy, or some system is necessary
on the part of the government, without which the agent can do nothing,
and all his efforts are rendered useless and of no effect. This is no new
condition in which I find myself; it is my experience during the some
twenty-five years of my public life as a military officer of the government.
The new article of war recently adopted by congress, rendering it criminal
in an officer of the army to return fugitives from injustice, is the first sup-
port that I have ever felt from the government in contending against those
slave influences which are opposed to its character and to its interests.
But the mere refusal to return fugitives does not now meet the case. A
public agent in the present emergency must be invested with wider and
more positive powers than this, or his services will prove as valueless to the
country as they are unsatisfactory to himself.
" Desiring this communication to be laid before the president, and leav-
ing my commission at his disposal,
" I have the honor to remain, sir,
" Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
"J. W. Phelps, Brigadier- General."
504 GENERAL BUTLER AND GENERAL PHELPS.
General Butler received this communication just as a mail steamer
was about to sail for New York. He detained the steamer while
he wrote the following just and considerate dispatch, a copy of
which was courteously sent to General Phelps :
"New Orleans, La., June 18, 1862.
" Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War :
" Sie : — Since my last dispatch was written, I have received the accom-
panying report from General Phelps.
"It is not my duty to enter into a discussion of the questions which it
presents.
" I desire, however, to state the information of Mr. La Blanche, given
me by his friends and neighbors, and also gathered from Jack La Blanche,
his slave, who seems to be the leader of this party of negroes. Mr. La
Blanche I have not seen. He, however, claims to be loyal, and to have
taken no part in the war, but to have lived quietly on his plantation, some
twelve miles above New Orleans, on the opposite side of the river. He has
a son in the secession army, whose uniform and equipments, &c, are the
symbols of secession of which General Phelps speaks. Mr. La Blanche's
house was searched by the order of General Phelps, for arms and contraband
of war, and his neighbors say that his negroes were told that they were
free if they would come to the general's camp.
" That thereupon the negroes, under the lead of Jack, determined to leave,
and for that purpose crowded into a small boat which, from overloading,
was in danger of swamping.
" La Blanche then told his negroes that if they were determined to go,
they would be drowned, and he would hire them a large boat to put them
across the river, and that they might have their furniture if they would go
and leave his plantation and crop to ruin.
" They decided to go, and La Blanche did all a man could to make that
going safe.
"The account of General Phelps is the negro side of the story; that
above given is the story of Mr. La Blanche's neighbors, some of whom ]
knoAv to be loyal men.
" An order against negroes being allowed in camp is the reason they are
outside.
" Mr. La Blanche is represented to be a humane man, and did not con-
sent to the ' exodus' of his. negroes.
" General Phelps, I believe, intends making this a test case for the policy
of the government. I wish it might be so, for the difference of our action
upon this subject is a source of trouble. I respect his honest sincerity of
opinion, but I am a soldier, bound to carry out the wishes of my govern-
ment so long as I hold its commission, and I understand that policy to be
GENERAL BUTLER AND GENERAL PHELPS.
the one I am pursuing. I do not feel at liberty to pursue any other. If
the policy of the government is nearly that I sketched in my report upon
this subject and that which I have ordered in this department, then the ser-
vices of General Phelps are worse than useless here. Jf the views set forth
in his report are to obtain, then he is invaluable, for his whole soul is in it,
and he is a good soldier of large experience, and no brav.er man lives. I
beg to leave the whole question with the president, with perhaps the need-
less assurance that his wishes shall be loyally followed, were they not in
accordance with my own, as I have now no right to have any upon the sub-
ject,
"I write in haste, as the steamer Mississippi is awaiting this dispatch.
" Awaiting the earliest possible instructions, I have the honor to be,
" Your most obedient servant,
"B. F. Butlee, Major- General Commanding."
A month or more passed. The negroes remained in the vicinity
of Camp Parapet. "I awaited an answer from Washington," says
General Phelps, " for about six weeks, when, as a great many ne-
groes had in the mean time thronged to my camp, and no answer
came, I was left to the inference that silence gives consent, and pro-
ceeded therefore to take such decided measures as appeared best
calculated, to me, to dispose of the difficulty."
In other words, General Phelps determined to act as if the gov
ernment had given just the answer which he desired. He accord
ingly sent to head-quarters the following requisition :
u Camp Pabapet, La., July 30, 1862.
"Captain K. S. Davis, A. A. A. General, New Orleans, La. :
" Sik : — I inclose herewith requisitions for arms, accouterments, clothing,
camp and garrison equipage, &c, for three regiments of Africans, which 1
propose to raise for the defense of this point. The location is swampy and
unhealthy, and our men are dying at the rate of two or three a day.
" The southern loyalists are willing, as I understand, to furnish their
share of the tax for the support of the war ; but they should also furnish •
their quota of men, which they have not thus far done. An opportunity
now offers of supplying the deficiency ; and it is not safe to neglect oppor-
tunities in war. I think that, with the proper facilities, I could raise the
three regiments proposed in a short time. Without holding out any in-
ducements, or offering any reward, I have now upward of three hundred
Africans organized into five companies, who are all willing and ready to
show their devotion to our cause in any way that it may be put to the test.
They are willing to submit to anything rather than to slavery.
506 GENERAL BUTLER AND GENERAL PHELPS.
" Society in the South seems to be on the point of dissolution ; and the
best way of preventing the African from becoming instrumental in a gen-
eral state of anarchy, is to enlist him in the cause of the Republic, If we
reject his services, any petty military chieftain, by offering him freedom,
can have them for the purpose of robbery and plunder. It is for the inter-
ests of the South, as well as of the North, that the African should be per-
mitted to offer his block for the temple of freedom. Sentiments unworthy
of the man of the present day — worthy only of another Cain — could alone
prevent such an offer from being accepted.
" I would recommend that the cadet graduates of the present year should
be sent to South Carolina and this point to organize and discipline our Af-
rican levies, and that the more promising non-commissioned officers and
privates of the army be appointed as company officers to command them.
Prompt and energetic efforts in this direction would probably accomplish
more toward a speedy termination of the war, and an early restoration of
peace and unity, than any other course which could be adopted.
" I have the honor to remain, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
"J. W. Phelps, Brigadier- General"
About this time, arrived at New Orleans the intelligence that
congress had passed an act authorizing officers commanding de-
partments and posts, to employ as many negro laborers as the pub-
lic service required. General Butler hailed the act with delight,
since it afforded a promise of an arrangement with General Phelps.
He caused the following answer to be given to the requisition :
"New Oeleans, July 31, 1862.
" Geneeal : — The general commanding wishes you to employ the con-
trabands in and about your camp in cutting down all the trees, &c, be-
tween your lines and the lake, and in forming abatis, according to the plan
agreed upon between you and Lieutenant Weitzel when he visited you some
time since. What wood is not needed by you is much needed in this city.
For this purpose I have ordered the quartermaster to furnish you with axes,
and tents for the contrabands to be quartered in.
u I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
" By order of Major-General Butler.
"E. S. Davis, Capt. and A. A. A. G.
" To Brigadier- General J. W. Phelps, Camp Parapet."
It was of no avail. In his reply to this communication, General
Phelps, I can not but think, put himself signally in the wrong.
GENERAL BUTLER AND GENERAL PHELPS. 507
"Camp Paeapet, La., July 31, 1862.
" Captain R. S. Davis, A. A. A. General, New Orleans, La. :
"Sie: — The communication from jour office of this date, signed, 'By
order of Major-General Butler,' directing me to employ the ' contrabands'
in and about my camp in cutting down all the trees between my lines and
the lake, etc., has just been received.
"In reply, I must state that while I am willing to prepare African regi-
ments for the defense of the government against its assailants, I am not
willing to become the mere slave-driver which you propose, having no
qualifications in that way. I am, therefore, under the necessity of tender-
ing the resignation of my commission as an officer of the army of the Uni-
ted States, and respectfully request a leave of absence until it is accepted,
in accordance with paragraph 29, page 12, of the general regulations.
" While I am writing, at half-past eight o'clock p. m., a colored man is
brought in by one of the pickets who has just been wounded in the side by
a charge of shot, which he says was fired at him by one of a party of three
slave-hunters or guerillas, a mile or more from our line of sentinels. As
it is some distance from the camp to the lake, the party of wood-choppers
which you have directed will probably need a considerable force to guard
them against similar attacks.
u I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
"J. W. Phelps, Brigadier- General."
General Butler thus replied :
"New Oeleans, August 2, 1862.
" Geneeal : — I was somewhat surprised to receive your resignation for
the reasons stated.
" When you were put in command at Camp Parapet, I sent Lieutenant
Weitzel, my chief engineer, to make a reconnoissance of the lines of Car-
rollton, and I understand it was agreed between you and the engineer that
a removal of the wood between Lake Pontchartrain and the right of your
intrenchment was a necessary military precaution. The work could not be
done at that time because of the stage of water and the want of men. But
now both water and men concur. You have five hundred Africans organ-
ized into companies, you write me. This work they are fitted to do. It
must either be done by them or my soldiers, now drilled and disciplined.
You have said the location is unhealthy for the soldier, it is not to the ne-
gro; is it not best that these unemployed Africans should do this labor?
My attention is specially called to this matter at the present time, because
there are reports of demonstrations to be made on your lines by the rebels,
and in my judgment it is a matter of necessary precaution thus to clear the
right of your line, so that you can receive the proper aid from the gun-boats
23
508 GENERAL BUTLER AND GENERAL PHELPS.
on the lake, besides preventing the enemy from having cover. To do this
the negroes ought to be employed ; and in so employing them I see no evi-
dence of 'slave-driving' or employing you as a 'slave-driver.'
" The soldiers of the Army of the Potomac did this very thing last sum-
mer in front of Arlington Hights : are the negroes any better than they ?
" Because of an order to do this necessary thing to protect your front,
threatened by the enemy, you tender your resignation and ask immediate
leave of absence. I assure you I did not expect this, either from your cour-
age, your patriotism, or your good sense. To resign in the face of an en-
emy has not been the highest plaudit to a soldier, especially when the rea-
son assigned is that he is ordered to do that which a recent act of congress
has specially authorized a military commander to do, i. ss,
freed by the confiscation act, found the way into their regiments of
" Native Guards," a procedure that was not pleasing in the sight
of General Weitzel.
By the conquest of Lafourche, an immense amount of property
liable to confiscation fell into the hands of the commanding general.
The people who remained on the plantations, made haste to endeav-
or to save their property by making fictitious transfers. Some of
the officers of the invading force, finding large quantities of sugar
lying about loose, which the owners were only too glad to sell at
any price, caught the fever of speculation, and bought sugar to the
extent of their means. General Butler visited the principal camp
of occupation, and soon learned what was going on. Feeling that
the whole army was in danger of demoralization if this speculation
in sugar, and in commodities more portable, was allowed to con-
tinue, he determined to apply a sweeping remedy. He devised a
scheme, which not only stopped this irregular speculation, but
poured the whole of the proceeds of the forfeited property into the
public treasury. He sequestered the entire district, and all that it
contained, subject to the final adjudication of a commission of
officers. The following general order unfolds his scheme. As
none of General Butler's acts in Louisiana has caused, or is causing,
so much outcry as this, the reader should read this order with par-
ticular attention. The order was executed to the letter :
"New Oeleans, November 9, 1862.
" The commanding general being informed, and believing, that the dis-
trict west of the Mississippi river, lately taken possession of by the United
582 MILITARY OPERATIONS.
States troops, is most largely occupied by persons disloyal to the United
States, and whose property has become liable to confiscation under the acts
of congress and the proclamation of the president, and that sales and trans-
fers of said property are being made for the purpose of depriving the gov-
ernment of the same, has determined, in order to secure the rights of all per-
sons as well as those of the government, and for the purpose of enabling the
crops now growing to be taken care of and secured, and the unemployed labor-
ers to be set at work, and provision made for payment of their labor
"To order, as follows:
" I. That all the property within the district to be known as the ' Dis-
trict of Lafourche' be and hereby is sequestered, and all sales or transfers
are forbidden, and will be held invalid.
" II. The district of Lafourche will comprise all the territory in the state
of Louisiana lying west of the Mississippi river, except the parishes of Pla-
quemines and Jefferson.
"III. That Major Joseph M. Bell, provost judge, president, Lieutenant-
Colonel J. B. Kinsman, A. D. C, Captain Fuller (75th N". Y. Vols.), pro-
vost-marshal of the district, be a commission to take possession of the
property in said district, to make an accurate inventory of the same, and
gather up and collect all such personal property, and turn over to the proper
officers, upon their receipts, such of said property as may be required for
the use of the United States army ; to collect together all the other personal
property, and bring the same to New Orleans and cause it to be sold at
public auction to the highest bidders, and after deducting the necessary ex-
penses of care, collection, and transportation, to hold the proceeds thereof
subject to the just claims of loyal citizens and those neutral foreigners who
in good faith shall appear to be the owners of the same.
" IV. Every loyal citizen or neutral foreigner who shall be found in ac-
tual possession and ownership of any property in said district, not having
acquired the same by any title since the 18th day of September last, may
have his property returned or delivered to him without sale, upon estab-
lishing his condition to the judgment of the commission.
" V. All sales made by any person not a loyal citizen or foreign neutral,
since the 18th day of September, shall be held void ; and all sales whatever
made with the intent to deprive the government of its rights of confisca-
tion, will be held void, at what time soever made.
" VI. The commission is authorized to employ in working the plantation
of any person who has remained quietly at his home, whether he be loyal or
disloyal, the negroes who may be found in said district, or who have, or
may hereafter claim the protection of the United States, upon the terms
set forth in a memorandum of a contract heretofore offered to the planters
of the parishes of Plaquemines and St. Bernard, or white labor may be em-
ployed at the election of the commission.
MILITAET OPERATIONS. 583
" VII. The commissioners will cause to be purchased such supplies as may
he necessary, and convey them to such convenient depots as to supply the
planters in the making of the crop ; which supplies will be charged against
the crop manufactured, and shall constitute a lien thereon.
" VIII. The commissioners are authorized to work for the account of the
United States such plantations as are deserted by their owners, or are held
by disloyal owners, as may seem to them expedient, for the purpose of sav-
ing the crops.
" IX. Any persons who have not been actually in arms against the Uni-
ted States since the occupation of New Orleans by its forces, and who shall
remain peaceably upon their plantations, affording no aid or comfort to the
enemies of the United States, and who shall return to their allegiance, and
who shall, by all reasonable methods, aid the United States when called
upon, may be empowered by the commission to work their own plantations,
to make their own crop, and to retain possession of their own property,
except such as is necessary for the military uses of the United States. And
to all such persons the commission are authorized to furnish means of
transportation for their crops and supplies, at just and equitable prices.
" X. The commissioners are empowered and authorized to hear, deter-
mine, and definitely report upon all questions of the loyalty, disloyalty, or
neutrality of the various claimants of property within said district ; and
farther, to report such persons as in their judgment ought to be recommend-
ed by the commanding general to the president for amnesty and pardon,
so that they may have their property returned ; to the end that all persons
that are loyal may suffer as little injury as possible, and that all persons
who have been heretofore disloyal, may have opportunity now to prove
their loyalty and to return to their allegiance, and save their property from
confiscation, if such shall be the determination of the government of the
United States."
For six weeks the commissioners were employed in applying the
confiscation act to the property in Lafourche, in establishing the
loose negroes upon the abandoned lands, and in restoring to Union
men their temporarily sequestered estates.
The chief labor of the commission devolved upon Colonel Kins-
man, as his associates had already their hands full of occupation.
When the people came crowding about him professing loyalty to
the Union, he reminded them that he had had the pleasure of visit-
ing Lafourche in the month of May, when he had been informed
that the inhabitants of Lafourche were united as one man against
the United States. He gave them to understand that the taking
of the oath of allegiance^ at the last moment, by men who had given
584 MILITARY OPERATIONS.
a thousand proofs of their complicity with treason, was not enough
to secure their property from confiscation. The strict observance
of this rule added, in the course of time, about a million dollars to
the revenue of the United States, and deprived a large number of
rebels of the means of doing harm. Colonel Kinsman had a most
difficult duty to perform; one that tasked equally his sagacity and his
firmness ; and one that he shrank from undertaking. He acquitted
himself well. He executed the order and the law with care and
fidelity, and won the approval of all disinterested persons who had
the means of judging his conduct. Some of the military speculators
in sugar grumbled at the rigor of decisions which deprived them
of anticipated gain, and all the victims of the confiscation act ab-
horred the officer who executed it. But the friends of the Union
observed with admiration his tact and patience in investigating,
and the impartial justice of his awards. A corrupt man in his situ-
ation could have made a fortune with absolute security against de-
tection. He forbore even to buy a hogshead of confiscated sugar,
which he would have liked to send as a present to his New Eng-
land home, lest he should give a pretext for the tongue of slander.
Every dollar's worth of confiscated property was sold at New
Orleans at public auction, of which previous notice was publicly
given. No man had the slightest advantage over another in pur-
chasing, and the entire proceeds of the sales were paid into the
public treasury.
Every secessionist in Louisiana will tell you to-day, that this
pure and faithful officer retired from Lafourche a millionaire. They
will also assure you that the rest of the proceeds of the confiscated
property were divided between General Butler and his brother.
They really believe that the general sent at least two millions
away for investment during the eight months of his administra-
tion.
I was myself informed by a gentleman fresh from New Orleans,
who had spent several weeks in the society of that city, that Gen-
eral Butler had invested immense sums in New r York lots. So ho
had been told in New Orleans ; all secessionists in New Orleans
believed it. " Corner lots," he particularly mentioned as objects of
the general's ambition. As the two millions may not all have been
expended, gentlemen having desirable corner lots to dispose of
may, perhaps, find a purchaser somewhere in Lowell.
MILITARY OPERATIONS. 585
Such were the principal military operations in the department of
the gulf. If they were less splendid than those of other fields, if
they were not all that the circumstances invited and required, it
can be truly said that they were all that the force at the disposal
of the commanding general permitted. What could be prudently
attempted was handsomely done. In November General Butler,
if he had dared to leave New Orleans inadequately defended for
ten days, would have nipped Port Hudson in the bud. He dared
not, with the force at his command, risk the tempting enterprise.
And when, after months of waiting and beseeching for re-enforce-
ments, re-enforcements arrived, they came provided with a major-
general.
Much of the success of General Butler in his department was
owing to the fact that he contrived, in spite of opposing influences
in Massachusetts, to take with him many officers of his own selec-
tion — men whom he understood, and who were peculiarly adapted
to render him efficient service. Several of these officers served
1 ong without commission and without pay. They were afterward
commissioned by a stroke of General Butler's legal legerdemain.
They were appointed to positions on the staff of some other major-
general, not of Massachusetts, and then " assigned" to the staff of
General Butler.
The general, however, was most ably assisted by the officers of
his command, generally. Perhaps, I may say, without improprie-
ty, that among those to whom he feels peculiarly indebted are the
following officers :
General Strong, now in glory ; Major Bell, General Weitzel,
vaptain Peter Haggerty, General "Williams, now with General
h-rong; Dr. McCormick, Colonel Shaffer, Captain John Clark,
Colonel J. W. Turner, Colonel Lall, of the Eighth New Hampshire ;
Captain Thorne, of the Twelfth Maine ; Colonel Kennebec, of the
j-arae ; Colonel McMillan, of the Twenty-first Indiana, now brigadier-
general ; Colonel Keith, Lieutenant-Colonel Kinsman, Captain Per-
kins, of the Massachusetts cavalry; Colonel Deming, of the Twelfth
Connecticut ; Colonel Birge, of the Thirteenth Connecticut ; Gen-
eral Shepley, Colonel Thomas, of the Eighth Vermont ; Captain R.
S. Davis, Captain Kensel, chief of artillery ; Captain John F. Apple-
ton, Colonel Payne, of the Second Louisiana ; Lieutenant-Colonel
Everett, Major W. O. Fiske.
-36 ROUTINE OF A DAT IN NEW ORLEANS.
Many others, doubtless. But these are, certainly, among those
whom General Butler would like to have with him if he had an-
other New Orleans to take and tame.
CHAPTER XXXI.
ROUTINE OF A DAY IN NEW ORLEANS.
A Major-General commanding, as modern warfare is conducted,
is in danger of becoming the slave of the desk. He carries a sword
in obedience to custom, but the instrument that he is most familiar
with is that one, which, ' eminent tragedians' say, is mightier than
the sword. The quantity of writing required for the business of a
division stationed in a quiet district is very great. But in such a
department as that of the Gulf in 1862, a general must manage
well, or he will find himself reduced to the condition of the ' sole
editor and proprietor' of a daily newspaper. His life will resolve
itself into a vain struggle to keep down his pile of unanswered let-
ters. General Butler employed seven clerks at head-quarters ; he
had, also, the assistance of the younger members of his staff; but,
with all this force of writers to assist him, he wrote or dictated
more hours in the twenty-four than professional writers usually do.
Let us see how the day went in New Orleans.
From eight to nine in the morning, General Butler usually
received ladies at his residence, who desired to avoid the publicity
of the office at the Custom-House, or who had communications to
make of a confidential nature. At nine, he went, in some state, to
his public office. On his appearance at the front door, the guard,
drawn up before the house, saluted, and the general entered his
carriage, two orderlies being mounted on the box. The same cere-
monial was observed when he entered the Custom-House. The six
mounted orderlies, employed in conveying messages and orders,
were drawn up before the principal entrance, and saluted the
general. On his way to his own apartment, he had to pass through
the court-room in which Major Bell was dispensing justice to the
ROUTINE OF A DAT IN NEW ORLEANS. 587
people of New Orleans. The major remarked the good effect it
had upon the spectators to see the commander of the department
remove his cap, as he entered the court-room, and bow to the pre-
siding judge. On reaching his office, the general would find from
one hundred to two hundred people, in and around the adjoining
rooms, waiting to see him.
The office was a large room, furnished with little more than a
long table and a few chairs. In one corner, behind the table, sat,
unobserved, a short-hand reporter, who, at a signal from the gener-
al, would take down the examination of an applicant or an informer.
The general began business by placing his pistol upon the table,
within easy reach. After the detection of two or three plots to
assassinate him, one of the aids caused a little shelf to be made
under the table for the pistol, while another pistol, unloaded, lay
upon the table, which any gentleman, disposed to attempt the game
of assassination, was at liberty to snatch.
That single loaded pistol, carried in a pocket or laid upon a shelf,
was General Butler's sole precaution against assassination in a com-
munity of whom a majority would have treated his murderer as a
patriotic hero, and rewarded him with honor and with wealth.
But that precaution sufficed. Chance gave him the reputation of
being a dead shot, and every man who observed his movements
could infer that his handling of his pistol would be quick and dex-
terous. He was riding along one day, with a numerous retinue,
where some orange trees, loaded with fruit, hung over a wall. As
he rode by, he took out his pistol, and aiming it at a twig which
sustained three fine oranges, severed the twig, and brought the
game rolling on the ground. It was a chance shot, which, proba-
bly, he could not have equaled in ten trials. But it answered the
purpose of giving the impression that he was the best shot in New
Orleans. Yet, it was surprising that no one attempted his assas-
sination. He went everywhere with one attendant, or with none.
His apparent carelessness was a daily invitation to the assassin.
Another member of the staff, of a mischievous turn, had exer-
cised his talents in printing, in large letters, the following sentence,
legible to all visitors, on the wall of the room :
"There is no difference between a he and a she
Adder in their venom."
Mrs. Philips, and other ladies of a similar disposition, would
f»88 ROUTINE OF A DAY IN NEW ORLEANS.
glare at the legend indignantly, as though this simple statement
of a fact in natural history had some special reference to them.
There was another little contrivance, which I believe was an
achievement of the general's own genius. Some of his Creole
visitors, and some of the Israelitish money-changers who came to
him, were addicted to the use of garlic — a fact which did not ren-
der a close confidential interview with them so desirable as a con-
ference from a point more remote. Consequently, the chair pro-
vided for the use of such persons was tied by the leg to the leg of
the table, so that it could not be drawn very near the one occupied
by the general. The anxious petitioner, not observing the cord,
was likely to open the conference by throwing the chair over.
Others, who succeeded in seating themselves without this embar-
rassing catastrophe, found all their attempts to edge up confiden-
tially to the general's ear unavailing. This invention saved the
general from the fumes of garlic, and compelled the visitor to speak
loud enough for the reporter to hear him.
The general being seated in his chair behind the table, with his
artillery in position, heads of departments were first admitted, such
as the medical director and the chief of police. Their reports hav-
ing been received and acted upon, the chiefs of the Relief Com-
mission and the Labor Commission entered and reported. Next
to them such persons as consuls and bank directors. The first
hour of the morning was usually consumed in conference with these
and other important official individuals. Then the public were
admitted, thirty at a time, who stood in a semi-circle before the
table. The general would begin at one end of the line, and ask :
" What do you want ?"
They wanted everything that creature ever wanted : a pass to
go beyond the lines; an order on the relief committee for food;
protection against a hard landlord ; a permit to search for a slave ;
aid to recover a debt ; the arbitration of a dispute ; payment of a
claim against the government ; the restoration of forfeited proper-
ty ; the suppression of a nuisance ; employment in the public offices ;
a gift of money ; information on points of law ; protection against
a cruel master. Others came to give information, or to wreak an
inexpensive revenge by denouncing a private foe as a public enemy.
The general devoted an average of twenty seconds to the considera-
tion of each. A few, short, sharp, incisive questions, and then the
ROUTINE OF A DAT IN MW 0ELEANS. 589
decision, clear as yes or no could make it. And the decision once
pronounced, there was not another syllable to be said. Every one
got, at least, an answer, and the answer was generally right. Under
the lire of General Butler's cross-questioning, the subterfuges and
evasions of the unskillful rebels melted rapidly away, and the truth
stood out clear and unmistakable. Sometimes, when a man had
been detected in a falsehood, he would try again.
" Well, General, I own it was a lie, but now I am going to tell
the truth."
It happened, not unfrequently, that the general would overturn,
by an adroit question or two, the second version of the tale, and
the man would essay a third time, calling all the saints to witness
that now, at last, the pure truth should be told, and then immedi-
ately coin a new series of falsehoods, to be instantly detected by the
general. Scenes of this kind occurred so often, that it became a
by- word at head-quarters : " Now I am going to tell you the truth."
At eleven o'clock, the door being closed to miscellaneous appli-
cants, the letters of the day were placed upon the table opened, to
the number of eighty or a hundred. The general read over each,
and disposed of most of them by writing a word or two on the
back, "yes," "no," "granted," "refused;" in accordance with
which the answer was prepared by clerk or secretary. Others
were reserved for consideration or for answer by the general's own
hand. Military business was next in order, which brought him to
the hungry hour of one. After luncheon, the writing of reports
and letters occupied the time till half-past four. Then home to din-
ner. From half-past, five till dark, the general was on horseback,
reviewing a regiment here, visiting an outpost there, thus uniting
duty with recreation. Then home to his private office, where he
wrote or dictated letters till ten. The last tired scribe being then
dismissed, the general retired to the only apartment into which no
visitor ever entered, where, at a little desk in a corner, he wrote
the papers and dispatches which were of most importance, or which
were designed only for the eye of the person addressed.
Even this constant devotion to the business of his position could
not prevent an accumulation of unanswered letters. Frequently he
was obliged to ply the pen all day Sunday, in order to reduce the
mountain of papers, and begin the week with a clear conscience and
a clean table. The business, however, was all done. No letter but
590 ROUTINE OF A DAT IN NEW ORLEANS.
received its due attention. Letters from home asking information
respecting soldiers who had suddenly ceased to write to their friends
were invariably answered, and the fullest accounts given which
could be procured. A decent application for an autograph was not
neglected ; for the general kept a supply of the article on hand,
ready folded, enveloped, and stamped.
« Why not?" he said one day to Major Strong, who laughed at
this business-like proceeding. " If I can gratify a person, by writing
my name, why should not I do it ? At the same time, why should
not I do it with the least trouble to myself?"*
Thus the days passed. A trip up the river to Baton Rouge, or
down the river to the forts, a ride to Carrollton, or a brigade re-
view, varied the uniformity of the general's life. But most of his
days were employed in the manner just described. " For hours,"
writes one, " he sits and patiently listens to complaints, and sug-
gests punishments or redress. Returning to his hotel, he partakes
of a simple meal, retires to his room, to be again besieged by crowds
of officers and orderlies, charged with reports, or waiting orders.
Late at night, I have seen the gas gleaming from his room (the
door open by the necessity of getting some air in this suffocating
climate), and the general buried in the labor of his extensive mili-
tary correspondence."!
It was not General Butler's office alone which was besieged by
crowds of anxious people. Colonel French, General Shepiey, Col.
Stafford, Dr. McCormick, were only less busy than he, in answer-
ing the arguments, and supplying the wants of the people. The
intelligent writer just quoted attended, at the City Hall, the head-
quarters of Governor Shepiey, and noted the cases disposed of by
him in one morning. The catalogue will interest the reader :
" General G. F. Shepiey," he remarks, " the least observant of
people would point out as a man of more than ordinary character.
His figure is as straight as an Indian's, his eye — a light blue — is re-
markably expressive ; the hair sweeps in a broad, bold dash away
from his square forehead, and his moustache and imperial are per-
fect. With his sword at his side, and standing up listening to the
numerous people who call on him, I have rarely seen a more sol-
dierly-looking man.
* N.B. The supply is now said to be exhausted, the demand having exceeded the resources of
the market,
t Correspondence of the New York Times.
ROUTINE OF A DAT IN NEW ORLEANS. 501
u The first thing brought to the general's notice by the attendant
clerks was a petition from the sheriff of New Orleans for the re-
lief of certain prisoners. A tall, shrewish woman, now entered
and asked for an order to make a tenant pay rent. Next came a
woman, child in arms, detailing her sufferings, her husband having
been impressed into the Confederate service. An old and very re-
spectable gentleman desired a pass for a family of a mother, six
children, and four servants, to Baton Rouge. A committee appeared,
desiring work on the streets for poor men who had been in rebel
service ; petition instantly granted, if the parties named w T ould take
the oath of allegiance. A gentleman appears, who wishes to get an
order to repair a building occupied by United States troops as a
hospital ; he was waved Out with impatience. Merchants now
crowd in with all sorts of questions regarding business matters.
An officer of the navy obtrudes his gold-laced cuff, and places a let-
ter on the table from Commodore Porter ; it is opened, read, and
answer dictated, in a moment. A man now presents himself, and
says his negro, who had been absent several days, said he was
forcibly retained in the national lines ; General Shepley rises from
his seat, his eyes flash ; he replies, mildly but positively, that he
don't believe the negro's story, and demands a responsible white
man for a witness, the complainant leaving precipitately. Old gen-
tleman in an undertone asks a favor ; it is granted, and old gentle-
man goes off delighted. An old lady in black now comes in, with
a little negro girl following in the rear, carrying her work-bag.
Old lady seats herself on the lounge, and the little negro girl
crouches on the carpet at her feet. General Shepley gets up and
speaks to old lady ; she says nothing, pouts at the contraband, and
gets some answer that is satisfactory — for exit old lady, little negro,
and work-bag.
" A delegation of merchants now appear, who have some conver-
sation about the currency. A city official makes a report about
cleaning the streets. A Maine skipper comes in — his eyes enlarged,
and his face on a broad grin. General Shepley is from his town ;
but something more, the Maine skipper has found his vessel over at
Algiers, that was taken from him some months before by the priva-
teers ; he gets an order to take possession of his vessel, and an-
nounces that he has more sugar offered him for New York than he
CLn put in his newly gained prize. Meantime, two handsome young
592 ROUTINE OF A DAY IN NEW ORLEANS.
ladies in gay colors have been quietly watching the proceedings
through their half-drawn-aside veils, never deigning to come for-
ward to make their requests. The General approaches them, and
a most animated conversation in an undertone, so far as they are
concerned, ensues. The general listens very attentively, evidently
becomes interested, and grants the request. ~Now he goes to the
ladylike personage in black. It is clear she is a widow ; and the way
she rolled her large, speaking, dark Creole eyes up into the face of
the general, was well calculated to make an impression on the 'gov-
ernor' if he had been born even farther north than Maine. The
lady next pointed out her sons, and asked a favor. She wanted to
get out of the city, and would the general be so kind as to give her
a pass to go beyond the federal lines ?
" A committee is now announced. It is headed by the president
of the Union association, and is composed of its prominent mem-
bers. They present a petition to the general, requesting certain
municipal reforms. The next person introduced was a highly re-
spectable and wealthy planter, who had never yielded to the pres-
sure of secession, or never concealed his sentiments, though daily
persecuted, and often threatened with imprisonment or assassination.
He represented the sufferings in the ' interior parishes' as fearful,
the evils of starvation and suffering occasioned by the rebellion
being aggravated by the high water that had flowed in from the
river, the levee law being entirely disregarded by the landed pro-
prietors.
" For five long hours the audiences continue, and only end to
enable the general to resume new duties at his military head-quar-
ters at the custom-house."
The general life of the city had resumed something of its wonted
careless gayety and business bustle. The morning markets of New
Orleans were bright once more with red bandannas, and noisy with
the many-tongued chatter of the hucksters — Creole, French, German,
Spanish, and English. "I suppose," remarks a spirited writer,*
" that nowhere since the dispersion of the builders of Babel, could
be heard such polyglot vociferations as proceed from the sidewalk
peddlers in the French market at New Orleans. On one side, the
gesticulative Gaul rolls his r's with absolutely canine emphasis
in the utterance of his native language, or gallicizes the English
* Mr. Thomas Butler Gunn, the able correspondent of the 2Teio York Tribune.
RECALL. 593
appellation of the most popular of vegetables into ' pa-ta-ta — s !' or
informs you that the price of a bird or fish is ' two bit ! two bit —
you no like him, you no hab him !' On another, the German vocifer-
ates with as harmonious an effect as might be produced by the
simultaneous shaking up of pebbles in a quart pot, and the filing of
a hand-saw ; while on a third and fourth, the Creole, Sicilian, and
Dego rival each other in vocal discord. Fancy all this, and
throw in any amount of obstreperous, broad-mouthed, gleeful negro
laughter, and you have some approximation toward the sounds
audible at the time and locality I have undertaken to describe."
The far-famed rotunda of the St. Charles hotel again resounded
with the noise of multitudinous conversation ; but its lofty dome
echoed not back the sound of the auctioneer's hammer, that doomed
the pampered house-slave to the horrors of a Red River plantation,
or consigned a beautiful quadroon to the arms of a lucky gambler.
The levee still looked bare and deserted to those who had known
it in former years ; but there was some life there. A few vessels
were loading or discharging. The ferry-boats were plying on the
river. The scream of the steam- whistle was heard, and steamboats
were " up" for Carrollton, Baton Rouge, or Fort Jackson. In the
stream lay at anchor a few representatives of the immortal fleet, the
arrival of which, in the last days of April, ushered in a new era of the
history of Louisiana.
CHAPTER XXXH.
RECALL.
There had been rumors all the summer that General Butler was
about to be recalled from the Department of the Gulf. In August,
he alluded to these rumors in one of his letters to General Halleck,
and said, that if the government meaut to remove him, it was only
fair for his successor to come at once, and take part of the yellow
fever season. General Halleck replied, September 14, that these
rumors were " without foundation." Mr. Stanton had written
approvingly of his course. Mr. Chase and Mr. Blair expressed
594 RECALL.
very cordial approval of it. The president, in October, wrote to
the general in a friendly and confidential manner. It was only the
secretary of state who appeared to dread that total suppression of
the enemies of the United States in Louisiana, which it was General
Butler's aim to effect. But it was not supposed that his policy
would carry him so far as to deprive his country of the services of
the man who, wherever he had been employed, had shown so much
ability, and who had just achieved the ablest and the noblest piece
of impromptu statesmanship the modern world has seen.
General Butler was going on in the usual tenor of his way. His
favorite scheme, as the winter drew near, was the roofing of the
custom-house, the citadel of New Orleans. The government had
expended millions upon that edifice, and its marble walls had been
completed, but it stood exposed to the ( weather, and was rapidly
depreciating. The estimates of competent engineer officers showed
that it could be covered for about forty thousand dollars with a roof
of wood, which would last thirty or forty years, save the costly
structure from decay, and render the upper stories inhabitable. He
procured part of the necessary timber by seizing a large quantity
which was the property of those notorious ' foreign neutrals,' Gau-
therin and Co., and which, he was prepared to show, had been
bought by the Confederate government. In executing the work,
he intended to employ a large number of the men who were daily
fed by the bounty of the government. The operation was about
to be begun, when the order for his recall arrived. It would have
been done in three months from the revenues of the department.
The Custom-House is still without a roof.
Another project engaged his attention toward the close of the
year. He received information that a speculative firm in Havana
had imported from Europe a large quantity of arms, which they
hoped to sell to the Confederate government. He sent an officer to
Havana to examine these arms, procure samples, and endeavor to
get the refusal of them for three months, so as to gain time for the
war department to effect the purchase of the arms for the United
States. Captain Hill, the officer employed on this errand, had
obtained a refusal of the arms for several weeks, when the change
of commanders took place, and the affair was dropped. Captain
Hill reports, that no citizen of the United States, supposed to have
a public commission, was safe at that time in Havana. He was
RECALL. 595
subjected to every kind of annoyance, and was warned by friendly
Cubans not to be in the streets alone after dark. The town
swarmed with rebel emissaries and rebel sympathizers, affording
another proof that, in this quarrel, we are alone against the
benighted men, and classes of men, who are interested in retarding
the progress of civilization. The day after the departure of Cap-
tain Hill from New Orleans, the report was current in the city that
he had been sent by General Butler to the North, with two millions
in gold, the spoils of Lafourche, to deposit in some place of safety
against the coming day of wrath. He carried, in fact, just tw T o
thousand dollars in gold, to defray his expenses in Havana.
New Orleans elected two members of congress in December,
Mr. Benjamin F. Flanders, and Mr. Michael Hahn, both uncondi-
tional Union men. Mr. Flanders received 2,370 votes out of 2,543 ;
Mr. Hahn received 2,58-1, which was a majority of 144 over all
competitors. The canvass was spirited, and no restriction was
placed upon the voting, except to exclude all who had not taken
the oath of allegiance. At this election, the number of Union
votes exceeded, by one thousand, the whole number of votes cast
in the city for secession.
It could be truly said in December, that there was in New Or-
leans, after seven months of General Butler's government, a numer-
ous party for the Union, probably a majority of the whole number
of voters. The men of wealth were secessionists, almost to a man.
The gamblers and ruffians were on the same side. The lowest class
of whites exhibited the same impious antipathy to the negroes, and
the same leaning toward their oppressors, that we observe in the
corresponding class in two or three northern cities. But, among
the respectable mechanics and smaller traders, there was a great
host who were either committed to the side of the Union, or were
only deterred from committing themselves by a fear that, after all,
the city was destined to fall again under the dominion of the Con-
federates. The Union meetings were attended by enthusiastic
crowds, and the eloquence of a Deming, a Durant, a Hamilton,
was greeted w T ith the same applause that it elicits at the North.
When General Butler appeared in public he was greeted with
cheers not less hearty nor less unanimous than he has since been
accustomed to receive nearer home. Late in November he made
a public visit to the theater. When he entered the house the audi-
596 BECALL.
ence rose and gave him cheer upon cheer, just as in New York or
Boston.
The Union party, too, was a growing power. Union men now
felt that they were on the side of the strongest. They knew that
no man could be anything or effect anything, or enjoy anything in
Louisiana, who was not on the side of his country. For Union men
there were offices, employments, privileges, favors, honors, every-
thing which a government can bestow. For rebels there was mere
protection against personal violence — mere toleration of their pres-
ence ; and that only so long as they remained perfectly submissive
and quiescent. It has been truly remarked, that of the three powers
of a community — the government, the rich and the multitude — any
two can always overcome the third. In New Orleans the govern-
ment and the multitude were forming daily a closer union; and the
wealthy faction, who had ruined the state, were becoming daily
more isolated and more powerless.
Meanwhile, the general was urging upon the war department
the necessity of a larger force, that he might employ the cool season
in reducing Port Hudson and extending the area of conquest in
other directions. He entreated his old friend Senator Wilson to
use his influence at the war department in his behalf. The sena-
tor's reply is curious, when we consider that at the time of the
interview which it records General Butler's successor in the Depart-
ment of the Gulf had been appointed twenty-three days. " Your
note," said Senator Wilson, " was placed in my hand to-day (Dec.
2), and I at once called upon the secretary of war, and pressed
the importance of increasing your force. He agreed with me and
promised to do what he could to aid you. He expressed his confi-
dence in you and his approval of your vigor and ability. This was
gratifying to me, but I should have been more pleased to have had
him order an addition to your force, so that you might have a
larger field of action. I will press the matter all I can."
Early in December it became well known in New Orleans that
the government was preparing, in the ports of the North, one of
those imposing expeditions of which so many have sailed on mys-
terious errands during the war. Texas was supposed to be its
object. Texas, I believe, was its ultimate object.
In the absence of official information, and supposing his own ser-
vices approved by the government, General Butler was left to infer
RECALL. 597
that General Banks was to hold an independent command in the
Department of the Gulf. He feared a conflict of authority. Nor
could he regard with complacency the coming of another major-
general to reap the laurels of the field, while he himself, after hav-
ing done the painful and odious part of the work, was left still to
battle only with the sullen, unarmed secessionists of New Orleans.
Not to embarrass the government, he wrote to the president an
unofficial letter on the subject.
"I see by the papers," he writes, November 29th, "that General
Banks is about being sent into this department with troops, upon
an independent expedition and command. This seems to imply a
want of confidence in the commander of this department, perhaps
deserved, but still painful. In my judgment, it will be prejudicial
to the public service to attempt any expedition into Texas without
making New Orleans a base of supplies and co-operation. To do
this there must be but one head, and one department.
" I do not propose to argue the question here ; still farther is it
from my purpose to suggest even that there may not be a better
head than the one now in the department. I beg leave to call your
attention, that since I came into the field, the day after your first
proclamation, I have ever been in the frontier line of the rebellion
— Annapolis, when Washington was threatened; Relay House,
when Harper's Ferry was being evacuated ; Baltimore, Fort Mon-
roe, Newport. News, Hatteras, Ship Island, and New Orleans. It
is not for me to say with what meed of success. But I have a right
to say that I have lived at this station exposed, at once, to the pes-
tilence and the assassin, for eight months, awaiting re-enforcements
which the government could not give until now. And now they
are to be given to another. I have never complained. I do not now
complain. I have done as well as I could everything which the
government asked me to do. I have eaten that which was set be-
fore me, asking no questions.
" It is safe for any person to come to New Orleans and stay. It
has been demonstrated that the quarantine can keep away the fever.
The assassins are overawed or punished.
" Why, then, am I left here when another is sent into the field in
this department ? If it is because of my disqualification for the
sei vice, in which I have as long an experience as any general in the
United States army now in the service (being the senior in rank),
598
RECALL.
I pray you say so ; and so far from being even aggrieved, I will
return to my home, consoled by the reflection, that I have at least
done my duty as far as endeavor and application go. I am only
desirous of not being kept where I am not needed or desired, and
I will relieve the administration of all embarrassment. Pray do me
the favor to reflect that I am not asking for the command of any 1
other person ; but, simply, that unless the government service re-
quire it, that my own, which, I have a right to say, has not been
the least successful of the war, shall not be taken from me in such
a manner as to leave me all the burden without any of the results
" Permit me also to say, that toward General Banks, who is se-
lected to be the leader of the Texas expedition, I have none but the
kindest feelings, he having been my personal friend for years, and
still being so.
" Writing about my personal affairs, which I have never done
before, I hardly know how to express myself; but what I mean is
this : If the commander-in-chief find me incompetent (unfaithful I
know he can not), let me be removed, and be allowed to meet the
issue before him and my country ; but, as I never do anything by
indirection myself, all I ask of the president, as a just man, is that
the same course may be taken toward me.
" Allow me to repeat again, sir, what I have before said — although
the determination may cause my recall — put the department which
includes Louisiana and Texas under one head, and it will be best
for the service. I pray you, sir, not to misunderstand me. I have
given up something for my country, and can give up more. And
this command is a small matter in comparison, in my mind, to my
own self-respect, or to the good of the service.
" I do not seek to embarrass the government by any action of
mine, or in regard to myself. Far from it. I could even take my-
self away rather than to do any thing which would weaken, by one
ounce, the strength with Avhich the administration should strangle
this rebellion."
It was too late. When this letter was written, the fate of the
writer had been decided for twenty days. The answer to it came
by rebel telegraph to the outlying camps of the enemy, and was
brought in by the Union spies ten days, or more, before General
Banks himself knew his destination. It came in the form of a
positive statement that General Banks was coming to New Orleans
RECALL. 699
to supersede General Butler. The higher circles of secessionists
were so certain of the fact that bets were made, in the principal
club of the city, of a hundred dollars to ten, that General Butler
would be recalled before the end of the year. It now appears, that
the French government was first notified of the intended change.
The news, probably, came direct, either from the state department
or from the French legation. From whatever source it was de-
rived, the rebels knew it before it had been whispered about
Washington. Jefferson Davis knew it before General Banks,
though Davis was at Jackson, in Mississippi, and General Banks
was at Washington.
General Butler submitted to the inevitable stroke with the best
possible grace. He had had practice in submission. Had he not
been recalled from Baltimore for doing his duty too well ? Had
he not been recalled from Fortress Monroe at the moment it had
become possible to reap the fruit of his most able and arduous
labors?
He gave General Banks a cordial and brilliant reception. At
Fort Jackson, the arriving general, much to his surprise, was
saluted by the number of guns which, by regulation, announce the
presence of the commander of the department. At the levee of
"New Orleans, General Butler provided carriages, escort, and a
saluting battery, and detailed members of his staff to superintend
the arrangements for the honorable entertainment of his successor.
General Banks arrived on Sunday evening, December 14, and
immediately drove to General Butler's residence, where he was re-
ceived with every honor. He had a little billet to deliver, which
explained the object of his presence in Louisiana with a brevity
more than Roman :
"War Department, Adjutant-General's Office,
u Washington, November 9, 1862.
"General Order No. 184.
" By direction of the president of the United States, Major-General Banks
is assigned to the command of the Department of the Gulf, including the
state of Texas. By order of the secretary of war,
"E. D. Thomas, Assistant Adjutant- General.
"H. W. Halleck, General-in-Chief."
On Tuesday, the sixteenth, the two generals met at head-quar-
ters, where General Butler formally surrendered the command of
GOO RECALL.
the department. Each general introduced his staff to the staff
of the other. General Butler pronounced an eulogium upon the
character and career of his successor, and ordered his staff to ex-
tend to him and to his officers every facility in their power for ac-
quiring the requisite information relating to the department. The
Delta, in chronicling the interview, bestowed due commendation
upon the retiring general, but commended General Banks to the
people and to the army with equal warmth. The Delta of the same
day, published the last general order of the retiring commander :
" Head-qttaetees, Depaetment of the Gulf,
" New Oeleans, December 15, 1862.
Geneeal Oedee No. 106.
" Soldiers of the Army of the Gulf :
" Believed from farther duties in this department hy direction of the
president, under date of November 9, 1862, 1 take leave of you by this final
order, it being impossible to visit your scattered outposts, covering hun-
dreds of miles of the frontier of a larger territory than some of the king-
doms of Europe.
" I greet you, my brave comrades, and say farewell !
" This word, endeared as you are by a community of privations, hard-
ships, dangers, victories, successes, military and civil, is the only sorrowful
thought I have.
"You have deserved well of your country. Without a murmur you
sustained an encampment on a sand bar, so desolate that banishment to it,
witli every care and comfort possible, has been the most dreaded punish-
ment inflicted upon your bitterest and most insulting enemies.
"You had so little transportation, that but a handful could advance to
compel submission by the queen city of the rebellion, whilst others waded
breast-deep in the marshes which surround St. Philip, and forced the sur-
render of a fort deemed impregnable to land attack by the most skillful en-
gineers of your country and her enemy.
''At your occupation, order, law, quiet, and peace sprang to this city,
filled with the bravos of all nations, where for a score of years, during the
profoundest peace, human life was scarcely safe at noonday.
" By your discipline you illustrated the best traits of the American soldier,
and enchained the admiration of those that came to scoff.
u Landing with a military chest containing but seventy-five dollars, from
the hoards of a rebel government you have given to your country's treasury
nearly a half million of dollars, and so supplied yourselves with the needs
of your service that your expedition has cost your government less by four-
ji'fJis than any other.
EECALL. 601
" Yon have fed the starving poor, the wives and children of yonr enemies,
so converting enemies into friends, that they have sent their representatives
to your congress, hy a vote greater than your entire numbers, from dis-
tricts in which, when yon entered, you were tauntingly told that there was
' no one to raise your flag.'
" By your practical philanthropy you have won the confidence of the
- oppressed race' and the slave. Hailing you as deliverers, they are ready
to aid you as willing servants, faithful laborers, or, using the tactics taught
them by your enemies, to fight with you in the field.
" By steady attention to the laws of health, you have stayed the pesti-
lence, and, humble instruments in the hands of God, you have demon-
strated the necessity that His creatures should obey His laws, and, reaping
His blessing in this most unhealthy climate, you have preserved your ranks
fuller than those of any other battalions of the same length of service.
" You have met double numbers of the enemy, and defeated him in the
open field ; but I need not farther enlarge upon this topic. You were
sent here to do that.
" I commend you to your commander. You are worthy of his love.
"Farewell, my comrades ! again farewell !
"Bexj. F. Butler,
" Major- General Commanding."
The general immediately prepared for his departure. As he had
received no directions as to his future course, he presumed that the
place for him to retire to was his own home at Lowell. " Having
received no further orders," he wrote to the president, " either to
report to the commander-in-chief, or otherwise, I have taken the
liberty to suppose that I was permitted to return home, my ser-
vices being no longer needed here. I have given Major-General
Banks all the information in my power, and more than he has
asked, in relation to the affairs of this department."
The general's farewell order to his troops called forth many
pleasing proofs of the strength of their attachment to a commander
who, on all occasions, had made their cause his own. Among the
letters of those last days I find one which, I trust, may be printed
without impropriety :
"Lakeport, December 15, 1862.
"Major-General B. F. Butlee:
"Sir: — Last summer you had occasion to reprimand an officer for an
unintentional neglect of duty. Your manner and your words sunk deep into
602 RECALL.
his memory ; and he always wished some opportunity might present Itself
when he could evidence by his actions his full appreciation of your delicate
reproval. I am that officer ; and, in part, the wished-for opportunity came
when I was ordered here. I have tried to do my duty, and feel that I have
done it, because my general, for whose command I raised my company,
who never forgets to censure or to reward, has not reproved me.
" For your kindness to the soldiers you will ever be held in loving re-
membrance ; your past services will be remembered by the country, and be
rewarded.
" Now that you are to leave us, there can be no want of delicacy in my
thus expressing my feelings. I say, good fortune attend you. Good-by,
General ; God bless you !
"I remain, with great regard, yours ever to command,
" John F. Appleton, Captain commanding at LalceporV
On the twenty-third, there was a public leave-taking, when a
great number of officers and citizens gathered round the general to
bid him farewell. For two hours, a continuous procession of his
friends passed by where he stood, and shook him by the hand.
General Banks and his officers were among them. Admiral Farra-
gut was there, with many officers of the fleet.
It seemed good to the general to say a word of farewell to the
people of 'New Orleans. Amid the hurry and bustle of his depar-
ture, he found time to produce a Farewell Address, so grand in its
truth, wisdom, and simplicity, that it must ever be regarded as one
of the noblest utterances of the time, or of any time :
FAKEWELL ADDKESS.
" Citizens of New Orleans : — It may not be inappropriate,
as it is not inopportune in occasion, that there should be addressed
to you a few words at parting, by one whose name is to be here-
after indissolubly connected with your city.
" I shall speak in no bitterness, because I am not conscious of a
single personal animosity. Commanding the Army of the Gulf, I
found you captured, but not surrendered ; conquered, but not or-
derly; relieved from the presence of an army, but incapable of
taking care of yourselves. I restored order, punished crime,
RECALL. 603
opened commerce, brought provisions to your starving people,
reformed your currency, and gave you quiet protection, such as
you had not enjoyed for many years.
" While doing this, my soldiers were subjected to obloquy, re-
proach, and insult.
" And now, speaking to you, who know the truth, I here declare
that whoever has quietly remained about his business, affording
neither aid nor comfort to the enemies of the United States, has
never been interfered with by the soldiers of the United States.
" The men who had assumed to govern you and to defend your
city in arms having fled, some of your women flouted at the pres-
ence of those who came to protect them. By a simple order (No.
28), I called upon every soldier of this army to treat the women of
New Orleans as gentlemen should deal with the sex, with such
effect that I now call upon the just-minded ladies of New Orleans
to say whether they have ever enjoyed so complete protection and
calm quiet for themselves and their families as since the advent of
the United States troops.
" The enemies of my country, unrepentant and implacable, I have
treated with merited severity. I hold that rebellion is treason,
and that treason persisted in is death, and any punishment short of
that due a traitor gives so much clear gain to him from the clem-
ency of the government. Upon this thesis have I administered
the authority of the United States, because of which I am not un-.
conscious of complaint. I do not feel that I have erred in too much
harshness, for that harshness has ever been exhibited to disloyal
enemies to my country, and not to loyal friends. To be sure, I
might have regaled you with the amenities of British civilization,
and yet been within the supposed rules of civilized warfare. You
might have been smoked to death in caverns, as were the Cove-
nanters of Scotland by the command of a general of the royal house
of England ; or roasted, like the inhabitants of Algiers during the
French campaign; your wives and daughters might have been
given over to the ravisher, as were the unfortunate dames of Spain
in the Peninsular war ; or you might have been scalped and torn 3
2ti
604 RECALL.
nawked as our mothers were at Wyoming by the savage allies of
Great Britain in our own Revolution ; your property could have
been turned over to indiscriminate 'loot,' like the palace of the
Emperor of China; works of art which adorned your buildings
might have been sent away, like the paintings of the Vatican ; your
sons might have been blown from the mouths of cannon, like the
Sepoys at Delhi ; and yet all this would have been within the rules
of civilized warfare as practiced by the most polished and the most
hypocritical nations of Europe. For such acts the records of the
doings of some of the inhabitants of your city toward the friends
of the Union, before my coming, were a sufficient provocative and
justification.
" But I have not so conducted. On the contrary, the worst pun-
ishment inflicted, except for criminal acts punishable by every law,
has been banishment with labor to a barren island, where I en-
camped my own soldiers before marching here.
" It is true, I have levied upon the wealthy rebels, and paid out
nearly half a million of dollars to feed 40,000 of the starving poor
of all nations assembled here, made so by this war.
"I saw that this rebellion was a war of the aristocrats against the
middling men — of the rich against the poor ; a war of the land-own-
er against the laborer ; that it was a struggle for the retention of
power in the hands of the few against the many; and I found no
conclusion to it, save in the subjugation of the few and the disin-
thrallment of the many. I, therefore, felt no hesitation in taking the
substance of the wealthy, who had caused the war, to feed the in-
nocent poor, who had suffered by the war. And I shall now leave
you with the proud consciousness that I carry with me the bless-
ings of the humble and loyal, under the roof of the cottage and in
the cabin of the slave, and so am quite content to incur the sneers
of the salon, or the curses of the rich.
" I found you trembling at the terrors of servile insurrection. All
danger of this I have prevented by so treating the slave that he
had no cause to rebel.
"I found the dungeon, the chain, and the lash your only means of
RECALL. 60o
enforcing obedience in your servants. I leave them peaceful, labo-
rious, controlled by the laws of kindness and justice.
" I have demonstrated that the pestilence can be kept from your
borders.
" I have added a million of dollars to your wealth in the form of
new land from the batture of the Mississippi.
"I have cleansed and improved your streets, canals, and public
squares, and opened new avenues to unoccupied land.
M I have given you freedom of elections greater than you have ever
enjoyed before.
" I have caused justice to be administered so impartially that your
own advocates have unanimously complimented the judges of my
appointment.*
"You have seen, therefore, the benefit of the laws and justice of
the government against which you have rebelled.
" Why, then, will you not all return to your allegiance to that
government, — not with lip-service, but with the heart ?
" I conjure you, if you desire ever to see renewed prosperity, giv-
ing business to your streets and wharves — if you hope to see your
city become again the mart of the western world, fed by its rivers
for more than three thousand miles, draining the commerce of a
country greater than the mind of man hath ever conceived — return
to your allegiance.
" If you desire to leave to your children the inheritance you re-
ceived from your fathers — a stable constitutional government ; if
you desire that they should in the future be a portion of the great-
est empire the sun ever shone upon — return to your allegiance.
" There is but one thing that stands in the way.
" There is but one thing that at this hour stands between you and
the government — and that is slavery.
" The institution, cursed of God, which has taken its last refuge
here, in His providence will be rooted out as the tares from the
wheat, although the wheat be torn up with it.
* Upon the retirement of Major Bell from the bench of the provost court, the lawyers and
others wno had attended it presented to the major a valuable cane, accompanying the gift with
expressions of esteem and gratitudo, far more precious than any gift could bo.
606 RECALL.
"I have given much thought to this subject.
" I came among you, by teachings, by habit of mind, by political
position, by social affinity, inclined to sustain your domestic laws,
if by possibility they might be with safety to the Union.
" Months of experience and of observation have forced the con-
viction that the existence of slavery is incompatible with the safety
either of yourselves or of the Union. As the system has gradually
grown to its present huge dimensions, it were best if it could be
gradually removed ; but it is better, far better, that it should be
taken out at once, than that it should longer vitiate the social, po-
litical and family relations of your country. I am speaking with
no philanthropic views as regards the slave, but simply of the
effect of slavery on the master. See for yourselves.
" Look around you and say whether this saddening, deadening
influence has not all but destroyed the very framework of your
society.
" I am speaking the farewell words of one who has shown his
devotion to his country at the peril of his life and fortune, who in
these words can have neither hope nor interest, save the good of
those whom he addresses ; and let me here repeat, with all the
solemnity of an appeal to Heaven to bear me witness, that such
are the views forced upon me by experience.
" Come, then, to the unconditional support of the government.
Take into your own hands your own institutions ; remodel them
according to the laws of nations and of God, and thus attain that
great prosperity assured to you by geographical position, only a
portion of which was heretofore yours."
"Benjamin F. Butler.
" New Orleans, Dec. 21th, 1862."
Where is there a nobler piece than this? Where one more
exactly true? Where one more irrefragably wise? Happy the
land which, at a crisis of public danger, can summon from the walks
of private life a man capable, first, of doing these things, and then of
recording them in a strain of such severe and grand simplicity. So
RECALL. 607
Caesar might have written, when Caesar was a patriot. So Napo-
leon, had Napoleon been the citizen of a free country. But they
did not. The situation was unique, and the piece stands alone,
above and beyond all the writings of the great soldiers of the
world.
Pei haps I may be pardoned for mentioning the effect which its
perusal produced upon one individual, the reader's most humble
and most devoted servant and scribe. He had been for three years
absorbed in writing, or preparing to write, a complete biography
of the greatest of all Yankees, Benjamin Franklin. Upon reading
this farewell address, he was drawn irresistibly to the conclusion
that he must discontinue that fascinating employment for a time,
and endeavor to inform his fellow-citizens how it had come to pass,
that a hunker democrat, the Breckinridge candidate for the gover-
norship of Massachusetts, a voter for Jefferson Davis in the Charles-
ton convention, had become capable, in the course of two years, of
writing General Butler's farewell address to the people of New
Orleans.
Another review of General Butler's administration has seen the
light. It was written by Jefferson Davis, who was so considerate
as to defer its publication until he had every reason to suppose that
the general was on his way home. It was, in fact, published in
Richmond the day before General Butler left New Orleans, so that
he never saw it until his arrival at New York. As every one of
the short sentences in General Butler's address is the simplest
statement of a fact, so each of the paragraphs of Jefferson Davis's
proclamation which relates to General Butler's conduct is the dis-
tinct utterance of a lie.
A PROCLAMATION.
BT THE PRESIDENT OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES.
" "WnEREAS, a communication was addressed on the 6th day of July last,
18G2, by General Eobert E. Lee, acting under the instructions of the secre-
tary of war of the Confederate States of America, to General H. "W. Hal-
leck, commander-in-chief of the United States army, informing the latter
that a report had reached this government that Win. B. Mumford, a citizen
of the Confederate States, had been executed by the United States authori-
ties at New Orleans for having pulled down the United States flag in that
city before its occupation by the United States forces, and calling for a
statement of the facts, with a view of retaliation if such an outrage had
608 RECALL.
really been committed under the sanction of the authorities of the United
States ;
" And whereas (no answer having been received to said letter), another
letter was, on the 2d of August last, 1862, addressed by General Lee, under
my instructions, to General Halleck, renewing the inquiries in relation to
the execution of the said Mumford, with the information that, in the event
of not receiving a reply within fifteen days, it would be assumed that the
fact was true, and was sanctioned by the government of the United States;
"And whereas, an answer, dated on the 7th of August last, 1802, was ad-
dressed to General Lee by General H. "VV. Halleck, the said general-in-chiefof
the armies of the United States, alleging sufficient cause for failure to make
early reply to said letter of the Gth of July, asserting that 'no authentic
information had been received in relation to the execution of Mumford ; but
measures will be immediately taken to ascertain the facts of the alleged ex-
ecution,' and promising that General Lee should be duly informed thereof;
"And whereas, on the 26th of November last, 1862, another letter was
addressed, under my instructions, by Robert Ould, Confederate agent for
the exchange of prisoners, under the cartel between the two governments,
to Lieutenant-Colonel "W. H. Ludlow, agent of the United States under said
cartel, informing him that the explanation promised in the said letter of
General Halleck, of 7th of August last, had not yet been received, and
that if no answer was sent to the government within fifteen days from the
delivery of this last communication, it would be considered that an answer
is declined ;
"And whereas, by a letter dated on the 3d day of the present month of
December, the said Lieutenant-Colonel Ludlow apprised the said Robert
Ould that the above recited communication of the 19th of November had
been received and forwarded to the secretary of war of the United States ;
and whereas, this last delay of fifteen days allowed for answer has elapsed,
and no answer has been received ;
"And whereas, in addition to the tacit admission resulting from the
above refusal to answer, I have received evidence folly establishing the
truth of the fact that the said William B. Mumford, a citizen of the Con-
federacy, was actually and publicly executed, in cold blood, by hanging,
after the occupation of the city of New Orleans by the forces under Gen-
eral Benjamin F. Butler, when said Mumford was an unresisting and non-
combatant captive, and for no offense even alleged to have been committed
by him subsequent to*' the date of the capture of the said city;
" And whereas, the silence of the government of the United States, and
its maintaining of said Butler in high office under its authority for many
months after his commission of an act that can be viewed in no other light
than as a deliberate murder, as well as of numerous other outrages and
atrocities hereafter to be mentioned, afford evidence too conclusive that the
EECALL. 609
said government sanctions the conduct of the said Butler, and is deter-
mined that lie shall remain unpunished for these crimes;
" Now, therefore. I, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States
of America, and in their name, do pronounce and declare the said Benjamin
F. Butler to be a felon, deserving of capital punishment. I do order that
he shall no longer be considered or treated simply as a public enemy of
the Confederate States of America, but as an outlaw and common ene-
my of mankind, and that, in the event of his capture, the officer in com-
mand of the capturing force do cause him to be immediately executed by
hanging.
"And I do farther order that no commissioned officer of the United
States, taken captive, shall be released on parole, before exchanged, until
the said Butler shall have met with due punishment for his crimes.
" And whereas, the hostilities waged against this Confederacy by the
forces of the United States, under the command of said Benjamin F. Butler,
have borne no resemblance to such warfare as is alone permissible by the
rules of international law or the usages of civilization, but have been char-
acterized by repeated atrocities and outrages, among the large number of
which the following may be cited as examples :
" Peaceful and aged citizens, unresisting captives and non-combatants,
have been confined at hard labor, with hard chains attached to their limbs,
and are still so held, in dungeons and fortresses.
"Others have been submitted to a like degrading punishment for selling
medicines to the sick soldiers of the Confederacy.
"The soldiers of the United States have been invited and encouraged in
general orders to insult and outrage the wives, the mothers, and the sisters
of our citizens.
" Helpless women have been torn from their homes, and subjected to sol-
itary confinement, some in fortresses and prisons, and one especially on an
island of barren sand, under a tropical sun ; have been fed with loathsome
rations that have been condemned as unfit for soldiers, and have been ex-
posed to the vilest insults.
" Prisoners of war, who surrendered to the naval forces of the United
States, on agreement that they should be released on parole, have been
seized and kept in close confinement.
" Repeated pretexts have been sought or invented for plundering the
inhabitants of a captured city, by fines levied and collected under threats
of imprisoning recusants at hard labor with ball and chain. The entire
population of New Orleans have been forced to elect between starvation
by the confiscation of all their property and taking an oath against con-
science to bear allegiance to the invader of their country.
" Egress from the city has been refused to those whose fortitude with-
stood the test, and even to lone and aged women, and to helpless children;
610 EECALL.
and, after being ejected from their homes and robbed of their property, they
have been left to starve in the streets or subsist on charity.
"The slaves have been driven from the plantations in the neighborhood
of New Orleans until their owners would consent to share their crops with
the commanding general, his brother, Andrew J. Butler, and other officers ;
and when such consent had been extorted, the slaves have been restored to
the plantations, and there compelled to work under the bayonets of the
guards of United States soldiers. Where that partnership was refused,
armed expeditions have been sent to the plantations to rob them of every-
thing that was susceptible of removal.
" And even slaves, too aged or infirm for work, have, in spite of their
entreaties, been forced from the homes provided by their owners, and driv-
en to wander helpless on the highway.
" By a recent General Order No. 91, the entire property in that part of
Louisiana west of the Mississippi river has been sequestrated for confisca-
tion, and officers have been assigned to duty, with orders to gather up and
collect the personal property, and turn over to the proper officers, upon
their receipts, such of said property as may be required for the use of the
United States army ; to collect together all the other personal property and
bring the same to New Orleans, and cause it to be sold at public auction to
highest bidders — an order which, if executed, condemns to punishment,
by starvation, at least a quarter of a million of human beings, of all ages,
sexes, and conditions, and of which the execution, although forbidden to
military officers by the orders of President Lincoln, is in accordance with
the confiscation law of our enemies, which he has effected to be enforced
through the agency of civil officials.
" And, finally, the African slaves have not only been incited to insurrec-
tion by every license and encouragement, but numbers of them have actu-
ally been armed for a servile war — a war in its nature far exceeding the
horrors and most merciless atrocities of savages.
" And whereas, the officers under command of the said Butler have been,
in many instances, active and zealous agents in the commission of these
crimes, and no instance is known of the refusal of any one of them to par-
ticipate in the outrages above narrated ;
"And whereas, the president of the United States has, by public and
official declarations, signified not only his approval of the effort to excite
servile war within the Confederacy, but his intention to give aid and en-
couragement thereto, if these independent states shall continue to refuse
submission to a foreign power after the 1st day of January next, and has
thus made known that all appeal to the law of nations, the dictates of rea-
son, and the instincts of humanity would be addressed in vain to our ene-
mies, and that they can be deterred from the commission of these crimes
only by the terrors of just retribution ;
RECALL. 611
"Xow, therefore, I, Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States
of America, and acting by their authority, appealing to the Divine Judge
in attestation that their conduct is not guided by the passion of revenge,
but that they reluctantly yield to the solemn duty of redressing, by neces-
sary severity, crimes of which their citizens are the victims, do issue this
my proclamation, and, by virtue of my authority as commander-in-chief of .
the armies of the Confederate States, do order —
" First — That all commissioned officers in the command of said Benjamin
F. Butler be declared not entitled to be considered as soldiers engaged in
honorable warfare, but as robbers and criminals, deserving death ; and that
they and each of them be, whenever captured, reserved for execution.
"Second — That the private soldiers and non-commissioned officers in the
army of said Butler be considered as only the instruments used for the
commission of crimes perpetrated by his orders, and not as free agents ; that
they, therefore, be treated when captured as prisoners of war, with kind-
ness and humanity, and be sent home on the usual parole that they will in
no manner aid or serve the United States in any capacity during the con-
tinuance of this war, unless duly exchanged.
" Third — That all negro slaves captured in arms be at once delivered
over to the executive authorities of the respective states to which they be-
long, to be dealt with according to the law of said states.
" Fourth — That the like orders be issued in all cases with respect to the
commissioned officers of the United States when found serving in company
with said slaves in insurrection against the authorities of the different states
of this Confederacy.
" In testimony whereof, I have signed these presents, and caused the seal
of the Confederate States of America to be affixed thereto, at the city of
."Richmond, on the 23d day of December, in the year of our Lord one thou-
sand eight hundred and sixty-two.
"Jefferson Davis.
" By the President.
"J. P. Benjamin, Secretary of State.''''
All unconscious of this fulraination, General Butler engaged
passage in an unarmed transport. On the morning of his depart-
ure, December 24th, the levee was crowded with a concourse of
people extremely different in their demeanor and their feelings
from the angry and tumultuous throng which howled defiance at
him when he landed on the first of May. He spent his last hour
with Admiral Farragut on board the flag-ship Hartford, endeared
to both of them by glorious recollections. " Admiral Farragut is
one of the men I love," the general frequently remarks. He had
612 RECALL.
given the admiral a salute when the news came of his promotion to
his present nobly- Avon rank in the naval service, and the admiral, in
acknowledging the honor done him, had promised to return the
compliment, with " interest," on the first opportunity. So, amid
the thunder of the Hartford's great guns, mingling with that of
a battery on shore, and the cheers of a great crowd of soldiers
and citizens, the general and his family waved farewell to New
Orleans.
On the voyage home, he passed within six hours sail of the
Alabama — a fact which derives some interest from such paragraphs
as the following :
"Ten Thousand Dollaes Rewaed!— $10,000!— President Davis hav-
ing proclaimed Benjamin F. Butler, of Massachusetts, to be a felon, deser-
ving of capital punishment, for the deliberate murder of Win. B. Mumford,
a citizen of the Confederate States at New Orleans ; and having ordered
that the said Benjamin F. Butler be considered or treated as an outlaw and
comiron enemy of mankind, and that, in the event of his capture, the offi-
cer in command of the capturing force do cause him to be immediately ex-
ecuted by hanging, the undersigned hereby offers a reward of ten thousand
dollars ($10,000) for the capture and delivery of the said Benjamin F. But-
ler, dead or alive, to any proper Confederate authority.
"RicnAED Yeadon.
"Chaeleston, S. C, January 1."
" A daughter of South Carolina writes to the Charleston Courier from
Darlington District :
" ' I propose to spin the thread to make the cord to execute the order of
our noble president, Davis, when old Butler is caught, and my daughter
asks that she may be allowed to adjust it around his neck.' "
After the departure of General Butler from New Orleans, his suc-
cessor gave a fair trial to the policy of conciliation. Its failure was
immediate, complete, and undeniable. "These southern people,"
remarks an English writer who went to New Orleans with Genera!
Banks, "with their oriental civilization and institution, cherish
something of the eastern impression that kindness and conciliation
imply weakness, originating in a fear of inflicting punishment.
They hated Butler and feared him ; now the more foolish sort hope
for a certain amount of impunity to the treason yet latent nmong
them." General Banks was obliged to abandon the attempt to win
AT HOME. 613
the enemies of his country by soft words and lenient measures.
The testimony of notorious and unquestionable facts has shown the
country, that, in so far as General Banks has adopted the policy of
his predecessor, his administration of the Department of the Gulf
has been successful, and that, in so far as he has essentially depart-
ed from that policy, his administration has been a failure. I had
collected a great deal of evidence on this point, but as every wit-
ness tells the same story, and the facts are familiar to most of us,
I will not increase the magnitude of this too portly volume by de-
tailing it. The Iron Hand, and that alone, till slavery is every-
where abolished, will keep down the insolent and remorseless
faction who have brought such woful and wide-spread ruin upon
the southern states. Slavery dead, the bitterness of that faction is
as harmless as a cooing dove. Jefferson Davis, representing free
Mississippi, would be innoxious in the senate itself. To kill
slavery is to extract the poison from the fangs of all those deadly
foes of their country and their kind. Till that is done, there is no
safety but in the iron rule.
CHAPTER XXXHI.
AT HOME.
And why was he recalled from the Department of the Gulf? It
was natural that the general himself should feel some curiosity
upon this subject. His curiosity has not been gratified.
Upon reaching New York, he found a letter from the president,
requesting his presence at Washington. He was received by all
the members of the government with the cordiality and considera-
tion due to his eminent services. He asked the president the rea-
son of his recall, and the president referred him to the secretary of
state and the secretary of war, who, he said, had recommended the
measure. The general then turned to Mr. Stanton. Mr. Stanton
replied, that the reason was one which did not imply, on the part.
C14 AT HOME.
of the government, any want of confidence in his honor as a man,
or in his ability as a commander.
" Well," said the general, " you have now told me what I was
not recalled for. I now ask you to tell me what I was recalled for."
" You and I," answered Mr. Stanton, laughing, " are both law-
yers, and it is of no use you're filing a bill of discovery upon me,
for I sha'n't tell you."
And that is all the explanation which the government has vouch-
safed to him. We are justified, however, in concluding, that ht
was recalled for the purpose of conciliating the French government,
which had expressed disapproval of his course toward the " foreign
neutrals" of Louisiana.
The question then occurs : Has the French government been con-
ciliated ? Has the policy of conciliation been successful ? Has it
done any good to deprive the country of the services of one of its
ablest administrators ? The recent scenes in the harbor of Brest
appear to answer the question.
General Butler's claim to be the senior major-general chanced to
become a subject of conversation at the White House on this oc-
casion. Without having bestowed much thought upon the matter,
he had innocently taken it for granted that a major-general, who
had won his rank and received his commission several weeks before
any other major-general had been appointed, must necessarily be
the senior major-general. " The president," as he afterward re-
marked in the formal statement of his claim, requested by the sec-
retary of war, " has power to do many things ; but it has been said
that even ' an act of parliament could not make one's uncle his aunt.'
How then can the president make a junior officer a senior officer in
the same grade ? I grant that the president can put the junior ia
command of the senior, but it took an act of congress to enable the
president to do that. But there is no act of congress which has or
can settle seniority of rank otherwise than as the almanac, taking
note of the lapse of time, has settled it."
The president said that he knew nothing about the dates of the
several commissions.
" I only know," said he, " that I gave you your commission the
first of anybody."
The board of officers, to whom the question was referred, decided
that the president was not bound by the almanac in dating com-
AT HOME. 615
missions, and could make a junior senior if he pleased. Conse-
quently, General McClellan, General Fremont, General Dix, and
General Banks, all of whom were appointed many weeks after Gen-
eral Butler, take rank before him. This is a small matter, hardly
worth mentioning. It is merely one instance more of the systematic
snubbing with which one of the very few men of first-rate executive
ability in the public service has been rewarded.
In conversing with the president upon the negro question, the
general said that if it was considered necessary to abolitionize the
Avhole army, it was only necessary to give each corps a turn of ser-
vice in the extreme south, where, as General Phelps remarked, the
institution exists "in all its pride and gloom."
It is worthy of note, that the only members of the diplomatic
corps at Washington, who called upon the general, were the Rus-
sian minister and the representative of the free city of Bremen.
The friends and the foes of the United States, also the " neutral"
powers, appear to have an instinctive perception of the fact, that
General Butler is the Union Cause incarnate.
The people, I need not say, gave the returning general a recep-
tion that-left no doubt in his mind that his labors in the southwest
were understood and appreciated by his fellow-citizens. Baltimore,
"Washington, New York, Boston, Lowell, Philadelphia, Harrisburgh,
and Portland, have each received him with every circumstance
which could enhance the dignity or the eclat of an honorable wel-
come.
Or, to use the language of the Richmond Examiner :
" After inflicting innumerable tortures upon an innocent and un-
armed people; after outraging the sensibilities of civilized humanity
by his brutal treatment of women and children ; after placing bayo-
nets in the hands of slaves ; after peculation the most prodigious,
and lies the most infamous, he returns, reeking with crime, to his
own people, and they receive him with acclamations of joy in a
manner that befits him and becomes themselves. Nothing is out
of keeping ; his whole career and its rewards are strictly artistic in
conception and in execution. He was a thief. A sword that he had
stolen from a woman — the niece of the brave Twiggs — was pre-
sented to him as a reward of valor. He had violated the laws of
God and man. The law-makers of the United States voted him
thanks, and the preachers of the Yankee gospel of blood came to
616 AT HOME.
him and worshiped hira. He had broken into the safes and strong
boxes of merchants. The New York Chamber of Commerce gave
him a dinner. He had insulted women. Things in female attire
lavished harlot smiles upon him. He was a murderer, and a nation
of assassins have deified him. He is at this time the representative
man of a people lost to all shame, to all humanity, all honor, all
virtue, all manhood. Cowards by nature, thieves upon principle,
and assassins at heart, it w r ould be marvelous, indeed, if the people
of the North refused to render homage to Benjamin Butler — the
beastliest, bloodiest poltroon and pickpocket the world ever saw."
Or, to borrow the words of the New York World;
" The warm applause with which he was greeted by a great pub-
lic assembly in this Christian city, is a phenomenon as shocking to a
cultivated moral sense as the mode of propagating religion in ages
when the rack and the stake were approved means of grace. This
discreditable applause is a new testimony to the barbarizing effects
of civil war. It exemplifies the rude logic of violent passions,
which, assuming a sacred end for its premises, infers that any
means are justifiable for its attainment."
Or we might quote the comments of the Londo?i Times, since
there is the most perfect accord on this subject between rebels,
peace democrats and foreign neutrals.
Perhaps, however, the reader may incline to the opinion of the
hundred merchants of New York, as expressed in their letter invi-
ting the general to a public dinner :
" They share with you the conviction that there is no middle or
neutral ground between loyalty and treason ; that traitors against
the government forfeit all rights of protection and of property ;
that those who persist in armed rebellion, or aid it less openly but
not less effectively, must be put down and kept down by the strong
hand of power and by the use of all rightful means, and that so far
as may be, the sufferings of the poor and misguided, caused by the
rebellion, should be visited upon the authors of their calamities.
We have seen, with approbation, that in applying these principles,
amidst the peculiar difficulties and embarrassments incident to
your administration in your recent command, you have had the
sagacity to devise, the will to execute, and the courage to enforce
the measures which they demanded, and we rejoice at the suc-
cess which has vindicated the wisdom and the justice of your offi
AT HOME. G17
cial course. In thus congratulating you upon these results, we
believe that we express the feeling of all those who most earn-
estly desire the speedy restoration of the Union in its full integrity
and power."
The public dinner was declined. " I too well know," replied the
general, "the revulsion of feeling with which the soldier in the
field, occupying the trenches, pacing the sentinel's weary path in
the blazing heat, or watching from his cold bivouac the stars shut
out by the drenching cloud, hears of feasting and merry-making at
home by those who ought to bear his hardships with him, and the
bitterness with which he speaks of those who, thus engaged, are
wearing his uniform. Upon the scorching sand, and under the
brain-trying sun of the gulf coast, I have too much shared that
feeling to add one pang, however slight, to the discomfort which
my fellow-soldiers suffer, doing the duties of the camp and field, by
my own act, while separated momentarily from them by the exi-
gencies of the public service."
Not the less did the city of New York respond to the sentiments
of the merchants' letter. The scene at the Academy of Music, on
the evening of the 2d of April, 1863, when General Butler advanced
to the front of the stage, will never be forgotten by the youngest
person who witnessed it. The house was crowded to the remotest
standing-place of the amphitheater. The immense stage was filled
with the citizens of whom New York is proudest. When the gen-
eral appeared, the audience sprang to their feet, and gave, not three
cheers, nor three times three and one cheer more, but a unanimous,
long-sustained roar of cheers, with a universal waving of hats and
handkerchiefs. Several minutes elapsed before silence was restored.
General Butler spoke for two hours, interrupted at every other
sentence with enthusiastic applause. At Boston, in old Faneuil
Hall, he could not escape from the crowd till he had shaken three
thousand hands.
Since the return of General Butler to the North, he has, on all
occasions, public and private, given to the administration a most
hearty and unwavering support. A man less magnanimous, or less
patriotic, would have been tempted to, at least, a silent resentment
at the censure of his conduct implied in his sudden and unexplained
recall, and the repeated refusal of the government to comply with
the desire expressed on so many occasions for his employment in
618 AT HOME.
the cabinet and in the field. On the contrary, he has used the
whole of his influence in sustaining the government.
" The present government," he said, in his speech of April 2d, at
New York, " was not the government of my choice. I did not
vote for it, nor for any part of it ; but it is the government of my
country ; it is the only organ by which I can exert the force of the
country to protect its integrity ; and as long as I believe that gov-
ernment to be honestly administered, I will throw a mantle over any
mistakes that I may think it has made, and support it heartily, with
hand and purse, so help me God ! I have no loyalty to any man
or men. My loyalty is to the government ; and it makes no differ-
ence to me who the people have chosen to administer the govern-
ment. So long as the choice has been constitutionally made, and
the persons so chosen hold their places and powers, I' am a traitor
and a false man if I falter in my support. This is what I under-
stand to be loyalty to a government."
Perhaps a few sentences and paragraphs from General Butler's
recent speeches may be in place here, to indicate his present opin-
ions upon the momentous issues upon which the people are called,
from time to time, to express their judgment.
SLAVEEY.
" I think T may say that the principal members of my staff, and the prom-
inent officers of my regiments, without any exception, went out to New
Orleans hunker democrats of the hunkerest sort; for it was but natural
that I should draw around me those whose views were similar to my own;
and every individual of the number has come to precisely the same belief
on the question of slavery, as I put forth in my farewell address to the peo-
ple of New Orleans. This change came about from seeing what all of them
saw, day by day. In this war the entire property of the South is against
us, because almost the entire property of the South is bound up in that in-
stitution. This is a well-known fact, probably ; but I did not become fully
aware of it until I had spent some time in New Orleans. The South has
$103,000,000 of taxable property in slaves, and $163,000,000 in all other
kinds of property. And this was the cause why the merchants of New
Orleans had not remained loyal. They found themselves ruined — all their
property being loaned upon planters' notes, and mortgages upon plantations
and slaves, all of which property is now worthless. Again I learned, what
I did not know before, that this is not a rebellion against us, but simply a
rebellion to perpetuate power in the hands of a few slave-holders. At first
AT HOME. 619
I did not believe that slavery was the cause of the rebellion, but attributed
it to Davis, Slidell, and others, who had brought it about to make political
triumphs by which to regain their former ascendency. The rebellion is
against the humble and poorer classes ; and there were in the South large
numbers of secret societies dealing in cabalistic signs, organized for the pur-
pose of perpetuating the power of the rich over the poor. It was feared
that these common people would come into power, and that three or four
hundred thousand men could not hold out against eight millions. The first
movement of these men was to make land the basis of political power, and
that was not enough, for land could not be owned by many persons. Then
they annexed land to slaves, and divided the property into movable and
immovable.
"I am not generally accused of being a humanitarian — at least, not by
my southern friends. When I saw the utter demoralization of the people,
resulting from slavery, it struck me that it was an institution which should
be thrust out of the Union. I had, on reading Mrs. Stowe's book — Uncle
Tom's Cabin — believed it to be an overdrawn, highly-wrought picture of
southern life ; but I have seen with my own eyes, and heard with my own
ears, many things which go beyond her book, as much as her book does
beyond an ordinary school-girl's novel. *****
" Yes, no right-minded man could be sent to New Orleans without re-
turning an unconditional anti-slavery man, even though the roof of the
houses were not taken off, and the full extent of the corruption exposed.
"The war can only be successfully prosecuted by the destruction of
slavery, which was made the corner-stone of the confederacy. This is the
second time in the history of the world that a rebellion of property-holders
against the lower classes and against the government was ever carried on.
The Hungarian rebellion was one of that kind, and that failed, as must every
rebellion of men of property against government and against the rights of
the many. One of the greatest arguments which I can find against slavery
is the demoralizing influences it exerts upon the lower white classes, who
were brought into secession by the hundred because they ignorantly sup-
posed that great wrong was to be done them by the Lincoln government,
as they termed it, if the North succeeded. Therefore, if you meet an old
hunker democrat, and send him for sixty days to New Orleans, and he
comes back a hunker still, he is merely incorrigible. There is one thing
about the president's edict of emancipation to which I would call atten-
tion. In Louisiana he had excepted from freedom about eighty-seven
thousand slaves. These comprise all the negroes held in the Lafourche
district, who have been emancipated already for some time under the law
which frees slaves taken in rebellious territory by our armies. Others of
these negroes had been freed by the proclamation of September, which
declared all slaves to be free whose owners should be in arms on the first
C20 AT HOME.
of January. The slaves of Frenchmen were free because the Code Civile
expressly prohibits a Frenchman from holding slaves, and, by the 7th and
8th Victoria, every Englishman holding slaves subjects himself to a pen-
alty of $500 for each. Now, take the negroes of secessionists, French-
men and Englishmen out of the eighty-seven thousand, and the number is
reduced to an infinitesimal portion of those excepted. This fact came to
my knowledge from having required every inhabitant in the city to register
his nationality. After all these names had been fairly registered, I ex-
plained these laws to the English and French consuls, and thus replied to
demands which had been made by English and French residents of Loui-
siana upon the government for slaves alleged to have been seized."*
THE WAE DEBT.
U A question has been a thousand times asked me since I arrived
home, how is this great war debt to be paid ? That speaks to the material
interests. How can we ever be able to pay this war debt ? "Who can pay
it ? Who shall pay it ? Shall we tax the coming generations ? Shall we
overtax ourselves ? For one — and I speak as a citizen to citizens — I think
I can see clearly a way in which this great expense can be paid by those
who ought to pay it, and be borne by those who ought to bear it. Let
us bring the South into subjection to the Union. We have offered them
equality. If they choose it, let them have it. But, at all events, they
must come under the power of the Union. And when once this war ia
closed by that subjugation, if you please, if necessary, then the increased
productions of the great staples of the South, cotton and tobacco — with
which we ought, and can, and shall supply the world — this increased pro-
duction, by the immigration of white men into the South, where labor shall
be honorable as it is here, will pay the debt. With the millions of hogs-
heads of the one, and the millions of bales of the other, and with a
proper internal tax, which shall be paid by England and France, who have
largely caused this mischief, this debt will be paid. Without stopping to
be didactic or to discuss principles here, let us examine this matter for a
moment. They are willing to pay fifty and sixty cents a pound for cotton ;
the past has demonstrated that even by the uneconomical use of slave labor,
it can be profitably raised — ay, profitably beyond all conception of agri-
cultural profit here — at ten cents a pound. A simple impost of ten cents
a pound, which will increase it to twenty cents only, will pay the interest of a
war debt double what it is to-day. And that cotton can be more profitably
raised under free labor than under slave labor, no man who has examined
the subject doubts. By the imposition of this tax those men who fitted
out the Alabama and sent her forth to prey upon our commerce, will be
* Speech at Fifth Avenue Hotel New York, Jan. 8, 1S53.
AT HOME. 621
compelled by the laws of trade and the laws of nations to pay for the mis-
chief they have done. So that when we look around in this country,
which has just begun to put forth her strength, because no country has
ever come to her full strength until her institutions have proved themselves
strong enough to govern the country against the will, even the voluntary
will of the people — when this government, which has now demonstrated
itself to be the strongest government in the world, puts forth her strength
as to men, and when this country of ours, richer and more abundant in its
harvests and in its productions than any other country on earth, puts forth
her riches, we have a strength in men, we have an amount in money, to
battle the world for liberty, and for the freedom to do, in the borders of
the United States and on the continent of America, that which God, when
he sent us forth as a missionary nation, intended we should do. So, allow
me to return your words of congratulation and your words of welcome,
with words of good cheer. Be of good cheer! God gave us this conti-
nent to civilize and to free, as an example to the nations of the earth ; and
if He has struck us in His wrath, because we have halted in our work, let
us begin again and go on, not doubting that we shall have His blessing to the
end. Be, therefore, I say, of good cheer ; there can be no doubt of this
issue. We feel the struggle ; we feel what it costs to carry on this war.
Go with me to Louisiana — go with me to the South, and you shall see
what it costs our enemies to carry on this war ; and you will have no
doubt, as I have none, of the result of this unhappy strife, out of which
the nation shall come stronger, better, purified, North and South — better
than ever before."*
NO DANGER FEOM THE AEMT.
"There never has been any division of sentiment in the army itself.
They have always been for the Union unconditionally, for the government
and the laws at any and all times. And who are this army ? Are they
men different from us? Xot at all. I see some here that have come back
from the army, and are now waiting to recover their health to go back and
join that army. Are they to be any different on the banks of the Potomac
or in the marshes of Louisiana, or struggling with the turbid current of the
Mississippi than they are here? Are our sons, our brothers, to have differ-
ent thoughts and different feelings from us, simply because to-day they
wear blue and to-morrow they wear black, or to-day they wear black and
to-morrow they wear blue ? Not at all. They are from us, they are of us,
they are with us. The same love of liberty, ay, and you will pardon me
for saying it, a little more love for the Union, have caused them to go out
than has actuated those who have stayed behind. The same desire to
* Speech at Boston, Jan. 13, 1853.
622 AT HOME.
see the constitution restored has sent them out that animates us , the same
love of good government, the same faith in this great experiment of free-
dom and free government that actuates us actuates them, and there need be
no trouble, it seems to me, in the mind of any man upon the question of
what is the army to do. There need be no fears. I have seen men, too.
good, virtuous, candid, upright, patriotic men, who seem to feel this great
increase of the army to be somewhat dangerous to our liberties. Is the
army to take away their own liberties ? is the army to destroy their own
country? is the army to do anything that patriotic men won't do? Oh,
no ; they answer with universal accord upon that subject. Then where is
the danger men see ? Why, in the olden time, at the head of large armies,
some ambitious man, some ambitious military leader, gets the control of
the army and destroys the liberty of the country ; but the difficulty is, the
examples of nations in the old world are by no means analogies for this.
No general of the old world ever commanded such an army ; no general of
the old world ever had such a country; no general of the old world ever
had such a government to fight for, to fight with, to fight under, or will
have ever and for ever ; and no general of the old world, no general thus
far on the face of the earth ever was in a country, where, by elevating
his country first, last, and all the time, he might more surely elevate him-
self. But we do not depend upon either the patriotism, or the ability, or
the prudence, or the courage of any one man ; we depend upon the cour-
age, the patriotism, and the intelligence of this half million of men in the
army who know that the plaCe to regulate government affairs is in the bal-
lot-box, and who, as long as they can get matters regulated, and can have
fair play through the ballot-box, will go home and be much more ready to
use the ballot-box than the cartridge-box.
"Therefore, I say to you, sir, let no man have fear on this subject.
There are no better friends of free institutions, there are no more intelli-
gent, no truer men and citizens at home and in peace than in the army of
the United States."*
EECONSTKTTCTION.
" I am not for the Union as it was. I have the honor to say, as a democrat,
and an Andrew Jackson democrat, I am not for the Union to be again as it
was. Understand me, I was for the Union as it was, because I saw, or
thought I saw, the troubles in the future which have burst upon us ; but
having undergone those troubles, having spent all this blood and this
treasure, I do not mean to go back again and be cheek to jole, as I was
before with South Carolina, if I can help it. Mark me now ; let no man
misunderstand me ; and I repeat, lest I may be misunderstood (for there are
none so difficult to understand as those that don't want to) — mark me
* Speech at Boston, April, 1863.
AT HOME. G23
again, 1 say, I do not mean to give up a single inch of the soil of South
Carolina. If I had been living at that time, and had the position, the will,
and the ability, I would have dealt with South Carolina as Jackson did, and
kept her in the Union at all hazards ; but now she has gone out, and I will
take care that when she comes in again she will come in better behaved ;
that she shall no longer be the fire-brand of the Union, ay, that she shall en-
joy what her people never yet enjoyed, the blessings of a republican form
of government. And, therefore, in that view I am not for the reconstruc-
tion of the Union as it was. I have spent treasure and blood enough upon
it, in conjunction with my fellow-citizens, to make it a little better, and I
think we can have a better Union. It was good enough if it had been let
alone. The old house was good enough for me, but the South pulled it
down, and I propose, when we build it up, to build it up with all the
modern improvements. Another one of the logical sequences, it seems to
me, that follow inexorably, and is not to be shunned, from the proposition
that we are dealing with alien enemies, what is our duty with regard to the
confiscation of their property ? And that would seem to me to be very
easy of settlement under the constitution, and without any discussion, if
my first proposition is right. Hasn't it been held from the beginning of the
world down to this day, from the time the Israelites took possession of the
land of Canaan, which they got from alien enemies, hasn't it been held that
the whole of the property of those alien enemies belongs to the conqueror,
and that it has been at his mercy and his clemency what should be done
with it ? And for one, I would take it and give to the loyal man, who was
loyal from the heart, at the South, enough to make him as well as he was
before, and I would take the balance of it and distribute it among the vol-
unteer soldiers who have gone forth in the service of their country; and so
far as I know them, if we should settle South Carolina with them, in the
course of a few years I should be quite willing to receive her back into the
Union."*
ABMING THE KEGEOES.
"If these men are alien enemies, is there any objection that you know of,
and if so state it, to our arming one portion of that foreign country against the
other, while they are fighting us ? Suppose we were at war with England,
who here would get up in New York and say we must not arm the Irish,
lest they should hurt some Englishman? Well, at one time, not very far
gone, all those Englishmen were our grandfathers' brothers. Either they
or we erred ; but we are now separate nations, arising out of the contest.
So again I say, if you will look carefully you will see that there can be no
objection for another reason. There is no law, either of war or of inter-
national law, or law of governmental action that I know of, which prevents
* Speech at New York, April 2, 1868.
624 AT HOME.
a country arming any portion of its citizens or its subjects for the defense
of that portion, or of any other, and they become (if they do not take part
with those rebels) simply our citizens, residing upon our territory, which at
the present hour is usurped by our enemies. At this moment, and in the
waning hour, I do not propose to discuss, more than to hint at these various
subjects. But there is one question that I have been so often asked, that I
want to make an answer to, once for all, and when I have answered it to
everybody, nobody will ask me again, and that is this (and most frequently
am I asked that question by my old democratic friends) : 'Why, General
Butler, what is your experience ? Will the negroes tight V To that I have
to answer, that upon that subject I have no personal experience. I left the
Department of the Gulf before they were fairly brought into action ; but
they did fight under Jackson at Chalmette. More than that, I will bring in
some other man to answer that question. Let Napoleon III. answer it,
who has hired them to do what the veterans of the Crimea can not do — to
whip the Mexicans. I will answer it in another form. Let the veterans
of Napoleon the First, under his brother-in-law, Le Clerc, who were whipped
out of St. Domingo by them, tell whether they will fight or not. I will ask
you to remember it in another form still. What has been the demoral-
izing effect upon them as a race by their contact with the white man, I
know not ; but I can not forget that they and their fathers would not hav»
been slaves except they were captives of war in their own countries, in hand
to hand fights among the several chiefs, and were sold into slavery because
they were captives in war. They would fight at some time, and if you
want to know any more about it, I can only advise you to try them.' 1 *
THE QUESTION BEFORE US.
" No Union man wants to abrogate the old constitution. It is good
enough. The only question is, how can we take back an absconding mem-
ber of the firm under the old articles of agreement." f
It has been mentioned in a previous chapter that, at the time of
the seizure of Mason and Slidell, General Butler was of opinion
that they ought not to be given up. It is proper to record here, that
his more mature opinion, as expressed in his speech of April 2d,
1863, is that " we acted wisely at that time in not getting into
serious trouble with England." At the same time, he avowed the
conviction that the United States ought not to continue to hold
friendly relations with a power in practical alliance with the rebel
* Speech at New York, April 2, 1S63.
t Speech at Harrisburgh, September ,1S63.
SUMMARY. 025
government. He advised a declaration of non-intercourse with
England.
" England told us what to do when we took Mason and Slidell,
and she thought there was a likelihood to be a war. She
stopped exportation of those articles which she thought we
wanted, and which she had allowed to be exported before. Let
us do the same thing. Let us proclaim non-interconrse, so that
no ounce of food from the United States shall ever by any accident
get into an Englishman's mouth until this rebellion ceases. I say
again, let us proclaim non-intercourse, so that no ounce of food shall
by any accident get into an Englishman's mouth until these piracies
are stopped. That we have a right to do ; and when we ever do
do it, my word for it, they will find out where these vessels are
going to, and they will write to the Emperor of China."
CHAPTER XXXV.
SUMMARY.
The speciality of General Butler is this : He is a great achiever.
He is the victorious kind of man. He is that combination of qual-
ities and powers which is most potent in bringing things to pass.
Upon reviewing his life, we find that he has been signally successful
in the undertakings which have seriously tasked his powers.
A good example of his ready adaptation of means to ends, has
just been related to me by one of his legal friends. A wealthy
corporation in New England refused to pay for a bridge, on the
ground that the contractor had been a few days behind the stipu-
lated time in completing it. General Butler was retained on behalf
of the contractor. Aware that he really had no case, though the
delay in finishing the bridge was abundantly excusable, he brought
the cause to the bar of public opinion. In other words, he told
the story to every man and group of men whom chance threw in
his way. He caused endless paragraphs upon the subject to be in-
serted in the newspapers. The bridge was justly commended as a
most admirable piece of work, and remarks were appended upon
626 SUMMARY.
the soullessness of a corporation, which could avail itself of the
letter of a contract to deprive a fellow-citizen of the reward of his
labors. In a word, he enlisted the feelings and the judgment of
the whole community on the side of the contractor, and thus
shamed the corporation into a compromise. You may call this, if
you please, an illegitimate mode of proceeding for a learned advo-
cate. It remains true, nevertheless, that the plan adopted answered
the end proposed, and that the end proposed was justice.
It may be profitable to inquire what is the secret of General
Butler's success.
Brains. That is a great part of the secret. This man has under-
stood the matter. He has been able to grasp the situation at all
times, and to know what the situation required at all times. From
the hour when he shook hands with Jefferson Davis, in December,
1860, to the present moment, he has never been groping in the
dark, or feeling his way to a policy. And his opinion, generally
scouted at the moment, has always been justified by the progress
of events. He was right in getting Massachusetts ready to march.
He took the right road to Washington. He was right in regard-
ing Fortress Monroe as the base against Richmond. The flash of
inspiration which pronounced the negroes contraband of war, was
right. Each step in the progress of his mind upon the negro ques-
tion was right at the time and in the circumstances. That single
suggestion of a board to decide upon the fitness of officers, was
worth all he has received from the government. His order, mak-
ing officers pay for the pillage committed by their men, was another
masterly stroke. Better still, perhaps, it would be to make the
whole regiment responsible — privates as well as officers. At New
Orleans, he was magnificently right, both in theory and in practice.
Every day brought forth some new proof of the fertility of his
mind — of his genius for governing. That policy of isolating, crip-
pling, and destroying the malignants, and of raising in the scale of
being the laboring multitude, white, black, or yellow, is the only
policy which can ever make the country a nation, homogeneous,
united, powerful and free. No man has, no man can, point out an-
other path to permanent reconstruction. To dethrone the false king,
Minority, and to crown in his stead the true king, Majority — that
was the scheme attempted in Louisiana. But one thing is wanting
to its complete success — the total abolition of slavery, which con-
SUMMARY. 02\
stitutes the power of the ruling faction, and keeps in heathenisl
bondage every poor man in the South, whatever his color.
General Butler, on the other hand, is no dreamer or theorizer.
Dreamers and theorizers are good and helpful ; but he is not one
of them. His forte is to devise expedients to meet a new state of
things, or to effect a special purpose. He is singularly happy in
framing a measure, on the spur of the moment, which precisely
answers the end proposed, and works good in many directions not
specially contemplated. His plan for feeding the poor of New
Orleans, for example, besides effecting the main purpose of saving
thousands from starvation, brought home to the authors of their
ruin a part of the ill-consequences of their conduct, and chimed
in with his general policy of suppressing one class and raising
another.
Brains are the great secret. He is endowed with a large,
healthy, active, instructed, experienced brain — Heaven's best gift,
and the medium through which all other good gifts are given.
Courage, will, firmness, nerve — call it what you will — General
Butler has it. He has not been called to face the leaden rain and
iron hail of battle ; but he has exhibited on every occasion the
courage w^hich the occasion required. He has shown a singular
insensibility to the phantoms which play so important a part in
war. He has shown the courage to go forward and meet the
imaginary danger, as well as the real. He has the courage of
opinion — so rare in a republic where public men all want the favor
of the many. He dares accept the remote consequences of a
policy. He dares to take the responsibility. He dares to incur
obloquy. He dares to tell the truth, and all the truth. I venture to
declare, that in the many thousand pages of his writings as an
officer of the government, there is not one intentional misstatement
or unfair suppression. Falsehood is the natural resort of timidity.
A brave man does not lie, and need not.
Honesty. With opportunities of irregular gain, such as no other
man has had since the days of Warren Hastings, his hands are
spotless. He could have made a safe half million by a wink ; and,
if he had done so, he would have come home with a peculiar and
marked reputation for integrity ; because then he would have had
an interest to create such a reputation, and could not have in-
dulged the noble carelessness with regard to his good name which
27
628 SUMMARY.
is the privilege of a man strong in conscious rectitude. The fact
that so able a man is accused of corruption, is itself a kind of proof
of his honesty.
Humor. The happy word is part of the art of governing. There
is apt to be a fund of humor in good victorious men, which enables
them to get the laugh of mankind on their side. Would Lord Palm-
erston ever have been premier of England without his jokes, or Mr.
Lincoln president of the United States unless he had first overspread
acres of prairie mass-meetings with a grin ? The point, humor and
vivacity of General Butler's utterances have been an element of his
success in the service of his country.
Faith. " After our return to the North," says one of the gener-
al's staif, " an ex-mayor of Chicago was introduced to the general at
the St. Nicholas Hotel in New York. It was just at a time when
our cause looked very gloomy. The mayor was evidently much
depressed by the indications of national misfortune, and in a tone
of great despondency asked the general —
** ' Do you believe we shall ever get through this war successfully ?'
" ■ Yes, sir,' the general answered, very decidedly.
" ■ Well, but how ?' asked the mayor.
" ' God knows, I don't ; but I know He does, so I am satisfied,'
the general replied.* I have often heard him reply thus to anxious
questioners.
" ' We ought to march through,' he once said ; ' but we shan't ;
I'm afraid we shall only tumble through. No matter ; we shall
get through somehow.' "
Humanity. The papers relating to our general's military career
teem with evidence that he is a kind, considerate man. He gov-
erned his soldiers strictly, but always so as to promote their best
interests. He was lenient and forgiving toward offenses of inad-
vertence, or such as betrayed only a weakness or infirmity of
nature. He was generous to the poor. He was solicitous to be-
stow honor where it was due. He was ingenious in devising ways
of procuring promotion to deserving officers. He sympathized
with the anxiety of parents for their sons in the army, and assuaged
many a bleeding heart by the kind thoughtfulness with which ill
news was broken to them. *
Courtesy. The etiquette of his position was most punctiliously
* AHnvUc Monthly, July, 1863.
SUMMARY. 629
observed ; not more so toward admirals and general officers than
boy lieutenants and private soldiers. To the enemies of his country-
he could be a roaring lion or a growling bear. The men of his
command and the loyal citizens of his department enjoyed the
satisfaction of knowing that their general was a gentleman. No
littleness toward other commanders ; only gratitude and admiration
for the Farraguts, the Grants, the Rosecranses, the Meades, and all
the other heroes of the war. Consideration, too, for the many able
and well-intentioned men who have been less successful.
Patriotism. No man should be praised for loving his country,
any more than for loving his mother. If the country is lost, we
are all lost. If the country is disgraced, we all hang our heads in
shame. To love one's country is a part of our natural and proper
self-love. But if there is one man who has gone along more en-
tirely than he with his country in this great struggle to preserve
its life ; if there is one man who has taken the great cause more
deeply to heart, or striven with a purer aim to do his part in the
mighty and holy work, he must, indeed, be the very model of a
pure and burning patriot. Let none of us, however, claim for him-
self or for another any pre-eminence in patriotism. In this alone
we are all agreed, that if it takes as long to restore the country as
it took the Spaniards to expel the Moors from Spain (800 years),
the work is to be done. If the treasury is bankrupt, no matter, it
is to be done. If we have to make twenty truces, still it is to be
done. If we pause, it will be only to renew the strife as soon as
we have taken breath.
Brains without courage may be a delusion and a snare. To
have courage without brains is to be a human bull-dog. Brains
and valor without experience in human affairs, without knowledge
of the world and mankind, will often lead a man far astray.
Brains, valor and experience united, still require the honest heart,
the lofty aim. And even all these are ineffective in times like these,
unless there is also an enormous capacity for labor. But when a
man presents himself to view who possesses a fertile genius, cour-
age, knowledge, experience, patriotism and honesty, with a sound-
ness of bodily constitution that gives him the complete use of all his
powers, a country must be rich indeed in able men, if it can afford,
at a time of public danger, to dispense with his services.
APPENDIX.
GENEKAL M. JEFF. THOMPSON".
The following correspondence has recently passed between General But-
ler and General Jeff. Thompson of the Confederate army, now a prisoner
of war. General Thompson was long General Butler's principal adversary
in Louisiana, as he was in command of the largest Confederate force in the
vicinity of New Orleans. General Butler having been kind enough to send
me the letters, as a matter of curiosity, I have taken the liberty to consider
them part of the documents relating to the Department of the Gulf. The
correspondence tends to show that, when the war is over, the people of the
North and the people of the South will be astonished to find what excel-
lent and cordial friends they are, after thirty years of alienation.
general thompson to general butler.
"Depot of Prisoners,
"Johnson's Island, near Sandusky, Ohio,
" September 28, 1863.
" Major-General B. F. Butler, TJ. S. A., Washington, D. 0. :
" General : — About this time last year, the fortunes of war placed in my
hands a Captain Thornton of your command, wounded and a prisoner of
war. You will remember that I sent Captain Thornton on parole back to
New Orleans, in your yacht. I promised Captain Thornton that, if I was
ever captured, I would notify him of my whereabouts, that he might return
the favors which he thought I extended to him.
" I do not think that Captain Thornton is under any obligations to me, as
I simply acted toward him as I have to all gentlemen who have been so
unfortunate as to be captured by me ; but, in conformity with my promise,
I would like to let him know that I am here ; and as I do not know his
address, and understanding at the time that he was a personal friend of
yours, I hope it will not be presuming to request you to forward him this
letter, let me know his address, or otherwise let him know that I am at
this prison, as may be most convenient or agreeable to yourself.
" Yours most respectfully,
"M. Jeff. Thompson, Brigadier- General, M. S. #."
632 APPENDIX.
GENERAL BUTLER TO GENERAL THOMPSON.
" Lowell, Mass., October 6, 1863.
u Brigadier-General M. Jeff. Thompson :
''General: — Your note addressed to me was received to-day. I will
forward it to Captain Thornton, now on Brigadier-General Shepley's staff
at New Orleans, as you request.
" I retain a lively sense of the courtesy and urbanity with which you
conducted operations, when in command, opposed to me in Louisiana, and
desire again, as before, to thank you for your kindness to Captain Thornton
in sending him home wounded, by which kindness I have no doubt his
life was saved.
" Although an outlaw, by the proclamation of those whom you serve, for
acts which no one knows more surely than yourself were untruly reported
and unjustly construed, I will endeavor to have your imprisonment light-
ened, or commuted, if possible.
" I have, therefore, taken the liberty to forward a copy of your communi-
cation to the war department, with a note, of which the inclosed shows the
contents.
" Sympathizing with you that the fortune of war has made you a pris-
oner, yet you will pardon me when I add, that I am glad the enemies of my
country are deprived of the services of so effective an officer.
" Eespectfully, your obedient servant,
"Benj. F. Butlee."
GENERAL BTTTLER TO THE OFFICER COMMANDING AT JOHNSON'S ISLAND.
"Lowell, Mass., October 6, 1863.
" To the Officer Commanding Depot of Prisoners, at Johnson's Island, near
Sandusky, Ohio:
"Sir: — Inclosed please find an unsealed note, to General M. Jeff.
Thompson, now, as I am informed, a prisoner under your charge. If not
inconsistent with the regulations of your depot, please deliver it. You will
read it, if agreeable to you, and will learn therefrom, that General Thomp-
son showed great kindness to wounded officers and soldiers that fell into his
hands ; and I beg leave to bespeak for him all the indulgence and liberty
which can be shown him consistently with your discipline.
"Please inform me if General Thompson is destitute, so that he can not
supply himself with any little comforts that would alleviate and accord with.
his situation.
" Most truly yours,
"Benj. F. Butler."
APPENDIX. 633
GENERAL BUTLER TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR.
" Lowell, Mass., October 6, 1863.
" Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War :
" Sir: — I have the honor to inclose a note, received from Brigadier-Gene-
ral M. Jeff. Thompson, whom I knew in command of the forces imme-
diately opposed to me at Pontchatoula, on the northern side of Lake Pont-
chartrain, when I was in command in the Department of the Gulf. The
original I have sent, as requested, to Captain Thornton, on Brigadier-
General Geo. F. Shepley's staff.
" Captain Thornton, a most valuable, brave, and efficient officer, was griev-
ously wounded, with at least seven bullet holes through his clothes and
various parts of his body, in the attack on Pontchatoula in September of
last year, under the command of the late lamented Major-General Strong,
then my chief of staff. Captain Thornton was left in the hands of the
enemy, and received of General Thompson every care and kindness, and, at
my request, was sent to New Orleans upon his parole. This courteous
consideration on the part of General Thompson, I have no doubt, enabled
us, with the blessing of heaven, to save Captain Thornton's valuable life.
General Thompson is now a prisoner at Johnson's Island, near Sandusky,
Ohio. If not inconsistent with public service, I most earnestly ask that
General Thompson may be released upon his parole.
u "While I can testify to the uniform urbanity and courtesy with which
all the operations of General Thompson were conducted, I am most de-
cidedly of opinion that the kindness which he showed to Captain Thorn-
ton alone should entitle him to every possible consideration. That kindness
was not alone given to the officers, but the wounded men spoke of his
treatment with the utmost gratitude.
" I found him a troublesome enemy enough, but his humanity, which
was in contrast with the conduct of General Taylor, leads me to ask this
favor for him at the hands of the government.
" As I am not much in the habit of asking leniency for rebels, I trust the
war department will take it as a guaranty that this is a proper case for the
extension of every indulgence.
u I am, most respectfully, your obedient servant,
"Benj. F. Butler, Major- General U. 8. Vols."
general thompson to general butler.
"Depot of Prisoners of "War,
" Johnson's Island, near Sandusky, Ohio,
« October 12, 1863.
"Major-General B. F. Butler, U. S. Vols., Lowell, Mass. :
" General :— Your kind letter of the 6th inst. was received on the 10th,
but a violent headache has prevented me from answering it until now.
634 APPENDIX.
" I am very much obliged to you for the interest you take in my welfare,
and thank you for your unsolicited and nattering application to the United
States war department in my behalf, and I am also grateful for the compli-
mentary manner in which you speak of my conduct as an officer.
" Should the United States war department prefer to ' parole' me, I will
cheerfully accept it, not so much for the restricted liberty that it will give,
as for the purpose of showing to the people of both governments that the
stories that have been told about my being a guerilla, etc., are false ;
and that, with all the eccentricities and peculiarities that have been im-
puted to me, I have not forgotten to be a gentleman ; and also that
Captain Thornton and various other officers, who are under the impression
that they are under obligations to me for similar favors, may feel that their
government has shown a disposition to reciprocate for them.
u You say that no one more surely than myself knows that the acts for
which my government blames you were untruly reported and unjustly
construed. What your intentions were when you issued the ' order' which
brought so much censure upon yourself, I, of course, can not tell, but I can
testify, and do with pleasure, that nearly all of the many persons who
passed through my lines, to and from New Orleans, during the months of
August and September, 1862, spoke favorably of the treatment they had
received from you, and with all my inquiries, which were constant, I did
not hear of one single instance of a lady being insulted by your command.
" Thanking you again for your kindness and compliments, and hoping
that your government will soon conclude to ' let us alone,'
" I am, most respectfully, your obedient servant,
"M. Jeff. Thompson, Brigadier- General, M. S. G."
The following letter from General Thompson to his sister, recently pub-
lished in the newspapers, shows that General Butler's efforts in his behalf
have not been fruitless.
interesting from jeff. to his sister — what he says about things
generally. %
"Johnson's Island, near Sandusky, Ohio,
'•Sunday, Oct. 11, 1863.
" Dear Sister : — I know you will be astonished at an article which ap-
peared in the St. Louis Republican of the 7th inst. about me, and in which
the writer speaks of letters written by me to General Grant about Emma.
Of course, everybody in St. Joseph will know how false this report is ; but
still I feel grieved that any man should exist who is mean enough to write
such an article. All know that at the beginning of the war Emma was at
the asylum, and that, as soon as I heard that she was well, I sent Colonel
Chappell to Cairo, to endeavor to get her sent down to me, and that, as soon
as permits were granted to any one, she came down to me. I simply re-
APPENDIX. 635
mind you of these facts for fear some person who is not acquainted with me
may believe the slander, and that you can show them the falsity.
" I am to be offered my parole, in consideration of the courtesy and kind-
ness which I have universally shown to all my enemies, and I may accept
it, not that I care about the ' restricted liberty' that it will give, but it will
show to my friends and enemies (I mean personal) that the stories that
have been told about me are false, and that I have always conducted my-
self, especially to those who were so unfortunate as to be taken prisoners
(and more especially so when wounded), as a soldier and a gentleman. I
can assure you, dear sister, that, when the truth shall be told, you will never
hear anything of me of which you need be ashamed, although you will
probably be often mortified by reports, anecdotes, and stories that may be
told upon me. I have hung and shot my own men for disobeying me, and
I will do it again ; but the citizens where I have commanded have never
been troubled by my troops or by my orders, and many Union men were
and are in my district who can testify to this fact. You would be very
proud to see some letters that I have received from prominent Union men
and federal generals since I have been a prisoner. I am writing thus for
fear I may not have time to write again before I leave, as, should the parole
arrive and I accept it, I will immediately start to Kichmond or to Canada.
*******
"I have authority to draw on George D. Prentice, of Louisville, or
Major-General Benj. F. Butler, for what money I want ; but should I not
accept the parole, I will prefer to trust to my old personal friendship for
little dribs until I am exchanged.
" You will hear through the newspapers whether I go to Canada or the
Confederacy ; for I would be fearful to accept the parole for the United
States, as I would quarrel with half the men I met.
" Farewell, dear sister ; I may not have time to write again before I may
again be on the war path, and then my life is always in danger. * * *
" Your affectionate brother,
"M. Jeff. Thompson."
97*
INDEX
Adams, General, allusion to, 69.
Adams, John, quoted upon religious contro-
versy, 23.
Algiers. La., McClelian upon, 193 ; troops posted
at. 283.
Allvn, Lieutenant W. B., distinguished at Ba-
ton Eouge, 571, 573.
Alston, Colonel Augustus, his duel with Reed,
260.
Alston, Mrs. A., attending her husband at duel,
2(50.
Alston, Willis, kills Eeed, 261 ; his trial. 261 ;
death, 262.
Ames, Major, bears dispatches for Governor
Andrew, 94.
Anderson, General Robert, at Sumter, 64 ; allu-
sion to, 232; redressed by Butler, 431 ; Cocks
to, 542.
Andrew, Governor, advised to prepare for war,
65; adopts Butlers suggestions, 66; appoints
Butler brigadier, 69 ; addresses Sixth Regi-
ment, 69 ; Butler to, from Philadelphia, 71 :
his letter to Butler, on the insurrection ques-
tion, 94; recruiting controversy with Butler;
179-1S4, 186.
Andrew, John, story of, 538.
Andrews, John W., committed to Ship Island,
442.
Andrews, private George, distinguished at Ba-
ton Kouge, 573.
Annapolis," General Butler to and at, 75.
Appleton, Captain John F., commended, 585;
to Butler, 601.
Appleton, Nathan, surveys the site of Lowell, 16.
Arkansas, ram, threatens New Orleans and Ba-
ton Rouge, 565 ; blown up, 565.
Arnold. Rev. Thomas, allusion to, 18.
Astor Place riot, effects of, 257.
Atlantic Monthly, quoted upon Pass Office at
New Orleans, 487 ; anecdote from, 628.
Autographs, Butler gives, 590.
Avendano Brothers, case of, 3S9.
Avery, Mr., in Charleston Convention, 49.
Bache, Dr. Thomas H., on staff of Butler, 212.
Bachc, Professor, details Gerdes to survey Mis-
sissippi, 266.
Bacon, Captain D., distinguished at Baton
Rouge, 573.
Bailey, Captain Theodoras, at conference on
Ship Island. 210 ; runs by the forts, 238, 241 ;
lands in New Orleans, 269; interview with
Mayor and Lovell, 270 to 272.
Baker, Colonel, saves Butler in the senate, 153;
recalled from Fortress Monroe, 167, 16S; But-
ler to, 175.
Bailer, Sergeant, distinguished at Baton Eouge,
573.
Baltimore, chapter on, 100; condition in April,
1861,102; women insult Union soldiers 324.
Banks, General N. P., his rank, 120; succeeds
Butler at New Orleans. 597, 599; his policy,
612.
Bank of Kentucky, affair of, 428, 430.
Banks of New Orleans, dealings of Butler with,
414-431.
Barker, Jacob, allusion to, 174 ; lends money to
Bntler, 409.
Bartlett, Captain A. W., with Eighth Regiment,
74.
Batchelor. private H. T., distinguished at Baton
Rouge. 572.
Beauregard, General P. G. T., number of his
troops at Bull Run, 190; builds forts below-
New Orleans, 221 : troops from New Orleans
join, 264; cheered at New Orleans, 281, 343;
engineer of Custom House, 2S1; hisbells, 233.
Bates, Moses, Butler to, on convicts' children,
534.
Baton Rouge, McClelian upon, 194 ; visited bv
Butler, 43S, 440: battle of, 403; taken. 651;
battle of, 565.
Beauregard, Mrs., Butler's courtesy to. 345.
Beck, Quarter-master James, his fortitude. 242.
Bee, New Orleans, The, comments upon But-
ler's first measures, 300 ; allusion to, 829.
Bell, Captain John, reconnoiters forts. 227;
runs by the forts, 289, 241; hoists United
States flag on Custom-House and Mint of New
Orleans, 277, 278, 281.
Bell, John, New Orleans votes for, in 1S00, 253.
Bell, Major Joseph M., anecdote of, 41 ; joins
staff of Butler, 1S9 ; on the voyage to Ship Is-
land, 204, 206, 207 ; announced, 212 ; views
the running by the forts, 246; demands St.
Charles's Hotel, 284; avoided by his old
friends at New Orleans, 2S4; appointed pro-
vost-judge of New Orleans, 297; purity of
his character, 412 ; decides for Durand. 428 ;
his valuable services in provost court, 432,
532; on Lafourche commission, 582; compli-
mented on his retirement f . om provost court,
585, 602.
Bellows, Dr. Henry "W., his opinion of Yan-
kees, 15.
Belly, Mr., his testimony on Confederate loan,
380.
Benachi, M. W., Butler to, on the sugar, 3S5;
to Butler, on the oath, 456.
Bendix, Colonel John E., at battle of Great
Bethel, 143, 145.
Benjamin, J. P., signs Davis's proclamation,
611.
638
INDEX.
Benjamin, Mr., takes oath of allegiance, 440.
Bennington, battle of, incident, 13.
Bickmore, Major, distinguished at Baton Rouge,
573.
Biloxi, Miss., newspapers brought from, 209 ;
expeditions to, 213, 215.
Birge, Colonel, commended, 5S5.
Black, Mr., Butlers advice to, 63, 64.
Blackman, private A., distinguished at Baton
Kouge, 573.
Blair, Montgomery, Butler to, on battle of Bull
Run, 167 ; "approves Butler's course, 593.
Blake, Captain, his alarm at Annapolis, 77; his
interview with Colonel Butler, 79 ; with Gen-
eral Butler, 80.
Blasco de Garay, the Confederate coin shipped
in, 3S0; conveys illicit passengers from New
Orleans, 394 ; case of. 406.
Boardman, Captain F., with Eighth Regiment,
74.
Boggs, Captain Charles, assists Butler at Port
Royal, 207; his gallantry in the battle above
the forts, 243; sent to Butler, 245, 248, 249;
returns with him, 250.
Bombardment of forts below New Orleans, 185,
227, 229 ; results of, 250.
Bonaparte, Louis, allusions to, 50, 283.
Bonaparte, Napoleon, allusions to, 101, 290.
Bonnell, Mr., with Winthrop, 92.
Boston Courier, The, upon the woman order, 343.
Bouligny, Mr., runs for Congress, 527.
Boutelle, Captain, assists Butler at Port Royal,
207.
Bovington, Sergeant John A., distinguished at
Baton Rouge, 572.
Brady, James T., compared with Soule, 290.
Bragg, General Braxton, allusion to, 520.
Breckinridge, John C, in Charleston Conven-
tion, 49 ; "his platform in 1S60, 56; pledged to
the Union, 57; endeavors to prevent civil
war, 60 ; project to place him in the White
House. 65; his vote in New Orleans in 1860,
253; allusion to, 436; at battle of Baton Rouge,
565, 566.
Breed, Bowman G., with Eighth Regiment, 74.
Briggs, Captain Henry S., joins Eighth Regi-
ment, 70, 72.
British Guard, vote to send their arms to Beau-
regard, 278 ; consequences of the measure, 357.
Britton, Barkley, his guns, 209.
Broderick, Mr., died in arms of Colonel Butler,
69.
Brooklyn, the, protected by chain armor, 225 ;
runs by the forts, 23S, 242.
Brooks, Sergeant, distinguished at Baton Rouge,
572.
Brown, Colonel E. M., detailed to edit Delta in
New Orleans, 312, 435.
Brown, John, Butler's speech upon, 42; hon-
ored by Phelps, 164; Leacock upon, 47S; al-
lusion to, 500.
Brown, Lieutenant, distinguished at Baton
Rouge, 570, 572.
Brown, Mayor, inactive against mob, 103; his
note to Butler, 112.
Bruce, Lieutenant F., distinguished at Baton
Rouge, 573.
Buchanan, James, his terrors, 41 ; rejects But-
ler's scheme, 64.
Buchanan, Lieutenant McKean, at Ship Island,
197.
Bull Run, battle of, 167, 189.
Burns, Sergeant, helps Mumford tear down flag,
275.
Burr, Aaron, allusion to, 63, 292, 526.
Business in New Orleans, 407, 436.
Butler, Andrew Jackson, why so named, 14 ; his
boyhood, 16; serves as volunteer aide, 69;
makes purchases at Philadelphia, 71 ; goes
ashore at Annapolis, 76,79; buys horses for
Fortress Monroe, 137; assists to equip New
Orleans expedition, 189; brings cattle from
Texas to New Orleans, 303; calumnies respect-
ing, 411; allusion to, 6S4; denounced by
Davis, 610.
Butler, Captain John, his career and politics,
13.14,17.
Butler, Lieutenant, at battle of Great Bethel,
143.
Butler, General Benjamin F., his lineage. 13;
birth and childhood, 15; education, 16; at
college, 19; chooses profession, 23; voyage to
Labrador, 23 ; studies law, 24 ; joins mifitia,24 ;
anecdotes of his early career at the bar, 25, 26,
27 ; character as a lawyer, 28; debate with Mr.
Lord, 31 ; anecdote of his legal legerdemain, 32,
the scurvy case, 33; his success at the bar. 34 ,-
examiner at West Point, 35; his state politics ;
36; supports the ten hour law, 36; in tho
legislature, 38; his national politics, 38, 39,42;
calls on Sumner, 42; his John Brown speech,
42; his course in the Charleston Covention,
45; votes for Jeiferson Davis, 55; supports
Breckinridge, 55, 56; hooted at Lowell, 57;
defends his course. 53; runs for governor. 59 ;
at Washington, in December, 1S60, 60; his ad-
vice to Black, 63; advises Wilson to warn
Governor Andrew, 65; his own advice to the
governor, 66; sends flag to General Dix, 67
assists the departure of the troops, 67 ; or
dered to take command, 69 ; starts for Wash-
ington, 70; at Philadelphia,!!) ; determines to
go" by Annapolis, 71; the journey to Havre
de Grace, 73; at Annapolis, 76; interview
with Lieutenant Matthews, 77, 78; replies to
Governor Hicks and Captain Miller. So ; res-
cues the Constitution, SO; interview with
Governor Hicks, 82; order of the day at An-
napolis, 83; Lefferts refuses to join him, S5;
seizes railroad, 86; offers to suppress insur-
rection in Maryland, 89 ; letter to Governor
Hicks, 90 ; orders for the march. 91 ; placed
in command at Annapolis, 93 ; letter to Gov-
ernor Andrew, 94 ; confers with Scott upon
Baltimore, 105; at Relay House, 106; takes
Baltimore, 111; explores Federal Hill. 112;
proclamation at Baltimore, 113; dines at Gil-
more House, 115; rebuked by Scott, 116;
prepares to try Winans, 116; recalled from
Baltimore, 117; offered major-generalship,
117: speech at Washington, 117; interview
with Scott, 119; at Fortress Monroe, 122;
first measures there, 123; interview with
Carey, on contrabands, 127 ; his letters to Scott,
on his operations and plans, 129, 133; inter-
view with old gentleman, 131 ; no horses at
the Fortress, 137 ; letter to, upon his position
at Fortress Monroe, 138; battle of Great
Bethel, 139; his letter to Mrs. Winthrop, 150;
censured for Bethel, 152. 153 ; correspondence
with Magruder, 153, 154; suggests examining
board, 155; war upon drinking, 157-159;
correspondence with Stead. 161; forbids pil-
lage, 162: visited by Russell, 1S3; to Blair, «n
INDEX.
639
the battle of Bull Run, 167; troops ordered
away, 167 ; procures promotion for Phelps,
16S; to Cameron, on contrabands, 163; to
Tappan, on same. 173; Southern biography of,
174; to Baker, asking advice, 175; recalled
from Fortress Monroe. 175: receives appoint-
ment from Wool, 177; commands Hatteras
expedition, 177; recruits in New England,
171"; collision with Andrew, ISO to 184; re-
commends Ship Island. 1S5; sends troops
thither, 1S5; his opinion upon the Mason and
Slidell affair, 1S6; letter to Colonel Wheldon,
on supporting families of his troops, 1S7; his
staff, 18S; testifies before war committee,
1S9; urges New Orleans project, 191 ; placed
over Department of the Gulf. 192; leaves
"Washington. 194: his remarks upon Phelps's
proclamation. 201 ; his voyage to Ship Island,
203-208 ; arrives at Ship Island 203 ; con-
sults with Farragut, 210; embarks troops,
211; sends expedition to Biloxi, 215; com-
mends Blloxi troops, 213; meditates descent
upon Pensacola, 219 ; semis coal and medicines
to the fleet, 224 ; readies mouth of the Mis-
sissippi, 232; reaches the fleet, 233; views the
running bv. 239. 246; conducts troops to rear
of St. Philip, 243; goes to the fleet before
Sew Orleans, 250 ; reaches fleet, and advises
threat of bombardment, 276; orders troops
to the city, 277; his feeling toward the rebel-
lion. 273; lands in New Orleans, 230: first
measures, 232; interview with the mayor,
2?5; orders Summers to Custom-House, 238;
conducts Mrs. Butler to the St. Charles, 2S9;
mode of treating abusive letters, 290; inter-
view with mayor and council, 290-297: his
person and manner described. 291 ; reply to
Soule, 295; consents to withdraw the troops
from New Orleans. 293; feeds and employs
the poor. 300; rebukes mayor and council.
804,305; to Shepley, on cleaning the streets.
307; taxes rich for support of poor, 309-
312; to Stanton, defending poor tax, 316; sup-
Rorts charities of New Orleans, 320; to Santa
laria Clara, 320; to Halleck, on poor in
New Orleans. 321; repeats poor tax, 322;
basis of his policy in New Orleans, 323; for-
bids Davis's fast, 323 ; issues woman order,
327; to mayor and council, on French fleet,
829: deposes and commits mayor, 331-335;
to the mayor, on the woman order, 833 ; ar-
rests Soufe, 33S; defends woman order, 342;
his courtesy to Mrs. Slocomb, 344; to Mrs.
Beauregard!! 345 ; orders execution of Mum-
ford, 346; orders execution of six paroled
prisoners, 347; correspondence with Rosier
and Durant, upon, 849 ; reprieves them, 351 ;
interview with Mercer upon Mumford, 351 ;
compared with Seward, 355; banishes the
British guard. 357; ignores Coppell, 359; re-
plies to Heidsicek, 360; seizes silver from
Conturie. 365 to 377: receives Reverdy John-
son, 371; detects French consul, 373-332;
defends seizure of the sugar. 383; defends
seizure of Kennedy «fc Co's bill, 3S6; explains
case of Avendano Brothers, 339 ; his measures
against yellow fever, 893-406 ; his efforts
to revive business, 407; buys sugar for bal-
last. 408; sends cotton home. 409 ; calumnies
against, 409; failed to get cotton, 413; re-
stores currency of New Orleans. 414; affairs
with the banks of New Orleans, 413-431 ;
redresses Union men in New Orleans, 431;
engraves Union motto on Jackson's statue,
432 ; seizes Delta, 435; reforms public schools,
435; visits Baton Rouge, 440 ; commits Mrs.
Philips, Andrews, and Keller, 441, 442; con-
founds Wright. 443; detects and hangs four
robbers, 445-44S; issues oath order, 450;
correspondence with consuls on same. 454-
459; disarms New Orleans, 463; to French
consul, on same, 464; confiscates Twiggs and
Slidell, 467; prepares for confiscation act,
461,409: to Seward, on Fago case. 470; or-
ders register of property, 473; Jeff Thomp-
son to,"474; replies to Mercer, 475; confis-
cates dividends, 476; Leacock to, on his ser-
mon, 479; on the oath, 481; banishes the
clergymen, 4S4; pressure upon, for passes,
435,436; his course upon negro question in
New Orleans, 491; correspondence with
Phelps, upon, 497 ; to Stanton, on Phelps,
504; raises regiments of free colored men,
517; to Weitzel, on same, 51 S; works aban-
doned plantations, 522; his contract with the
planters, 523 ; proposes to free slaves of for-
eigners, 529-531; negro anecdotes related
by and of, 532; to Bates, on convicts' children,
534; reviews regiment at reception of colors,
535; delivers Jeff, 536; John Andrew, 539;
protects Pugh's negroes, 541 ; supplies wants
of Cock's daughter, 543; punishes Landry,
547; his change of opinion u;>on slavery, 549;
bis military operations, 551; governing the
troops, 555; his war upon guerillas ,"559-
565; upon battle at Baton Rouge. 566: se-
questers Lafourche, 581; in his office, 5S7;
recall from New Orleans, 593-599; pro-
poses to roof Custom-House, 594; sends Hill to
Havana, 594; his popularity in New Orleans,
595; to Lincoln, on his recall, 597; receives
Banks, 599; his farewell order, 600; Appleton
to, 601; his farewell address, 602; proclaimed
a felon by Davis. 607; reward offered for kill-
ing him, 612; leaves New Orleans, 612; at
Washington, 614: reception by the people,
615-617; his recent speeches, 613-625;
remarks upon his character, 625.
Butler, Captain Zephaniah, fought under
Wolfe, 13.
Butler. Mrs. Mere, her lineage, 13; left a widow,
14; educates her boy, 16-18.
Butler, Mrs. Sarah, allusion to, 35; at Fortress
Monroe, 149 ; Mrs. Johnson to, 152; enter-
tains Russell. 164 ; starts for New Orleans, 194 ;
on the voyage, 205, 206; elothes little girl at
Ship Island, 213 : arrives at the St, Charles, in
New Orleans, 2S9 ; allusion to, 291.
Burrows. Captain, ordered to leave New Or-
leans, 357, 359.
Byain, Major, takes oath of allegiance, 440.
Cable, the, described, 221 ; cut, 235, 236.
Cadwallader, General, succeeds Butler at Bal-
timore, 117.
Cahill, Colonel T. W., in Biloxi expedition,
215; appointed on jail commission, 529; dis-
tinguished at Baton Rouge, 571.
Caldwell, Captain, cuts the cable, 285.
Calhoun. John C, conversation with Stewart,
89 ; allusion to, 60, 266.
Callijon. Senor Juan, in case of the Cardenas,
404, 405 ; to Butler, on the oath, 456.
Cameron, Simon, orders troops from Massa-
chusetts, 68, 69; ignorant of military matters,
102; Butler to, on Winans, 116; approves
Butlers taking Baltimore, 117 ; correspond-
ence with Butler on contrabands, 168-173;
authorizes Butler to recruit in New England,
179, 1S1, 183; retires from office, 1S9.
Camp Parapet, negroes at, 496.
Cardenas, the, case of, 400, 402.
Carey, Major J. N., interview with Butler,
127.
Carlyle, Thomas, quoted upon criticism, 18 ;
upon impressment of seamen, 221.
Carr. Colonel, at Great Bethel, 146.
C arney, James G., procures loan from his bank
to help off troops, 68.
Carroll family, Butler proposes to arrest
members of, 107.
Carrollton, Louisiana, visited by Farragut, 273;
Phelps in command at, 298.
Carter, vidette, exchanged, 154, 155.
Catinet, the, at New Orleans, 330.
Cavaroc, C, his notice to depositors, 418.
Cayu«a, the, runs by the forts, 238, 241, 245.
Center, Captain A., with Eighth Regiment, 74.
Ceres, the, in expedition against Ponchatoula,
577.
Cilley, Colonel, at battle of Bennington, 13.
Cilley, Mr., shot in duel, 13.
Citizens 1 Bank of New Orleans, its silver
seized, 364 — 376; its correspondence with
Butler, on Confederate property, 427.
Chase, Salmon P., calls Butler the cheapest of
generals, 309, 409 ; receives Confederate
money from New Orleans, 431; approves
Butler's course, 593.
Chalmette, batteries at, reduced, 268.
Charity Hospital of New Orleans, scene in, 259 ;
aided by Butler, 312.
Charleston Convention, General Butler in, 45.
Chatham, Lord, quoted, 127.
Chessman, Lieutenant, distinguished at Baton
Rouge. 573.
Cheever, Sergeant, distinguished at Baton
Rouge, 571, 573.
Choate, Bufus, in the scurvy case, 33 ; anec-
dote of, 41.
Churchill, C. C, serves at Fortress Monroe, 177.
Clara, Santa Maria, Butler to, on bombardment
of Donaldsonville, 321.
Clarke, Captain C. E., distinguished at Baton
Rouge, 572.
Clark, Captain John, in Biloxi expedition, 215,
216; distributes food among poor, 306 ; de-
tailed to edit Delta, 312, 435; commended
585.
Clarke, Lieutenant H. C, on staff of Butler, 212.
Clary, W. M., executed, 447, 449.
Clifton, the, in the running by the forts, 238.
Clogston, private, distinguished at Baton Rouge,
573.
Clouet, Captain de, remonstrates against bom-
bardment of New Orleans, 276.
Cocks, John G., his property seized in New
Orleans, 431 ; his letter to Anderson, 542 ; his
brutal incest, 543.
Conant, Captain, in Biloxi expedition, 215;
wounded, 216; arrests Soule, 338.
Confiscation act enforced in Louisiana, 467.
Connecticut, the, fired at, 402.
Constitution, frigate, rescued by Eighth Massa-
chusetts, 80.
Constitution, the transport, voj
Island, 197.
Consuls in New Orleans, for secession, 254; call
on Butler, 298; protest against poor tax, 313;
Butler's argument upon, 314; their import-
ance in New Orleans, 354; protest against
seizure of silver, 368 ; against the seizure of
the sugar, 3S2 ; Butler to, 3S3.
Continental Monthly, quoted upon survey of
the Mississippi, 227.
Contrabands, the, at Fortress Monroe, 126, 129.
130; letters upon, of Butler and Cameron^
168-173; serve on Hatteras expedition, 178.
Conturie, Amedie, silver seized from, 365-
377.
Convicts' children in Louisiana, 534.
Cook's battery, at Relay House, 106.
Coppell, George, protests against banishment
of British Guard, 357; ignored by Butler,
859; Butler to, on the sugar, 3S5; supposed
author of consul's letter, 456; correspondence
with Butler on the oath, 460; approves free-
ins of foreigners' slaves, 531 ; complains of
John Andrew, 539.
Cordin, Captain, distinguished at Baton Rouge,
570.
Carruth, Lieutenant, distinguished at Baton
Rouge, 570.
Cotman, Dr., declines to run for Congress, 526.
Cotton, burnt at New Orleans, 265; Moore
urges planters to burn, 266 ; Lovell approves
burning, 271; forbidden to be brought to
New Orleans, 315; oh what terms exported
bv Confederates, 815; sent home by Butler,
4l0, 413.
Cotton kingdom, the, its morality, 257-263.
Covas, Mr., seizure of fcis sugar, 383.
Crage, G. W., executed, 447, 449.
Craven, Captain, in the running by the forts,
241.
Creasey, George, advocate of Eighth Regiment,
74.
Currency of New Orleans, mayor offers to re-
deem Confederate notes, 269; Confederate
notes permitted to circulate, 294; Butler's
measures to restore, 414-431.
Curtis, George W., quoted upon "Winthrop, 149,
150.
Cushing, Caleb, in Charleston convention, 45.
Cushing, Lieutenant J. W., on staff of Butler,
212.
Custom-House of New Orleans, Farragut orders
United States flag upon, 270, 272 ; flag hoisted
upon, 278 ; United States troops enter, 280.
Cut-off, suggested by Butler, 554.
Cyprien's Canal, troops stationed near, 251.
Davis, Captain, bears flag of truce, 154.
Davis, Captain R. S., on voyage to Ship Island,
205; announced, 212; in Biloxi expedition,
215; in affair of Wright. 444; Phelps to,
on the negroes, 498, 505-507; commended,
5S5.
Davis. Jefferson, his opinion of Yankees, 15;
voted for by Butler at Charleston, 55; visited
by Butler at Washington, 62; cheered at
New Orleans, 269 ; his fast-day annulled in
New Orleans, 823 ; how prayed for in New
Orleans, 338; cheered by crew of Rinaldo,
393; knew of Butler's recall, 599; denounces
Butler as a felon, 607.
INDEX.
641
Davis, Mr., his testimony on Confederate loan,
379.
De Bow, J. B. D, allusion to, 266, 352 ; effects
loan for Confederate cloth, 378.
Dcerfield, New Hampshire, politics of, 14 ;
General Butler born there, 15.
De Kay, Lieutenant, his funeral, 438-442.
Delta, New Orleans, quoted upon dueling, 259;
upon poor-tax, 312; quoted upon women of
New Orleans, 828; upon Butler's currency
measures, 426. ; change of editors, by author-
ity, 435 ; its humor, 435 ; quoted upon the con-
suls, 453; upon Hawkins's house, 462; on the
oath, 474; denoanced by Leacock, 481; cu-
rious entry in its books, 538.
Deming, Colonel IT. C, lands in New Orleans,
281, 2S3 ; appointed on jail commission, 529 ;
speaks in New Orleans, 595; commended,
585.
Democratic party, in New Hampshire, 14; its
alliance with the South, 39 ; split in Charles-
ton Convention, 46; secret of its power in
great cities, 254.
Denegre, Mr., in affair of the silver, 374.
Devereux, Captidn Arthur F., detailed to seize
ferry boat, 72, 74.
Deynoodt, Joseph, to Butler, on the oath, 456.
Dickens, Charles, one of his characters, 59.
Dickenson, Charles, his duel with Jackson,
262.
Dike, Captain, his promptness to ioin Sixth
Massachusetts, 68 ; wounded at Baltimore, 68.
Dimmick, Colonel, at Fortress Monroe, 120,
123, 136.
Dimon, Lieutenant C. A. E., distinguished at
Baton Rouge, 571.
Dix, General John A., receives flag from But-
ler, 67; his rank, 120; allusion to, 168; com-
mands expedition in Virginia, 184.
Dominique, Henry, case of, 432.
Donaghue, John, distinguished at Baton Eouge,
573.
Douglas, Stephen A., in Charleston conven-
tion, 45, 47, 49, 52-54 ; his platform, in 1860,
56; his vote in New Orleans, in 1S60, 253.
Doyle, Daniel, ordered for execution, 347 ; re-
prieved, 351.
Duane. James, his narrative respecting the
Einaldo at New Orleans, 393.
Dudley, Captain, distinguished at Baton Eouge,
570.
Duels, cause of, in New Orleans, 259 ; between
Alston and Reed, 260; between Eeed and
another, 262.
Duffee, private J. E., distinguished at Batou
Eouge, 573.
Dumas, Alexander, allusion to, 518.
Duncan, General J. H., commands forts, 221;
his confidence, 223, 238 ; denounced in New
Orleans, 266 ; harangues in New Orleans, 277.
Duncan, Lieutenant, at Great Bethel, 146.
Duncan, Mr., writes letter for mayor of New
Orleans, 331 ; committed to Fort Jackson, 335.
Dupasseur and Co., buy coin in New Orleans,
373, 376.
Durand, A., his suit of Bank of Louisiana. 423.
Durant, Thomas J., quoted upon the Creole
sugar-planters and secession, 253 ; his devo-
tion to the Union, 254 ; pleads for paroled
prisoners, 349; speaks in New Oileans, 595.
Durell, E. H., appointed on jail commission,
529.
Durvea, Colonel A., at battle of Great Bethel,
141, 144, 145.
Easterbrook, Lieutenant J. E., on staff of But-
ler, 212.
Edminster, Corporal, distinguished at Baton
Rouge, 573.
Edwards, Jonathan, Winthrop descended from,
149.
Eighth Massachusetts militia, leaves Boston,
70; at Philadelphia, 70; to Havre de Grace,
73 ; at Annapolis, 76 ; march to Washington,
91.
Eighth New York militia, at Eelay House, 106.
Elliot, Lieutenant H. H., distinguished at
Baton Rouge, 571.
El well, Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew, with
Eighth Regiment, 74.
English Bend, McClellan upon, 193 ; batteries
at, reduced, 268.
Estafetto du Sud, resumes publication, 434.
European Brigade, protects New Orleans, 264,
266, 268, 292 ; disbanded, 329.
Everett, Captain., in Biloxi expedition, 215;
lands in rear of St. Philip, 249 ; lands in New
Orleans. 280, 2S3 ; distinguished at Baton
Rouge, 570 ; commended, 585.
Everett,Edward, New Orleans votes for, in 1860,
253.
Exchange of prisoners, begun by Butler, 153,
154.
Exeter, New Hampshire, General Butler at
school there, 16.
Fago, C. McDonald, case of, 470.
Farewell address to the people of New Orleans,
602.
Farragut, Admiral, David G. , allusion to, 67 ;
in consultation with Butler, at Ship Island,
210; announces his readiness, 219; his cha-
racter, 225; reconnoiters forts, 227; tele-
graphs news to the fleet, 232; his order for the
running by, 234: runs by the forts, 237-
245 ; letters to Butler and Porter, 249 ; an-
chors before New Orleans, 250. 266; the pas-
sage up the Mississippi, 267, 269; send?
Bailey on shore, 269; in correspondence with
mayor of New Orleans, 272-274; visits Car-
rollton, 273 ; orders divine service, 275 ;
threatens to bombard New Orleans, 276; sur-
renders the situation to Butler, 279 ; goes to
Baton Rouge, 298 : bombards Donaldsonville,
320; at Vicksburgh, 554; salutes Butler on
his departure, 611, 612.
Farrington, Captain, in Ponchatoula expedition,
576.
Fassett, Lieutenant, distinguished at Baton
Rouge, 573.
Fauconnett, M., intercedes for French news
paper, 434.
Fav, Major, at conference with Carey, 127.
Federal Hill, seized by Butler, 112.
Felton, Mr., assists General Butler at Philadel-
phia, 71.
Field, Lieutenant D. C. G., appointed to re-
ceive poor tax, 310, 322 ; to receive dividends,
476.
Fillmore, Millard, New Orleans votes for, in
1856, 253.
Fiske, Major W O., commended, 585.
642
INDEX.
Flanders, B. F., runs for Congress, 527 ; elected,
595.
Florence, Rowena, claims Twiggs's swords, 4CS,
015.
Floyd, John B., in Buchanan's cabinet, 64.
Forstall, Edmund J., votes for reception of
French fleet at New Orleans, 830 ; in afi'air of
the silver, 372, 373, 472.
Forsyth, John, allusion to, 58.
Fort Jackson, McCIellan upon, 193; its re-
ported armament. 209; described, 219; recon-
noitered, 227 ; bombarded, 227, 229 ; barracks
Of, burnt, 282 ; run by, 241 ; condition when
taken. 251 ; visited by Butler, 277.
Fortress Monroe, condition in April, 1SG0, G9 ;
Butler commands at, 120; described, 122; al-
lusion to, 491.
Fort St. Philip, McCIellan upon, 193; its arma-
ment, as reported, 209 ; plan to reduce, 211;
described, 219; bombarded. 227, 229; run by,
241 ; condition when taken, 250, 251 ; visited
by Butler, 277.
Fourteenth Maine, distinguished at Baton Rouge,
570.
Fourth Wisconsin, 193; lands in New Orleans,
2S0.
Fox, assistant secretary of navy, supports New
Orleans expedition, 191.
Fox, the, captured by McMillan, 3S6, 390.
Franklin, Benjamin, of Saxon lineage, 13; the
consummate Yankee, 15; allusion to, 70;
recommended building ships in compart-
ments, 205; the public threatened with a
biography of, 607.
Fremont, General John C, his rank, 120.
French, Captain, distinguished at Baton Rouge,
573.
French, Colonel Jonas H., on staff of Butler,
212; in Biloxi expedition, 215; demands
St Charles Hotel. 284; interview with the
mayor of New Orleans, 2S5; appointed pro-
vost-marshal of New Orleans, 297; advertises
for policemen, 337 ; his report on the oath,
462 ; demands gas-works 1 negroes of Phelps,
513 ; in his office, 590.
French fleet at New Orleans, letter of Butler to
mayor and council respecting, 329.
Freret, George A., his notice to depositors, 41C.
Frying-pan Shoals, the Mississippi upon, 205.
Fuller, Captain, on Lafourche commission, 6S2.
Fulton, Dr., sent to Fort Lafayette, 4S4,
Galveston, attack upon contemplated, 194.
Gardner, Lieutenant W. II., distinguished at
battle of Baton Rouge, 572.
Gardner, Sergeant, distinguished at Baton
Rouge, 573.
Garrison, W. L., allusion to, 93.
Gaulding, Mr., supports Douglas, 58.
Gautherin & Co., their affair" with the French
consul, 37S-3S2.
George, Captain Paul R., equips New Orleans
expedition, 187; rejected by senate, 1SS, 211;
abundance provided by. 224.
Gerdes, F. 1L, survevs the Mississippi below
forts, 226.
Glenn, Samuel F., at market of New Orleans,
284; goes to St. Charles Hotel, 284; to City
Hall, 2S5; his services in provost court. 434.
Glisson, Commander O. S., assists the Missis-
sippi, 206.
Gooding, Colonel O. P., lands in New Orleans,
230.
Goodrich, Dr., his church closed by Strong
483; refuses to pray for president of United
States, 4S4; sent North, 4S4; interview wit!.
Strong, 4S5.
Goodwin, John, Jr., with Eighth Regiment, 74.
Gottschalk, Mr., allusion to, 92.
Gourgand, M.. quoted, 30.
Grant, General U. S., allusion to, 322; thinkt,
slavery doomed. 528.
Great Bethel, battle of, 139.
Greble, Lieutenant, at battle of Great Bethel
143-145, 14S, 149.
Griffin, J. Q. A. A., his recollections of Butler at
the bar, 29, 35.
Grimsby, Captain James, distinguished at Baton
Rouge, 572.
Guerillas, treatment of by Butler, 559-565, 574.
Gunn, Thomas Butler, quoted upon markets in
New Orleans, 592.
Haggerty, Captain Peter, goes ashore at Annap-
olis, 78, 79; at conference with Carey, 127;
joins Butler's staff, 1S9; announced, 212; com-
mended, 5S5.
Hahn, Michael, elected to Congress, 595.
Haines, T. J., serves at Fortress Monroe, 160.
Haley, Sergeant John, distinguished at Baton
Rouge, 572.
Halleck, General II. W., Butler to, on poor in
New Orleans, 321 ; on his recall, 593 ; orders
Butler's recall, 599; Davis upon, 608.
Hamilton, General Schuyler, joins Butler at An-
napolis, 87; his letters to Butler at Relay
House, 109.
Hamilton, Mr., speaks in New Orleans, 595.
Hampton, Va., Phelps at, 126; described by
Russell, 165; evacuated, 163.
Hare, Robert, guides troops to Federal Hill, 111.
Harper s Magazine, quoted upon yellow fever at
New Orleans, 395, 397.
Harriet Lane, the, in the running by the forts,
238; receives surrender of forts, 2ft0.
Harris, Mr., interview with Butler, 335.
Harroll, Mr., his testimony on Confederate loan,
8S0.
Hartford, the, not chain plated, 226; Butler on
board, '233; runs by the forts, 233, 241, 244,
245; salutes Butler on his departure, 612.
Hatteras Inlet, expedition against, 177 ; Butler
off, 204.
Haven, Rev. Gilbert, with Eighth Regiment, 74.
Havre de Grace, General Butler at, 74, 75.
Hawkins, John, his drinking house, 462.
Haves, Major, distinguished at Baton Rouge,
571.
Hayne, Paul II., his poem on the woman order,
840.
Heenan, John, allusion to, 356.
Heidsieck, Charles, comes to New Orleans dis-
guised as bar-keeper, 304; his case stated,
360-363.
Herald, New York, quoted upon Farragut's re-
connoitering the forts, 227 ; its reporter in the
fleet, 236, 240, 245, 26S.
nicks. Governor, orders Butler not to land, 7S;
Butler's reply, SO ; interview with Butler, 82;
protests against, the landing, S2, 85; another
protest, 90; allusions to, 96.
INDEX.
643
Hlggiafl, Colonel, commands Fort St. Philip,
221 ; his confidence, 223.
Hill, Captain, goes to Havana, 594.
Hill, Isaac, bis career and boyhood, 14.
Hinks, Colonel Edward W., with Eighth Eegi-
ineut, 74 ; in advance at Annapolis, 88, 91.
Hollins, Commodore, allusion to, 209.
Holmes, Lieutenant N., assists Mumford to tear
down flag, 275.
Holt, Dr.A. T., distinguished at Baton Eouge,572.
Holt, M., his drinking house, 462.
Homans, Charles, repairs locomotive, 85; runs
it, 91, 93.
Hooker, General Joseph, allusion to, 69.
Hope &, Co., their silver seized, 367; Forstall
to, on the seizure of the silver, 373.
Houma, visited by Keith, 563.
Howe, Lieutenant N. G., distinguished at Baton
Eouge, 571.
Howell, Lieutenant, distinguished at Baton
Eouge, 572, 573.
Hoyt, Assistant Engineer, protects the Eich-
mond, 225.
Huckins, Mr., votes for reception of French
fleet at New Orleans, 330.
Hudson, Captain James, Jr., with Eighth Eegi-
ment, 74.
Huger, J. M., 428, 430.
Hugo, Victor, quoted, 29.
Humphrey, Dr. Wesley, upon cruelty to slaves,
494.
Hunt, Eendal, delivers letter to Forstall, 375.
Hunter, General David, his proclamation of
freedom annulled, 492.
Ida, the, case of, 402.
Hsley, Edwin, aid to Shepley, 337.
Ingalls, E. A., with Eighth Eegiment, 74.
Insurrection, letters upon, of Butler and An-
drew, 94, 95; remarks upon, 98; Butler to
Weitzel upon. 518.
Iroquois, the, grapples fire-raft, 228; runs by
the forts, 238, 241,
Isabella of Spain, allusion to, 259.
Itasca, the, cuts the cable, 235, 236; attempts
to run by forts, 239.
Jackman, Sergeant, distinguished at Baton
Eouge, 573.
Jackson, Andrew, of Scotch-Irish blood, 13 ; al-
lusions to, 262, 292, 296.
Jackson, the gunboat, in Biloxi expedition,
215, 217 ; in the running by the forts, 238.
Jefferson, Thomas, John Adams to, 23.
Jeff, story of, 536.
Johnson, Captain, anecdote of, 426.
Johnson, Herschell, candidate for vice-presi-
dency, 55.
Johnson, Laura W., to Mrs. Butler, 152.
Johnson, Eeverdy, in Charleston Convention,
50, 356 ; a Southern man, 356; appointed com-
missioner to New Orleans, 371 ; he decides
upon the silvei - , 373; upon the Dupasseur
coin, 376 ; restores coin to French consul, 380 ;
restores the sugar, 3S5; restores Kennedy and
Co/s fine, 3S7 ; effects of his decisions, 389,
391, 470, 472.
Jones, Colonel Edward F.. assembles the Sixth
Eegiment, 67; lands troops in rear of St. Phi-
lip, 249; appointed to command forts, 277.
Jones, John M., at battle of Great Bethel, 145
150.
Juge, General, commands European Brigade,
268; calls upon Butler, 298.
Kane, Marshal, in sympathy with secession, 103.
Kane, Patrick, ordered for execution, 347;
reprieved, 351.
Kapff, Captain, at Great Bethel, 146.
Katahdin, the, runs by the forts, 238, 241.
Keith, Colonel, John (J., granted leave of ab-
sence, 557; excursion into Lafourche, 563;
distinguished at Baton Eouge, 571; com-
mended, 585.
Keller, Fidel, committed to Ship Island, 441.
Kelty, Captain Eugene, distinguished at Baton
Rouge, 571, 572.
Kemble, Frances Ann, quoted upon slavery,
549.
Kennebec, Colonel, commended, 585.
Kennebec, the, reconnoiters forts, 227; in
expedition to cut the cable, 235 ; attempts to
run by the forts, 239, 241.
Kennedy, Judge, committed to Fort Jackson,
335.
Kennedy, P. II. and Co., case of, 385.
Kensel, Captain George A., on staff of Butler,
212 ; landing in New Orleans, 280, 281 ; com-
mended, 585.
Kimball, Colonel, attacks Manchac Pass, 565.
Kineo, the, runs by the forts, 238, 241.
Kinsman, Colonel, J. B., joins Butler's Staff, 189 ;
announced, 212; in Biloxi expedition, 235,
216 ; views the running by the forts, 246 ;
conducts Summers to the St. Charles, 286;
to Custom-House, 28S ; takes possession of
SlidelPs house, 345; seizes the silver, 366;
asks a question of Seward, 369 ; presides in
provost court, 434 ; restores Miss Montamal
to her parents, 532 ; captures a steamboat,
552; visits Lafourche, 561; on Lafourche's
commission, 5b2-5Sl ; commended, 585.
Knight, Corporal Isaac, distinguished at Baton
Eouge, 572.
Know Nothing Party, its evil influence in New
Orleans, 299.
Kossuth, Mr., receives fee from Gautherin, 330.
Kroehl, Mr., attempts to blowup the cable, 235.
Kruttsmidt, Mr., for secession, 254, 316 ; sub
scribes for the defense of New Orleans, 317
319.
Labarre de, Mr., votes for reception of French
fleet at New Orleans, 330.
La Blanche, Babilliard, his negroes at Camp
Parapet, 498, 502, 504.
Lafourche, visited by Kinsman, 561; by Keith,
563 ; conquest of, 5S0 ; sequestered, 581.
Lall, Colonel, commended, 5S5.
Lanata, Joseph, to Butler, on the oath, 456.
Landry, Mr., his cruelty to his daughter, 547.
Lane, Joseph, candidate for vice-presidency, 55
Larue, John II., committed as a vagrant, 438.
Larue, Mrs., excites a riot in New Orleans, 437.
Latham, Adjutant, distinguished at Baton
Eouge, 571 ,572.
Leacoek, Eev. Dr., does not appear at funeral
of De Kay, 439 ; his letter to Butler, on bis
sermon, 479 ; on the oath, 481.
Lee, General Eobcrt E., 607.
6-14
INDEX.
Loo, Miss, Interview with officers at Pass
Christian, 218.
Loo, Mrs., interview with officers at Pass
Christian, 21S.
Lefferts, Colonel M., declines to accompany But-
ler, TO, 71; reaches Annapolis, S3; refuses to
join Butler, S3 ; consents, S7 ; remarks upon, SS.
Lemore, Alfred, supplies cloth to Confederates,
379 ; arrested, 880.
Lemore, Jules, supplies cloth to Confederates,
379 ; arrested, 3SU.
Lemore, S. A. & Co., supply cloth to Confeder-
ates, 379.
Leonard, Charles, his death at Belay House, 107.
Lepayre, J. M , Butler to, on bank coin, 415.
Lewis, Major William B., his activity and en-
durance at eighty, 225.
Lewis, the transport, iu Biloxi expedition. 215,
207.
Lieb, Theodoras, committed to Ship Island, 44S.
Lincoln, Abraham, scheme to assassinate, 65;
saluted by Seventh Regiment, 93; not famil-
iar with Washington, 102; promotes Butler,
117; his remarks upon special recruiting, 1S1 ;
consents to New Orleans expedition^ 192;
Butler to, on leaving for New Orleans, 194;
bis vole in New Orleans in 1S60, 253; cheered
by negro, 267 ; groans for, at New Orleans,
26S; his instructions to Butler respecting ne-
groes, 491 ; annuls Hunter's proclamation of
freedom, 492; Phelps to, on arming the ne-
groes. 498; Butler to, on free labor in Louisi-
ana, 525; Butler to, on his recall, 597; receives
Butler, 613, 614 ; bis jokes, 629.
Lively, Mr., taken prisoner. 154.
Long, Sergeant, distinguished at Baton Rouge,
573.
Lopez, General, allusion to, 256.
Lord, Mr., anecdote of, 81.
Louisiana, the, terror of. 247, 24S; blown up, 250.
Lovel, General Mansfield, allusion to, 209; noti-
fied of Biloxi expedition, 217; to Duncan, 237 ;
brings news of coming fleet to New Orleans,
264 ; interview with Bailey, 271 ; leaves New
Orleans, 272; his proclamation of martial law,
296: prepares New Orleans for defense, 316;
his troops fed from New Orieans, 329 ; con-
spiracy of paroled prisoners to join, 334 ; in-
cites guerillas, 560.
Lowell Advertiser, anecdote respecting, 27.
Lowell, its origin and importance, 16;"the But-
lers removed to. 16.
Ludlow, Colonel W. H., 60S.
Lynch, Lieutenant T. L., reduced to the ranks,
55S.
McClellan. General George B., his rank, 120; com-
mends Butler's Texas paper, 185; why he did
not attack in fall of 1S61, 1S9 ; his opinion of
New Orleans expedition, 191 ; his orders to
Butler. 192,491,551.
MeCormick, Dr., anecdotes related by, 25S-263 ;
in yellow fever at New Orleans, 39S; in his
office, 590 ; commended, 5S5.
Macdonald, private, In Biloxi expedition, 214.
McKean, Commodore, at Ship Island, 196, 197.
Mack'.in, S..428, 430.
McLane, Abraham, ordered for execution, 347;
reprieved, 351.
McKinzie, private, distinguished at Baton
Bouge, 572.
McMillan, General, captures the Fox, 386,563;
commended, 5S5.
McNutt, Captain, at battle of Great Bethel, 146.
Magce's cavalry, distinguished at Baton Bouge,
571.
Matrinnis, Jobn, upon Citizens' 1 Bank silver,
364.
Magruder, Colonel J. B., correspondence with
Butler. 153, 154.
Mallorv, Colonel, his slaves come to Fortress
Monroe, 12ii, 128.
Manassas Junction, Butler's plan to seize, 105;
battle of, 167, 190.
Manassas, the ram, described, 223 ; attacks the
Union ileet, 242, 244, 247, 249.
Manchac Pass, McClellan upon, 194; attacked
by Kimball, 565.
Manners Canal, troops enter by, 249.
Manning, Captain C. H, distinguished at Baton
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